Plants of Chatfield State Park

Rorippa sinuata is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name spreading yellowcress. It is native to North America, including most all of the western and central United States, where it grows in many types of moist and wet habitat, such as lakeshores and riverbanks, meadows, and mudflats. It is a perennial herb producing spreading stems up to 40 or 50 centimeters long. It is densely hairy, the hairs rounded... less ↑

Chorispora tenella is a species of plant in the mustard family known by several common names, including purple mustard, blue mustard, musk mustard, and crossflower. This mustard is native to Eurasia but is well known in other parts of the world, particularly in temperate regions, as an introduced species and a noxious weed. This is an annual herb reaching a maximum of half a meter in height and covered abundantly in sticky foliage. The four tiny... less ↑

Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small (up to 0.5m) annual and ruderal species, and a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family. It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates, including Britain, where it is regarded as an archaeophyte,North America and China but also in the... less ↑

Camelina microcarpa is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by several common names, including littlepod false flax and small seed false flax. It is native to Europe and Asia, and it is common across the globe as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It is known as a weed of grain crops such as wheat and rye. This is an erect annual herb producing a branched or unbranched stem 30... less ↑

Descurainia pinnata is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name western tansymustard. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and found in varied habitats. It is especially successful in deserts. It is a hardy plant which easily becomes weedy, and can spring up in disturbed, barren sites with bad soil. This is a hairy, heavily branched, mustardlike annual which is quite variable in appearance. There are... less ↑

Sisymbrium altissimum is a species of Sisymbrium. The plant is native to the western part of the Mediterranean Basin in Europe and Northern Africa and is widely naturalized throughout most of the world, including all of North America. It was probably introduced into North America by a contaminant crop seed. The plant grows in soils of all textures, even sand. The plant germinates in winter or early spring. The blooming time is lengthy, and after maturity... less ↑

Cleome serrulata (syn. Peritoma serrulata), commonly known as Rocky Mountain beeplant/beeweed, stinking-clover, bee spider-flower, skunk weed, Navajo spinach, and guaco is an annual plant in the genus Cleome. Many species of insects are attracted to it, especially bees, which helps in the pollination of nearby plants. It is native to southern Canada and western and central United States. This plant has often been used for food, less ↑

Polanisia dodecandra is a species of flowering plant in the Cleome family, Cleomaceae, known by the common name redwhisker clammyweed, or simply clammyweed, although there are other Polanisia species called clammyweed. It is an annual plant that is found in many types of habitat throughout much of Canada and the United States. It can be found elsewhere as an introduced species. less ↑

Cucurbita foetidissima is a tuberous xerophytic plant found in the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has numerous common names, including: buffalo gourd, calabazilla, chilicote, coyote gourd, fetid gourd, fetid wild pumpkin, Missouri gourd, prairie gourd, stinking gourd, wild gourd, and wild pumpkin. The type specimen was collected from Mexico by Humboldt and Bonpland sometime b less ↑

Ribes cereum is a species of currant known by the common names wax currant and squaw currant (R. c. var. pedicellare is known as whisky currant). It is native to western North America, including British Columbia, Alberta, and much of the western United States, from Washington, Oregon, and California east as far as the western Dakotas and the Oklahoma Panhandle. less ↑

Parthenocissus vitacea (syn. P. inserta), also known as Thicket Creeper, False Virginia Creeper, Woodbine, or Grape Woodbine, is a woody vine native to North America, in southeastern Canada (west to southern Manitoba) and a large area of the United States, from Maine west to Montana and south to New Jersey and Missouri in the east, and Texas to Arizona in the west. It is present in California, but it may be an introduced species that far... less ↑

Vitis riparia Michx, also commonly known as River Bank Grape or Frost Grape, is a native American climbing or trailing vine, widely distributed from Quebec to Texas, and Montana to New England. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees. It produces dark fruit that are appealing to both birds and people, and has been used extensively in commercial viticulture as grafted rootstock and in hybrid grape breeding programs. less ↑

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (syn. Scirpus validus) is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names softstem bulrush and great bulrush. It can be found throughout the world, growing in many types of moist and wet habitat, and sometimes in shallow water. It is quite variable in appearance. It is a perennial herb producing dense stands of many narrow erect stems reaching 1 to 3 meters in height. It grows from a... less ↑

Carex emoryi, the Riverbank tussock sedge or Emory's sedge, is a very attractive and functional native plant for stormwater applications. It thrives with alternating cycles of wet and dry, making it ideal for vegetated swales and infiltration basins. Native to much of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, C. emoryi was first separated from similar species of Carex by botanists in the early part of the 20th century. Bluish green shoots appear in late March in Zone 6,... less ↑

Carex geyeri is a species of sedge known by the common names Geyer's sedge and elk sedge. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in dry areas in mountain meadows, grasslands, and open forest. This sedge produces scattered tufts of stems connected by a network of long rhizomes. The stems are triangular in cross-section and approach half a meter in maximum height. The inflorescence is composed... less ↑

Cyperus erythrorhizos is a species of sedge known by the common name redroot flatsedge. It is found throughout North America from central Canada to central Mexico. It is a plant of wet areas such as rivers and ditches, generally at low elevations. It gets its common and scientific names from the red color of its roots. This sedge grows to a maximum of a meter in height, but is usually quite a bit shorter. It may... less ↑

Eleocharis palustris (common spike-rush, creeping spike-rush or marsh spike-rush) is a species of mat-forming perennial plants in the genus Eleocharis (and subgenus Eleocharis) growing in wetlands throughout the Boreal Kingdom. E. palustris is not easily distinguished from other closely related species and is extremely variable worldwide itself. less ↑

Calamovilfa longifolia is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico and Kansas in the United States. There are two varieties, var. longifolia being widespread in the species' range and var. magna being native to the Great Lakes region. less ↑

Echinochloa crus-galli is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia that was formerly classified as a type of panicum grass. It is commonly known as cockspur (or cockspur grass), barnyard millet, Japanese millet, water grass, common barnyard grass, or simply "barnyard grass" (which may refer to any species of Echinochloa or the genus as a whole however). This plant can grow to 60" (1.5 m) in height and has long, flat leaves which are... less ↑

Setaria viridis is a species of grass known by many common names, including green foxtail green bristlegrass, and wild foxtail millet. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of Setaria italica. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and is closely related to Setaria faberi, a noxious weed. It is a hardy grass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat, including vacant lots, less ↑

Panicum virgatum, commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and naturalized along roadsides. It is used primarily for soil conservation, forage production, game cover, as an ornamental grass,... less ↑

Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a North American prairie grass. Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). It is a warm-season species, meaning it employs the C4 photosynthetic pathway. less ↑

Spartina pectinata is a species of cordgrass known by the common names prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass, tall marshgrass, and sloughgrass. It is native to much of North America, including central and eastern Canada and most of the contiguous United States except for the southwestern and southeastern regions. Its distribution extends into Mexico. It is also present on other continents as an introduced species. less ↑

Polypogon monspeliensis, commonly known as annual beard grass or annual rabbitsfoot grass, is a species of grass. It is native to southern Europe, but it can be found today throughout the world as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It is an annual grass growing to heights between 5 centimeters and one meter. The soft, fluffy inflorescence is a dense, greenish, plumelike panicle, sometimes divided into lobes. The spikelets have long, thin, whitish awns,... less ↑

Phalaris arundinacea, sometimes known as reed canarygrass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. Other common names for the plant include gardener's-garters in English, alpiste roseau in French, rohrglanzgras in German, kusa-yoshi in Japanese, caniço-malhado in Portuguese, and hierba cinta and pasto cinto in Spanish. less ↑

Poa bulbosa is a species of grass known by the common names bulbous bluegrass or bulbous meadow-grass. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is present practically worldwide as an introduced species. It is widespread in the United States and southern Canada. It was introduced to the eastern United States around 1906 and the western US in 1915 as a contaminant in shipments of alfalfa seed. It was intentionally planted on both the... less ↑

Poa compressa (Canada bluegrass or flattened meadowgrass) is a perennial flattened meadow grass, similar to Common Meadow-grass, Poa pratensis. It is native to Europe but it can be found nearly worldwide as an introduced species. It grows in old wall tops, pavement cracks, dry stony grassland, and many types of wild habitat. It has a flattened stem, 23–30 cm tall, a close one sided panicle of grey green, with purple florets. less ↑

Poa pratensis, commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass, smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a perennial species of grass native to Europe, Asia, North America, and northern Africa. Poa pratensis forms a valuable pasture plant, characteristic of well-drained, fertile soil. It is also used for making lawns in parks and gardens and is common in cool moist climates like the northeastern United States. less ↑

Thinopyrum intermedium, known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass, is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae. It is part of a group of plants commonly called wheatgrasses because of the similarity of their seed heads or 'ears' to common wheat. However the wheatgrasses in general are perennial, while wheat is an annual. The grass is native to Europe and Western Asia. less ↑

Pascopyrum is a monotypic genus of grass containing the sole species Pascopyrum smithii, which is known by the common name western wheatgrass, though the common nickname is red-joint wheatgrass, from the red coloration of the nodes. This is a sod-forming rhizomatous perennial grass which is native and common in North America. It grows in grassland and prairie in the Great Plains, where it is sometimes the dominant grass species. It is the state grass of North... less ↑

Elymus lanceolatus is a species of grass known by the common names thickspike wheatgrass and streamside wheatgrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and abundant in much of Canada and the western and central United States. There are two subspecies, ssp. lanceolatus occurring throughout the species' range and ssp. psammophilus occurring in the Great Lakes region. less ↑

Hordeum jubatum, with common names foxtail barley, bobtail barley, squirreltail barley, and intermediate barley, is a perennial plant species in the grass family Poaceae. It occurs wild mainly in northern North America and adjacent northeastern Siberia. However, as it escaped often from gardens it can be found worldwide in areas with temperate to warm climates, and is considered a weed in many countries. The species is a polyploid and originated via hybri less ↑

Hordeum pusillum or little barley is a diploid annual grass native to the United States (except the westernmost parts), which arrived via multiple long-distance dispersals of a southern South American species of Hordeum about one million years ago. Its closest relatives are therefore not the other North American taxa like meadow barley (H. brachyantherum) or foxtail barley (squirreltail grass, H. jubatum), but rather Hordeum species of the pampas of central Argentina and Uruguay. It is less... less ↑

Agropyron desertorum (Clustered wheat grass, Desert crested wheatgrass, Desert wheatgrass, Standard crested wheatgrass; syn. Agropyron cristatum ssp. desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) A. Löve, Agropyron cristatum var. desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Dorn) is a species in the Poaceae family which was originally from Russian and Siberian steppes until it was introduced to the United States from there between 1907 and 1913. Prior to its introduction it was believed that Desert wheatgrass and crested wheatgrass are different species.... less ↑

Phragmites, the common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species. In particular the South Asian Khagra Reed – Phragmites karka – is often treated as a distinct species. less ↑

Blue grama grass, Bouteloua gracilis, is a long-lived, warm-season, C4 perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and U.S. Midwest states to Mexico. Blue grama accounts for most of the net primary productivity in the shortgrass prairie of the central and southern Great Plains. It is a green or greyish, low-growing, drought-tolerant grass with limited maintenance. less ↑

Typha angustifolia L., ( also lesser bulrush or narrowleaf cattail or lesser reedmace), is a perennial herbaceous plant of genus Typha. This cattail is an "obligate wetland" species that is commonly found in the northern hemisphere in brackish locations. The plant's leaves are flat, very narrow (¼"-½" wide), and 3'-6' tall when mature; 12-16 leaves arise from each vegetative shoot. At maturity, they have distinctive stalks that are about as tall as the leaves; the stalks... less ↑

Typha latifolia (bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, common cattail, great reedmace, cooper's reed, cumbungi) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus Typha. It is found as a native plant species in North and South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa. In Canada, broadleaf cattail occurs in all provinces and the Northwest Territories, and in the United States, it is native to all states except Hawaii. It is an introduced and invasive species, and considered a noxious... less ↑

Juncus torreyi is a species of rush known by the common name Torrey's rush. It is native to North America, where it is widespread. It can be found in many habitats across the southern half of Canada, coast to coast in the United States, and throughout northern Mexico. This is a perennial herb growing from rhizomes with associated tiny tubers. The smooth stems vary in maximum height from 30 centimeters to around a meter. The leaves... less ↑

Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid known by the common names striped coralroot and hooded coralroot. This flowering plant is widespread across much of southern Canada, the northern and western United States, and Mexico. It lives in dry, decaying plant matter on the ground in pine and mixed coniferous forests, and it obtains its nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy. less ↑

Maianthemum stellatum (star-flowered, starry, or little false Solomon's seal, or simply false Solomon's seal; starry false lily-of-the-valley; syn. Smilacina stellata) is a species of flowering plant, native across North America generally from Alaska to California in the west and from Newfoundland to the central Appalachian Mountains in the east. An everchanging seasonal plant with little white buds in the spring, followed by delicate starry flowers, then green-and-black striped berries (see image gallery) and finally deep red... less ↑