Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 27, 2018
“Plan the best Chicago outdoor adventure with this Chicago wildflower report
filled with news and info to discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
Don’t miss one beautiful moment.
Click here to subscribe to received FREE nature alerts!
Collectively, I and the volunteer scouts donate over fifty hours of time and hundreds of miles of driving to create each week’s alert. But we rarely hear from you. So, please let us know about how you’re using our service and what it brings to you life. We want to hear your stories so that we know our service means something to you. You can write a comment under the blog. And you can participate on our Facebook page, but write something specific. We’ll take a “like,” but they not very inspiring. And, also share this website with others and suggest that they subscribe.
This is a wonderful week to visit the Chicago’s great outdoors of Chicago as the tall, elegant prairie blazing star and its slightly shorter cousin, marsh blazing star, reach peak bloom, adding to an already exciting bouquet of flowers. Also new on the scene are the skyward blooms of feathery sweet Joe-Pye weed and the golden rays of woodland sunflower. Both plants are found under the trees, though the sunflowers can sneak out into the prairie. Big bluestem grass is also flowering, but you have to look closely at its top tassel. See pictures below.
Here’s are some of the highlights of what’s happening in Chicago nature:
Wolf Road Prairie is the preserve of the week, which is building upon last week’s biodiversity and beauty with the arrival of woodland sunflower and sweet Joe-Pye weed in the savanna. In the prairie, I just love how the purple spikes of prairie blazing star mix with pearly wild quinine and rattlesnake master and the vibrant blooms of yellow coneflower. You can also find prairie blazing star and marsh blazing star at other prairies, including Bluff Spring Fen, Kickapoo Prairie, Belmont Prairie, Gensburg-Markham Prairie, Spears Woods, Lake in the Hills Fen, and Bartel Grassland in TInley Park. Compass plant is killing it, especially when you find them in groups or, what I like to call, “forests.” These dreamy prairie forests can be seen at Wolf Road Prairie, Belmont Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Kickapoo Prairie, and Springbrook Prairie. And purple prairie clover is still in the mix for one last weekend at Somme Prairie Grove.
Somme Prairie Grove is putting on a grand celebration in biodiversity, as well. It is a pure delight to see so much color and texture. Gensburg-Markham Prairie is now covered with a white glow of wild quinine. with marsh blazing star adding to the bouquet. And, not far from there, visit Kickapoo Prairie for Tinker Toy rattlesnake master, a forest of compass plant, and the flamboyant prairie blazing star.
PLAN YOUR CHICAGO OUTDOOR ADVENTURE THIS WEEKEND
THIS WEEK’S TOP PRESERVES:
Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester: Visit this week to experience the beauty of the prairie and oak savanna. In the prairie, blazing star flowers alongside many other species: the white blossoms of wild quinine, rattlesnake master, and Culver’s root, and the golden bouquets of rosinweed, yellow coneflower, plus forests of compass plant.
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: Like Wolf Road Prairie, this preserve is putting on a show in biodiversity. In other words, myriad species are in bloom, Flashy woodland sunflower and towering sweet Joe-Pye weed steal the show under the canopy of trees. However, there are many performances taking place under the open sky of the savanna depending upon where you walk. Along the trails, you’ll discover shows of early goldenrod, wild quinine, rattlesnake master, and purple prairie clover. But there’s more to appreciate than just the flowers. I find delight from the large heart-shaped leaves of prairie dock and the stringy bob hairdo of prairie dropseed.
Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove: This is a tiny preserve, but I think it’s worth the visit to see the miniature forest of blooming compass plant alongside flowering yellow coneflower and prairie blazing star.
Gensburg-Markham Prairie in Markham: Visit for the ivory landscape with much of the prairie immersed in wild quinine. And you’ll find beautiful patches of marsh blazing star. NOTE: The preserve is not locked up, even if it looks that way. There’s a “dummy lock” at the entrance gate. The lock and chain are merely draped over the gate to give the appearance of being locked. Simply undrape the chain to enter.
Kickapoo Prairie in Riverdale: Grand displays of three flowers make this preserve worth attending: the purple spike of prairie blazing star, the latticework of rattlesnake master, with its white molecular-like flower heads, the sweet-smelling mountain mint, and the forest of compass plant and its golden blossoms.
RATED “GO, IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD”:
Lake in the Hills Fen in Lake in the Hills: There are some nice dense patches of wildflowers blooming together including prairie blazing star, yellow coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and wild bergamot.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: The trail begins under the oaks of the savanna and continues into the prairie and the bowl of the fen. Watch your step along the way. The trails are overgrown. Under the tree canopy, you’ll find towering sweet Joe-Pye weed and the aptly named bottlebrush grass. Under the open sky, you’ll find marsh blazing star, swamp milkweed, yellow coneflower, compass plant, and the start of cylindrical blazing star.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman Estates: Compass plant is present in large numbers along the west slope along with wild quinine and yellow coneflower. And cylindrical blazing star is beginning to flower.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs: Visit for the woodland of fluffy sweet Joe-Pye weed and woodland sunflowers that surround Hogwash Slough, my favorite Chicagoland wetland. A hike through the prairie will provide you with a decent smattering of flowers, including prairie blazing star, wild bergamot, wild quinine, rattlesnake master, mountain mint, compass plant, and early goldenrod.
PHOTO SECTION
Wolf Road Prairie
This was the view of Wolf Road Prairie on Tuesday, July 24 with a lesson in biodiversity. Pictured are prairie blazing star, wild quinine, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, Culver’s root, rosinweed, and yellow coneflower.
This image is fairly representative of what you’d see at Wolf Road Prairie, but every plant shown is currently blooming except for the tall purple spikes of prairie blazing star.*
Somme Prairie Grove
At Somme Prairie Grove, woodland sunflowers surround this majestic bur oak in the savanna.*
Sweet Joe-Pye weed, American bellflower, and woodland sunflower put on a show in the woodland at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.*
Purple prairie clover and mountain mint steal the show in this area of Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.*
Here, at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois , we see the large, deeply lobed leaf of compass plant among a sea of purple prairie clover.*
Kickapoo Prairie
Summer storm clouds brew at Kickapoo Prairie where rattlesnake master, Indian grass, and compass plant glow in the sun.
Spears Woods
In the open woodland at Spears Woods in Willow Springs, Illinois, summer brings tall blooms of sweet Joe-Pye weed.*
Gensburg-Markham Prairie
The summer sun goes down on wild quinine and marsh phlox as nonstop tollway traffic rolls past its eastern aorder. Each hour of each day, people drive by, unaware of the natural treasures they’d discover by taking the West 159th Street exit.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soon after entering Bluff Spring Fen, you’ll find yourself in an intimate oak savanna, where majestic bur oaks with outstretched limbs protect you in their nurturing embrace.*
Prairie Blazing Star and Marsh Blazing Star Have Begun Their Flamboyant Bloom!
Prairie blazing star and rosinweed in July at Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove, Illinois.*
Blazing star blooms at the seep of the fen at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
The wildflowers at Wolf Road Prairie explode in July. Here, we have purple prairie blazing star, yellow rosinweed, and whites of wild quinine, rattlesnake master, and Culver’s root.*
Big Bluestem Grass
Big bluestem grass gives the true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.”*
Miniature flowers delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass.*
Purple Prairie Clover and It’s Remarkably Fresh Scent (see caption for details)
This flower emanates my favorite (nice) smell in Chicago nature with the fresh scent of carrots and lemon. Here, a bee flies over to purple prairie clover at Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve in Elgin, Illinois.*
Come to Bluff Spring Fen early on a July morning and you might experience a chromatic expanse of purple prairie clover.*
More Flagrantly Fragrant Flowers
“Lavender in color and mint in fragrance” describes wild bergamot. “Whimsical with an aroma of anise” describes yellow coneflower. Both are native to the prairie, and both are healers. Known as pioneer species, they are among the first plants to colonize disturbed or degraded areas. Their presence improves soil quality while allowing other plants to move in, leading to greater biodiversity.*
Mountain mint and prairie blazing star flower in the July prairie at Spears Woods in Willow Springs.*
Compass Plant
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
A landscape of compass plant at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas. To experience rattlesnake master, visit Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next few weeks.*
Culver’s Root
During some years, Culver’s root blooms en masse at Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
