Plant Taxonomy - Biology 308

Before the arrival of European settlers, prairie was the primary vegetation type in western Minnesota. Roughly speaking, prairie would have been occurred to the south and west of an imaginary diagonal line drawn from the northwest corner of Minnesota to the southeast corner.

To the causal observer, prairies can be "boring." However, upon closer examination, prairies have a wealth of species from the dominant grasses to the diverse forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants).

Table 1 is a checklist of some of the common fall-flowering plants on the restored prairie on the campus of St. John's University, Collegeville. These species were observed on field trips in Plant Taxonomy (Biol308). The St. John's Arboretum web site also has a more detailed checklist of plants that includes distribution data (click here). For a brief history of the restoration project at St. John's, click here.

Objectives: Upon completion of this field trip the student should be able to:

Procedure: Today we will visit the St. John's prairie to study the common species. The following list should provide a good guide to the species that we are likely to find.

Table 1. Checklist of Common Prairie Plants in the St. John's Arboretum
Family	Binomial	Common Name
Anacardiaceae	Rhus radicans	Western poison ivy
Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)	Zizia aptera	Golden Alexander
Apocynaceae (=Asclepiadaceae)	Asclepias syriaca	Common milkweed
Apocynaceae (=Asclepiadaceae)	Asclepias tuberosus	Butterfly weed
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Achillea millefolium	Yarrow
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Ambrosia artemisiifolia	Ragweed
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Artemisia absinthium	Wormwood
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Artemisia frigida	Sage
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Artemisia ludoviciana	Prairie sage
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Aster sp.	Aster
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Centaurea maculosa	Spotted knapweed
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Cirsium arvense	Canada thistle
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Cirsium vulgare	Bull thistle
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Conyza canadensis	Horseweed
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Echinacea angustifolia	Purple coneflower
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Erigeron sp.	Fleabane
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Eupatorium maculatum	Joe Pye weed
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Eupatorium perfoliatum	Boneset
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Helianthus sp.	Sunflower
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Helianthus maximiliani	Maximiliani sunflower
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Heterotheca villosa	Golden Aster
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Liatris punctata	Spotted blazing star
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Ratibida columnifera	Brown coneflower
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Ratibida pinnata	Gray-headed coneflower
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Rudbeckia hirta	Black-eyed Susan
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Solidago gigantea	Late goldenrod
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Solidago nemoralis	Gray goldenrod
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Solidago rigida	Stiff goldenrod
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Sonchus oleraceus	Common sow-thistle
Asteraceae (Compositae)	Taraxacum officinale	Dandelion
Brassicaceae	Berteroa incana	Hoary alyssum
Cactaceae	Opuntia sp.	Prickly pear
Campanulaceae	Campanula rapunculoides	European bellflower
Campanulaceae	Campanula rotundifolia	Harebell
Caprifoliaceae	Symphoricarpos occidentalis	Wolfberry
Caryophyllaceae	Lychnis alba	White campion
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Amorpha canescens	Lead plant
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Amorpha fruticosa	False indigo
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Dalea (Petalostemum) candidum	White prairie clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Dalea (Petalostemum) purpureum	Purple prairie clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Desmodium sp.	Tick-trefoil
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Lespedeza capitata	Round-headed bush clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Lotus corniculatus	Bird-foot trefoil
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Medicago lupulina	Black medic
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Melilotus alba	White sweet clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Melilotus officinalis	Yellow sweet clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Trifolium arvense	Rabbit-foot clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Trifolium pratense	Red clover
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)	Trifolium repens	White clover
Lamiaceae (Labiatae)	Agastache foeniculum	Fragrant giant hyssop
Lamiaceae (Labiatae)	Monarda fistulosa	Bergamot
Lamiaceae (Labiatae)	Monarda punctata	Horsemint, Spotted bee-balm
Lamiaceae (Labiatae)	Pycnanthemum virginianum	Mountain-mint
Nyctaginaceae	Mirabilis nyctaginea	Four o-clock
Plantaginaceae	Plantago sp.	Plantain
Plantaginaceae	Plantago lancolata	Ribgrass
Poaceae (Graminae)	Andropogon gerardii	Big bluestem, Turkey foot
Poaceae (Graminae)	Bouteloua curtipendula	Side-oats grama
Poaceae (Graminae)	Bouteloua gracilis	Blue grama grass
Poaceae (Graminae)	Bromus inermis	Smooth brome
Poaceae (Graminae)	Elymus canadensis	Canada wild rye
Poaceae (Graminae)	Panicum sp.	Panic grass
Poaceae (Graminae)	Phalaris arundinacea	Reed canary grass
Poaceae (Graminae)	Poa sp.	Blue grass, Meadow grass
Poaceae (Graminae)	Schizachyrium scoparium	Little Bluestem
Poaceae (Graminae)	Setaria sp.	Foxtail
Poaceae (Graminae)	Sorghastrum nutans	Indian grass
Poaceae (Graminae)	Spartina pectinata	Prairie cord-grass
Polygonaceae	Rumex sp.	Dock
Rosaceae	Potentilla arguta	Tall cinquefoil
Rosaceae	Potentilla argentea	Silvery cinquefoil
Rosaceae	Prunus virginiana	Chokecherry
Rosaceae	Rosa sp.	Wild rose
Saxifragraceae	Heuchera richardsonii	Alumroot
Scrophulariaceae	Linaria vulgaris	Butter-and-eggs
Scrophulariaceae	Penstemon grandiflorus	Large-flowered beardtongue
Scrophulariaceae	Scrophularia lanceolata	Figwort
Scrophulariaceae	Verbascum thapsus	Common mullein
Scrophulariaceae	Veronicastrum virginicum	Culver's root
Solanaceae	Physalis virginiana	Ground cherry
Typhaceae	Typha angustifolia	Narrow-leaved cat-tail
Typhaceae	Typha latifolia	Broad-leaved cat-tail
Ulmaceae	Ulmus pumila	Siberian elm
Verbenaceae	Verbena bracteata	Creeping vervain
Verbenaceae	Verbena stricta	Hoary vervain
Vitaceae	Parthenocissus inserta	Virginia creeper, Woodbine