To Grass Species

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

Plant Species
From Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook *
 By S. Smoliak, R.L. Ditterline, J.D. Scheetz, L.K. Holzworth, J.R. Sims, L.E. Wiesner, D.E. Baldridge, and G.L. Tibke

At one time little bluestem was the most abundant grass in the midlands of America and is still the most important grass in the Flint Hills of Kansas and eastern Oklahoma. Cattle have been shipped for many years from the south and southwest to fatten on the little bluestem ranges in the Kansas Flint Hills and the Osage Hills of Oklahoma.

Because of its growth habit and wide range of soils on which it thrives, little bluestem has great value for erosion control. It is suitable for use in mixtures for revegetation of abandoned cultivated lands.

Description

Little bluestem is a native, warm-season, perennial midgrass with a dense root system reaching 5 to 8 feet in depth. This bunchgrass spreads by seeds, tillers and short underground rootstocks. Little bluestem can be identified by its flat, bluish-colored basal shoots (tufted culms) and leaf blades which tend to fold. Mature plants have a reddish cast after frost. Inflorescence, a raceme 1 to 2 1/2 inches long, peduncles mostly wholly or partly included in the sheaths. Spikelets pedicellate usually reduced, short awned, spread-ing and pilose. Seed stalks grow from 2 to 5 feet tall appearing in late August to October.

Adaptation

Little bluestem is one of the most widely-distributed perennial grasses in America and grows well on deep, shallow, sandy, fine-textured and rocky soils. It is native in all states except California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada. It is more drought resistant than big bluestem and is, therefore, adapted to sites with limited moisture.

Limitations

The seed spikelets of little bluestem are light, chaffy, with awned appendages. Seed heads coming from a combine require additional cleaning before it can be seeded with grass drills that can handle chaffy seeds.

Use for Hay

Little bluestem produces from 3/4 to 2 tons of forage per acre. It has been used for hay since the first days of settlement.

Use for Pasture

Growth begins in early April. Little bluestem provides nutritious grazing during the growing season and makes good winter grazing when supplemented with protein and minerals. When little bluestem is continually grazed closer than 4 inches during the growing season, it is finally killed out and replaced by less productive plants. In many areas it is not considered of major economic importance because of its low palatability and poor forage quality when plant is mature.

Seed Production

The amount of seed produced in native stands depends on timely rainfall during the growing season, the reserve moisture and favorable temperatures during seed development. Because of these requirements, dependable seed harvest seldom occurs in any area in successive years. If it is grown in rows and cultivated, however, it sometimes yields 200 pounds or more of seed per acre.

* The Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook (EB69) is no longer in print, but is available for viewing in
Montana County Extension Service and National Resource Conservation Service Offices.