Saturday, May 7, 2011

Wildcat Glade

I attended the Missouri Native Plant Society field trip to Wildcat Glade in southwestern Missouri last weekend. Chert glades are a very rare natural community in MO, found only in Newton and Jasper Counties.


We saw two native sedum species, although they were unfortunately not quite in bloom yet. Below is Sedum pulchellum (widow's cross):



The excitement for the day was finding Trifolium carolinanum, Carolina clover, which has not been recorded from Missouri since the 1920's. We are on the northern edge for this southern annual species. The population consists of several robust colonies.











Below is tiny Sedum nuttallianum (Nuttall's sedum):





The little plant below fooled me at first, as I tried to put it through the Linum key. But it has four petals, not five, making it Oenothera linifolia.








The Selenia aurea was just finishing up its bloom, with only a few flowering stalks left. It must have been spectacular in full bloom!



Seed pods of the Selenia aurea:



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2 comments:

Justin R. Thomas said...

Nice post, Susan! Wish I could have been there to see the Trifolium.

Anonymous said...

I love Wildcat Glade.

Congratulations on the Trifolium.