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Pictured: Andropogon virginicus — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Poaceae family

Broomsedge Bluestem (var. decipiens) Andropogon virginicus var. decipiens variety

Native

Broomsedge Bluestem (var. decipiens) is a perennial grass native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Andropogon virginicus is a species of grass known by several common names, including broomsedge bluestem, yellowsedge bluestem and (in Australia, because it was introduced to that country after being used as packaging for bottles of American whiskey) whiskey grass. It is native to the southeastern United States and as far north as the Great Lakes. It is known as an introduced species in California and Hawaii, where it is weedy. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~11 caterpillar species

Andropogon supports ~11 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Andropogon in North America, including:

Atrytone arogos · Arogos Skipper Atrytone logan · skipper butterfly Atrytonopsis hianna · Dusted Skipper Cercyonis pegala · Common Wood Nymph Draudtia revellata · owlet moth Faronta albilinea · owlet moth
+ 8 more species →
Faronta diffusa · owlet moth Hemileuca oliviae · giant silk moth Hesperia metea · Cobweb Skipper Hesperia ottoe · Ottoe Skipper Lacinipolia meditata · The Thinker Moth Problema byssus · Byssus Skipper Spodoptera frugiperda · Fall Armyworm Moth Stereomita andropogonis · twirler moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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