North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Schizachyrium littorale

Schizachyrium littorale (Nash) E.P. Bicknell

seaside little bluestem, shore little bluestem

Synonym(s): Andropogon littoralis, Andropogon scoparius var. littoralis, Schizachyrium scoparium ssp. littorale, Schizachyrium scoparium var. littorale

Schizachyrium littorale (Seaside Little Bluestem)

Image ID: 17137
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: SCLI11
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Schizachyrium littorale
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2020-01-01

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: SCHIZ4
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Schizachyrium
GENUS AUTHORITY: Nees
GENUS COMMON: Little bluestem
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 60 species, widespread in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions of the World.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Wipff (1996a)=Z; Gandhi (1989)=Y; Wipff in FNA (2003a). Key based in part on Wipff in FNA (2003a).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POACEA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Poaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Grass Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Grass/Grasslike

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Aug-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
						x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: coastal eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
617	SOS	2015-11-04	Maynard	View
856	SOS	2016-11-17	Walker	View
864	SOS	2016-11-04	Flood	View
1050	HORT	2006-11-08	Kunz	View
2315	NPMD	2019-10-24	Touloupas	View
2455	NPMD	2020-11-11	Marzolf	View
2456	NPMD	2020-11-11	Marzolf	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: SCLI11
USDA Common Name: Shore Little Bluestem
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, VA)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Graminoid

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC		FACU		FACW	FACW		FACW	FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

2018 Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina

NHP ID	S RANK	ROUNDED S RANK	G RANK	ROUNDED G RANK	STATE STATUS	FEDERAL STATUS
17206	S2S3	S2	G5T5	T5	W1

This information is derived from the 2018 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species.

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Schizachyrium littorale
COMMON NAME: Seaside Little Bluestem
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, GW, K, Va; = S. scoparium var. littorale (Nash) Gould - C, Pa, WH3, Z; = Andropogon scoparius Michaux var. littoralis (Nash) A.S. Hitchcock - F, G; = Andropogon littoralis Nash - HC, S; < Andropogon scoparius Michaux - RAB; < S. scoparium (Michaux) Nash ssp. littorale (Nash) Gandhi & Smeins - Y]
PHENOLOGY: Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Coastal dunes and maritime dry grasslands, often with Uniola paniculata, Panicum amarum, and other dune plants.
COMMENTS: E. MA south to NC (or SC?), and inland on the shores of the Great Lakes. Reported for FL for ne. FL (Duval County) and Panhandle FL (Franklin County).
RANGE MAP: Schizachyrium littorale.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Grass Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Schizachyrium Nees (Little bluestem)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 60 species, widespread in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions of the World.
REFERENCE: Wipff (1996a)=Z; Gandhi (1989)=Y; Wipff in FNA (2003a). Key based in part on Wipff in FNA (2003a).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Schizachyrium littorale in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Schizachyrium littorale in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Schizachyrium littorale in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Schizachyrium littorale in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Schizachyrium littorale in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Schizachyrium littorale

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 17137 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 17137 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 17138 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 0 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)