Flint Hills Trees, Vines, Sedges, and Rushes

Image Credits

The images in the photo galleries below (unless otherwise noted) are credited to Mike Haddock, Agriculture Librarian and Chair of the Sciences Department at Kansas State University Libraries and editor of the website www.kswildflower.org.

Tallgrass Prairie Trees and Vines

Trees, vines, and other woody plant species thrive on the tallgrass prairie in the deeper soils, more consistent moisture, and protection from fire found most readily in low areas along streams and rivers and around springs and seeps. Not only does the forest of trees provide food and shelter for wildlife in its canopy of branches and leaves, the forest floor itself teems with wildlife, who depend upon what falls from above and decomposes on the ground below for their survival.

TREES AND VINES CHECKLIST BY COMMON NAME

To find more information:

1. Highlight the name of the plant you wish to know more about.
2. Right-click with a mouse or choose "Look Up" on a mobile device and select a search option.
3. Depending on your browser and search option, a sidebar or new window will appear with more sources of information about your selected plant.

A

AMERICAN BITTERSWEET Celastrus scandens

AMERICAN WILD PLUM Prunus americana

AUSTRIAN PINE Pinus nigra

B

BITTERNUT HICKORY Carya cordiformis

BLACK LOCUST Robinia pseudo-acacia

BLACK WALNUT Juglans nigra

BOX ELDER Acer negundo

BRISTLY GREENBRIAR Smilax hispida

BUFFALO CURRANT Ribes odoratum

BUR OAK Quercus macrocarpa

BUTTONBUSH Cephalanthus occidentalis

C

CATALPA Catalpa bignonioides

CHOKE CHERRY Prunum virginiana

COMMON ELDERBERRY Sambucus canadensis

CORALBERRY-BUCKBRUSH Symphoricarpos orbiculatus

D

DOWNY HAWTHORN Crataegus mollis

E

EASTERN COTTONWOOD Populus deltoides

EASTERN RED CEDAR Juniperus virginiana

ELM, AMERICAN Ulmus americana

ELM, SIBERIAN Ulmus pumila

F

FALSE INDIGO BUSH Amorpha fruticosa

G

GOOSEBERRY Ribes missouriense

GREEN ASH Fraxinus pennsylvanica

H

HACKBERRY Celtis occidentalis

HONEY LOCUST Gleditsia triacanthos

HOP-HORNBEAM COPPERLEAF Acalypha ostryaefolia

J

JERSEY TEA Ceanothus herbaceous

K

KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE Gymnocladus dioica

L

LEAD PLANT Amorpha canescens

M

MOONSEED Menispermum canadense

MULTIFLORA ROSE Rosa multiflora

N

NEW JERSEY TEA Ceanothus americanus

O

OSAGE ORANGE Maclura pomifera

P

PECAN Carya illinoensis

POISON IVY Toxicodendron radicans

PRAIRE WILD ROSE Rosa arkansana

PRICKLY ASH Zanthoxylem americanum

R

REDBUD Cercis canadensis

RIVER-BANK GRAPE Vitis riparia

ROUGH-LEAVED DOGWOOD Cornus drummondii

S

SILVER MAPLE Acer saccharium

SUMAC, FRAGRANT Rhus aromatica

SUMAC, SMOOTH Rhus glabra

SYCAMORE Platanus occidentalis

V

VIRGINIA CREEPER Parthenocissus quinquefolia

W

WAHOO Euonymus atropurpureus

WESTERN BUCKEYE Aesculus glabra

WHITE MULBERRY Morus alba

WILD LICORICE Glycyrrhiza lepidota

WILLOW, BLACK Salix nigra

WILLOW, CAROLINA Salix caroliniana

WILLOW, PEACHLEAF Salix amygdaloides

WILLOW, WATER Justicia americana

Tallgrass Prairie Sedges and Rushes

Sedges and rushes, while more grass-like than tree-like, are often found where trees are found, in areas where water is more plentiful and soils are deeper. The phrase “sedges have edges and rushes are round” helps to differentiate these plant types from grasses, which have jointed stems. Sedges and rushes provide food for a host of wetland and woodland wildlife, such as ducks, beaver, and deer, as well as for livestock.

SEDGES AND RUSHES CHECKLIST BY COMMON NAME

To find more information:

1. Highlight the name of the plant you wish to know more about.
2. Right-click with a mouse or choose "Look Up" on a mobile device and select a search option.
3. Depending on your browser and search option, a sidebar or new window will appear with more sources of information about your selected plant.

B

BLUNT SPIKE SEDGE Eleocharis obtusa

BOTTLEBRUSH SEDGE Carex hystericina

D

DARK GREEN BULRUSH Scirpus atrovirens

DAVIS SEDGE Carex davisii

DUDLEY RUSH Juncus dudleyi

E

EMORY SEDGE Carex emoryi

F

FALSE NUTGRASS Cyperus strigosus

FESCUE SEDGE Carex brevior

FLATSTEM SPIKE SEDGE Eleocharis compressa

FOX SEDGE Carex vulpinoidea

FRAGRANT FLATSEDGE Cyperus odoratus

FRANK’S SEDGE Carex frankii

H

HEAVY SEDGE Carex gravida

HOUGHTON FLATSEDGE Cyperus lupulinus

I

INLAND RUSH Juncus interior

L

LONGSTEM SPIKE SEDGE Eleocharis macrostachya

M

MEAD’S SEDGE Carex meadii

MUHLENBERG SEDGE Carex muhlenbergii

N

NARROWLEAF SEDGE Carex amphilbola

P

PALE BULRUSH Scirpus pallidus

PATH RUSH Juncus tenuis

R

RATTLESNAKE FERN Botrychium virginianum

ROUGHEDGE FLATSEDGE Cyperus setigerus

RUSTY BULRUSH Scirpus pendulus

S

SOFT-STEM BULRUSH Scirpus validus

T

TENNESSEE BLADDER FERN Cystopteris tennesseensis

TORREY’S RUSH Juncus torreyi

W

WOODLAND SEDGE Carex blanda

Y

YELLOW NUTSEDGE Cyperus esculentus

Useful books and websites

Great Plains Flora Association. T.M. Barkley, editor. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, 1986.

• Haddock, Michael John. Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas: A Field Guide. University Press of Kansas, 2005.
• Haddock, Michael John and Craig Carl Freeman. Trees, Vines, Sedges, and Rushes of Kansas. University Press of Kansas. 2019.
• Kansas Native Plants Society: www.kansasnativeplantsociety.org
• Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses: www.kswildflower.org.
• United States Department of Agriculture PLANTS database: plants.sc.egov.usda.gov

Where this belongs

• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

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