Andropogon (redirected from bluestem)

Andropogon 

(beard grass), a genus of perennial rhizomatous grasses. The spikelets occur in bunches, either fanning out or clustered at the stem ends. There are about 150 species, distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical countries. They are typical of the African savannas. Several species are found in the temperate zone of both hemispheres. Two wild species grow in the USSR: Caucasian beard grass (A. caucasicus), which grows in the Caucasus and Middle Asia, and hemostatic beard grass (A. ischaemum), which is distributed in the southern regions of the European USSR, the Caucasus, Middle Asia, and Western Siberia. Andropogon is found in steppes and low-mountain regions as far as the mid-mountain region, often in rocky ground. Often it is one of the predominant grasses in an area (an edificator). Andropogon is eaten by cattle and survives well in grazed-over areas. The two USSR species are often attributed to the genus Bothriochloa. One representative of true Andropogon, Virginia beard grass (A. virginicus), originated in America and has spread as a weed in Western Transcaucasia.

REFERENCES

Rozhevits, R. Iu. Zlaki. Moscow-Leningrad, 1937.
Kormovye rasteniia senokosov ipastbishch SSR, vol. 1. Edited by I. V. Larin. Moscow-Leningrad, 1950.

T. B. VERNANDER