Common Name: big bluestem, turkeyfoot, turkeyclaw, bluejointScientific Name: Andropogon gerardii VitmanFamily Name: Poaceae (Graminae) - Grass FamilyIdentification NotesLife Cyclenative perennial, reproducing by seed and short, scaly rhizomes that slowly expand to form large clumps Culmsupright, stout, solid, glabrous branching above, grooved on one side, nodes often bluish in color Leavesblades flat to rolled inward toward top, margins very rough, long hairs near the base, tapering to sharp pointed tip, prominent midvein; rolled in bud; auricles absent; ligule membranous, short; margins fringed with hair; sheaths open, slightly keeled, s Seedheadspanicle of 2-6 racemes, racemes usually consisting of 3 digitate racemes, resemble a “turkey’s foot”, terminal