little bluestem
Table of Contents
Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash
Alternate Common Names: prairie beardgrass, broom beardgrass
Scientific Synonym: Andropogon scoparius, Michx.
Family: grass family (Poaceae)
Functional Group: warm season grass
Description
- Life cycle and growth form
Perennial, short rhizomes, fibrous roots, grows in dense clumps.
Height: 1-3 ft
- Leaves and stem
Leaf blades narrow, up to 8 in long, flat or folded lengthwise, green to blue-green in color, usually hairless; sheaths strongly flattened and often hairless; ligule is a fringed (ciliate) membrane; nodes are hairless and purple; flowering stem is hairless and erect with many short branches, bluish to reddish-purple in color.
- Flower, fruit and seedhead
Fruit/seedhead: Single spikes, about 1 in long, arise from upper leaf axils, spikelets spread out as they mature, appearing as white, feathery appendages that arch; entire spikelets fall off at maturity and are weakly dispersed by the wind up to several feet from the parent plant.
Pollination: wind
- Seed
Seed characteristics
Seeds per ounce: 15,000 (IA NRCS)
1000 seed weight: 1.50 g (Seed Information Database)
Description: [shape, length, color, attached structures]
Typical seed test
PLS: 68% (n = 12)
Purity: 71% (n = 12)
Germination: 35% (n = 11)
Dormant: 59% (n = 11)
(averages obtained from n tests of purchased seed lots)
- Habitat and range
Habitat: Dry to dry-mesic soil; full sun; prairies, glades, dunes, roadsides, along railroads, woodland openings, scrubby barrens, abandoned fields; Wetland Indicator Status is Facultative Upland (FACU) for the Midwest; well-drained, moderately moist soils are preferred for seed production.
Conservation status: Global- G5, secure (NatureServe)
General Comments
Little bluestem is a dominant component on dry or well-drained soils within the tallgrass prairie region. Careful site selection, seedbed preparation, and weed control are critical to successful establishment from seed. No-till drilling with a native seed drill into cropland following a glyphosate-resistant crop, soybeans for example, is an excellent method. It takes two to three years for a stand to develop and reach peak yields.
Recommendations for Seed Production
- Establishment for seed production
Direct seeding
Row spacing: 36 in 24 in 12 in solid stand PLS lbs/acre: 2.4 3.2 6.4 8.0 Seeding depth: 1/4 in
Seeding method: native seed drill
Seeding time: late spring to early summer.
Weed control: Prepare clean, very firm, weed free seedbed prior to seeding.
Greenhouse
Seed pre-treatment: No stratification necessary. Germination of grass seed usually improves with proper storage (cool, dry conditions) throughout the first year after harvest.
Sowing: Sow seed in greenhouse two months before last frost free date at 1/4 in depth.
Transplanting: Transplant after all danger of frost.
- Stand management
Weeds: Mow stands high (6–12 in) in the first growing season to prevent weed canopy from shading seedlings. Imazepic can be used to control grass and broadleaf weeds in established stands. Pre-emergent grass and broadleaf herbicides can be used for weed control. Always check chemical labels.
Pests: None noted.
Diseases: No significant issues noted in TPC production plots, however, a leaf spot fungus is known to infect little bluestem and related grass species.
- Seed production
First harvest: Flowering and seed set end of second growing season from direct seeding, three years for stand to fill out.Yield: 30-100 bulk pounds/acre
Stand life: Peak harvests third year and after. If seed yields decline, stands can be chiseled to reinvigorate. We do not apply fertilizer to TPC plots, but this may improve seed yield. Annual late spring fire helps control weeds and increase flowering and seed production. (Note: These recommendations are strictly for production fields, NOT REMNANT PRAIRIES). Productive stand life 10-20 years or more.
Flowering date: Late July to late August.
Seed maturity/Harvest date: Late September to October.
Seed retention: Shattering is moderate, beginning in late September. Much of the variation in seed yield at TPC appears to be due to harvest timing, particularly waiting too long.
Harvest date range at TPC (2003-2022): Sept 5 - Oct 29
Recommended harvest method: Stripper or combine at hard dough to maturity, when most spikes are fluffed out and shattering is just beginning to occur.
- Seed cleaning and storage
Cleaning process: Air-dry material, remove awns with a debearder or brush machine, then air-screen. Like other fluffy-seeded warm season grasses, this species may not flow particularly well through the air-screen cleaner.
Seed storage: cool/dry (33-50° F, 30-50% RH)
Released Germplasm
Source Identified material: Northern Iowa Germplasm (IA Zone 1), Central Iowa Germplasm (IA Zone 2), Southern Iowa Germplasm (IA Zone 3), Northern Missouri Germplasm, Southern Missouri Germplasm, Southlow Michigan Germplasm, Suther Germplasm
Selected germplasm: Badlands Ecotype (ND, SD), Coastal Plains Germplasm (TX, LA), Itasca Germplasm (ND), OK Select Germplasm (OK), Ozark Germplasm (MO, IL), Prairie View Indiana Germplasm (IN), STN-176 Germplasm (TX), STN-461 Germplasm (TX)
Cultivated varieties (cultivars): Ahring (Great Plains), Aldous (KS), Cimarron (OK, KS), Pastura (NM), Sims (Great Plains)
- References
Chayka, K. (n.d.). Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem). Minnesota Wildflowers. https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/grass-sedge-rush/little-bluestem
Hilty, J. (2019). Little bluestem - Schizachyrium scoparium. Illinois Wildflowers. https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/little_bluestem.htm
Houseal, G. A. (2007). Grasses warm season. In G. A. Houseal (Eds.), Tallgrass Prairie Center’s native seed production manual (pp. 72–73). Tallgrass Prairie Center - University of Northern Iowa.
Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2023. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2023. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)]
NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/. (Accessed: February 29, 2024).
USDA NRCS National Plant Data Team. (n.d.). Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash. USDA plants database. https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=SCSC
USDA NRCS. Prairie View Indiana Germplasm Little Bluestem [Infographic] Retrieved February 20, 2025 from https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/IN/Revised_Prairie_View_Little_bluestem.pdf
Wipff, J. K. (2021, May 11). Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash. Flora of North America. http://floranorthamerica.org/Schizachyrium_scoparium
Species Guide Updated 11/17/2025
