ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Midwestern Prairie Plants

Updated on November 6, 2015
LisaRoppolo profile image

Lisa is a writer and gardener with extensive knowledge of plants and plant care. Her articles focus on easy-care tips for home gardeners.

Prairies: What they do

Prairies provide many benefits to the land. Some of the functions of a native prairie are:

  • Fertilize the soil
  • Protects soil from erosion from wind and rain
  • Rainwater soaks into the land better instead of rolling off into a watershed
  • Prairie plants survive wild fires better than wooded areas and can survive more frequent fires

Flower of the Chicory Plant
Flower of the Chicory Plant | Source

Illinois Prairies: History

In the 1850s, over 62% of the state of Illinois was covered in prairie which is equal to 22 million acres of land. These days the number is only somewhere around 2,500 acres. Many acres have been lost to farm land and building development.

Awareness in natural ecosystems, native plants and the crisis for pollinators (especially bees) have prompted many organizations and counties to try to restore the natural prairie that once was. We have a long way to go, but is encouraging to see some many abandoned sites given back to the land. A good example of this is the former munitions plant, Joliet Arsenal, located in Will County, which has now become Midewin Prairie Preserve.

A Hungry Bee on a Field Thistle
A Hungry Bee on a Field Thistle | Source
A lone Cardinal Flower in a patch of switch grass
A lone Cardinal Flower in a patch of switch grass | Source

Do you have native prairies near your town?

See results

Most common Types of Prairies in Illinois

The most common type of prairie found in Illinois is the Tall Grass Prairie, which is mostly comprised of Indian Grass, Switch Grass and Big Bluestem. These grasses can grow to 12 feet tall! Imagine what the Native Americans might have seen as they were hunting for Buffalo. Grasses so tall, you would need to be on a big horse to be able to see over them!

Most of the flowering plants and grasses found in the prairie are also perennial. Perennial plant roots can lie up to 15 feet deep in the soil, which helps them draw water from deep down during drought periods. Deep roots also penetrate below the frost line which help the plant survive the harsh winter months of the Midwest.


Wildflowers of the Prairie

The wildflowers found in the prairie bloom at a variety of times, so there is always a constant flush of color. They start about mid-April and last through October. There are an estimated 300 different varieties of wildflowers found in Illinois prairies. These flowers attract a variety of beneficial insects which help pollinate our food supply. The seeds of these wildflowers also help feed birds and small mammals.

The most common wildflowers are:

  • Compass plant
  • Blazing Star and Rough Blazing Star (Liatris)
  • Prairie Coneflower
  • Black-eyed Susan
  • Milkweed
  • Queen Anne's Lace
  • Aromatic Aster
  • Cardinal Flower
  • Cutleaf Coneflower
  • Goldenrod
  • Missouri Evening Primrose
  • Small White Aster
  • Rosinweed
  • Chicory
  • Thistles (Canadian and Field varieties among others)
  • Purple Coneflower
  • Maximilian Sunflower/ Perennial Sunflower

Flower head of Queen Anne's Lace
Flower head of Queen Anne's Lace | Source

Did You Know?

The word, prairie, is French for meadow.

Queen Anne's Lace

Also known as Wild Carrot, this flower blooms late spring through mid-fall and can grown 5 to 6 feet tall. Each flower head is actually a cluster of tiny, individual florets. Sometimes, these flowers can be found to have a dark red or purple dot in the center, but this isn't always the case. Because it is in the carrot family, it does provide a carrot like scent at the roots of the plant.

Beware! It can be hard to identify; there are several other flowers that look similar, but are toxic, so be sure you can identify it positively before you touch it!

A field of Queen Anne's Lace
A field of Queen Anne's Lace | Source
Rough Blazing Star
Rough Blazing Star | Source

Liatris aka Blazing Star

Both the regular Blazing Star and the Rough Blazing Star can be found in the Midwest. The regular type can also be found in suburban flower beds as well. The flower is characterized by an upright, spiked hairy appearance the flower comes in both purple and white. It can reach 5 feet and blooms July through October.

Black Eyed Susan

Perhaps one of the most identifiable flowers, the Black Eyed Susan is characterized by a black or brown eye and golden yellow petals that are daisy-like. It blooms June through September and grows 2 to 4 feet tall.

Black Eyed Susan
Black Eyed Susan | Source

Wild Evening Primrose

These tall flowers in the primrose family can grow to 6 feet tall. Sometimes referred to as Sun Drops or Sun Cups, the flowers open from dusk until dawn (or on overcast days) which allows nocturnal moths and other insects to provide pollination. They bloom summer through fall.

Patch of Wild Primrose
Patch of Wild Primrose | Source
Rosinweed
Rosinweed | Source

Rosinweed

Similar in size to the Compass Plant and Maximilian Sunflower, Rosinweed is a very tall plant, spanning 6 to 8 feet. It blooms July through September with golden yellow petals and yellow to brown center eyes. These flower petals have a drooping habit which is very similar to those found on yellow prairie coneflowers.

Conservation

We have a long way to go in terms of conservation and restoring natural prairie systems. You can get involved by joining your local county extension office, volunteering to help clean up abandoned sites or even just incorporating some native prairie plants into your own garden landscape.

Was this hub interesting?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)