Lilium michiganense Farw. (Michigan lily) is a rare species native to the even rarer tallgrass prairie biome. In Iowa, extensive conversion of native prairie lands for agriculture has led to tallgrass plant communities existing only in scattered fragments. Fragmented landscapes provide challenges for animal-pollinated species, especially for rare plant species. Unfortunately, there is little published literature about the reproductive biology of many species, including the Michigan lily. We recorded pollinators of Michigan lily in three remnant prairies in northwest Iowa. We also examined nine 10- x10-m tallgrass prairie plots, including Michigan lilies for plant species composition, because that may influence pollinator availability. Species composition (analysis of similarity, R = 0.93, P = 0.04) of the three prairies was significantly different. Species flowering coincident with Michigan lilies were both bee- and butterfly-pollinated species (floral visitors/pollinators were recorded on individual flowers of Michigan lilies only). This suggests that plant-species composition is not a limiting factor in pollination for the Michigan lily. Indicator species analysis identified distinct indicator species for each prairie; however, neither those species nor the most abundant animal-pollinated species were flowering at the same time as the Michigan lily. The observed pollinator of Michigan lily was the nonnative honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) with an 89% success rate. No other floral visitors to the lilies were observed throughout the study. Additional studies are needed to test for differences in pollinator availability and abundance because of annual weather variability.

• Premise of the study: A growing body of literature now documents how ancient human management of the landscape echoes through to extant environments in eastern North America. Plant domestication is a major theme in the study of human–nature interactions. Long‐term ecological impacts of human selection may last for centuries after management ends, yet little work has focused on legacies in the evolution of historically used trees. Ecological data will be valuable in teasing apart myriad variables that confound questions of land‐use legacies. We discuss the potential for legacies of ancient human selection and present a preliminary case study for the approach of integrating ecological and historical data for Diospyros virginiana, the American persimmon.• Methods: Herbarium samples of D. virginiana (28 male and 40 female) from across the species range provided specimen localities for edaphic analysis. Soil and environmental data were analyzed using nonparametric ordination, Wilcoxon summed rank test, and permutational MANOVA.• Key results: Edaphic data demonstrated substantial variation among sites, but revealed no significant differences between sexes. Permutational MANOVA showed no difference in environmental preferences for the tested variables between male and female trees (R2 < 0.01, P = 0.8).• Conclusions: Extending our understanding of landscape history to the long‐term impacts of artificial selection at the species or population level would be valuable in both theoretical and applied botanical research. Multidisciplinary approaches integrating ecological data will be essential for investigation of the evolutionary implications of historical human selection in economic species and the potential for adaptive flexibility in reproductive systems of long‐lived perennials.