Unusual Natives Prairies & Plains

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Prairies & Plains

Senna hebecarpa (Wild senna)
"Growing 4 to 8 feet tall, this plant can make a real statement! Its robust form provides cover for wildlife, while the large seeds offer a nutritious meal."
—Neil Diboll, Prairie Nursery

This sturdy, shrub-like plant is a long-lived, native legume. So while it is bringing beauty to your garden, it's also adding nitrogen to the soil. Large, feathery, compound leaves combine with clusters of creamy- to bright-yellow flowers in July and August. Good for cut and dried flowers. Grow in moist, well-drained, moderately fertile soil. Full sun or light shade.
Zone 3.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225

Phone: 718-623-7200

By Joan McDonald on April 1, 2000

Silphium perfoliatum (Cup plant)
"A tall wildlife plant attracting songbirds, hummingbirds, and butterflies."
—Patrick Stollfus, S & S Wildflowers

The flowerheads of this fascinating native have a thimble-like central "cone" and narrow, drooping, yellow rays in summer. Stems tower to 10 feet. Immense, basal, bright-green leaves clasp the stem forming "cups" where water collects and is sipped by hummingbirds. Grows naturally in rich, moist soil and full sun.
Zone 5-9.

Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver's root)
"A rare and spectacular tallgrass prairie beauty with candelabra spikes of white and mauve flowers in July that attract numerous butterflies and bees."
—John Morgan, Prairie Habitats Inc.

The inflorescence of this plant is given a fuzzy look by its projecting stamens. In its native range, it can be found in moderately fertile, humus-rich, moist soil in sun to partial shade.
Zone 3-8.

Old standbys of the prairies and plains include: Asarum canadense (wild ginger), Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed), Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed), Aster novae-angliae (New England aster), Aster oblongifolius (aromatic aster), Baptisia leucantha (wild false indigo), Clintonia borealis (blue-bead lily), Eupatorium purpureum (sweet Joe Pye weed), Geum triflorum (prairie smoke), Liatris ligulistylus (meadow blazing star), Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower), Petalostemun purpureum (purple prairie clover), Potentilla arguta (prairie cinquefoil), Solidago ohioensis (Ohio goldenrod), and Solidago riddellii (Riddell's goldenrod).

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