. Common plants of longleaf pine-bluestem range. Plant ecology; Grasses; Forage plants. ELLIOTT BLUESTEM Andropogon elliottii Chapm. Elliott bluestem, although among the least abun- dant southern bluestems, is one of the most con- spicuous. Toward maturity the large, inflated spathes that sheathe the inflorescence give tne plants a topheavy appearance. Inner surfaces of these spathes are copper-colored, smooth and shin- ing. On old fields and overgrazed range, Elliott bluestem may form almost pure stands but gener- ally is widely scattered among other grasses. While it tolerates a wide range o
. Common plants of longleaf pine-bluestem range. Plant ecology; Grasses; Forage plants. ELLIOTT BLUESTEM Andropogon elliottii Chapm. Elliott bluestem, although among the least abun- dant southern bluestems, is one of the most con- spicuous. Toward maturity the large, inflated spathes that sheathe the inflorescence give tne plants a topheavy appearance. Inner surfaces of these spathes are copper-colored, smooth and shin- ing. On old fields and overgrazed range, Elliott bluestem may form almost pure stands but gener- ally is widely scattered among other grasses. While it tolerates a wide range of sites, it is most common on dry, sandy soils. It is usually too scarce to con- tribute much forage. The only southern grass easily confused with Elliott bluestem is fineleaf bluestem. The two spe- cies intergrade; plants are considered to be Elliott bluestem when they deviate from typical fineleaf bluestem. Therefore, height, leaf width, and in- florescence characteristics vary widely in Elliott bluestem. Typical plants are 2 to 3 feet tall with leaves about 12 inches long and 1/8 inch wide. The crowded spathes, with paired silky racemes either exserted or partially enclosed, are reliable identification. Dead stalks, with spathes attached, often persist through the winter. Elliott bluestem resembles bushy bluestem in some respects. Both have crowded spathes, but those of bushy bluestem are not inflated. Habitats differ, bushy bluestem growing in wet areas and Elliott bluestem being generally confined to dry situations. Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to New Jersey. Perennial. Culms 30-80 cm. tall, in tufts, erect, simple at first, later branching toward the summit; sheaths shorter than the internodes, keeled, narrow, glabrous to loosely pilose; ligule short, a rounded membrane less than 1 mm. long; blades to 50 cm. long, flat, keeled, 1-7 mm. wide, glabrous to pilose, drooping and curling on drying; racemes 3-5 cm. long, paired, or rarely in threes or fours, the early ones long-e
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, booksubjectforageplants, booksubjectgrasses
