Nine Woodland Seed Mixes and Planting Notes

The lists of species below represent the current planting mixes of summer and fall-blooming species of herbaceous plants as used by the Somme Woods stewards in our work to restore the brush-degraded herb layer of black-soil (or "fine textured soil") bur and white oak woodlands (here including "open woodlands" or "closed savannas'). Most spring-blooming species are not on this list as they're planted separately, earlier.  

A natural woodland has 50 to 80% tree canopy cover. That means that 20 to 50% sky should be visible from the average spot. Thus, one early step in restoring biodiversity to an oak woodland is to make sure enough light is getting through the tree canopy to support the full diversity of woodland herbs and shrubs - to say nothing of reproduction of the canopy oaks. If the old trees are bur or white oak but the understory is red oak, basswood, cherry, maple, etc., then a great deal of thinning would need to be done if a natural, sustainable bur or white oak woodland is to be restored. 

There are a variety of ways to measure canopy cover. But most people, most of the time, just "eyeball" it. They look at the ground and estimate how much is in shadow at noon, or they look up and estimate how much blue sky they see. 

Many of the species below are often considered "prairie species" see Endnote 4. But experiment increasingly shows that not only are they also woodland species, but such species are needed for effective burns and to forestall a "takeover" of an non-diverse, weak turf by such aggressive species as tall goldenrod.

These "prairie" species are not just planted in small gaps in the canopy, but also in the dappled shade of bur and white oaks. This aligns with scant evidence we have from our richest remnants in Illinois, as well as from the much better example of Army Lake, and many historical accounts like the floras of Pepoon and Higley+Raddin. These sources suggest many of our "prairie plants" once had much broader distributions. They could do so again. The way to do that seems to be (1) free the canopies sufficiently for lots of light to reach the herb layer all growing-season long, (2) remove plant litter (from leaves, branches, duff, etc.) often with frequent (possibly annual, in some places?) fire, and (3) make sure the herb layer is as receptive as possible to our plantings through control of such shady, diversity-reducing species as tall goldenrod and woodland sunflower.

We typically broadcast seed where dense dead leaves have been burned off. Most of these species do not successfully reproduce through dense oak leaf litter. 

Some important species listed below actually do poorly from seed. They reproduce mostly vegetatively, and we plant them as plugs. Such species include pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), robin's plantain (Erigenon puchellus), bastard toadflax (Comandra umbelata), and Penn sedge (Carex pennsylvanica).

See also "When, How, and Why to Plant Woodland Seed."

Expanded abbreviations for the column headings from left to right are as follows: 

MCS = Open Woodland (Mesic Closed Savanna)

MW = Mesic Woodland

WMCS = Wet-mesic Open Woodland

WMW = Wet-mesic Woodland

WW = Wet Woodland

MCST Mesic Open Woodland Turf Mix

MWT = Mesic Woodland Turf Mix

MCSLO = Mesic Open Woodland Low-pro Mix

MWLO = Mesic Woodland Low-pro Mix

Detailed comments about the differences among these mixes (and various apologies) follow the list. 

A version of this post with handy repeat headers (but blurry) is here. 

SCIENTIFIC NAME	M CS	M W	WM CS	WM W	W W	MC ST	MW T	MCS LO	MW LO
Actaea pachypoda							X
Actaea rubra							X		X
Agastache nepetoides	X	X
Agastache scrophulariifolia	X	X
Agrimonia gryposepala	X	X
Agrimonia parviflora			X	X
Agrostis perennans	X	X	X	X
Allium burdickii	X	X
Allium canadense	X	X	X	X
Allium cernuum	X	X	X
Andropogon gerardii	X		X
Anemone quinquefolia		X		X
Anemone virginiana	X	X
Anemonella thalictroides (aka Thalictrum t.)						X	X	X	X
Angelica atropurpurea					X
Antennaria plantaginifolia								X
Apocynum androsaemifolium	X
Apocynum cannabinum			X
Apocynum sibiricum			X
Aquilegia canadensis	X	X						X	X
Aralia racemosa	X	X
Arisaema dracontium		X		X
Arisaema triphyllum		X		X
Arnoglossum atriplicifolium	X		X
Asclepias exaltata							X		X
Asclepias purpurascens	X
Astragalus canadensis	X
Aureolaria grandiflora var. pulchra	X							X	X
Blephilia hirsuta			X	X
Boehmeria cylindrica					X
Boltonia asteroides					X
Brachyelytrum erectum	X	X							X
Bromus latiglumis	X	X	X	X
Bromus nottowayanus	X	X
Caltha palustris					X
Camassia scilloides	X	X	X	X				X	X
Campanulastrum americanum	X	X	X	X
Cardamine bulbosa			X	X	X
Cardamine douglassii			X	X	X
Carex albursina		X
Carex alopecoidea						X
Carex blanda	X	X	X	X
Carex bromoides					X
Carex cephalophora	X
Carex crinita			X	X	X
Carex cristatella			X
Carex crus-corvi					X
Carex davisii	X		X
Carex formosa	X	X	2X	2X
Carex gracillima	X	X	X	X
Carex granularis	X		X
Carex grayi			X	X
Carex grisea		X		X
Carex hirtifolia	X	X
Carex hyalinolepis					X
Carex jamesii		X
Carex lupuliformis					X
Carex lupulina					X
Carex molesta
Carex muskingumensis					X
Carex normalis	X	X
Carex pellita			X
Carex pensylvanica	X	X
Carex radiata			X	X	X
Carex rosea	X	X
Carex scoparia			X
Carex shortiana			X	X
Carex sp (MCS)	X
Carex sp (MW)		X
Carex sp (WMCS)			X
Carex sp (WMMS)
Carex sparganioides	X	X	X	X
Carex sprengelii	X	X	X	X
Carex squarrosa			X	X	X
Carex stipata					X
Carex swanii	X		X
Carex tenera			X
Carex tribuloides			X	X
Carex tuckermanii					X
Carex vulpinoidea			X
Carex woodii		X		X
Caulophyllum thalictroides							X		X
Ceanothus americanus	X
Chelone glabra					X
Chenopodium simplex	X
Cinna arundinacea	X	X	2X	2X	2X
Cirsium altissimum	X	X
Claytonia virginica	2X	2X	X	X
Clematis virginiana	X	X	X	X
Comandra umbellata						X		X	X
Conopholis americana		X					X		X
Coreopsis tripteris	X		X
Cornus obliqua
Cryptotaenia canadensis		X		X
Cuscuta cephalanthi			X	X	X
Cuscuta gronovii	X
Danthonia spicata								X	X
Dasistoma macrophylla	X	X	X	X
Dentaria laciniata (aka Cardamine concatenata)		X							X
Desmodium cuspidatum	X
Desmodium paniculatum	X		X
Desmodium perplexum	X	X
Diarrhena obovata	X	X	X	X
Dichanthelium implicatum (aka D. acum. OR Pan. imp.)	X		X					X
Dichanthelium latifolium (aka Panicum lat.)	X	X				X	X	X	X
Dichanthelium leibergii (aka Panicum lei.)
Dioscorea villosa	X	X	X	X	X
Dodecatheon meadia	X	X	X	X		2X	X	2X	2X
Doellingeria umbellata			X
Eleocharis compressa			X
Elymus riparius			X	X	X
Elymus villosus	X	X
Elymus virginicus			X	X	X
Epilobium coloratum			X	X	X
Erigeron pulchellus						X		X	X
Eryngium yuccifolium	X		X
Erythronium albidum		X		2X	X				X
Erythronium americanum		2X		X			2X
Eupatorium perfoliatum					X
Euphorbia corollata	X
Eurybia furcata			2X	2X	X
Eurybia macrophylla	X	2X
Eutrochium maculatum			X
Eutrochium purpureum	X	X	X	X
Festuca subverticillata (aka F. obtusa)	X	X							X
Floerkea proserpinacoides		X		2X	2X
Galium boreale						X		X
Galium circaezans var. hypomalacum	X	X
Galium concinnum						X	X		X
Galium triflorum				X
Gentiana alba	X		X
Geranium carolinianum	X
Geranium maculatum		X		X				X	X
Geum vernum						X
Glyceria striata			X	X	X
Hedeoma pulegioides	X	X							X
Helenium autumnale					X
Helianthus tuberosus			X
Heliopsis helianthoides	X		X
Hepatica acutiloba							X		X
Heracleum maximum	X	2X	X	2X
Heuchera richardsonii								X	X
Hieracium scabrum						X		X
Hieracium umbellatum	X							X
Hydrophyllum virginianum		X		2X	X
Hylodesmum glutinosum	X	X
Hypericum ascyron			X		X
Hypericum punctatum	X		X
Hypoxis hirsuta						X		X	X
Hystrix patula	X	X	X	X
Iodanthus pinnatifidus			X	X	X
Iris virginica var. shrevei					X
Krigia biflora						X		X	X
Lactuca canadensis	X	X
Lactuca floridana	X	X	X	X
Lathyrus ochroleucus						X	X		X
Lathyrus venosus	X					X		X
Leersia virginica	X	X	X	X
Lespedeza frutescens	X
Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii	X							X
Lilium michiganense			X	X
Liparis liliifolia						X		X
Lithospermum latifolium	X	X	X	X
Lobelia cardinalis			X	X	2X
Lobelia inflata	X	X
Lobelia siphilitica			X	X	X
Lonicera reticulata (aka L. prolifera)			X	X
Ludwigia polycarpa					X
Luzula multiflora	X	X				X	X	2X	2X
Lycopus uniflorus
Lysimachia ciliata			X	X	X
Menispermum canadense			X
Micranthes pensylvanica (aka Saxifraga p.)			X
Monarda fistulosa	X		X
Muhlenbergia mexicana			X
Myosotis laxa					X
Napaea dioica			2X	2X	X
Oenothera perennis	X		X			X
Oenothera pilosella	X
Oligoneuron rigidum	2X		X
Onoclea sensibilis			X	X	X
Osmorhiza claytonii		X		X
Oxalis violacea						X		X
Oxypolis rigidior	X	X	2X	X
Panicum virgatum			X
Paronychia fastigiata									X
Parthenium integrifolium	X
Pedicularis canadensis	X	X				3X	3X	3X	3X
Pedicularis canadensis var. rubrum		X					X		3X
Pedicularis lanceolata			X
Penstemon digitalis	X	X
Penthorum sedoides					X
Perideridia americana	X	X						X	X
Phlox divaricata		X					X		X
Phlox glaberrima var. interior						X
Phryma leptostachya		X		X
Physostegia speciosa			X	X	X
Poa palustris					X
Podophyllum peltatum		X		X
Polemonium reptans	2X	2X	X	X				X	X
Polygonatum biflorum	2X	2X	X	X
Prenanthes alba	X	X
Prenanthes altissima	X	X
Pycnanthemum virginianum			X	X
Ranunculus abortivus		X		X
Ranunculus recurvatus		X		X
Rosa blanda			X
Rosa setigera	X		X
Rudbeckia hirta	X
Rudbeckia subtomentosa	X	X	2X	2X
Rudbeckia triloba	X	X
Sambucus canadensis			X
Sanguinaria canadensis	2X	2X	X	X				X	X
Sanicula marilandica	X
Scirpus atrovirens			X	X	2X
Scirpus hattorianus	X	X
Scirpus pendulus			X
Scrophularia marilandica	X	X
Scutellaria lateriflora					X
Scutellaria ovata	X	X						X	X
Silene stellata	2X	X
Silene virginica									X
Silphium integrifolium var. deamii	X		X
Silphium perfoliatum					X
Sisyrinchium angustifolium	X		2X					X	X
Smilacina racemosa	X	X	X	X
Smilax herbacea	X	X	X	X
Smilax lasioneura	X	X	X	X
Solidago caesia		2X		X
Solidago flexicaulis		X		2X
Solidago juncea	X
Solidago nemoralis	X
Solidago patula			X	X	3X
Solidago speciosa	X
Solidago ulmifolia	X	X
Sorghastrum nutans	X		X
Sphenopholis intermedia	X		X
Sporobolus heterolepis	X/2					X/2
Stachys pilosa			X
Stellaria longifolia				X
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae	X		X
Symphyotrichum ontarionis				X
Symphyotrichum oolentangiense									X
Symphyotrichum shortii	2X	2X	X	X
Symphyotrichum urophyllum		X
Taenidia integerrima	2X	X							X
Teucrium canadense			X	X
Thalictrum dasycarpum			X	X
Thalictrum dioicum		X		X					X
Thalictrum revolutum			X	X
Thaspium trifoliatum						X
Tradescantia ohiensis	X		X
Trillium grandiflorum							X		X
Trillium recurvatum			X	X
Triosteum aurantiacum	2X	X	2X	X
Triosteum perfoliatum	2X	X	2X	X
Turritis glabra (aka Arabis g.)	X							X
Uvularia grandiflora		X						X	X
Verbena hastata					X
Verbena urticifolia	X
Vernonia gigantea (purply)	X/2
Vernonia missurica (hairy & dry)	X/2
Veronica scutellata					X
Veronicastrum virginicum	X	X	X	X	X
Viola eriocarpa		X						X	X
Viola labradorica (aka V. conspersa)			X	X				X	X
Viola pubescens		X
Zizia aurea	X	X	X	X

 

Endnotes

1. This seeding list treats only mesic, wet-mesic, and wet species because at Somme we have no dry-mesic or dry woodlands to restore.

2. The "Turf" mixes are for the seeds of species that typically don't do well in newer restoration areas, for example where dense brush was recently cut. Instead, they establish more consistently in areas where a diverse turf of species is already established. Some of the species limited to these mixes might occasionally succeed in bare soil areas, but we don't want to risk the small amounts of seed we are able to gather. 

3. The "Low-pro" mixes are the most select. These 43 species seem to thrive best in areas where the turf of conservative species is sufficiently well established and competitive that there tends to be a "low profile" - that is, the plants not only diverse and dense but also shorter. 

4.  There's no hard-line boundary between prairie, savanna and woodland. "Closed Savanna" could be seen as "the part of the woodland with less dense tree-canopy shade." For our savanna plantings we also distinguish between "Open Savanna" and "Mid Savanna" - the species lists for which include most species often called "prairie species." Species often thought of as "prairie species" that may also be important components of oak woodlands include: 

Scientific Name	C	W	Common Name
Allium cernuum	7	1	nodding wild onion
Andropogon gerardii	5	0	big bluestem
Arnoglossum atriplicifolium	8	2	pale indian plantain
Astragalus canadensis	8	0	canada milkvetch
Ceanothus americanus	8	2	new jersey tea
Comandra umbellata	9	1	false toadflax
Eryngium yuccifolium	9	0	rattlesnake master
Heuchera richardsonii	10	1	prairie alum root
Hypoxis hirsuta	8	0	yellow star grass
Krigia biflora	9	1	false dandelion
Oenothera pilosella	10	0	prairie sundrops
Oligoneuron rigidum	3	1	stiff goldenrod
Oxalis violacea	8	2	violet wood sorrel
Oxypolis rigidior	8	-2	cowbane
Panicum virgatum	3	0	switch grass
Parthenium integrifolium	8	2	wild quinine
Phlox glaberrima var. interior	9	-2	marsh phlox
Pycnanthemum virginianum	5	-1	common mountain mint
Rosa blanda	4	1	early wild rose
Rudbeckia hirta	1	1	black-eyed susan
Sorghastrum nutans	5	1	indian grass
Symphyotrichum oolentangiense	8	2	sky-blue aster
Tradescantia ohiensis	3	1	common spiderwort
Veronicastrum virginicum	8	0	culvers root
Zizia aurea	5	0	golden alexanders

 

Links

Click here for more posts on seeds, seed studies, and oak woodland restoration generally.  

Apologies

People have asked for this list for years. We're sorry to have been slow. We're busy with so many different efforts, and we're poor at the technical parts of assembling posts. 

Also, we're sorry that we were not able to repeat the column headings for each "page." That would have made it so much easier to read. But between the limits of Blogger and our skills, nothing worked. Later we figured out one (poor) way, which is here - but blurry. 

Acknowledgements 

This post is by Christos Economou, Eriko Kojima, and Stephen Packard. These planting lists started with the North Branch Restoration Project lists (assembled decades ago by John and Jane Balaban and others. The above version, tailored to the work at Somme, was developed by Eriko Kojima, Christos Economou, and others. Much of the computer work was done by excellent seed harvester and team-champ computer expert Derek Hofland.