The following notes are by William E. McClain, Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Revis Nature Preserve is on the north valley wall of the Sangamon River approximately 240 feet above its mile wide floodplain. Gently rolling hills, which are dune-like in nature due to the deposition of loess and sand, characterize the topography of the uplands. The principal plant communities of the preserve are loess hill prairie, mesic prairie, dry-mesic upland forest, and mesic upland forest.

Loess hill prairie is the principal plant community present in the preserve. The maximum height of the vegetation in this community is approximately two feet and the predominant plants are little bluestem, slender scurfpea, blue-eyed grass, sand phlox, goldenrod, and stiff aster. Other common grasses include side-oats grama and Indian grass. Other associated plants are horsetail, puccoon, leadplant, purple prairie clover, silky aster, and obedient plant.

Mesic prairie exists in a few locations below the bluffs present within the preserve. These are probably remnants of a much larger mesic prairie that occupied the lower bluffs and portions of the floodplain during presettlement time. The larger prairie grasses, big bluestem and Indian grass are more abundant here than in the loess hill prairie. Other plants that appear to be restricted to this community are prairie cinquefoil, white prairie clover, Culver’s root, and mountain mint.

Dry-mesic upland forest occupies the back slopes of the bluffs and most of the relatively level portions of the forested uplands. The predominant trees in this forest type are white oak, black oak, and shagbark hickory while mockernut hickory and chinquapin oak are common associates. Blackjack oak is present along the top of the bluffs in the prairie-forest boarder. A nearby continuous understory contains small-stemmed individuals of the canopy species plus black cherry, American elm, red elm, and occasional plants of red mulberry. Individuals of raspberry, poison ivy, and gooseberry are scattered throughout the shrub layer. Characteristic plants of the herbaceous layer are lopseed, sick-tights, and fescue grass.

Mesic upland forest occupies the ravines in the lower reaches of the preserve. The predominant plant of the community is bur oak. Associated tree species include American ash, black walnut, and shagbark hickory. Open-grown individuals of chinquapin oak are present near the forest-prairie border. Individuals of the canopy species plus redbud, red mulberry, red elm, and hawthorn form a discontinuous understory. Individuals of raspberry and gooseberry are scattered. A diverse herbaceous flora, including bluebells, larkspur, trillium, Dutchman’s breeches, fragile fern, maidenhair fern, and baneberry, characterize the least disturbed ravines.

This list was compiled primarily from three sources: (1) a species list compiled by Robert A. Evers and published in his “Hill Prairies of Illinois,” Bulletin of the Illinois Natural History Survey Volume 26, Article 5, 1955; (2) an unpublished species list of John Schwegman, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, based on field work in 1978 and 1979; and (3) personal observations made by Ken Robertson between 1987 and 1996.

This list only includes species that occur in prairie habitats at Revis. Most of the prairie habitat is loess hill prairie, but gravel hill prairie, mesic prairie, and sand prairie also occur here. Above the slopes of the prairies are extensive areas of upland forest, and species that only occur in the forest are not included in this species list. The few woody plants that ARE on this list are those that invade the prairie habitats.