Plants

Plants of the Great Plains Courtney Harris - Purple Coneflower




 * 3’ tall and unbranched
 * The stout central steam is a grayish or reddish green color and covered with coarse white hair
 * Dry black soil prairies, openings in dry rocky woods, oak savannas, limestone glades, abandoned field, and open areas along railroads
 * There germination is 15-30 days
 * The soil temperature is 70-75 degrees
 * There blooming period is June-October
 * There average seed per pound is 117,000
 * Eastern goldfinch eat the seeds

Blazing Star // Liatris // // spicata // Dylan Blackman
 * Family: Asteraceae
 * Height - Anywhere to 3’
 * Color - Purple
 * Info - This plant blooms the 2nd spring after the seed is planted.
 * Endangered - No
 * Edible – No
 * Medical – No
 * Blooms – Mid-Season
 * Area - Northern America


 * Joshua Tennies - Milkweed

** Milkweeds usually have a single, simple stem and grows 2-6 feet high

Milkweeds leaves are oval-shaped at 2-10 inches tall

Milkweeds develop seed pots in the fall

Milkweeds bloom from late June to August

Milkweeds change color from pink to lavender in color

Milkweeds are found in bunches

Kortney Regis - Lupine



· Lupines are blue, purple, or pink · Lupines prefer open areas. · They are 12-15 mm. long · They also have 4 cm hairy pods · They are part of the fabaceae family · Lupines grow in moist climates · The only thing that eats the Lupine is the Karner Blue Butterfly

** Compass Plant ** //Silphium laciniatum// Aster family (Asteraceae) Auston Howard

This magnificent plant usually has leaves that point due north and south, therefore getting its name. Don’t mistake this sunny looking yellow flower for a sunflower. You can tell the difference by breaking a stem to find a sap or "rosin." This plant is part of the "rosinweed" family. Also, the seeds grow where the petals were, not in the flat disk at the center of the plant like the sunflower. Like the sunflower, the compass plant grows high in the sky measuring 5-10 feet tall. The flower heads can be 2-5 inches wide. They bloom from July to September. Stems on the compass plant are thick and hairy with flower buds forming opposite each other. The leaves of this plant grow mostly clumped at the bottom near the ground. It grows in the great plains of the American Midwest and prefers the rich black soil. If the bees die then the compass plant dies this amazing plant relies on the bees to pollinate. It has no known predators.

Mariah Hartzell - White-Fringed Orchid

When meadows and prairies were moist and wet the prairie white-fringed orchid was more common. Some years there are large amounts found and some years they are scarce. -Prairie White-Fringed flower is endangered -July: the plant blossoms and reaches a height of more than 3 feet -long spires of white flowers -Blossom has a fringed three-art lower petal and trails 3-inch long nectar tube -found in special site in Wisconsin -this plant is not supposed to be stepped on, picked, or collected -needs lots and lots of water

​ Dylan Moshier- Shooting Star

Dodecatheon Meadia · Perennial · Zones 4-8 · Height: 1’ to 2’ · Bloom time: April, May, June · Color: white, pink, lavender · Leaves: green · Water needed: low to medium · Ephemeral · Native States: AR, AL, DC, FL, GA, IN, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI Classification · Kingdom: Plantae · Subkingdom: Tracheobionta · Superdivision: Spermatophyta · Division: Magnoliophyta · Class: Magnoliopsida · Subclass: Dilleniidae · Order: Primulales · Family: Primulaceae · Genus: Dodecatheon · Species: Dodecatheon Meadia USDA Status · Endangered : FL, MI, MN, LA, PA · Protected: FL, PA · Possibly Extinct: NY · Possible Concern: MN  Google Earth

Works Cited "Weather." //Naps.gov//. N.p., 20 Jan 2010. Web. 31 Mar 2010. .

"Dodecatheon meadia shooting star." //Izel//. N.p., 2009. Web. 14 Apr 2010. .

"Signs of Summer-Monarchs and Milkweed." __Prairie Plants__. March 2010. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 19 March 2010 []

"Prairie White-fringed Orchid." //EEk//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 March 2010. .

"Purple Coneflower.” __EEK!__ Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 29 March 2010 []