
Arrowood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
6-10 feet
Full/Partial Shade
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Suggested use as a shrub
- Showy flowers
- Attracts birds and butterflies

Ashy Sunflower
Helianthus mollis
5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Not Native
- Blueish-green appearance
- Can be aggressive

Bebb’s Sedge
Carex bebbii
3 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Wet
- Native
- Common name from amateur botanist Robert Bebb
- Grows maturely from seed in one season

Bee Balm
Monarda fistulosa
24" - 60"
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Drought tolerant
- Foliage is susceptible to powdery mildew
- Great for bumble bees
- Minty aroma
- Individual flowers are slender and pink to lavender tubes clustered together, each with lobes

Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
7 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Warm season grass
- Used as accent in landscapes
- Can be aggressive
- Great fall color

Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
1-2 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Dry to Moist
- Native
- Common on roadsides and in open woodlands
- Abundant in disturbed places
- Host plant for Silvery Checkerspot butterfly
- Attracts all kinds of pollinators

Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet-Medium
- Native
- Candelabra-like appearance
- Many small mammals and birds eat the seeds

Blue-joint Grass
Calamagrostis canadensis
3-5 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Moist to Wet
- Native
- Common on moist to wet prairies and marshes; often growing in dense patches

Brown Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet-Dry
- Native
- Very attractive mid-summer
- Easy to grow
- Seed head resembles a fox tail

Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
12 - 36 inches
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Has large taproot and does not transplant well
- Great for monarch butterflies and other pollinators
- Fruit has an upright pod with many seeds
This is part of the DMACC Urban Prairie Native Landscaping.
Learn more about Native Landscaping.

Button Blazing Star
Liatris aspera
3 feet
Sun/Partial Shade
Moisture: Medium - Dry
- Native
- Grows best in full sun
- Butterflies and bees are very attracted to this plant
- Great in flower arrangements

Canada Anemone
Anemone canadensis
1-2 feet
Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture: Medium to Wet
- Native
- Showy flowers
- Low maintenance
- Hardy ground cover
- Spreads readily

Canada Milk Vetch
Astragalus canadensis
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-Dry
- Common throughout US and Canada
- Uses a variety of environments
- Great for cut arrangement
- Can be toxic to animals

Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Beautiful scarlet flowers
- Nectar source for hummingbirds
- Fast grower

Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-Dry
- Native
- Host plant for monarch butterfly
- Flower can vary from nearly white to deep purple
- Delicate fragrance

Compass Plant
laciniatum
5-9 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Icon of the prairie
- Easily grown
- Attracts goldfinches
- Tolerates poor soils
- Common in disturbed areas

Cream Gentian
Gentiana flavida
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium wet to dry
- Native
- Slow growing but long lived
- Little care once established
- Bumblebees are pollinator because they can pry open the flowers

Creamy Wild Indigo
Baptisia bracteate
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- One of the earliest prairie species to bloom
- Flowers will develop into distinctive seed pods
- Essential early nectar source for queen bumblebees
- Serves as host plant for several moths

Culvers Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
4-7 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Wet
- Native
- Great for rain gardens
- Occurs in open woods and moist meadows and prairies

Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
4-8 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Wet
- Native
- Attracts birds and butterflies
- Easily grown
- Sunflower-like

Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet, Medium Wet
- Native
- Moisture-tolerant
- Purple wands of crowded flowers
- Attracts pollinators

Dotted Blazing Star
Liatris punctata
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium Dry, Dry
- Native
- Typically found in Loess Hills
- Has a long taproot that makes this plant extremely drought resistant
- Attracts pollinators
- Makes excellent cut flowers

False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet-Dry
- Native
- Member of the Aster family
- Easily grown

Flax Leaved Aster
Lonactis linariifolius
1 foot
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-dry to Dry
- Native
- Grows in clumps
- Showy blue-purple blossoms

Fleabane
Erigeron strigosus
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet-Dry
- Native
- Very common in disturbed areas

Germander
Teucrium canadense
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Also called wood sage
- Attracts hummingbirds
- Can be aggressive

Golden Alexander
Zizia aurea
1.5-3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Occurs in moist woods and meadows and prairies
- Attracts butterflies

Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
2-3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Wet
- Native
- Showy flowers
- Needs constant moisture

Greater Straw Sedge
Carex molesta
2-3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Wet
- Native
- Easily grown
- Prefer shade
- Grows in a slowly creeping clump

Hoary Vervain
Verbena stricta
2-4 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Dry to Medium
- Native
- Easily grown
- Vigorous

Ironweed
Vernonia fasciculata
6 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Stately plant
- Brilliant purple flowers
- Host plant to American Painted Lady

Large Flowered Penstemon
Penstemon grandiflorus
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Host plant for the Chalcedon Checkerspot and Edith’s Checkerspot butterflies
- Endangered in some states and rare to see in the wild

Lead Plant
Amorpha canescens
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to dry
- Native
- Several years to mature
- Unique floral display
- Tends to sprawl
- Attracts pollinators
This is part of the DMACC Urban Food Forest Permaculture.
Learn more about Permaculture.

Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Iconic warm season grass
- Widely distributed
- Excellent wildlife plant
This is part of the Stormwater Management project. Learn more about Stormwater Management.

Longheaded Coneflower
Ratibida columnifera
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium- Dry
- Very attractive mid-summer
- Easy to grow
- Seed head resembles a fox tail

Maryland Senna
Cassia marilandica
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Important plant for Sulphur butterflies

Milk Vetch
Astragalus canadensis
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium wet to dry
- Native
- Common nectar source for bumblebees and honeybees
- Host plant for Clouded Sulphur butterfly
- Can be toxic to livestock

Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum cirginianum
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet-Dry
- Very attractive mid-summer
- Easy to grow
- Attracts many pollinators

New England Aster
Aster novae-angliae
5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet to Medium-dry
- Native
- Late bloomer
- Flowers can range from purple, violet to lavender
- Drought tolerant
- Great for butterflies

New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to dry

Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
1.5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to medium-dry
- Native
- Pom-pom blooms
- Can be eaten like chives

Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet to Medium
- Native
- Thrives in wetter soils
- Flower stems will remain in any direction you point them in

Ohio Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to dry
- Native
- Most widespread of spiderworts
- Very drought tolerant
- Very attractive
- Can be aggressive

Pagoda Dogwood
Cornus alternifolia
up to 25 feet
Partial Shade
Moisture: Medium to Medium-dry
- Native
- Deciduous Shrub
- Host pant of the Azure butterfly

Pale Purple Coneflower
Echinacea pallida
2-3 feet
Full/Partial Shade
Moisture: Dry to Medium
- Native
- Attracts butterflies
- Showy, fragrant
- Great cut flowers
- Easily grown
- Host plant for Ottoe-skipper butterfly

Pale Spiked Lobelia
Lobelia spicata
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to medium-dry
- Native
- Short lived
- Dainty
- Understory plant

Partridge Pea
Chamaecrista fasciculata
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to dry
- Native
- Favorite of bees and other pollinators
- Leaves retreat when touched
- Nitrogen fixer

Porcupine Grass
Stipa spartea
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-Dry
- Native
- Cool season grass
- Leafhoppers and grasshoppers eat foliage

Prairie Alumroot
Heuchera richardsonii
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-Dry
- Native
- Resident of prairies and open woodlands

Prairie Blazing Star
Liatris pycnostachya
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet to Medium
- Native
- Excellent cut flower
- Attracts butterflies and bees
- Favorite of hummingbirds

Prairie Coreopsis
Coreopsis palmata
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-Dry
- Native
- Deadheading flowers prolongs blooms
- Attracts many native pollinators

Prairie Larkspur
Delphinium virescens
feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium wet to dry
- Native
- Will disappear in excessive heat and reappear when it’s cooled off
- Toxic to mammals
- Attracts bumblebees

Prairie Lilly
Lilium philadelphicum
1 foot
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to medium-dry
- Native
- Commonly called wood lily
- Grows well in prairies and open woods
- Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
- Native Americans used bulbs for food and medicine

Prairie Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
8 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium wet to dry
- Native
- Pink buds open white
- Rose family
- Excellent cover for birds

Prairie Phlox
Phlox pilosa
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Wide variety of colors from white to dark purple
- Butterflies love this plant as the broad petals make great landing pads

Prairie Ragwort
Packera plattensis
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Common
- Not aggressive
- Foliage toxic to mammals
- Attracts bees and flies

Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
8 inches
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium- Wet-Dry
- Very attractive flowing style

Prairie Spiderwort
Tradescantia bracteata
1 foot
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium- Dry
- Native
- Very attractive
- Smaller than Ohio Spiderwort

Prairie Violet
viola pedatifida
6 inches
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Medium-Dry
- Native
- Not aggressive
- Host plant for several butterflies

Purple Poppy Mallow
Callirhoe involucrata
6 inches
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium-Dry
- Native
- Also known as winecup
- Very drought resistant
- Excellent ground cover
- Host plant for Gray Hairstreak

Purple Prairie Clover
dalea purpurea
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Deep taproot
- Attracts pollinators

Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
4 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to medium-dry
- Native
- White bristly flowers
- Member of carrot family
- Host plant for the Black Swallowtail
- Native bees and moths love it

Rough Goldenrod
Solidago rugosa
3-5 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium wet to wet
- Native
- Attracts butterflies
- Easily grown

Sawtooth Sunflower
Helianthus grosseserratus
8 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Medium-Dry
- Native
- Grows in dense colonies
- Reddish-purple stem
- Favorite of bees
- Host plant for many butterflies

Showy Penstemon
Penstemon cobaea
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium- Dry
- Native
- Very attractive
- Host plant for Chalcedon Checkerspot and Edith’s Checkerspot

Smooth Blue Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Medium-Dry
- Native
- Smooth leaves
- Slow spreader
- Host plant for Silvery Checkerspot and Pearl Crescent butterflies

Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet
- Native
- Daisy-like flowers
- Host plant for Dainty Sulphur butterfly

Starry Campion
Silene stellata
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Related to carnations
- Pollinated by moths

Stiff Goldenrod
Oligoneuron rigidum
4 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Great late bloomer for pollinators to use

Sullivant’s Milkweed
Asclepias sullivantii
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Medium
- Native
- Host plant to the monarch butterfly
- Very similar to common milkweed
- Very fragrant

Thimbleweed
Anemone cylindrica
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Also called Long-Fruited Thimbleweed

Toothed Primrose
Calylophus serrulatus
1 foot
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Dry
- Native
- Very showy flower
- Drought tolerant

Tuberous Indian Plantain
Arnoglossum plantagineum
4 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Medium
- Native
- Rubbery and glossy leaves

Turtlehead
Chelone glabra
5 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Wet to Medium-wet
- Native
- Pretty white blossoms
- Host plant for Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly
- Attracts hummingbirds

White Prairie Clover
Dalea candida
2 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Grows in patches
- Member of the pea family
- Puts nitrogen into soil

White Sage
Artemisia ludoviciana
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Forms dense colonies
- Host plant for American Lady and Painted Lady butterflies

Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
8 inches
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- One of the first plants to provide nectar for butterflies and bees in the spring
- Host plant for the Columbine Duskywing butterfly
- Deer resistant

Wild Garlic
Allium canadense
18 inches
Full/Partial Shade
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Hardy plant
- Edible
- Attracts hummingbirds

Wild Licorice
Glycyrrhiza lepidota
2 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Root has distinct licorice flavor
- Host plant for Silver-Spotted Skipper

Wild Mint
Mentha arvensis
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Wet to Medium
- Native
- All parts of the plant are aromatic
- Special value to native bees
- Aggressive spreader

Wild Petunias
Ruellia humilis
12 inches
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium to Dry
- Native
- Blooms throughout the hottest and driest times of summer
- Great as ground cover
- Attracts pollinators
- Host plant for Common Buckeye butterfly

Wild Rose
Rosa arkansana
2 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Hardy low shrub
- Food for birds and wildlife into winter

Wild Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
6 inches
Full/Partial Shade
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Edible fruit
- Great fall color
- Spreads by runners easily

Wild Sweet Potato
Lpomoea pandurata
3 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium
- Native
- Often grows on rocky slopes
- Attracts bees

Winged Loosestrife
Lythrum alatum
3 feet
Full Sun
Moisture: Medium-wet to Dry
- Native
- Beneficial to pollinators and birds
- Similar to invasive plant, Purple Loosestrife

Yellow Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
5 feet
Full/Partial Sun
Moisture: Medium to Medium-Dry
- Native
- Attracts butterflies and bees
- Drought tolerant