Dry prairie This grassland community occurs on dry, often loess-derived soils, usually on steep south or west facing slopes or at the summits of river bluffs with sandstone or dolomite near the surface. Short to medium-sized prairie grasses: little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), side-oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), hairy grama (B. hirsuta), and prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), are the dominants in this community. Common shrubs and forbs include lead plant (Amorpha canescens), silky aster (Aster sericeus), flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata), purple prairie-clover (Petalostemum purpureum), cylindrical blazing-star (Liatris cylindracea), and gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis). Stands on gravelly knolls in the Kettle Moraine region of southeastern Wisconsin and along the St. Croix River on the Minnesota – Wisconsin border may warrant recognition, at least at the subtype level.
Dry-mesic prairie This grassland community occurs on slightly less droughty sites than Dry Prairie and has many of the same grasses, but taller species such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indian-grass (Sorghastrum nutans) dominate. Needle grass (Stipa spartea) may also be present. The herb component is more diverse than in Dry Prairies, including many species that occur in both Dry and Mesic Prairies
Sand barrens Sand Barrens are herbaceous upland communities that develop on unstable or semi-stabilized alluvial sands along major rivers such the Mississippi and Wisconsin. They are partly or perhaps wholly anthropogenic in origin, occurring on sites historically disturbed by plowing or very heavy grazing. Unvegetated “blow-outs” are characteristic features. Barrens, Dry Prairie and Sand Prairie species such as false-heather (Hudsonia tomentosa), bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, sedges (Cyperus filiculmis and C. schweinitzii), sand cress (Arabis lyrata), three-awn grasses Aristida spp.), rock spikemoss (Selaginella rupestris), and the earthstar fungi (Geaster spp.) are present in this community. Many exotics are present, and rare disturbance dependent species such as fameflower (Talinum rugospermum) occur in some stands.
