Mesic Prairie Plant List

Graminoids

  • big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
  • Bicknell’s sedge (Carex bicknellii)
  • Leiberg’s panic grass (Dichanthelium leibergii)
  • panic grass (Dichanthelium oligosanthes)
  • porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea)
  • switch grass (Panicum virgatum)
  • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
  • cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)
  • prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)

Forbs

  • thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica)
  • pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium)
  • butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
  • white false indigo (Baptisia lactea)
  • false boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides)
  • bastard-toadflax (Comandra umbellata)
  • prairie coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata)
  • tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris)
  • prairie tick-trefoil (Desmodium illinoense)
  • wild yam (Dioscorea villosa)
  • rattlesnake-master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
  • flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
  • American columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)
  • bedstraws (Galium boreale and G. pilosum)
  • wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
  • western sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis)
  • pale-leaved sunflower (Helianthus strumosus)
  • alum root (Heuchera americana)
  • tall lettuce (Lactuca canadensis)
  • round-headed bush-clover (Lespedeza capitata)
  • hairy bush-clover (Lespedeza hirta)
  • hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)
  • false spikenard (Maianthemum racemosum)
  • wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
  • prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa)
  • early buttercup (Ranunculus fascicularis)
  • yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
  • black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • rosin weed (Silphium integrifolium)
  • prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum)
  • stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
  • smooth aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
  • prairie heart-leaved aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense)
  • yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima)
  • purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)
  • common spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
  • Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
  • prairie violet (Viola pedatifida)
  • golden alexanders  (Zizia aurea )

Shrubs

  • leadplant (Amorpha canescens)
  • New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus)
  • American hazelnut (Corylus americana)
  • pasture rose (Rosa carolina)
  • prairie willow (Salix humilis)

Trees

  • bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

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: December 12, 2024).