The Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois

Images of Prairie Plants — Genera Beginning with the Letter "B"

Baptisia leucantha, also called Baptisia lactea, B. alba var. macrophylla (white or large-leaf wild indigo) [Fabaceae or Leguminosae, Bean Family]

Young stems emerging from ground in spring; these resemble asparagus; Schulenberg Prairie Restoration, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
Habit of plant in prairie; Tucker Prairie, Callaway County, Missouri
Another view of habit of plant; Nachusa Grassland, Lee County, Illinois
Plant in flower; Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve, Cook County, Illinois
One whole leaf; cultivated in my yard, Champaign, Illinois
Closeup of leaflets, which are glabrous (lacking hairs); cultivated in my yard, Champaign, Illinois
Inflorescence, note the bee visiting the flower; 12-Mile Prairie, between Illinois Route 37 and railroad tracks near Laclede, Fayette County, Illinois
Another inflorescence; Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve, Cook County, Illinois
Closeup of inflorescence; cultivated in my yard, Champaign, Illinois
First longitudinal section of flower
Second longitudinal section of flower
Bladder-like inflated fruits; Denby Prairie Nature Preserve, Macoupin County, Illinois
Macro of an open fruit with weevils (Apion rostrum) whose larvae grow and mature within the developing pods
Mature seeds
Mature seeds; units on ruler = 1 mm
Click here for a distribution map in Illinois from the Illinois Plant Information Network [Labeled as Baptisia lactea]

Baptisia leucophaea, also called Baptisia bracteata (cream wild indigo) [Fabaceae or Leguminosae, Bean Family]

Habitat of prairie with plants; Schulenberg Prairie Restoration, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
Habitat of prairie with plants; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Habit of plant in flower; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Another plant in flower; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Yet one more flowering plant; Boyd Prairie, east of Baldwin City, Douglas County
Habit of plant in flower AND also the dried, brown remnants of a the leaves from last year; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Branch with 5 leaves; Prospect Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Ford County, Illinois
Undersurface of leaflet showing many hairs; Prospect Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Ford County, Illinois
Inflorescence; Prospect Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Ford County, Illinois
Another inflorescence; Prospect Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Ford County, Illinois
One more inflorescence; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Several flowers; Boyd Prairie, east of Baldwin City, Douglas County
Flowers from the front; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Flowers from the side; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Flower being visited by a bumblebee; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
Plant with immature fruits; Prospect Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Ford County, Illinois
Plant in late falll Harlem Hills Nature Preserve, Winnebago County, Illinois
Mature seeds; units on ruler = 1 mm
Click here for a distribution map in Illinois from the Illinois Plant Information Network

Blephilia ciliata (pagoda plant, downy pagoda plant, Ohio horse mint) [Lamiaceae or Labiatae, Mint Family]

habit; Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois
inflorescence; same locality
flowers; same locality
Click here for a distribution map in Illinois from the Illinois Plant Information Network

Boltoinia asteroides (false aster, white doll's daisy) [Asteraceae or Compositae, Sunflower Family]

habit of plant in flower; Paintbrush Prairie Nature Preserve, Cook County, Illinois
Click here for a distribution map in Illinois from the Illinois Plant Information Network

Boltonia decurrens (decurrent false aster, claspingleaf doll's daisy) [Asteraceae or Compositae, Sunflower Family] — Listed as Threatened in Illinois and also as Threatened on the Federal list of endangered and threatened species

habit of plant in flower; cultivated, Chicago Botanic Garden, Cook County, Illinois
leaves; same locality as previous image
Click here for a distribution map in Illinois from the Illinois Plant Information Network

Bouteloua curtipendula (side-oats grama) [Poaceae or Gramineae, Grass Family]

habitat on hill prairie; Chandlerville Cemetery, Cass County, Illinois
habit in autumn; Site "M"/Panther Creek, Cass Co., Illinois
spikelets; units on ruler = 1 mm
view of habit of cultivated plants
inflorescence in fruit; Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Cook County, Illinois
Click here for a distribution map in Illinois from the Illinois Plant Information Network
Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama). This species is extremely rare in Illinois
- plant with spikes, October; Savanna Army Depot /Lost Mound area, Jo Daviess County, Illinois
- inflorescence/flower cluster, October 1996. Some spikelets have fallen away from the tip of the rachis, leaving a projection much like that found in hairy grama (Bouteloua hirsuta); same locality
Alphabetical by Genus:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Back to the start of Images of Prairie Plants
Back to The Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois
Ken Robertson's homepage
Created November 1997; updated 25 October 2004