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Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie
This collection profiles wildflowers of the tallgrass prairie. Stretching over 250 million acres, the tallgrass prairie was once the largest ecosystem in the United States. Its deep rich soils made excellent farmland. By 1860, most of the tallgrass prairies had fallen to the plow. Today, only about one million acres remain, making tallgrass prairie one of the most threatened natural communities. Native grasses form the prairie framework, comprising 50 to 95 percent of the vegetation. The four dominant species in the tallgrass prairie are little bluestem, big bluestem, Indiangrass, and switchgrass. Forbs (broadleaf herbs), an integral part of the prairie, provide most of the species diversity. Most prairie species are perennials that die back in the winter. The wildflowers included in this collection are some of the most common tallgrass prairie species.Printer Friendly: Species List | List with Images | List with QR Tags to Mobile
| scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
| Amorpha fruticosa | Indigo bush False indigo bush False indigo Desert false indigo | |
| Anemone canadensis | Canadian anemone Round-leaf thimbleweed Canada anemone Windflower Meadow anemone | |
| Anaphalis margaritacea | Western pearly everlasting Pearly-everlasting | |
| Asclepias tuberosa | Butterflyweed Butterfly milkweed Orange milkweed Pleurisy root | |
| Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea | Longbract wild indigo Cream false indigo Plains wild indigo Cream wild indigo Large-bracted wild indigo | |
| Castilleja sessiliflora | Downy painted cup Downy paintbrush Great Plains paintbrush Great Plains indian-paintbrush | |
| Coreopsis palmata | Stiff tickseed Stiff coreopsis Finger coreopsis | |
| Delphinium carolinianum ssp. virescens | Carolina larkspur Prairie larkspur Plains larkspur | |
| Eryngium yuccifolium | Button eryngo Button snakeroot Rattlesnake master Beargrass Bear's grass | |
| Eustoma exaltatum ssp. russellianum | Texas bluebells Texas bluebell Bluebell Showy prairie gentian Prairie gentian | |
| Euphorbia marginata | Snow on the mountain Snow-on-the-mountain | |
| Gaillardia pulchella | Firewheel Indian Blanket | |
| Glandularia canadensis | Rose vervain Sweet william Rose mock vervain | |
| Helianthus maximiliani | Maximilian sunflower Max sunflower | |
| Iris versicolor | Harlequin blueflag Northern blue flag | |
| Lithospermum canescens | Hoary puccoon | |
| Lilium philadelphicum | Wood lily | |
| Linum sulcatum | Grooved flax Yellow prairie flax | |
| Monarda fistulosa | Wild bergamot Beebalm | |
| Oenothera biennis | Common evening-primrose King's cure-all | |
| Penstemon albidus | Red-line beardtongue White penstemon | |
| Phlox pilosa | Downy phlox Prairie phlox Fragrant phlox | |
| Pulsatilla patens | Eastern pasqueflower American Pasqueflower | |
| Ratibida pinnata | Pinnate prairie coneflower Grayhead Mexican hat Yellow coneflower Grayhead coneflower | |
| Rudbeckia hirta | Black-eyed Susan Common black-eyed Susan Brown-eyed Susan | |
| Sisyrinchium angustifolium | Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Narrow-leaf blue-eyed-grass Bermuda blue-eyed grass Blue-eyed grass | |
| Silphium laciniatum | Compassplant Compass plant | |
| Tradescantia ohiensis | Bluejacket Ohio spiderwort | |
| Vernonia baldwinii | Baldwin's ironweed Western Ironweed Ironweed | |
| Viola pedatifida | Crow-foot violet Prairie violet | |
| scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
© 2013 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, Texas 78739 | 512.232.0100