Some Flowers...

An orchid (Pogonia ophioglossoides)

Coreopsis lanceolata

Baptesia spp.

Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)

A milkweed (Asclepias viridis)

Road Stop

Our botany crew was invited to our boss Susan Farrington's house for dinner. On the way there we stopped on the side of a road to see a classic prairie species. The Liatris pycnostachya (Prairie Blazing Star).








The group of twelve that we are immediately disperse into the vegetation at the site of a new species we yet to have seen. (This is especially the case after we are no longer in the middle of a hot workday, and looking forward to a free homemade dinner!) Here are some pictures from the stop.















Crew members are deep in discussion about characteristics of an unknown plant.














Plant roadkill. Invasive plants are frequently uprooted and thrown across the pavement.














Our boss Susan (left) tells us about the Prairie Blazing Star.

A Glade

The other day, one of our plots was right in the center of a dolomite glade. Dolomite is just a type of limestone that contains magnesium, so the soil in glades here is very calcareous. Glades are typically very dry and exposed, with very little overstory vegetation. They usually appear as grassy openings because of the high pH and shallow depth to the bedrock. Over time however, Red cedars (Juniperus virginiana), are slowly overgrowing glades. Regular forest fires help to maintain them by keeping the cedar population down.

Pygmy Rattlesnake

The diversity of plants is also very high in glades, and unfortunately for us we usually have to spend up to four hours in the sun on just one glade plot. However, glades are a great way to learn a lot of new plants. Not only are there new plants there, but also new animals. We've seen numerous lizards, and last time we went we saw our first venomous snake in the field. Pygmy rattlesnakes are small and not as harmful as Timber rattlesnakes, but still as venomous. They just don't have as much venom to inject. We also found a tarantula den. The two that saw it first saw one of its legs coming out of the hole and they said it must have been larger than 1/8" thick! unfortunately I didn't see it.

Tarantula hole with my hand for scale

In the glade

Hey everyone,
Sorry for the wait. A new post will be coming soon.