Grasslands System ID list

Little blue stem

Grows in clumps to protect from fire damage, warm season, short blue/ purple colored stems, flat leaf blades, spicate racemes

Sideoats grama

Warm season, inflorescences one side of the stem, flat leaf blades

Indiangrass

Warm season, tall grass with large inflorescences, large panicles with rebranched rames

Big Bluestem

Large warm-season grass, blue/purple stem and flower color, flat or rolled leaf blade, panicles of two to seven (most common three)

Prairie Dropseed

tall warm-season grass, bunch grass, panicles are loosely contracted, somewhat pyramid shaped

Switchgrass

In the warm season, panicles are open and ovate to pyramidal in shape, spikelets 2-flowered, and glumes are sharply pointed

Scribner panicum

Cool-season bunch grass, short, flat wide blades, panicles are open and ovate

Kentucky Bluegrass

Cool-season, sod-forming, panicle, pyramidal and open, branches at base in a whorl,

Smooth Bromegrass

Cool-season sod forming grass, blades are flat with "M" shape constriction on the upper portion, panicles are narrow to somewhat open, lower branches are whorled

Carex

sedges, triangle stems, no nodes,

Wild rose

Perennial woody shrub, alternating leaves, flowers have five pink petals surrounding a yellow center, rosehips are a vital food source from prairie animals

Leadplant

Perennial shrub with a woody stem, alternating leaflets, and a stalk of red-purple flowers.

Smooth sumac

deciduous shrub or small tree with compound leaves with 11-31 toothed leaflets, produces a fruit cluster that persists in the winter, pubescent stem

Dogwood

deciduous shrub or small tree, opposite leaves, simple, and oval-shaped with wavy or smooth margins, with arching veins,

Wild plum

deciduous shrub or small tree, leaves are simple dark green, oval with point tip, serrated edges

Eastern redcedar

evergreen, young needles sharp (awl), older needles overlapping scale, blue fleshy cones on females

Bur Oak

deciduous tree, dark green, irregular lobes, typically two sinuses deep to the leaf center, produces acorns with large fringe caps

Illinois bundleflower

herbaceous perennial, alternate compound leaves are bipinnate, fern-like appearance, ovoid-globoid flower head

Showy partridge pea

Annual legume, alternating pinnately-compound leaves, leaf fold in on each other when touched

Prairie clover

Perennial with tall stem and alternating leaves, 1 - 2 in. flower head with circles of small (purple or white) blooms that advance from bottom to top

Roundhead bushclover

Herbaceous perennial, alternate trifoliate leaf arrangement, legume, pubescence

Tick trefoil

Herbaceous perennial with thick, round, hairy stems and purple to white flowers.

Common milkweed

Herbaceous perennial with stout stems and opposite, oblong leaves. Spherical cluster of small white-pink flowers

Pitcher sage

Herbaceous perennial with blue flowers, whorled around the square stem and forming a terminal spike-like cluster. thin pointed leaves with entire to serrated margins

White sage

silvery grey aromatic leaves

Goldenrod

Herbaceous perennial, alternate leaf arrangement

Stiff goldenrod

Herbaceous perennial, basal-like leaves, yellow flower clusters at the top of stem

Western ragweed

Herbaceous perennial, with alternate leaves, deep sinuses to give a fernlike appearance, lackluster at top of stem.

Heath aster

Herbaceous perennial, thin, tiny leaves, white cluster of flowers

Blazing star

Herbaceous perennial with numerous long, thin, alternating leaves. The flower spike is club-like with pink flowers.

Maximilian sunflower

Herbaceous perennial, leaves are lanceolate, pointed tip, wavy to entire margins, and alternately arranged, dense white hairs

Western ironweed 

Herbaceous perennial, alternate, lance-shaped, sharply pointed tip, toothed margins, hairy, grayish-green color leaves, dark purple small flowers

Tall thistle

A biennial that grows in a basal rosette, with alternating lower leaves sometimes deeply lobed, and upper leaves becoming smaller and more lanceolate. The undersides of leaves are hairy, large purple flower during second growing year

Bergamot

Herbaceous perennial, oblong, lance-shaped, and distinctly aromatic, square hairy stem, large purple globus flower

False sunflower

Herbaceous perennial leaves are rough, oppositely arranged, triangular in shape, and have toothed margins. Flowers are yellow

Rattlesnake master

Herbaceous perennial with a thin yucca-like leaf that grows in a rosette, flowers are white and globus