Sept. 28, 2011 Uncommon Plants in a Wet Prairie

Bear Lake Prairie

 On the south shore of Bear Lake at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College is a wet prairie with a distinct set of plants now in bloom.  [Click for directions to the Learning Center south of Wolf Lake, IN; park in the learning center lot and follow the trail map to Bear Lake Prairie.]

The wet prairie soil is a marl, i.e., a gray mixture of sand, clay and calcareous sediment.  Some of the plants in the wet prairie only grow in wet, alkaline soils; others grow in a variety of habitats.

Trail through Little Blue Stem Grass and many other plants

Little Blue Stem grass is reddish this time of year.  It dominates this wet prairie, but it also thrives in drier habitats..  Between the tufts of Little Blue Stem many other plants, including several uncommon ones, are now in bloom.

Nodding Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes cernua

Nodding Ladies' Tresses are 12-15 inch spikes 15-40 white flowers stick up in the grass; their long, thin, basal leaves are camouflaged by the grass leaves.

Nodding Ladies' Tresses

Bear Lake Prairie is one of only three places within 50 miles of Goshen where I find Nodding Ladies Tresses, Spiranthes cernua, although the USDA Plants Data Base lists it as occurring in most Michiana counties and in all but a few states east of the Mississippi.  Although S. cernua is widespread, it is nonetheless an uncommon wildflower - most people have neither heard of nor seen it.

Pictured below are other plants that grow in this prairie but which I find in few other places.

Purple Rattlesnakeroot, Prenanthes racemosa

Closed Bottle Gentian, Gentiana andrewsii

Marsh Yellow Cress, Rorippa palustris

The Marsh Yellow Cress has a tiny, yellow, four-petaled flower that is easy to miss; I saw just two individuals.  This is the first time I have ever seen or heard of this plant; I used two wildflower guides to key it out.  [Post script: Please see comments at the bottom of this entry; this identification may not be accurate.]

Shrubby Cinquefoil surrounded by Little Blue Stem

Many Shrubby Cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa, plants populate this wet prairie, but they are overshadowed by the Little Blue Stem.   Shrubby Cinquefoil also grows in drier habitats.   Most of the following plants also grow in a variety of habitats.

Blazing Star species, Liatris species

Blazing Star flowers up close

This Blazing Star may be Northern Blazing Star, Liatris scariosa, but after consulting several guides I am still not sure.

Flat-Topped White Aster, Aster umbellatus

There are at least three species of goldenrod growing in the prairie.  

Goldenrod species, perhaps Slender-Leaved Goldenrod

I'm uncertain about the goldenrod above, which for now I'm calling it Slender-Leaved Goldenrod, Solidago tenuifolia (or Euthamia remota in some guides) because of the flat inflorescence and very narrow leaves.  There were few plants of this species in the prairie.

The most common goldenrod in the Bear Lake Prairie is Ohio Goldenrod, Solidago ohioensis.  Ohio Goldenrod is primarily a wetland plant.

Ohio Goldenrod, Solidago ohioensis

Ohio Goldenrod inflorescence

Showy Goldenrod, below, grows in a variety of habitats, not only in wetlands.  They were much less numerous than the Ohio Goldenrod in this prairie.

Showy Goldenrod, Solidago speciosa

Close up of Showy Goldenrod flower heads

Goldenrod pollen does not contribute significantly to allergies. Ragweed pollen is the culprit, but because goldenrod and ragweed flower at about the same time, goldenrod often gets the blame.  Ragweed is one of the many native plants growing in Bear Lake Prairie, but goldenrods are far more numerous.

Common Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisifolia

[As I noted at several places above, I had some problems identifying some of the plants.  Please feel free to comment if you can help improve any of the above identifications.]

Sept. 21, 2011 A New Prairie

Two years ago Goshen College students and faculty seeded a prairie along Indiana SR 15 on the south end of the Goshen College campus.  (See Trading turf for prairie and Native Landscaping Project . )

It will take several years of careful maintenance to establish the prairie, but it is off to a solid start.  Below are pictures of plants now in bloom.

Tall Ironweed, Veronia gigantea

Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis

Ironweed and Cardinal Flower are just beginning to establish in the lowest and wettest part of the prairie.  The majority of the plants flowering now are in the higher and drier places.

Lance-Leaved Coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata

Rosinweed, Silphium integrifolium

Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea

Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta

Black-eyed Susan has hairs all over the stem and simple leaves.  If you click on the photo to enlarge it you will see the hairs.

Three-Lobed Coneflower, Rudbeckia subtomentosa

 Sweet Coneflower, Rudbeckia subtomentosa, is easy to confuse with Black-Eyed Susan unless you find the three-lobed leaves at the base of the plant. 

Three-lobed lower leaves of Three-Lobed Coneflower

Four species of Goldenrod are blooming.  Leaf shape and size and arrangement of the small flower heads vary from species to species, but sometimes the differences are subtle enough that I overlook or misinterpret them.  Therefore, my identifications below may not be accurate.  Please comment if you question my identification.

Canada Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis

Very often this is the species you see along roadsides.  It likely was not seeded in this reconstructed prairie, but is a "volunteer'.

Old-Field Goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis

Note the large leaves at the base of the Old-Field Goldenrod.

Monarch Butterfly on Stiff Goldenrod, Solidago rigida

This individual is leaning way over, but note the rigid stem and rounded leaves.

Buckeye Butterflies on Stiff Goldenrod, Solidago rigida

Grass-Leaved Goldenrod, Solidago graminifolia

Note the flat-topped arrangement of the the flower heads on S. graminifolia.  Botanist K. Yatshievych in Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers calls this species "Common Flat-Topped Goldenrod" and uses the scientific name Euthania graminifolia.

Monarch on Smooth Blue Aster, Aster laevis

 Several species of Asters are now blooming in this prairie.  Asters are as difficult for me to identify as Goldenrods are; again I welcome corrections to my identification.

Clasping leaves of Smooth Blue Aster, A. laevis

One key characteristic of Smooth Blue Aster is the way the stiff, smooth leaves clasp the smooth stem and have little "ears" that extend beyond the stem.  Some species of Aster have hairy stems and/or leaves.

Buckeye butterfly on New England Aster, A. novae-angliae

The bright reddish-purple New England Asters are the most showy in this prairie. There are several species of less showy, white asters that I have problems distinguishing.  The white aster in the photos below could be either "Many-Flowered" Aster, Aster ericoides or Heath Aster, Aster pilosus.

 A white aster, perhaps Aster ericoides or A. pilosus

A. ericoides or A. pilosus

September 18, 2011, 4G = Great Goldenrod Guessing Game

Tower at Bonneyville County Park

From 5-6 p.m. this evening I was near the lookout tower at Bonneyville Mill County Park trying to figure out the Goldenrods in the vicinity of the parking lot.  Not all Goldenrods are the same!  Yatskievych's Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers describes 15 Goldenrod species in our area.  It is a challenge for me, amateur that I am, to figure them out.  I depend primarily on Newcomb's Wildflower Guide for identification.  Some of the species have unique characteristics that make them relatively easy to figure out, but others differ only in small details.  I will appreciate comments on the following identifications. [You may click on the photos to enlarge them.]

Canada Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis

The most common species, Canada Goldenrod, is on all sides of the lot. The numerous small flower-heads are "in curved, one-side clusters, together forming a large terminal cluster" (quoting Newcomb's Guide). 

Grass-leaved Goldenrod, Solidago graminifolia

The stem of Grass-leaved Goldenrod is branched at the top, forming a flat inflorescence.  Both Canada Goldenrod and Grass-leaved Goldenrod grow in a wide variety of habitats.

Rough-Leaved Goldenrod, Solidago patula

Rough-Leaved Goldenrod grows primarily in wet habitats; it grows in the wet ditch just across CR 108 from the parking lot entrance. (See what was blooming in this same spot in the May 16 blog entry.) The large, sandpaper-rough lower leaves of Rough-Leaved Goldenrod make it easier to identify than most other Goldenrods.

Large lower leaves of S. patula

S. patula flower clusters

Also growing in the same wet ditch is what I identified as Late Goldenrod, Solidago gigantea.  

Late Goldenrod, Solidago gigantea

Late Goldenrod is so similar to Canada Goldenrod.   I identified it as Late Goldenrod primarily because it grows in a wet area and its flower heads appeared a tad bigger than those of S. canadensis.  But I may be wrong.

Flower heads of Soldago gigantea, clustered on one side of stem

Just inside the woods to the west of the parking lot I spotted what I identify as Elm-Leaved Goldenrod, Solidago ulmifolia.  The lower leaves are large and sharply toothed.

Elm-Leaved Goldenrod, Solidago ulmifolia

Terminal cluster S. ulmifolia flower heads

 By now you may have more information on Goldenrods than you want or need - a good place to stop.

September Church Flowers

The wildflowers now in bloom at the Waterford Mennonite Church wetlands are totally different from those featured in our April 26, 2011 post.  The most striking and unusual plant now in full bloom is the Closed Bottle Gentian.  [You may click on the photos to enlarge them.]

Closed Bottle Gentian, Gentiana andrewsii

If you start the loop trail at the east side of the pond and go around the pond counter-clockwise, you will see Closed Bottle Gentians on both sides of the trail.   Although there are many Closed Bottle Gentians growing here, they are not common in our area.  They are not listed as threatened in Indiana in the USDA Plants Database, as is true for several northeastern states.

Closed Bottle Gentian

Closed tight!  Too tight for most insects to pollinate, except for bumble bees.

Bumble bee opening a Closed Bottle Gentian

Bumble bees are big enough to pry open the "bottles"; as they descend into the flower the rim closes again, then reopens as the bee pushes out.  (I took this picture Sept. 17, 2008; the others I took 2 days ago.)  Many other native flowers are also blooming around the pond and in the floodplain between the pond and the Elkhart River to the west.

A reminder, just in case the Waterford Church flowers tempt you!

Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica

Great Blue Lobelia is nearly the same bright blue and grows in some of the same places as the Gentian.

Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis

Another Lobelia, Cardinal Flower, also grows around the pond, but the biggest populations are in the floodplain, off of the loop trail, especially at border of the Elkhart River, where these "Swamp People" (in photo below) found it blooming a few days ago.  The floodplain forest here appears not to have been greatly disturbed over the years - very few invasive shrubs grow here. 

"Swamp People" in floodplain forest

Crayfish holes in the floodplain

Water Parsnip, Sium suave

Arrowhead grows in the muddiest part of the floodplain - I sank into the mud up to the rim of my knee-boots when I took this picture.

Common Arrowhead, Sagittaria latifolia

Back to the firm trail that loops the pond.  Years ago the pond was dug out in the floodplain; nonetheless, many native plants have re-established along the pond border.

Joe-Pye Weed,  Eupatorium maculatum

Boneset, Eupatorium perfoiatum

Calico Aster,  Aster lateriflorus

An aster, perhaps Aster praealtus or A. puniceus

Swamp Thistle, Cirsium muticum

Orange Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis

Swamp Lousewort, Pedicularis lanceolata

 The "Swamp People" who hiked the trail and floodplain with me found two three-legged frogs in the pond and spotted several painted turtles sunning on emerged logs

A three-legged frog

Painted Turtle

When we  got back to the car we found hitch-hiking seeds on our clothes.

Seeds of Tickseed Trefoil on pant leg.