Angiosperms: Monocotyledons

Poaceae
Grass Family

• Stem: perennial; tufted; flowering stalk 3’ to 7’ tall; smooth.
• Leaves: sheath smooth or hairy; ligule 1/4” tall, thin; blade 1’ to 2’ by 1/4”, smooth or hairy.
• Inflorescence: spikes, three to five at the tip of the flower stalk, 2” to 3” long; resembling the foot of a bird; turkeyfoot is another common name.
• Spikelets: in twos, the lower is perfect (male and female), the upper, on a short, hairy stalk outside the lower, is male; behind the perfect spikelet is another hairy stalk that supports the next pair of spikelets and so forth to the end of the spike; flowering from mid-July to mid-September.
• Fruits: falling as hairy units which include the female spikelet and the stalks in front and behind; 3/8” long; fruiting begins in early August; fruits begin dropping in mid-August.
• Habitat: common on moist to mesic prairies; sometimes in open woods; also on roadsides and in open places.
• Notes: Big bluestem is the most important grass of the tallgrass prairie.
• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa