What is a Prairie?
A prairie is a type of ecosystem made mostly of grasses, but it also has flowering plants along with some shrubs and trees. More than 100 plant species can occur in a prairie of less than 5 acres. Prairies can contain more plant diversity than a rain forest!
The “big four” grasses of the tallgrass prairie are big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass and switchgrass. These grasses can grow as tall as ten feet in the Midwestern prairies. The soil underneath a prairie is a dense tangle of roots and bulbs. Some prairie plants put out roots that extend 12 feet below the prairie surface. Each year some of the roots die. Large quantities of organic matter are added to the soil as roots die and decompose making a fertile soil. These rich soils were why prairies were plowed for croplands.
Why Prairies Matter
Tallgrass prairies are one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. The plant diversity found in even the smallest remnant of prairie provides food, shelter, and habitat for wildlife and insects. The deep root systems of native grasses and forbs create sponge-like soils, critical for groundwater recharge and erosion control. By planting these seeds you are playing an active role in native prairie restoration. Together we can bring back the prairie one pocket at a time!
The Ditch Prairie
The prairie at the Ditch is made from a mix containing the following:
Arizona Cottontop (Digitaria californica), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) Little “Cimarron” Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) Buffalograss “Texoka” (Bouteloua dactyloides) Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) Engelmann Daisy (Engelmannia peristennia) Sand Dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus) Duval Red Lovegrass (Eragrostis secudiflora ssp. oxylepis) Green Sprangletop (Leptochloa dubia) Illinois Bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis) Sand Lovegrass “Bend” (Eragrostis trichodes) Partridge Pea “Lark” (Chamaecrista fasciculata) Prairie/Canada Wildrye (Elymus canadensis) Awnless Bush “Plateau” Sunflower (Simsia calva) Maximillian Sunflower (Helianthus maximilliani)
