Plants in the Prairie

Species Lists

Below are lists of possible plants that can be seen at Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory. These lists include when the seeds were sowed or if the plant was self-seeded as well as if the plant has been observed at APLL or not.

USDA image of heart-leaf golden alexander

Wildflowers

Formally called "forbs". These plants are non-grassy, flowering herbaceous plants. A total of 64 native wildflowers have been seeded and/or observed at Ashton Prairie. A few forbs growing here include Butterfly Milkweed, Rattlesnake Master, and Golden Alexander.

Shrubs

Classifying characteristics of shrubs include being woody, under 8 meters tall, and having multiple stems. Six native species have been seeded and/or observed at APLL. One shrub growing in the prairie is Hemp Dogbane.

Grasses, Sedges, Rushes

These three types of monocots look similar at a glance, but they are all from different families of plants. Sedges have edges; rushes are round, and grasses are hollow! 25 native species have been seeded and/or observed at Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory.

Invasive Plant Species

Plants that are non-native or disturb the growth of other plants, are invasive. Invasive plants disrupt the balance of ecosystems. Common invasive plant species at Ashton Prairie are Smooth Brome grass and Reed Canary grass.

BioBlitz Results

Each summer, researchers and citizen scientists gather at Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory to do a BioBlitz. Using the iNaturalist app, people collect observation data for plants and other species.

Click 'BioBlitz Data' below to be redirected to the OSE page with links to the observations from each BioBlitz event.

BioBlitz Data