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yellow bluestem
Scientific Name: Bothriochloa ischaemum var. ischaemum
Family: Poaceae
Category: Monocot
Growth: Graminoid
Duration: Perennial
Other Names:
Bothriochloa ischaemum: Yellow Bluestem
Bothriochloa ischaemum, commonly known as Yellow Bluestem, King Ranch Bluestem, or Turkestan Bluestem, is a warm-season perennial grass with origins in subtropical Asia and Africa, as well as Southern Europe and Asia.
It is also known by several other common names including:
- Caucasian Bluestem
- Texas Yellow Beardgrass
- Plains Bluestem
- Texas Yellow Beard Grass
- Yellow Blue-stem (United States)
The scientific name was formerly Andropogon ischaemum.
Considerations for Pets
- This plant is commonly found in pasturelands and may be encountered during outdoor activities with pets.
- As a grass, it may be grazed by some animals.
Considerations for Children
- This plant is commonly found in pasturelands and gardens.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Keng
- Family: Poaceae (Grass Family)
- Synonym: Andropogon ischaemum
- Subordinate Taxa: Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica
Distribution and Habitat
- Native to subtropical Asia and Africa, as well as southern Europe and Asia.
- Introduced to the United States and has spread throughout much of the southern region, especially Texas and Oklahoma.
- It was introduced from the former USSR, China, Turkey, and India for pasture in Texas.
- Found in Australia, present by the 1930s.
Ecological Role
- Considered an aggressive, weedy degrader of pasturelands.
- It escapes cultivation and endangers native habitats.
- Classified as an invasive species that threatens native biodiversity.
- It is listed as a threat to all rangelands.
Morphological Characteristics
- Perennial, clump-forming grass.
- Small, blue-gray grass.
- Flowering stems can grow up to 4 feet tall.
- Forms bunches, sometimes forming a sod.
- Plants usually cespitose, occasionally stoloniferous or almost rhizomatous under close grazing or cutting.
- Culms 30-80(95) cm, stiffly erect nodes glabrous or
Interactions with Other Organisms
- Used as forage for grazing cattle, though some studies aim to modify the amount of selective grazing cattle exhibit.
Resources
- USDA PLANTS Database
- Invasive Plant Atlas
- TERMIUM (Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank)
- Dave's Garden