Savanna Mix

This mix consists of plants that usually do well in areas with partial or dappled shade, such as oak woodlands or along the edges of woods. It is typically used to reseed areas where brush clearing has occured. Most of these plants produce seed in the fall.

There are currently 7 workzones where this species composition is targeted, although some of these locations can be fairly small.

Species	Common Name	C-Value	Wetland	Baseline	New Workzone	Seeded	Target Workzone	Workzones
Grasses
Elymus hystrix	Bottlebrush Grass	5	FACU	-	2	-	5
Elymus villosus	Silky Wild Rye	5	FACU	-	1	-	6
Elymus virginicus	Virginia Wild Rye	3	FACW	-	1	-	6
Sedges
Carex blanda	Common Woodland Sedge	1	FAC	2	-	-	5
Carex molesta	Troublesome Sedge	2	FAC	-	-	-	7
Vines
Amphicarpaea bracteata	Hog Peanut	5	FAC	-	-	-	7
Menispermum canadense	Moonseed	5	FAC	-	-	-	7
Wildflowers
Ageratina altissima	White Snakeroot	3	FACU	1	4	-	2
Agrimonia gryposepala	Tall Agrimony	2	FACU	4	-	-	3
Allium canadense	Wild Garlic	3	FACU	1	-	-	6
Anemone cylindrica	Thimbleweed	8	UPL	1	-	-	6
Arnoglossum atriplicifolium	Pale Indian Plantain	8	UPL	-	-	-	7
Blephilia hirsuta	Hairy Wood Mint	5	FACU	-	1	-	6
Campanula americana	American Bellflower	4	FAC	-	-	-	7
Eutrochium purpureum	Sweet Joe-pye Weed	6	FAC	-	2	-	5
Helianthus divaricatus	Woodland Sunflower	5	UPL	-	-	-	7
Helianthus strumosus	Paleleaf Woodland Sunflower	5	UPL	-	-	-	7
Maianthemum racemosum	False Solomon's Seal	5	FACU	3	-	-	4
Maianthemum stellatum	Starry False Solomon's Seal	5	FAC	-	-	-	7
Polygonatum biflorum	Smooth Solomon's Seal	4	FACU	-	-	-	7
Prenanthes alba	White Lettuce	5	FACU	-	-	-	7
Rudbeckia laciniata	Cutleaf Coneflower	4	FACW	-	-	-	7
Scrophularia marilandica	Late Figwort	4	FACU	-	1	-	6
Solidago flexicaulis	Zigzag Goldenrod	7	FACU	-	-	-	7
Symphyotrichum cordifolium	Blue Wood Aster	7	UPL	-	-	-	7
Symphyotrichum drummondii	Drummond's Aster	3	UPL	-	-	-	7
Symphyotrichum lateriflorum	Calico Aster	4	FAC	-	-	-	7
Symphyotrichum shortii	Short's Aster	7	UPL	-	-	-	7
Verbesina alternifolia	Wingstem	5	FACW	-	-	2	5

Data as of 09/12/2023

White Snakeroot

Of all the plants on the list, white snakeroot stands out as the workhorse, and one I rely on most. This is fairly common plant at Oakhurst - some people may describe it as weedy - but that makes it a great plant to repopulate a degraded area. It is a perennial that blooms in September, and has a notorious history given its toxicity; it was discovered by Anna Bixby, an Illinois doctor, to be the cause of milk sickness which killed many early settlers. Of course being a woman, her work would only be published in 1928, 55 years after her death.

Purple Joe Pye Weed

Originally there were fewer than a half dozen plants of Joe Pye Weed at Oakhurst, but efforts have led to a decent population being established in workzones F2.2.1, F4.4 and F4.5. In 2023, I plan on introducing seed to 4 new locations to help expand its range and serve as new seed sources. This plant blooms in summer and goes to seed in September, which is plentiful and easy to collect. Seed is naturally dispersed by wind, so anything not collected will go on to seed new spots away from the parent plant.

Wingstem

Another success story is the establishment of wingstem along the edge of the F2 woods. Some of this was harvested in 2022 and broadcast into new locations, and I am glad to say a few plants have been detected. In 2023, I will seed the plant in an additional two locations amidst the existing white snakeroot.

Elymus

There are three species of Elymus grasses that have been seeded into workzones F4.4 and F4.5, so this is where I harvest the bulk of my seed. In 2023, I seeded the grasses across four new locations.