July 20, 2020

Unique Flowers blooming

The middle of the summer has many very unique flowers.  Culver's root has lots of white flowers surrounding a stem to make a rocket shape with lots of pollen so many pollinators can be found on them. They open from the lower part and gradually open further up until it gets to the top. As you can see in the picture it is just starting to open,

For more information: https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/culvers-root

Lead plant is a very unique bush that also has lots of very visible orange pollen on its purple flowers.  Notice in the picture how the bumblebee has orange pockets on its back legs!  These are 'pollen pockets' where it stores the pollen until it gets to its nest.  You may find only a few plants with the orange pollen on them as many have bloomed already but if you keep an eye open you may see some late bloomers.  The prairie across the road from the historical site is covered with lead plant bushes.  This plant is uniquely made for prairie conditions that may include droughts.  Their roots often go down 6 feet or more in search of water.  Many of the native grasses do the same.  Read sometime historical accounts of how hard it was for the early farmers who homesteaded in this area to break the sod with horse drawn plows!

For more information: https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/lead-plant

Another plant that is in full bloom right now is beebalm or bergamot.  The wild or native version has pink flowers and is easily transplanted or seeded into a  flower garden. You can see by the picture and name that bees love it and get lots of pollen and nectar from it.  This one is a honey bee and is from someone's hives in the area. 

Whorled milkweed is a smaller plant with maybe 1/3 the normal sized white flowers.  It is found in many places in the prairie but I have found it most in the prairie above the old primitive campground.  All milkweeds have similarly shaped flowers and form similar seed pods but not all have 'milk' in their stems and leaves.  I found on a tour of several prairies in the area this weekend that there are a number of other milkweed species in the area besides the 4 I have mentioned in this update and the last.  I will search to see if some of these are also at Fort Ridgely.  Please do the same and report to the office or to Scott or me (Bix Baker) if you see any other varieties.

Clover leaves and flowers

There are several clovers at Fort Ridgely.  All clovers have leaves that form in groups of three (and very uncommonly 4!). The most well-known one is white clover.  It is probably in your yard unless you use herbicide to kill anything but grass.  Though this clover is not native, many pollinators including honeybees use it as a source of nectar.  It is found plentifully on many paths through the prairie and this time of year when it is blooming and you can hear many bees going from flower to flower 

 Sweet clover is a taller thinner leaved plant.  It can grow 4-6 feet tall and has long stems and much smaller flowers than either white or red clover.  They are either white or yellow as you can see in the picture.  Alfalfa is a clover as well and if you grew up on a farm you remember well cutting, drying and baling this clover for the winter feeding of cattle.  Who can forget stacking bales on the wagon and unloading and stacking it in the barn on usually the hottest days of the summer.  This clover was brought to America by farmers from Europe.  Its flower is more blue to purple.  You may find a few plants in Fort Ridgely. 

An interesting plant with the clover name and closely related but not from the same tribe is prairie clover. There are two varieties: purple and white.  They both have the cylindrical flowers that open from the bottom to the top and have lots of pollen on the open part of the flower.  You will often see pollinators picking up this pollen.

A less common trefoil is the purple flowered showy tick trefoil.  It is found in wetter areas around marshes or low lying areas of the prairie.  Recently I found a much smaller, more delicate trefoil that is in the woods this time of year.  It is called pointed-leaved tick-trefoil. 

Be Careful!!

Hiking through the woods and prairies of Fort Ridgely and around southern Minnesota is lots of fun but there are some hazards to avoid.  Staying on groomed and cut trails is very safe but there are things to be watching for to avoid walking through if you go off trails or hike where there are no trails.

Poison ivy can be found in many prairies and some wooded areas.  I find it in odd places but it can be over quite extensive areas.  Look for leaves of three and let it be!  It is not small leaves of three like clover but larger leaves like tree sized leaves (see picture) with pointed ends and sometimes shiny surfaces.  Some people are very allergic to the oils that get on your skin if you are exposed to it.  My wife had blistering of the skin and it took a long time to get rid of it.  She will seldomly go off trail with me for fear of getting exposed again.  Avoiding all contact with the plant is the best as you do not know how bad your reaction will be.  Keep any skin from being exposed by wearing long pants, socks and closed toed shoes.  Never touch it with your hands or arms.  If you by accident walk through an area with it, do not touch your shoes , pants or socks as some oils may be on them.  Wash them in a separate load of clothes and use soap to clean off the outside of your shoes.  There are special poison ivy soaps you can wash with if you get it on your skin.  Go to your doctor if you have a bad reaction.

Nettles are plants that are all over in huge areas of the woods right now.  I have pictures of the two most common nettles; stinging and wood nettles.  They both can cause you to itch but I have never heard of anyone having as bad a reaction to them as poison ivy.  Avoidance and clothing to keep from exposing skin to their effects is best. 

Monarch Caterpillars to Butterflies (By Maggie Buettner)

Raising caterpillars is a fun science project during the summer for the whole family.  Monarch butterflies are one of the easiest caterpillars to find and cost friendly to maintain!

            Start with a walk down a gravel road or a driveway looking for milkweed.  Look for holes in the leaves where the caterpillars may be eating.  Eggs are tricky to find but possible especially towards the top of the plant by the flowers.

Keep the caterpillars in a clean, clear container with a cover.  I like to use an old fish tank with a screen top.  I use wet florist foam to keep the milkweed fresh.  I also find they prefer younger and smaller plants to eat from.  They only eat from the milkweed family so replace it often if not daily. 

Depending on the size of the caterpillars, they are in the larva stage up to fourteen days before making their chrysalis.  It will take ten to fourteen additional days for before the chrysalis will hatch.  When it’s ready you will be able to see the black and orange wings in the chrysalis.

After the monarch hatches, it will take several hours for the wings to dry out and be full size.  This is the only time during the whole process in which I encourage touching any part of the caterpillars or butterflies.  They like to walk along and will hang upside down on a person’s hand.  The butterflies will be ready to fly in four to eight hours and can be released outdoors.  In August, the monarchs begin to gather in groups to fly to Mexico.  These butterflies can be tagged with special stickers and documented along the journey.