Welcome to a glimpse of some wildflowers (forbs) and grasses found in the restored prairie on the Cambridge Campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Cambridge, Minnesota. When you are walking in the Spirit River Nature Area stop by and see what is in bloom.
A big thanks to Brad Wold, retired Anoka-Ramsey Community College biology faculty member, for developing this webpage (all photos and text) and for making it available to all students for years to come.
Wildflowers
- Green Flowers
- Alum Root (Heuchera richardsonii)
- Orange Flowers
WILDFLOWER – Butterfly Weed - Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tubuerosa)
- Pink-Red Flowers
- Canada Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense)
- Ironweed (Veronia fasciculata)
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
- Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Violet-Blue Flowers
- Azure Aster (Aster oolentangiensis)
- Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
- Giant Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
- Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
- Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta)
- Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)
- New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)
- Purple Prairie Clover (Petalostemum purpureum)
- Square-stemmed Monkey-flower (Mimulus ringens)
- White Flowers
- Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
- Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
- Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Panicled Aster (Aster lanceolatus)
- Round-Headed Bushclover (Lespedeza capitata)
- Tall Cinquefoil (Potentilla arguta)
- White Prairie Clover (Petalostemum candidum)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Yellow Flowers
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
- Evening Primrose (Oenthera biennis)
- Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
- Ox-eye (Heliopsis helianthoides)
- Goat’s-Beard (Tragopogon dubius)
- Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
- Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
- Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
- Stiff Sunflower (Helianthus rigidus)
- Stiff Tickseed (Coreopsis palmata)
Grasses
- Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
- Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
- Canada Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis)
- Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
- Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
- Prairie Cord Grass (Spartina pectinata)
- Side Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
- Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum)
All completed by Brad Wold, Anoka-Ramsey Community College Faculty, Emeritus
I included some of the edible and medicinal properties of the plants for your information, but I am not endorsing or encouraging the use of these plants. For some plants a particular part, or quantity, may be helpful, while another part, or quantity, may be harmful or even fatal. Come and enjoy the beauty of this restored prairie.
Melanie Waite-Altringer 2023 
