Wisconsin Native
Showing 97–104 of 104 results
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Thalictrum dasycarpum Purple meadowrue Z 4-9
Panicles of delicate dangling ivory flowers May to July, purple stems
Panicles of delicate dangling ivory flowers May to July, purple stems.
Size: 4-5’ x 2’
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to moist soil
Native: All North America except Atlantic & Pacific coasts and northern Canada, Wisconsin nativeCollected for gardens by 1842. Used by Native Americans to enliven horses by giving them seeds or rubbing a poltice on their muzzles. (Pawnee & Lakota) Meskwaki, Ponca & Potawatomi used as an aphrodisiac. Potawatomi smoked a mixture of this and tobacco before meeting their woman. HoChunk used it to perfume smoke. For Potawatomi smoking dried seeds brought luck in hunting. Ponca boys made flutes from the hollow stems.
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Thalictrum dioicum Early meadowrue Z 5-9
Chartreuse blooms in spring
Hanging chartreuse blooms dangle from the stems in spring
Size: 30" x 24"
Care: shade to part shade in moist or moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant.
Native: Quebec west to No. Dakota, south to Georgia, Wisconsin nativeCherokee made an infusion of the root to cure nausea and diarrhea. Iroquois used it to remedy sore eyes and heart palpitations. The plant also would “make you crazy.” 1st collected by Rev. John Banister who moved to colonial Virginia in 1678. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants. Thomas Drummond collected this on the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains before 1800.
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Tradescantia bracteata Spiderwort Z. 4-9
rosy purple flowers July-August
rosy purple flowers July-August
Size: 12-18” x 12”
Care: full sun to part shade in moist well drained soil
Native: WY east to MI, south to OK, WI native
Wildlife Value: attracts bees & butterfliesGenus named after John Tradescant the Younger, an English botanist, who introduced Tradescantia virginiana to garden cultivation in 1637, when he sent it to his father, gardener to King Charles I. This prairie plant collected before 1938.
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Tradescantia virginiana Spiderwort Z 4-9
bluish lavender to purple 3 petaled stars with showy yellow stamens
Prominent pendulous buds open to bluish lavender to purple 3-petaled stars with showy yellow stamens. Free blooming from June thru September.
Size: 18-24" x 24"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: From New York to South Dakota, Virginia and ArkansasNamed after English planthunter John Tradescant the Younger, who introduced this plant to garden cultivation in 1637. Parkinson explains the origin of this plant: “This Spider-wort is of late knowledge, and for it the Christian world is indebted unto that painfull industrious searcher, and lover of all natures varieties, John Tradescant who first received it of a friend, that brought it out of Virginia,” (1639). Cherokee ate the young greens and prescribed it to cure stomachaches after overeating, female illnesses, cancer and insect bites. Menominee revived those “defiled by touch of bereaved.” By 1659 ones with white, light blue and reddish flowers grown in England.
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Trillium grandiflorum Large flowered Trillium, Wake robin Z 4-8
Pure white trio of petals atop whorl of leaves in May. Ephemeral.
Available for purchase in Spring only
Pure white trio of petals atop whorl of leaves in May. Ephemeral.
Size: 12-18” x slowly spreading
Care: shade to part shade in moist soil
Native: Quebec to Georgia, west to Minnesota WI native
Awards: Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden Great Plant PicksChippewa made decoctions of Trillium for aching joints & sore ears. Menominee cured many ailments with this Trillium: irregular menstrual periods, cramps, diuretic, swollen eyes and “sore nipples and teats pierced with a dog whisker.” Collected by Frenchman André Michaux (1746-1802) who spent 11 years in America collecting hundreds of new plants.
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Uvularia grandiflora Largeflower bellwort, Fairybells Z 4-9
Graceful, hanging pale yellow bells, like a gypsy’s skirt, in spring
Graceful, hanging pale yellow bells, like a gypsy’s skirt, in spring
Size: 10-20” x 6” spread slowly
Care: part shade to shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: Quebec to Ontario, NH to ND, Louisiana to Georgia, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Attracts bees
Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of MeritMenominee reduced swelling with this plant. Ojibwa cured stomach pains and Potawatomi mixed it with lard to cure sore muscles & backaches. Collected for gardens by 1802. Wm. Robinson considered this a “graceful perennial … the finest of the species.”
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Veronicastrum virginianum, Culver’s root Z 4-9
Tall, graceful ivory spires
Tall, graceful ivory spires bloom from mid to late summer
Size: 4' x 18"
Care: full sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: From Canada to Texas incl. Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesUsed by American Indians as a laxative and to induce vomiting and clean blood. Cherokee cured typhus and inactive livers with Culver’s root. Remember Culver’s Little Liver pills? Seneca Indians used the root in their ceremonies. 1st collected by Rev. John Banister who moved to colonial Virginia in 1678. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants. Colonial Puritan Cotton Mather unsuccessfully attempted to use this plant to cure his daughter’s tuberculosis in 1716.
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Zizia aurea Golden alexanders Z 4-9
In spring, golden umbels
Tiny chartreuse-golden flowers, grouped in umbels, spring. Good cut flower.
Size: 30"x 24"
Care: full sun in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: from New Brunswick south to Florida - west to Texas, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Primary host for the Missouri Woodland Swallowtail butterfly.Meskwaki used the root to reduce fevers and the flower stalks to ease headaches. Collected by late 1700’s. Good cut flower.
