Native Wildflowers and Grasses

WILDFLOWERS
Botanical Name, Common Name, Height, Color, Site Preference
Achillea millefolium, Yarrow, 2-3', red-pink, drier prairie areas
Allium spp. , Wild Onion, 2', white, drier prairie areas
Amorpha canescens , Leadplant, 4', blue, wide variety of soils
Amorpha nana, Fragrant false indigo, 1-3', purple, wide variety of soils
Anemone caroliniana , Carolina anemone, 1', white, drier prairie areas
Argemone polyanthemos, Prickly Poppy, 2-4', white, variety of soils
Artemesia spp., Prairie Sage, 2-3', white, variety of soils
Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed, 2-4', pink, seasonally moist soils
Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Flower, 2-3', orange, well drained soils
Aster ericoides, Heath Aster, 1-3', white, wide variety of soils
Aster novae-angliae, New England Aster, 3-4', violet-pink, moist soils, wood borders
Aster sericeus, Silky Aster, 1-2', purple, well drained soils
Baptisia australis, Blue False Indigo, 2-3', blue, dry, well drained soils
Baptisia leucophaea, Plains Wild Indigo, 15", cream, dry, well drained soils
Callirhoe involucrata, , Purple Poppy Mallow, 6", purple, well drained soils
Calylophus serrulatus, Plains Yellow Primrose, 6", yellow, coarse, sandy soils
Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey Tea, 3-4', white, well drained soils
Chrysopsis villosa, Golden Aster, 2', yellow, dry or sandy soils
Cleome serrulata, Rocky Mtn Bee Plant, 2-5', purple, wide variety of soils
Coreopsis tinctoria, Plains coreopsis, 1-3', yellow, seasonally moist soils
Dalea candida, White Prairie-clover, 1-3', white, wide variety of soils
Dalea purpurea, Purple Prairie-clover, 1-3', purple, wide variety of soils
Delphinium virescens, Prairie Larkspur, 1-3', white, wide variety of soils
Desmanthus illinoensis, Illinois Bundleflower, 2-4', white, wide variety of soils
Echinacea angustifolia, , Native Purple Coneflower, 2-3', pink-white, wide variety of soils
Echinacea pallida, Pale Purple Coneflower, 2-3', purple, wide variety of soils
Euphorbia corollata, Flowering Spurge, 3', white, wide variety of soils
Gaura spp., Butterfly Weed, 4', white, wide variety of soils
Grindelia squarrosa, Curly-top Gumweed, 1-2', yellow, dry soil
Helenium autumnale, Sneezeweed, 3-4', red/gold, seasonally moist soils
Helianthus maximilianii, Maximilian Sunflower, 4-6', yellow, seasonally moist areas
Heliopsis helianthoides, False Sunflower, 5', yellow, dry, well drained soils
Ipomoea leptophylla, Bush Morning Glory, 3', pink, coarse, sandy soils
Lespedeza capitata, Roundhead Lespedeza, 2-3', purple-pink, variety of soils
Liatris aspera, Rough Gayfeather, 3', red-violet, well drained soils
Liatris punctata, Dotted Gayfeather, 1-3', pink, variety of drier soils
Liatris pyconstachya, Thickspike Gayfeather, 18", rose-purple, moist, well drained soils
Linum lewisii, Blue Flax, 1', blue, coarse, dry soils
Machaeranthera tanacetifolia, Tansy Aster, 1-2', red-violet, dry, sandy soils
Monarda fistulosa, Wild Bergamont, 5', lavender, moist soils
Oenothera latifolia, Pale Evening Primrose, 20", white, sandy or rocky soils
Oenothera macrocarpa, Missouri Primrose, 6", yellow, dry, rocky soils
Oenothera speciosa, Showy Evening Primrose, 18", pink, dry, rocky soils
Opuntia polyacantha, Plains Prickly Pear, 8", yellow, dry, sandy or rocky soils
Penstemon spp., Beardtongue, 1-4', variety, variety of soils
Penstemon cobaea, Cobaea Penstemon, 1-2', white, well drained soils
Penstemon grandiflorus, Shell-leaf penstemon, 2-4', variety, well drained, sandy soils
Phlox pilosa, Prairie Phlox, 18", pink, moist, rich soils
Polygonum bicorne, , Pink Smartweed, 4", pink, wet soils
Psoralea tenuiflora, Wild Alfalfa, 1-3', blue-violet, wide variety of soils
Pulsatilla patens , Pasqueflower, 18", white, dry, rocky soils
Rosa setigera, Prairie Wild Rose, 2', pink-white, variety of soils
Ratibida columnifera, Prairie Coneflower, 4', red, wide variety of dryer soils
Ratibida pinnata, Greyhead Prairie Coneflower, 4-5', yellow, wide variety of soils
Rudbeckia hirta, Black Eyed Susan, 3', yellow, variety of soils
Salvia azurea var. grandiflora, Pitcher Sage, 4', blue, moist, well drained soils
Schrankia nuttallii, Catclaw Sensitive Briar, 6", pink, sandy or gravelly soils
Senecio plattensis, Prairie Ragwort, 1-2', yellow, variety of well drained soils
Silphium laciniata, Compass Plant, 4-7', yellow, seasonally moist soils
Solidago spp., Goldenrod, 18", gold, wide variety of soils
Thelesperma filifolium, Greenthread, 15", yellow, dry, gravelly soils
Tradescantia bracteata, Bracted Spiderwort, 16", red-violet, seasonally moist areas
Tradescantia occidentalis, Prairie Spiderwort, 20", red-violet, variety of soils
Verbena bipinnatifida, Dakota vervain, 10", red-violet, variety of soils
Verbena canadensis, Rose Vervain, 4-8", lavender, variety of soils
Verbena stricta, Hoary Vervain, 1-3', red violet, dry, disturbed soils
Vernonia baldwinii, Baldwin Ironweed, 2-5', red-violet, variety of dryer soils
Vernonia fasciculata, Common Ironweed, 2-5', red-violet, moist, well-drained soils
Yucca glauca, Small Soapweed, 3', white, dry, sandy soils

Grasses
Botanical name, Common name, Height, Site Preference
Agropyron smithii, Western Wheatgrass, 2-3', wide variety of soils
Andropogon gerardii, Big Bluestem, 5-6', moist, well drained soils
Andropogon gerardii var. paucipilus, Sand Bluestem, 3-4', dry, sandy soils
Bouteloua curtipendula, Sideoats Grama, 12-18", wide variety of soils
Bouteloua gracilis, Blue Grama, 3-6", variety of drier soils
Bouteloua hirsuta, Hairy Grama, 1-2', most dry soils
Buchloe dactyloides, Buffalo Grass, 6"-1', dry soils
Eragrostis trichodes, Sand Lovegrass, 3', sandy soils
Panicum virgatum, Switchgrass, 4-5', moist, well drained soils
Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem, 2-3', wide variety of soils
Sorghastrum nutans, Indiangrass, 4-5', moist, well drained soils
Spartina pectinata, Prairie cordgrass, 4-6', wet, non-saline soils
Sporobolus heterolepis, Prairie dropseed, 3-4', sandy to silt loam
Sporobolus asper, Tall dropseed, 3-4', medium-heavy soils
Stipa comata, Needleandthread, 2-3', sandy and med. textures soils
Stipa viridula, Green needlegrass, 2-3', sandy; saline; well drained soil