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
Department of Natural Resource Management
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
Krista Ehlert
Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Range Specialist
Department of Natural Resource Management
SDSU Extension
Telephone number: 605-394-2236 Email
Gary Larson
Professor Emeritus
Department of Natural Resource Management
Telephone number: 605-688-4552 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: 605-688-4017 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

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.