Selected North Dakota and Minnesota Range Plants
EB-69, 1998
Kevin K. Sedivec and William T. Barker
NDSU Department of Animal and Range Sciences
Introduction
Descriptions and Photos of Plants (indexed)
Dedication
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
Glossary
References
This book is entitled, "Selected North Dakota and Minnesota Range Plants."
This title requires at the onset some explanation. It could be argued that all land in
North Dakota could be rangeland with the exception of cropland and urban land. The same
could be said for Minnesota, except for forested land, cropland and urban land. The
vascular flora of North Dakota includes over 1,200 species (Great Plains Flora
Association, 1977) and the vascular flora of Minnesota includes over 1,800 species (Ownbey
and Morely, 1991). The greater number of species in Minnesota is due to the increased
habitats for vascular species associated with these forested areas. When one would study
the vascular flora of a grassland in either North Dakota or Minnesota the total floristic
list could easily exceed 400 vascular plant species. The point to be made is that this
book will not positively identify all plant species one might find in the rangeland of
North Dakota and Minnesota. The species included in this book are a selected list of
species and is not meant to be a total list for the two states. The plants included in
this book are among the most commonly encountered on rangeland. It must be emphasized that
many other vascular plant species are found on rangeland in these two states.
This book includes 123 species. For each species the Latin scientific species name is
given. When important, the Latin variety and/or subspecies name is given. Synonyms (other
names given to an individual plant) are given for each plant. This is particularly
important because different keys, manuals and other literature may use different
nomenclature (names). By listing synonyms, an attempt is made to eliminate the confusion
caused by different authors using different names for the same plant. The student of range
plant identification needs to understand that at different times different authors have
given different names to the same plant. The "International Rules of Botanical
Nomenclature" state that a plant species has only one correct name. The
nomenclature (names) used in this book follows that used in The Great Plains Flora (Great
Plains Fora Association, 1986) whenever possible. Deviations from this are due to more
recent literature.
Common names are given for each species with an attempt made to give all common names
that we were aware of in our region. Often common names for the same plant vary from
region to region. It is not uncommon for one to encounter the same common name for two
different species.
The Latin scientific family name and common name is given for each species. Large
families like the Asteraceae or Compositae-Sunflower Family and Poaceae or Gramineae-Grass
Family are divided into tribes. The Latin tribe names are given in some instances. These
are given to aid in plant identification since the grouping of like plants together aids
in identification. The monocot families are treated first in the book followed by the
dicot families. Within each family the species are arranged alphabetically. A rather
exacting botanical description is given for each plant species. Terminology used in these
descriptions will be new to many range plant students. The beginning students will
appreciate how exactly a plant can be described as you learn the terminology better. A
glossary has been provided in the book to aid in the learning process.
The Flower (6KB b&w image)
The Grass Plant (23KB b&w image)
A colored picture and line drawing of each species has been provided. Comparison of the
plant you wish to identify with the color photograph and line drawings will help identify
the range plant. Remember, not all the plants of the two states are included in this book
so you will often have to use other references.
An origin statement is given for each plant. Plants listed as native evolved in North
America and either originated in or migrated into North Dakota or Minnesota during its
evolutionary history. Other plants will be listed as being introduced. For example, if a
plant is introduced into North America from Europe this is usually stated. Certain
introduced plants do not grow well in our region while others do extremely well.
Introduced plants that have thrived in our region for an extended period of time are
classified as naturalized. Often these plants can become weeds in our region.
The growing season is given for each plant species and classified as being cool or
warm-season species. Cool-season species begin growing in April and May and flower and
fruit in June and July. Warm-season species begin growing in late May, June and July and
flower and fruit in August and September. Recognition of growth season and growth stages
of plants aid in their identification. A flowering or fruiting specimen is the best to use
for plant identification. Vegetative characters such as ligules, auricles, and leaf sizes
and shapes are often used in plant identification.
The habitat or habitats where each plant species is found growing is given. The
management for a species is often determined by the condition of the habitat.
The range distribution is given for each species. First, the range of the species for
North America, especially the United States, is given followed by the North Dakota and
Minnesota distributions. The distribution statement is accompanied by a shaded North
Dakota and Minnesota map.
The forage value of each species is then discussed. Usually an indication of whether
the species is a decreaser, increaser or invader is given.
A discussion of the wildlife value of each species is given. Much of the information
included in these statements comes from (Martin et al., 1951) and from our own experience.
As was previously stated, the North Dakota and Minnesota flora includes over 1,200 and
1,800 species, respectively. One will often want to identify plants that are not included
in this book. To do this we would suggest that you learn to use "Flora of the
Great Plains" (Great Plains Flora Association, 1986), and "Manual of
Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, 2nd Edition"
(Gleason and Cronquist, 1991). Other checklists, keys and manuals that will be useful
in identifying North Dakota and Minnesota vascular plants include:
- Atlas of the Flora of the Great Plains - Great Plains Flora Association (1977)
- Flora of Manitoba - H.J. Scoggan (1957)
- Flora of Montana - W.E. Booth and J.C. Wright (1959)
- Flora of the Pacific Northwest - C.L. Hitchcock on A. Cronquist (1973)
- Gray's Manual of Botany, 8th Edition - M.L. Fernald (1950)
- Handbook of North Dakota Plants - O.A. Stevens (1963)
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States - A.S. Hitchcock and A. Chase (1950)
- The New Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - H.A. Gleason (1952)
- The Vascular Plants of South Dakota, 2nd Edition - T. Van Bruggen (1985)
- Vascular Plants of Minnesota A Checklist and Atlas - G.B. Ownbey and T. Morley
(1991)
Presently, the Missouri Botanical Garden is working on the North American Flora
Project. Three volumes of the Flora of North America have been published and others
are scheduled to be published. These volumes provide keys, descriptions, line drawings,
and distribution data for all North America vascular plants. Although this project is not
yet complete, any serious student of North America plant identification should follow the
progress of this project closely.
For a person interested in the range plants of North Dakota and Minnesota it is
important to consider the vegetation of the two states. The following map of Minnesota
vegetation is a map modified from the 1974, version of the F.J. Marschner's map, The
Original Vegetation of Minnesota by Keith M. Wendt and Barbara A. Coffin (1988).
Minnesota Vegetation (8KB b&w image)
Tallgrass Prairie is the primary range area of Minnesota. This area lies west of the
line included on the distribution maps included in this book. The dominant grasses in this
grassland are big bluestem, switchgrass and Canada wildrye. Much of the Tallgrass Prairie
in southern Minnesota has been converted to cropland. One may find prairie openings which
have Tallgrass Prairie species present in the Eastern Deciduous Forest and to a more
limited extent in the Northern Coniferous Forest. Livestock grazing occurs in many of
these areas and therefore range plants are of interest to people in these areas.
In Minnesota, the central and northern areas of Tallgrass Prairie are often still used
for grazing. Many of these areas are seasonally wet and will probably remain as grazing
lands due to their wetness and short growing season. Cropping still remains as an
increasing use of these lands.
The North Dakota grasslands are shown on the following map modified from a map
published by Barker and Whitman (1989). The grassland areas are Tallgrass Prairie,
Transition Prairie and Mixed-grass Prairie. The moisture gradient from west to east across
North Dakota is largely responsible for the grassland types. The drier prairie is found in
the western two-thirds of North Dakota. The Transition Prairie is found between the more
xeric Mixed-grass Prairie and mesic Tallgrass Prairie. In the northwest part of North
Dakota we have a Rough Rescue-Mixed Prairie. Rough Fescue (Festuca scabrella) is
dominant in this grassland type. The Badlands and Sheyenne Delta (a sandhill) region are
unique grassland types in North Dakota. A more detailed description of these vegetation
types is given in the paper entitled Vegetation of the Northern Great Plains
(Barker and Whitman, 1989).
North Dakota Vegetation (8KB b&w image)
Each prairie type is classified by its dominant plant species. Tallgrass Prairie is
associated with big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, and Canada wildrye. Transition
Prairie is associated with western wheatgrass, big bluestem and needlegrasses. Mixed-grass
Prairie is associated with western wheatgrass, blue grama grass and needle-and-thread
grass. Rough Fescue-Mixed Prairie is associated with western wheatgrass, little bluestem,
needle-and-thread, and rough fescue. Sandhill Prairie is fundamentally that of tallgrass
prairie with big bluestem, sand bluestem, prairie sandreed, needle-and-thread, sand
dropseed, Indian ricegrass, and switchgrass being the major species. Badland and River
Breaks are typically mixed-grass prairie characterized by rough topography and other
unique erosional topography with many clay buttes and bare soil. Rocky Mountain Juniper
dominates north facing slope and Ponderosa Pine and Savannas found in unique situations.
Other species associated with Badland and River Breaks include big sagebrush, Douglas fir,
silver sage, and shadescale.
This book is dedicated to the memory of Rose Klein and Orlin Lelm
Rose Klein
The development and coordination involved in organizing and creating the idea of a
North Dakota Range Plant Handbook takes an energetic and persuasive person. That person
was Rose Klein. Rose began promoting the idea for this handbook in 1988, searching for
support from private and public entities to back the idea. She approached the North Dakota
State University Animal and Range Sciences Department in 1991 and expressed the need for
this book. She had files of paperwork she collected showing the support of landowners and
producers, government agencies, the educational arena, and youth groups. Rose developed
and chaired the Range Plant Handbook Committee from which the outline and ideas for the
Range Plant Handbook were finalized. Rose also worked hard to secure funds to help pay
publishing costs.
In addition to her activities with the North Dakota Range Plant Handbook Committee,
Rose served as president of the Dakota Prairies Resource Conservation and Development
Council, Inc., supervisor for the Mercer County Soil Conservation District, and as a board
member of the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts. Although Rose is no
longer with us, her memory and spirit will live on in this book as a reminder of her
dedication and desire to create materials and projects that can help others. Rose's
leadership and commitment will be missed by all.
Orlin Lelm
Orlin Lelm was one of the original members of the North Dakota Range Plant Handbook
Committee. Orlin served as a supervisor for the South McLean County Soil Conservation
Districts, was a member of the Dakota Prairies Resource Conservation and Development
Council, Inc., and served as a board member of the North Dakota Association of Soil
Conservation Districts. Orlin was a strong supporter of no-till grass and grain seeding
and did much to promote various conservation practices in his surrounding area.
Like Rose, Orlin was instrumental in gaining support from local landowners and
agencies. He also participated in fund raising strategies to create the Range Plant
Handbook. Orlin never missed a committee meeting, arriving with a big smile, ready to help
organize and bring new ideas to improve the book. Orlin will be missed, but his memory
will live on in this book that he worked hard to promote and create.
The authors would like to thank the Range Handbook Committee for their encouragement
and assistance with this project. As authors, we were very much aware of the need for this
book but it became a reality due to the encouragement and help from this committee. The
members of the Range Handbook Committee were: Rose Klein, Chairperson, and Mercer County
Soil Conservation District (SCD) supervisor; Orlin Lelm, Treasurer, and McLean SCD
supervisor; Dennis Pederson, Sioux County SCD supervisor; George Becker, Sioux County SCD
supervisor; Jim Kramer, Reclamation Specialist; Herb Mittelstead, RC&D Coordinator;
Steve Revie, RC&D Coordinator; Keith Weston, RC&D Coordinator; Wes Ewine, RC&D
Coordinator; Jeff Printz, NRCS; Rocky Schwagler, NRCS; and Todd Schwagler, NRCS. This
committee felt there was a real need to produce a book to aid in the identification of the
common range plants for students, farmers and ranchers, wildlife and range technicians,
and others interested in rangelands. It was recognized in the early stages of this project
that the first edition would not include all the range plants of the region and that more
range plants could be included in future editions.
The book could not have been published without the financial assistance provided by the
North Dakota and Minnesota Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Councils.
These RC&D councils include: Dakota Prairie, Dakota West, Lake Agassiz, Pembina Trail,
Red River, and Wesmin. Other groups that provided financial assistance were Glacial Lake
Agassiz Interbeach Project, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, North Dakota State
University Extension Service, North Dakota State University Animal and Range Sciences
Department, and North Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
Wes Ewine, Coordinator and Judi Lang, assistant coordinator, Dakota Prairie RC&D;
and Jay Mar, coordinator, Lake Agassiz RC&D, deserve special recognition for their
help in coordinating this project. These people did excellent work in arranging financial
support and guidance for this project.
The authors would like to give special thanks to Jeff Printz, NRCS; Todd Schwagler,
NRCS; Jim Kramer, Reclamation Specialist, and Gary Moran, North Dakota State University
Extension Service for editing, reviewing and providing constructive criticism of the
manuscript. As authors, we gladly accepted many changes but did not change some aspects
suggested and therefore accept full responsibility for the book. We feel these people
helped improve and strengthen the quality of this book.
Special appreciation is due Deb Tanner and her staff at the North Dakota State
University Extension Service for providing the graphics and layout of the book. Their
expertise, suggestions, and patience were invaluable. Stan Ernst, chair of the North
Dakota State University Agriculture Communication Department was instrumental in the
printing and financial matters of the book. We are grateful to Holly Erdman, Betty Bodine
and Julie Berg for their secretarial support and Kim Vader for her aid in collecting
research needs.
Finally, the authors would like to thank Dr. James Stubbendieck, Professor of Range
Sciences at University of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, for
permission to use line diagrams from North America Range Plants. Bellamy Parks
Jenson illustrated many of the plants.
About The Authors
William T. Barker received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology at Kansas State
Teachers College, Emporia, and Ph.D. in botany from the University of Kansas, Lawrence.
His M.S. thesis was a floristic study of Woodson County, Kansas and Ph.D. thesis a
floristic study of the Kansas Flint Hills. He began his present position at North Dakota
State University, where he is currently professor of Animal and Range Sciences and curator
of the North Dakota State University Herbarium, in 1968. Since then he and his students
have been actively studying the flora and grazing/plant ecology of North Dakota
grasslands. He was a member of the Great Plains Flora Association who has published The
Atlas of the Flora of the Great Plains (1977) and The Great Plains Flora (1986). The Great
Plains Flora Association received the American Botanical Society's Henry A. Gleason Award
for its publication The Great Plains Flora (1986). This award is given annually for the
outstanding publication in plant systematics/plant ecology for that year. He has studied
the prairie and plains flora for thirty-six years.
Kevin K. Sedivec developed a keen interest in range plants in 1985 when he started his
career in rangeland research as a biological technician working for Dr. William T. Barker
at the Central Grasslands Research Center near Streeter, North Dakota. He received his
B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from North Dakota State University, Fargo. Both his M.S. and Ph.D.
theses dealt with upland nesting bird success on intensively managed pasture systems. He
began working for the North Dakota State University Extension Service as a rangeland
management specialist in 1989. In 1994, he received a research appointment in addition to
the extension appointment with the North Dakota State University Animal and Range Sciences
Department. He works with farmers and ranchers, students, range technicians, and extension
staff and is very much aware of the need for range plant identification literature. His
current research interests involve livestock production and wildlife use, grazing systems,
range nutrition, and wildlife habitat uses. He has studied range plants and range ecology
for twelve years.
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