This section is from the book "The Complete Garden", by Albert D. Taylor. Also available from Amazon: The Complete Garden.
The following group of plants are valuable for use as ground cover where there is also a chance to provide suitable shelters for game birds, especially grouse. These groups are: (A) Plants of which the buds, blossoms, and foliage are eaten by game birds, and (B) Plants of which the nuts or seeds are eaten by game birds. These are mostly native plants.
A. Foliage, Buds, and Blossoms (Spring Cover):
Acer (in variety) Maple
Alnus (in variety) Alder
Aster (in variety)
Hardy Aster Astilbe biternata
False Goat's Beard
Azalea (in variety)
Azalea Benzoin aestivale
Spice Bush
Betula (in variety)
Birch Corylus (in variety)
Hazelnut Epigaea repens
Trailing Arbutus
Equisetum hyemale.
Horse-tail Rushes Fagus (in variety)
Beech Heuchera (in variety)
Coral-bells Kalmia (in variety) Laurel
Mitchella repens Partridge Berry
Ostrya virginiana Hop Hornbeam
Oxalis (in variety)
Wood Sorrel Picea (in variety)
Spruce
Populus (in variety) Poplar
Portulaca oleracea Purslane
Prunus (in variety) Wild Cherry and Plum
Pyrus (in variety) Crab
Ranunculus (in variety) Buttercup
Rubus (in variety) Brambles
Salix (in variety) Willow
Sambucus (in variety) Elderberry
Saxifraga (in variety) Stone-breaker
Smilax (in variety)
Greenbrier Stellaria media
Chickweed Taraxacum officinale
Dandelion Thalictrum (in variety)
Meadow-rue
Thuja (in variety) Arborvitae
Trifolium (in variety) Clover
Vaccinium (in variety) Blueberry
Veronica (in variety) Speedwell
B. Nuts or Seeds (Autumn Cover):
Acer (in variety)
Maple Belamcanda chinensis
Blackberry Lily
Bidens frondosa Sticktight
Carex (in variety) Sedge
Castanea (in variety) Chestnut
Corylus (in variety) Hazelnut
Fagus americana Beechnut
Geum (in variety) Avens
Hamamelis virginiana Witch Hazel
Helianthemum canadense Frost-weed
Impatiens pallida Jewel-weed
Leptamnium virginianum Beechdrop
Meiboma (in variety) Tick Trefoil
Ostrya virginiana Hop Hornbeam
Pinus rigida Pitch Pine
Polygonum persicaria Lady's Thumb
Quercus (in variety) Oak
Rumex acetosella Sheep Sorrel
Stellaria media
Chickweed Tsuga canadensis
Canadian Hemlock
Vicia (in variety) Vetch
 
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