Plants

Pipestone National Monument, by virtue of its protected status, has some of the only native tallgrass prairie habitat left in America. Many plants can be seen close up along the Circle Trail and viewed as a stunning mosaic from the road. Over 500 species of plants occur at the Monument, including one federally threatened species (the Western prairie-fringed orchid) and nearly a dozen state-listed rare species.

The staff at Pipestone National Monument make every effort to preserve this valuable resource through the use of controlled burns and removal of non-native or introduced plant species.
 
  • purplish-orange, tenticle-like plant
    Wildflowers

    Hundreds of wildflowers fill the Monument every spring and summer. They have been used in many ways by Indigenous people for centuries.

  • field of yellow tallgrass under a blue sky
    Grasses

    Some of the dominant grasses in the Monument's tallgrass prairie

  • colorful lichen on a rock
    Lichens

    These resilient organisms can live for thousands of years and currently cover much of the Sioux Quartzite outcroppings at the Monument.

  • Cacti along a rock wall
    Cacti & Desert Succulents

    Visitors are often surprised to see cacti in the southwest Minnesota prairie

  • purple blooms on dotted smartweed
    Freshwater Plants

    Pipestone Creek enables roughly 35 species of freshwater plants to thrive in the Monument

Last updated: November 16, 2019

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

36 Reservation Ave
Pipestone, MN 56164

Phone:

507 825-5464 x214

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