Hillside Prairie Plant List

Graminoids

  • big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
  • side-oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
  • Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)
  • poverty grass (Danthonia spicata)
  • porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea)
  • wood-rushes (Luzula acuminata and L. multiflora)
  • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Forbs

  • thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica)
  • wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
  • milkweeds (Asclepias amplexicaulis, A. verticillata, and others)
  • kitten-tails (Besseya bullii)
  • harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
  • spring-beauty (Claytonia virginica)
  • bastard-toadflax (Comandra umbellata)
  • common whitlow-grass (Draba reptans)
  • robin’s-plantain (Erigeron pulchellus)
  • flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
  • American columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)
  • northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)
  • pale avens (Geum virginianum)
  • round-leaved hepatica (Hepatica americana)
  • alum roots (Heuchera richardsonii and H. americana)
  • cylindrical blazing-star (Liatris cylindracea)
  • northern blazing-star (Liatris scariosa)
  • hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)
  • false spikenard (Maianthemum racemosum)
  • prairie ragwort (Packera paupercula)
  • hairy beard-tongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
  • Seneca snakeroot (Polygala senega)
  • early buttercup (Ranunculus fascicularis)
  • old-field goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
  • elm-leaved goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia)
  • asters (Symphyotrichum laeve, S. urophyllum, and S. sericeum)
  • yellow-pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima)
  • early meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioicum)
  • rue-anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)
  • birdfoot violet (Viola pedata)
  • prairie golden alexanders (Zizia aptera)

Woody Vines

  • summer grape (Vitis aestivalis)

Shrubs

  • New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus)
  • dogwoods (Cornus spp.)
  • American hazelnut (Corylus americana)
  • witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
  • winged sumac (Rhus copallina)
  • staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)

Trees

  • juneberry (Amelanchier arborea)
  • pignut hickory (Carya glabra)
  • flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
  • red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
  • ironwood (Ostrya virginiana)
  • white pine (Pinus strobus)
  • quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
  • white oak (Quercus alba)
  • black oak (Quercus velutina)
  • sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

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, M.E. Anderson, M.R. Parr, T.J. Bassett, and K.M. Korroch. 2025. Michigan Natural Community Classification [web application]. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University Extension, Lansing, MI. Available https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/classification. (Accessed: March 27, 2026).