Guide to Plants Free State High School Prairie Demonstration Site

1. Guide to Plants Free State High School Prairie Demonstration Site Tallgrass prairies occupied over 90% of Douglas County, KS in the 1850’s. Now these grasslands are very rare. This demonstration site provides a glimpse of our natural heritage. Over 40 species of native prairie plants are growing at the site, including both the major prairie grasses and many forbs (i.e., wildflowers = non-grass herbaceous flowering plants). We encourage anyone to visit this demonstration site to learn more about prairie plants. Please, however, do not walk into the site and do not pick the flowers or plants. This site was created in 2014. Free State High School (FSHS) students and teachers, KU faculty, staff, and students, and members of the Lawrence community worked together to create this site. Seeds for many of the species had been hand-collected at local remnant prairies. FSHS students germinated the seeds and grew plants in the school greenhouse. On a busy day in April, over 160 students moved the plants to the site. Elliott Duemler, Applied Ecological Services, Inc., provided excellent guidance and help. This guide describes more than half of the prairie species at the site; it is a “work in progress” and more species will be added as photographs become available. We have included ethnobotanical information in this guide for historical interest, but please, no one should eat any portion of any of these plants! Many plants have toxins and this is not the place for experimentation.

2. Guide to Plants Free State High School Prairie Demonstration Site This plant guide was primarily created by Christina Craig (FSHS student) and Haley Bagshaw (KU student), with help from Helen Alexander (KU professor) and Julie Schwarting (FSHS teacher). All photographs were taken by Christina. Many other people helped with this guide, and with the demonstration site in general. We particularly want to thank many people from KU (Kirsten Bosnak, Craig Freeman, Kelly Kindscher, and Caleb Morse) and, as noted earlier, Elliott Duemler (Applied Ecological Services, Inc.). Major funding for this project came from the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund. In addition, we thank Applied Ecological Services, Inc., the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, the Douglas County Conservation District, the Kansas Biological Survey and the University of Kansas Field Station, the Lawrence Public Schools, the University of Kansas, and the Grassland Heritage Foundation. Numerous individuals from FSHS, KU, and the larger Lawrence community were generous with their time. If you have questions or interest in this site, please contact Julie Schwarting (JASchwar@usd497.org) or Helen Alexander (halexander@ku.edu).

3. Guide to Plants Free State High School Prairie Demonstration Site Information about the guide itself: Species are arranged first by scientific family, and then by genus and species. For most species, there are pictures of the entire plant as well as close-ups of flowers and leaves. The ruler and vertical stick provide a sense of scale (for the latter, red marks are one foot apart; black marks are 10 cm apart). Maps for this guide were taken from the following website: http://bonap.net/NAPA/Genus/Traditional/County. The key for the map is at http://www.bonap.org/MapKey.html. In brief, dark green means that the species is native and has been recorded to exist in the state or province (including historical records). The lime green colors refer to county records (for example, pressed specimens from a particular county exist in a herbarium). The yellow refers to county records where there is an indication that the species is rare. Brown areas refer to locations where the species has not been recorded. Some species are native to North America but have moved into new locations in recent history; these new locations are shaded blue-green.

4. Poaceae (Grass family)

5. Bouteloua curtipendula Side-Oats Grama Family : Poaceae Perennial Flowering: June - August

6. Side-Oats Grama produces most of its seeds on one side of a zig-zag stalk, hence its name. This grass has a very large range across North and South America. Within North America, it is most abundant east of the Rocky Mountains, particularly in drier areas. It is a relatively short warm-season grass, usually less than 3 feet tall (0.9 meters).

7. Elymus canadensis Canada Wild Rye Family: Poaceae Perennial Flowering: June - August

8. Canada Wild Rye is 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) tall and resembles cultivated wheat or rye. This cool-season grass provides important nesting and winter cover for upland game birds and mammals. A black fungus called ergot can occur on seed heads. People who consume bread made from ergot-contaminated grains can experience hallucinations and convulsions.

9. Koeleria macrantha Prairie Junegrass Family: Poaceae Perennial Flowering: May - July Prairie June Grass

10. Prairie Junegrass is much shorter than most of the prairie grasses in eastern Kansas, only 8 - 24 inches (20 to 61 cm) tall. It also differs from the dominant, warm-season grasses in being a cool-season grass, with most of its growth and flowering evident by June. Seed heads start out silvery-green and turn tan by the middle of the summer.

11. Panicum virgatum Switchgrass Perennial Family: Poaceae Flowering: July - September late fall

12. Switchgrass, along with Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, and Indian Grass, is one of the “big four” most common warm-season prairie grasses. This plant can be 3 to 5 feet tall (0.9 to 1.5 meters) and produces seeds in an airy, open structure. Cultivars of Switchgrass, some of which are very tall, have been developed for wildlife habitat, horticulture and most recently for biofuel.

13. Wildflowers (=Forbs), Arranged by Family

14. Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)

15. Asclepias speciosa Showy Milkweed Family: Apocynaceae Perennial Flowering: May - August

16. Showy Milkweed is less than 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall, with purple-rose flowers. Like other milkweeds, this plant produces toxic substances. However, some animals such as the Monarch butterfly have evolved the ability to feed on these plants. Native Americans cooked the young shoots and flower buds to neutralize the toxins then added them to meat stews. This species is more common in western locations, and is found primarily in the mixed-grass, shortgrass, and sandsage prairies.

17. Asteraceae (Sunflower family)

18. Coreopsis lanceolata Lanceleaf Tickseed Family: Asteraceae Perennial Flowering: April - June

19. Lanceleaf Tickseed is usually 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 meters) tall with yellow flowers produced in the summer. Flowers are daisy-like. The common name comes from the fact that the seeds resemble ticks. Although an attractive native plant in the U.S., it is highly invasive in Japan and outcompetes native plant species there.

20. Family: Asteraceae Annual Flowering: June - September Coreopsis tinctoria Plains Coreopsis Tickseed

21. Plains Coreopsis is usually 2 to 4 feet tall (0.6 to 1.2 meters). Its distinctive yellow blooms, often with red centers, make it an attractive garden plant. The species historically has been most common in the Great Plains. It now has a much broader distribution across North America, and is widely cultivated and naturalized in China. Flowers were used for a red dye for yarn by the Zuni people.

22. Echinacea pallida Pale Purple Coneflower Family: Asteraceae Perennial Flowering: May - July

23. The Pale Purple Coneflower was mixed with Bee Balm and Flowering Spurge by the Meskwaki (Fox) people to treat stomachaches and cramps. This is the common coneflower of our tallgrass prairies; it makes a graceful addition to sunny gardens. Plants are usually 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) tall.

24. Liatris pycnostachya Tall Gayfeather Perennial Family:Asteraceae Flowering: July - September summer and autumn

25. Tall Gayfeather blooms in the summer with long spikes covered with purple flowers. The word “pycnostachya”is derived from the Greek (“pycno” for “crowded” and “stachys” for “spike”, i.e., “crowded spike”) and is a good description of the dense flower clusters. Butterflies and bees are commonly seen on these flowers. Plants are typically 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 meters) tall.

26. Ratibida pinnata Prairie Coneflower Family: Asteraceae Perennial Flowering: June - September

27. Prairie Coneflower plants can exceed 3 feet (0.9 meters). They produce attractive yellow blooms in early summer. In the fall, birds feed on the seed heads of this species and many others in the Sunflower family. As the birds harvest the seeds, they also scatter them. From the scattered seeds, plants come up in future years in new locations.

28. Rudbeckia hirta Black-eyed Susan Family: Asteraceae Biennial Flowering: May - October

29. Black-eyed Susan (also known as Black-Eye-Susan) is a short-lived prairie plant, usually surviving only a year or two. Its blooms have distinctive golden petals and black centers. Each flower-like head actually consists of a dark cone-like disk that has a tight cluster of tiny fertile flowers (where seeds are produced) surrounded by golden, petal-like ray flowers that are sterile. Plants can reach up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall.

30. Vernonia baldwinii Baldwin’s Ironweed Family: Asteraceae Perennial Blooms: July- September

31. Baldwin’s Ironweed can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall with purple flowers in the late summer. Like many prairie plants, it spreads via underground stems called rhizomes. The “Ironweed” name reflects the fact that the plant and its rhizomes are very fibrous and tough, making it difficult to cut or pull them from the ground.

32. Lamiaceae (Mint family)

33. Monarda fistulosa Bee Balm Family: Lamiaceae Perennial Flowering: June - August

34. Bee Balm was widely used as a strong mint tea for colds and coughs by Plains tribes (Lakota, Dakota, Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee, Crow, Kiowa, and others). The Pawnee had four different “species,” named to reflect a variety of smells and tastes, from peppermint-like to oregano-like with a bit of hot spice. Plants are 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) tall. The species is also known as Wild Bergamot.

35. Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Slender Mountain Mint Family: Lamiaceae Perennial Flowering: July - September

36. Slender Mountain Mint has narrow leaves and forms clumps up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall with tiny white flowers. Like other mints, its fragrant leaves are arranged opposite to each other on square stems. This plant has been used as a mosquito repellant, and for tea and flavoring. Its name is somewhat misleading; it is a plant of the prairies, not of the mountains.

37. Plantaginaceae (Plantain family)

38. Penstemon digitalis Foxglove Beardtongue Family: Plantaginaceae Perennial Flowering: April - June

39. Foxglove Beardtongue produces white flowers in early spring and summer. Plants are typically 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 meters) tall. The species name of “digitalis” comes from the Latin digitus referring to flowers that look like fingers of a glove. Most Beardtongue flowers have “guide lines” that lead bees to the nectar inside the flower.

40. Veronicastrum virginicum Culver’s Root Perennial Family: Plantaginaceae Flowering: July- September

41. Culver’s Root, named for an 18th-century doctor, has had many uses, primarily as a laxative. Native Americans made a tea from this plant for this purpose, and the efficacy of this treatment was highly regarded in Anglo folk medicine and among prominent physicians. The plant is often 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 meters) tall.

42. Verbenaceae (Vervain family)

43. Verbena stricta Hoary Verbena Perennial Family: Verbenaceae Flowering: May-September

44. Hoary Verbena is an upright plant with spikes of small purple flowers. It thrives in areas with recent disturbance, so it is more common in cattle pastures in central Kansas than in this area. The word “hoary”refers to the dense white hairs on its leaves. Leaves have been historically used to create a medicinal tea. Plants can grow up to 4 feet (1.5 meters) tall.