Restoring Bottomland Prairie: June 2016 (after Burning in March)

Overview of Creek Field, early June 2016, looking west
The white blossoms are Daisy Fleabane, not
Hedge Parsley; the lovely pink flower is Echinacea
purpurea.

I had to describe the Creek Field one year ago--in June 2015--as a "sea of white."  That was due to the Hedge Parsley, a weedy non-native annual, that blanketed the field with trillions of white flowers. 

The overview pictures here show that one year later, in early June 2016, the dominant color is green.   

Overview of Creek Field,
looking east, early June 2016.
That's Giant Ragweed in the
foreground.

Much of that hue was furnished by the native perennials that were in our seed mix--Bee Balm, Sawtooth Sunflower, Whole-leaf Rosinweed, Canada Milkvetch, False Sunflower, Eastern Gamagrass, & Canada Wildrye--all of which appeared in early June with hardy green growth.  To that growth was added a proliferation of the stems & leaves of volunteer native plants--Maximillian Sunflower, Gray-headed Coneflower, Jerusalem Artichoke, Goldenrod, Tall Thistle, Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola), Horseweed (Conyza canadensis), Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), and Giant Ragweed (Ambrosia trifida).   

 (I discuss in previous posts the non-native invasives--Musk Thistle, Crown Vetch, Poison Hemlock, and the Sweet Clovers-- which I also had to deal with in June.)

As June progressed, blossoms of various colors appeared amidst the lush green growth, as the different species began to bloom.   

Eastern Gamagrass bloomed luxuriantly!    It has an impressive, and to me improbable, reproductive structure.   It must work, as we have lots of Eastern Gamagrass--about twice as many flowering plants as last year.  

The little curved
worm-like structures hanging down toward the bottom of the
inflorescence are the female flowers.  The purple cones hanging
from white stems further up are the male flowers!

Big-flower Coreopsis, Indian Blanket Flower, and Purple Coneflowers all bloomed in early June.

Large-flowered Coreopsis
(Coreopsis grandiflora)
Native perennial.  In our seed mix.

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella)
Native annual.   In our seed mix.
Behind the Gaillardia is a stand of  Gray-headed Coneflower.

                                     

Echinacea purpurea blooms in front of a
stand of Saw-toothed Sunflower,
with  the seed pods of Spiderwort
forming to our right.

                                                                






















Uh-oh!  There was a pop-quiz on Sunflowers!  

Despite having devoted myself to Sunflower Studies last year, new yellow blossoms & fresh green growth made me wonder how much I could remember.

The bracts and blossoms of
Saw-toothed Sunflower,
(Helianthus grosseserratus)  

False Sunflower leaves.

I had to remind myself that Saw-toothed Sunflower has long, skinny bracts that are loose & wiggly, while False Sunflower can often be recognized by its butter-yellow inflorescence atop a long, naked stem.  

False Sunflower
(Heliopsis helianthoides)  

I had to learn that False Sunflower has leaves that are sturdy opposites, while Saw-tooth Sunflower has variable leaves. 

Saw-tooth Sunflower was at first confusing to me because one of my books says that its leaves are alternate.   What I was seeing coming up had opposite leaves, with pairs often at right-angles to each other, forming a four-pointed star.  Finding a source that said "variable" was a huge help to me, and indeed, as the month progressed, the later leaves, further down the stem, were often alternate.   Also confusing was the fact that Jerusalem Artichoke, when it first came up, had pairs of leaves at right angles,  too, also forming a four-pointed star.  Helpful there was realizing how rough-hairy the stems of Jerusalem Artichokes usually are, compared to the smooth, almost waxy stems of Saw-tooth Sunflowers.

Saw-tooth Sunflower leaves
and stem.

Rosa Escamilla
with Canada Wild Rye
Creek Field, June 16, 2016

During the week of June 11, we were so blessed to have visits from dear friends--Nancy Fey, Rob Prince, Tom Fey, Molly Prince, K'Naz Raffa, and Rosa Escamilla--and to share the Creek Field with them!  During that time I kind of forgot about my camera, so I have only one photo remaining from that time:  a photo of Rosa, admiring Canada Wild Rye in the Creek Field.

Bee Balm, budding
June 16, 2016

Every year I miss 8 days of Creek Field, due to family reunions in Wisconsin.  

This year as I was getting ready to leave, Bee Balm and Canada Milkvetch were getting ready to bloom!

Canada Milkvetch, budding
June 16, 2016

 When I returned, both species were in full bloom.

Bee Balm, blooming
June 26, 2016

Canada Milkvetch blooming

Bee Balm blooming prolifically.

Bee Balm and Canada Milkvetch both bloomed prolifically!

Canada Milkvetch blooms amid Purple Coneflowers & Black-Eyed Susans

We weren't surprised to find Canada Wild Rye blooming, as it had been in our seed mix.

Canada Wild Rye blooming

We were, however, surprised and pleased to find a native foxtail blooming, probably Setaria parviflora.  

Setaria parviflora (?) in Creek Field
June 26, 2016

Good luck!  May you find your niche.   And may you be happy here!

Saw-tooth Sunflowers blooming
June 26, 2016

By the end of June, Saw-tooth Sunflowers were blooming, with their characteristic wind-blown look.

That characteristic wind-blown look

Purple Coneflowers, which have appeared every year since 2013, increased their numbers & locations in 2016.  They bloomed throughout June.

Purple Coneflowers
Echinacea purpurea
bloomed profusely, and in many
new places in the Creek Field,
throughout June 2016.

Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)
Along the Loop Path
Creek Field, June 26, 2016

However, the native annuals that were in our seed mix, such as Plains Coreopsis and Indian Blanket Flower, decreased their numbers.  

For a brief time in June 2013, they covered the field!  

Now they reseed and reappear in only a few areas, mostly along the edges. 

Blanket Flower
(Gaillardia Pulchella) grew 4' tall
in order to compete with the neighboring
Gray-Headed Coneflowers and
Bee Balm.
Creek Field, June 26, 2016

One yellow Blanket Flower bloomed in the middle of the field.   To do so, it grew to four feet--twice its usual height!

Whole-leaf Rosinweed towers over Giant
Ragweed on the left, while Saw-tooth
Sunflower does the same on the right.

There were large patches of Giant Ragweed in parts of the Creek Field during June.  But it's clear from this photo that over time this volunteer annual will be given a run for its money by perennials such as Whole-leaf Rosinweed and Saw-tooth Sunflower.  

Whole-leaf  Rosinweed
(Silphium integrifolium) growing tall.
Saw-tooth Sunflower is blooming in the background.

Whole-leaf Rosinweed grows tall before it blooms.

Whole-leaf Rosinweed leaves.

From this picture of its leaves, you can see where it gets its name.  The leaves do not have separate stems but appear to be one "whole leaf."

Compass Plant
Silphium laciniatum
June 26, 2016

Tall as the other sunflowers may grow, the volunteer Compass Plant continued to dominate the skyline right up to the end of June.  Note how different its leaves are from those of its cousin, Whole-leaf Rosinweed.

Compass Plant leaves.

Compared to the "sea of white" that was the Creek Field one year ago, the Creek Field in June 2016 offered some lovely vistas of varying heights, widths, shapes, and colors.  

Creek Field, looking southwest, June 26, 2016.   Photo shows blossoms of Eastern Gamagrass,
Purple Coneflower, Bee Balm, Canada Milkvetch, Fleabane, and Gray-headed Coneflower.

Creek Field, looking northwest, June 26, 2016.   Photo shows blossoms of Fleabane, Purple Coneflower, Clasping Cone Flower, Gray-headed Coneflower, Bee Balm, and Eastern Gamagrass.

Hopefully, the variety that was pleasing to the human eye will be just the variety needed by creatures of bottomland prairie!