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Unit IV Kansas Plants: Wildflowers and Grasses Information. Introduction to Wildflowers. There are literally hundreds of species of wildflowers occurring in Kansas.
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Introduction to Wildflowers • There are literally hundreds of species of wildflowers occurring in Kansas. • I will only attempt here to cover a very few of the most common, showy wildflowers that people notice and that are found throughout most of the state. • In some cases, we will look at the family as a whole, rather than one species. • Kansas has a wide variety of habitats, and many species of wildflowers are somewhat particular in their habitat needs. • Eastern Kansas has much more precipitation than western Kansas, and therefore has different plant communities.
Intro, cont. • Kansas has three general types of habitat: • Tallgrass prairie, eastern/central region that gets the most rainfall. • Mixed-grass prairie, central/western region that gets less rainfall than tallgrass. • Shortgrass prairie, western 1/5 of Kansas, gets the least amount of rainfall. Within each of these regions, there are even more specific habitat types, like riparian woodlands (along streams), sand-sage prairie, wet and dry conditions in all of the habitats above.
Intro, cont. • The growing season in most of Kansas is from about mid-April until about mid-late October (from the last freeze until the first freeze). • A great many species of wildflowers have been used as food or medicines by Native Americans. • Wherever you see a name on a slide, followed by “sp.”, that means we are looking at a group of species in that family. • Example: Sunflower sp. Means we are learning generic information about all the sunflower species, not one species in particular.
Intro, cont. • When identifying flowers in the wild, you should look for: • Color of flower. Most field guides are arranged by color. • Type of flower. There is usually a guide to the types of flowers at the beginning of the field guides. • Shape and arrangement of leaves on plant. There are also descriptions of these at the beginning of most field guides.
Common Milkweed • Asclepiadaceae, milkweed family • 3-4’ tall. • Usually has pinkish veins filled with a milky sap that is white. • This is the main host plant for Monarch butterflies. The larvae feed on the milkweed leaves, ingest the toxic sap, and become poisonous themselves. • Abundant in open, disturbed areas throughout the tallgrass region. • There are at least fourteen different species of milkweeds found in Kansas.
Butterfly Milkweed • Asclepiadaceae, milkweed family • About 3’ tall, somewhat sprawling or bushy. • Clear sap (not milky) • Flower clusters are a brilliant orange typically. • Common in well-drained prairies.
Purple Coneflower sp. • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • 3-5’ tall, depending on the species • Several species of purple coneflowers occur in Kansas. • The purple coneflowers are in the genus Echinacea (pronounced: EK-in-AY-shuh), and all of these species are used and currently sold as an herbal medicine thought to boost the immune system. Illegal digging of the roots poses a major threat to this plant in some areas.
Black-eyed Susan • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • 1-2’ tall, but can be 3.5’ tall. • Has bristly-hairy stems, leaves with parallel veins. • Flowers 2-3” wide with yellow petals and a brown center. • Widely distributed. • Common garden plant, spreads actively.
Daisy Fleabane • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • Grows about 2 ½ feet tall, with flowers that are about ½ inch across. • Very common throughout the tallgrass region: prairies, roadsides, pastures. • People use to plant this around barns thinking that it kept fleas away from the animals. I don’t know if it does or not.
Chicory Chicory commonly grows along the roadsides as seen here.
Chicory • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • Showy blue flowers. • Found along the roadsides and in waste places. • Non-native plant. Sometimes a pest plant in places, also sought after for food uses: can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute or additive.
Yarrow Soft, fern-like leaves
Yarrow • Asteraceae, the sunflower family. • Plants typically 1-2’ tall. • Leaves are fern like and feathery. • Abundant and widespread in fields, pastures, disturbed sites, roadsides and prairies. • Used for a variety of medicinal purposes.
Gayfeather (a.k.a. Blazing Star) • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • Several species in Kansas, including Narrow-leaf Gayfeather and Prairie Blazing star. • Slender, spike-like plants up to 5’ tall. • Common throughout tallgrass region.
Sunflower sp. • Asteraceae, the sunflower family, genus is Helianthus • Sunflowers (of different species) range from 2’ tall in Western Kansas to over 9’ tall in Eastern Kansas. • There are at least 9 species of sunflowers in the tallgrass region. • Common Sunflower is the State Flower. It has broad, triangular shaped leaves and a reddish brown central disk. • Very valuable plant to humans and wildlife for the edible seeds it produces.
Goldenrod sp. • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • There are at least 9 different species in the tallgrass region. • Tall Goldenrod is pictured here, and this is the “weediest” goldenrod. It grows very commonly in open areas especially if the area has had a history of disturbance (plowing, mowing, heavy grazing, roadsides, etc). • Sometimes is blamed for allergies, but I have heard this is incorrect—it happens to grow in the same areas and bloom at the same time as ragweed (midsummer-fall).
Giant Ragweed • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • Several species of ragweed occur in Kansas. • They are notorious for the allergies and hay fever they cause from their airborne pollen. • Can grow up to 3’ tall, but usually about 1’ tall. • Grows in dry areas, especially disturbed sites such as roadsides and new housing developments where there is bare ground. • Has tiny, drab flowers that most people don’t notice. They hang downward and are greenish in color. • Flowers midsummer-fall.
Aster sp. • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • There are at least 16 species of asters in the tallgrass region. • Plants can be 2’-5’ tall, with very thin long leaves. • Flower heads are about 1” across. • Most species have a yellow disk surrounded by up to 40 thin petals ranging in color from white to light purple to dark purple. • One of the last plants to still have flowers on it until the first freeze.
Thistle sp. • Asteraceae, sunflower family. • Several species of thistles grow in Kansas. • Most are spiny plants that can grow up to 8’ tall. • Flowers are 2-2.5” wide, with purple thread-like “petals”. • Common in areas of disturbance.
Spiderwort • Commelinaceae, Spiderwort family • Spindly plants up to 3’ tall with long, pointed leaves. • Each stem has clusters of individually stalked flowers about 1” wide. • Flowers have three purple petals with yellow stamens (where the yellow pollen is).
Wild Garlic • Liliaceae, the Lily family • 8-24” tall • Slender, grass-like leaves • Pink or whitish flowers are replaced by very small bulbs. • Has a very strong garlic taste, and is edible.
Prickly-Pear Cactus • Cactaceae, the cactus family. • A low, spreading, spiny cactus, usually less than ½ foot tall. • Showy yellowish-reddish flowers that are 2-3” wide. • Grows in dry rocky prairies. • Fruits and de-spined pads are edible.
Queen Anne’s Lace • Apiaceae, the parsley family. • Also called Wild Carrot, as it has a long taproot that is edible and related to our cultivated carrots. • Found in tallgrass prairie, roadsides, pastures and disturbed sites, in Eastern 1/3 of Kansas. • The seeds are about 1/8 inch long, and covered with bristles that get stuck in socks and on clothes when you walk through it. Hard to pick out of your clothes! • Has been used in dyes and for various medicinal purposes.
Yellow Sweetclover • Fabaceae, the Pea family. • Flowers are yellow or white, and are in long, spike-like clusters • 3-8’ tall • Found along roadsides and fields, mostly in disturbed habitat. • An introduced species—it is not native to the U.S. • Kansas also has a white variety called White Sweetclover.
Introduction to Grasses • Grasses are in the Grass family, Gramineae (or Poaceae). • 3 grasses provide a vast majority of the worlds food: corn, rice and wheat. Barley and oats are also grasses. • Prairie ecosystems are dominated by grasses. • Grasses are characterized by having long narrow leaves with parallel veins and small, inconspicuous flowers. Stems are mainly hollow except where the leaf is attached (the node or joint).
Cattails • Grow in wet places, such as the shallow edges of ponds and lakes, and very common in wetlands. • Can grow up to 9’ tall. • Brown, cigar-shaped “flower”
