Chicago Nature NOW! Alert
August 19, 2021
“Weekly Wildflower Reports Featuring
Chicago’s Best Outdoor Getaways & Nature Trips”
Chicago’s Best Weekend Walks & Outdoor Getaways!
Don’t miss one beautiful moment.
Click here to subscribe to receive FREE nature alerts!
Each week, we offer you opportunities to find peace during this trying time!
PLEASE DONATE IF WE’VE HELPED YOU FIND SOLACE IN NATURE.
Donate to Our GoFundMe Campaign
After ten years of me pestering Cook County Forest Preserves and other agencies and groups for a proper trail and trailhead at Theodore Stone Preserve, it’s finally been done. Now, you’ll find a kiosk beside a mowed trail that leads to a steel bridge at the threshold of the preserve. Thanks to John McCabe with FPDCC and steward George Birmingham.
WILDFLOWER HIGHLIGHTS TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR OUTDOOR ADVENTURES INTO CHICAGO’S WOODLANDS:
The late-summer blooms are beginning to emerge with blooms of pinks and purples of obedient plant (our Plant of the Week), cylindrical blazing star and rough blazing star. Sparkling flowering spurge replaces the fading whites of wild quinine. And prairie dock, tall coreopsis, rosinweed, and goldenrod more than make up for any lack of yellow.
Wolf Road Prairie tops our list this week for its forests of prairie dock that blows us away amidst the many other blooms, like the kooky expanses of rattlesnake master.
Bluff Spring Fen ties for first place. Currently, you’ll find at least three dramatic shows amidst a wide array of flowers in a serene and magical setting.
Spears Woods is looking great and the walk through the prairies, woodlands, and wetlands is probably the best experience in the region. This preserve also provides great trails far away from traffic, varied habitats, and dramatic vistas. And while you’re there, catch a final glimpse of the aquatic American lotus in Hogwash Slough. The pale yellow blossoms resemble those of a water lily, but they’re much larger—up to eight inches wide atop stems that can reach six feet high. And that isn’t all. The circular leaf is gorgeous and enormous, up to two and a half feet in diameter! See the Photo Section below for images of American lotus (and where to find it) along with the many flowers featured in this report.
NOTE: It’s August. But I sometimes call it Foggust because August is the foggiest month of the year. So, if you visit a preserve in the morning, wear rain gear because you could end up soaked to the skin from the dew.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie is bursting with obedient plant and many other flowers. Somme Prairie Grove is putting on shows in the woodland and the savanna. And Belmont Prairie is a beautiful little dream.
SKINCARE TIP: To experience the best skin exfoliation Chicago nature has to offer, twist and turn through a tangle of delightfully bristly compass plant stalks. Talk about the best arm-scratcher ever! The best spa I’ve found is in the northwest corner of Bluff Spring Fen.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve (and probably Pembroke Savanna, which was not scouted) is sparkling with alabaster florets of flowering spurge.
Here is my most profound recommendation for enjoying your time in nature. If the preserve allows, arrive before first light. A morning rendezvous with nature is a magical experience that vastly transcends what’s possible at other times of day. In the early bright, the world expands beyond the usual three dimensions, as the transformation from darkness into light excites more than just the visual sense. As night gives birth to dawn, and the landscape gently turns from azure to gold, the soft and changing light is a spectacle for the eyes. A moist fog or a splash of crisp dew against your skin affirms your existence. The still atmosphere concentrates the fragrances floating in the air and provides a tranquil stage for birds to project their crystal melodies. In the morning, you’ll find all of this, along with the promise of a new day.
If you’re looking for longer walks, try our larger preserves: Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Spears Woods, Somme Prairie Grove, and Lake in the Hills Fen (currently closed for trail repairs).
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 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.
Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester (8/18=): Most of the action is taking place in the southern portion of the preserve, which includes both oak savanna and grassland, where the spectacular soaring jungles of golden prairie dock, again, steal the week’s show. The savanna is alive with fading blooms of woodland sunflower alongside browning pink plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed and bristly sprays of bottlebrush grass. And the prairie is overflowing with all manner of flowers, including incredible forests of golden flowering prairie dock and compass plant, with tall coreopsis, rosinweed, and goldenrods, all contributing a matrix of yellow to the palette. The white bursts of flowering spurge add a beautiful lift of contrast to the prairie bouquet as the cauliflower heads of wild quinine turn brown while playful scenes of rattlesnake master bring their usual delight. Royal puffs of ironweed, white-pink balls of nodding wild onion, pink trumpets of obedient plant, and the occasional rough blazing star add beautifully to the mix of silver and gold, as the late-summer grasses of big bluestem and Indian grass soften the sharp textures. NOTE: Theodore Stone Preserve and Spears Woods are not too far away.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin (8/16=): There are many species in flowers across the preserve, which is why I say it ties for first place with Wolf Road Prairie. Depending on your perspective, it could be #1. Begin your hike at the main trailhead that winds you under the trees and along the kames of the oak savanna, around the sunny prairie, and through the fen. Enter the oak savanna from the kiosk to find beautiful patches of sweet Joe-Pye weed along with pale Indian plantain, starry campion, brown-eyed Susan, and whimsical bottlebrush grass. At the troll bridge, where friendly trolls have helped to restore the adjacent wetland habitat, look to your right for a breathtaking expanse of purple spotted Joe-Pye weed with golden cutleaf coneflower and a sprinkling of tall ivory cowbane. Continuing under the protection of oaks, on your right at the base of the kame, you’ll see another wonderful show of golden cutleaf coneflower and wingstem. The two flowers can look the same, but the leaves are quite different. Like the name suggests, cutleaf coneflower has a deeply lobed or “clawed” shape, whereas wingstem features traditional foliage. I can usually tell from a distance just by spying the leaves. Wingstem, as you can imagine, has a winged stem, with a ridge that extends along its length. But it’s hard to see unless you’re up close. When you reach the big kame, take the narrow trail on your left to the top. On your way up, look for a display of sprawling and whimsical bottlebrush grass. Once at the gravelly peak, you’ll experience a unique view of the preserve. At your feet, there’s pink cylindrical blazing star at peak bloom, a few obedient plant, many drooping pink balls of nodding wild onion, and the last of whorled milkweed. Go back down from whence you “kame,” turn left on the main trail, and then make a right as you reach the end of the wooded savanna. Once under the sun, you’ll find wild bergamot, tall coreopsis, creamy tuberous Indian plantain, pearly flowering spurge, golden rosinweed, the buds of stiff goldenrod, the flowering tassels of big bluestem, beautiful flourishes of Canada wild rye, and a “forest” of compass plant in the southwest corner. To experience the best skin exfoliation service that Chicago nature has to offer, twist and turn through a tangle of delightfully bristly compass plant stalks. Talk about the best arm-scratcher ever! As the trail veers left to the east, you’ll again pass through sprawling stands of blooming big bluestem and into a gravelly area. (This is exactly the kind of place where you’ll get drenched to the skin in morning dew. So wear your rain gear.) Ahead to your right is the “transplant kame.” In 1990, Healy Road Prairie, located six miles away, was being mined for its gravel, and a community of hundreds of volunteers dug it up and transplanted it here. (Read more about it here and here.) Years before, the transplant kame was also mined to the ground, but it was reconstructed to become the new home of Healy Road Prairie. Make a left at the end of the kame to descend into the bowl of the fen where you’ll discover goldenrods, rosinweed, flat-topped aster, swamp thistle, and a few great blue lobelia. Move slowly and watch your step as you pass through dense willows (which desperately need trimming). Be careful not to trip on the narrow boardwalk that immediately awaits you by the willows! Cross the boardwalk to find some spotted Joe-Pye weed, and boneset. After you cross the second boardwalk, stay straight (don’t veer left), as the trail ducks under a low tree so that you can scale up the side of the switchback kame where a peak bloom cylindrical blazing star awaits alongside the many white buds of soon-to-bloom rough blazing star. As the trails steers left and down, you’ll see some of the same species as before. Continue left across the creek and to the left of the big kame that winds right and takes you back to the trailhead.
NOTE: If you visit early in the morning, wear rain gear or you’ll end up soaked to the skin from dew. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook (Unscouted. Last scouted on 8/10.): This is one of the finest preserves in the region, yet we don’t have enough people to scout it for you. Please help us scout, donate, or purchase my nationally acclaimed book from my website that celebrates Chicagoland’s natural wonders. It’s safe to assume that this preserve is looking great, right now. Last week, the woodland surrounding the savanna was making a strong statement with glorious displays of woodland sunflower and many more flowers and grasses that include the pink-plumed sweet Joe-Pye weed, blue American bellflower, alabaster starry campion and lofty pale Indian plantain, the yellow-petaled sweet coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and large flowered false foxglove, the purple buttons of ironweed, and the perfectly named bottlebrush grass. Under the open sky, golden rays of prairie dock, compass plant, and tall coreopsis reach for the clouds. Closer to the ground, we found scores of other flowers that took our breath away, with sparkling textures and colors that include the following species: swamp milkweed, rattlesnake master, white filigrees of flowering spurge and mountain mint, the goldenrods of early and grass-leaved, fluffs of nodding wild onion, and the pinks of obedient plant. If you run into the yellow-flowered rosinweed, run your fingers over the stiff foliage and you’ll instantly understand the name. The floppy stringy hairdos of prairie dropseed, with plumes that smell like slightly burnt buttered popcorn, are growing everywhere under the sun. But watch your step. Trust me. They are very easy to trip over. NOTE: If you visit in the morning, wear waterproof pants and shoes, otherwise you’ll probably get soaked from the dew.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman Estates (8/17+): This Illinois Nature Preserve is located inside the fence, where the color is dominated by large patches of pink with a mix of yellow and white. The star of this week’s show is obedient plant with its pink hinged blooms that flourish in large colonies. However its similarly colored costar of cylindrical blazing star is growing in large numbers, though more widely distributed. A smattering of nodding wild onion adds flashes of ivory and salmon, while flowering spurge provides a brilliant sparkle. As you pan across the landscape, the golden blooms of the Silphium genus dominate the yellows with prairie dock and compass plant towering overhead and rough-leaved rosinweed grounded below. A handful of tall coreopsis also contributes to the golden show alongside the goldenrods of stiff and field that are just showing their buttery buds. Western sunflower is starting, too, along with the purple blossoms of rough blazing star, which will be putting on the next big show. The woodland is flushed with the yellows of woodland sunflower, cup plant, tall coreopsis, and prairie dock. Outside the fence, you’ll also find an abundance of blooms and seas of late-summer-toned grasses. NOTE: Consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen while you’re here. It’s roughly in the neighborhood.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs (8/18+): This preserve is just beautiful at this time of year, with various blooms and habitats that you can experience while you’re hiking about. In the prairie, the most conspicuous wildflowers come from flowering spurge, rosinweed, tall coreopsis, woodland sunflower, grass-leaved goldenrod, and prairie dock amidst the gorgeous seas of grasses that include big bluestem and Indian grass. Compass plant is still flowering and we’re now beginning to see the start of long-bracted tickseed sunflower and the skyward blooms of sawtooth sunflower, both of which will provide dramatic shows in the coming weeks. And the purples of the occasional ironweed have replaced the fading torches of prairie blazing star. The woodland is alive with the browning tufts of sweet Joe-Pye weed. And the magnificent aquatic American lotus flower is ending its bloom at the north end of Hogwash Slough. Its cream-colored blossoms resemble those of a water lily, but they’re much larger—up to eight inches wide atop stems that can reach six feet high. NOTE: Theodore Stone Preserve and Wolf Road Prairie is not too far away.
Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove (Unscouted. Last scouted on 8/10.): I expect the flowers to be similar to when I scouted it last week. During that visit, the remnant prairie was toned in yellow and fading whites with the most prominent show being staged by towering golden blooms of compass plant. You should still find the yellow rays of rough-leaved rosinweed, the whimsical rattlesnake master, sparkling sprays of flowering spurge. And cream gentian, rough blazing star, and pasture thistle were just starting to flower.
GO, IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion (8/17+): Often at the very end of August into the first week of September, the preserve puts on a beautiful show of the purple rough blazing star amidst sprays of western sunflower, flowering spurge, the glorious showy goldenrod, and the feathery Indian grass. However, as we wait for the big performance to begin, flowering spurge is already blooming beautifully across the preserve as it’s costars are still just entering the stage. You can now experience the the round trumpeted yellow blossom of large flowered false foxglove, the remaining blooms of purple prairie clover, the lovely scented whorled milkweed, some grass-leaved and early goldenrod, and shrubby cinquefoil.
Theodore Stone Preserve in Hodgkins (8/18=): The sea of grasses and the mix of yellow flowers is the story of the week. Experience the beautiful flowing grassland that includes many species: Indian grass, big bluestem, little bluestem, switch grass, Canada wild rye, and side oats grama. The yellow hues are made up of the dainty blooms of tall coreopsis, prairie dock, compass plant, rosinweed, sweet coneflower, and goldenrod. The occasional deep pinks of ironweed add a little extra sumpin’ sumpin’ to the panorama. And you’ll also find lots of rattlesnake master along with fading wild quinine and mountain mint. Look for the beautiful pink swamp milkweed in the low or wet areas. NOTE: Spears Woods and Wolf Road Prairie are not too far away.
Gensburg-Markham Prairie in Markham (Unscouted.) Though we didn’t scout it, you should definitely give it a try, if you’re in the area. NOTE: The preserve is NOT LOCKED. It only looks that way. The chain is just draped over the top of the gate. Just move the chain and enter. Once inside, I suggest walking all of the trails because of how the prairie and flowers vary along the way.
NOTE: Under the summer sun, this prairie can feel hot and bright. For a more enjoyable time, visit in the morning or late-afternoon.
Lake in the Hills Fen in Lake in the Hills (8/17): PRESERVE IS CLOSED FOR TRAIL REPAIRS.
PLANT OF THE WEEK: OBEDIENT PLANT
Obedient plant can be found at many local preserves, like here at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, and Wolf Road Prairie. Use your finger to pivot the flower on the stem and it will obediently remain in place, hence the name. Though, grow it in your garden, and it has a habit of spreading and not staying put.*
PHOTO SECTION
Wolf Road Prairie: A State of Glorious Chaos
A jungle of prairie dock reaches for the sky at Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester.*
Bluff Spring Fen is Teeming with Blooms
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.*
Sweet Joe-Pye weed grows tall in the oak savanna at the side of a kame at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin*
Bottlebrush grass and wild bergamot glow in the morning light in the oak savanna at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin.*
In August, cylindrical blazing star covers the northeast kame at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
Atop this hill prairie called Shoe Factory Road Prairie, obedient plant and Indian grass take in the view.*
Cylindrical Blazing Star
Cylindrical blazing star (Liatris cylindracea if you care) likes dry sunny conditions. I often find it growing in gravel or moist sand. The plant only stands two feet tall, which is short for a late-summer bloomer. But it makes up for its above-ground stature by possessing the deepest roots of any prairie or savanna species, reaching down as far as fifteen feet. In August, cylindrical blazing star blooms, here, in the sand savanna at Indiana Dunes National Park and in the gravelly prairies of Bluff Spring Fen and Shoe Factory Road Prairie. *
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve
In late summer, early flowering spurge and purple rough blazing star blanket the black oak savanna at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*
In late summer, large flowered false foxglove blooms in profusion in the black oak savanna at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois. You can also experience this flower at Pembroke Savanna, Indiana Dunes National Park, and Bluff Spring Fen.*
Nodding Wild Onion
On this sweltering and sticky August evening at Lockport Prairie, I returned to the car relieved to unload my nearly thirty pounds of camera gear and sweat-soaked photo vest. As I took my seat and started my Easy-Bake Oven of a car, the air conditioning suddenly circulated a cold breeze from below and I recognized a familiar scent, one that made me instinctively glance to the floor expecting to find a discarded Burger King bag baking in the heat. But there was no bag. Then it came to me. I was smelling exactly what I had been photographing: these pink, nodding wild onions that had transferred their sweet aroma to my boots. The pink blooms of nodding wild onion are the highlight of Lockport Prairie. But the sweetly stinky plant can also be found at many other prairies in our region and in our showcase preserves.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a whimsical Chicago prairie flower with heads that resemble Tinker Toys, or molecular structures, plants you might find in Arizona or Texas. The plant gets its name because Native Americans brewed a tea from the root as an antidote for rattlesnake venom. To prevent bites, some chewed on the root, then spat on their hands before handling a rattlesnake. Of course, I’m interested to know if this really works. What’s more, the research may not even require a flight to the desert. That’s because, believe it or not, the rare and endangered eastern massasauga rattlesnake lives right here in the Chicago area. So, if you perform the experiment, please get back to me with the results, either you or next of kin. 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.*
Sweet Joe-Pye Weed
In the open woodland at Spears Woods in Willow Springs, summer brings tall blooms of sweet Joe-Pye weed.*
Woodland Sunflower
At Somme Prairie Grove, masses of woodland sunflower take over the grove to envelope this majestic bur oak.*
Flowering Spurge
Flowering spurge glows in the summer morning light on the sand prairie at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*
The floating white blooms of flowering spurge erupts across the sand savanna at Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve in Hopkins Park, Illinois. And you can find this flower at many other of our showcase sites, including Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Wolf Road Prairie.*
Compass Plant
The golden flowers of compass plant begin to bloom atop a stalk that reaches for the sky. They’re an iconic species that can be found in most of our mesic prairies. *
Landscape of compass plant at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville.*
Mountain Mint
Summer storm clouds brew at Kickapoo Prairie where mountain mint, rattlesnake master, Indian grass, and compass plant glow in the sun.*
American Lotus at Tomahawk Slough & Hogwash Slough
Tomahawk Slough in Willow Springs fills with American Lotus. You can also see it from a distance at Hogwash Slough in Spears Woods.*
Tomahawk Slough in Willow Springs teems with the grand American Lotus. You an reach the wetland by first parking at the far end of Pulaski Woods parking lot and then walking a short distance along the trails.*
Grasses of the Season
In the morning, this plume of Canada wild rye and all the plants of the prairie become drenched in morning dew. Wear your raingear!
Late-summer grasses of Canada wild rye and big bluestem sparkle with dew in the morning prairie Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.
The towering height of big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.” It can be found at every black soil prairie on our list.*
Miniature flowers delicately hang from the turkey-footed tassels of big bluestem grass.*
In the dolomite prairie at Theodore Stone Preserve in Hodgkins, Illinois, feathery plumes of dew-drenched Indian grass steal the show from rough blazing star and goldenrod.*
A single stalk of prairie dock rises above the fog and sea of little bluestem and rough blazing star at Theodore Stone Preserve in Hodgkins, Illinois *
Side-oats Grama grass blooms with delicate red flowers in the tallgrass prairie at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
Marram Grass
Near the Lake Michigan shore at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, amidst marram grass and bearberry, the low light of morning revealed shapes in the sand that chronicled the secrets of time and affirmed the existence of wondrous creatures and invisible forces.*
Prairie Root System
The root system of some common prairie plants. Note that cylindrical blazing star has the deepest root that reaches over fifteen feet! Click the image for a bigger view.
Donate to Our GoFundMe Campaign
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
