Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Andropogon from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-87-005:
Andropogon ternarius FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Andropogon ternarius
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Andropogon ternarius
COMMON NAME:
Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm120628_341
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120628_343
June Greenville County SC
Narrow glaucous blue-green summer foliage turns copper-red-bronze in fall. — Patrick McMillan
)
JK Marlow jkm220722_9263
July Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm120908_361b
September Greenville County SC
Grass flowers usually w 2 lodicules, 3 stamens, ovary w 2 feathery stigmas, per How to Know the Grasses: Pictured Key Nature Series (Pohl, 1954).
)
JK Marlow jkm200907_7106
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200920_7339
September Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210903_3245
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Erect tufted or bunched perennial grass, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm220927_0094
September Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
The paired, copiously hairy racemes are on peduncles 5-12cm, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
JK Marlow jkm0410c_26
October Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0510f_24
October Oconee County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0195
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_a_ternarius_4791
October Lancaster County SC
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_a_ternarius_70436
October Miami-Dade County FL
Everglades National Park
)
JK Marlow s041002_a
October Greenville County SC
Field
I predict that Splitbeard Bluestem will become one of your favorite grasses, per Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020).
)
JK Marlow s041002_a2
October Greenville County SC
Field
Racemes 2-3, conspicuously white villous, 1.5-5cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0211c_15 on left
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
Splitbeard Bluestem on the left; Broomsedge on the right.
)
JK Marlow jkm0211k_01
November Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0211k_06
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0211k_11
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
Each feathery seed tuft, in a "V", catches the light and amplifies it, per Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_andropogon_tenarius_3
November
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-87-005:
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Andropogon ternarius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Andropogon ternarius
88
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, dry to moist soils of woodlands and openings, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Raceme (2-3 per peduncle)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain purplish/Yellowish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p202
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p173
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p207
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p760
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p141
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p409
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p095
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