Wet-mesic Prairie Plant List

Graminoids

  • big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
  • fringed brome (Bromus ciliatus)
  • blue-joint (Calamagrostis canadensis)
  • sedges (Carex bebbii, C. buxbaumii, C. pellita, C. stricta, and others)
  • golden-seeded spike-rush (Eleocharis elliptica)
  • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
  • cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)

Forbs

  • purple false foxglove (Agalinis purpurea)
  • swamp agrimony (Agrimonia parviflora)
  • thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana)
  • white camas (Anticlea elegans)
  • hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium)
  • swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum)
  • rattlesnake-master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
  • grass-leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)
  • wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
  • northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)
  • bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)
  • fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)
  • marsh blazing-star (Liatris spicata)
  • Kalm’s lobelia (Lobelia kalmii)
  • wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
  • grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia glauca)
  • common mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
  • yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
  • black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum)
  • goldenrods (Solidago gigantea, S. ohioensis, S. riddellii, and others)
  • smooth aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
  • New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
  • purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)
  • Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
  • golden alexanders (Zizia aurea)

Fern Allies

  • common horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Shrubs

  • dogwoods (Cornus spp.)
  • shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
  • common juniper (Juniperus communis)
  • ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
  • willows (Salix spp.)

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: April 24, 2024).