SILVER BLUESTEM
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Bothriochloa laguroides   (DC. ) Herter  subsp. torreyana  (Steud. ) Allred & Gould
[=Andropogon saccharoides Sw.  var. torreyanus  (Steud. ) Hack.]
[=Bothriochloa saccharoides   (Sw. ) Rydb.  var. torreyanus  (Steud. ) Gould]
Ottawa County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 18 - 42 inches
Family: Poaceae - Grass Family
Flowering Period:   July, August, September
Culms: Erect or ascending, solid, often branching below, grooved on 1 side; often short, nodes with flattened hairs.
Blades: Flat or folded, 1 to 10 inches long, to 1/4 inch wide, waxy, glabrous or thinly hairy at collar, midrib prominent; margins brownish to whitish; tips taper to points.
Sheaths: Shorter than internodes, smooth, slightly keeled near collar.
Ligules: Membranous, margins notched to entire.
Inflorescences: Panicles, 2.5 to 6 inches long, broader near middle or base, plume-like, silky, silvery-white; branches 6 or more, each 1 to 1.5 inch long.
Spikelets: Paired, lower spikelet sessile and perfect, upper spikelet stalked and sterile; first glume silky hairy at base; fertile lemmas with awns 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, bent.
Habitat: Dry prairies, roadsides, waste areas, and rocky slopes, particularly on sandy and limestone sites.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Forage Value: Fair for livestock and wildlife but is usually only grazed when young.
Uses: The Kiowa used the stems for toothpicks.
Comments: Tufted. Silver bluestem spreads quickly in disturbed or overgrazed areas.

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