Sweet clover

Sweet Clover

Blooming period

-Blooms in spring -

Physical Characteristics  

-Latin name is mellitus Alba

-grow to approximately 6 ½ ft. (2 m) in heigh

-white flower 

-Clover-like leaves

What it Attracts

-the sweet clover attracts butterflies and other beneficial bugs.

Switchgrass

Switch grass is a warm season grass with open, lacy sprays with small seeds. It blooms August-September. It has Purple Stigmas at flowering time. Switchgrass is a 3-6 foot loose sod former with a large, open, finely textured, reddish-purple seedhead. Fall color is pale yellow. Bright green leaves occur up and down the stem turning bright yellow in fall. Switchgrass is a perennial flower. Grows in large clumps, with many persistent, curly leaves. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the tallgrass prairie, but also grows along roadsides where moisture is present. The rich, yellow-colored clumps last throughout the winter.

Beavers

When sites are available, beavers burrow in the banks of rivers and lakes they also transform less suitable habitats by building dams. Gnawing trees with their strong teeth and powerful jaws, they create massive log, branch, and mud structures to block streams and turn fields and forests into the large ponds that beavers love. The Dome like beaver homes, called lodges, are also constructed of branches and mud. They are often located in the middle of ponds and can only be reached by underwater entrances. Beavers are among the largest of rodents. They are herbivores and prefer to eat leaves, bark, twigs, roots, and aquatic plants. These large rodents move with an ungainly waddle on land but are graceful in the water, where they use their large, webbed rear feet like swimming fins, and their paddle-shaped tails like rudders. These attributes allow beavers to swim at speeds up to five miles an hour. They can remain underwater for 15 minutes without surfacing, and have a set of transparent eyelids that function much like goggles. Their fur is naturally oily and waterproof. These animals are active all winter, swimming and foraging in their ponds even when a layer of ice covers the surface.

BIG BLUE STEM

   The Big Blue stem is a prarie grass and its very easy to tell from all of the other grass ,because it has a certain tone of blue and the flowers on the top of it is the shape of a turkeys foot. Your yard is most likley to have big bluestem in it because at one point it probably was a prarie. When a prarie is filled with the Big Bluestem it is very cool because it looks almost purple. There are grass hoppers that will jump on it and mate and same with Cattails. This is a very good habitat for small animals like, field mice, woodchucks ( if its near water),maybe deer, fox, and ground hogs.We all have to help them out so they can make it to more places around the world.

The New England Aster

The New England Aster is about a foot high and and about 3cm wide. We have some in our prairie at Chatfield School in Michigan. It is purple.  The bloom period is in June and October .This flower can be used for medication. It came from the Europeans to the United States, it is not in many praries. The insect that is attracted to the New England Aster is a Bee.  The New England Aster can be very useful and is very beautiful.

Ragweed

This plant is very common and widespread, occurring in every county of Illinois. It can be found in disturbed areas of dry black soil prairies, particularly along the margins near developed areas. This ragweed is not particularly common in high quality prairies, but patches or isolated plants are regularly observed. Other native habitats include hill prairies, gravel prairies, meadows in woodland areas, and the edges of gravelly seeps. In developed areas, Common Ragweed is often observed in cropland, abandoned fields, vacant lots, fence rows, and areas along roadsides and railroads. Occasionally, it appears as a weed in gardens and lawns. This plant thrives in practically any kind of disturbance. It has properties that inhibit the growth and development of neighboring plants.

Video: Planting Native Trees at Prairies and Ponds of Oakdale

Mexican Hat Flower

.The Mexican Hat flower is a plant branched and leafy in lower parts with long leafless stalks bearing flower heads of 3-7 dark red and yellow, drooping petals surrounding a long, red-brown central disk. The flowers central brown disk protrudes 1/2 to 2 in. above the drooping petals. Leaves on the lower portion of the stem are feathery.The colorful flower heads, resembling the traditional broad-brimmed, high-centered hat. There are thousands. The Mexican Hat Flower is beautiful.

BIG Blue Steam

Big blue steam has three flower like turkey feet.the bloom period is somewere in late spring .Incects such as miscitos and moths are atracted to this plant. This plant is not used for medical purpiouses.