Prairie Fen Plant List

Graminoids

  • big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
  • fringed brome (Bromus ciliatus)
  • blue-joint (Calamagrostis canadensis)
  • sedges (Carex aquatilis, C. buxbaumii, C. cryptolepis, C. diandra, C. flava, C. interior, C. lasiocarpa, C. leptalea, C. meadii, C. prairea, C. sterilis, C. stricta, C. tetanica, C. viridistellata, and others)
  • twig-rush (Cladium mariscoides)
  • spike-rushes (Eleocharis elliptica, E. rostellata, and others)
  • slender wheat grass (Elymus trachycaulus)
  • sweet grass (Hierochloe hirta)
  • rush (Juncus brachycephalus)
  • marsh wild-timothy (Muhlenbergia glomerata)
  • beak-rushes (Rhynchospora alba and R. capillacea)
  • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus)
  • threesquare (Schoenoplectus pungens)
  • nut-rush (Scleria verticillata)
  • Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Forbs

  • swamp agrimony (Agrimonia parviflora)
  • white camas (Anticlea elegans)
  • tuberous Indian plantain (Arnoglossum plantagineum)
  • swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum)
  • white lady-slipper (Cypripedium candidum)
  • showy lady-slipper (Cypripedium reginae)
  • flat-topped white aster (Doellingeria umbellata)
  • round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)
  • common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
  • joe-pye-weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
  • small fringed gentian (Gentianopsis virgata)
  • marsh blazing-star (Liatris spicata)
  • Kalm’s lobelia (Lobelia kalmii)
  • whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora)
  • grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia glauca)
  • swamp-betony (Pedicularis lanceolata)
  • glaucous white lettuce (Prenanthes racemosa)
  • common mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
  • black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
  • rosin weed (Silphium integrifolium)
  • goldenrods (Solidago ohioensis, S. riddellii, S. uliginosa, and others)
  • nodding ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes cernua)
  • asters (Symphyotrichum boreale, S. firmum, S. lateriflorum, and others)
  • false asphodel (Triantha glutinosa)
  • common bog arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima)
  • bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta and U. intermedia)
  • bog valerian (Valeriana uliginosa)
  • golden alexanders (Zizia aurea)

Ferns

  • sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
  • marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris)

Fern Allies

  • selaginella (Selaginella eclipes)

Mosses

  • brown mosses (Family Amblystegiaceae)
  • star campylium moss (Campylium stellatum)
  • scorpidium moss (Scorpidium scorpioides)
  • sphagnum mosses (Sphagnum spp.)

Shrubs

  • bog birch (Betula pumila)
  • dogwoods (Cornus spp.)
  • shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
  • ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
  • alder-leaved buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia)
  • willows (Salix bebbiana, S. candida, S. discolor, S. lucida, S. petiolaris, and others)
  • meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
  • poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix)

Trees

  • red maple (Acer rubrum)
  • red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
  • tamarack (Larix laricina)
  • American elm (Ulmus americana)

Citation

Cohen, J.G., M.A. Kost, B.S. Slaughter, D.A. Albert, J.M. Lincoln, A.P. Kortenhoven, C.M. Wilton, H.D. Enander, and K.M. Korroch. 2020. Michigan Natural Community Classification [web application]. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University Extension, Lansing, Michigan. Available https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/classification. (Accessed: October 8, 2024).