This research program was initiated in 1999 as part of an SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station funded program in the laboratory of Dr. R. Neil Reese. This project is designed to provide research and educational opportunities to students interested in conservation and utilization of native plant species, as well as encourage the use of native plants by small family farmers as alternative crops in South Dakota.
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This site is dedicated to Mrs. Dorothy Gill, a Dakota Elder, a mentor and friend.
- To locate a plant by the Native American name, or common name use the search box in the left side-bar.
- A glossary of terms used in this collection can be found here.
- Each plant contains supplemental images documenting the life cycle of the plant.
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Taxonomy on this site follows that of the USDA (https://plants.usda.gov/home), many of the Lakota plant names are taken from Black Elk and Flying By (https://puc.sd.gov/commission/dockets/HydrocarbonPipeline/2014/HP14-001/testimony/betest.pdf) and taxonomic descriptions are adapted in part from the Flora of the Great Plains, Great Plains Flora Association ; Ronald L. McGregor, coordinator ; T.M. Barkley, editor ; Ralph E. Brooks, associate editor ; Eileen K. Schofield, associate editor. University Press of Kansas, 1986.
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Fabaceae : Amorpha fruticosa
R. Neil Reese
Amorpha fruticosa is a deciduous perennial shrub, which has 1 to several stems growing from 1 m to 3.5 m in height, often branched, forming a bushy top. The alternate, pinnately compound leaves are stipulate (caduceus, narrowly linear 2-4 mm in length) 10 – 30 cm long with 4 – 15 pairs of emarginate leaflets. The inflorescences are solitary to clusters of densely flowered racemes 5-20 cm in length that bloom from June to August. The 5-merous calyx is fused forming a tube 2-3 mm long with broadly rounded to triangular lobes extending about 0.5 mm. The reddish-purple petals form a tube 5-6 mm long that encloses the stamens and pistil. There are 10 stamens 6-8 mm long and united at the base, with bright yellow anthers. The single pistil matures into a legume 5-7 mm by 2-3 mm. False indigo is commonly found along moist stream banks, in the open or in open woods.
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Fabaceae : Amorpha nana
R. Neil Reese
Amorpha nana is deciduous perennial shrub, which grows 30 cm to 60 cm in height. The stems are branched above, often covered with short hairs when young. The alternate, compound odd-pinnate leaves are 3-10 cm long with 3-10 cm long petioles having associated stipules that are 3-5 mm long. The broadly oblong leaflets are arranged in 6-15 pairs with a single terminal leaflet and are 6-13 mm long by 3-6 mm wide. Dwarf indigo flowers are borne in densely flowered terminal racemes, 3-9 cm long. The dark, purple-colored flowers appear from May to June. The sepals form a short turbinate tube 2-3 mm long with 1-2 mm long triangular lobes. The corolla is composed of petals fused into a tube, 5-6 mm long, with a slender claw, and encloses the stamens and pistil. There are 10 stamens fused at the base and a single pistil. The fruit is a legume, 4.5-5.5 mm long by 2-3 mm wide. This species is commonly found on dry prairies and rocky or sandy hillsides.
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Fabaceae: Amphicarpaea bracteata
R. Neil Reese
Amphicarpaea bracteate is a herbaceous annual vine with thin green stems reaching up to 2 m in length, found climbing on forbs, grasses and shrubs or sprawling on open hillsides or stream banks in shaded areas. The trifoliate alternate leaves have petioles that are 2-10 cm long with persistent membranous stipules. The leaflets are thin ovate with an acute apex and 2-10 cm long by 1.8-7 cm wide. Mouse beans produce 2 types of flowers. The above-ground flowers are found in axillary racemes (1.5-9cm long) and bloom in late summer. Each flower is subtended by 2 bracts. The calyx is composed of 5 sepals form a tube of 4-5 mm with 4 deltoid lobes extending 0.5-2 mm. The papilionaceous corolla is white to lilac in color. The stamens are diadelphous and there is a single pistil that forms a legume that is 1.4-5 cm long containing 2-5 seeds. The cleistogamous flowers are produced on creeping branches and lack well developed petals. They produce a single-seeded black pods containing 1 white seed about 1 cm in diameter.
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Fabaceae : Apios americana
R. Neil Reese
Apios americana is a perennial herbaceous vine growing from slender rhizomes that produce tubers that get up 6 cm in diameter. The stems grow to 5 m long and climb or sprawl over shrubs and trees. The compound pinnate leaves are inserted in an alternate pattern, having deciduous stipules that are 5-7 mm long. The leaves usually have 5-7 leaflets that are ovate to lance-ovate and rounded at the base, with petioles that are 1.5-8 cm long. Flowers are organized in racemes that have a short peduncle (2-5 cm long) and are found in the axils of leaves. The calices are tubular with the lower lobe triangular and up to halve as long as the tube. The corolla is papilionaceous 10-14 mm long, with the banner reflexed, whitish dorsally and reddish ventrally. The wings are brown to purple, downcurved, and the keel is reddish brown. There are 10 diadelphous stamens, and the legume is straight to slightly curved 5-50 mm by 4-6 mm.
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Fabaceae: Astragalus canadensis
R Neil Reese
Astragalus canadensis is a rhizomatous perennial herb with erect stems growing 30-120 cm in height. The herbage is sparsely to densely covered in ax-shaped hairs. The alternate, sessile to short petiolate, compound odd-pinnate leaves are 5-35 cm long, with 11 to 35, narrow, elliptic leaflets, 1–4 cm long, with blunt to rounded tips and lanceolate stipules 5–10 mm long. The inflorescence consists of axillary spike-like racemes, 4-20 cm long, with 30 to 100 papilionaceous flowers on a peduncle of 2-10 cm. The calyx tube is 4-7 mm long, with teeth 1-4 mm long. The corolla is greenish white to yellowish white, the banner 11-16 mm long, the wings are 10-14 mm long and the keel is 9-13 mm long and occasionally purple tipped. The wings and keel are narrowed at the base. The fruit are erect legumes, elliptic to cylindric in shape, and 9–15 mm long. Canada milkvetch blooms from May through August in moist prairies, along riverbanks and on open wooded hillsides in much of South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Astragalus ceramicus var. filifolius
R. Neil Reese
Astragalus ceramicus var. filifolius is a perennial herb from buried, spreading rhizomatous caudex. The solitary stems are lax to ascending, 3-40 cm long with silvery, stiff, appressed hairs. The compound leaves are alternate, odd pinnate, 2–17 cm long, often reduced to just the rachis, with the lower most leaves having 3-5 leaflets, with slender petioles and lanceolate stipules, 2–6 mm long, and often united basally. The inflorescence is comprised of axillary racemes of 2-7 white to light purple, papilionaceous flowers on peduncles of 1.5-7 cm in length. The hairy calyx tube is 2-3 mm long with teeth ~1 mm long. The banner is 6-9 mm long, the wings 6-8 mm long and the keel 6-8 mm long, all of the petals narrowed near the base. The fruit are legumes, each pod has a stipe of 1-3 mm in length, is inflated, red mottled, 3-5 cm long and 1.4-2.6 cm in diameter. Painted milkvetch blooms in June and July in sand dunes and sandy prairies in south central and northwest South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Astragalus crassicarpus
R. Neil Reese
Astragalus crassicarpus is a perennial, prostrate to suberect herb, 11-60 cm in height, with many hair covered stems growing from a well branched caudex atop of a tap root. The alternate, compound leaves are pinnately dissected, 4-13 cm long, with 13-27 oblanceolate to linear leaflets, 3-17 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, with hairs that make them appear slightly grayish, with lanceolate stipules 3-8 mm long. The inflorescence is composed of axillary racemes of 5-25 bluish, purple or white with purple-tipped papilionaceous flowers on peduncles 2-10 cm long. The calyx tube is 6-9 mm long, with black and/or white stiff appressed hairs and teeth 1-4 mm long. The banner petal is notched, 16-24 mm long, the wings are 16-18 mm long, and the keel is 11-15 mm long and narrowed at the base. The fruit is a red to purple, globose, fleshy legume, 15 -25 mm long, resembling a plum. Ground plum blooms from April to June on prairie hillsides, along stream bank and in open woods throughout South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Astragalus gilviflorus
R. Neil Reese
Astragalus gilviflorus is a perennial, cushion-forming, acaulescent or very short-stemmed (<3 cm>long) herb, covered with silvery ax-shaped hairs. The compound, alternate, petiolate, leaves, have conspicuous, membranous or chartaceous stipules that are persistent, clasping and forming a tube or sheath around the stem. The leaves are trifoliolate, sometimes odd pinnate with 5 leaflets, the leaflets oblanceolate, 5–20 mm long with entire margins. The inflorescences are axillary, globose capitate or subcapitate racemes with 1-6 flowers. The 5-lobed cylindrical calyx tube is hairy, 6-15 mm long with teeth 1.5-4 mm in length. The corolla is papilionaceous, the white petals are clawed (narrowed at the base), the banner is slightly reflexed, 15–30 mm long, the wings 12-24 mm long and the keel is 10–22 mm long, often purple-tipped. The fruit is a legume, 6-10 mm long, oblong or ellipsoidal, exserted from calyx, beaked, hairy, and contains 3-10 mitt shaped seeds. Prairie milkvetch blooms in May and June on rocky prairie hilltops, slopes or barren flats in western South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Dalea aurea
R. Neil Reese
Dalea aurea is a perennial herb with 1 to several erect stems coming from a woody caudex atop a taproot and growing 20-75 cm in height. The stems are simple or branched above and covered with silky hairs. The petiolate leaves are alternate, compound odd-pinnate, blades 1-4 cm long, with 5-7 oblanceolate leaflets, 4-16 mm long. The leaves are largest toward the stem base and are reduced above. The inflorescence consists of silky-haired, many flowered, terminal cone-like spikes on the main stem and branches, becoming oblong-cylindrical, 1.5-7 cm long. The calyx tube is 2-3 mm long, with teeth 3.5-5 mm long and is densely covered with silky hairs. The corolla is papilionaceous, yellow, with all of the petals clawed (narrowed at the base). The petals above the claws measure as follows: banner 6.5-8.6 mm, wings 5-6 mm, and the keel 5.7-8.5 mm long. The fruit is a one-seeded legume, 3-4 mm long and covered with silky hairs. Golden prairie clover blooms from June into September in prairies, open hillsides, in ravines and in stream valleys in western and southwestern South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Dalea candida
R. Neil Reese
Dalea candida is a perennial herb with 1-several erect stems, simple or branching from above, growing from a caudex attached to a thick taproot, each stem 30 to 100 cm in height. The alternate, compound odd-pinnate, leaves are 1.5-6 cm long, with a short petiole, and 5-13 narrow, gland-dotted, light green leaflets, each 5-35 mm long. The inflorescence is a loose to dense cylindrical spike of flowers, 1.5-7.5 cm long, at the tip of each stem or stem branch. Each flower has a green calyx tube 1.9-2.7 mm long with teeth 0.6-1.8 mm long. The papilionaceous corollas have white clawed (narrowed at the base) petals that measure above the claws: banner 4-5.7 mm long, the wings and keel 3.2-5.3 mm long. The flowers at the base open first and the upper ones bloom later. The fruit is a green oval legume pod, 2.5-4.5 mm long, containing one seed. White prairie clover blooms from May to August on prairies, open woodlands and roadsides throughout South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Dalea enneandra
R. Neil Reese
Dalea enneandra is a perennial herb with 1-3 erect stems, branched above the middle, which are 5-10 dm tall and arise from a caudex attached to a yellow taproot. The alternate, nearly sessile, pinnately compound leaves are 1.3-2.6 cm long, with leaves on the main stem often deciduous by time of anthesis. The leaves 5-13 leaflets, narrowly oblanceolate, 4-12 mm long with black glands on the leaflets and midrib. The inflorescence consists of terminal, 2-ranked spikes, with 5-35 flowers, subtended by bracts, 3-4 mm long with pale or white membranous margins. The calyx tube is covered with silky hairs, 3-3.7 mm long with 5 teeth 3.3-4.6 mm long. The papilionaceous white petals are clawed (narrowed at the base) with the remainder of the petals measuring as follows: banner 5.7-7 mm, wings 2.8-4.1 mm, and the keel 5.5-7 mm long. There are 9 stamens. The fruit are one-seeded legumes, 3-4 mm long. Nine-anther prairie clover blooms in July and August in prairies, on hillside and in stream valleys in most of South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Dalea purpurea
R. Neil Reese
Dalea purpurea is a perennial herb, with ascending to prostrate stems, which grow singly or in groups from a woody caudex, 20 to 90 cm in height. The stems can vary from smooth to very hairy. The alternate, odd-pinnate compound leaves are 1.5-4.5 cm long, with 3-7 linear to linear-oblanceolate leaflets, 10-28 mm long and can be smooth to hairy. The inflorescence consists of terminal, conical, densely hairy spikes, 1-7 cm long attached to a peduncles 0-15 cm long. Each flower is subtended by hairy bracts, 2.5-5.8 mm long. The densely hairy, bell-shaped calyx tube is 2-3 mm long with teeth 1-2 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla has clawed (narrowed at the base), pinkish to rose to purple-colored petals with the petal length beyond the claws as follows: banner 4.5-7 mm, wing and keel 3-5 mm long. The fruit is a single-seeded legume, 2-2.5 mm long. Purple prairie clover blooms from May into August on prairies, hillsides, open woods and stream valleys throughout South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Glycyrrhiza lepidota
R. Neil Reese
Glycyrrhiza lepidota is a perennial herb arising from deep, woody, aromatic roots with multiple, erect stems, which grow 30-120 cm in height and are typically dotted with glands. The leaves are alternate, with petioles 5-50 mm long and stipules 3-7 mm long. The blades are compound odd-pinnate with oblong to lanceolate leaflets, 2-7 cm long with glandular dots, in groups of 7 to 21. The inflorescences are axial, dense, spike-like racemes of numerous flowers, with peduncles 1–6 cm long. The flowers have tubular-campanulate green calyx tubes that are 2-2.5 mm long, with teeth 2.5–3 mm long, the tube and teeth both having stalked glands. The papilionaceous corollas have white to yellowish white petals, the banner moderately erect, 10-14 mm long, keel and wings 8-12 mm long. There are 9 united stamens and 1 separate stamen. The fruit is an ellipsoid legume, 1–2 cm long going from green to orangish-brown with age and covered with hooked bristles 2–3 mm long. The fruit remain through the winter. American licorice blooms from July into September in prairie ravines, along streams and lakeshores and in other moist areas throughout South Dakota.
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Fabaceae: Mimosa nuttallii
R. Neil Reese
Mimosa nuttallii is a sprawling perennial herb with stems that grow up to 1 m long, covered with small prickles, 0.5-2 mm long. The alternate leaves are bipinnate leaf blades are divided into four to nine pairs (pinnae), and each of these have 8–15 pairs of leaflets, 3-9 mm long with a prominent midrib visible on the upper pairs and stipules 4-6 mm long. The leaves exhibit nyctinastic movement, folding up quickly when touched. The inflorescence consists of axillary, many-flowered heads, with peduncles 3-9 cm long. The pink to lavender flowers are sessile, with a minute calyx. The 5 united petals form a narrow tube about 4 mm long and lobes of about 1 mm, with 8-12 stamens inside. The fruit is a legume, 3-12 cm long and covered with prickles and explodes upon drying expelling the seeds. Nuttall’s sensitive briar blooms from April into September on prairies, in ravines and in open woodlands in central South Dakota.
Synonym: Schrankia nutallii
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Fabaceae : Oxytropis lambertii
R. Neil Reese
Oxytropis lambertii is an acaulescent perennial herb growing from a branching caudex, forming clumps of leaves that appear silvery due to a covering of short stiff and ax-shaped hairs. The leaves are up to 15 cm long with 7 to 19 linear-lanceolate leaflets, 5-40 mm long and 1-6 mm wide, with membranous, hairy stipules 7–24 mm long and having sharply pointed tips. Inflorescences develop on multiple, silvery-haired flowering stems (scapes), 10–30 cm long including the peduncle, each with 6 to 25 flowers per raceme. The calyx has a dense white covering of hairs, the sepals forming a tube that is 6-7 mm long with teeth 1.5-3 mm long. The papilionaceous flowers have red to blue to purple petals, the banner 15–25 mm long, the wings 12-20 mm long and the keel 13-19 mm long. The fruit is an silvery-haired, erect, sessile leathery or woody legume, 1–2 cm long, including the long beak. Purple locoweed blooms from May into August on prairies, plains, river bluffs and hillsides in much of South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Oxytropis sericea
R. Neil Reese
Oxytropis sericea is an acaulescent perennial herb growing from a much-branched caudex, forming mounds of silky-haired leaves. The leaves are 4-30 cm long with 11 to 25 lanceolate to narrowly ovate leaflets, 5–40 mm long and 2-10 mm wide. The petioles are 1-15 cm long with membranous, hairy stipules, 8–22 mm long. Inflorescences are terminal racemes of 6 to 30 flowers atop of erect to ascending scapes (flowering stems), 5–30 cm long, including the peduncle. The calyx is covered in white and/or black hairs, and forms a tubular-campanulate tube, 8-12 mm long with unequal teeth 2-5 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla is white to yellowish white; the banner 16–25 mm long and deeply lobed, the wings 15-20 mm long, and the keel is 12-17 mm long with a small appendage at the distal end. The fruit are sessile, erect, oblong legumes, 15–25 mm long, with a short beak and having a few short stiff hairs to a silky covering of hair. White locoweed blooms from April into June in rocky prairies, hillsides, open woods and valleys in southwestern South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Pediomelum argophyllum
R. Neil Reese
Pediomelum argophyllum is a perennial herb with multiple, erect to ascending, widely branching stems, 20-80 cm in height, growing from a subterranean caudex that forms colonies. The stems are usually covered in silvery hairs. The alternate leaves are palmately compound with 3 to 5 leaflets with 1-5 cm long petioles. The leaflets are 1–4 cm long, with entire margins, and covered with dense, shiny hairs. The inflorescence consists of axillary spikes, 2–9 cm long including the peduncle, with 1 to 5 leafy bracts and 2-5 well separated whorls of 3-6 flowers each. The densely hairy calyx forma a campanulate tube with 2 lips, 2–3 mm long with 4 upper teeth, 2.5-3 mm long and a lower tooth 7-10 mm in length. The purple, papilionaceous corolla has a banner 5-7 mm long with a short spur, the wings are 4-6 mm long and the keel 4-5 mm long. The fruit is a hairy, 1-seeded legume, 7-9 mm long with a short beak, and mostly enclosed by the calyx. Silverleaf scurf-pea blooms from July into September on prairies, hillsides, open woodlands, sand dunes and in stream valleys throughout South Dakota.
Synonym: Psoralea argophylla,
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Fabaceae : Pediomelum esculentum
R. Neil Reese
Pediomelum esculentum is a perennial herb with a tuberous-thickened root, 4-10 cm below ground and with 1-3 caudices extending to the soil surface, producing 1-3 simple or rarely branched stems, 8 to 30 cm in height and covered with a dense pubescence. The alternate leaves are palmately compound with 5 leaflets attached to a petiole that is 5-10 cm long, with stipules 1-2 cm long. The leaflets are elliptic to ovate, 2–4 cm long, 7-18 mm wide, narrowing at the base, rounded, blunt or pointed at the tip. The upper surface is usually nearly smooth, and the lower surfaces are covered in flattened hairs. The inflorescences are axillary spike-like racemes, 5–12 cm long including the peduncle, and the spikes 2-2.5 cm wide. The calyx tube is 5-6.5 mm long, with 5 teeth, the upper 4 are 5-7.5 mm long, the middle 2 partially united, and the lower-most tooth 6-8 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla is blue with clawed (constricted at the base) petals, the petals beyond the claws measure: banner 9-13 mm, wings 9-13 mm and the keel 4-5 mm long. The fruit is an ovoid, single-seeded legume, 5-7 mm long, enclosed in the calyx. Prairie turnips bloom from May into July in prairies, open woodlands, on hillsides and in stream valleys throughout South Dakota.
Synonym: Psoralea esculenta
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Fabaceae : Thermopsis rhombifolia
R. Neil Reese
Thermopsis rhombifolia is a perennial rhizomatous herb, with 1 to several ascending to erect stems, 15–60 cm tall, with or without a covering of short, stiff hairs. This species is often colony forming in open prairies. The alternate, palmately trifoliate leaves have leaflets that are ovate, 15–50 mm long and 10-20 mm wide, with a few to many appressed hairs. The inflorescence consists of subterminal racemes, 3–10 cm long. The calyx forms a hairy, bilabiate tube, 4-5 mm long, the upper lip having 2 united teeth, 3-4 mm long , and the lower lip with 3 teeth 2-3 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla has yellow petals, the banner often has purple spots and is 17-22 mm long, the wings are 15- 18 mm long, and the oblong keel is 14-16 mm long. The flowers have 10 separate stamens. The fruit is a legume, 3–8 cm long with 3 to 10 seeds, constricted between the ~5 mm long seeds. Goldenpea blooms from April into June on open prairies, hillsides and woodlands in western South Dakota.
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Fabaceae : Vicia americana
R. Neil Reese
Vicia americana is a rhizomatous, perennial herb, the stems sprawling to climbing, 20-100 cm long and smooth to having a sparse covering of hairs . The alternate leaves are compound pinnate with 4 to 8 pairs of elliptical to linear leaflets 10-38 mm long , a pair of stipules ~8 mm long, and with a tendril at the end of the leaf. The inflorescences are racemes in the axils of the upper leaves. The peduncles are well developed with 3-10 flowers. The calyx forms a tube 3.5-5.5 mm long with unequal teeth, the upper short and broad the lower narrower and pointed, 1.2-4 mm long. The papilionaceous corolla is blue to purple, rarely white. The banner is 12-25 mm long and the wings and keel shorter. The fruit is a legume, 2.5-3.5 cm long with 2-14 seeds. American vetch blooms from May to July in a variety of dry, open to moist, shaded habitats; mixed grass prairie, sagebrush steppe, meadows, pine forest, and deciduous woodlands throughout South Dakota.
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Fagaceae : Quercus macrocarpa
R. Neil Reese
Quercus macrocarpa is a deciduous coarse shrub to large tree, with deeply furrowed bark, growing up to 30 m in height and with the trunk more than 1 m in diameter. The simple, alternate leaves are obovate, pinnately lobed, 10-25 cm long and 5-15 cm wide. The leaves are usually shiny green on the upper surface and silvery due to star-shaped hairs on the lower surface and can vary greatly in size and shape depending on location and climate. Burr oak is monoecious, the green male flowers develop in pendulous catkins, each flower with a 5-lobed calyx and 5-10 stamens. The green female flowers are solitary or in small clusters in the axils of new growth, have 6 sepals and an ovary embedded in the surrounding tissues, with styles exerted. The fruit is a nut (acorn) surrounded by a deep cup, the margins and sides often fringed, that envelops half or more of the ovoid nut that is up to 4 cm long and 4 cm wide. Burr oak flowers in April and May in upland forests and along lake shores in much of South Dakota.
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Fumariaceae : Dicentra cucullaria
R. Neil Reese
Dicentra cucullaria is perennial herb, which grows 6 cm to 30 cm in height, with the flower stems and basal leaves rising directly from a scaly rootstock. The erect to ascending basal leaves have long petioles (5-15 cm}, the compound pinnatifid blades are ovate to triangular, 10-26 cm long, divided 2-3 times into lacy segments 1-3 mm wide, with entire margins. The flowering stems (scapes) are 10-30 cm tall, terminating in a raceme of 3-15 flowers, subtended by whitish bracts. The flowers are shaped like pantaloons. The 2 membranaceous sepals are white, sometimes streaked with purple, 2-3.5 mm long and 1.5-2.5 mm wide. The 4 white petals are yellow tipped, the outer 2 petals are spurred 10-15 mm long, the inner pair, oblanceolate, 7-12 mm long and convergent coherent at the top. The fruit is a capsule, 10-15 mm long, 3-6 mm in diameter. Dutchman’s breeches bloom from March into May in moist woods in eastern South Dakota.
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Gentianaceae : Gentiana andrewsii
R. Neil Reese
Gentiana andrewsii is perennial herb growing 10-70 cm tall, the stems smooth to minutely hairy. The simple, opposite leaves are 1.8-8.4 cm long and 0.5-3.5 cm wide, sessile, tapering to a point, and the leaves tend to become larger as they ascend the stem. The inflorescence is a dense terminal cluster of flowers, occasionally with additional clusters in the axils of upper nodes. The calyx tube is 10-12 mm long with 5 lanceolate lobes 4-10 mm long. The blue to purplish, occasionally white, corolla forms a 2.8-4 cm long, closed tube, the petals incurved, with the flowers resembling large buds. The fruit is a capsule, ~25 mm long, and wrapped with the dried petals and contains numerous winged seeds. Closed bottle gentians bloom in August and September in wet meadows, prairies and woods in western and northeastern South Dakota.
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Gentianaceae : Gentiana puberulenta
R. Neil Reese
Gentiana puberulenta is a perennial herb with simple, erect to ascending stems, rarely branched, the stems typically reddish tinged, with a covering of minute, soft hairs, and growing 15-50 cm in height. The simple, opposite leaves are sessile to subsessile, lanceolate, 1-5.5 cm long and 0.3-2 cm wide, with entire margins. The leaf pairs are at right angles to those above and below. The inflorescences are in clusters of 3-10 flowers at the top of the stem and sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The calyx forms a tube, 7-18 mm long with lobes, 4-18 mm long. The blue purple to rose-violet corolla is funnel-shaped, 3-4 cm long, with the lobes erect to spreading. Inside the tube, the base of the petals is white with dark blue stripes or streaks. The fruit is a capsule that contains numerous winged seeds. Downy gentian blooms from August into October in drier prairies and upland woods on the eastern and western borders of South Dakota.
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Grossulariaceae : Ribes americanum
R. Neil Reese
Ribes americanum is a perennial shrub, with erect to ascending, unarmed stems, growing 1-1.5 m tall. The younger stems are hairy, and dotted with yellow glands, becoming smooth and gray to black with age. The simple, alternate leaves are nearly round in shape, 3-8 cm long, with 3 deeply parted lobes and 2 shallow lobes at the outer edges. The leaf margins have sharp to rounded teeth, the upper leaf surface is smooth, and the lower surface is covered with hairs and small glands. The inflorescences are composed of hairy, axillary, drooping, racemes with 6-15 flowers. The calyx is tawny brown at the base, becoming greenish white above, 8-10 mm long, the hairy, bell-shaped hypanthium is 3-4.5 mm long, with 5 sepal spreading to reflexed lobes, 4-5 mm long. The 5 petals are white 2-3 mm long, inserted at the top of the hypanthium. The 5 stamens are inserted between the petals, have a broad base, are tapered toward the top. The fruit is a black, ovoid berry, 6-10 mm in diameter, with persistent floral remnants on the end. Black currant blooms in May and June on the edges of woods, in moist ravines and along streambanks in much of South Dakota.