Minnesota Seasons - Iron Horse Prairie SNA


Iron Horse Prairie SNA

More photos…



			Dodge County




Size	35 acres

Maps	MinnesotaSeasons map with GPS coordinates

Parking	South N43 51.799 W92 50.629 North N43 52.660 W92 50.974

Hiking Trails	None


Ecological Classification	Province	Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province
	Section	Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal
	Subsection(s)	Oak Savanna
	Land Type Association(s)	Hayfield Till Plain

Native Plant Communities¹	Mesic Prairie (Southern) Wet Prairie (Southern)

Ownership	Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Links	Minnesota DNR

Comments	Besides bieng the “largest contiguous example of mesic tallgrass prairie remaining in southeastern Minnesota” the Minnesota DNR calls this SNA “finest mesic prairie known in this area of Minnesota.”

Images
North Parking Area

South Parking Area



Birds

	American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) American Robin (Turdus migratorius) Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Insects and Arachnids

	eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) northern crescent (Phyciodes selenis) spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata)

Mammals

	whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Plants	Several plant species with protected status in Minnesota are found here: Endangered – wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) Threatened – Sullivant’s milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii), edible valerian (Valeriana edulis var. ciliata) Special concern – rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium) Minnesota DNR Plant List Plants frequently found in: Mesic Prairie (Southern) UPs23a Wet Prairie (Southern) WPs54b

	American black currant (Ribes americanum) black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii) boxelder (Acer negundo) bristly buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus) broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis) Canadian horseweed (Conyza canadensis) candle anemone (Anemone cylindrica) catnip (Nepeta cataria) chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. virginiana) cleavers (Galium aparine) common blue violet (Viola sororia) common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) common burdock (Arctium minus) common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale) common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) downy phlox (Phlox pilosa var. fulgida) early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum) eastern swamp saxifrage (Micranthes pensylvanica) edible valerian (Valeriana edulis var. ciliata) field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) fragrant bedstraw (Galium triflorum) golden alexanders (Zizia aurea) gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) heart-leaved golden alexanders (Zizia aptera) hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens) Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium) plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera) prairie blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium campestre) prairie rose (Rosa arkansana) pussy willow (Salix discolor) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium) scouring rush horsetail (Equisetum hyemale var. affine) Siberian elm (Ulmis pumila) silver maple (Acer saccharinum) smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum) stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis) tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris) tall meadow rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum var. hypoglaucum) Tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) veiny pea (Lathyrus venosus) violet wood sorrel (Oxalis violacea) Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) white clover (Trifolium repens) white oak (Quercus alba) white sage (Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. ludoviciana) wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) wild grape (Vitis riparia) wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris) woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea) yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

Visits	10/28/2008 5/24/2009