I start my third go at documenting the plants of my prairies with a realization that this may be the last concentration upon the forbs, and that there will be fewer pictures. Many of the more common, better known, and more commonly photographed species have gone into the first two installments. We will see what I can come up with.

51 and 52. White/Cudleaf Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana and Fringed Sage (Artemisia frigida) Fringed sage is a ubiquitous, grazing tolerant forb of the tops of most prairie hills. As such it tends to be an increaser in native pastures, though not an obtrusive one, at least in this area. It is a small plant, rarely a foot high and “plays nice” with its neighbors. It is a plant that I knew well as a 10 year old sent out to bring the cows in for milking. The smell is a very pleasant sage smell, much nicer than the invasive wormwood sage (Artemisia absinthium) which is a significant weed of pastures and waste areas (including our farmyard). I have thousands in my native prairie and many in the restorations, some presumably from gathered seed, though most are likely from purchased seed. White, or cudleaf sage has a wider ecological niche, from better xeric soil through mesic areas. In my native prairies it is mostly found towards the base of the hills in what might be called dry mesic, though still sandy, droughty soils. It is very common, also tolerant of some grazing, though not heavy grazing, and I have many in both the native and restored prairies. If some get started, they are very good at building clonal patches as shown below. The white sage are the gray plants with the narrow leaves, all due to a single germinating seed. I’m guessing that it would not be unusual to find up to 100 stems over an area the size of a garage stall all coming from a single seed. The lower picture shows a small clone, on the right side of the picture grown to full height of about 18-24″, with the larger gray plants in the background being wormwood sage. These are both widely distributed forbs which will likely be in the seed bank, but are not top priorities.

53. False Gromwell (Onosmodium molle) False gromwell is a relative of the puccoons which I discussed in the first installment of this series. It is not enjoyed by cattle, and definitely thrives in an overgrazed pasture, such as the one to the west of my prairies. I have a few in my native prairies and a few in the restoration. It seems to occur in both xeric and dry mesic areas, and the common thread may be the same as the puccoons, that it has a hard, white, very visible seed that birds likely eat and distribute wherever they go next. As a common, weedy plant of overgrazed pastures it is not a priority for me. Below is a very large, vigorous example in bloom.

54. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Yarrow is another ubiquitous, well known native, partially because it has a very distinctive smell and taste. In large quantities it is toxic, but like most things that is dose dependent, and cattle don’t like it well enough to harm themselves. When I was doing my edible plant experimenting as a teenager I tried a tea made from yarrow, based upon something I read of its use as a cold remedy. All I can say was that one big sip of the tea was reminiscent of too much Vicks VapoRub in ones nose. Whatever else it will do, it will clear a your sinuses. One often sees insects upon it during its long bloom period, so it likely is useful for various pollinators. It grows all across the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and as it is sometimes used as an ornamental, some of the yarrow in our native prairies likely has Eurasian genetics. It is unlikely to be part of the seed bank.

55. False Boneset (Brickellia eupatoroides) One of many poorly named plants, it has nothing to do with bonesets, a forb from an unrelated family adapted to wet sites whose only relationship I can see is that they both have white flowers. Chris Helzer, on his “Prairie Ecologist” blog went off on the whole tradition of naming plants “false this” or “false that” a while back. There may be situations where the designation is helpful, but I tend to agree, plant species deserve their own names. False boneset is a perfectly respectable member of the Asteraceae family adapted to dry mesic soils. It will colonize ditches and waste areas occasionally and has a large native range, so it is not a plant that needs much assistance. I do not have any in my prairies, but have some in the restoration from seed that I have gathered elsewhere nearby. Reputedly, it is much used by pollinators.

56. Western Snowberry/Buckbrush (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) Commonly known as buckbrush, as the 24″ tall patches are wonderful places to hide if you are a deer, but they are also wonderful places to hide if you are a newborn calf. If one of the dairy cows had a calf out in the pasture, they would often stash their baby in a buckbrush patch and come home with the herd to the yard for water. My Dad would see that the cow had calved and tell me to wait until the cow went back out and find the calf to bring home. It was necessary to have the cow nearby as if the calf was startled without its mother it might just blow out through a fence to get away from the predator (me) that had found it. We never found one calf I accidentally startled and my father was very upset that I had been so careless. I was probably only 10, but even at that age we were supposed to know what we were doing. Calves were usually worth $50-100 at the sales barn and the money was important. Overgrazed pastures can get some substantial, thick patches, and the rancher will be tempted to use herbicide, but if grazing is moderate buckbrush is really not a problem. A year or two ago I would have said that it was not important to me, but I am reconsidering.

57. Stiff Sunflower (Helianthus pauciflorus) Stiff sunflower, to me, is one of the more interesting wildflowers. Most species do best, and are most competitive in a particular type of site. Their particular blend of physiology and structure has a “best fit”. Stiff sunflower is a generalist, ranging from xeric to mesic soils more than any other species I can think of. They present themselves differently, however. In xeric sites they are often just vegetative shoots, rarely blooming, and relying upon their rhizomes to find new homes by cloning new shoots. In a year like 2022 or 2025 many of those shoots will send flower heads a couple feet in the air and reproduce sexually. They will also grow, however. in full mesic soils, sending many flowers three or even four feet into the air. My question is: are these two disparate manifestations the same genetics, having almost magical abilities to grow in any well drained soil except super-xeric gravel? Or are they two different ecotypes living side by side, having such wide genetic possibilities that they are beginning to separate genetically? The first answer is very likely correct, because cross pollination will tend to rein in the outriders. It’s hard to separate genetically when you live next to each other. Once again, life is much more varied and interesting than the boundaries our brains try to put around things. Below is a xeric hill where they seldom bloom, but in 2025 we received 10-12″ rain in June and July, and they remembered they were wildflowers. This is a high priority for me.

58 and 59. Maximillian Sunflower (Helianthus maximilliani) and Sawtooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosserserratus) While I have many stiff sunflowers in my prairies, I have just a few of these two more robust species. Maximillian sunflower is a common resident of mesic prairies, while sawtooth sunflower leans more toward wet mesic, and is less common in this area, though I have some of each in my native prairie, and thus they theoretically could become part of the seed bank project. Maximillian is easy to grow and seed is cheap, thus it became part of my original seed mixes, and I had many in the restorations. Most of the original restoration, however, is really too droughty for it to thrive, and every year I see less. As I don’t know the provenance of the seed the decrease doesn’t really bother me. I do have a good source of Maximillian seed to gather, however, at my wife’s mesic prairies down on her grazing system 30 miles east of here. I have gathered a little there and in a couple other prairies in the past and put some of it out in the restoration, but I think I need to be a little more purposeful and gather a good quantity for the 10-20 acres where it is adapted. Similarly, I have a good patch of sawtooth sunflower along a wet area in one of my relict prairies, and should do a better job of getting some of it in some appropriate sites. Below is the first sawtooth sunflower I saw in the restoration, with what I think are maximillian sunflowers in the background to the left. If I achieve the above goal of more local seed turning into plants they will be part of the seed bank.

60, 61 and 62. Missouri Goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis), Stiff Goldenrod (Sollidago or Oligoneuron rigida) and Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) Of all the species in the prairie these may be the most polarizing. They are common in my native prairies, especially Missouri, almost ubiquitous, much like stiff sunflower, growing across many sites. Many native pastures in the area have much thicker stands, due to overgrazing, and it has probably induced as much herbicide spraying as any plant. Obviously, as an increaser, it is not heavily grazed, but my wife says there is certainly grazing of the goldenrods, especially early in the year. Xerces Society did a study showing it as a good source of nutrition. However, there is a reason why they become so widespread and sometimes thick in overgrazed pastures. They become less palatable as they age, allowing them to build up large stores of carbohydrates in their roots, which then fuel the spread of rhizomes and ultimately more shoots. Are ranchers justified in spraying herbicides to combat goldenrod? I used to think so, but am less certain of it now for three reasons. First, a thick stand of Missouri and/or stiff goldenrod is a sign of an overgrazed pasture, and first that issue must be addressed. Second, while more grass will likely grow with less goldenrod my wife has proved to me that the goldenrod does not preclude good grass growth. She gets lots of grazing in paddocks that have lots of goldenrod (the goldenrod spread originally before we purchased the pasture). And finally, goldenrod is an excellent pollinator food, blooming over a long period of time and providing both pollen and nectar. Canada goldenrod is a plant of mesic to wet mesic areas, so less common for me, but is comsidered a pest in pastures (and restorations) in better soils and moister climates, especially in the tallgrass country to the south and east of here. Below is the only picture of Missouri goldenrod I could find, a fun picture of bees on stiff goldenrod and a picture of Canada goldenrod near a saturated area on Huggett’s. As extremely common plants I have never considered worrying about propagating them, but it is worth pondering., especially the Missouri.

63. Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum sericium) There are some genera of plants that have large populations, finding many ways to riff on a theme. The asters are such a genus, with Wikipedia listing 106. Silky is one of the two which are ubiquitous in the prairies around here along with the next entry, heath aster. most common in rings around the hills, avoiding the deeper valleys which are often choked with brome and the most xeric sites, but common in a wide band around most hills. It is tolerant of grazing, welcomed by pollinators of many kinds, and both the flowers and the foliage are beautiful. The “silky” in its name comes from the silky feel of the leaves caused by the many fine hairs of the leaves, which also give it a silver or gray sheen unique among asters that grow around here. All in all it is a plant that I love to see. It is scattered through the restorations, and I hope to keep gathering seed, which is pretty easy in those years when summer rains are kind, so I can keep flinging them on appropriate sites. Below is a clone growing in some native prairie a few weeks after a burn, surrounded by some shoots of stiff sunflower.

64. Heath Aster (S. ericoides) Heath aster is perhaps the most commonly found aster in native prairies across the country, It has an enormous range, found in all but a few states, along with all the Canadian provinces that border the US. While the seed is not easy to gather, as it doesn’t strip easily, the seeds are very small, blow in the wink to travel everywhere and seemingly very fertile. Though I threw out very little seed, I have many in the restoration, perhaps coming from natural propagation, blowing in from the neighborhood. This can happen with many asters, goldenrods, gayfeathers and other wildflowers which have small seeds with fluffy tufts that blow in the wind. In either case, I have many scattered through the prairie restoration. Perhaps a corollary might be Missouri goldenrod as they will colonize overgrazed pastures, and also spread by rhizomes, though less aggressively than the goldenrod. As a kid I saw them as weeds. Then, in college I read a wonderful little book delineating all the major plant communities of the United States on an accompanying map, as well as a list of common species in each map unit, and heath aster was in many of the biome lists, including all the prairie categories in the Northern Great Plains. I have given it more respect ever since., except that I see that I have never photographed it. I will remedy that next year.

65. Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) Another aster that’s common in my native prairies on the most xeric hills. Like many asters it has the ability to reproduce clonally, spreading rhizomes over horrible rocky soils where little else will grow. There are either very few to none, or a lot, implying there might not be that many individual, discrete plants, but some very successful, prolific cloned individuals. When blooming it is easy to distinguish from silky aster, which often grows nearby on slightly better soil, but at maturity when they are both drying down and I am trying to gather seed they look very much alike. This makes gathering a pure seed sample difficult, as I don’t want to take time to look at each one closely to distinguish the species that I want. In the end, the sites they inhabit are similar enough the I will accept some contamination. Descriptions I see on websites tend to describe a plant more robust and flexible in site preference than I see in my prairies, so just as with white prairie clover I think that the genetics growing in my prairies is different than the genetics of aromatic aster growing in other environments. This certainly doesn’t mean that I have my own variety, but rather it is an example that the world is a big place, and if you look around enough you will learn many things. I have no pictures of it in bloom, just humble vegetative growth hidden among other plants, so a picture will have to wait until next fall.

66 and 67. Sky Blue Aster (S. oolentangiense) and Smooth Blue Aster (S. laeve). Both these asters are rarely found in this area, mostly native to slightly moister areas to our east. They are easy to purchase as seed, so I bought some of each. They are hard for me to tell apart as well, but there are records of them in this area, so I include them without any accompanying stories. In my picture archive I call this smooth blue, but really aren’t sure. Asters can be difficult to tell apart.

68. New England Aster (S. novae-angliae) I almost included this with the two species above. This is a robust aster with a beautiful flower which is often added to seed mixes as the seed is comparatively cheap. It is also adapted to more mesic sites than most of my restoration, so I wasn’t too impressed that I have seen some in my restoration. Then I came upon some in a prairie a few miles away, causing me to reconsider my lack of interest. I haven’t decided whether to add this to the list of species for the seed bank; there are certainly higher priorities to increase, but I’m leaving it on the list for now.

69. Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) I have three lobelias in the restorations, one of which, cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is not native this far west, and is thus not on the list. Blue lobelia, much like New England aster is native here, barely, and so I would have included it anyway, with hundreds in two different restorations, blooming in years with August rain. Then, this September I came upon the plants below along the edge of a slough in a native pasture. I had never seen them in my prairies before, never having come upon the right spot at the right time when they were blooming. I sat down a little uphill and stared at them for some time. When I texted a picture to my partner, Ben, he asked whether I thought they might have spread there from the restoration. If you look below at the second picture you will see a poor picture from the restoration on a windy day. Yes, they are the same species, but they are not from the same seed source. I like my native plants better and plan to gather seed next year if they bloom again.

70. Pale Spike Lobelia (Lobelia spicata). Though there are obviously characteristics of the flowers and seed which have caused botanists to place these in the same genus, the similarities to blue lobelia are not obvious to me. As the first picture showed, blue lobelia is a plant that grows in moist soils; it doesn’t mind wet feet. It is also a robust plant, sometimes called “Great” blue lobelia. Pale spiked lobelia is a humble little plant that prefers well drained mesic sites, hiding among the clumps of porcupine grass on a couple hills on my prairies. I have seeded some and planted a few plugs, but don’t know if I have any in my restoration yet. They did enjoy the summer rains and put on a pleasant show in my native pasture as seen below. I was able to gather some seed and will try again to get some into the restorations. I would like it to be part of the seed bank.

71 and 72. Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta) and Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata). Hoary vervain is common, though scattered on both the native and the restored prairies. It is one of several plants that I used to be quite ambivalent about as they fit under the old range management rubric as “increasers”, plants that become more common with prolonged grazing, with the implication they were increasing at the expense of “decreasers”, plants that disappeared under long term grazing. The accompanying implication was that decreasers were good and holy, while increasers were bad and perhaps a bit naughty, if not actually evil. Hoary vervain is an increaser. If your only criteria for judging the plants were pounds of beef produced there is more than a hint of truth to this characterization, though as I stated earlier it may be best to judge slowly and carefully. These are plants (I will add another below) which are native in the prairies, have their own relationships with pollinators, seed predators, insect larvae and presumably fungi and microorganisms. In other words, important plants. Funny how many things you can learn after you turn 60 if you are out in the real world, rather than bound within the strictures of the interior world we all create. Unlike hoary vervain, which is flexible in site preference, blue vervain is a wet mesic species who doesn’t mind wet feet on occasion. I have some in the restoration and don’t think I have any in my native prairies. Below is a hoary vervain from the restoration.

73. Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) One more of the native increasers, but one I am more kindly disposed towards. It seems to be a humble plant that, while it does increase with prolonged grazing, it plays nice and never dominates a pasture the way the goldenrods seem to. In order to get a picture for the blog post I had to cut a little chunk from a picture of other flowers. If I get a better picture I will replace this one. I have another coneflower in my restoration, gray headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), but though we are listed as on the western edge of its territory, I have not seen one in the wild near here, thus no separate entry.

74. Silverleaf Scurfpea (Pediomelum argophylum) This is yet another plant that will increase under grazing, though not a weed in pastures. It is a legume, which often means “cow candy” but I assume it houses some chemicals that repel grazers. It is a bit showy with silvery gray foliage that can stand out from a distance. In descriptions it is listed as an inhabitant of dry mesic sites, or just “dry prairies”. In my skewed world that means it inhabits the bases of hills and could be considered a mesic adapted species. Whatever. It is not fully conservative, showing up occasionally in disturbed areas, deposited by birds who eat, and then defecate the seeds, wasting their effort to gain nutrients, but accomplishing the goal of the devious plant. It makes very few seeds, however, choosing to spread clonally, and I have not seen any in my restoration, though I have plenty in the native prairies. I will add a picture when I find one.

75. Breadroot scurfpea (Pediomelum esculentum) This is my favorite of of all the prairie plants, on a par with pasqueflower, and I have known about it about as long, since I was 4 or 5 years old going out with my older brother. Every year we would go out in early summer and dig up a few prairie turnips, as we called them, peel off the tough covering, and eat the starchy, fibrous root. It was no delicacy, but pleasant enough and a neat thing to do when you are a kid. Usually we would have a jackknife we would ruin digging in the stones and dirt trying to get deep enough to yank out the bulb. Sadly I can no longer find them in the home pasture where the dairy cows grazed, as another 60-65 years of grazing was too much for them. They are scattered throughout the hills of the native prairies, however, and I will find a few when I trespass on the neighbors to look around. It disperses its seed by breaking off at the base and tumbling across the hills, dropping seeds as it rolls, which seems to be a successful strategy. While I likely have 200-400 in my prairies I have only found a few from my attempts with both seeds and seedling plugs in the restoration. This is a high priority for me to add to the seedbank, so I will keep trying. A picture of a beloved plant is a nice way to wrap up this post, this plant about to begin putting out its lavender to blue flowers.