Plant Identification

Weeks 1 - 2

Asclepias tuberosum - Butterfly Weed

Forb - Clumped Orange Flowers, simple alternate leaves, long narrow leaves, milky sap.

Tradescantia ohiensis - Ohio Spiderwort,

Forb - Simple alternate leaves, long narrow grasslike, blue/purple 3 pelated flowers,

Chasmanthium latifolium - Wood Oats

Grass - Broad and flat leaves, drooping oat like seeds.

Panicum virgatum - Switchgrass

Grass - Narrow flat leaves, tall upright clump, large open airy seed heads. Liguels, tiny hairs.

Schizachyrium scoparium - Little Bluestem

Grass - Delicate leaves, spread out, fruits, dense upright clumps, fluffy seed heads, reddish stems.

Sorghastrum nutans - Indiangrass

Grass - Tall grass, golden yellow seed head, blue-green leaves.

Sporobolus heterolepis - Prairie Dropseed

Grass - Very fine and narrow leaves, dense fountain clumps, airy seed heads, smells bad.

Aronia melanocarpa - Black Chokeberry

Shurb - Simple alternate leaves, oval and serrated margins, black berries,

Rhus aromatica - Fragrant sumac (skunkbush)

Shrub - compound 3 leaflets, low, spreading, red spikey berries.

Acer platanoides - Norway Maple

Tree - simple opposite leaves, 5 lobes, milky sap

Gymnocladus dioicus - Kentucky Coffee Tree

Tree - Large, bipinnately compound, only double-compound tree here, dark, rough bark, large seed pods, large tree with large course branches.

Ulmus rubra - slippery elm

Tree - simple alternate leaves, rough texture, asymetrical leaf base, double serrated margins,

Ageratina altissima - white snakeroot

Forb - Simple opposite leaves, triangular/oval, white clusters of flowers.

Persicaria maculosa - Redshank/ Lady’s thumb

Forb - Simple alternate leaves, lance/oval shape, dark spot center of some leaves, pink flower spikes,

Solidago flexicaulis - Zigzag goldenrod

Forb - Simple alternate leaves, serrated, zig zag stem, golden yellow flowers.

Berberis thunbergii - Japanese Barberry

Shrub - Small simple leaves, leaves in clusters, sharp single spines, red berries.

Rhamnus cathartica - Buckthorn

Shrub - Simple alternate leaves, oval leaves and fine teeth, dark berries, no obvious thorns

Zanthoxylum americanum - Prickly Ash

Shrub - Compound leaves, serrated leaflets, thorns,

Acer negundo - Box Elder

Tree - Opposite compound leaves, 3-5 leaflets, looks like maple.

Carya ovata - Shagbark Hickory

Tree - Shaggy bark, compound usually 5 leaflets, large nuts.

Juglans nigra - Black Walnut

Tree - Pinatelly compound, many leaflets and large leaves, dark and furrowed bark, round green nuts.

Morus alba - White mulberry

Tree - Simple alternate leaves, can be lobed or unlobed, serrated and often asymmetrical, white or red or black berries.

Populus grandidentata - Bigtooth Aspen

Tree - Simple alternate leaves, nearly round/triangular, large teeth and flattended leaf stalk, big teeth in margin.

Tilia americana - American Basswood

Tree - Simple alternate leaves, heart-shaped and strong serrations, long pointed top with assymetrical bases, Downward dark and light leaves.

Pinus resinosa - Red Pine

Tree - Needles in bundles of two, long and stiff, reddish/orange bark.

Pinus resinosa - Eastern White Pine

Tree - Needles in bundles of 5, long soft and flexible, ticklish, blue-green.

Quercus rubra - Northern Red Oak

Tree - Simple alternate leaves, deeply lobed, lobes have bristle tips, acorns.

Celastrus orbiculatus - Oriental Bittersweet

Vine - Woody vine, simple alternate leaves, round oval leaves, twines around plants, yellow/orange/red fruit.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia - Virginia Creeper

Vine - Woody vine, five leaflets compound, palmately compound, serrated leaflets, tendrills with adhesive discs.

Plantago major - Common/Greater Plantain

Forb, oval round leaves, smooth, wavy margins, parallel curving viens, upright flower stalks,

Celtis occidentalis - Hackberry

Tree - Decidious, simple and alternate, oval shaped with pointed tip, unsymetrical leaf base, bark is grey and corky, small orange fruits that turn purple.

Elymus hystrix - Bottlebrush grass

Grass - Long seed heads with sideways pointed stiff brushes, leaves are flat and narrow,

Artemisia ludoviciana - Silver Wormwood

Forb - Narrow, lance-like leaves, silver-grey leaves with smooth edges, tiny flower heads, fuzzy aromatic leaves,

Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed

Forb - Upright, large and opposite leaves, oval leaves, prominent pale mid vein, pinkish purple bunches of flowers, thick seed pods that split open with silky white hair seeds. Milky sap.

Asclepias verticillata - Whorled Milkweed

Forb - Slender, narrow leaves in whorls. Clusters of white/green flowers. Upright pods and milky sap.

Chamaecrista fasiculata - Patridge Pea

Forb - Legume, pinnately compound with many small leaflets, bright yellow five petaled flowers, Flat long brown seed pods that split up, leaves may fold on touch.

Lespedeza capitata - Round headed bush clover

Forb - upright legume, usually 3 oval leaflets, smooth edges, dense round clusters of small cream white flowers near stem tips, small flat seed pods. Cream edges of leaves, mini bushes for flowers.

Silphium latiniatum - Compass plant

Forb - Tall plant, deeply divided lobed like leaves, irregular lobes, lower leaves can be very long and almost verticle, often oriented north/south, yellow sunflower like flowers.

Solidago rigida - Stiff-Leaved goldenrod

Forb - Upright stiff stems, thick and broad oval leaves, smooth or slightly toothed edges, alternate leaves along stem, Flat topped yellow flowers on top.

Symphyotrichum ericoides - Heat aster

Forb - Branching, small daisy white flowers with yellow centers, bushy like cause of branching, alternate leaves, narrow and mostly smooth edged leaves.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliea - New Englad Aster

Forb - Bush-like, with branching, large purple/violet flowers with yellow/orange centers. Alternate lance leaves, stem leaves often hairy. Leaves clasp at stem.

Symphyotrichum sericeum - Silky aster

Forb - Low, prairie plant, narrow leaves with silky hairs, purple flowers with yellow center, silvery, fuzzy foliage. Silver leaves in light. Lighter purple.

Andropogan gerardii - Big bluestem

Grass - Tall prairie grass, blueish green stem base, seed heads branch into 3 spikes, leaves long and narrow, seed heads resemble turkeys foot.

Rosa Arkansana - Prairie Rose

Shrub - low spreading, pinatley compound leaves, 5-9 toothed leaflets, pink 5 petaled flowers with yellow center. Red rounded rose hips. Stems have prickles. Heavy serration on leaves.

Vitis riparian - Wild grape

Vine/climber - Woody climbing vine, pinnately compound leaves, simple leaves with palmate veins, coarsly toothed margins, forked tendrills opposite of leaves, small green leaves and dark purple grapes.

Cornus racemosa - Gray Dogwood

Shrub - Multi-stemmed, opposite simple leaves, smootbed curved edges, arching veins to the tip, white flowers in flat topped clusters, white fruits on reddish stalks, possiblt grey stalks.

Cornus sericea - Red-oiser dogwood

Shrub - opposite oval leaves, smooth margins and distinctive curved veins, small white flowers flattopped clusters, white berries and bright red twigs, especially in fall/winter.

Fraxinus pennselvanyianica - Green ash

Tree - Opposite pinatly compound, 7-9 leaflets with small teeth, terminal leaflet, fruits are single winged samara like narrow paddles that hang in big clusters.

Taxicotendron radicans - Poison Ivy

Vine - Woody vine or low shrub, alternate leaves with 3 leaflets, middle leaflet with longer stalk, leaf edges can be smooth serrated or lobed, often climbs trees, white greyish berries.