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Conservation Plant Pocket Identification Guide: Herbaceous Species

Updated 12/06/2007

Picture of Front Cover of: Conservation Plants Pocket ID Guide

About this guide

The purpose of this guide is to help you identify come commonly used conservation plants. Its color photos, line drawings and seed photos will help you make identifications. Also included are plant stand evaluation and recommended use charts. Keep this guide with you as long as you need it!

The following document is available in  Adobe Acrobat format.

Adobe Acrobat DocumentDownload the Conservation Plants Pocket ID Guide (3.7 MB)

Uses

Field borders / Buffer strips & Terraces Critical areas & Cover crops
Wildlife habitat & Waterways Pasture & Hayland
Cool-season plants Cool-season plants
Warm-season plants Legumes

Evaluating Stands

Seeding success may not be obvious from visual observation. Use the chart below to determine whether your first-year stand is adequate. Lay a square-foot frame, or a circular frame with a 42.5-inch circumference on the ground. Count the number of seedlings within the frame, taking at least 10 counts for each 10 acres, in representative areas of the field. The table is based on pure stands; if a mixture of grass and legume is planted, reduce the numbers by the ratio of each species planted.

Inadequate stands should be re-seeded. When a stand is judged to be between adequate and inadequate, it should be reevaluated after the second growing season. Warm-season grasses may need to be evaluated after the third growing season.

Stand evaluation chart

Seeds

Early ID -- Seed is Key
Grasses can be very difficult to identify in early growth stages. The seed may be the best identify aid. A seed retains its form and position in the ground through the seedling's early growth stages. To identify a seedling, carefully dig it up and compare it to photographs or actual seeds.

Seed picture guide, page 1 Seed picture guide, page 2
seeds per lb  

Plant Parts

Parts of a grass plant Parts of a grass plant, close-up

Conservation Plants

The Elsberry Plant Materials Center

The Elsberry Plant Materials Center is a 243-acre facility near Elsberry, Missouri. The Center, operated by the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, serves the states of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

The center is examining more than 1,000 collections of grasses, legumes and woody plants. Its primary task is to develop plants to help control soil erosion on cropland and to improve water quality. Plants are also developed to increase forage production, provide wildlife habitat, beautify the land and for other purposes.  The center continually strives to find the best plants for soil and water conservation.

Plants for Conservation

Maintaining good ground cover is basic soil conservation. Recognizing the best plant for the intended purpose, planting it correctly and keeping it healthy is a formula for successful care of the land.

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