Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.
prairie cinquefoil
(Drymocallis arguta)
Photo © Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Prairie cinquefoil is found in prairies in the northern half of Illinois and in Shelby County. A single plant may attain a height of up to 36 inches. This member of the rose family has hairy stems and white flowers. Stems do not branch below the flower clusters. The flowers are produced from June through July. The compound leaves have three to 11 leaflets. Leaflets are hairy on the bottom.
Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014.
Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.
