Open Dunes Plant List

Graminoids

  • marram grass (Ammophila breviligulata)
  • sand reed grass (Calamovilfa longifolia)
  • rough sand sedge (Cyperus schweinitzii)
  • wheat grasses (Elymus lanceolatus and E. trachycaulus)
  • Rocky Mountain fescue (Festuca saximontana)
  • June grass (Koeleria macrantha)
  • switch grass (Panicum virgatum)
  • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

Forbs

  • red anemone (Anemone multifida)
  • sand cress (Arabidopsis lyrata)
  • wormwood (Artemisia campestris)
  • common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
  • sea rocket (Cakile edentula)
  • harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
  • Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri )
  • sand coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
  • bugseeds (Corispermum americanum and C. pallasii)
  • flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
  • seaside spurge (Euphorbia polygonifolia)
  • beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus)
  • plains puccoon (Lithospermum caroliniense)
  • starry false Solomon-seal (Maianthemum stellatum)
  • horse mint (Monarda punctata)
  • jointweed (Polygonella articulata)
  • silverweed (Potentilla anserina)
  • Gillman’s goldenrod (Solidago simplex)
  • Lake Huron tansy (Tanacetum bipinnatum)

Woody Vines

  • American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
  • poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
  • riverbank grape (Vitis riparia)

Shrubs

  • bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
  • bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
  • round-leaved dogwood (Cornus rugosa)
  • red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea)
  • shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
  • beach heath (Hudsonia tomentosa)
  • common juniper (Juniperus communis)
  • creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis)
  • sand cherry (Prunus pumila)
  • hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata)
  • wild roses (Rosa acicularis and R. blanda)
  • pasture rose (Rosa carolina)
  • willows (Salix cordata, S. exigua, and S. myricoides)
  • poison-ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii)
  • blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium and V. myrtilloides)

Trees

  • balsam fir (Abies balsamea)
  • paper birch (Betula papyrifera)
  • white ash (Fraxinus americana)
  • white spruce (Picea glauca)
  • pines (Pinus banksiana, P. resinosa, and P. strobus)
  • balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera)
  • cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
  • big-toothed aspen (Populus grandidentata)
  • quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
  • red oak (Quercus rubra)
  • black oak (Quercus velutina)
  • sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
  • northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
  • basswood (Tilia 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: April 24, 2024).