Rare Plants in Wisconsin Rightofways

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Rare Plants in Wisconsin Right-of-ways

• Presentation prepared by
• Wisconsin Transportation Information Center-LTAP
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Right-of-ways A resource for rare plants

• Help locate and protect endangered and threatened
  Wisconsin plants
• Watch for them during right-of-way work
• Mowing
• Brushing
• Spraying
• Utility projects

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Plants found in many counties

• Cream Gentian
• Purple Milkweed

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Cream Gentian Map

• Found in
• Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford,
• Dane, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant,
  Green, Iowa,
• Jefferson, La Crosse, Lafayette, Milwaukee,
  Monroe,
• Pepin, Polk, Racine, Richland,
• St Croix, Sauk, Vernon, Walworth, and Waukesha
• Historical in Chippewa, Dodge, Kenosha,
  Outagamie, Rock, Sheboygan

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Cream Gentian (or Yellowish Gentian)(Gentiana
alba)

• Blooms August-September
• Flower 
• Cream-colored 1- ¼
• Tube shape with small opening at top
• Clusters of many flowers
• Plant 
• Upright 1 to 3 feet tall
• Sturdy stems
• Usually not branched
• Grows in
• Varied soil and moisture conditions
• Sometimes found in roadside ditches and railroad
  rights-of-ways

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Cream Gentian patch
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Purple Milkweed Map

• Found in
• Crawford, Dane, Grant, Iowa, Kenosha, Lafayette,
• Racine, Rock, Sauk, Walworth,
• Waukesha, Waushara, counties
• Historical in Jefferson, Milwaukee, Washington,
  Winnebago

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Purple Milkweed(Asclepias purpurascens)

• Blooms June to August
• Flower
• Purple-red flower cluster
• Only 1-3 clusters to a plant
• Always at or near top of stem
• Often produces pods
• Plant
• Tall 1-1/2 to 6 feet
• Looks like common milkweed
• Often found in ditches. More likely in dry soil

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Purple Milkweed
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Other important plants and their regionsDwarf
Lake IrisForked AsterHairy Wild Petunia
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Dwarf Lake Iris Map

• Found in
• Door Brown counties
• Formerly in Milwaukee County

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Dwarf Lake Iris(Iris lacustris)

• Very rare. Grows only on north shore of Lake
  Michigan, in Wisconsin.
• Blooms peak in late May, a few into July
• Plant
• Tiny leaves 6 long
• Arranged in fans like garden iris
• Flower
• Blue-purple (a few white)
• 3 diameter
• 3 off the ground
• Found in ditches with
• Partial or filtered sun
• Shallow soils (alkaline)
• Near white cedars

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Dwarf Lake Iris patch
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Forked Aster MapEastern Southeastern Wisconsin

• Found in
• Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Ozaukee,
• Racine, Rock, Sheboygan,
• Walworth, Washington, Waukesha

Formerly in Kewaunee Winnebago
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Forked Aster(Aster furcatus)

• Blooms August through October
• Flower
• White, star-shaped
• Tiny ½ inch across
• Branched cluster of 9-18 flowers
• Plant
• 12"-32" tall
• Grows in moist woods and edges, often near
  streams
• Rare. Only found in part of the Midwest.

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Forked Aster
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Hairy Wild Petunia Map Southern Wisconsin

• Found in
• Crawford, Dane, Grant, Outagamie,
• Rock, Winnebago counties
• Historical in Walworth

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Hairy Wild Petunia(Ruellia humilis)

• Blooms May to October
• Looks like garden petunia
• Flowers
• Pink - purple
• Small 1-1/4 inch wide
• Funnel shaped
• Plant
• Upright
• Short 3"-18" Often less than 12
• Has been found along roadsides

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Hairy Wild Petunia
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Discovered 2005Outagamie County roadside
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ProtectedNo-mow area

• Signs outline protected area
• Use general term Native Plants
• Exact location not publicized

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Other endangered or threatened plants that may
appear in roadsides

• North northeastern counties
• Arrow-leaf Sweet Coltsfoot
• Southern eastern counties
• Pale Purple Coneflower
• Yellow Giant Hyssop
• Pink Milkwort
• Milwaukee Racine counties
• Axillary Goldenrod

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Arrow-leaf Sweet Coltsfoot Map Northern Wisconsin

• Found in
• Bayfield, Douglas,
• Forest, Oconto counties

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Arrow-leaf Sweet Coltsfoot(Petasites sagittatus)

• Blooms May-June
• Flowers
• Small ½ inch
• White
• Plant
• Large leaves 12 inches
• Arrow shaped
• Grows in wet areas

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Pale Purple Coneflower MapSouthern Wisconsin

• Found in
• Dane, Grant, Green,
• Racine, Rock counties

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Pale Purple Coneflower(Echinacea pallida)

• Blooms June to August
• Flowers
• Drooping
• Purple
• One to a stem
• Plant
• Tall 2 to 3 feet
• Several stems in a cluster
• Grows in full sun dry to moderate moisture
  sandy, loam soil

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Giant Yellow Hyssop Map Southern Wisconsin

• Found in
• Columbia, Crawford, Dane
• Grant, Green, Lafayette,
• Racine, Rock, Walworth counties
• Historical in Jefferson

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Giant Yellow Hyssop(Agastache nepetoides)

• Blooms July through October
• Flower
• Cylindrical spikes
• Green-yellow 5-parted
• Plant
• Tall 2 to 5 feet
• Resembles catnip
• Square stem. Mint family

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Pink Milkwort Map Southern Wisconsin

• Found in
• Grant, Green, Rock counties
• Historical or formerly found in Crawford, Dane,
  Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha

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Pink Milkwort (Polygala incarnata)

• Blooms early July to mid-September
• Flower
• Pink
• Small spiky cluster ½-1-1/2
• Single stems with distinct bluish-green color
• Plant
• Height 8-24. Often less than 12
• Grows in dry soils
• Nearly extinct in Wisconsin

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Axillary Goldenrod MapMilwaukee Racine counties
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Axillary Goldenrod(Solidago caesia)

• Blooms August to October
• Flower
• Cream to yellow
• Short clusters usually 3-4
• Where leaf joins stem
• Plant 
• Upright
• Tall 12"-40
• May grow in ditches if next to woods, semi shaded

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Why help preserve Wisconsin threatened and
endangered plants?

• Promote biodiversity a natural mix of many
  different species which provide for a healthy
  environment.
• Protect historic plants and habitats for future
  generations
• Preserve plants important to butterflies and
  other insects
• Preserve plants which may be future sources for
  medicines, treatments, etc.
• Help maintain a varied and attractive landscape

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What you can do

• Contact your local DNR Transportation Liaison or
  Regional Ecologist to find out more
• Mark right-of-ways once a species is identified
• Local citizens and groups may be available to
  help
• Protect by timed mowing or no-mow area
• Alert crews doing brushing, digging, spraying,
  and utility work
• Comply with administrative rule (NR27) and state
  statute
• It is illegal to remove, transport, carry away,
  cut, root up, sever, injure or destroy a wild
  plant on the Wisconsin Endangered and Threatened
  Species List on public lands (which includes
  public right-of-ways). Section 29.604, Wis.
  Stats.

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Resources

• Department of Natural Resources
• Regional Ecologists
• Armund BartzWestcentral Region608.785.9019Owen
  BoyleSoutheast Region414.263.8681
• Sarah CarterSouthcentral Region608.275.3276
•  Vacant
• Northeast Region
• Ted GostomskiNorthern Region715.635.4153
• Transportation Liaisons
• Get current list by county of responsibility at
• http//dnr.wi.gov/org/es/science/DOT_liaison_list.
  pdf
•  

• Online plants information
• Wisconsin DNR, The Natural Heritage Inventory
  Working List Rare Vascular Plants
• http//www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/
• Click on Threatened and Endangered Species and
  then on Vascular Plants. Click on the
  scientific name for details. No search function.
• UW-Stevens Point Freckman Herbarium
• http//wisplants.uwsp.edu/index.html
• Includes identifying information, photos and maps
  with town and range number locations of known
  plant populations, and links to other online
  resources. This is a general herbarium site
  covering 200,000 Wisconsin plants. search for
  common or scientific plant name under vascular
  plants
• USDA-NRCS PLANTS database
• http//plants.usda.gov/index.html

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Credits

• Rare Plants in Wisconsin Roadsides, PowerPoint
  presentation, prepared by Lynn Entine, Senior
  Editor, Wisconsin Transportation Information
  Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  http//tic.engr.wisc.edu
• Plant location maps (updated Feb. 2006) Craig
  Anderson, Wisconsin DNR, Natural Heritage
  Inventory Botanist
• Coordination Shelly Schaetz, Wisconsin DNR
  Transportation Liaison (Northeast)
• Photos
• Gentian Thomas G. Barnes _at_ USDA-NRCS PLANTS
  Database
• Milkweed Robert H. Mohlenbrock _at_ USDA-NRCS
  PLANTS Database
• Iris Clayton Alway _at_ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
• Aster Kitty Kohout, UW-Stevens Point
• Petunia Plants and roadside (summer) Patrick J.
  Robinson, Wisconsin DNR Sign on roadside
  Michelle M. Schaetz, Wisconsin DNR
• Coltsfoot June M. Dobberpuhl, UW-Stevens Point
• Coneflower James R. Sine, UW-Stevens Point
• Hyssop Kathie and Tom Brock, UW-Stevens Point
• Milkwort Robert H. Mohlenbrock _at_ USDA-NRCS
  PLANTS Database
• Goldenrod Kitty Kohout, UW-Stevens Point