Plants

Checklist of Native Plants on the Fertig Prairie

Asclepiadaceae
Asclepias incarnata Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca Common Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Milkweed
Asteraceae
Achillea millefolium Yarrow
Cirsium altissimum Tall Thistle
Echinacea angustifolia Purple Coneflower
Grindelia squarrosa Curly-top Gumweed
Helenium autumnale Sneezeweed
Helianthus annuus Common Sunflower
Helianthus grosseserratus Sawtooth Sunflower
Helianthus maximilianii Maximilian Sunflower
Helianthus petiolaris Plains Sunflower
Helianthus tuberosus Jerusalem Artichoke
Heliopsis helianthoides False Sunflower, Oxeye
Liatris pycnostachya Thick-spike Gayfeather
Liatris squarrosa Scaly Blazing Star
Rudbeckia hirta Black-eyed Susan
Silphium integrifolium Rosinweed
Solidago gigantea Late Goldenrod
Solidago rigida Rigid Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa Showy-wand Goldenrod
Vernonia baldwinii Baldwin's Ironweed
Vernonia fasciculata Western Ironweed
Cactaceae
Opuntia macrorhiza Bigroot Prickly Pear
Caesalpiniaceae
Cassia chamaecrista Showy Partridge Pea
Commelinaceae
Tradescantia occidentalis Prairie Spiderwort
Fabaceae
Astragalus crassicarpus Ground-plum, Prairie Apple
Dalea candida White Prairie-clover
Dalea purpurea Purple Prairie Clover
Gentianaceae
Gentiana puberulenta Downy Gentian
Iridaceae
Sisyrinchium campestre Blue-eyed Grass
Liliaceae
Allium canadense Wild Onion
Smilacina stellata False Solomon's Seal
Malvaceae
Callirhoe involucrata Purple Poppy Mallow
Mimosaceae
Desmanthus illinoensis Illinois Bundleflower
Schrankia nuttallii Sensitive Brier, Cat-claw Brier
Onagraceae
Oenothera rhombipetala Four-point Primrose
Orchidaceae
Spiranthes cernua Nodding Lady's-tresses
Polygonaceae
Polygonum bicorne Pink Smartweed
Ranunculaceae
Anemone canadensis Meadow Anemone
Rosaceae
Rosa  arkansana Prairie Wild Rose
Scrophulariaceae
Penstemon grandiflorus Shell-leaf Penstemon
Solanaceae
Solanum rostratum Buffalo Bur
Verbenaceae
Verbena hastata Blue Vervain
Verbena stricta Hoary or Wooly Verbena
Violaceae
Viola pratincola Blue Prairie Violet

Photo Collection of Prairie Plants

 

Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa

An extremely hardy, long-lived perennial native to North America. The magnificent bright red-orange flowers are concentrated in compact clusters at the top of branching stems. The flowers produce a large quantity of nectar which attracts butterflies throughout the growing season. The plant grows to two feet tall, flowers in June into July and produces a very deep taproot making transplanting difficult. The stem, when broken, does not produce the milky white sap characteristic of this plant family.

Tall Thistle
Cirsium altissimum

 Native biennial growing from a fleshy taproot, flowering July through September. Tall thistle is an important butterfly plant, and its seeds are eaten by songbirds. It is not considered a noxious weed

Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale

Native perennial growing from a crown of fibrous roots, blooming August through September. Sneezeweed  can be poisonous if consumed in quantity by livestock but is generally avoided in pastures because of its bitter taste. The toxic substances are more concentrated in the flower than in the stems and dried leaves. The dried and powdered flower heads were used as a snuff during pioneer days to induce sneezing which was believed to clear the head of congestion.

Plains Sunflower
Helianthus petiolaris

 Native annual growing from a taproot, blooming early July into September. Plains Sunflower usually grows less than 3 feet tall.

Heliopsis helianthoides

False Sunflower, Oxeye
Heliopsis helianthoides

 Native perennial growing from a caudex, fibrous roots and short rhizomes, blooming in July and August. Both disk florets and petal-like ray florets produce seeds, unlike true sunflowers (Helianthus) which only produce seeds in the disk florets. All leaves opposite on stems.

Liatris squarrosa

Scaly Blazing Star
Liatris squarrosa

 Native perennial growing from a corm with fibrous roots, blooming in June and July. Blazing stars are somewhat drought resistant but may disappear during prolonged drought conditions.

Rudbeckia hirta

Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta

A native biennial or short-lived perennial that blooms primarily in June and July but sometimes through the summer.   The plant grows from a taproot or clustered fibrous roots reaching 1-2 feet in height.

Rosinweed
Silphium integrifolium

 Native  perennial growing from a caudex with fibrous roots, forming clumps or open colonies from short rhizomes and blooming in July and August. Rosinweed has ray florets rather than disk florets that are fertile and produce seeds.

Baldwin's Ironweed
Vernonia baldwinii

 Native perennial growing from rhizomes with thickened and fibrous roots, blooming in July and August. Ironweeds are resistant to drought and can become abundant on overgrazed pastures as cattle avoid them due to their bitter taste.

Showy Partridge Pea
Cassia chamaecrista

 Native annual blooming in July and August. The leaves will fold if touched. Partridge Peas produce abundant seeds that are readily consumed by quail and many species of seed-eating birds.

Ground-plum
Astragalus crassicarpus

 A native perennial growing from a branched caudex and woody taproot, blooming in April and May. The fruits are plump pods resembling plums and are edible and were eaten by American Indians and early settlers raw, cooked or pickled.

Four-point Primrose
Oenothera rhombipetala

Native biennial or winter annual growing from a taproot and blooming in June and July. This is one of the first plants to reclaim sandy soils.

Nodding Ladies-tresses
(Spiranthes cernua)

Nodding ladies-tresses is a perennial that, in our area, usually grows about 8-10 inches tall. Roots are fleshy and tuberous. Long narrow leaves arise mostly from the base of the stem but do not overtop the flowers. The 3-inch long flowering spikes are very striking because 3 rows of drooping white flowers are twisted around a central axis.  Nodding ladies-tresses belongs to the cosmopolitan orchid family (Orchidaceae), which is the largest in the world with 500 genera and about 20,000 species. Orchids depend on soil fungi for part of their food.

Buffalo Bur
Solanum rostratum

Native annual growing from a taproot and blooming from June into September.

Hoary or Wooly Verbena
Verbena stricta

Native perennial growing from extensive, branching, fibrous roots and blooming from June into September.Hoary Verbena is avoided by cattle because of its bitter taste and can become abundant on over-grazed pastures.

Bibliography

Nebraska Range and Pasture Forbs and Shrubs; James Stubbendieck, James T. Nichols, Charles H. Butterfield. University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, 1989

The Thistles of Nebraska; Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Nebraska Range and Pasture Grasses; J. Stubbendieck, James T. Nichols, Kelly K. Roberts. Nebraska Cooperative Extension

A Field Guide to Wildflowers:  Northeastern and Northcentral North America.  Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York. 1968

Wildflowers of the Western Plains. Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas. 1992

Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains. Jon Farrar. NEBRASKAland Magazine, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1990

 

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