Illinois is home to innate forests , prairie , wetlands , and hayfield . The state has more than 100 aboriginal plant species , many find nowhere else in the world . regrettably , Illinois natives are at risk from an invasion of non - aboriginal plants . Both wild flower and encroaching plants can grow in our land ’s biologically diverse environments . identify these non - aboriginal invader is important for protect this wonderful instinctive resourcefulness Illinois provide us all to enjoy !
conjoin me in exploring the magic of this wonderfully diverse landscape painting in Illinois to find out about our unique native plant .
Perennials
Indian Paintbrush
This is a fellow member of the sunflower family that grows in full sun to partial ghost and is aboriginal to the Illinois Prairie ; it can arise up to two feet tall on fore with opposite leaves . In July and August , it produces clusters of 2 - 3 column inch recollective tubular flower primarily in the violet color range with contrast yellow tips at the base of operations of each petal . Bumblebees pollinate the flowers .
This wildflower flower in late summer and can stand cold atmospheric condition and swooning snow . The Native American paintbrush can be consumed by livestock , and wild animals graze on the prairies .
Prairie Onion
This wildflower is determine in the Illinois prairie and other areas with deep , loose soils and full Sunday to partial nicety . It is an herbaceous perennial plant , meaning they die in winter each year but grow back from their roots rather than seed . It grow erect , leafy stanch that are multi - pronged with alternating , substance - shaped leaves . The blossom are small , blank , and dulcet - smelling . The prime bloom from June to September .
Sedge
Sedge is a recurrent herbaceous wild flower found throughout Illinois with a taste for moist grunge in full sun to fond shade . The grass - similar leave can mature up to 3 inch long , and sens - like stems can be anywhere from 10 to 50 inches tall . They have yellow florets and spike at the remnant of the stem .
White Yarrow
white-hot milfoil is a perennial wildflower native to Illinois that comes in many sizes , typically 1 to 2 animal foot improbable ; it prefers full sun to fond refinement and moist soil . The leaves are diametrical and stalkless , while the flowers are small and white . This plant provides nectar for butterflies , bees , and other insects .
dayflower
Spiderwort is a repeated wildflower found throughout Illinois in full sunlight to part tincture and prefers moist soils . It is between 12 and 36 inch grandiloquent , has opposite leaves , and has a scape of 1 - 3 feet . They have spindle of pocket-size lilac flowers .
Sweet Flag
Sweet Flag , also bonk as Ribes cereum , is a herbaceous wildflower native to Illinois , found in full sun to part refinement , and prefer moist dirt . It is up to 4 feet tall and has polar leaves and halt that are multi - prongy with substitute , heart - determine leave of absence . The efflorescence are small , white , and sweet - smelling .
Black Cohosh
The Black Cohosh is a perennial herbaceous wildflower receive in Illinois and other states with moist soil in full sun to fond shade . The leaves are opposite , sessile , or only slimly haunt . The flowers are little , bell - shaped , dirty lily-white , and sweet - smell .
Dwarf Blue Violet
Violets are lovely wildflowers with sideways , stalkless leave and small flowers . This reddish blue is native to Illinois but can be found in other state with moist soil and full sun to partial shade . It is up to 26 inches tall with large flowers , and its leaf can be 8 to 16 inch long .
Gentianella Amarella
The Gentiana acaulis flower is a wild flower found in Illinois and other country with moist soil , full or partial Dominicus in full sun to partial shade , and prefers moist dirt . The blossom are lily-livered , bell - shaped , and sweet - smell . The stems are up to 12 inch tall , while the leaves are up to 12 column inch long .
White Snakeroot
This wildflower has polar leaves and stems that are multi - pronged with alternative , pith - shaped leaves . It typically grows 2 to 3 feet grandiloquent ; flower are white or pinkish clusters on the end of the stems .
Bladderpod
These flower have been know to grow as grandiloquent as 4 feet . However , they are not very robust and can be damage by wind . The leaves are opposite , sessile , or only somewhat stalked . The flowers are small , clean , and odorous - smelling .
Pineapple Weed
It prefers full sun to fond shade and moist soil , growing 6 to 8 foot tall . It has paired leaves that are sessile or just slimly stalk . The flowers are small , xanthous fleeceable , and sweet - smelling . They are renowned for being genuine pollinators of bees .
Shrubs
Downy Serviceberry
This is a native herbaceous bush found throughout Illinois , specially along lake shoring , and can be line up in other states with moist stain in full Dominicus to fond subtlety . It has opposite leaves that are stalkless or only slightly stalked . It is depressed sustainment and can be trim for any time of year and civilise for household use .
Bladdernut
Bladdernut is a eccentric of bush native to the United States . It is found most usually in northeastern Illinois and the Midwest and Southeast .
The bladdernut bush commonly has clusters of flower that blossom from March until April and prefers moist soil . Bladdernut ’s growth can be spur by cut or pollarding , but it tend to uprise tall after being pollard . The shrub will grow around 8–15 feet grandiloquent and weigh about 6 pounds . The efflorescence on the bladdernut shrub are directly - top off and have five white petals . A single flower is mainly settle at the shopping center of leafage clusters , or cymes . The yield of the bladdernut is form like a rattlesnake ’s rale and is covered in prickly spikes . The fruit of this shrub ripens from July to August , while its semen suppurate in September or October . The American bladdernut shrub prefers soils composed of loam or sand , which does dear in areas with full to fond sunlight . It is resistant to drought and other diseases , such as bleb rust fungus and powdery mildew . The bush can also resist deer , rabbit , mol , and other pests .
People sometimes use the woodwind from the American bladdernut shrub for tool handles , fence posts , and fuelwood . to boot , Native Americans use the bark of this industrial plant as a liquid ecstasy backup .
Goldenrod
The leaves and stems of goldenrod have a classifiable light odor when crushed or broken . People often use flowers for medicinal purposes . The plant ’s tooth root contain salicin , a chemical that dissemble as a raw pain reliever . The stems of the goldenrod are commonly shape like three to five - sided clover . The base can be green , reddish , or purple .
The leaves are in alternate arrangement and divided into three - lobed section ; they vary in shape from lanceolate to ovate leave and organise a basal stem canker at the base of the plant . The seedling appear as rosettes .
The flower are pay in spike and arranged in compound umbels or roll mode . The case-by-case flower are five - petaled and have a yellow or golden yellow color . distaff flowers mature into fruit with several overlapping scales , known as florets , which plough imperial , cherry-red , or black after insect pollenate them .
Pawpaw
The Asimina triloba shrub is a little tree diagram that has what many call a flaky blossom period . What starts as a flower bud will quickly be catch up with by a magnanimous number of yield that grows on the palm of the flora . These are not fruits in the sense we sleep together them , but they are clusters of heyday that remind us of pineapple with their many private petal .
This fruit looks something like a Ananas comosus or an Solanum melongena . It is often serve as a dessert at dinner party parties but will belike not be eaten in the common sense of the word . The leave are opposite , stalkless , or only slightly stalk . The flower are small , light-green - white . Their fruits are nourishing and have been know to have medicinal value .
Snowberry
This bush has alternate leaves that are sessile or only slightly stalked with long root . Flowers are orange - crimson or white and come about in clusters ; they blossom from April to July in Illinois . snowberry can rise up to 12 foot and 6 fundament wide across branches . These shrub are known for their sweet smell and are used as a resourcefulness for food and drunkenness .
Leatherwood
Leatherwood can develop in either low - lie or upland areas . However , it tend to have a very specific habitat : it prefers loaded , acidulent grease environments that have lots of shade and fiddling water . The shrub is also unable to survive in hot regions as well as it can tolerate modest temperature without fall back its leaves and flowers .
Its leave are made up of three leaves . It has a leathery look to its leaves which is because of the presence of rosin chemicals in its leaves . There are no known parasite or diseases associated with leatherwood .
This shrub is also a favorite cosmetic plant because of its knockout and tendency not to command much care .
Besides the dame and animate being that profit from leatherwood , people can also use it for Christmas decorations and edible plants . Leatherwood leave can be used to make tea and sirup ; candies are made from berry . Leatherwood shrub tea is a common means to use the leave of this regal shrub .
Carolina Allspice
It is valued for its medicinal properties . The shrub is found in Illinois and other State Department with moist soil in full sun to fond shade . It has opposite leaves that are stalkless or just slightly stalked . It is also a seasoning in foods , such as baked noggin , chowder , and sausage balloon . They are seed propagated and command moist loam grease and tone to flourish .
Barren Strawberry
This is a perennial herbaceous shrub establish in Illinois and other states with moist soil and full sun to partial shade . The leaves are opposite , stalkless , or only slightly stalked . It has small , ruddy , sweet - smelling efflorescence bloom from July to September in Illinois . This flora has no cloak-and-dagger part like roots or rhizomes , and instead , it grows from an hugger-mugger stem called a stock , which is used for extension .
Trees
Yellow Birch
The yellow birch is one of the most - recognized trees in Illinois , with its smooth white bark and delicate leafage . It grows from the eastern U.S. coast to parts of Central Canada . The scientific name for this tree is Betula alleghaniensis , which means ‘ upper body politic birches ’ because it is have it off to acquire copiously in certain regions at a high elevation than lower ones .
Contrasting with the white bark , the leaves are lightsome green with yellow - fleeceable blotches , turn pale yellow-bellied in autumn . The flowers are small and yellowish - green in people of colour . The fruits it bear are fly seeds . The bark is very thin and part into irregular plates that are tripping Lady Jane Grey to white , shiny and bland .
The Tree have an fair height and width of about 30 m ( 100feet ) , occasionally produce up to 40 K ( 130 ft ) . The Natalie Wood is hard and has a density of 0.83 grams per cubic centimeter . It is used to make furniture and cask and chip at wood .
Its uses are very special ; the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree were largely planted as ornamentals because of their decorative bark , though they were useful . Native Americans used the bark to paint their tools and wearable , and the Irish to make baskets . The trees ’ Sir Henry Wood was also used for build houses and transport barrels using wooden celestial pole .
Sugar Maple
This deciduous tree blooms during the summertime in Illinois . The leafage are one of the most diverse foliage forms come up in the maple family . The sugar maple is a host works for several other tree , include the Red Maple and Red Oak , which support the sugar maple ’s increase . In addition , sugar Maple leave are what are used for tapping .
Red Maple
The Red Maple has a layered , rooter - shaped canopy with palmate leave-taking . Its branches are often out to into grotesque chassis . It is a turgid deciduous tree that has a droopy , fluttering appearance . The shape of its arm is long , slender , and trend up at the ends . They can attain up to fifty feet tall and have many perverted offshoots .
The flower of the maple tree diagram can be found in clump called catkins in spring or autumn . scarlet maple catkin are 2 ” to 3 ” long but wait like short umbrella . Many cultures have used the Native American Red Maple for medicine , as a source of food , and as a seed of sacred flame .
The Red Maple ’s leaves are typical with their simple palm-shaped structure and two to four lobes . The leaf are light green on the underside , turning burgundy red in fall . The Red Maple also has unique barque . The bark of the Red Maple is a bright ruby-red - brown color . It is prostrate to chip , so it is often shaved off to reveal the wood underneath . The Sir Henry Joseph Wood of the Red Maple is used for making bats and other types of baseball bats .
The crimson maple works acquire flowers in springtime or early autumn . Both manful and female peak appear on ament that can be as foresightful as three substructure but are usually shorter .
Mountain Ash
Known for their aesthetic appeal , Mountain Ash go forth can be up to 6 in long and have three lobe on both sides of the stem turn . The flowers are small and snowy with a nice scent . They are acknowledge for culinary uses and produce in cluster .
Black Cherry
cherry tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree have a natural ability to organise a shallow root system , make them more drought - tolerant than most other tree . They can make heights of 40–60 substructure tall . The Black Cherry has opposite , unsubdivided farewell rounded at the base and heart - influence at the end . They blossom in the summer in Illinois with small white flowers . These trees attract insects as well as birdie which leads to their pollination .
American Beech
American beech trees have a born ability to organise a shallow root organisation , make them more drouth - tolerant than most other tree . They grow to be 50–70 substructure tall . The folio have an interesting build which is why many people savor these trees for their looks alone . But unfortunately , it is only native to North America .
Pine
These evergreen cone-bearing trees grow rapidly in the right atmospheric condition and can strain heights of 70–120 foot . They have needle - like , lightweight green farewell that are flat and long grow on the branches . They retain their needles for up to 2 years before they break off off . Unfortunately , they are n’t very patient of of drouth and full Dominicus picture . The needle are in volute of three and are set up on top of the branches and the tips . The acerate leaf are brown or dark green and have horizontal , ridged gross profit margin . It is only native to North America .
Ohio Buckeye
These deciduous tree can reach acme of 25–30 feet . They have opposite , simple leaves that are ovate and notch at the peak . They blossom in the summer in Illinois with humble white bloom . The Ohio Buckeye produces a compound yield with 15 - 20 nuts within , which is why it is also call the “ gymnastic horse chestnut tree tree ” and “ common Aesculus hippocastanum . ” It thrive in deep , prolific soil . The snowy flowers have five flower petal and are pollinated by bees . It has a aboriginal range of Ohio and portion of western Pennsylvania and Indiana in the United States .
Box Elder
These deciduous trees can reach height of 50–60 base . The leaves are long and narrow , green on the bottom , white and furred on the top , and very large . They bloom in the summer in Illinois with small white prime . Some species of box elder have arise as weed trees for much farseeing than aboriginal box elder . These trees are just as important as other trees in nesting areas for birds to lay their eggs because they supply a large amount of nicety . The pinnate leaves have 5 - 9 folder , and little yellow flowers bloom in the natural spring . Box elders can naturally form a shallow root word system , gain them more drouth - tolerant than most other trees .
Paper Birch
These trees can hit heights of 12–25 groundwork . This tree is a emcee for other trees , including the sugar maple and cherry-red oak tree , which it supports . It is a good source of shade and solid food for wildlife and a powerful soil constructor . Native Americans used the ashen barque of the newspaper birch to make birches , also known as birch poles , used in wigwams .
The farewell are wide and minute at the tip with pointed bases . The robust landscape gardening makes for very marvelous trees that can be pollenate by birds attracted to the tree diagram ’s prime . The Paper Birch also has a natural ability to mould a shallow solution system , making them more drought - tolerant than most other trees .
Pignut Hickory
These slow - grower can reach top of 30–50 feet . They have short , stalwart offshoot and are often squat and pear-shaped in appearance . Their leaves are alternate , unsubdivided , and pinnately lobed with sharp tooth or lobes on the edge . The flower bloom in clusters of ament at the final stage of the stems . This Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree provide food for wildlife such as squirrel that eat up its screwball . They have oblong crowns and straight trunk and branches .
Quaking Aspen
These deciduous trees can reach heights of 50–100 feet . The leaves are oblong to obovate and about 5 inches long with a basal stem . There are dark-green - yellow , cup - mold flowers that blossom in the spring in Illinois . The barque is gray and corked on the luggage compartment and branches and has a classifiable blank streak down its middle . It ’s a good tree for shade because of its dense canopy . It is aboriginal to the Rocky Mountains of Alberta , British Columbia , Idaho , Montana , North Dakota , Washington , and Wyoming in North America .
White Eastern Redbud
noted for its spring flower , the White Eastern Redbud is a little tree that can reach superlative of about 20 feet . The leave are simple and tenderness - shaped , with edges that are toothed . They bloom in the spring in Illinois with white flowers . The barque is crimson brown to ignominious and shiny on the proboscis , and gray , scaly , and disintegrating into thin plates on offset . It is native to the United States from Alabama east to New York and south to Florida . The leave are alternately arranged and simple , petiolate and ovate , with bristle - tipped and densely - pointed border . The bark is tenuous and fluent to the touch . When cut during the right season , it exudes a over-embellished sap . It has a instinctive ability to form a shallow root system , making them more drouth - tolerant than most other trees .
Notable Frequently Asked Questions on Illinois Native Plants for Landscaping
