ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK ILPIN INFORMATION ON Andropogon gerardii CLASS: MONOCOTYLEDENAE ORDER: CYPERALES FAMILY: POACEAE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Andropogon gerardii AUTHORITY: Vitman COMMON NAMES: BIG BLUESTEM TURKEYFOOT SYNONOMY: None PLANTS CODE: ANGE NATURAL COMMUNITIES: PRAIRIE TYPICAL PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC WET-MESIC SAND PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC WET-MESIC GRAVEL PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC DOLOMITE PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC HILL PRAIRIE LOESS GLACIAL DRIFT GRAVEL SAND SHRUB PRAIRIE LISTED DOMINANT SAVANNA TYPICAL SAVANNA DRY-MESIC MESIC SAND SAVANNA DRY DRY-MESIC BARREN DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC LISTED DOMINANT WETLAND FEN GRAMINOID LISTED DOMINANT PRIMARY GLADE SANDSTONE LIMESTONE SHALE CULTURAL RESTORATION PRAIRIE SAF FOREST COVER TYPE: NO NATURAL DIVISION: Wisconsin Driftless Rock River Hill Country Freeport Oregon listed Northeastern Morainal Morainal Lake Michigan Dunes Chicago Lake Plain Winnebago listed Grand Prairie Grand Prairie Springfield Western Green River Lowland Kankakee Sand Area listed Upper Miss. and Ill. R. Bottomlands Illinois River Mississippi River Miss. and Ill. R. Sand Areas Illinois River Mississippi River Western Forest Prairie Galesburg Carlinville Southern Till Plain Effingham Plain Mt. Vernon Hill Country listed Wabash Border Bottomlands Southern Uplands Vermilion River listed Coastal Plain Cretaceous Hills listed COUNTIES: ADAMS ALEXANDER BOND BOONE BROWN BUREAU CALHOUN CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN CHRISTIAN CLARK CLAY CLINTON COLES COOK CRAWFORD CUMBERLAND DEKALB DEWITT DOUGLAS DUPAGE EDGAR EDWARDS EFFINGHAM FAYETTE FORD FRANKLIN FULTON GALLATIN GREENE GRUNDY HAMILTON HANCOCK HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY IROQUOIS JACKSON JASPER JEFFERSON JERSEY JO DAVIESS JOHNSON KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL KNOX LAKE LASALLE LAWRENCE LEE LIVINGSTON LOGAN MCDONOUGH MCHENRY MCLEAN MACON MACOUPIN MADISON MARION MARSHALL MASON MASSAC MENARD MERCER MONROE MONTGOMERY MORGAN MOULTRIE OGLE PEORIA PERRY PIATT PIKE POPE PULASKI PUTNAM RANDOLPH RICHLAND ROCK ISLAND ST. CLAIR SALINE SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT SHELBY STARK STEPHENSON TAZEWELL UNION VERMILION WABASH WARREN WASHINGTON WAYNE WHITE WHITESIDE WILL WILLIAMSON WINNEBAGO WOODFORD GROWTH FORM: Monocot TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: ROOTS: Adventitious (rhizomes) LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate LEAF TYPE: Simple LEAF MARGIN: Entire LEAF VENATION: Parallel LEAF SHAPE: Linear INFLORESCENCE: Raceme Spike FLOWER MEROUS: 3 FLOWER STRUCTURE: Complete Incomplete FLOWER PLACEMENT: Hypogynous FRUIT: Grain DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS: One of the most robust Andropogon of Illinois, with longest fertile spikelets. Spikelets in pairs; one sessile and perfect, the other pedicellate and staminate or sterile. One of the most robust Andropogon of Illinois, with longest fertile spikelets. One of the most robust Andropogon of Illinois, with longest fertile spikelets. One of the most robust Andropogon of Illinois, with longest fertile spikelets. One of the most robust Andropogon of Illinois, with longest fertile spikelets. One of the most robust Andropogon of Illinois, with longest fertile spikelets. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: ORIGIN: Native POPULATION DYNAMICS: STATE STATUS: Not listed FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed COMMONNESS: Common ENDEMIC: NOT-ENDEMIC BIOLOGIC: HABIT: Grasslike LIFE CYCLE: Perennial FLOWERING PERIOD: MONTH BEGINNING- 7 MONTH END- 9 TROPHIC STATUS: Autotrophic C02 FIXATION: C4 SEX: Perfect Unisexual -monoecious ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS: DISTURBANCE INDICATOR: No SOIL CHEMISTRY INDICATOR: None GROWTH OF SPECIES IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS: GRAVEL Good SAND Good SANDY LOAM No data entered LOAM No data entered CLAY LOAM No data entered CLAY No data entered DENSE CLAY No data entered ORGANIC SOIL Good NEUTRAL pH No data entered ACIDIC SOIL Good EXTREMELY ACID No data entered SALINE SOIL No data entered SODIC SOIL Good SODIC-SALINE No data entered ROCKY OUTCROPS Good GENTLE SLOPES Good MODERATE SLOPE Good STEEP SLOPES Poor HABITAT: Moist Dry FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: MAJOR POLLINATION AGENT: Wind NITROGEN FIXING No HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA: SHOWY FLOWERS: NO WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION: FOOD VALUE: DEER VALUE: Yes - Fruit Flowers Leaves Stems UPLAND GAME VALUE: Yes - Fruit WATERFOWL VALUE: Unknown SMALL NON-GAME BIRD VALUE: Yes - Fruit SMALL MAMMAL VALUE: Yes - Fruit Leaves AQUATIC MAMMAL VALUE: Unknown FISH VALUE: Unknown COVER VALUE: No data entered LIVESTOCK PALATABILITY DATA: CATTLE FORAGE: No data SHEEP FORAGE: No data HORSE FORAGE: No data GOAT FORAGE: No data ENERGY VALUE: Medium PROTEIN VALUE: Medium POISONOUS (LIVESTOCK): No REVEGETATION PLANTINGS: WEEDINESS: Non-weedy SEED AVAILABILITY: Good PROCUREMENT COMMENTS: 2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,20,58,60,61. PROPAGATION COMMENTS: Grown from seed at 20-30 lbs./acre broadcast or 14-20 lbs./acre drilled; 165,000 seeds/lb. Plants can also be transplanted after germination and growth in seedling trays. REFERENCES: Mohlenbrock, R. H. 1967-continuing. The illustrated flora of Illinois. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. Anon. 1981. Illinois plants for habitat restoration. Illinois Department of Conservation, Mining Program. Springfield, Illinois. 61 pp. Schwegman, J. E., G. D. Fell, M. Hutchison, G. Paulson, W. M. Shepherd, and J. White. 1973. Comprehensive plan for the Illinois Nature Preserves System. Part 2 - The Natural Divisions of Illinois. Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Springfield. 32 pp., plus map. White, J., and M. H. Madany. 1978. Classification of natural communities in Illinois. Pages 309-405 in J. White, ed., Illinois natural areas inventory technical report. Vol. 1. Survey methods and results. Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, Urbana. Downton, W. J. S. 1975. The occurrence of C4 photosynthesis among plants. Photosynthetica 9(1): 96-105. Meeuse, B. J. D. 1961. The story of pollination. Ronald Press Company, New York. 243 pp. END OF DATA FOR SPECIES Andropogon gerardii ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ILPIN was developed by Louis Iverson*, with data compiled by David Ketzner and Jeanne Karnes Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 *currently employed by USDA Forest Service, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015