Big Bluestem is a warm season, perennial bunchgrass with blue-green stems 4-8 ft. tall. The seedhead is usually branched into three parts and resembles a turkey’s foot. Fall color is maroonish-tan. Big Bluestem is the star component of the Big Four native grass species that characterize the tallgrass prairies of central North America (the other three are Indiangrass [Sorghastrum nutans], Switchgrass [Panicum virgatum], and Little Bluestem [Schizachyrium scoparium]).
Big Bluestem tends to be taller than the other species and was at one time very abundant. It can still get quite aggressive when its established in a favorable, undisturbed location.