OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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



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.

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm120628_341

June    Greenville County    SC

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm120628_343

June    Greenville County    SC

Narrow glaucous blue-green summer foliage turns copper-red-bronze in fall. — Patrick McMillan

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm220722_9263

July    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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).

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm200907_7106

September    Greenville County    SC

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm200920_7339

September    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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).

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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).

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0410c_26

October    Greenville County    SC

Field

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0510f_24

October    Oconee County    SC

Field

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm221004_0195

October    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

Keith Bradley    kab_a_ternarius_4791

October    Lancaster County    SC

Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

Keith Bradley    kab_a_ternarius_70436

October    Miami-Dade County    FL

Everglades National Park

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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).

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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).

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0211c_15 on left

November    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Splitbeard Bluestem on the left; Broomsedge on the right.

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0211k_01

November    Greenville County    SC

Field

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0211k_06

November    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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).

image of Andropogon ternarius, Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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)

map
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!



 


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