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Chicago Nature NOW! Alert
April 13, 2020

“Weekly Wildflower Reports Featuring
Chicago’s Best Weekend Getaways & Nature Trips”

 

Plan the Best Nature Walks & Getaways Around Chicago!

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PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE VISITING OUR SHOWCASE PRESERVES DURING THIS TIME OF INCREASED INTEREST IN NATURE:

 

ChicagoNatureNOW! preserves are Sacred Cathedrals of Nature, NOT playgrounds or amusement parks. Please treat these sanctuaries with reverence, and behave as you would in any house of worship:

  • Stay on the trails.
  • Walk, don’t run.
    • If your kids need to run around, there are THOUSANDS of more appropriate places to play.
  • Speak quietly as to not interfere with the spiritual experiences of others.
  • Do not pick flowers or remove anything from a preserve.
    • Share cherished moments by making pictures, drawing, painting, or writing.
  • Many of these preserves do NOT allow pets, even if they’re leashed.
  • If a rule isn’t listed here, then ask yourself, “Would I do this in church?”
 

IMPORTANT COVID-19 SITE ACCESS & SAFETY TIPS

SITE ACCESS:

Most sites and trails owned by the Chicago-area counties and Indiana Dunes National Park are open, except for visitor centers, buildings, and bathrooms. However, Will County has closed their parking lots, and only allows access by foot or bicycle. Just park nearby and walk in. But convenient or nearby parking doesn’t exist at some of their best springtime preserves. This includes Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve in Monee (possible, if you’re crafty) and Messenger Woods in Homer Glen (you’ll have to walk a long way). If you can get into these two preserves, do it! They would normally top our list. Fermilab Prairie woodland (Fermilab Natural Areas) in Batavia is closed. Period.

Check out these websites before you go:

BE SAFE:

  • Give people at least six feet of space. This also means giving your cars some space, as well.
  • Don’t block people’s progress by gathering around trailheads or intersections.
  • Wear a face mask when around people. (I drape a triangle-fold bandanna over my face, making it easier to rob a bank afterwards.)
  • When you’re outdoors having a conversation, position yourselves so that the wind is blowing from the left or the right. Wear your mask.

WILDFLOWER HIGHLIGHTS TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR OUTDOOR ADVENTURES INTO CHICAGO’S WOODLANDS:

It’s April, and spring has arrived with a celebration of delicate wildflowers in many of Chicago’s woodlands. The first flowers to bloom are plentiful, but they are also diminutive. But bend down and take a closer look. You’ll be marveled by their intricate beauty. At the moment, most of the springtime flowers are flowering white (or a light pink), like hepatica, cutleaf toothwort, spring beauty, false rue anemone, spring cress, white trout lily, Dutchman’s breeches, and bloodroot. Marsh marigold is currently in bloom at Pilcher Park, Bluff Spring Fen, and at McClaughry Springs Woods in Palos Park (by the parking lot across the stream). The umbrella leaves of mayapple are looking great, along with the think spears of wild leek and the sprawling leaves of skunk cabbage.

In some woodlands, you’ll find the shy yellow bloom of large-flowered bellwort. And let’s not forget the bright green leaves of spring. And finally, the Virginia Bluebell is still a couple of weeks away from peak bloom. The sea of blue is the most breathtaking event of early spring.

Now is also a good time to see the long emerald spears of wild leek, the plant that gives Chicago its name. In the late 1600s, Potawatomi Indians who traveled the area rivers were commonly heard to yell “Chicagoua!” after catching a strong whiff of chicagoua, or wild leek, growing prolifically along the wooded banks. Wild leek is part of the onion family, hence the Chicago nickname, “The Big Onion.”

WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A SPRING WILDFLOWER GETAWAY AROUND CHICAGO:

We’ve ranked the preserves on this week’s list based on the quality of the wildflower experience, starting out with the best or “Go!” The “Go, if You’re in the Neighborhood” section is for sites that are worth visiting if you can’t get out to our top-rated preserves. And our “Preserves for You to Scout” section for those preserves that we couldn’t get to this week, but that you can help us explore! The date within the parentheses tells you when we last scouted the preserve. After the date, you may see one of these three mathematical symbols: +, –, = (plus, minus, equal). They represent our prediction about how the flowers will look like on the coming weekend: “+” is Probably Better; “-” is Probably Less Dramatic; “=” is Probably the Same. Notice the word “probably.”

THIS WEEK’S BEST (“GO!”):

The order of the preserves below is based on the quality of the wildflower experience, starting out with the best.

Pilcher Park Nature Center in Joliet (4/11+): Begin your hike at the nature center and you’ll be surrounded by a lush understory of spring wildflowers, including sharp-lobed hepatica, cutleaf toothwort, false rue anemone, spring beauty, and Dutchman’s breeches. My favorite flower-of-the-moment is marsh marigold, which is reaching peak bloom. Look for its yellow flowers in the low, muddy areas of the site. You can find them near the nature center and around the trail after the bridge at this GPS coordinate: 41.532780, -88.016478. In the same place, and just about anywhere with mud, look for the large fanning foliage of skunk cabbage. They’re hard to miss. Virginia bluebells also like the mud, usually along the banks of the creek. This preserve is one of the best places to experience a vastitude of bluebells, which should flower in the next couple weeks.

Heron Rookery Trail at Indiana Dunes National Park (4/8+): Begin at the west parking lot. Along the narrow trail, you’ll also find sparkles of sharp-lobed hepatica, false rue anemone, Dutchman’s breeches, cutleaf toothwort, purple cress, and spring beauty. Also look for flowers of yellow trout lily occasionally poking up above its carpet of spotted trout-like leaves. The lush, green springtime experience is further enhanced by the spreading foliage of mayapple and wild leek.

Black Partridge Woods in Lemont (4/11+): This preserve makes me happy because of its lushness and its many shades and patterns of emerald foliage, especially wild leek, mayapple, the glorious leaves of skunk cabbage, and the small heart-shaped leaves of wild ginger.. And right now, you’ll also find sparkles amongst the greenery from the shimmering petals of sharp-lobed hepatica, cutleaf toothwort, false rue anemone, spring beauty, and the occasional Dutchman’s breeches. Virginia bluebells are present, but not yet blooming.

O’Hara Woods Preserve in Romeoville (4/11+): The preserve was once called Dynamite Woods because the site was used to store explosives during World War II. You can still see the crumbling bunkers, but they’re being taken over by woodland plants. Right now, white flowers of cutleaf toothwort are in full explosion, like sparklers across the woodland floor. Walk towards the stream along the south end of the preserve, and you’ll find Dutchman’s breeches (that look like white, puffy overalls), spring beauties, skunk cabbage, and wild leek (Chicago’s namesake), and soon-to-bloom Virginia bluebells. This should be the top preserve to visit in a couple of weeks when the Virginia bluebells reach peak bloom.

GO, IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD:

NONE THIS WEEK.

LIMITED ACCESS PRESERVES THAT YOU CAN TRY:

Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve in Monee (UNSCOUTED): PARKING LOT CLOSED. ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY FOOT OR BIKE. No adjacent street parking. This would be my favorite preserve of the week, if it weren’t for the difficulty in accessing the preserve. Experience the whitish pink expanse of spring beauty and myriad of other spring wildflowers, including Dutchman’s breeches, false rue anemone, and surprisingly large colonies of flowering white trout lily. And then there’s the jade hues and patterns of wild leek and mayapple that beautifully add to the mix. This preserve will soon offer a nice display of Virginia bluebells, but not an overwhelming ocean like other preserves.

Messenger Woods in Homer Glen (UNSCOUTED): PARKING LOT CLOSED. ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY FOOT OR BIKE. No adjacent street parking. This preserve is always provides that green and luxuriant feeling of spring. Currently, you’ll see a carpet of fresh foliage and blooming ephemerals throughout. The most common flowers in bloom are spring beauty cutleaf toothwort, Dutchman’s breeches, and false rue anemone, In the uplands, I also spotted several patches of the sublime white large-flowered trillium, only days away from bloom. This preserve was known nationwide for its vast display of bluebells, which will probably reach peak in late April.

PHOTO SECTION

 

Hepatica can be found exploding across our woodlands:

Sharp-lobed hepatica blooms on the bluff at Black Partridge Woods in Lemont, Illinois.
On the side of a bluff at Black Partridge Woods, sharp-lobed hepatica make their way through a layer of leaves.
 

Cutleaf Toothwort can be found exploding across our woodlands:

In April, cut-leaved toothwort blooms in profusion amongst a backdrop of mayapples at O'Hara Woods in Romeoville, Illinois.
Like firecrackers, cut-leaved toothwort explodes in profusion against a backdrop of mayapples at O’Hara Woods in Romeoville, Illinois. This preserves was previously known as Dynamite Woods because explosives were stored here during World War II. Nowadays, spring is when the preserve explodes with flora.*
 

Dutchman’s Breeches (or Dutchman’s Britches):

Dutchman's Breeches at O'Hara Woods
O’Hara Woods has a large number of Dutchman’s Breeches. It is one of my favorite spring flowers because the flower is just so kooky and the leaves are a dream.
 

Bloodroot (catch it before it goes away for another year):

Bloodroot
This is bloodroot. The name comes from the fact that breaking the stem or the roots makes the plant bleed red. Please, just take my word for it, and don’t pick the flower to find out. Native Americans used the plant for dying their clothes and baskets, and for body paint.
 

Marsh Marigolds:

In early spring, I come to Pilcher Park to play in the mud. Here, skunk cabbage and marsh marigold thrive in a woodland floodplain of inky water and the blackest muck I’ve ever seen.
In April, I come to Pilcher Park to play in the mud. Here, skunk cabbage and marsh marigold thrive in a woodland floodplain of inky water and the blackest muck I’ve ever seen.*
 
Marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage at McClaughry Springs Woods in Palos Park, Illinois.*
Marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage at McClaughry Springs Woods in Palos Park, Illinois. They can also be found at Bluff Spring Fen, Pilcher Park Nature Center, and Black Partridge Woods.*

 

Skunk Cabbage:

It's springtime at Pilcher Park and sunlight shines through the enormous fanning foliage of skunk cabbage which, if broken, releases a strong scent reminiscent of skunk, though sweeter and not nearly as overpowering. If you’re someone who, like me, finds the powerful essence of skunk to be an invigorating and life-affirming experience, the skunk inside the cabbage will definitely let you down.*
It’s springtime at Pilcher Park and sunlight shines through the enormous fanning foliage of skunk cabbage which, if broken, releases a strong scent reminiscent of skunk, though sweeter and not nearly as overpowering. If you’re someone who, like me, finds the powerful essence of skunk to be an invigorating and life-affirming experience, the skunk inside the cabbage will definitely let you down.*
 

Mayapple:

Above: Imagine. It’s a rainy April morning in the city and, from a window above, shiny hexagons, mostly black, can be seen floating over wet sidewalks and along glassy, gray streets. In woodlands across northeastern Illinois, April showers bring out the umbrellas, too. Green, and up to a foot wide, the large leaves of mayapples open up across the forest floor. In May, a single waxy, white flower will secretly bloom beneath the plant’s fanning foliage, like a pedestrian under a parasol. (To see the flower, turn to page 204.)
In every woodland across northeastern Illinois, like here at Black Partridge Woods (Lemont), April showers bring out the umbrellas in the form of mayapples. And the white flowers of false rue anemone sparkle like raindrops.*
 

Virginia Bluebell:

Flower buds of Virginia bluebell of species Mertensia virginica at O'Hara Woods Nature Preserve in Romeoville, Illinois
This is the status of the Virginia bluebells as of Saturday, April 11 at O’Hara Woods Nature Preserve in Romeoville. There still a while to go before they bloom.


 

If you find this website of Chicago nature information useful, please consider donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book that celebrates all of the preserves featured on this website.

—Mike

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