Skip to main content

Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa bladhii)

Caucasian bluestem Synonyms: Andropogon bladhii, Andropogon caucasicus, Andropogon intermedius, Bothriochloa caucasica, Bothriochloa intermedia

Description: Introduced to the United States as a forage grass.

Habit: Perennial grass growing up to 59 in. in height.

Leaves: Cauline with glabrous leaf blades; 8-14 in. long and 0.04-0.2 in. wide. The membranous ligule is 0.02-0.06 in. long with sparse white hairs. When crushed, they have a strong turpentine smell.

Stems: Culms are erect and grow 40-90 cm.

Flowers: Reddish panicle that grows 2-6 in. long. Central rachis grow from 2-5 in. long with many branches that range from 1.2-3 in. long. Spikelets have awns that grow 0.4-0.7 in. long.

Fruit and seeds: Fruit (Caryopsis) are lanceolate to oblong and somewhat flattened.

Habitat: Native to subtropical Africa and Asia. Can be found in roadsides, rangeland pastures, waste places, and open disturbed sites. Established in the southern and central United States.

Reproduction: By seed and short rhizomes.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States and SEINet: Arizona-New Mexico Chapter.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Caucasian bluestem

Scientific Name:

Bothriochloa bladhii

Family:

Poaceae
(Grass)

Duration:

Perennial

Habit:

Grasses

USDA Symbol:

BOBL