The prairie in seed Identifying seed-bearing prairie plants in the upper Midwest

Dave Williams, 1961-

Book - 2016

"The tallgrass prairie offers solutions to the many environmental challenges facing our water, soils, and ecosystems. Planting prairie on just 10 percent of a field can effectively remove excess phosphorous and nitrogen from the remaining 90 percent. Deep prairie roots and dense aboveground growth filter and hold soils, keeping them from eroding into our streams and rivers. Plants such as common milkweed are the key to the monarch butterfly's recovery. In light of these benefits, perhaps our love affair with European turf grass is slowly giving way to an appreciation of the beauty of our original native prairie. As interest in these wildflowers and grasses has grown, so has demand for better resources to identify the hundreds of s...pecies that make up the native prairie. In The Prairie in Seed, Dave Williams shows us how to identify wildflowers when they are out of bloom and, in particular, how to harvest their seeds. Without the flower color and shape as guides, it can be difficult to identify prairie plants. Imagine trying to distinguish between a simple prairie sunflower and an ox-eye sunflower with no flowers to look at! In this richly illustrated guide, Williams offers dormant plant identification information, seed descriptions, and advice on seed harvesting and cleaning for seventy-three of the most common wildflowers found in the tallgrass prairie. He includes photographs and descriptions of the plants in bloom and in seed to assist in finding them when you are ready to harvest. Each species description explains where the seeds are located on the plant, when seed ripening begins, and how many seeds each species produces, along with a photograph and approximate measurements of the actual seed. Finally, this guide provides assistance on how and when to hand-harvest seeds for each species, as well as some simple tips on seed cleaning. An indispensable guide for anyone involved in prairie restoration or conservation, this book is the perfect complement to Williams's The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest"--The publisher.

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Subjects
Published
Iowa City : University of Iowa Press [2016]
Language
English
Main Author
Dave Williams, 1961- (author)
Physical Description
xvii, 118 pages : color illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781609384098
9781609384104
  • Preface and Acknowledgments
  • Of Photographs and Fieldwork
  • How to Use This Guide
  • Part 1. Solitary Seed Heads
  • Allium canadense, wild garlic
  • Anemone canadensis, Canada anemone
  • Anemone cylindrica, thimbleweed
  • Coreopsis pahnata, prairie coreopsis
  • Dalea Candida, white prairie clover
  • Dalea purpurea, purple prairie clover
  • Echinacea pallida, pale purple coneflower
  • Geum trifiorum, prairie smoke
  • Helianthus pauciflorus, prairie sunflower
  • Heliopsis helianthoides, ox-eye sunflower
  • Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot
  • Ratibida pinnata, gray-headed coneflower
  • Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan
  • Viola pedatifida, prairie violet
  • Part 2. Seeds in Follicles
  • Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed
  • Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly milkweed
  • Asclepias verticillata, whorled milkweed
  • Part 3. Seeds in Leaf Axils
  • Lithospermum caroliniense, hairy puccoon
  • Onosmodium molle, false gromwell
  • Part 4. Seeds in Racemes
  • Baptisia alba, white wild indigo
  • Baptisia bracteata, cream false indigo
  • Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey tea
  • Chamaecrista fasciculata, partridge pea
  • Delphinium virescens, prairie larkspur
  • Lespedeza capitata, round-headed bush clover
  • Lobelia siphilitica, great blue lobelia
  • Silphium laciniatum, compass plant
  • Part 5. Seeds in Spikes
  • Amorpha canescens, leadplant
  • Astragalus canadensis, milk vetch
  • Gentiana andrewsii, bottle gentian
  • Liatris aspera, rough blazing star
  • Liatris pyenostachya, prairie blazing star
  • Monarda punctata, spotted horsemtnt
  • Penstemon grandiflorus, large-flowered beardrongue
  • Ruellia humilis, wild petunia
  • Teucrium canadense, germander
  • Verbena hastata, blue vervain
  • Verbena stricta, hoary vervain
  • Part 6. Seeds in Umbels
  • Allium stellatum, wild prairie onion
  • Dodecatheon meadia, shooting star
  • Eryngium yuccifolium, rattlesnake master
  • Euphorbia corollata, flowering spurge
  • Lilium michiganense, Michigan lily
  • Pycnanthemum pilosum, hairy mountain mint
  • Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, slender mountain mint
  • Pycnanthemum virginianum, common mountain mint
  • Silphium integrifolium, rosinweed
  • Tradescantia bracteata, prairie spiderwort
  • Tradescantia obiensis, Ohio spiderwort
  • Veronicastrum virginicum, Culver's root
  • Zizia aurea, golden alexanders
  • Part 7. Seeds in Panicles without Pappus Bristles
  • Achillea millefolium, western yarrow
  • Artemisia ludoviciana, white sage
  • Desmanthus illinoensis, Illinois bundle flower
  • Desmodium canadense, showy tick trefoil
  • Helenium autumnale, sneezeweed
  • Helianthusgrosseserratus, saw-tooth sunflower
  • Parthenium integrifolium, wild quinine
  • Penstemon digitalis, foxglove beardtongue
  • Phloxpilosa, prairie phlox
  • Potentilla arguta, tall cinquefoil
  • Rudbeckia suhtomentosa, fragrant coneflower
  • Part 8. Seeds in Panicles with Pappus Bristles
  • Brickellia eupatorioides, false boneset
  • Eupatorium altissimum, tall boneset
  • Eupatorium perfoliatum, boneset
  • Euthamia graminifolia, grass-leaved goldenrod
  • Oligoneuron rigidum, stiff goldenrod
  • Solidago nemoralis, field goldenrod
  • Solidago speciosa, showy goldenrod
  • Symphyotrichum ericoides, heath aster
  • Symphyotrichum laeve, smooth blue aster
  • Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, New England aster
  • Vernonia fasciculata, ironweed
  • Leaf Identification
  • Table 1. Initial Flowering and Ripening Times
  • Table 2. Initial Ripening Time and Seed Duration after Ripening
  • Table 3. Number of Seeds Produced per Stalk
  • Glossary
  • References
  • Index