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 What do "small," "medium" and "large" numbers mean?
They refer to how many insects were collected per meter square in a 30 second sample. Small means less than 2 insects; medium indicates 2 to 10 insects, and large suggests greater than 10 insects.

home> native plant fact sheets> pale indian plantain

Enhancing Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
Pale Indian plantain
 Cacalia atriplicifolium (L.) H.E. Robins.

Group: Dicot
Family: Asteraceae (aster)
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
Duration: Perennial
U.S. Nativity:Native to much of eastern U.S.

Natural Enemies Attracted: Medium numbers of Orius insidiosus, Chalcidoidea, and Cantharidae. Small numbers of Thomisidae, Plagiognathus politus, Coccinellidae, Sphecidae, Empididae, Cynipoidea and Syrphidae.

Pests Attracted: Small numbers of lygus bug, leafhoppers, leaf beetles and weevils.

Bees attracted: Moderate numbers (between 1-5 bees per meter square in a 30 second sample) of bees including sweat bees, digger bees, and bumble bees.
Species Notes: Flat, off-white flower clusters 2-6 inches wide are at the top of plants that grow 3-7 ft tall. Large succulent-looking leaves grow from one main stalk and are pale underneath. Plants bloomed throughout August. This species was one of the less attractive to natural enemies in the late season.
About the Plant Species Graph: Average number of beneficial insects collected at each plant species the week before, during, and after peak bloom, for plant species blooming from mid-August through early October (+ standard error). Pale Indian plantain (Cacalia atriplicifolium) boxed in red. Bars for natural enemies are in green, bars for bees are in yellow. Bars for native plants are solid and nonnative plants are striped. The black line on the top graph shows the number of natural enemies in grass with no flowering plants (grass control). Plants are listed in order of peak bloom. graph
Habitat: Full sun to partial shade and very dry to average soil moisture. Naturally occurring in dry areas with open or partially shaded ground. Found in river floodplain forests, creek banks, and prairies. Often associated with oaks found on dunes.

Cultivation and Management: Can be grown from seed (flowers in second year) or plug material (flowers in first year).

Availability: Species is available as seed or plug material from various native plant nurseries. Michigan Native Plant Producers Association

For more information:USDA-NRCS PLANTS database
This fact sheet prepared by: Doug Landis, Anna Fiedler, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University. Please note: The information presented at this web site should be considered a guideline to be adapted for your situation. MSU makes no warranty about the use of the information presented here. Read disclaimer.
Web site information prepared by: Doug Landis, Anna Fiedler, Rufus Isaacs and Julianna Tuell, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University. Funding support: USDA SARE with Project GREEEN, the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension, and the MSU IPM Program.
Web developer: J.N. Landis, MSU IPM Program. Updated: 11/21/06