Flora of the Quad Cities Region
The Quad Cities Region is defined by the Mighty Mississippi River, its many tributaries, and their diverse valleys carved from loess-capped till plains. It is where prairie, forest, and wetland meet.
Project Overview
The Flora of the Quad Cities Region project seeks to catalogue and document the ecology of all vascular plant species that occur in this diverse and unique part of the Midwest. It will build upon historic floristic efforts such as those undertaken by Guldner (1960), Dobbs (1963), and Fay (1951 &1953) in order to bring our understanding of the region’s plant life into the 21st Century.
Flora QCR is an ongoing, long-term project, and content will be published on this site as it is completed. The initial goal is to compile a checklist of all species known from the region. In addition, keys to some of the most common and familiar groups of plants will be worked on in the short term. The long-term goal of the project is to publish a book with keys, illustrations, maps, coefficients of conservativism, and species discussion. See here for a sample of what the final product will look like.
I hope the fruits of this project may be of use to land managers, ecologists, teachers, students, and curious Quad Citizens, alike.
Grant Fessler
Join the Quad Cities Region Vascular Flora Project on iNaturalist and help document our diverse plantlife!
Subscribe below for updates!
Recent blog posts…
Quad Cities Citizen Science Biodiversity Projects
Curious about the biodiversity of the Quad Cities Region? Check out these collection projects on iNaturalist linked below. (Species counts updated: 12/11/2025). Create an iNat account and upload your photos of our local biodiversity to contribute to these projects! Check out this page for more info on joining iNaturalist. Vascular Flora (Tracheophyta), ~1,600 species Bryophytes…
Exploring the Mississippi River Islands of Rock Island County, IL
This year, it struck me that despite living most of my life here in the Quad Cities, I’ve actually spent very little time on the Mississippi River. With its wide channel, broad floodplains, islands, and wooded bluffs it is the defining feature of the landscape, yet somehow, I have been so removed from it. Perhaps…
Profusion of Pimpernel: a Quad Cities Restoration Inspiration
The other day, I paid a visit to one of my favorite natural areas in the Quad Cities: Black Hawk State Historic Site. In particular, I chose to explore the dry, rocky bluff along the Rock River to see what spring flora I could find. Making my way along on the footpath, I soon came…
Hydrastis canadensis – Goldenseal 
Fire-managed open white oak woodland with pale woodland sunflower, culvers root, perfoliate tinkerswort, riverbank grape, smooth sumac, bottlebrush grass, and purple joe pye weed. Rock Island Co., IL. 
Hibiscus laevis, a common species of floodplain marshes. 
Erythronium mesochoreum – Prairie trout lily 
Mesic sand prairie with compass plant, rattlesnake master, pale purple coneflower, wild quinine, big bluestem, smooth sumac, and golden Alexanders. Henry Co., IL. 
Dry sand savanna with black oak, prickly pear cactus, clustered poppy mallow, and rough blazing star. Whiteside Co., IL. 
Dry dolomite prairie with pale purple coneflower, flowering spurge, sky blue aster, and little bluestem. Clinton Co., IA. 
Tallgrass prairie with savanna-grown burr oak overlooking the Mississippi river valley. 
Opuntia sp. – Prickly pear 
A lush carpet of wild geranium growing in a level upland forest at Wild Cat Den. 
Rich mesic alluvial woodland abloom with woodland phlox, prairie trillium, honewort, bedstraw, black walnut, and American elm. Whiteside Co., IL. 
Panax quinquefolius – American ginseng 
Spring blooms of Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) 
Asarum canadense – Canada wild ginger 
Anemone quinquefolia – Wood Anemone 
Viola eriocarpa – Smooth Yellow Violet 
Castilleja sessiliflora in bloom on a loess hill prairie 
Lindernia dubia blooming on a gravel bar in the ROck River. 
Aureolaria grandiflora var. pulchra – Large flowered false foxglove 
Asclepias exaltata – Poke milkweed 
A submergent marsh community dominated by Pontederia cordata and Nymphaea odorata.
Flora of the Quad Cities Region 