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yellow bluestem

Scientific Name: Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica

Family: Poaceae

Category: Monocot

Growth: Graminoid

Duration: Perennial

Other Names:

       

Yellow Bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum)

Yellow Bluestem, also known as King Ranch Bluestem, is a perennial grass with the scientific name Bothriochloa ischaemum. It is important to note that it was formerly known as Andropogon ischaemum.

Considerations for Pets

  • This plant is often found in pasturelands and could potentially be encountered by grazing animals.

Considerations for Children

  • As a clump-forming grass that can grow up to 4 feet tall, it may be commonly encountered in fields and gardens where children play.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Scientific Name: Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Keng
  • Family: Poaceae (Grass Family)
  • Synonym: Formerly Andropogon ischaemum
  • Varieties: Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica

Common Names

  • Yellow Bluestem
  • King Ranch Bluestem
  • Texas Yellow Beardgrass
  • Plains Bluestem
  • King Ranch Blue-stem
  • Turkestan Bluestem (Turkistan Bluestem)
  • Yellow Blue-stem (United States)

Distribution and Habitat

  • Native to subtropical Asia and Africa, and southern Europe.
  • Introduced to the United States and has spread over much of the southern United States, especially Texas and Oklahoma.
  • Originally introduced from the former USSR, China, Turkey, and India for pasture in Texas.

Ecological Role

  • Considered a non-native, aggressive, weedy degrader of pasturelands.
  • Escapes cultivation and endangers native habitats.
  • Considered invasive and a threat to native biodiversity.

Morphological Characteristics

  • Perennial, clump-forming grass.
  • Small, blue-gray grass.
  • Flowering stems up to 4 ft. tall.
  • Sometimes forms a sod.
  • Warm-season bunchgrass.
  • Plants usually cespitose, occasionally stoloniferous or almost rhizomatous under close grazing or cutting.
  • Culms 30-80(95) cm, stiffly erect nodes glabrous or

Cytological Information

  • Studies have been conducted to determine the number and morphological features of somatic chromosomes of yellow bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum (L) Keng).

Interactions with Other Organisms

  • Selective grazing of yellow bluestem by cattle has been studied.

Further Information

  • USDA PLANTS Database: Symbol BOIS
  • Invasive Plant Atlas
  • Dave's Garden
  • TERMIUM (Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank)