Description
Tall, erect, purplish- pink spike in August-September
Liatris pycnostachya Prairie blazing star Z 3-9
$12.25/barerootTall, erect, purplish- pink spike in August-September
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Sporobolus heterolepsis Prairie dropseed Zone 3 – 9
Mound of graceful thinnest of grass blades
The description in the Chiltern Seeds catalog cannot be improved: “This is the most elegant and refined of the North American prairie grasses …the finest texture composed of the thinnest of thin, thread-like, glossy green blades,.. in autumn turning deep orange before fading to a light copper for the winter. In late summer the plants bear, on very slender stalks high above the foliage, unbelievably delicate, graceful flower panicles, excellent for cutting.”
Size: 2’ x 2’
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil
Native: from Canada in the north to Texas in the south, Wisconsin nativeSporobolos is Greek from sporo meaning seed and ballein meaning to cast forth because the seed readily falls from the flower (or dropseed, the common name). Ojibwa “Medicine Society” used roots to cure sores & “remove bile.”
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Hystrix patula syn. Elymus hystris var. hystris Bottle brush grass Z 5-9
June thru fall bears 6” long spikes looking like bottle brushes
June thru fall bears 6” long spikes looking like bottle brushes.
Size: 2-3’ x 12-18”
Care: sun to part shade in dry to moist well-drained soil - tolerates dry shade
Native: Nova Scotia S to Virginia, W to ND and OK.
Wildlife Value: Birds eat seedsHystrix from the Greek (‘hedgehog’) meaning “with spikes” or “bristly” describing the flowers and patula means “spreading.” Collected before 1794. In 1913 L H Bailey wrote, “sometimes used for lawn decoration and for borders.”
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Allium cernuum Nodding onion Z 4-8
Umbels of arching stems with nodding bells of lilac shading to pink
Allium cernuum Nodding onion Z 4-8
Umbels of arching stems with nodding bells of lilac shading to pink, June – July.Size: 12”-18”x 3-6”
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil, Deer resistant
Native: Canada to Mexico, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesCernuum is Latin meaning “nodding.” Many groups of 1st Americans ate the bulbs raw, roasted or dried for winter storage or as flavoring for soups and gravies. Cherokee used this plant medicinally to cure colds, hives, colic, “gravel & dropsy,” liver ailments, sore throats, “phthisic,” and feet in “nervous fever.” Those in the Isleta Pueblo were not quite as creative as the Cherokee and used this only for sore throats and infections. Collected for garden cultivation by 1834.
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Callirhoe involucrata Wine cups, Prairie poppy mallow
Magenta-purple upfacing cups, June - October
Magenta-purple upfacing cups, June – October, non-stop. Wonderful for rock gardens or as a ground cover.
Size: 6" x 12"
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant
Native: Missouri to TexasAlthough an American prairie native, Callirhoe is named for the daughter of the Greek river god. Teton Dakota burned its dried root for smoke to cure the common cold and aches and pains. First collected by Thomas Nuttall in 1834. Ferry’s 1876 catalog described it as having “a trailing habit, of great beauty.” William Robinson extolled Prairie mallow as “excellent for the rock garden, bearing a continuous crop of showy blossoms from early summer till late in autumn.”
