Wisconsin Native
Showing 49–56 of 108 results
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Equisetum scirpoides Dwarf horsetail Z 3-11
Short, bamboo-like - Black bands show joints of green stems, no showy flowers
OUT OF STOCK
Short,bamboo-like – Black bands show joints of green stems, no showy flowers
Size: 6” x spreads – invasive in moist soil if not planted in pots sunk in the ground
Care: full sun, moist to wet soil
Native: all North America – incl. Arctic - north of ILCollected by André Michaux, French planthunter who searched nearly all No. Am. East of the Mississippi for 11 years in mid-1700’s. Contains large amounts of silica, giving it abrasiveness, so used to scrub. Grizzly bears in Pacific Northwest reported to eat Dwarf horsetail.
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Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake master Z 3-8
Blooms July-December, prickly round white umbels. Leaves like thinner versions of a Yucca.
Blooms July-December, prickly round white umbels. Leaves like thinner versions of a Yucca.
Size: 48” x 18”
Care: Full sun, moist well-drained soil
Native: Eastern United States, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Supports over 40 bee species.
Awards: Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit.Eryngium is Greek meaning “thistle.” The name “Rattlesnake master” comes from the use by Chickasaw shamans of chewing the root, blowing it on the hands and then picking up rattlers without injury or “from its virtues of curing the bite of that venomous reptile.” Gardeners’ Dictionary, 1768. Valued by Native Americans for medicinal uses: a diuretic, stimulant, and cure for venereal disease and impotence, purify blood; Chippewa for joint inflammation and strengthen young children and Cherokee as a toothache remedy; Sioux: Root cured bladder ailments, and rattlesnake bites and scorpion stings. A concentration of boiled root increased virility of Sioux men. The Forest Potawatomi used Rattlesnake master as a good luck charm – the top placed in a pocket made the gambler sure to win. Collected in Virginia by Rev. John Banister (1649-1692) who moved to colonial Virginia in 1678. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants.
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Erythronium americanum Yellow trout lily, Dog’s tooth violet Z 3-9
Downfacing yellow lily-like recurved flowers in spring above mottled foliage. Tops of petals slightly tan Grows from deep rootstock or corm, 3-5” deep. In time it spreads from offshoots of the corm, resulting in colonies of trout lilies. Ephemeral – dies back in summer.
OUT OF STOCK – Only available for purchase in spring.
Downfacing yellow lily-like recurved flowers in spring above mottled foliage. Tops of petals slightly tan Grows from deep rootstock or corm, 3-5” deep. In time it spreads from offshoots of the corm, resulting in colonies of trout lilies. Ephemeral – dies back in summer.
Size: 3-6” x 4”
Care: part to full shade in moist soil
Native: Eastern No. America, WisconsinCherokee warmed crushed leaves & poured the juice over wounds. According to Cherokee Yellow trout lily also remedied fever, fainting & removed slivers. Used by Iroquois as birth control for young women and to make fish bite (by chewing the root & spitting into the river.) In garden cultivation since 1665. Named Dog’s tooth because the white, oblong, fleshy root is shaped like a dog’s tooth.
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Eupatorium purpureum syn. Eutrochium purpureum Sweet Joe Pye weed Z 4-9
July - September large dusty rose blooms invite butterflies.
July – September large dusty rose domes of bunches of flowers
Size: 5-6' x 3'
Care: Sun, moist, alkaline soil
Native: Eastern U.S., Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Nectar and/or pollen for numerous bees, butterflies, and waspsJoe Pye weed named after an Indian medicine man who used the plant in New England to cure typhus. Meskwaki Indian men “nibbled (Joe Pye weed) when speaking to women when they are in the wooing mood.” This had the power of “fetching” women. Good luck when gambling for the Potawatomi. Oneidas used it to cure fever. Mahuna Indians of So. California made an infusion of the root to cure colds and coughs. Colonists used the plant to cure dropsy, gravel, gout and rheumatism. Collected by Rev. John Banister (1649-1692) who moved to colonial Virginia in 1678. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants. Offered for sale in Bartram Garden’s 1783 Broadside, America’s 1st plant catalog.
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Eupatorium sessilifolium Upland boneset Z 3-8
Showy, flat-topped, platter-like, numerous small-flowered clusters of white, July to September
Showy, flat-topped, platter-like, numerous small-flowered clusters of white, July to September
Size: 3-5’ x 12-24”
Care: Shade to part shade in moist well-drained to dry soil (one of few dry shade flowers
Native: Maine to Minnesota south to Kansas, east to Georgia. Wisconsin native (endangered, threatened or of special concern in 8 states – Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont & Wisconsin
Wildlife Value: nectar attracts bees and butterflies and food for their caterpillars. Deer & rabbit resistant.Collected by English botanist Rev. John Bannister (1654-1692) who was shot and killed by misadventure while collecting plants in colonial Virginia. Described by Scottish botanist Robert Morison (1620-1683) in Historis Plantarum Univeralis Oxoniensis pars tertia (vol. 3) 98, published posthumously in 1699.
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Euphorbia corollata Flowering spurge Z 4-7
Small white flowers (bracts), like a baby's breath but better, July & August. One of the best prairie natives, but slow to mature.
Small white flowers (bracts), like a baby’s breath but better, July & August. One of the best prairie natives but slow to mature.
Size: 36' x 24" spreading slowly
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Drought resistant.
Native: Canada to Florida and west through the plains, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: deer resistant. Its pollen & nectar feed endangered Karner Blue butterfly as well as other small butterflies, numerous bees, wasps and flies. Several birds eat the seeds.A favorite medicine among native Americans. Cherokee rubbed the plant’s juice on skin to cure cancer. Also used to remedy tooth aches and gonorrhea. Winnebago cut a 2.5” long root to clear stomach and steeped leaves for a baby’s colic. According to Breck (1851), “One of the most elegant species peculiar to the United States.”
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Filipendula rubra Queen of the Prairie Z 3-9
Extraordinary frothy pink plumes, like cotton candy, blooming in midsummer
OUT OF STOCK
Extraordinary frothy pink plumes, like cotton candy, blooming in midsummer
Size: 4-6’ x 4-5'
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to moist soil
Native: US East coast west to MN s to MO and NC, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: This creates pollen but not nectar limiting the pollinators to bees and flies (Butterflies and wasps want nectar.).Meskwaki Indians used it for heart ailments and as an aphrodisiac. Although the plant’s name has been changed five times, this was 1st described in 1768.
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Gaultheria procumbens Wintergreen, Checkerberry, Teaberry Z 3-8
“Gaultheria procumbens is in absolute perfection and beautiful – first as regards its bell-shaped blossoms, and afterwards its berries…” The Garden January 1876.
OUT OF STOCK
“Gaultheria procumbens is in absolute perfection and beautiful – first as regards its bell-shaped blossoms, and afterwards its berries…” The Garden , January 1876.
Size: 4” x 2’, spreading slowly - will make dense groundcover in time.
Care: part shade in moist to moist well-drained, acidic soil
Native: Eastern North America – Canada to Georgia west to Wisconsin
Awards: England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Ojibwa made tea from the leaves; the tea “makes them feel good.” Oneida used this for women having a painful menstrual cycle. For the Algonquin Wintergreen cured the common cold, headaches, grippe and stomachaches. Cherokee cured swollen gums and colds. Berries described as a grape in 1717. Named by Swedish botanist Peter Kalm after Dr. Gaulthier, with whom he botanized in Canada in 1749. Sold in America’s 1st plant catalog, Bartram’s Broadside, 1783. During the American Revolution when tea became unavailable, colonists used the plant to make tea. The tea reputedly relieved pain from headaches, muscle pains and colds. The leaves contain oil effective against pain – methyl salicylate. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
