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bluestem

 - 4 dictionary results

blue⋅stem

[bloo-stem]
–noun
1. any of several prairie grasses of the genus Andropogon, having bluish leaf sheaths, now grown in the western U.S. for forage.
2. dwarf palmetto.

Origin:
1850–55, Americanism; blue + stem 1

dwarf palmetto

–noun
an apparently stemless palm, Sabal minor, of the southeastern U.S., having stiff, bluish-green leaves, the leafstalks arising from the ground.
Also called bluestem.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bluestem
blue·stem   (blōō'stěm')   
n.  Any of several chiefly North American grasses of the genera Andropogon, Bothriochloa, and Schizachyrium, some of which are important prairie grasses.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

bluestem

any of the approximately 200 species of perennial, sometimes tufted grasses in the genus Andropogon (family Poaceae), distributed throughout the temperate and tropical zones. The coarse plants have flat or folded leaf blades, solid or pithy stems, and flower spikelets clustered at the stem tips or in the leaf axils. The stems are often hairy, sometimes reddish or greenish in appearance. Several species have underground stems

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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