CHIWAUKEE PRAIRIE WALKS

June 13 and 15, 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Zizea aurea – Golden alexander - 4 Lupinus perennis – wild lupine - 20

Packera paupercula – Balsam Ragwort - 6 Iris virginica versicolor – blue-flag iris - 22

Lithospermum canescens – hoary puccoon - 8 Liparis loeselii – green twayblade - 24

Lithospermum incisum – fringed puccoon - 10 Dodecatheon meadia – shooting star - 26

Arenaria lateriflora – grove sandwort - 12 Castilleja coccinea - Indian paintbrush - 28

Tradescantia ohiensis – spiderwort - 14 Argentina anserina – silverweed - 30

Juncus articus balticus – baltic rush - 16 Sisyrinchium angustifolium – blue-eyed grass - 32

Schoenoplectus pungens – common 3-square - 18 Heuchara richardsonii – prairie alumroot - 34

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NOTE ON SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, information regarding pollinators and beneficial insects was taken from

Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants (Pollination Press, 2014) and

Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide (Pollination Press 2017)

both by Heather Holm

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Zizea aurea – Golden alexander

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Zizea aurea

• Five-parted yellow flowers with 10-20 umbellets in a compound umbel

• Flowers from late April to mid-June

• Black swallowtail and Ozark swallowtail caterpillars feed on the foliage

• Attracts small carpenter bees, small sweat bees, yellow-faced bees, mining bees, bumble bees, and mason bees.

• Andrena ziziae (mining bee sp.) is a specialist

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Packera paupercula – Balsam Ragwort

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Packera paupercula

• Yellow flower with 8-13 ray florets and center panicle of 40+ disc florets

• Flowers from late April to mid-June

• Attracts leafcutter bees, mason bees, small sweat bees, sweat bees, pure green sweat bee, and small carpenter bees

• Andrena gardineri (mining bee sp.) is a specialist

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Lithospermum canescens – hoary puccoon

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Lithospermum canescens

• Five-lobed yellow flowers

• Flowers from late April to mid-June

• Attracts bumblebees, digger bees, cuckoo bees, mason bees, bee flies, butterflies, and skippers.

• Hemierana marginata ardens (long horned beetle) is a specialist

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/hry_puccoonx.htm

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Lithospermum incisum – fringed puccoon

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Lithospermum incisum

• Yellow trumpet shaped, 5-lobed flowers with ruffled edges

• Narrow leaves

• Flowers from April to June

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Arenar ia later if lora – grove sandwort

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Arenar ia later if lora

• Five-parted white flowers

• Flowers from late spring to early summer

• Probably attracts small bees (Halictid, Andrenid) and flies (Syrphid).

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/gr_sandwort.html

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Tradescantia ohiensis - spiderwort

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Tradescantia ohiensis

• Three-part, bright blue flowers

• Flowers from late April through June

• Bumble bees are the primary pollinators

• Attracts sweat bees, mason bees, green sweat bees, and small carpenter bees

• Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies sometimes feed on the nectar

• Larvae of non-native syrphid flies live in and feed on bulbs

• European Wool Carder bees use hairs from stems and buds to line brood cells

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Juncus ar ticus balticus – baltic rush

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Juncus ar ticus balticus

• Flood and drought tolerant

• Forms dense stands

• Brown fruits the size of ground pepper

• Provides good cover and seeds for waterfowl, songbirds, and small mammals.

https://plants.usda.gov/pmpubs/pdf/idpmcfsjuba.pdf17

Schoenoplectus pungens – common 3-square

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Schoenoplectus pungens

• Sharply 3-angled culm (stem)

• Prefers full to partial sun in wet sandy areas

• Attracts Plateumaris flavipes (a leaf beetle) and the culm-boring larvae of three Crambid moths: Occidentalia comptulatalis, Schoenobius melinellus dispersellus, and Thopeutis forbesellus.

• Summer host of Rhopalosiphum cerasifoliae (Chokecherry Aphid)

• The seeds/seedheads of this plant and other bulrushes are an important source of food for many wetland birds, including ducks, geese, rails, and some granivorous songbirds.

• Common Three-Square also provide suitable cover, foraging, and nesting habitat for many wetland birds. This includes such species as the Marsh Wren, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, and Wilson's Snipe

• Muskrats feed on the rootstocks and aerial stems of these plants.

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/cm_3sq.html19

Lupinus perennis – wild lupine

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Lupinus perennis

• 5-parted blue purple flower

• Flowers late April through May

• Flowers have no nectar

• Flowers petals change color after bee has visited signaling others to move on

• Attracts mining bees, mason bees, and bumble bees which can open the flower

• Small carpenter and sweat bees feed on stray pollen

• Larval host for Karner Blue Butterfly, Wild Indigo Duskywing, PersiusDuskywing, Frosted Elfin, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Painted Lady, and Clover Looper Moth.

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Ir is virginica versicolor – blue-flag iris

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Ir is virginica versicolor

• Blue-violet flowers of 3 sepals, 3 petals, 3 stamens, and 3 style-branches with stigmata

• Flower from late spring to early summer

• Prefers wet/moist conditions in full sun

• Flowers are cross-pollinated by bumble bees and long-horned bees

• Caterpillars Ctenucha virginica (Virginia Ctenucha), Spilosoma congrua (Agreeable Tiger Moth), and Macronoctua onusta (Iris Borer Moth) moths feed on these plants.

• The foliage and rootstocks are somewhat toxic and cause irritation of the gastrointestinal tract so most mammalian herbivores avoid it.

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/blueflag.htm23

Lipar is loeseli i – green twayblade

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Lipar is loeseli i

• Member of the orchid family

• Yellowish-green 6-parted flowers

• Blooms from June – July

http://wisflora.herbarium.wisc.edu/taxa/index.php?taxon=4088

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Dodecatheon meadia – shooting star

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Dodecatheon meadia

• Each flower has 5 petals that are reflexed upward that together look like shooting stars

• Bloom in late spring for about one month

• Attracts queen bumblebees who get pollen by rapid vibration of thoracic muscles (“buzz pollination”), which is effective for these odd-shaped flowers.

• Also attracts anthophorine bees, long-horned bees (Melissodes spp.), and green metallic bees (Augochlorella, Augochloropsis) who gather pollen.

• Flowers have no nectar.

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/shootingstarx.htm

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Casti l leja coccinea - Indian paintbrush

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Casti l leja coccinea

• Bracts

• Blooms from May to August

• Partially parasitic plant that takes nutrients from native prairie grasses and other native wildflowers

https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/indian-paintbrush

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Argentina anser ina - silverweed

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Argentina anser ina

• Gets its name because the lower leaflet surface is white-canescent from dense minute hairs

• Flowers have 5 spreading yellow petals

• Blooms in summer and early autumn for 2 – 3 months

• Flowers are cross-pollinated by bumblebees, cuckoo bees, Andrenid bees, and Syrphid flies.

• Flowers have nectar and pollen.

• Flea beetles and aphids eat the foliage.

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/silverweed.html

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Sisyr inchium angustifol ium – blue-eyed grass

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Sisyr inchium angustifol ium

• This is an iris not a grass

• Flowers have 6 blue pointed tepals

• Blooms from mid-May to June and sporadically throughout the season

Landscaping with Native Plants of Wisconsin (Voyageur Press, 2007) by Lynn M. Steiner

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Heuchara r ichardsonii – prairie alumroot

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Heuchara r ichardsonii

• Green to cream 5-parted flower

• Flowers in June

• Flowers have pollen and nectar

• Attracts small bee species, especially sweat bees and green sweat bees

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