This past July has been the longest month of my life. Every morning I wake up and think, “Oh my god is it still July?” That might sound negative, but it really isn’t! I think I feel that way because in June I was so overwhelmed that I felt like I wasn’t really absorbing any information, so the whole month was kind of a blur. Come the end of July I’m feeling more acclimated to the prairie. Obviously I still have a lot to learn and I’m well behind the local interns, but I’d like to think I’m beginning to hold my own. Now that I’m not drowning in new information every time I go outdoors to look at plants, I can really start to appreciate them. This blog post is dedicated to the beautiful flowers of the prairie.
Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis)Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
Radiant Reds
My favorite prairie plants thus far are probably Cardinal Flower or Royal Catchfly. Their flowers are an almost impossibly deep, vivid red. In a sea of green, they are a shock to the eyes. Maybe I’ll sound like a sap, but it feels like a miracle that so rich a color could exist and that I’m lucky enough to experience it.
The picture above is from the day the Plants of Concern folks came to Midewin and we helped them monitor Silene regia. It was such pleasant weather outside and towards the end we ventured into a black raspberry thicket, so we snacked on raspberries while we looked for beautiful flowers. That was one of those times I felt very happy about what I get to do for work.
A sedge meadow at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
Oh, the prairie, what a thing to behold! Grass swaying in the breeze, bees buzzing, birds chirping, maybe a nearby summer storm rolling in over the horizon. What do you feel looking at this photo? Tranquility, serenity, a sense of times gone by? Unfortunately, this peaceful facade conceals something more sinister. The seldom spoken truth is that the prairie is a place of unimaginable danger. As someone from the Sonoran desert, I thought we had it bad with all the spiny plants and rattlesnakes but at least our threats make themselves obvious. Needless to say, I was not prepared for the inconspicuous terrors that awaited me at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
TOP 3 PRAIRIE PERILS
#1) TICKS
Disgusting. Terrible. Evil. Awful. There are no good adjectives to describe ticks. I have yet to find a tick on my person, but I know that eventually my luck has to run out and I rue the day that it does. They take the #1 spot because I really do not want Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever! It’s pretty straightforward, they’re just plain gross.
#2) WILD PARSNIP (Pastinaca sativa)
This could be a very cool plant if you don’t think about how annoying it is. If your skin brushes up against wild parsnip it causes a reaction called phytophotodermatitis, which means that the affected area will develop blisters and burns when exposed to sunlight. I unfortunately experienced this first-hand, but I have to admit that I was a little impressed.
#3) HEMLOCK
Midewin has 2 varieties of hemlock; the very same poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) that did Socrates in way back when, and water hemlock (Cicuta maculata). According to the USDA, “water hemlock is the most violently toxic plant that grows in North America.” However, it only comes in at #3 because you actually have to ingest it for it to kill you. The point is, you probably shouldn’t put any random Apiaceae in your mouth.
Of course I’m kidding! So far my time at Midewin has been fun and informative, it is so different from Arizona but I’m enjoying the experience of being somewhere entirely new. Here are some things I’ve especially appreciated.
TOP 3 PLEASANT PRAIRIE THINGS
#1) FALL-OFF-THE-BONE SEDGES
You know that Carex are ready for seed collection when you can run the inflorescence through your fingers and the perigynia fall out like tender barbecue falls off the bone. It is so satisfying but maybe less tasty than actual barbecue.
#2) – COOL SEEDS
Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) seeds are small, shiny, black spheres that glisten like a beetle’s shell would. The seeds rattle cheerfully in the dry inflorescence so if someone wanted a makeshift maraca they might try visiting Midewin in June.
Camassia scilloides seeds
#3) – KILLDEER (Charadrius vociferus)
They’re funny! So far I haven’t been able to get close enough for a good photo or video but I will keep trying.
To close things out I’m including a relevant poem, this might be how I conclude every blog post but I haven’t quite decided. Check back next month to see if I keep this up, I guess! I hope all the interns elsewhere are having a good time.
Grass in the Wind by Herman Reinstein
Reinstein, H. (1932). Grass in the Wind. Poetry, 40(6), 312–312. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20578676
