Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 15, 2016
Here’s what’s happening in Chicago nature, Right Now!:
Somme Prairie Grove and Bluff Spring Fen, again, top the list for the best preserves to visit. I really like the many different flowers species blooming all at once at these sites. At both preserves, you’ll experience grand displays of purple prairie clover, and you’ll also find the minty bergamot and mountain mint, wild quinine, black-eyed Susan, the very tall compass plant, yellow coneflower, sweet Joy-Pye weed, and more. Bluff Spring Fen is showcasing a lush presentation of marsh blazing star at the base of the bowl in the center of the preserve. And more are on the way! Somme Prairie Grove has large patches of molecular rattlesnake master. This flower is a blast! (See below.)
Wolf Road Prairie is also rich with white blooms, including rattlesnake master, wild quinine, and Culver’s root. And, while you’re there, be on the watch for prairie dock, with it’s large, heart-shaped leaves.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is covered with purple prairie clover, along with a fading patch of the rarer white prairie clover.
Gensburg-Markham Prairie in Markham, Illinois is currently putting on a dramatic show of wild quinine.
To experience rattlesnake master, visit Somme Prairie Grove, 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:
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas.*
Just like last week, Somme Prairie Grove, Bluff Spring Fen, and Shoe Factory Road Prairie are great for purple prairie clover:
There’s hardly a dull moment in Bluff Spring Fen’s prairie. Just as blooms of leadplant and coreopsis fade, purple prairie clover rises to take their place.*
There are two fragrant healers in bloom. “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.*
While you’re perusing the prairie, watch for the leaves of the prairie’s most iconic plants. The heart-shaped leaf is that of prairie dock, and the long-lobed leaf is from a cousin called compass plant.
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
—Mike
