Blooms on the Dry Prairie

Growth on the prairies is mimicking that of the Prairie Garden.  That’s encouraging, since that’s how I had hoped my artificial creation would act.  However, the actual growth is less than encouraging.  This area of short grass is typically dotted with bright color at this time in the season.  The color this year is almost entirely pale green.

Some plants are actually doing well despite the odd weather.  Little Ladies’ Tresses, Spiranthes tuberosa, is looking very well.  Its full height of about six inches is just not enough to make it very noticeable.

Petals of the Spiranthes flower never look quite real.  I always imagine them as being made of ice crystals or clear plastic.

Whorled Rosinweed blooms are a bright yellow that should be visible from a considerable distance.

Unfortunately, instead of their normal five foot height, the plants are averaging closer to 18 inches.  The plants are also producing just a single bloom instead of the usual half dozen.  The flowers are well hidden by the grass.

Flowering Spurge is similarly diminished this year.  The plants normally top out around three feet tall.  These are lucky to reach a foot.

Bluehearts have remained relatively unaffected.  Height is slightly reduced, but the flower spike is just as full as ever.  Their blooms are too small to be easily seen at a distance, so they don’t do much to brighten the landscape.

As with those in the Prairie Garden, the Round-podded St. Johnswort is producing a new set of blooms.  The recent rains must have really invigorated this species.

Rose Pink continues to bloom.  This species has been blooming for the last couple of months and shows no signs of slowing.  Some of the early bloomers are already drying down and releasing seed.

Partridge Pea is blooming at a normal rate.  This species has the potential to form tall plants with many flowers, but Blue Jay Barrens specimens are always small and only produce one or two flowers.  I may collect a few seeds from this annual plant and see how large the plants get when given good soil and plenty of water.

Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil always does well and this year is no exception.  The flowers are not large enough to make a showy display, but there will be enough sticky seed pods this fall to cover a person’s pants legs as they walk through the field.

Another specimen of the same Trefoil species appears to have grown with its flower stalks fused.  There are always oddities of some sort showing up in the fields.  I would prefer to find oddities that turned out to be species I have not yet encountered.  It’s getting to be too late in the season for the prairies to suddenly burst with color.  Next year has got to bring a better display.

More Flowers and Insects

Several species of Tick Trefoils are actively producing their sticky seed pods. The pods attach to whatever animal happens to brush against them. As the animal continues its wandering, the clinging pod breaks apart and allows the seed to fall free. In this way the seeds get scattered far from the parent plant. I think the greatest collector of Tick Trefoil seeds is a pair of denim jeans. I may have spent as much time last fall cleaning pods from my clothes as I did actually out walking. This year’s crop of pods looks to be even larger.

Japanese Beetles as strongly attracted to the Tick Trefoils. Most of the heavy predation occurs late in the year after the plant has produced its crop of seeds. Since Japanese Beetles are such a pest on cultivated Roses, I would expect them to vigorously consume the Multiflora Rose. I rarely see this beetle on any of the wild rose species.

Here’s another hairy seed pod, but this one doesn’t stick. This is Hairy Milk Pea, Galactia volubilis, one of the uncommon species found here. The plant will create a long vine that twines its way through the tall prairie grasses.

The yellow spikes of Agrimony flowers are everywhere. These blooms are favored by small bees and flies who do an excellent job of pollination. The little yellow flowers are quite attractive and would be considered a nice landscape plant if viewed at this stage.

This is why most people avoid growing Agrimony in their flower gardens. The seed capsules develop a mass of stiff projections, each tipped with a fish hook type structure that’s designed to hold on to animal fur for a ride to a new growing location. When one seed capsule is snagged by a passing animal, the rest of the willowy plant whips over and leaves long rows of seed capsules attached to, let’s say the animal’s shirt. It’s things like this that cause my clothes to be washed in a separate load. Sometimes it’s hard to find where all of these seeds have hidden and no one in my family appreciates finding things I’ve collected in the field hiding somewhere in their freshly cleaned outfit.

This is a member of the family of Long-legged Flies, most likely a Condylostylus species. There are several species of these flies and most of them can be described as tiny and shiny. Most are predators on even smaller insects and spend their time sitting on the upper surface of leaves as they watch for prey items to fly by. I usually spot them as they sparkle in the sunlight.

I’m still seeing above average numbers of butterflies. I usually only see one or two Red-spotted Purples each year. I’ve seen dozens this year and have witnessed several mating couples.