Schizachyrium

A common, clump-forming grass occurring in dry, open situations throughout most of North America except the western-most and northern-most regions. Unusual in appearance, attractive and colorful throughout the year. Summer's green leaves and bluish stems are followed by muted reds and yellows in fall, and tan in winter. Makes a stable and long-lived ground cover, especially well suited to dry situations. Indeed, as a dominant grass of the short grass prairies, little bluestem is an important component of the climax vegetation over a significant portion of the North American continent. As seems often to be true of plants which are very long-lived and rugged, little bluestem has produced only occasional seedlings in our plantings, in spite of having favorable conditions for seeding (apparently because individual plants are so long-lived they don't have to produce very many seedlings to sustain their population. The fluffy seeds are a winter food source for small birds.