Meadows are open, sunny habitats vegetated with forbs, grasses and other non-woody plants
Meadow vegetation flowers abundantly. Some meadows are moist or fluctuate between moist and dry and others are dry. Disturbance by fire or clearance of woody vegetation are necessary to sustain meadows. Otherwise, succession to young and mature forest shades out sun-thriving meadow plants. Gardens around the Nature Museum and behind the History Museum are filled with meadow plants that nourish insects and birds. The meadow at Goosepond Mountain State Park in Orange County is vibrant in late summer early fall.
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
White Snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
Tall White Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Tall Meadow Rue
Thalictrum polygamum
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepia incarnata visited by monarch caterpillar
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata visited by monarch butterfly
Sundrops
Oenothera fruitcosa
Summer Phlox
Phlox paniculata
Spotted Joe-pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Spiderwort
Tradescantia virginiana
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Oswego Tea
Monarda didyma
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
New York Ironweed
Vernonia noveboracensis
New York Aster
Aster novi-belgii
Hoary Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum incanum
Hairy Beardtongue
Penstemon hirsutus
Gray-headed Coneflower
Ratibra pinnata
Culver’s Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Canada Goldenrod
Solidago canadensis
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
Brown-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Black Cohosh
Actea racemosa
Autumn Goldenrod
Solidago sphacelata
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
