 As
interest in prairie restoration continues to grow in Illinois and
surrounding states, so does the need for a comprehensive reference.
For successful restoration, identification of prairie plant species with
quality color images at all stages is essential. This website helps to
fill this gap by providing digital images of seeds, seedlings, and fruits
for selected tallgrass prairie species.
 While
most prairie
restoration efforts start with seeds, collection of these seeds usually
occurs in the fall when the leaves and flowers of the plant are lacking or
are in very poor condition. This makes proper identification
difficult. Images on this website of seeds, fruits on plants, and
individual fruits removed from plants will aid in proper identification for
collecting.
In the first few years after seeding an area, when
prairie plants are becoming established, the seedlings are threatened by competition from weeds. Eliminating
competitive weedy species is important in promoting prairie plant
establishment. Being able to identify correctly the prairie plant seedlings from
the weed seedlings is essential. This website contains images of
prairie plant seedlings to assist in recognizing prairie plant seedlings from competing
weed seedlings in prairie plantings.
 This website should aid both professionals and
amateurs in their efforts to restore prairie remnants or establish prairie
plants along roadways, in parks, at nature centers, in natural areas, or in
yards. As this project is ongoing, not all species have images at all stages. New images
will be added as they become available.
The logo for this project is PSSF (Prairie
Seeds, Seedlings, and Fruits). For scales shown beside images, one mark equals one
millimeter. |
