little bluestem

noun

: a forage grass (Schizachyrium scoparium synonym Andropogon scoparius) of eastern and central North America

Examples of little bluestem in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Staff also collected seeds from lupine and from little bluestem grass in the area and worked to expand existing patches of the native plants, officials said. Travis Andersen, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2023 Where sight lines are not an issue, little bluestem, shrubby Saint John’s wort (Hypericum prolificum), beach plum (Prunus maritima), and bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) are workhorses. Tovah Martin, Washington Post, 12 July 2023 The original quarter-acre remnant of little bluestem has since ballooned to nearly 20 acres. Travis Andersen, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2023 Zones 5-9. ‘Standing Ovation’ Little Bluestem This little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) wins its place in the Test Garden for its smoky blue foliage with hints of green and pink all summer long. Marty Ross, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Mar. 2023 Carbon naturally cycles through Earth's ecosystems, floating in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide before being snatched up by little bluestem grasses, ingested by grazing bison on the prairie, and when the animal keels over and begins decomposing, returning to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Jesse Bedayn, ajc, 17 Feb. 2023 One of his favorite sections contains sweeps of the grass little bluestem and the perennial sweet everlasting amid scattered plantings of pitch pines. Washington Post, 7 July 2021 Citizens for Conservation plans to plant more than 350 native species including oak and hickory trees, grasses, prairie dropseed, purple prairie clover, little bluestem, and many varieties of milkweeds. Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2022 Other prairie grasses that work well in gardens are little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis). Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'little bluestem.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of little bluestem was in 1889

Dictionary Entries Near little bluestem

Cite this Entry

“Little bluestem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/little%20bluestem. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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