The Grasses & Wildflowers

Unlike the prairies of the Great Plains, Kentucky's barrens were never a limitless expanse of tall grass. Clumps of trees and shrubs dotted our grassland, and the forest was ever-encroaching, held at bay only by fire and the migrations of large animals such as bison.

Was it a true prairie? Scientists may debate these finer points. What we know for certain is that warm-season grasses of the western prairies are native to western Kentucky, too, for example, Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian grass, and Switchgrass.

It is difficult to imagine the size some warm-season grasses can reach. Early white explorers described seeing grasses "as tall as a man on horseback." Indeed, Indian grass can grow as tall as 11 feet, and Big Bluestem can grow 8 feet high. A person walking through such a field could easily be swallowed up!

Some grasses flower in the fall, but most prairie blooms come from native flowers. Goldenrod, Partridge, Sweat Pea, Prairie Phlox, Coreopsis, Coneflower, Illinois Bundlegrass, and Purple Prairie Clover are a few of the flowers found in the EBP.

Native grasses have huge, complex root systems; like an iceberg, sometimes what's underground is more extensive than what's visible above ground. Switchgrass roots can extend more than 12 feet long, and Big Bluestem and Indian grass extend nearly as long.

Click here to view the root systems of Prairie plants. (4MB)