Prairie Works is the source for ecological and landscape services in Northwest Illinois. Prairie Works can assist on projects large and small ranging from prairie, woodland and savanna restoration, invasive species control, controlled burning and bio-engineered erosion control. Prairie Works offers an environmentally friendly and dynamic solution to traditional land use practices and strives to connect people to the natural history of the area.

The Prairie Works Blog: A cyber bulletin posting articles, news, reports, information, statements, studies, inside dope, observations and ramblings since 2007. Please browse the archives at your leisure.

Monthly Archive for June, 2009

Rare Plant Mystery

Published
by
Cory Ritterbusch
on June 28, 2009
in Blog, driftless area, flora and galena, ill
. 0 Comments

An exciting discovery was made on May, 5. Maybe… A rare plant that has previously not been recorded growing in Illinois was found in Jo Daviess County. Discoveries like this do not happen often, if ever. Like a good mystery novel there are unanswered questions and twists in this story. The plant was located within the city limits of Galena, IL. Not in a pristine natural setting that one would expect to find a plant of this caliber and at one time this plant was sold commercially. What do you think?

I was working late when I received an email from Prairie Works crowd pleaser, Richard Pearce.

———————–

  from richard pearce
to cory ritterbusch <cory.ritterbusch@gmail.com>
date Tue, May 5, 2009 at 10:29 PM
subject  rare plant?
   
Hi Cory,
I’m in trouble now….I’ve found a plant that I think is Arabis alpina. However, it has not been reported in Ill. and in neighboring states it is extremely rare, found only in one to a few counties.  It’s on a limestone outcropping in Galena on private property.  If you think it’s A. alpina, then we can ask others to confirm.  I don’t want to get too excited too early.
———————–
Of course I was excited and made it to the site the next day. I was able to confirm it’s taxonomy. But there was still some speculation in our minds to it’s location being “in town,” and the plants history of being “cultivated for ornamental uses”. However, the plant is exactly where it would grow naturally. It was on a rock in an unglaciated area of the country and in a shady cool location. It was even on the North side of the rock. Who would have altered this massive boulder anyway. Miners didn’t do that sort of thing and neither did the homeowner.
So the research was on. Fellow botanist confirmed our speculations and a call was made to the states botanists. However, they were skepticle (why wouldnt they) and are currently overworked. Our research found that this species of plant could be purchased as an ornamental during the early 20th century. It was used in rock gardens and was imported from Italy, where it was a common alpine plant. The present homeowner had lived there since 1975 and has great knowledge of his surroundings. He assured us that he certainly did not plant it.
We found the former owner of the house living in California and wrote him. He lived in the house from 1955 until 1975. He replied to our letter in early June, stating, ” I’m sorry, I do not remember the plant, but I know I did not plant it.” He went on to talk a little more about the rock that harbors the plant but nothing helped solve our mystery.
We found a gardening magazine that talked of A. alpinaas a nice addition to a garden, easy to grow….that was published in Chicago in 1910. Arabis Alpina has the common names of: Rock Cress, Snowcap, and Snow on the Mountain. Without DNA evidence we cannot confirm if this plant is of natural or cultivated variety. Until that can happen this plant will remain ’the mystery plant.’
Is this Arabis alpina the relic from the ice age with profound importance? or is this Arabis alpina with the common name of Snowcap, planted before 1955 on a rock?
Pictures of the plant:
arabis-alpina-001
arabis-alpina-002
arabis-alpina-004

 

 

 

 

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Black Bear in Jo Daviess County

Published
by
Cory Ritterbusch
on June 19, 2009
in Blog, fauna, galena, ill and news
. 0 Comments

For the past two weeks we have been following reports of a Black Bear roaming around Northeastern Iowa. It was first reported near Castalia, IA and has since been seen west of Dubuque, IA,  near Maquoketa IA, and Bellevue, IA. This Bear had apparently crossed this Mississippi River into Illinois yesterday morning, entering North of Savanna, IL and was seen near IL Route 84.

Black Bear near Stockton, IL

Black Bear near Stockton, IL

This morning a Jo Daviess County sherrif deputy saw the bear crossing an agricultural field North of Route 20 near Canyon Park Rd west of Stockton. The deputy was able to take the picture we see here. Shortly afterwards it was photograped in a tree, a few miles North. You can see those pictures here.

It is believed that this bear had left its original habitat in Minnesota and came down the Mississippi river corridor. It has been increasingly common for Black Bears to expand thier home range and to habitat their former range of 200 years ago.

In June of 2001 the Dubuque, IA area also had black bear sightings and Iowa has had 17 sigtings since 1968. The last black bear sighted in Jo Daviess County was in early Janurary of 1940 when a bear was seen near Menominee, west of Galena, IL. There have been several sightings deemed reliable in the past decade however.

It has generally been recent policy that if the animal does not become a nuisance, is not a danger, or is not in any imminent peril, that it be allowed to exist unmolested and without hindrance.

Leadplant

Published
by
Cory Ritterbusch
on June 16, 2009
in Blog, driftless area, flora and native species
. 0 Comments
Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

Starting now and lasting into July one of the great prairie plants will be in bloom. Leadplant (Amorpha canescens), technically a shrub, has more content in Midwestern botanical folklore than most.
Amorpha comes from the Greek amorphos which means “without shape or deformed,” describing the small single petaled flower, odd for a legume, and canescens is latin meaning “gray-hairy” or “graying pubescent”.” It can be debated if its common name is a description of its lead-like color or because it served as an indicator of lead ore beneath the surface in the early days of lead mine prospecting, as often reported. I believe the naming is coincidentally the same.
Leadplant in a Cemetary Prairie

Leadplant in a Cemetary Prairie

 As a shrub, it forms woody stems and can live for a very long time and has one of the most extensive and complex root systems of any prairie plant. These deep roots helped earn this plant the nickname “prairie shoestrings.” As area pioneers were breaking the prairie sod, the leadplant roots would make the sound of a shoestring breaking as they were cut by the plow. The Indians also gave the plant some names. The Omaha Indians called this plant “Buffalo Bellow” as it was the dominant plant in the prairies during the rut season of the buffalo. The Lakotas called it “Birds Tree” because birds would utilize its stiff woody stems to perch on a treeless prairie. Drunk as a tea, or smoked, leadplant was used by Indians to treat many ailments as varied as pinworms, eczema and rheumatism.

Joseph Nicollet, a French explorer, wrote in his 1838 journal that leadplant was used by the Sioux Indians to attract buffalo. A concoction was prepared by pounding up the roots, moistening them and mixing them together. Whoever rubbed the mixture on his clothing had the power to attract buffalo and kill as many of them as he wanted.

In prairie restoration, Leadplant is essential. In the dry dolomite soils that dominate the driftless area Leadplant is right at home. In landscaping it makes for a very interesting plant but maybe a little frustrating to the owner due to the slow growing habits. It can take Leadplant several years to grow into a sizable plant as the plant stays busy growing its extensive root system before turning its energy upward above the surface. However, the wait is worth the while. This plant has numerous skills from being a great insect host species to soil stabilization and pumping nitrogen into the soil to help its neighboring plants.  

With our area’s lead mining heritage it is hard to find another plant that reflects the region’s history more than Leadplant, named after the ore or not…

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/leadplantx.htm 

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AMCA6