By Alex Singer, Naturalist
The prairie plants surrounding the Primates Inc. Sanctuary give a taste of what was once a vast tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, and pine barrens patchwork covering much of southern Wisconsin.
Although many of the native plants were reintroduced after agricultural use supplanted them, no doubt the seeds of many others lay dormant until the crops stopped competing for sun, water, and nutrients.
The roots of most prairie plants, which for the most part are perennials, delve deep to tap into the water table. Most replicate by windblown seed, though a fair number spread via undergrown rhizomes — sometimes both! The range of species is impressive: from nitrogen-fixing legumes like Wild Senna, to grasses and sedges of various heights; from the yucca-like Rattlesnake Master to the divine-smelling Queen of the Prairie. Though flowers tend to be shades of yellow or purple (no accident, as those are complementary colors that make each other more vivid and facilitate location by bees), there are occasional splashes of orange (Butterfly Milkweed and Hoary Puccoon), red (Cardinal Flower and Royal Catchfly), and blue (Great Lobelia and American Bellflower).
Like most indigenous peoples, Native Americans knew the culinary and medicinal usefulness of many of the plants, which European settlers often learned over time, but many of the common and scientific names reflect what the first settlers were reminded of, be it something from the Old Country or a shape/color/texture that brought to mind a possible medicinal use.
Having a plethora and diversity of native flowers and grasses encourages the same for insect, bird, and mammal life.