What’s a Bluestem?
Big bluestem, or Andropogon gerardi, is the symbolic grass of the Tallgrass Prairie native to the Midwestern United States.
The plant grows 3-6 feet tall. The blue-purple bloom of the plant gives it its name, but with a branched seed head arranged in groups of three or more—resembling the foot of a turkey—it is also known as turkey foot.
The leaves turn a deep reddish-bronze after frost. The roots of Big bluestem decay rapidly, nourishing the soil, and can reach 5-6 feet, helping it to withstand drought and survive fire while exotic species often perish. Native Americans, including the Kiowa-Apache, Omaha and Ponca tribes, used bluestem for earth lodge construction and also made medicines from the plant for ailments such as fever, stomachache or indigestion.
For more information on prairies, visit Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (mi-DAY-win) near Joliet, IL either on the internet or in person.
Sources:
Kindscher, Kelly. Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical
Guide, University Press of Kansas, 1992.
Ladd, Douglas M. Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, Falcon
Press Publishing Co., Inc., Helena, MT, 1995.
Madson, John, Where The Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie,
Iowa State University Press, 1995.
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