Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Plant Program

Prairie Creek Conservation’s Cemetery plant program is designed for people to be able to simultaneously memorialize their loved ones’ graves and restore the natural landscape. All of the plants available in our program are native to Alachua County, and make contributions to the ecosystem.

Due to limited available space, seasonal changes, and our desire for successful growth not all of the plants listed will be available on site at PCCC. Please contact our staff if you are interested in participating in the program.

Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Plant List Approved Trees (Pignut Hickory Grove and Live Oak Grove) • Live Oak – Quercus virginiana • Sand Live Oak – Quercus geminata • Turkey Oak – Quercus laevis • Bluejack Oak – Quercus incana • Southern Red Oak – Quercus falcata • Swamp Chestnut Oak – Quercus michauxii • Winged Elm – Ulmus alata • Florida Elm – Ulmus floridana • Flowering Dogwood – Cornus florida • American Holly – Ilex Americana • Florida Maple – Acer floridana • White Ash – Fraxinus americana

Approved Shrubs (Pignut Hickory Grove and Live Oak Grove) • Carolina Buckthorn – Rhamnus caroliniana • Walter’s Viburnum – Viburnum obovatum • Flatwoods Plum – Prunus umbellata • Godfrey’s Privet – Forestiera godfreyi • Strawberry Bush – Euonymus americanus • Pinxer (Azalea) – Rhododendron canescens

Approved Plants for Meadow Areas (Bee Balm Bluff and Blazing Star Meadow) • Purple Lovegrass – Eragrostis spectabilis • Adam’s Needle – Yucca filamentosa • Blackseed Needlegrass – Stipa avenacea • Wiregrass – Aristida beyrichiana • Lopsided Indiangrass – Sorghastrum secundum • Pineywoods Dropseed – Sporobolus junceus • Native Wildflowers Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Approved Trees

Approved Trees are appropriate in the following spaces: • Pignut Hickory Grove • Live Oak Grove

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Live Oak

Quercus virginiana • Wildlife Value: Sweet acorns are said to be a favorite of wildlife. • Attracts: Squirrels, bobwhite quails, scrub jays, mallard ducks, turkeys, black bears, and white-tailed deer. • Growth Habit: Can live to be greater than 100 years old. Crowns can spread greater than 150 feet and able to attain a height of 60 feet. It can be a massive, wide- spreading, picturesque tree, or a mere shrub, depending on the site.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Sand Live Oak

Quercus geminata • Wildlife Value: The acorns are an important source of food for wildlife. • Attracts: Squirrels, bobwhite quails, scrub jays, mallard ducks, turkeys, black bears, and white-tailed deer. • Growth Habit: The bark is dark, thick, furrowed, and roughly ridged. On average the tree will reach up to 50 feet in height. Sand Live Oaks are also very drought tolerant and can exist as a shrub or large tree depending on the habitat.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Turkey Oak

Quercus laevis • Wildlife Value: Acorns from the Turkey Oak provide an important food source for wildlife. • Attracts: Black bear, bobwhite quail, white-tailed deer, small mammals, and wild turkey. • Growth Habit: This tree generally grows to about 40 feet but can reach heights of 70 feet. The common names come from the shape of the leaves, which resemble a turkey's foot or foot print.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Bluejack Oak

Quercus incana • Wildlife Value: The acorns are extremely valuable to wildlife. Because this tree is often small and becomes a dense thicket, it provides important shelter and nesting sites for wildlife. • Attracts: White-tail deer, raccoons, squirrels, songbirds and bobwhite quail. • Growth Habit: Bluejack Oak is a small tree that only reaches heights of 30' to 50’. As the common name implies, the primary distinguishing feature of bluejack oak is the blue hue of the leaves.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Southern Red Oak

Quercus falcata • Wildlife Value: The acorns are an important part of the diet of wildlife. • Attracts: Squirrels, raccoons, white-tailed deer, turkeys, woodpeckers, nuthatches, and grackles. • Growth Habit: Southern Red Oaks can live to be over 100 years old. Growth rate is fast, allowing heights up to 100 feet. This oak has beautiful waxy leaves that have a golden underside.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Swamp Chestnut Oak

Quercus michauxii • Wildlife Value: Swamp Chestnut Oaks produce extremely large acorns that are very palatable and highly attractive to wildlife. • Attracts: White-tailed deer, black bears, turkeys, red foxes, feral hogs, waterfowl and squirrels. • Growth Habit: It can grow to 80 feet tall and large specimens can have a trunk 3 feet in diameter. Leaves are large and provide a great shady location.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Winged Elm

Ulmus alata • Wildlife Value: The seeds, flower buds, and flowers are consumed by birds and mammals. • Attracts: Mice, squirrels, opossums, rabbits, white- tailed deer, and ruffed grouse. • Growth Habit: Can live to be greater than 100 years old. Large specimens can grow to 90 feet. Wing-like protrusions grow from the smaller stems make this species unique.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Florida Elm

Ulmus floridana • Wildlife Value: The leaves, twigs, seeds, flower buds, flowers, and fruit are all consumed by wildlife. • Attracts: White-tailed deer, rabbits, and hares, songbirds, mice, squirrels, opossums, and bobwhite quails. • Growth Habit: A long-lived and fast growing species that can reach heights up to 80 feet. Florida Elm produce small green flowers, but does not bear seed till it is 15 years old.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida • Wildlife Value: Seeds, fruits, flowers, twigs, bark, and leaves are all used as food by various species. The fruit are consumed by at least 36 species of birds, and many mammals. • Attracts: Chipmunks, squirrels, birds, foxes, skunks, rabbits, white-tailed deer, and black bears. • Growth Habit: Dogwood rarely grow taller than 30 feet and remain a understory species for their lifespan. They bloom a white flower in early April until late March.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery American Holly

Ilex opaca • Wildlife Value: The fruit is very attractive to wildlife, serving as an excellent food source, white-tailed deer sometimes browse the foliage. • Attracts: White-tailed deer, squirrels, songbirds, mourning doves, wild turkeys, and bobwhite quail. • Growth Habit: American Holly can grow up to 50 feet tall and have beautiful red berries that persist through the fall and winter. These trees are most frequently found as an understory tree.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Florida Maple

Acer floridanum • Wildlife Value: Mammals feed on the seeds, buds, twigs, and leaves. Numerous species of songbirds nest in Florida Maple. Cavity nesters excavate cavities or utilize preexisting cavities in the trees for their nest. • Attracts: White-tailed deer, chickadee, pileated woodpeckers, screech owls, and squirrels. • Growth Habit: This tree is a fast grower, up to 60 feet in height. Maples are deciduous, losing their leaves in winter. They provide a burst of stunning color before they drop leaves. Older trees have an attractive ribbed grey bark.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery White Ash

Fraxinus americana • Wildlife Value: Seeds of the White Ash are eaten by several species of birds. The bark is occasionally food for rabbits. Cavity excavating and nesting birds often use White Ash. • Attracts: Wood ducks, bobwhite quails, purple finches, pine grosbeaks, fox squirrels, rabbit, and mice. • Growth Habit: Large tree that grows up to 80 feet in height. White Ash grows vigorously and heavily bears seed every three years.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Approved Shrubs

Approved shrubs are appropriate in the following spaces: • Pignut Hickory Grove • Live Oak Grove

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Carolina Buckthorn

Rhamnus caroliniana • Wildlife Value: The small berries are frequently consumed by birds and mammals. • Attracts: White-tailed deer, mice, opossums, and songbirds. • Growth Habit – Buckthorn can be as tall as 20 feet but usually stays below 10 feet. It retains its leaves well into December and is deciduous for only a short period. Yellow flowers come in small clusters at the bases of the leaves, opening in May and June. Although called a buckthorn, this species has no spines.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Walter’s Vibernum

Viburnum obovatum • Wildlife Value: The small berries are frequently consumed by birds. • Attracts: Songbirds, pollinators, and small mammals. • Growth Habit: Walter’s Viburnum is a medium sized shrub that can grow up to 25 feet tall. It bears showy white flowers that are fragrant for about 2 to 3 weeks in early spring. It is a evergreen in North Central Florida.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Flatwoods Plum

Prunus umbellate • Wildlife Value: These trees produce plums that are very attractive to a variety of wildlife. The Flatwoods Plum is also a host plant for the red spotted purple butterfly. • Attracts: Songbirds, small mammals, bees, and butterflies. • Growth Habit: Flatwoods Plum is a fast growing, deciduous tree, reaching 20 feet in height with a 15-foot spread, that is known for its spectacular display of blooms. In late February, before the leaves appear, these trees take on an almost cloud-like appearance.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Godfrey’s Privet

Forestiera godfreyi • Wildlife Value: It is a food source to birds and mammals. • Attracts: Songbirds and white-tailed deer. • Growth Habit: Godfrey’s Privet is a deciduous shrub that can reach 16 feet in height. Godfrey’s Privet is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are on different plants.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Strawberry Bush

Euonymus americanus • Wildlife Value: The seeds, fruit, and leaves are all consumed by wildlife. • Attracts: White-tailed deer, songbirds, rabbits, and turkeys. • Growth Habit: Strawberry Bush is a deciduous shrub that grows 6-12 feet tall. Inconspicuous flowers bloom a yellowish green in color. It’s name comes from the bright red fruit it produced.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Wild Azalea

Rhododendron canescens • Wildlife Value: Flowers attract birds and insects. • Attracts: Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. • Growth Habit: Wild Azalea is a showy shrub growing up to 8 feet tall. The Azalea has slightly fragrant flowers, are pink occasionally white in color.

Forest Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Approved Grasses

Approved Grasses are appropriate in the following spaces: • Bee Balm Bluff • Blazing Star Meadow

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Purple Lovegrass

Eragrostis spectabilis • Wildlife Value: Critical to the life of many butterflies and songbirds consume the seeds. • Attracts: Butterflies and songbirds. • Growth Habit: Purple Lovegrass has flat, coarse green leaves that form a somewhat disorganized clump of foliage and typically rises to 10 inches tall. It has soft reddish-purple flowers that appear in August, forming an airy cloud that covers the grass clump and raises the overall height of the plant to 2 feet tall.

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Adam’s Needle

Yucca filamentosa • Wildlife Value: Adam’s Needle depend on the Yucca Moth as their agent of pollination, and these moths depend on them for food. • Attracts: Butterflies, moths, songbirds, and hummingbirds. • Growth Habit: Adam’s Needle produce 6 feet tall flowering stalks that rise above 2-3 feet high clumps of erect, dagger-like, blue-green leaves.

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Blackseed Needlegrass

Piptochaetium avenaceum • Wildlife Value: The seeds are occasionally used by songbirds. • Attracts: Songbirds. • Growth Habit: Blackseed Neddlegrass consists of fine leaf texture that appear to be bristle-like. Its leaves are long and elongate, reaching up to 3 feet in height.

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Wiregrass

Aristida stricta • Wildlife Value: Wiregrass is used as cover and the seeds are consumed by wildlife. • Attracts: Small birds, bees, and butterflies. • Growth Habit: Wiregrass can reach 3 feet high and in large quantities is a beautiful flowing grass. This species is a bunch grass that flowers in the fall.

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Lopsided Indiangrass

Sorghastrum secundum • Wildlife Value: The host plant for many species of butterflies. • Attracts: Butterflies and small birds. • Growth Habit: A tall, wispy bunchgrass that has showy, dense, one-sided panicles; the showy display lasts about 2 weeks. Typically grows to 3 feet in height and up to 6 feet when in flower.

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Pineywoods Dropseed

Sporobolus junceus • Wildlife Value: Pineywoods Dropseed are often grazed on by mammals and the fruits consumed by birds. • Attracts: White-tailed Deer and songbirds. • Growth Habit: Pineywoods Dropseed is a native, warm season, perennial bunchgrass which grows 2 to 3 feet tall. Known for its showy flowers and fruit.

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Assorted Wildflowers

• Based on seasonal and individual availability. • All wildflowers provided are native to North Central Florida, the seeds were harvested in Alachua and the surrounding counties. • Wildflowers are appropriate in the following spaces: • Bee Balm Bluff • Blazing Star Meadow

Prairie Species Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery