Little Bluestem

Schizachyrium scoparium

Pollinator Value

🐛 Larval Host: Hesperia metea, Polites origenes, Atrytonopsis hianna, Hesperia sassacus, Hesperia leonardus
S13+S15 5 verified Eastern NA
❄️ Winter Food Source: Seeds consumed by Field Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Slate-Colored Junco, and other small songbirds during winter. LeConte's Sparrow diet includes 6.6% Schizachyrium scoparium by weight. Persistent upright culms hold seeds above snow cover.
S10 S57

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Apparently Secure in Ontario (S4), Not Ranked in Quebec (SNR). Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Globally secure (G5). Widespread across much of eastern and central North America. In the Ottawa area, restricted to 7 sites, several marked as adventive populations.
S22 S26 S62
Rarity Ranks: QC SNR – Not Ranked, ON S4 – Apparently Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Little bluestem occupies dry, open habitats including hill prairies, sand prairies, rocky shores, open woodlands edges, and savannas. In the Ottawa River valley it occurs on rocky limestone shores and calcareous alvars, associated with Sorghastrum nutans, Andropogon gerardii, and Juniperus virginiana. Locally found on rocky shores of the Gatineau River at Ironside and on calcareous dallage along the Ottawa River in Pontiac County.
S10 S48 S7 S62

Roles: Fire Retardant, Fortress/Barrier, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fire Retardant: S73 [MEDIUM]: S11 Fire Tolerance = Medium (not definitional)] | Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: prickl (supporting signal only)] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [HIGH]: S64 Xerces listed (source-classified)]
Notes: Classic prairie matrix grass paired with tallgrass species Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, and Switch Grass. In shortgrass situations pairs with Side-oats Grama. Excellent for dry meadow and prairie restoration plantings. Bunch growth habit provides structural diversity and nesting material for ground-nesting birds.
S46 S4 S64

Category: Venereal Aid
S28 Comanche Drug category
Notes: Comanche used stem ashes externally for syphilitic sores (Carlson & Jones 1940). Stems also used as switches in sweat lodge ceremonies. Lakota used the grass rubbed to softness as insulation in winter moccasins.
S28

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: Not edible to humans. USDA rates human palatability as none. Moerman records no food uses among Indigenous peoples. Highly palatable as forage for cattle and bison.
S11 S28