Plant guide
These are the 21 native grasses and wildflowers Landbridge Ecological sowed in fall 2025. Seeded prairies take a few years to fill in, so some of these won't show up until 2027 or later.
Showing 21 plants
Andropogon gerardii
Minnesota's signature tall prairie grass. Its three-part "turkey foot" seed heads shelter birds and feed skipper butterfly caterpillars.
Bouteloua curtipendula
Little oat-like seeds dangle from one side of the stem. It feeds the caterpillars of several skipper butterflies and seed-eating birds.
Photo: Public domain
Elymus canadensis
One of the first prairie grasses to establish, it holds the soil while slower plants put down roots.
Photo: Crazytwoknobs, CC BY 3.0
Panicum virgatum
Its dense clumps give birds and insects winter cover, and its seeds feed sparrows and juncos.
Photo: Chhe (talk), Public domain
Schizachyrium scoparium
Handsome all year. It is a host plant for several native skipper butterflies, and ground-nesting bees dig in the bare soil between its clumps.
Photo: Public domain
Sorghastrum nutans
Its feathery golden plumes light up the late-summer prairie, and its seeds feed birds into winter.
Zizia aurea
One of the first prairie flowers each spring: an early meal for small native bees and a host plant for black swallowtail caterpillars.
Heuchera richardsonii
Tiny bell-shaped flowers rise on tall stalks above a low rosette of leaves. Small bees visit them in early summer.
Photo: Frank Mayfield, CC BY-SA 2.0
Achillea millefolium
Flat clusters of tiny flowers make an easy landing pad for small bees, flies and beetles.
Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0
Drymocallis arguta
Its five-petaled flowers draw small native bees, and its seed heads stand through winter.
Photo: Public domain
Rudbeckia hirta
Often one of the first wildflowers to bloom in a new prairie. Watch for it in the first few summers.
Asclepias syriaca
The monarch butterfly's host plant: monarch caterpillars eat only milkweed. Its sweet-smelling flowers feed many bees and butterflies.
Photo: Amos Oliver Doyle, CC BY-SA 4.0
Verbena stricta
Slender flower spikes bloom from the bottom up over many weeks, feeding bees, including a few that specialize on vervain.
Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain
Monarda fistulosa
The flower on our sign. Bumble bees, butterflies and hummingbirds all visit its shaggy blooms, and its leaves smell like oregano.
Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0
Agastache foeniculum
A bumble bee favorite. Crush a leaf and it smells like licorice.
Photo: Meneerke bloem, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Small but mighty: few plants attract a wider variety of bees, wasps and butterflies. Its leaves smell minty.
Asclepias verticillata
A smaller milkweed with needle-like leaves. It also feeds monarch caterpillars and blooms later in summer.
Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0
Solidago rigida
Flat-topped yellow clusters provide late-summer nectar for bees, butterflies and beetles.
Solidago speciosa
A late-season feast for bees and migrating monarchs. Goldenrod doesn't cause hay fever; that's ragweed.
Symphyotrichum ericoides
Covered in hundreds of tiny daisy-like flowers, it is one of the last meals for bees before winter.
Photo: davecz2, CC BY-SA 4.0
Symphyotrichum laeve
Its blue flowers fuel monarchs on their fall migration and bees stocking up for winter.
Photo: Kathleen Houlahan Chayer, CC0
