Prairie Plants
Showing 81–86 of 86 results
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Sporobolus heterolepsis Prairie dropseed Zone 3 – 9
Mound of graceful thinnest of grass blades
The description in the Chiltern Seeds catalog cannot be improved: “This is the most elegant and refined of the North American prairie grasses …the finest texture composed of the thinnest of thin, thread-like, glossy green blades,.. in autumn turning deep orange before fading to a light copper for the winter. In late summer the plants bear, on very slender stalks high above the foliage, unbelievably delicate, graceful flower panicles, excellent for cutting. ”One of internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013)
Size: 2’ x 2’
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil
Native: from Canada in the north to Texas in the south, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: seeds are food for birds
Awards: Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit & Great Plants for Great Plains Grass of the Year.Sporobolos is Greek from sporo meaning seed and ballein meaning to cast forth because the seed readily falls from the flower (or dropseed, the common name). Ojibwa “Medicine Society” used roots to cure sores & “remove bile.”
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Tradescantia virginiana Spiderwort Z 4-9
Purple umbels with prominent yellow stamens June – October
Purple umbels with prominent yellow stamens June – October
Size: 18-24" x 24"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: From New York to South Dakota, Virginia and Arkansas
Wildlife Value: Bumblebees and honeybees eat the nectar and collect the pollen.Named after John Tradescant, an English botanist and gardener to King Charles I. Parkinson explains the origin of this plant: “This Spider-wort is of late knowledge, and for it the Christian world is indebted unto that painfull industrious searcher, and lover of all natures varieties, John Tradescant who first received it of a friend, that brought it out of Virginia,” (1639). It was probably sent to mainland Europe in 1500’s. Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811. Tradescantia was cherished by the Dakota Indians for its beauty. Cherokee ate the young greens and prescribed it to cure stomachaches after overeating, female illnesses, cancer and insect bites. Menominee revived those “defiled by touch of bereaved.” Natives applied a poultice of the leaves topically for insect bites and stings. By 1659 ones with white, light blue and reddish flowers grown in England. According to Monticello.org the root exuded a gummy liquid which, when inserted into a cut on top of a person’s head remedied the person’s “craziness.” Cultivated in the U.S. since 1700’s
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Verbena hastata Blue vervain, Simpler’s joy Z 3-9
Bright purplish-blue candelabra-like spikes from July to September
Bright purplish-blue candelabra-like spikes from July to September
Size: 2-4’ x 2’
Care: sun to part shade in moist or moist well-drained soil
Native: eastern 2/3rds of No. America, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Cardinals & Sparrows eat the seeds. Food for larvae of Buckeye butterfly.Native Americans used plant as remedy for coughs, colds and fever. Mahuna Indians of So. California used the root to cure complicated stomach fevers. Sioux fed the seeds to their horses to give them energy. The Sioux also used it as an insect repellant. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed Z 3-7
Dense clusters of true royal purple July-September
OUT OF STOCK
Dense clusters of true royal purple July-September
Size: 3-4’ x 2-3’
Care: sun to part shade in moist to moist well drained soil
Native: so central Canada to central & eastern US
Wildlife Value: Butterfly attractor – Fiery skipper, deer & rabbit resistant.Lakota Sioux: “The leaves are formed into a sort of “plate” that keeps foreign matter from getting on meat. An infusion of the root is used to regulate menstrual periods.”
Collected by French planthunter André Michaux (1746-1802) who spent 11 years exploring America for plants. Named to honor Wm. Vernon (1666-1711) English botanist who collected plants in late 1600’s. -
Vernonia noveboracensis Ironweed Z 4-8
Heads of numerous deep, royal purple, platter-forming flower several feet high above in late summer
Heads of numerous deep, royal purple, platter-forming flower several feet high above in late summer
Size: 6-7' x 3'
Care: Sun in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: Massachusetts to Florida
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesNamed for English botanist William Vernon. Infusions of the plant used by Cherokee to relieve pain after childbirth, for loose teeth and for stomach ulcers.
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Zizia aurea Golden alexanders Z 4-9
In spring, golden umbels
Tiny chartreuse-golden flowers, grouped in umbels, spring. Good cut flower.
Size: 30"x 24"
Care: full sun in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: from New Brunswick south to Florida - west to Texas, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Primary host for the Missouri Woodland and Black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Supports over 70 bee species.Meskwaki used the root to reduce fevers and the flower stalks to ease headaches. Collected by late 1700’s. Good cut flower.
