Elmhurst Great Western Prairie
The Elmhurst Great Western Prairie is a six-acre, one mile long prairie remnant located immediately north of the Illinois Prairie Path in Elmhurst, Illinois. The EGWP has been maintained largely by volunteers since 1977 and is owned by the Elmhurst Park District.
The Elmhurst Great Western Prairie is a small plot of land that, through incomplete land allocation, has been allowed to remain undisturbed since before Elmhurst was first settled. The EGWP is located between two abandoned railway beds, the Chicago Great Western Railway on the north and the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad to the south.Plants of the EGWP
According to a 1977 survey conducted by the Elmhurst Prairie Project, the following plants are present there:
- Allium canadense
- Allium cernuum
- Andropogon gerardi
- Andropogon scoparius
- Apocynum sibiricum
- Anemone canadensis
- Anemone cylindrica
- Aster ericoides
- Aster laevis
- Aster novae-angliae
- Aster praealtus
- Aster simplex
- Calamagrostis canadensis
- Cirsium discolor
- Comandra richardsiana
- Coreopsis palmata
- Dodecatheon meadia
- Equisetum arvense
- Equisetum hyemale
- Erigeron philadelphicus
- Erigeron strigosus
- Eryngium yuccifolium
- Eupatorium serotinum
- Fragaria virginiana
- Galium obtusum
- Gentiana puberula
- Helenium autumnale
- Helianthus grosseserratus
- Heuchera richardsonii
- Hypoxis hirsuta
- Iris virginica
- Lespedeza capitata
- Lithospermum canescens
- Lysimachia lanceolata
- Monarda fistulosa
- Panicum leibergii
- Panicum virgatum
- Persicaria amphibia
- Phlox pilosa
- Physostegia virginiana
- Polygonum coccineum
- Potentilla simplex
- Pycnanthemum virginianum
- Ratibida pinnata
- Rosa carolina
- Rudbeckia hirta
- Silphium terebinthinaceum
- Sisyrinchium albidum
- Solidago juncea
- Solidago rigida
- Sorghastrum nutans
- Spartina pectinata
- Sporobolus heterolepis
- Stipa spartea
- Tephrosia virginiana
- Thalictrum dasycarpum
- Tradescantia ohiensis
- Veronicastrum virginicum
- Vicia americana
- Viola papilionacea
- Viola pedatifida
- Zizia aurea