ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK ILPIN INFORMATION ON Andropogon virginicus CLASS: MONOCOTYLEDENAE ORDER: CYPERALES FAMILY: POACEAE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Andropogon virginicus AUTHORITY: L. COMMON NAMES: BROOM SEDGE SYNONOMY: None PLANTS CODE: ANVI2 NATURAL COMMUNITIES: FOREST UPLAND FOREST DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC WET-MESIC SAND FOREST DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC FLATWOODS PRAIRIE TYPICAL PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC WET-MESIC WET SAND PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC WET-MESIC WET SAVANNA TYPICAL SAVANNA DRY-MESIC MESIC SAND SAVANNA DRY DRY-MESIC WETLAND SWAMP PRIMARY GLADE SANDSTONE CULTURAL AGRICULTURAL FIELD PASTURELAND SUCCESSIONAL FIELD SAF FOREST COVER TYPE: CENTRAL Upland oak White/Black/Northern Red- Oak NATURAL DIVISION: Coastal Plain Cretaceous Hills COUNTIES: ADAMS ALEXANDER BOND BROWN CALHOUN CASS CHRISTIAN CLARK CLAY CLINTON COLES COOK CRAWFORD CUMBERLAND DUPAGE EDGAR EDWARDS EFFINGHAM FAYETTE FRANKLIN FULTON GALLATIN GREENE GRUNDY HAMILTON HANCOCK HARDIN JACKSON JEFFERSON JERSEY JOHNSON KANKAKEE LAWRENCE MACON MACOUPIN MADISON MARION MASON MASSAC MENARD MONROE MORGAN MOULTRIE PEORIA PERRY PIATT PIKE POPE PULASKI RANDOLPH RICHLAND ST. CLAIR SALINE SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT SHELBY UNION VERMILION WABASH WASHINGTON WAYNE WHITE WILL WILLIAMSON GROWTH FORM: Monocot TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: ROOTS: Adventitious (fibrous) LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate LEAF TYPE: Simple LEAF MARGIN: Entire LEAF VENATION: Parallel LEAF SHAPE: Linear INFLORESCENCE: Panicle FLOWER MEROUS: 3 FLOWER STRUCTURE: Complete FLOWER PLACEMENT: Hypogynous FRUIT: Grain DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS: Species is tufted. Pedicellate spikelet is undeveloped with only the villous pedicels present; upper sheaths are somewhat inflated; culms are mostly glabrous; racemes are enclosed only at their bases; awns are nearly straight. Racemes are inserted singly and appearing alternate. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: ORIGIN: Native GEOGRAPHIC COMMENTS: Species is occasional or common in southern half of Illinois, absent in northern half except for Cook, Dupage, Grundy, Kankakee, and Will county. 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- 8 MONTH END- 10 TROPHIC STATUS: Autotrophic C02 FIXATION: C4 SEX: Perfect ECODISTRIBUTION COMMENTS: Species is distributed on glades of chert or granite, sandy fields, along railroad tracks, rarely on wet open and swampy places. It is generally found in worn-out sandy fields. ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS: No data entered FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: MAJOR DISPERSAL AGENTS: WIND MAJOR POLLINATION AGENT: Wind HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA: No data entered HUMAN FACTOR COMMENTS: Culms are used to make brooms in southern U.S. WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION: No data entered LIVESTOCK COMMENTS: Species is a pasture grass, especially when young. REVEGETATION PLANTINGS: WEEDINESS: Economic GENERAL COMMENTS: Species is a serious problem in pastures on marginal lands, but it disappears under fertilization and adequate grazing. REFERENCES: Mohlenbrock, R. H., ed. 1975. Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 494 pp. Steyermark, J. A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State University Press, Ames. 1725 pp. Swink, F., and G. S. Wilhelm. 1979. Plants of the Chicago region. Third ed. The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois. 922 pp. Mohlenbrock, R. H. 1967-continuing. The illustrated flora of Illinois. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. Agricultural Experiment Station. 1981. Weeds of the North Central States. Bulletin 772. College of Agriculture, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Urbana. 303 pp. Downton, W. J. S. 1975. The occurrence of C4 photosynthesis among plants. Photosynthetica 9(1): 96-105. OTHER REFERENCES: Hitchcock, A.S. 1950. A Manual of the Grasses of the United States. United States Government Printing Office. Washington, D.C. 1051 pp. Campbell, C.S. 1983. Wind dispersal of some North American species of Andropogon (Gramineae). Rhodora 85:65-72. END OF DATA FOR SPECIES Andropogon virginicus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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