Little Bluestem

(Schizachyrium)

Grass Family

A bunched grass that grows in dense clusters with flowering stems up to 4 feet tall. The leaves are up to 12 inches long and less than ¼ inch wide. They are folded lengthwise in the bud, unfolding as they emerge. The leaves turn a bronzed orange color after frost. The stems are usually hairy and strongly flattened near the base. Flowers are scattered along the upper parts of the nearly vertical side stalks. Long hairs create a feathery appearance. There is a single, white-hairy, elongated flower cluster at the tip of each stalk. The seeds have bristle-like awns.