Dry-mesic Prairie Plant List

Graminoids

  • big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
  • Bicknell’s sedge (Carex bicknellii)
  • Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)
  • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Forbs

  • thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica)
  • smooth pussytoes (Antennaria parlinii)
  • pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium)
  • milkweeds (Asclepias purpurascens, A. syriaca, A. tuberosa, A. verticillata, A. viridiflora, and others)
  • white false indigo (Baptisia lactea)
  • false boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides)
  • bastard-toadflax (Comandra umbellata)
  • prairie coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata)
  • tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris)
  • tick-trefoils (Desmodium canadense, D. illinoense, and D. marilandicum)
  • daisy fleabanes (Erigeron annuus and E. strigosus)
  • flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
  • wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
  • American columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)
  • western sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis)
  • 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)
  • Solomon-seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
  • old-field cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex)
  • yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
  • black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • goldenrods (Solidago juncea, S. nemoralis, S. rigida, and S. speciosa)
  • asters (Symphyotrichum laeve, S. oolentangiense, and S. pilosum)
  • yellow-pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima)
  • spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
  • Culver’s-root (Veronicastrum virginicum)

Shrubs

  • leadplant (Amorpha canescens)
  • New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus)
  • American hazelnut (Corylus americana)
  • winged sumac (Rhus copallina)
  • smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)
  • pasture rose (Rosa carolina)
  • northern dewberry (Rubus flagellaris)
  • prairie willow (Salix humilis)

Trees

  • white oak (Quercus alba)
  • bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
  • dwarf chinquapin oak (Quercus prinoides)
  • black oak (Quercus velutina)

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 20, 2024).