P R A I R I E   P L A N T   I D E N T I F I C A T I O N  

Grasses

Big bluestem   Andropogon gerardii   - Height:  1 - 3 m; 3.5 - 10 ft.   - Clump with upright stalks and flat leaves   - Seed spikes:  branch into 3 parts (turkey foot)   - Spring color:  new leaves gray to blue-green   - Summer color:  green with hints of red   - Fall color:  bluish-purple to reddish purple
Indian grass   Sorghastrum nutans   - Height:  1 - 2 m; 3 - 6.2 ft.    - Clump with upright stalks   - Seed heads:  soft, thick plumes, usually golden   - Leaves:  2-toothed ligule where leaf meets stalk   - Summer color:  blue-green leaves   - Fall color:  golden
Little bluestem   Schizachyrium scoparium                   (formerly Andropogon scoparius)   - Height:  0.5 - 1.1 m; 1.5 - 3.2 ft.   - Dense clump with upright stalks and wiry leaves   - Seed heads with little tufts of white/silvery fuzz   - Leaves bluish toward base   - Stalks pinkish   - Fall color:  bronze orange
Switch grass   Panicum virgatum   - Height:  1 - 2 m; 3 - 6.2 ft.   - Sod-forming grass; may occur in dense stands   - Seed heads:  airy, large, open   - Leaves:  many, curled, patch of dense hairs                   where leaf meets stalk   - Fall color:  yellow

Forbs

Compass plant   Silphium laciniatum   - Height:  1 - 2.5 m; 3 - 8 ft.   - Leaves:  very large, deeply lobed, very rough;     leaves arranged "on edge" and generally pointing     north and south when plant is in full sun   - Flowers:  look like yellow sunflowers on tall stalk
Rattlesnake master   Eryngium yuccifolium   - Height:  1 - 1.6 m; 3 - 5 ft.   - Leaves:  rather stiff and bayonet-shaped like     those of a yucca plant; edges have weak bristles     far apart that look stickery   - Flower heads:  white, stickery-looking, spherical,     on stiff stalks

Click the thumbnail images to see full-sized pictures.