Chicago Nature Now! Alert
June 16, 2016
Here’s what’s happening in Chicago nature, Right Now!:
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois for pale purple coneflowers, foxglove beardtongue, and porcupine grass.
Fermilab Prairie in Batavia, Illinois for foxglove beardtongue and miraculous melting spiderwort.
Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove, Illinois is normally great for pale purple coneflowers. This year, the crop is a bit thin. However, if you’re in the area, stop by and see the rare porcupine grass. Read more about this wondrous plant in the caption below.
See photos* and video below for more details:
Find foxglove beardtongue blooming at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin and other prairies across the Chicago region.*
Pale purple coneflowers rise above the prairie at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
Foxglove beardtongue can be found blowing in the wind at Fermilab Prairie in Batavia.*
On most years, like shown in this photo, Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove offers a flamboyant display of pale purple coneflowers and purple scurfy pea. However, this year, the crop of coneflowers is thin. In this picture, mixed amongst the coneflowers, the bright-colored grasses crisscrossing the center of the frame are porcupine grass. If you’re in the area, it’s worth a visit to see this rare plant. The long spear-like seeds if porcupine grass miraculously drill themselves into the earth, in a counter-clockwise motion that you can actually watch. Soon, I will be blogging about porcupine grass.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Nature varies from season to season.
Watch my video from Bluff Spring Fen as recorded on June 13, 2016:
