Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you well. Sunday evening, a friend contacted me and asked if I wanted to go to a native prairie on Monday. Of course, I said yes. On the way there, he told me a little about the place. It is privately owned farm that has never been plowed, grazed, or planted. It gets bailed in September every year which is why it is short now. There are two public prairie sites, one across the road and one next to this property (which used to be part of this farm). I can’t tell you where it is because I said I wouldn’t. There are are two other public areas not far away… If I gave you the names of the conservation areas, then you would be close. 🙂

I am going back at some point, and to the conservation areas. When I go to the state conservation areas, I will give you the name of the site. If you stumble upon this private land, the owner will surely run you off. She showed up within 10 minutes after we got there because she didn’t recognize my friend’s van… All was good!

So, we pulled up in front of this area and my jaw dropped. I wasted no time getting the camera and walking into the prairie. It was almost like I died and went to heaven. Well, maybe that is getting a little carried away… Within a few minutes, I was taking photos of a wildflower I didn’t recognize. By the time it was too dark to take photos, I had photographed 11 species to identify. As a matter of fact, I only found two species I recognized, Achillea millefolium (Yarrow) and Galium pedemontanum (Piedmont Bedstraw).

There were areas where certain species was predominant, and others were many species we together. Since this is only the beginning of May and no pasture grass has been sown here, the native grass that grows here was almost non existent. Unlike public conservation areas which has grown up, this prairie was well maintained.

So, I’m going to show you what I found in alphabetical order.. Most of species on this post flower from April-May so they will be fizzled out soon…

Baptisia leucophaea Nutt. (1818)

bap-TIS-ee-uh  loo-koh-FAY-uh

I was kind of in shock for a minute when I found this plant. I just stood there looking at it like I was weird or something. I have seen a few along 52 Highway on the way to Clinton in the past couple of years, but here it was right in front of me. Baptisia leucophaea (Cream Wild Indigo).

Unlike most Baptisia species with upright racemes, B. leucophaea racemes droop and hang to the ground. The whole stem was very stiff.

The flowers have short peduncles (flower stems) and face the sun.

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Camassia scilloides (Raf.) Cory (1818)

kuh-MAS-ee-uh  sil-OY-dees

There were several large colonies of Camassia scilloides also known as Wild Hyacinth and Atlantic Camas. Seeing them in mass was such a WOW moment.

This is a bulbous perennial wildflower whose racemes terminate with 7-50 flowers.

Flowers of this species can range from light blue to white and have such bright yellow anthers and filaments. The flowers produce three-lobed fruit.

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Castilleja coccinea (L.) Spreng. (1825)

kas-tee-LEE-uh kok-SIN-ee-uh

Finally! The Castilleja coccinea were in large colonies here and there throughout the prairie. I have seen them here and there in the same area along the highway and always wondered what they were. Common names include Indian Paintbrush, Painted-Cup Paintbrush, Scarlet Indian Paintbrush, and a few others.

This species is a member of the plant family Orobanchaceae which is also a new family for me. In fact, there were members of three families I was unfamiliar with. Like this species, three were hemiparasitic meaning they get part of nutrients from the roots of of other species. Also new to me. Never heard of hemiparasitic before…

The color was so vivid! As with Poinsettias, the red color is not from petals but leaf-like bracts. The flowers are inconspicuous with red-tinged sepals.

Let’s get a little closer… According to information online, the color has polymorphism meaning they can be scarlet or yellow depending on the availability of pollinators. More pollinators means better pollination so the color is scarlet. Less pollination and the color will be yellow. Yellow flowered specimens were formerly Castilleja coccinea f. lutescens which is now a synonym according to Plants of the World Online. I guess someone figured that out… Apparently, red colors are harder for insects to see but hummingbirds also pollinate the flowers… Hmmm… I didn’t see any hummingbirds or even any bees for that matter…

This species can be either perennial or biennial. Some seeds will germinate in the fall and and produce flowering plants in the spring. Seeds that germinate in the spring will produce plants that flower the following year. Fruits have 2 divisions and once ripe, they split open allowing up to 300 seeds to be dispersed by the wind.

I read where Native Americans used the flowers as a love charm but also as a poison against their enemies… Hmmm… I “think” the roots of an eastern species was cooked and eaten like potatoes. NOT this species and don’t quote me on that…

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Comandra umbellata (L.) Nutt. (1818)

koh-MAN-druh um-bell-AY-tuh

This one is called Comandra umbellata (Bastard Toadflax) and it is also hemiparasitic from the new-to-me plant family Santalaceae. The genus name comes from the Greek word for “male hairs” that refers to the hairs at the base of it’s flowers stamens… 

The flowers have 5 greenish-white sepals and no petals. I need to go back and get more photos of this one when the flowers are open up till July…

Information online says they parasitize over 200 known plant species…

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Hypoxis hirsuta (L.) Coville

hy-POK-sis  her-SOO-tuh

This dainty little grass, Hypoxis hirsuta, commonly known as Yellow Star Grass, hails from the “new-to-me” plant family Hypoxidaceae. It may be somewhat confused because it has been or is sometimes placed in the families Amaryllidaceae and Liliaceae… Depends on what website you are on or if it is up-to-date.

Yellow Star Grass grows from a corm and has 3-lobed fruit. The stems grow from rosettes of grass-like leaves. Both the stems and leaves have small white hairs and stems (peduncles) terminate in 3-6 bright yellow, star-shaped flowers. I didn’t notice many of these compared to the other species, but their bright color stood out among the other vegetation.

OH, the flowers close when it gets hot and the fruits are covered with tiny bumps or spines. The anthers “diverge” in the lower half giving the stamens an arrowhead-like appearance… Maybe I could have taken a close-up if I had known that at the time…

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Lithospermum canescens (Michx.) Lehm. (1818)

lith-oh-SPER-mum  can-ESS-kens

This half-wilted plant is in the plant family Boraginaceae and goes by the name of Lithospermum canescens (Hoary Puccoon) due to its hairy leaves. The plants are referred to as distylous because they have two flower forms (on the same plant). The genus name means “rock seed” because of its shiny, white, rock hard seeds. Formerly named Batschia canescens by André Michaux in Flora Boreali-Americana in 1803.

Apparently, the taproot produced a reddish-purple juice that Native American children would chew on it to make their gum red. Roots were used to treat asthma, lung complaints, and as a sedative. The white seeds were also used as ceremonial beads.

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Packera plattensis (Nutt.) W.A.Weber & Á.Löve (1981)

PAK-er-uh  plat-EN-sis

This species, Packera plattensis is a member of the familiar plant family Asteraceae and can be either a perennial or biennial. It was formerly formally named Senecio plattensis by Thomas Nuttall in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society in 1841. Common names include Prairie Groundsel, Prairie Ragwort, Platte Groundsel, Squaw Weed, and possibly others.

I found a single Packera glabella (Butterweed) in a wooded area behind the chicken house 2022. Never saw it again so I was glad I found this species in the prairie.

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Pedicularis canadensis L. (1767)

Pe-dik-yoo-LAIR-is  ka-na-DEN-sis

This plant made me smile with the spiral-growing flowers. Another member of the plant family Orobanchaceae, it is also hemiparasitic. The roots have a symbiotic relationship with a fungus that helps it gather nutrients. Some references say they accomplish this through “haustoria”, tissue connections that develop between the roots of parasitic plants and host plants…

Common names of Pedicularis canadensis include Wood Betony, Canadian Lousewort, Common Lousewort, and possibly others.

The upper corollas have a pair of teeth at their tips (characteristic of this species).

I noticed several clumps of rosettes with no flowers, so maybe they can be perennial or biennial. I didn’t see it mentioned, but why else would some plants not have flowers and some not? Another plant mentioned somewhere above has similar leaves, but these clumps were among the Wood Betony. I had to reassure myself for a minute… GEEZ! I have to look into that more…

Why the common name “Lousewort?” Well, apparently, the name came from an old belief that your cattle would get lice if they consumed this plant. Another belief was that a strong concoction made from the leaves would eliminate lice…

Plants were eaten by American Indians, sometimes as a soup. It was added to oats and used as horse feed. A root infusion was used for stomachaches, diarrhea, anemia, and heart issues. Poultices were used for swellings, tumors, and sore muscles…

I also read where the Menomini Indians called the root “enticer root” and carried it as a charm when they wanted to seduce the opposite sex. The root was also used to heal broken marriages by adding it to the food the couple would then eat, hoping its magic would rekindle romance…

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Phlox pilosa L. (1753)

floks  pil-OH-suh

This species looked very familiar and was indeed a Phlox. Even so, the plants were much shorter than the species I have become familiar with. The species here is Phlox pilosa with the common names Prairie Phlox, Downy Phlox, Deam’s Phlox, Hairy Phlox, and possibly others.

While the sessile, lance-shaped leaves grow in an opposite manner, they are smaller and narrower than Phlox divaricata (Wild Blue Phlox).

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Primula meadia (L.) A.R.Mast & Reveal (2007)

PRIM-yew-luh  MEE-dee-uh

After we had walked into the prairie for a while, Walter mentioned me hadn’t seen any Shooting Star yet. He said they would be growing above the other plants. After a few minutes, I looked off in the distance and saw what could be a few. We walked in that direction, and sure enough, found a few. Primula meadia may remind you of a plant that grows from a bulb, but in fact is a rhizomatous perennial member of the plant family Primulaceae. Their common name is Common or Eastern Shooting Star, and likely others. It was previously named Dodecatheon meadia by Carl von Linnaeus in the first volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753. You know, Linnaeus re-named A LOT of species which was a good thing…

The plants produce good-sized clumps of wide leaves. Plants send up single stems terminating with 5-20 nodding, deeply-lobed flowers with 5 exerted stamens.

The Missouri Plants website says Steyermark (Steyermark’s Flora of Missouri) commented that the flowers have an aroma of grape juice and the rootstock like that of cored beef…

This species had gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. There is also at least one cultivar that produces larger flowers on taller plants.

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Sisyrinchium albidum Raf. (1832)

sis-ee-RINK-ee-um  AL-bi-dum

I’m not 100% sure this species is Sisyrinchium albidum, commonly referred to as White Blue-Eyed Grass, Blue-Eyed Grass, and possibly others. I have Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) and Sisyrinchium campestre (Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass) here on the farm and they are both similar.

There were several large colonies of this species on the prairie. Unfortunately, none of the flowers were open.

Their leaves are grass-like.

The Blue-Eyed Grass on the farm typically have blue flowers but can be white. S. albidum typically has white flowers but can also be blue… Other features that could distinguish this species from others are not readily noticeable unless you take a closer look. Supposedly, S. albidum has an extra leaflike bract that encloses one or two inflorescences… Something you may not always remember to check… If you look at the first photo, you can see two leaf-like bracts. Is that the tell-tale sign? Hmmm…

After a while, it started getting to dark to take photos…

I think I have them all now. It was a great adventure and one worth sharing. Hopefully, I can get back out to the prairie, and the others, very soon. Now, I need to work on a page for each species… 🙂

Until next time, be safe, stay positive, always be thankful, and GET DIRTY!