Restoration Ecology Plants

White Pine

Elongated cone, soft needles, fascicles of 5, sandy soils and full sun

Red Pine

Reddish bark, clusters of 2 needles, sharper and thicker, spherical cone, sandy soils and full sun

Bracken fern

open woodlands, grow easily, aggressive

Sweet Woodruff

Invasive, whorled leaves, ground cover, open woodlands, grow easily

Red Maple

lots of extra teeth, red stem, rich soil and full sun

Chokecherry

No chordate leaf base, full sun and sandy soil

Quaking Aspen

Two-sided stem, early succession, only full sun, sand

Big Toothed Aspen

more and pointier teeth, mid-successional, only full sun, loam

Wild Black Cherry

Early successional, no chordate leaf base, longer leaves, fuzzy on underside of stem, sun and loam

American Beech

Marcescence, biscuit-shaped leaves, late succession, sun and partial shade, loam

Red Oak

marcescence, pointed lobes, sandy soil, mid-successional, only full sun, sandy soil

June Berry (Serviceberry)

Chordate leaf base, rounded oval leaves, teeth go all the way to base, full sun, loam

Low Sweet Blueberry

pointed leaves, ground cover, only full sun

American Fly Honeysuckle

red seeds, brown bark, bush-like, weirdish-shaped leaves, partial shade, most soils

White (Paper) Birch

butterfly host species, pickle fruits, uneven and random leaves, sharp teeth, full sun, loam

Sugar Maple

fewer teeth, no red stem, sun and loam

Common Milkweed

rhizomes, only full sun, poor soil

Sand Coreopsis

only full sun, poor soil

Partridgeberry

big fruit, ground cover, white stripe, only shade, loam

St. John’s Wart

Hypericum perforatum (holes in leaves), sun, poor soils

Sweet Fern

not a fern, fix N, open habitats, smells sweet, 2 lines on leaves, sun, loam

Gillman’s Goldenrod

small ray head, only full sun, sand

Black-eyed Susan

harsh stem, only full sun, adaptable soil

Wild Strawberry

veined and toothed leaves in 3 clumps, only full sun, rich soil

Bastard Toadflax

hemiparasitic, alternating leaves, ground cover, sun, most soil

White Man’s Footprint

non-native, super veined, disturbed earth, sun

Hairgrass

super pom-pom, native, full sun

Poverty Oat-Grass

OG succession, old leaves curl at bottom, head looks like loaf of bread? or single grain of rice? sun, open spaces, poor soil

Graceful Sedge

spikes lean over, 3-sided stem, moth host plant, M shape on broken stem, only shade, loam and clay soil

Hungarian Brome

allelopathic, invasive, weird wrinkle in middle of leaf, fertile loam, only full sun

Canada Bluegrass

non-native, not invasive, flat, and 2 sided stem, feather-like reddish grains, sun, poor clay soil

Quack Grass

rhizomes, invasive, looks like wings, sun, most soils without rock

Orchard Grass

rounded globs of flowers, round stem, spreads easily, invasive, fertile soil, shade,

Showy Tick Trefoil

legume (N fixer), sticky fruits, sun, sand, loam, clay

Big Bluestem (Turkeyfoot)

important for tall grass community, needs full sun, most soil

Cup Plant

Silphium, leaves act as cup, deep roots, sun, moist rich soil

Prairie Dock

Silphium, leaves track and move towards sun, sandpaper leaves, wide leaves, only full sun, most soil

Compass Plant

Silphium, leaves track and move towards sun, sandpaper leaves, yellow flower, only full sun, loam

Rosinweed

Silphium, sandpaper leaves, used for chewing gum, only full sun, loam, clay, sand

Wild Bergamot (Bee Balm)

square stem, aromatic leaves, full sun, most soil

Bladdernut

loves shade and water, important for leaf cutter bees, shade, loam

Early Goldenrod

more spread out, only full sun, most soil

Butterfly Weed

shorter, no rhizomes, only full sun, poor dry soil

Leadplant

woody, legume, only full sun, most soil

Spreading Dogbane

flowers for a long time, fruits look like green bean/milkweed pod, full sun, poor soil

Rattlesnake Master

antidote to namesake, only full sun, most poor soil

Purple Coneflower

related to black-eyed susan, full sun, most soil

Queen Anne’s Lace

non-native but doesn’t persist, only full sun, poor soil

Yellow Coneflower

pendant petals, taller, only full sun, most soil

Cardinal Flower

loved by hummingbirds, tubular, sun, wet soil

Reed Canary Grass

8ft, tall grass, grows in water, invasive

Giant Canary Grass

native but when mixed with European variety leads to invasiveness, 12ft, grows in water, largest North American grass, poor wet soil, full sun

Spotted Knapweed

invasive, allelopathic, early successional

Speckled Alder

Wrinkly beech leaf, alternating leaves, irregular teeth, cones, fixes N, early-successional

Canada Goldenrod

native, aggressive, loves bees, taller and blooms later, Early and Secondary Succession

Common Dandelion

seeds without pollination, early-successional (pioneer)

Purple Lovegrass

pretty, short grass, form tumbleweeds, big puffball, early-successional (pioneer)

Northern Dewberry

Edible fruit, looks like raspberry, pioneer

Sand Cherry

short to ground and ground cover, early successional

Bear Berry

found worldwide in north, related to blueberry, early-to-mid successional

Blazing Star

highest flower blooms first, alternate flowers, early to mid successional

Harebell

early to mid successional

Wintergreen

ground cover, tastes like mint gum, mid to late succession

Jack Pine

Cones opened by heat from fire, fire-dependent, have to be on mineral soil to grow, pioneer

Hawk Weed

looks like tiny dandelion on stem, pioneer

Prairie Brome

native, fuzzy top, early sucession