Early Summer in the Prairie

Late last summer, I visited a site near Lowell in Lake County, Indiana and unexpectedly stumbled into a dry-mesic prairie opening with good diversity and unique species including Asclepias viridiflora, Aster laevis, Ceanothus americanus, Eryngium yuccifolium, Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii, and Petalostemum purpureum.  I had a chance to get back to the site a few weeks ago.

 

Dry-mesic Prairie Remnant with an abundance of Silphium terebinthinaceum

In northwest Indiana into Illinois, it is not uncommon to see Silphium terebinthinaceum along roadsides... an indication of the prairie that once was.  In most cases, this is one of the only natives that remains, with Solidago rigida and Ratibida pinnata sometimes holding on as well.  In the case of this site, a rich prairie flora has persisted in this remnant despite lack of intentional management.

Lobelia spicata

One of the plants that I noted in this remnant last summer that was in bloom a few weeks ago was Lobelia spicata; it should continue to flower into late August, but its inflorescences get a bit twisted later in the season.  This is primarily a prairie, savanna, and glade species of eastern North America.  Its flowers look similar to those of Lobelia kalmii, a species of wet, calcareous soils, but the leaves of Lobelia kalmii are less than 3 mm wide, whereas those of Lobelia spicata are more than 3 mm wide.

Parthenium integrifolium was also beginning to bloom when I was at the prairie this summer and should continue to bloom into mid-September.  This composite grows in prairies, savannas, and glades and doesn't tolerate site degradation.  It has been used to make a tea to treat fevers (hence one of its common names, American Feverfew), and was also used to treat malaria.  A similar species, Parthenium hispidum, is known from the central United States.  It has stems with noticable speading hairs, upper leaves that are auriculate-clasping with spreading hairs on the veins beneath, and larger flower heads.  Parthenium integrifolium has stems that are glabrous to minutely pubescent, upper leaves that are sessile but not clasping with mostly appressed hairs on the veins beneath, and smaller flower heads.  Flora of North America treats these both as Parthenium integrifolium, not even warranting varietal status to Parthenium hispidum.  Having seen both, this surprises me.

 

Parthenium integrifolium

Nearby is a railroad prairie remnant that I also surveyed in 2012.  Interesting prairie plants at this location included Allium cernuum, Comandra umbellata, Dodecatheon meadia, Heuchera richardsonii, Phlox pilosa, Silphium integrifolium, Veronicastrum virginicum, and Zizia aurea.  I also noted the remains of an Oenothera that I was able to verify this summer.

Oenothera fruticosa

Oenothera fruticosa is identified by its winged, glandular pubescent ovaries and its large petals.  It is a showy prairie species with a range including much of eastern North America.  The very similar Oenothera pilosella, which lacks glandular hairs on its pubescent ovaries, is sometimes found growing with this species, and it can be difficult to distinguish between the two.

Prairies reach their full glory late in the season, but there is plenty to see early in the summer as well.

Geum rivale

I had the opportunity on Saturday to botanize several southwest Michigan sites with Brad Slaughter and Dave Cuthrell.  As we were leaving a fen and heading back to our vehicles, Brad spotted the unique Geum rivale (Purple Avens) along the gravel road.

 

Geum rivale is a circumboreal species, being known from much of Canada south into the Upper Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains, as well as northern parts of Europe and Asia. Because it reaches the southern edge of its range in a few northeastern Indiana counties, it is listed as endagered in the Hoosier State. 
 

We saw some pretty interesting plants on Saturday, including orchid hybrids, state-listed species, and good mesic forest sedges, but this member of the Rosaceae was one of my highlights.

Late May in an Indiana Circumneutral Seep

Just a few shots from a rich circumneutral seep in Cass County, Indiana on 22 May 2013...

 

Circumneutral seep

Phlox maculata

Phlox maculata

Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus

Saxifraga pensylvanica

Saxifraga pensylvanica

 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry)

A member of the heath family. This low, woody, creeping evergreen plant resides in the Indiana Dunes as a glacial relic. It can be found in many different habitats in the dunes, but has a close association with jack pine which typically is found in the foredunes.

Botanist Michael Huft informs me that the word arctostaphylos means bear-berry in Greek, and that uva-ursi means bear-berry in Latin. It was known as kinnikinnik by Native Americans of the Algonquian Nation, probably Delaware, referring to a mixture of leaves, bark, and other plant materials to form a smoking product.

Betula nigra

Today in Marshall County, Indiana, Betula nigra was blooming rather profusely.  I don't believe that I'd ever noticed it in flower before.

 

Above are the erect pistillate catkins.  The white stigmas can be seen protruding from the scales.  The photo below shows several long dangling staminate catkins.

Betula nigra is a tree of swamps and floodplains of the eastern United States.  It is primarily a southern species, but its geographical range stretches north along major river systems.

Trillium grandiflorum at Bendix Woods

The floor of Bendix Woods is carpeted with large-flowered trillium just now, and the other spring ephemerals are still fresh because of their late flowering.

Bellwort

Uvularia grandiflora was flowering abundantly today in central Indiana on wooded slopes facing south and west.

Sessile Trillium

This well known native, Trillium sessile, was flowering in central Indiana today. It is similar to Trillium recurvatum, but Sessile Trillium has leaves that are sessile and sepals that are not recurved.

Fragile Fern and Bulblet Fern

Often growing among the ephemerals of our springtime woodlands, Cystopteris fragilis is one of the earliest ferns to emerge in Indiana. It's called "fragile" fern because the stipe is very brittle - if you try to bend it, it will snap in two. A few varieties of the species have been named, but since more than one can usually be found in a single, dense colony, and since intermediates are often seen, I do not recognize the varieties.

A closely related species known as Bulblet Fern, Cystopteris bulbifera, has much longer, gradually tapering blades and grows on rock cliffs and talus slopes. In late summer and fall it produces small, vegetative propagules known as bulblets on the underside of the blade.

"Nature made ferns for pure leaves, to show what she could do in that line." Henry David Thoreau.

"Ferns are lovely. Ferns are beautiful." Emma Bickham Pitcher

Holosteum umbellatum

I know this is an introduced agricultural weed, but it is fun to see and learn new plants, and to refresh and relearn the old plants. My brassicaceae and caryophyllaceae keys are getting some good wear right now.


Holosteum umbellatum - Jagged Chickweed
Growing in a sandy agricultural field, Vigo County, Indiana, with several other chickweeds (Stellaria and Cerastium).

Botanists in the Field

Here are a few random glimpses of just a few of the people involved in botanical study in the Midwest. Special thanks to Scott Namestnik and Barbara Plampin for sharing pictures.

Justin Thomas and Scott Namestnik pause for a picture at Flat Rock Creek Heritage Preserve in South Carolina, May 2, 2011.

Ben Hess, Karen Quinlan, and Maria Shaffer take notes as Dana Thomas of the Institute of Botanical Training discusses wetland plants, St. Joseph County, Indiana, July 5, 2007.

 

Thismia hunters, Cook County, Illinois, August 13, 2011.

Paul Rothrock inventories plants at the Goose Pond Bioblitz near Linton, Indiana, July 16, 2010. 

Tres amigos en la botanica: Brad Slaughter, Justin Thomas, and Scott Namestnik pause for a picture at Shut-in Mountain Fens, Missouri, April 21, 2010. 

On the trail to Cave Spring, Missouri: Justin and Dana Thomas, with child Eli, Scott and Lindsay Namestnik, John and Bryn Scriver, with child Rilo. Also, Miss Bootypants. November, 2009.

Shirley Heinze Land Trust hikers after a ferns outing: Mr. and Mrs. Jim Erdelac, Mr. and Mrs. Noel Pavlovic, Laura Henderson, Terry Bonace, Myrna Newgent, Warren Buckler, Peter Grube, and Keith Board, Indiana Dunes State Park, July 23, 2011.

Noel Pavlovic and Tom Post at the Indiana Dunes, date unknown.

Emma Bickham Pitcher, banding a bird at the Indiana Dunes, date unknown.

Lois Howes explores what would later become "Howes Prairie" at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, date unknown.

Scott Namestnik checks a small detail while sporting some pretty classy field duds at Old Stone Fort State Park in Tennessee, April 27, 2009.

Dan "The Orchid Man" McDowell photographs a Catalpa tree in flower, Gary, Indiana, June, 2005.

Justin and Dana Thomas, directors of the Institute of Botanical Training, take a break at Taum Sauk State Park in Missouri, July 21, 2007.

Photographer Pete Grube at work with Ragged Fringed Orchid and Grass Pink Orchid in Berrien County, Michigan, June 25, 2008.

Exploring the high dunes of Porter County, Indiana: Keith Board, David Hamilla, Barbara Plampin, Brad Bumgardner, and Peter Grube, Indiana Dunes State Park, July 24, 2009.

Planting a tree in memory of Jody Phifer: Beth Uhles, Gloria Gillies, Jodi's cousin (name unknown), Woody and Donna Feeler, Sandy O'Brien, and Myrna Newgent, Hobart, Indiana, July 9, 2009.

Tony Troche stops for a photo at Kaintuck Hollow, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri, March 14, 2009.

Keith Board and Jerry Wilhelm at the Great Thismia Hunt, Cook County, Illinois, August 13, 2011.

An exhausted TNC burn crew, Ober Savanna Nature Preserve, Starke County, Indiana, April, 1990.

Barbara Plampin and Keith Board identify plants at the "Dritz Pits," Porter County, Indiana, circa 1991.

Jerry Wilhelm and Floyd Swink at work in the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, 1974.

DNR botanist Mike Homoya photographs Lizard's Tail at Plaster Creek Seeps, Martin County, Indiana, June 27, 2009.

 Kevin Tungesvick surveys plants at Beehunter Marsh near Linton, Indiana, July 17, 2010.

 Justin Thomas, Theo Witsell, and Doud Ladd survey plants at Frog Hollow, Arkansas, April 23, 2010.

Theo Witsell surveys plants at Middle Fork Barrens, Arkansas, April 23, 2010.

 Andrew Blackburn checks out buttresses on a cypress tree at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in Florida, March 13, 2004.

Tony Troche explores a glade at Carman Springs Natural Area, Missouri, March 15, 2009.

Vic Riemenschneider surveys plants at Bendix Woods County Park, St. Joseph County, Indiana, May 10, 2009.

Keith Board, Mike Homoya, John Ervin, and Roger Hedge pause for a picture at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Porter County, Indiana, June 24, 2008.

Peter Grube pauses for a picture in a sandy meadow near New Buffalo, Michigan, June 25, 2008.

Floyd Swink, Ken Klick, and Noel Pavlovic survey plants at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Porter County, Indiana, date unknown.

Scott Namestnik photographs the rare Western Wallflower at a gravel hill prairie in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, April 22, 2012.

Noel Pavlovic does a balancing act at Little Lake, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, date unknown.

Ken Dritz and Keith Board pause near a railroad in Chesterton, Indiana, after photographing Aegilops cylindrica, Jointed Goat Grass, circa 1998.