little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium                                

Identifying Characteristics:

Seed:  pedicel & rachis shorter than the glumes; size varies from 6 to 8 mm long & 1 mm wide; yellow to brown in color; hairy

Seedling:  folded in the whorl; leaf tapers to the tip; large, hornlike auricles; membranous & hairy ligule

Mature Plant: bunch-type growth habit; one curved, slender raceme per peduncle; hairy spikelets

Method of Propagation: seed, rhizomes

Life Cycle: warm-season perennial

Similar Species: big bluestem – compare seed heads

References: Abaye, A. Ozzie. "Identification & Adaption: Common Grasses, Legumes & Non-leguminous Forbs of the Eastern United States."