VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Andropogon ternarius | Paintbrush Bluestem 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Paintbrush bluestem is grazed readily by cattle in the spring shortly
after growth starts.  If paintbrush bluestem is used as the principal
winter forage, cattle should be fed a protein supplement [24].

Paintbrush bluestem on open grassland in central Louisiana contributed
large quantities of forage for cattle [7].

Northern bobwhite nesting sites in cultivated field borders and old
fields on the upper Coastal Plain of southern Georgia were inventoried
in August 1967.  Nineteen percent of the nests had been built in
paintbrush bluestem bunches [18].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Paintbrush bluestem was collected on north-central Texas ranges.
Analysis of young growth showed it to have fair protein content,
deficient phosphoric acid content, and good lime content when compared
to other range grasses in the area.  At maturity it was deficient in
protein, very deficient in phosphoric acid, and high in lime content [10].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Paintbrush bluestem on naturally revegetated abandoned cropland and on
depleted ranges in central Oklahoma was reduced in abundance following
nitrate and phosphate fertilization, which was applied the first week of
April or May 1973.  Abundance was measured in December, 1973 [28].

In the Palustris Experimental Forest in central Louisiana, excessive
grazing by cattle converted a principally bluestem range (including
paintbrush bluestem) under a longleaf pine canopy to forbs; in patch
cuts excessive grazing converted the bluestem range to carpetgrass
(Axonopus affinis) [33].  In the same forest paintbrush bluestem had a
20-fold increase from 1959 to 1963 under moderate grazing [8].

Related categories for Species: Andropogon ternarius | Paintbrush Bluestem