Prairie beardgrass, known also as broom beardgrass, broomsedge, 

 little bluestem, and small feathergrass, is a perennial bunchgrass, 

 with hairy flower heads. The specific name, scoparius, from scopa. 

 a broom, means a sweeper, and alludes to the resemblance of the 

 bunches or tufts of stiff stems to a crude broom, although there 

 appears to be no record of the plants being used in the construction 

 of brooms. This species probably occurs in every State except 

 Washington, Oregon, and California. In the Bad Lands and the 

 Black Hills of South Dakota it is one of the most common grasses. 

 It is a relatively low- altitude grass, seldom extending above the 

 ponderosa-pine belt and is commonly found on dry, sandy, or 

 gravelly soils. 



Prairie beardgrass is chiefly grazed while young and tender. This 

 is particularly true in the Southwest where the species is scattered 

 over much of the woodland and ponderosa-pine types, supplying a 

 large amount of forage. During the summer, after the plant is 

 "in the boot", and before the seeds mature and the heads break up, 

 prairie beardgrass is not grazed, probably because the bearded, hairy 

 heads are unpalatable. After the tops fall, however, this bunch- 

 grass makes fair forage for cattle and horses, but is somewhat too 

 coarse and tough for sheep. Prairie beardgrass does not withstand 

 grazing especially well and often is supplanted by the gramas or 

 other species of the "short-grass" type on areas which are subject 

 to heavy spring grazing. This species is often a satisfactory con- 

 stituent of prairie hay if cut early. Prairie beardgrass was widely 

 used for hay in early days, especially in the Southwest where it 

 formerly was much more plentiful than at present. In some local- 

 ities, notably in the sand-hill regions of Kansas and Nebraska, 

 prairie beardgrass is often regarded as a pest species, worthless as 

 forage for livestock. 



