Prairie was generally found "east of the 100th meridian and north of the 35th parallel—within that great sprawl of country generally north of
Tulsa, south of
Winnipeg, west of
Indianapolis, and east of
Bismarck." As
The New York Times explained in 1970, "To the east the grass was
tall, to the west,
short. Only an occasional
cottonwood or grove of
burr oak, usually by a stream, broke the sea of grass."
Wildfire and use of the land as
forage for herd animals strengthens rather than weakens a healthy, intact prairie grassland. Native plant persistence in cemetery prairies is highly variable, as one 1970s-era survey of Illinois and Indiana prairie cemeteries detailed: "In each cemetery, certain prairie indicator species were sought, especially the warm-season grasses, such as
big bluestem (
Andropogon gerardii Vitman) and
Indian grass (
Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash). These grasses often persisted around tombstones and in fence rows, even in those cemeteries which had been heavily mowed. In many cases, the entire cemetery was still prairie. In others, prairie vegetation was to be found only in relatively undisturbed sections, such as areas along the perimeter." Tallgrass prairie is highly biodiverse grassland; more than 150 species of plant on any given native prairie site would be typical. Researchers observing Rochester Cemetery Prairie in
Rochester, Iowa—one of the best-studied and most notable cemetery prairies—have found 360 plant species. Most cemetery prairies are smaller than Rochester and have commensurately lower plant counts, but a survey by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources found an average of 114 native prairie and savanna species per site. Some of the plant species that may be found in undisturbed cemetery prairie include Indian grass, big bluestem,
little bluestem,
compass plant,
wild indigo,
lance-leaved aster,
cord grass,
stiff goldenrod,
grama,
switchgrass,
sand milkweed,
sky-blue aster,
white wild indigo,
Indian plantain,
Hill's thistle,
yellow lady slipper,
alum root,
slender-leaved pinweed,
wood lily,
eastern prickly pear,
wild quinine,
wild petunia,
showy goldenrod,
slender ladies'-tresses,
porcupine grass,
goat's rue, Partridges, badgers, turtles, coyotes, beaver and all manner of birds find their way into a prairie. A similar message about cemeteries as useful biodiversity reservoirs for farm businesses was published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1921. Prairie cemeteries may also shelter valued introduced species such as naturalized asparagus, a favorite of foragers. ==Maintenance==