A couple of weeks ago Alyssa and I biked the
Cambridge-to-Paris rail trail to visit the Glen Morris bluff prairie. This site is a botanical hotspot, most notably for the population of
American columbo (
Frasera caroliniensis) S2, an endangered species which prefers well-drained oak-hickory woodland and occasionally tallgrass prairie. At this time of year the 2m+ flowering stalks are pretty easy to spot. I've done counts for the last few years and 2014 was a great year for flowers with about 100 stalks present at this spot.
Another cool plant, which I had never seen at this site before,
ebony spleenwort (
).
Just prior to heading out I spotted a
fringed gentian (
Gentianopsis crinita) growing among an area of little bluestem (
Schizachyrium scoparium) and indian grass (
Sorghatrum nutans). Fall is a good time to spot gentians as their foliage turns bright red/purple.
No comments:
Post a Comment