Look Beyond the Brown: Snow-on-the-Prairie and the Changing Fall Landscape

If you visit Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center right now, the prairie probably won't look like the picture-perfect wildflower meadow people often imagine.

The grasses are turning brown. Some plants have fallen over. Basketflowers that bloomed earlier in the season are now standing as dried seed heads. Other plants are still green, still flowering, or somewhere in between.

In other words, the prairie is changing.

And scattered throughout all those shades of brown and green is something that looks almost as if it belongs to another season: great patches of silvery white.

That's Snow-on-the-Prairie (Euphorbia bicolor).

Yes, That Really Is Snow on the Prairie

From a distance, it's easy to see how Snow-on-the-Prairie got its name. When large groups bloom together, their white upper foliage can make a prairie look as though it has been dusted with snow.

Up close, though, things get considerably more interesting.

Snow-on-the-Prairie is a native annual in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). For much of the growing season, it can be fairly inconspicuous. Then, as it approaches flowering, the upper leaves and showy bracts develop striking white margins and patches around its tiny flower structures.

Look a little closer, and there's even more to discover.

Like other members of the genus Euphorbia, Snow-on-the-Prairie produces specialized flower structures called cyathia. The actual flowers are tiny. The conspicuous white foliage surrounding them creates the dramatic display we notice from across the prairie—and helps attract visiting insects.

Get even closer and an already unusual-looking plant becomes downright fascinating.

Look Closely. Something Is Usually Happening.

Native plants don't exist in isolation. They're part of a much larger community of insects, birds and other wildlife.

While photographing Snow-on-the-Prairie at Dogwood Canyon, we found a katydid tucked among the white foliage—and it wasn't the only insect visiting the plant.

That relationship is an important part of planting for birds.

When we talk about bird-friendly landscapes, it's tempting to think first about plants that produce berries, fruits or seeds that birds eat directly. Those are important—but they're only part of the picture.

Birds also depend on the insects that native plant communities support. Insects provide an essential food source for many birds, and they are especially important when birds are raising young. A landscape rich in native plants can support an entire food web.

Sometimes you can actually see those connections at work if you stop and look closely enough.

The Prairie Isn't Finished When the Flowers Fade

This is also a good time of year to reconsider what we expect a healthy landscape to look like.

By late summer and fall, the prairie contains plants at many different stages at once. Some are flowering. Some are producing seed. Others have already finished blooming and remain standing as dried stems and seed heads.

A dried basketflower seed head is part of the changing late-season prairie.

Those spent plants haven't suddenly become useless.

Seeds can become food. Stems and vegetation provide structure and cover. Insects use plants in ways that aren't always obvious from the trail. And all of it is part of the seasonal cycle that keeps a prairie functioning.

At Dogwood Canyon, that can make for a landscape that looks very different from a neatly maintained flower bed.

There's a lesson here for our home landscapes, too.

A wildlife-friendly garden doesn't necessarily need to be cut back the moment a flower fades. Leaving some seed heads and stems standing—and allowing a little more structure to remain through fall and winter—can extend the ecological value of the native plants we've worked so hard to grow.

We can still maintain paths, edges and intentional spaces. A habitat garden doesn't have to look abandoned. But perhaps we can become a little more comfortable with plants completing their life cycles.

Because what looks "finished" to us may still be very much in use.

A Little Snow Before Winter

Snow-on-the-Prairie won't last forever.

Like many of the plants around it, its brilliant white display will eventually give way to another stage of the prairie year. Other plants will set seed. Grasses will continue changing color. Winter will bring another version of this landscape entirely.

But right now, Snow-on-the-Prairie is putting on quite a show.

So if you visit Dogwood Canyon this fall, take your time walking through the prairie.

Look beyond the brown.

Look at the seed heads. Look between the stems. Look for insects tucked into plants. And definitely look for the "snow."

There's a lot happening out there.

🌱 Bring the Prairie Home

Want to create more habitat in your own landscape? Dogwood Canyon's Fall Native Plant Sale is coming soon, with locally native plants that can provide food, shelter and other resources for birds, pollinators and wildlife.

Online ordering begins October 8.

Our in-person sale dates are:

October 17 | 9 AM–2 PM — Main Sale

Come on October 17 for the best plant selection and the most help choosing the right plants for your landscape. Our knowledgeable staff and volunteers will be available to answer questions and offer plant advice.

October 31 | 9 AM–12 PM — Second Chance

November 14 | 9 AM–2 PM — Last Chance

And it takes a lot of hands to make the plant sale happen! If you'd like to help prepare plants, fill orders, assist shoppers, or support the sale in other ways, we'd love to have you join us.

Sign up to volunteer at the Fall Native Plant Sale

Photos by Michaela Kral, Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center staff