Native Plants of East Central Illinois and Their Preferred Locations”

OCTOBER 2007 Native Plants at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Campus: A Sourcebook for Landscape Architects and Contractors James Wescoat and Florrie Wescoat with Yung-Ching Lin Champaign, IL October 2007 Based on “Native Plants of East Central Illinois and their Preferred Locations” An Inventory Prepared by Dr. John Taft, Illinois Natural History Survey, for the UIUC Sustainable Campus Landscape Subcommittee - 1- 1. Native Plants and Plantings on the UIUC Campus This sourcebook was compiled for landscape architects working on projects at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus and the greater headwaters area of east central Illinois.1 It is written as a document that can be distributed to persons who may be unfamiliar with the local flora and vegetation, but its detailed species lists and hotlinks should be useful for seasoned Illinois campus designers as well. Landscape architects increasingly seek to incorporate native plants and plantings in campus designs, along with plantings that include adapted and acclimatized species from other regions. The term “native plants” raises a host of fascinating scientific, aesthetic, and practical questions. What plants are native to East Central Illinois? What habitats do they occupy? What communities do they form? What are their ecological relationships, aesthetic characteristics, and practical limitations? As university campuses begin to incorporate increasing numbers of native species and areas of native planting, these questions will become increasingly important. We offer preliminary answers to these questions, and a suite of electronic linkages to databases that provide a wealth of information for addressing more detailed issues. We begin with a brief introduction to the importance of native plants in the campus environment, and the challenges of using them effectively, followed by a description of the database, online resources, and references included below. 2. The Historical Importance of Native Plants in the Campus Environment The current wave of interest in native plants at the University of Illinois has a long history. In fact, it begins in prehistory with Native American uses and modification of native vegetation for food, medicine, and spiritual purposes. Despite extensive clearing of the prairies following European settlement (McManis, 1964), some early plant uses continue to the present day as documented in ethnobotanical studies such as Kelly Kindscher’s Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie (1992) and Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie (1987). Wilhelm Miller (1915) was an early advocate for landscape architects who used and drew inspiration from prairie vegetation. In the early 20th century landscape architect Jens Jensen and others founded “Friends of our Native Landscape” (Jensen, 1956). While the “prairie style” persisted through the mid-20th century in the work of Alfred Caldwell (Domer, 1997), it encountered strong resistance from both picturesque and modern traditions of landscape architecture that emphasized mown lawns and exotic ornamental introductions (e.g., see Jenkins, 1994; and Teyssot, 1999). Criticism of slavish and superficial approaches to native planting continues in the work of German landscape architects Groning and Wolschke- Bulmahn (1992) and insightful editorial essays in Ecological Restoration (cf. Elliot, 1997). But 1 Prepared at the request of the UIUC Sustainable Campus Landscape Subcommittee, using the headwaters area inventory of native plants compiled by Dr. John Taft of the Illinois Natural History Survey; and Dr. Kenneth Robertson’s “Considerations Regarding Landscaping with Natives on the U of I Campus” (2004). We are grateful to Drs. Taft and Robertson for their input to this sourcebook. - 2- overall, native plant movements have been gaining popular, scientific, and design support in recent decades. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a strong record of research on native vegetation. The websites of taxonomist Dr. Kenneth Robertson contain a wealth of information about pragmatic as well as scientific and aesthetic aspects of prairie vegetation and planting (http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/prairienativelinks.html). At a larger scale, Southern Illinois University professor Robert Mohlenbrock produced the superb Illustrated Flora of Illinois volumes. Many individual native specimens on the UIUC campus, with fine results, but few native plantings have been established. For example, prairie plantings were installed at the Helene Gateway several years ago, but were reportedly removed within weeks for being too “messy and weedy” looking. Professor Terry Harkness and his students have recently installed a hill prairie planting on the west side of Temple Hoyne Buell Hall (2007) to demonstrate a native plant aesthetic for the university and wider community. Individual native specimens and small plantings occur across campus, but they are rarely woven within a broadly native or even naturalistic planting aesthetic. The same trends apply to the wider landscapes of east central Illinois. Only a few remnants of our native landscape survive on campus. The value of native plantings is manifold (see also Robertson, 2004). It includes: • Expansion of native flora, associated habitats, and biodiversity • Educational opportunities for the university community, including service learning by student groups, e.g., Red Bison. • Cultivation of aesthetic enjoyment of the plants specific to this area. • Reduced lawn chemical application, mowing costs, and other functional requirements. This sourcebook compiles information for those who seek to achieve these values in design, construction, and maintenance of native and naturalistic plantings on campus. 3. Native Plants in the Design Process Landscape architect Terry Harkness and others present a basic design approach that has application to native, and more generally sustainable, plantings. He suggests that designers develop “landscape models” (e.g., ecological communities such as upland forest, hill prairie, savanna, etc.) and “plant lists” of species that fit the site and model. The designer strives to integrate these models and plant species choices and compositions in ways that creatively address site conditions and program requirements (fig. 1).2 The best published example of this approach is Judith Phillips’ two-volume work, Natural by Design and Plants for Natural Gardens. Although focused on New Mexico, it elegantly presents 2 This simplified representation of the design process indicates in general terms how native plant species lists such as those in this sourcebook are used along with other information. For much more detailed information about prairie design, construction, maintenance, and long-term management see references such as Packard and Mutel, 1997. - 3- the natural landscapes and how they have been adapted in planting design in volume 1, and provides a rich description of native plant species useful for achieving those aims in volume 2. While there is no comparable publication for landscape architecture in Illinois, the Illinois Natural History Survey has prepared valuable reports on (1) remnant nature preserves that may serve as ecological landscape design models; and (2) a detailed list of plant species that are native to the “headwaters area” of east central Illinois. Landscape Site and Plant Models Program Species (e.g., ecological Analysis Lists communities) Alternative Planting Design Concepts Fig. 1: Simplified model of planting design A. Ecological Landscape Models -- Directory of Illinois Nature Preserves The INHS Directory of Illinois Nature Preserves identifies many of the small remnant areas of woodland, prairie, savannas, and wetlands in the state. To give a sense of the magnitude of vegetation change at UIUC, only one preserve is listed in Champaign County (Tomlinson prairie). There are other parcels of woodland, wetland, and constructed prairie in Champaign County, which are managed by the park districts, forest preserve, and private landowners – but they represent a tiny fraction of the land area. Thus, to gain a broad perspective on “natural vegetation models”, the INHS Directory is a useful source. B. Species Lists–“Native Plants of East Central Illinois and their Preferred Locations” Defining plants regarded as “native” has human as well as ecological dimensions. Dr. Robertson (2004, 1-2) highlights the following criteria and considerations: 1. Political boundaries – are sometimes used to inventory native plants, in part because management and funding are provided by those jurisdictions (e.g., Champaign County; or Illinois as in Mohlenbrock’s Vascular Flora of Illinois [2002]). 2. Ecological boundaries – provide a scientific basis for describing native vegetation, though it should be recognized that these distributions vary in space and time (e.g. - 4- Grand Prairie section and division of the Midwestern Tallgrass Prairie; or the Headwaters watershed area used in John Taft’s survey). 3. Genotypes associated with local niches –sometimes referred to as “ecotypes”, denote genetic variation of a native species within a region. Genotypes are particularly important for plant and seed collection strategies in ecological restoration planting. 4. Cultivars of native plants – are not strictly “native” to any area, but they may be all that is commercially available and have desirable (or undesirable) ornamental and/or practical characteristics. As Robertson (2004) underscores, the definition of what is native usually depends on several of

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