Wisconsin Native
Showing 49–56 of 109 results
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Erythronium americanum Yellow trout lily, Dog’s tooth violet Z 3-9
Downfacing yellow lily-like recurved flowers in spring above mottled foliage. Tops of petals slightly tan Grows from deep rootstock or corm, 3-5” deep. In time it spreads from offshoots of the corm, resulting in colonies of trout lilies. Ephemeral – dies back in summer.
Downfacing yellow lily-like recurved flowers in spring above mottled foliage. Tops of petals slightly tan Grows from deep rootstock or corm, 3-5” deep. In time it spreads from offshoots of the corm, resulting in colonies of trout lilies. Ephemeral – dies back in summer.
Size: 3-6” x 4”
Care: part to full shade in moist soil
Native: Eastern No. America, WisconsinCherokee warmed crushed leaves & poured the juice over wounds. According to Cherokee Yellow trout lily also remedied fever, fainting & removed slivers. Used by Iroquois as birth control for young women and to make fish bite (by chewing the root & spitting into the river.) In garden cultivation since 1665. Named Dog’s tooth because the white, oblong, fleshy root is shaped like a dog’s tooth.
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Eupatorium purpureum syn. Eutrochium purpureum Sweet Joe Pye weed Z 4-9
July - September large dusty rose blooms invite butterflies.
July – September large dusty rose blooms invite butterflies
Size: 5-6' x 3'
Care: Sun, moist, alkaline soil
Native: Eastern U.S., Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts Monarch, Swallowtail & Red Admiral butterfliesEupatorium named after Mithridates Eupator,(132-63 BC) king of Pontus, Greece, said by Pliny to have used another species of Eupatorium medicinally in 1st century B.C. “Joe Pye weed” after an Indian medicine man who used the plant in New England to cure typhus. Meskwaki Indian men “nibbled (Joe Pye weed) when speaking to women when they are in the wooing mood.” This had the power of “fetching” women. Good luck when gambling for the Potawatomi. Oneidas used it to cure fever. Mahuna Indians of So. California made an infusion of the root to cure colds and coughs. Colonists used the plant to cure dropsy, gravel, gout and rheumatism. Collected by Rev. John Banister who moved to colonial Virginia in 1678. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants. Offered for sale in Bartram Garden’s 1783 Broadside, America’s 1st plant catalog.
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Eupatorium sessilifolium Upland boneset Z 3-8
Showy flat-topped, white flower clusters July to September
Showy flat-topped, white flower clusters July to September
Size: 3-4’ x 12-24”
Care: Shade to part shade in moist well-drained soil to dry soil
Native: most of eastern half of US, Wisconsin native but rare and endangered
Wildlife Value: Nectar attracts bees and butterflies. Food for caterpillars of several moths. Deer & rabbit resistant.Collected before 1753.
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Euphorbia corollata Flowering spurge Z 4-7
Small white flowers (bracts), like a baby's breath but better, July & August. One of the best prairie natives, but slow to mature.
Small white flowers (bracts), like a baby’s breath but better, July & August. One of the best prairie natives but slow to mature.
Size: 36' x 24" spreading slowly
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Drought resistant.
Native: Canada to Florida and west through the plains, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: deer resistant. Its pollen & nectar feed endangered Karner Blue butterfly as well as other small butterflies, numerous bees, wasps and flies. Several birds eat the seeds.A favorite medicine among native Americans. Cherokee rubbed the plant’s juice on skin to cure cancer. Also used to remedy tooth aches and gonorrhea. Winnebago cut a 2.5” long root to clear stomach and steeped leaves for a baby’s colic. According to Breck (1851), “One of the most elegant species peculiar to the United States.”
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Filipendula rubra Queen of the Prairie Z 3-9
Extraordinary frothy pink plumes, like cotton candy, blooming in midsummer
Extraordinary frothy pink plumes, like cotton candy, blooming in midsummer
Size: 4-6’ x 4-5'
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to moist soil
Native: US East coast west to MN s to MO and NC, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: This creates pollen but not nectar limiting the pollinators to bees and flies (Butterflies and wasps want nectar.).Meskwaki Indians used it for heart ailments and as an aphrodisiac. Although the plant’s name has been changed five times, this was 1st described in 1768.
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Gaultheria procumbens Wintergreen, Checkerberry, Teaberry Z 3-8
“Gaultheria procumbens is in absolute perfection and beautiful – first as regards its bell-shaped blossoms, and afterwards its berries…” The Garden January 1876.
OUT OF STOCK
“Gaultheria procumbens is in absolute perfection and beautiful – first as regards its bell-shaped blossoms, and afterwards its berries…” The Garden , January 1876.
Size: 4” x 2’, slow but dense groundcover in time.
Care: part shade in moist to moist well-drained, acidic soil
Native: Eastern North America – Canada to Georgia west to Wisconsin
Awards: England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Berries 1st described as a grape in 1717. Named by Swedish botanist Peter Kalm after Dr. Gaulthier, with whom he botanized in Canada in 1749. Ojibwa made tea from the leaves; the tea “makes them feel good.” Oneida used this for women having a painful menstrual cycle. For the Algonquin Wintergreen cured the common cold, headaches, grippe and stomachaches. Cherokee cured swollen gums and colds. Sold in America’s 1st plant catalog, Bartram’s Broadside, 1783. During the American Revolution when tea became unavailable, colonists used the plant to make tea. The tea reputedly relieved pain from headaches, muscle pains and colds. The leaves contain oil effective against pain – methyl salicylate. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Geranium maculatum American Cranesbill, Wild geranium, Spotted geranium Z 3-8
Bright pink to lilac pink in June-July
Bright pink to lilac pink in June – July
Size: 24" x 18"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist soil
Native: East North America, Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: Nectar source for hummingbirds & White swallowtail butterfly.This species 1st collected by French planthunter André Michaux (1746-1802). Jefferson asked John Bartram to obtain seeds, 1786. Indians taught colonists to use the plant to cure diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhaging. Also used on sores, open wounds, canker sores and sore feet. The Choctaw prescribed it for venereal disease. Sent to Europe in 1732. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Geum triflorum Prairie smoke, Old Man’s whiskers Z 1-8
Pale purplish-pink dangling cup-shaped flowers in spring to early summer, followed by hair-like, pink seed heads like the hair on a troll doll.
Pale purplish-pink dangling cup-shaped flowers in spring to early summer, followed by hair-like, pink seed heads like the hair on a troll doll.
Size: 10" x 8" but slow to grow to this width
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: all of northern No. America, Wisconsin native
Awards: Great Plants for Great PlainsIntroduced to gardens in 1609. Many Native American medicinal uses. Blackfeet used it to cure coughs, skin sores and wounds on people and horses, swollen eyes, canker sores, and fuzzy thinking in people. Crushed, ripe seeds made a perfume. Okanagan-Colville women made a love potion from the roots, as well as curing vaginal yeast infections. The Eastern Cascades of Canada brewed a medicinal tea for eye-wash, sore throats and general aches from the plant. Sioux used it for many ailments: sore eyes ,canker sores, sore throat, perfume, wounds, and added it to mixtures of plants for smoking Collected by Meriwether Lewis in June 12, 1806 on the Weippe Prairie, at the villages of the Nez Perce in Idaho.
