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Big Bluestem

Andropogon gerardi

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in sandhills; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; forests and woodlands; prairies and grasslands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status unresolved in Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Height
4–8 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to November

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 32 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 86 animals.

All wildlife of Louisiana

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Andropogon

  • Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
  • Amblyscirtes alternataDusky Roadside-Skipper, Least Florida Skipper, Dusky Little Skipper;
  • Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
  • Atrytone byssusByssus Skipper, Golden Skipper
  • Atrytonopsis hiannaDusted Skipper
  • Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
  • Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
  • Hesperia meteaCobweb Skipper
  • Lacinipolia meditataThe Thinker
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
Show all 16
  • Limochores origenesCrossline Skipper
  • Meropleon ambifuscaNewman's Borer, Newman's Brocade
  • Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
  • Nastra lherminierSwarthy Skipper
  • Oligoria maculataTwin-Spot Skipper
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Andropogon

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Flower color
Blue, brown/copper or red

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Andropogon gerardii

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources