Native Plant Initiative

About the Native Plant Initiative

Originally, the landscape in the Northern Great Plains was dense and diverse with native grasses and forbs (wildflowers). However, many areas in the Northern Great Plains are now degraded due to natural and anthropogenic causes such as, but not limited to, invasive species and saline/sodic soils. Historically, native vegetation management involved removing invasive species from areas dominated native plants or restoring small degraded areas. Now, our grasslands are so full of invasive plants and such large areas are degraded that restoration is a much more difficult endeavor. We are restoring native plants into areas dominated by invasive species and restoring expanses of degraded land. This new reality requires a more thorough understanding of native plant restoration and production than currently exists for native plants of the Northern Great Plains.

Mission

To conduct research, education, and outreach to support excellence in native plant restoration and production for the Northern Great Plains

Vision

To produce rigorous, innovative, and reliable data-driven science to inform native plant restoration and production
To disseminate this information to the scientific community, stakeholders, public and private land managers, and the public
To engage students at every level (K-12, undergraduate, and graduate) in our research and outreach activities

Our People

Lora Perkins
Associate Professor / AHPS Affiliate Associate Professor
Department of Natural Resource Management
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture & Plant Science
Telephone number: 605-688-6970 Email
Pete Bauman
SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist
Department of Natural Resource Management
SDSU Extension
Telephone number: 605-882-5140 Email
Arvid Boe
Professor
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture & Plant Science
Telephone number: 605-688-4759 Email
Krista Ehlert
Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Range Specialist
Department of Natural Resource Management
SDSU Extension
Telephone number: 605-394-2236 Email
Maribeth Latvis
Assistant Professor / Herbarium Director
Department of Natural Resource Management
Herbarium
Telephone number: 605-688-6121 Email
Joshua Leffler
Assistant Professor
Department of Natural Resource Management
Telephone number: 605-688-6024 Email
Madhav Nepal
Associate Professor
Department of Biology and Microbiology
Telephone number: 605-688-5971 Email
Alexander Smart
Professor & SDSU Extension Rangeland Management Specialist
Department of Natural Resource Management
SDSU Extension
Telephone number: 605-688-5503 Email
Lan Xu
Professor
Department of Natural Resource Management
Telephone number: 605-688-4564 Email
Abigail Blanchard
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Natural Resource Management
Telephone number: 605-688-6121 Email

Native Plant Spotlight

Ratibida columnifera

USDA Plants Database Common Name: Upright prairie coneflower
Native American (Lakota) Name¹: Napostan
Other Common Names: Prairie coneflower

Ratibida columnifera is a perennial that will grow 1-3 feet tall². It is native to most of the US and Canada³. Ratibida columnifera’s flower head is unique with a cylindric disk and droopy yellow rays². R. comumnifera is palatable and seed can produce viable seedlings after being ‘dispersed’ by cattle⁴.

¹Reese, N.; Native Plant Research at South Dakota State University, Ratibida columnifera, 27: South Dakota State University; 2019 April 26; Click OpenPrairie.

²Johnson, J. R., and G. E. Larson. (2007). Grassland plants of South Dakota and the northern Great Plains. South Dakota Experiment Station, Brookings, SD

³USDA Plants Database

⁴Doucette, K. M., Wittenberg, K. M., & McCaughey, W. P. (2001). Seed recovery and germination of reseeded species fed to cattle. Rangeland Ecology & Management/Journal of Range Management Archives, 54(5), 575-581.

Archives

Monarda fistulosa

USDA Plants Database Common Name: Wild Bergamot
Native American (Lakota) Name¹: Hexaka Tapezuta
Other Common Names: Beebalm or horsemint

Monarda fistulosa is a perennial that will grow 2-4 feet tall². It is native to most of the US and Canada³. Monarda fistulosa has minty smelling foliage and produces pink/lavender flowers in dense clusters on terminal heads². It is visited by many types of pollinators⁴ when it blooms in July and August.

¹Reese, N.; Native Plant Research at South Dakota State University, Monarda fistulosa, 20: South Dakota State University; 2019 April 26; Click OpenPrairie.

²Johnson, J. R., and G. E. Larson. (2007). Grassland plants of South Dakota and the northern Great Plains. South Dakota Experiment Station, Brookings, SD

³USDA Plants Database

⁴Tucker, E. M., & Rehan, S. M. (2016). Wild bee pollination networks in northern New England. Journal of insect conservation, 20(2), 325-337.

Penstemon grandiflorus

USDA Plants Database Common Name: Large Beardtongue
Native American (Lakota) Name¹: Kimimila tawanatica
Other Common Names: Shell-leaf Penstemon, Large-Flowered Penstemon, Showy Beardtongue

Penstemon grandiflorus is a perennial that will grow 1-3 feet tall. It is native to the Midwest and Southwestern US. It provides abundant resources for pollinators² when it blooms from April through July. It is commonly found in sandy to loamy prairie soils and will grow in bare patches like those created by pocket gophers³.

¹Reese, N.; Native Plant Research at South Dakota State University, Penstemon grandifloras, 22: South Dakota State University; 2019 April 26; Click OpenPrairie.
²Clinebell, R. R., & Bernhardt, P. (1998). The pollination ecology of five species of Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae) in the tallgrass prairie. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 126-136.
³Davis, M. A., Ritchie, B., Graf, N., & Gregg, K. (1995). An experimental study of the effects of shade, conspecific crowding, pocket gophers and surrounding vegetation on survivorship, growth and reproduction in Penstemon grandiflorus. American Midland Naturalist, 237-243.