big bluestem  
Alias: turkey foot 
Andropoogon gerardii                   

Identifying Characteristics:

Seed:   yellow-brown in color; hairy glumes; broad groove on the back of glume; size varies from 7 to 9 mm long & 1.5 mm wide; long, twisted awns

Seedling:   leaves are rolled in whorl; sheaths are often purple in color, flattened, and covered in long hairs; no auricles; short, blunt, fringed ligule

Mature Plant: bunch-type growth habit, reaching up to 6 feet tall; three-raceme panicle, basis for the “turkey foot” alias; panicle will appear purple generally

Method of Propagation: short rhizomes, seed

Life Cycle: warm-season perennial

References: Abaye, A. Ozzie. "Identification & Adaption: Common Grasses, Legumes & Non-leguminous Forbs of the Eastern United States."
Moore, Kenneth J. “Compendium of Common Forages.” From “Forages: An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture.”