Post number 500!

Presenting GYBO post number 500! In celebration, here are my top 10 favorite photos. Probably all of them were posted sometime earlier. Thanks to all who visit and comment, and thanks to all who have posted here. Special thanks to Ben and Scott for setting up this group blog.

Interrupted Fern, Porter County, Indiana

Bloodroot, LaPorte County, Indiana

Blue-Eyed Mary, LaPorte County, Indiana

Cleft Phlox, Lake County, Indiana

Bluehearts, Lake County, Indiana

Prairie Brome, Lake County, Indiana

Nieuwland's Blazing Star, Lake County, Indiana

Yellow Lady's Slipper, Lake County, Indiana

Sullivant's Milkweed, Lake County, Indiana

Wild Columbine, Marshall County, Indiana

Blue-Eyed Mary, Collinsia verna

One of the few woodland ephemerals that is annual, Collinsia verna has been diminishing over the past several years at the few places where I've seen it. Remarkably, I visited one of the sites today in LaPorte County, Indiana and found thousands of plants in flower. I was also pleased to see several types of bees visiting the flowers in good numbers.

When my friend Deesie Daisy told me a while back that she was going to Messenger Woods in Will County, Illinois to see the widespread displays of this plant, I told her she might be in for a great disappointment. I hope I was wrong. If anyone could report observations from there or anywhere else, that would be wonderful.

A Few Slide Show Rejects

Our annual botany slide show will be held next weekend; it really snuck up on me this year. This year, my slide show will highlight the trip that Justin, Brad, Doug, and I took to the Ozarks and Ouachitas in April 2010. As I did last year, I wanted to post a few of the reject photos that didn't make my slide show.

This is Silene virginica, a plant in the family Caryophyllaceae that is found throughout the eastern half of the United States. We found this plant in a dry, rocky woodland at Spurgeon Hollow preserve in Missouri.

Collinsia violacea is known from seven states in the southcentral portion of the country. We saw this member of the Scrophulariaceae at Middle Fork Barrens in Arkansas.

This interesting little mint (Lamiaceae) is Scutellaria parvula var. australis, known from much of the southeastern United States. We first saw this species at Dry Lost Creek Preserve, and later at Camp Road Shale Barrens, both in Arkansas.

Right Place, Right Time

The National Park Service and National Geographic Society joined forces this past weekend to hold a 24-hour BioBlitz at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (to see a National Geographic account of the event, click here). I participated by leading survey teams at Miller Woods Pannes, Howe's Prairie, and Inland Marsh. My teams tallied over 200 plant species at these sites during our field trips. However, my most exciting find came at my campsite at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore campground.

In April 2005, Keith found Collinsia sparsiflora, a species native to the extreme western United States and never before seen in Indiana or the Chicago Region, at the horsemen's campground at Potato Creek State Park.

Soon after Keith's observation, the campsites were herbicided by the park, and this plant hasn't been seen at this location since.

On Friday, I spotted what I believe to be Collinsia parviflora, a species native to the western United States, Canada, and scattered counties in the northeastern United States, growing in gravel at my campsite.

Until now (if my identification is confirmed), this species was not known from Indiana or the Chicago Region. The closest known population of maiden blue-eyed Mary to northwest Indiana is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At my campsite, there were several individuals of Collinsia parviflora, so I made a collection in addition to taking photographs.

My campsite was chosen for me by someone from the National Park Service... I guess they picked the "right place" for me to stay.

Now for the "right time" part... I found this plant when botanizing my campsite by lantern with Maryland botanist Joe Metzger, who was sharing the campsite with me, at approximately 9:00 PM CDT, in the dark. Who says that the only good botanizing takes place during the day? I guess I take this 24-hour BioBlitz thing pretty literally!

I am interested in hearing opinions about my identification, especially if you have seen Collinsia parviflora.