Andropogon: not just Greek to me
Introducing my new Lookalike Library videos and a deep dive look at charismatic native grasses. Whether you're a gardener, landscape designer, or conservationist, these are stellar plants to know.
Andropogon is a genus of around 100 species native to the tropics and North America in the Grass Family (Poaceae). Up to 20 of those are native to North America (give or take since taxonomy is always changing) and around 11 (some common and some quite rare) are native here in Virginia.
You are likely familiar with many species that are related to Andropogon spp. and fall in the larger bucket of the Andropogoneae Tribe. Major crop plants like sorghum (actually used to be an Andropogon), maize, and sugarcane are all in that tribe. So are some other familiar grasses such as Chinese Silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis) or Yellow Prairie Grass (Sorghastrum nutans).
Quick PSA: Don’t plant Miscanthus in your gardens or landscape here in North America. It can become quite invasive on the landscape. Instead plant some of the Andropogon species I list below. They are native and beautiful ornamentals (win-win)!
I am going to highlight several lovely and charismatic species of Andropogon that are native here in North America. But first a little overview…
Collectively, Andropogon species are often called “Bluestem” grasses and are perennial warm-season bunchgrasses that provide a ton of value to native ecosystems. Birds eat the seeds throughout winter and some species are larval host to several insects including the Common Wood Nymph butterfly, many species of skippers and more!
Species like Big Bluestem (A. gerardii) and Little Bluestem (no longer an Andropogon, but more on that later) served as the backbone for native prairie ecosystems and savannahs and can be helpful indicators of remnant prairies in our neck of the woods (most native prairie in the Eastern US has been lost due to agricultural land-use and development).
Andropogon species are sometimes called Beardgrass, as the word is derived from Greek (andr=man, pogon=beard). This refers to the abundance of white hairs on the inflorescence (flowering tops). Grasses in this genus have a fairly distinct architecture to their spikelets and keying out these grasses can come down to very tiny measurements and details of spikelet structure. We won’t delve into that today but here are some photos of broomsedge spikelets, which are arranged as pairs in what is called a ‘rame,’ which is characteristic (with variation) in Andropogon.
Ok quick question for you! Are you interested in more deep botany information? Reply to this email if you would like more in-depth content on keying out plants, simplifying botanical terms etc). Still trying to gauge what my audience is most interested in!
And now let’s look more closely at some lovely native Andropogon species.* Great for gardens or meadow restoration projects and also just fantastic plants to get to know and keep an eye out for in the field. (*Side note: Of course in the neverending race to keep up with taxonomists, we will find that now many Andropogon species, including some I mention below, are now separated out into a genus called Anatherum….but change can be slow and many places, including most nurseries, still use Andropogon so we will stick with that here!)
Species Highlights
Broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus)
Easily one of the most common around here and with its straw-colored tufts that stand tall throughout winter, it’s easy to spot!
Native Range | View the map
Conservation Status | Common and secure.
What’s in a name? | Don’t be misled by the name. This is a grass, not a sedge! Apparently it was often used to make brooms — hence the name.
Virginia Native Ecological Community Associations & Habitat Associations | Found in old fields, early successional habitats, disturbed sites, and pastures.
Planting Tips | This species prefers poor and dry sandy soils and forest edges.
Where to find it? | Live plants and seed are available at many nurseries. The fluffy seed can cause problems clogging no-till seed drills so hand broadcasting is recommended. I will say it’s hard to find local genotypes for Eastern US but it grows abundantly around here and is a nice one to collect. Learn what I mean by ‘local genotype’ in my previous post (linked below) 👇
A Common Look-alike | Broomsedge often gets confused with its relative Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Little blue was formerly an Andropogon and though I don’t highlight it below it is one of my go-to native grasses to seed in meadows and plant in gardens.
Want to know how to tell them apart in the field?!……
Introducing my new “Look-alike Library” video series!
This is an idea I have had for a long time and so decided to finally try it out 😅😅. When I lead plant walks or workshops, one of my favorite things to share is ID tips to tell apart common look-alike plants. And it’s something I often get asked about. And since I take the time to ID these plants anyway (for work and pleasure) and am always looking for helpful definitive ways to tell them apart based on the key, I figured why not share it online too. It’s a lot of work to put together these videos so this is definitely an experiment and I will see where it goes. I am not a pro video editor either, so bear with me as I figure it out as I go along 🤔🤓. And a special thanks to my brother who is a pro cinematographer and gave me some helpful tips!
Please help me make this series worthwhile and email to let me know if there are plants you are most interested in learning about! (I specialize in sedge and grass ID but wildflowers, common edibles/medicinals too, so I’m up for anything I can find in the field around here [Eastern US/Mid-Atlantic]).
*** Side note: With all these apps out there and AI that pop up with instant IDs of plants, you may wonder why I will even bother with this. Well, I have thought about that a lot myself …like, will I be out of a job someday if apps can tell you plants instead of botanists and ecologists? Short answer, at least for now, I (and my rose-colored glasses) don’t think so and I will continue to create plant ID content for several important reasons (top being because I love doing it!). I’ll share those reasons in a future post!
Broomsedge vs. Little Bluestem
My first look-alike video walks you through several key features to tell apart Broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus) from it’s common look-alike Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Little blue actually used to be an Andropogon so I am glad to give it some attention in this post too!
Happy viewing!
Elliott’s Bluestem (Andropogon gyrans)
Native Range | View the map
Conservation Status | Its status is not well documented in most states. In some it is considered imperiled or uncommon and although designated G5 (globally secure) it is associated with ecological communities that are considered declining and vulnerable. Such as pine savannahs, oak woodlands, and remnant prairies here in VA that were historically managed by fire and are declining across their range. I would say it is relatively uncommon here in the Piedmont of VA and when found is often an indicator of high quality native plant communities.
What’s in a name? | So, Elliott was a botanist, of course. And the word gyrans means to twist or whirl, referring to its movement in the wind.
Virginia Native Ecological Community & Habitat Associations | Found in dry to moist forests, woodlands, longleaf pine sandhills, pine savannas, fields, and disturbed areas. Associated with the VA Piedmont Oak-Hickory Woodlands, Grasslands, & Savannahs ecological community.
Where to find it? | I have not been able to find a good source for this plant (specifically for local VA ecotypes). But I do know of many great programs in the region (Native Plant Trust, Northeast Seed Network, Piedmont Discovery Center, Clifton Institute, VaTech, MARSB, to name a few) that are actively collecting seed of native plants to increase supply of local genetics and uncommon species. We are working on that on a small scale at Oak Spring Garden Foundation. Check out this really nice resource about Elliott’s bluestem from Piedmont Discovery Center!
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
A popular native grass in the nursery trade that displays beautiful colors (blues, to pinks, to purples, to orange) throughout the year. A helpful ID feature is the inflorescence (flowering tops) with three pronged seed-heads that look like turkey feet.
Native Range | View the map
Conservation Status | Common and secure
What’s in a name? | Pretty self-explanatory here…. Its big and it’s a bluestem 😉. Oh and Louis Gerard was a French botanist.
Virginia Native Ecological Community Associations or Habitat Associations | Found in broad variety of habitats and ecological communities — from dry woodlands and barrens to remnant prairies, sandhills, and rocky river shores.
Planting Tips | Plant and seed with caution! It is a very large plant and can easily outcompete push out plants that are smaller or less competitive. It makes a nice ornamental grass in a garden though and sometimes you may just want a really competitive plant to outcompete aggressive invasives or non-natives. So context and pre-planting vegetation assessments are everything! For example, although it is a staple plant in tallgrass prairies, I never seed it in my native meadow installations here in Virginia. The soil nutrients and climate around here can make this one thrive almost too much (super tall and robust). It can easily take over a meadow restoration planting if you aren’t careful (same goes for Switchgrass). But (in certain situations) it can be nice planted in small drifts or patches as plugs down the road after a meadow is established so it doesn’t seed throughout too aggressively.
Where to find it?! Live plants and seed are available at many nurseries. My go-to seed source is Ernst Conservation Seed and they have many diff state ecotypes available. Pinelands Nursery is another go-to. They are doing great work collaborating with many native plant and seed conservation groups!
Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus)
This is a fantastic ornamental due to its charismatic seed-heads. It also is somewhat unique compared to the other species mentioned here because it tends prefers to grow in wetter conditions, making it ideal for wet meadows or rain gardens.
Native Range | View the map
Conservation Status | Though its status is not well documented in many states, it is designated as G5 (globally secure). I would say it is relatively uncommon here in the Piedmont of VA and when found is often an indicator of high quality native plant communities.
What’s in a name? | Glomeratus is Latin for gathered or clumped or clustered.
Virginia Native Ecological Community & Habitat Associations | Found in bogs, damp to wet clearings and depression ponds. More common in the Coastal Plain of VA than the mountains or Piedmont. Associated with the VA ecological communities: Appalachian Bogs, Coastal Plain/Piedmont Seepage Bogs, and Maritime Swamps.
Where to find it?! | Pinelands Nursery carries plants and seeds!
There are other species not mentioned here that are also wonderful, but I don’t have great photos for them so didn’t feature. For example, Splitbeard Broomsedge (Andropogon ternarius) is a widely available ornamental native grass and a great complement to these others in a garden space.
That’s all for today’s newsletter!
I hope this inspires you to look beyond the commonly promoted species (Big and Little Bluestem) to add more variety of native grasses to your garden or landscape.
If you enjoyed today’s read, please forward to friends!
Botanically yours,
Charlotte