The following article was written by Max Kornetzke, the Land Manager at the Woodland Dunes Nature Center.
Mid-June and early July are opportune times to explore the restored prairies of Woodland Dunes. One of my favorite sections is back along our Willow Trail, where alder thicket meets meadow.
Pretty much everywhere along the trail and throughout the prairie are the bright yellow sunflower-like blooms of the short statured lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata). The cheery flowers of this plant are very inviting to our native pollinators. They spread by small rhizomes to form colonies and like dry, sandy or rocky soil. They will happily seed themselves where conditions are right.
Dotting the prairie are the deep blue flowers of Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohioensis). Ohio spiderwort has waxy leaves that are linear and grasslike. The flowers are beloved by our native bees.
Several individuals of the beautiful white false indigo (Baptisia alba) can also be found. This large, herbaceous legume has waxy blue-green compound leaves and spikes of white flowers. This stunning plant will continue to grow as the season goes on and gain shrub-worthy size. Late in the season the pods turn jet black, adding unique interest to the fall landscape.
Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) is an unusual plant also found throughout the prairie. The foliage has a grayish waxy coating on it giving it a silvery appearance. As its latin binomial implies, its lower leaves resemble that of a yucca plant. When in flower, people often mistake them for a strange thistle (which are members of the aster family), but this plant is actually a member of the carrot family.
In some areas along the trail there are colonies of spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium). This plant can be found in the prairie as well as the dry ridges of our State Natural Area. It’s a member of the milkweed family with a rhizomatous root system, spreading branched form, and pink bell-shaped flowers. Like milkweed, this plant produces a latex sap that is unpalatable to most herbivores.
Along the pond’s edges are dozens of Southern blue-flag iris (Iris virginica). If you’re able to get up close, they have a pleasant floral aroma. Unfortunately there is also the invasive (and of course, beautiful) yellow-flag iris (Iris pseudacorus). This species was introduced as an ornamental but escapes and can outcompete native vegetation in emergent plant communities – it’s best to dig and remove rhizomes if you encounter it on your property.
By the time July swings around, this back prairie will be bursting with even more color and buzzing pollinators. Be sure to take a stroll out there and enjoy the beautiful displays our native plants have to offer.
