PARA-WILD GEOGRAPHIES OF THE URBAN PRAIRIE

 

Intended to be ornamental monocultures, the plains of turfgrass planted in parks and other urban civic spaces are usually intermingled with a complex mosaic of highly adaptive para-wild plant species. As novel ecosystems of introduced plants that thrive in human engineered environments, para-wild plants belong neither to the world of intentionally planted horticulture or wild native plant communities.

 

The spatial distribution and changes in species composition of para-wild plants adapted to urban park lawns is highly responsive of subtle changes in moisture, temperature, wind exposure, topography, and sunlight. Identification of a few common species creates a biogeographic vocabulary for reading the environmental nuances of the urban prairie.

D'Eau St. Suspi urban prairie

D'Eau St. Suspi site map