Plants in Prairie Communities

Other Prairie Plant Communities

Several other prairie plant communities are found in the Midwest, constituting a small fraction of the total vegetation that exists today. They contain the same herbaceous plant species found in the wet, mesic, and dry prairie communities, but in different proportions.

Oak Savanna

Oak savannas were a common ecotype between the eastern deciduous forest and the tallgrass prairie. These were park-like groves of oak, often bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa, and mesic prairie grasslands. Today most savannas have been destroyed, although some groves of trees still exist in pastures or in suburban housing developments. Fire was a significant factor in influencing the position and extent of this community. Some public land surveys of Minnesota indicate that rather than a park-like grove, this community may have been more brushland with small groves of trees intermixed with open prairie.

Fens

Fen is a geologic term used to describe low, swampy, boggy areas, but the word also describes the soil/plant relationship. Fens are wet prairie communities found on hillsides, fed by internal springs, associated with either extinct or existing glacial lakes of a dolomitic limestone source. Water and soil conditions tend to vary slightly from site to site, but they generally tend to be high in magnesium sulfates, magnesium and calcium bicarbonates. Sedges and grasses are the dominant plants found in fens.

Aspen Parkland

The aspen parkland plant communities are found in the far north of the Midwest, a transition area between the coniferous forest to the northeast and the prairie communities of the west. Ancient beach ridges hold large concentrations of peat, gravel, and sand. These poorly drained areas shelter and wet and mesic prairie communities, supporting populations of aspen and other fast-growing trees between prairie fires. The aspen parkland once covered vast acreages within the poorly drained flatlands left by Glacial Lake Agassiz. Remnants existing today are a mosaic of wet prairie, sedge meadow, shrub thicket, and aspen groves.

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References

Audubon Society. 1979. Field Guide to North American Wildflowers/Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf. New York.

Barr, Claude. 1983. Jewels of the Plains: Wildflowers of the Great Plains, Grasslands and Hills. University of Minnnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN.

Brown, L. 1985. Grasslands. Audubon Society Nature Guide. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, NY.

Courtney, Booth, and James H. Zimmerman. 1992. Wildflowers and Weeds. Simon and Schuster. New York, NY.

Congdon, Eleanor. 1993. Bibliography—Native Grasses and Wildflower Research Publications. Legislative Commission of Minnesota's Natural Resources. St. Paul, MN.

Curtis, John T. 1959. The Vegetation of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.

Great Plains Flora Association. 1977. Atlas of the Flora of the Great Plains. Iowa State Press. Ames, IA.

Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Flora of the Great Plains. University of Kansas Press. Lawrence, KS.

Hitchcock, A.S. 1971. Manual of Grasses of the United States. Dover Publishing. New York, NY.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 1988. Natural Vegetation of Minnesota at the time of public land survey 1847-1907. MN DNR Biological Report No. 1. St. Paul, MN.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 1993. Minnesota’s Native Vegetation, A Key to Natural Communities. MN DNR Biological Report No. 20. St. Paul, MN.

Morely, Thomas. 1974. Spring Flora of Minnesota. Botany Department, University of Minnesota Press. St. Paul, MN.

Moyle, J.B., and E.W. Moyle. 1977. Northland Wildflowers—A Guide for the Minnesota Region. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN.

Ownbey, Gerald, and Thomas Morley. 1991. Vascular Plants of Minnesota: A Checklist and Atlas. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN.

Peterson, Roger T., and Margaret McKenny. 1968. A Field Guide to Wildflowers, Northeastern/North central North America. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA.

Risser, P.G., E.C. Birney, and H.D. Blocker. 1981. The True Prairie Ecosystem. Hutchinson Ross Publishing. Stroudsburg, PA.

Runkel, Sylvan T., and Dean M. Roosa. 1989. Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA.

Smith, Welby R. 1993. Orchids of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN.

Stubbendieck, J., S. Hatch, and K. Hirsch. 1986. North American Range Plants. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln, NE.

Vance, F.R., J.R. Jowsey, and J.S. McLean. 1984. Wildflowers of the Northern Great Plains. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN.

Van der Valk, A. 1989. Northern Prairie Wetlands. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA.

Weaver, J.E. 1954. North American Prairie. Johnson Publishing. Lincoln, NE.

Wendt, Keith M. 1984. A Guide to Minnesota Prairies, The Natural Heritage Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. St. Paul, MN.

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Landscaping & Propagation

Art, Henry W. 1991. The Wildflower Gardener’s Guide: Midwest, Great Plains, and Canadian Prairies edition. Story Communications, Inc., Pownal, VT.

Diekellmann, John, and R. Schuster. 1982. Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities. McGraw Hill, New York.

Henderson, Carol. 1987. Landscaping for Wildlife. Nongame Wildlife Program, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul, MN.

National Wildflower Research Center. 1989. The Wildflower Handbook. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, TX.

Stevenson, V. 1985. The Wild Garden: Making Natural Gardens Using Wild and Native Plants. Penguin, New York.

Sullivan, G. and R. Daley. 1981. Directory to Resources on Wildflower Propagation. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO.

Wilson, Tim. 1992. Landscaping with Wildflowers: An Environmental Approach to Gardening. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.

Wilson, Jim. 1992. Landscaping with Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co., New York.

Wilson, William. 1984. Landscaping with Wildflowers and Native Plants. Ortho Books, San Francisco, CA.

Young, J., and C. Young. 1986. Collection, Processing and Germinating Seeds of Wildland Plants. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

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Prairie Establishment & Management

Manitoba Natural Resources. 1990. Prairie Grasslands Guidebook, a management manual. Public Information Unit, Manitoba Natural Resources, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Nichols, Stan, and L. Entine. 1976. Prairie Primer. University of Wisconsin-Extension, Madison, WI.

Pauly, Wayne R. 1988. How to Manage Small Prairie Fires. Dane County Park Commission, Madison, WI.

Rock, H. 1971. Prairie Propagation Handbook. Boerner Botanical Gardens, Hales Corners, WI.

Smith, J. Robert, and Beatrice Smith. 1980. The Prairie Garden: 70 Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI.

Shirley, Shirley. 1994. Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie, an illustrated manual for Iowa and the Upper Midwest. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, IA.

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Native Plant and Horticultural Societies

IOWA

Iowa Natural Areas Inventory
Bureau of Preserves and Ecological Services
Department of Natural Resources
Wallace State Office Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-8524
State Natural Heritage Program Office.

The Nature Conservancy
Iowa Field Office
431 E. Locust, Suite 200
Des Moines, IA 50309
(515) 244-5044

MICHIGAN

Michigan Botanical Club
Matthaie Botanical Gardens
1800 Dixboro Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Publishes The State Newsletter and Michigan Botanist. Has 5 regional chapters, programs on natural history and native plants.

Michigan Natural Features Inventory
Mason Building, 5th Floor
Box 30028
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 373-1552
State Natural Heritage Program Office.

The Nature Conservancy
Michigan Field Office
2840 East Grand River, Suite 5
East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 332-1741

MINNESOTA

Minnesota Natural Heritage Program
Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155
(612) 296-4284
State Natural Heritage Program Office.

Minnesota State Horticultural Society
1755 Prior Ave. N.
Falcon Heights, MN 55113-5549
(612) 643-3601
Publishes Minnesota Horticulturist magazine. Seminars, library, and educational programs.

Minnesota Native Plant Society
220 Biological Science Center
University of Minnesota
1445 Gortner Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Publishes The Minnesota Plant Press. Annual conference on native plants, field trips, regional fairs and exhibits.

The Nature Conservancy
Minnesota Field Office
1313 5th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 331-0750

NEBRASKA

The Nature Conservancy
Nebraska Field Office
418 South 10th Street
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 342-0282

Nebraska Natural Heritage Program
Games and Parks Commission
2200 N. 33rd Street
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
(402) 471-5421
State Natural Heritage Program Office.

NORTH DAKOTA

The Nature Conservancy
Dakotas Field Office
1014 East Central Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501
(701) 222-8464

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota Natural Heritage
South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks Wildlife Division
445 E. Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501-3185
(605) 773-4277
State Natural Heitage Program Office.

WISCONSIN

The Nature Conservancy
Wisconsin Field Office
333 West Mifflin, Suite 107
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 251-8140

Wisconsin Natural Heritage Program
Endangered Resources/4
Department of Natural Resources
101 S. Webster Street, Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 266-0924
State Natural Heritage Program Office.

About the Authors

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