Tall Grass Prairie Flower Pics

[scruggs]

The butterflies just love them!

 

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[ToddsPoint]

#22. This one is called Maryland senna. It is a member of the bean family.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#23. This is a compass plant. It’s called that because the giant leaves line up north and south. The stems with the flowers are 7-8’ tall. It is part of the aster family.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#24. This one is rosin weed. The leaf surfaces feel like 150 grit sandpaper. I got the seeds 3 mi from my house along RR tracks. They are exactly adapted to this area and have really done well in my patch. Rosin weed is part of the aster family.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#25. This is Virginia mint. A member of the mint family. If you crush a leaf there is little doubt that it is a mint. No showy flowers on this one.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#26. Another from the mint family. This is hairy mountain mint.

 

[newnan man]

I Remember as a kid picking Wintergreen leaves for tea.

 

[ToddsPoint]

A lot of these prairie plants were used for food and medicine by Indians and pioneers. I have yet to experiment with any of it!

 

[ToddsPoint]

#27. This is rattlesnake master. The leaves look similar to yucca. It is member of the parsley family.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#28. This small plant is called Carolina horse nettle. It’s a member of the nightshade family.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#29. Most all of my plants are fairly common. I have only one I would consider rare. This is Culver’s root. The flowers are white or a bit off white normally. Rarely they have pink flowers. I obtained my seeds from a relict prairie south of Effingham IL and by chance picked some seeds from a pink plant. First and second pics are of white flowers. The rest are the rare pink flowers. This plant is a member of the snapdragon family. Of all the native prairie plants, the roots of this one has the most potent chemicals. I harvested the seeds for this one and planted them immediately. It took 15 yrs before conditions were right and they finally germinated.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#30. This is round headed bush clover. The roots of this plant go half way to China and it is an important plant for prairie restoration. It brings up important minerals from down deep and helps to restore worn out soil. It is a member of the bean family.

 

[Gene Mean]

That is great that you have the space and time to grow all of those prairie flowers. The county and state parks are the only place we see that here. The county parks used to have all grass fields that required maintenance but now they let them go natural and turn to meadow. They mow curvy paths through them for public use. Much nicer than an open grass field. Do you mow it down once or twice a year?

 

[ToddsPoint]

That is great that you have the space and time to grow all of those prairie flowers. The county and state parks are the only place we see that here. The county parks used to have all grass fields that required maintenance but now they let them go natural and turn to meadow. They mow curvy paths through them for public use. Much nicer than an open grass field. Do you mow it down once or twice a year?

I mow it early in the spring before the wildflowers start growing. Burning in early spring is way better than mowing but requires a lot of help. I haven’t burned for 5-6 yrs but I will definitely burn next spring. A fast burning hot fire with a breeze going will help to germinate seeds that would otherwise be dormant.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#31. This is smooth sumac. There is also a stag horn sumac that is similar. They are easy to confuse. This is a member of the cashew family. It will try and take over a prairie patch but is not resistant to fire. When a prairie is burned off it will retard the sumac considerably.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#32. This is Prairie Blazing Star. It is another member of the aster family. It likes to grow in wet spots but the last two yrs have been drought so they have remained pretty much dormant. When we get back to a wet yr they should return. The seeds are laying there waiting. The last 2 pics are what my patch looked like in a wet yr. This yr only 3 plants came up!

 

[ToddsPoint]

#33. Grasses are what make up most of the prairie. Most familiar grasses bloom in the spring, like KY Bluegrass and fescue. Almost all prairie grasses are late season bloomers. Unlike the the grass in your yard, prairie grass does not form sod. Instead it grows in independent clumps. This allows spaces between clumps that are more or less bare dirt, ideal cover for small animals and birds. The seeds that fall from the grass and other plants accumulate in these spaces. When it snows heavily, the clumps bend over providing excellent cover with a ready food supply.
This is switch grass. One of the 4 or 5 main prairie grasses. It is a member of the grass family.

 

[ToddsPoint]

#34. This is IL Bundle Flower. It’s a member of the bean family. When it goes to seed it forms a bundle of small pods, like mini locust pods with several seeds in each one. It is a food plant, both the greens and the seeds.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Great job! We helped our county DNR folks gather prairie seed last fall. Various tall grasses and milkweed. The seed went to other counties and anyone helping could keep seed. We sowed quite a bit. Only the milkweed came up.

Milkweed is the Monarch butterflies host plant. I have several stalks scattered through my flower beds and enjoy seeing the monarch caterpillars munch on them in late summer. Then I search for the cocoons and impatiently wait for them to hatch, which they generally do the one hour I don't watch them!

 

[fyrffytr1]

#9 This one has several names. Wild Bergamot, monarda, or what we call it aound here, bee balm. It is a member of the mint family.View attachment 2089889View attachment 2089890

Another great plant for pollinators.