Plants & Vegetation

Plant Species Check List


Because of the diverse habitats at Pleasant Valley Conservancy, the flora is quite large. Our species check list has 397 species of grasses and forbs. This list, which is almost certainly not complete, also does not include many woody plants. The list given below is an abbreviated version, emphasizing those species of greatest ecological or botanical interest. Weeds are not listed. Here is also a shorter list of just the plants found in the savannas.

Flower photos Close-up photos have been taken of many of the plant species. In the following table, a click on a link will bring up a photo of that species.

The check list This check list is based primarily on intensive plant surveys done in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, with some additions from 2006. In those surveys, detailed records were kept of locations as well as flowering and seed setting dates.

The habitats For this check list, four major habitat types have been defined. For each species, the principal habitats where it has been found are given. These are the habitats where a species is most likely to be found and some species may be found in lesser amounts in other habitats.

Plant Check List, Pleasant Valley Conservancy
(click on the highlighted text to view a photo of the plant)
Latin Name Common Name Prairie Savanna Woods Wetland
Achillea millefolium Yarrow
P
Actaea alba White baneberry
Sav
Wood
Actaea rubra Red baneberry
Sav
Wood
Agastache nepetoides Yellow giant hyssop
Sav
Agastache scrophulariaefolia Purple giant hyssop  
Sav
   
Agrimonia gryposepala Tall agrimony
P
Sav
   
Allium canadense Wild onion
P
     
Allium cernuum Nodding wild onion
P
Sav
   
Amorpha canescens Lead-plant
P
Amphicarpa bracteata Hog peanut  
Sav
Wood
 
Anaphalis margaritacea Pearly everlasting 
P
Sav
Andropogon gerardii Big bluestem
P
Anemone canadensis Meadow anemone
P
Anemone cylindrica Thimbleweed
P
Anemone quinquefolia Wood anemone  
Sav
Wood
 
Anemone virginiana Tall anemone
Sav
Angelica atropurpurea Great angelica
Wet
Antennaria neglecta Field pussytoes
P
Antennaria plantaginifolia Plantain-leaved pussytoes
P
Apocynum androsaemifolium Spreading dogbane
Sav
Aquilegia canadensis Wild columbine
P
Sav
Wood
Arabis canadensis Sickle pod
P
Sav
Arabis divaricarpa Rock cress
P
Arabis lyrata Lyrate rock cress
P
Aralia nudicaulis Wild sarsaparilla
 
Sav
Wood
 
Aralia racemosa Spikenard
Sav
Wood
Arenaria stricta Sandwort
P
Sav
Arisaema triphyllum Jack-in-the-pulpit
Sav
Wood
Arnoglossum atriplicifolia Pale Indian plantain
P
Sav
Asclepias exaltata Poke milkweed
Sav
Wood
Asclepias incarnata Swamp milkweed
Wet
Asclepias purpurascens Purple milkweed
Sav
Asclepias syriaca Common milkweed
P
     
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed
P
     
Asclepias verticillata Whorled milkweed
P
Asclepias viridiflora Short green milkweed
P
Aster ericoides Heath aster
P
Aster firmus Shining aster      
Wet
Aster laevis Smooth blue aster
P
Sav
Aster lanceolatus Panicled aster      
Wet
Aster lateriflorus Calico aster
Sav
Wood
Aster novae-angliae New England aster
P
Wet
Aster oolentangiensis Sky-blue aster
P
Aster pilosus Frost aster
P
Sav
Aster prenanthoides Crooked aster
P
Wet
Aster puniceus Purple-stemmed aster
P
Wet
Aster sagittifolius Arrow-leaved aster
P
Sav
Aster sericeus Silky aster
P
Aster umbellatus Flat-top aster      
Wet
Astragalus canadensis Canadian milkvetch
P
Sav
Aureolaria grandiflora Yellow false foxglove  
Sav
   
Baptisia alba White wild indigo
P
Bidens frondosus Beggar ticks
Sav
Bouteloua curtipendula Side oats grama
P
Bromus ciliatus Fringed brome
Wet
Bromus kalmii Prairie brome
P
Bromus latiglumis Ear-leaved brome
Sav
Calmagrostis canadensis Blue-joint grass  
Sav
 
Wet
Caltha palustris Marsh marigold
Wet
Campanula americana Tall bellflower
Sav
Wood
Campanula aparinoides Marsh bellflower      
Wet
Campanula rotundifolia Harebell
P
Carex meadii Mead's sedge
P
Sav
Carex pensylvanica Pennsylvania sedge
Sav
Carex stricta Tussock sedge
Wet
Ceanothus americanus New Jersey tea
P
Sav
Celastrus scandens Climbing bittersweet
P
Sav
   
Chelone glabra Turtlehead
Wet
Cicuta maculata Spotted water hemlock      
Wet
Circaea lutetiana Enchanter's nightshade
Sav
Wood
Cirsium altissimum Woodland thistle  
Sav
   
Cirsium discolor Pasture thistle
P
Cirsium muticum Swamp thistle      
Wet
Clematis virginiana Virgin's bower  
Sav
   
Coeloglossum viride Long-bracted green orchid
Sav
Conyza canadensis Horseweed
P
Sav
   
Coreopsis palmata Prairie tickseed
P
Cryptotaenia canadensis Honewort
Sav
Wood
Cypripedium calceolus Large yellow lady-slipper
Sav
Wood
Dalea candida White prairie clover
P
Dalea purpureum Purple prairie clover
P
Desmodium canadense Showy tick-trefoil
P
Desmodium glutinosum Pointed tick-trefoil
Sav
Desmodium illinoense Illinois tick-trefoil
P
Dicentra cucullaria Dutchman's breeches
Sav
Wood
Dioscorea villosa Wild yam  
Sav
Wood
 
Dodecatheon meadii Shooting star
P
Sav
Echinacea pallida Pale purple coneflower
P
Echinocystis lobata Wild cucumber
Sav
Eleocharis sp. Rush      
Wet
Elymus canadensis Canada wild rye
P
     
Elymus hystrix Bottle brush grass  
Sav
   
Elymus riparius Riverbank wild rye
Sav
Elymus villosus Silky rye  
Sav
   
Elymus virginicus Virginia wild rye
P
Sav
   
Epiloboium coloratum Willow herb      
Wet
Eragrostis spectabilis Purple lovegrass
P
     
Erechtites hieracifolia Burnweed
Sav
Erigeron philadelphicus
Marsh fleabane
P
Sav
   
Erigeron pulchellus Robin's plantain
P
Sav
Erigeron strigosus Daisy fleabane
P
Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake master
P
Eupatorium altissimum Tall boneset