Grasses

Big Bluestem can reach a height of five feet.

NPS photo

Several types of grassland plant communities are found in the region. The area provides a botanical transition between the tallgrass prairie of more humid areas to the east, and the dryer shortgrass prairie to the west. Sandhills mixed-grass prairie covers the upland country south of the river, with plant species adapted to the sandy conditions.

Table 1. Common mixed-grass prairie plant and forb species.

Common Name	Scientfic Name
Sand bluestem	Andropogon hallii
Little bluestem	Schizachyrium scoparium
Needleandthread	Stipa comata
Junegrass	Koeleria macrantha
Prairie sandreed	Calamovilfa longifolia
Sand dropseed	Sporobolus asper
Blue grama	Bouteloua gracilis
Hairy grama	Bouteloua hirsuta
Switchgrass	Panicum virgatum
Louisiana sagewort	Artemisia ludoviciana
Common milkweed	Asclepias syriaca
Leadplant	Amorpha canescens
Scaly blazing star	Liatris squarrosa
Prairie spiderwort	Tradescantia occidentalis
Yucca	Yucca glauca
Wild rose	Rosa woodsii

Small remnant patches of tallgrass prairie can be found on moist river bottoms. Typical tallgrass prairie species found along the Niobrara River are highlighted in Table 2 below.

Table 2. Common tallgrass prairie plant and forb species.

Common Name	Scientific Name
Big bluestem	Andropogon gerardii
Indiangrass	Sorghastrum nutans
Heath aster	Aster ericoides
Annual sunflower	Helianthus annuus
Prairie coneflower	Ratibida columnifera