Monday, October 10, 2011

Seed collecting: a popular activity


Yesterday was our major fall seed-collecting day. The weather was outstanding following a week of outstanding weather.

We have been running this event for the past five years. This year we had the biggest turnout ever (19 people at Pleasant Valley Conservancy; 21 at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie). Some people came for only the morning at PVC, some for only the afternoon at BE, and some came for both. Among others, we had 8 UW-Madison students from the Wildlife Ecology department. They were a great pleasure to have.

Lunch was served at noon.

This is peak time for the seeds of a lot of prairie species and we had a great haul. The table below gives the results:




































































































































































































Latin Common Source Notes
Anemone cylindrica Prairie thimbleweed BE Lots!
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed BE
Asclepias verticillata Whorled milkweed BE
Asclepias viridiflora Short green milkweed BE Rare
Echinacea pallida Pale purple coneflower PVC
Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake master PVC/BE Lots!
Eupatorium perfoliatum Common boneset PVC Wet/Lots
Eupatorium sessilifolium Upland boneset BE
Gentiana alba Cream gentian PVC Lots!
Hasteola suaveolens Sweet Indian plantain PVC Wet
Hypericum pyramidatum Great St. John's wort PVC
Kuhnia eupatorioides False boneset BE Lots!
Lespedeza capitata Round-headed bush clover PVC Lots!
Liatris aspera Rough blazing star BE
Liatris cylindracea Dwarf blazing star BE
Lilium philadelphicum andinum Prairie lily BE Rare
Lobelia siphilitica Great blue lobelia PVC Wet
Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamot PVC
Pedicularis lanceolata Lousewort PVC Wet/Lots
Polygonatum biflorum Smooth Solomon's seal BE
Pycnanthemum virginianum Common mountain mint PVC
Ratibida pinnata Yellow coneflower PVC/BE Lots!
Rosa sp. Rose BE Lots!
Schizachyrium scoparium Little bluestem BE Lots!
Silphium integrifolium Rosinweed PVC
Silphium laciniatum Compass plant BE
Solidago missouriensis Missouri goldenrod PVC
Sorghastrum nutans Indian grass PVC Lots!
Verbena hastata Blue vervain PVC Wet/Lots
Vernonia fasciculata Common ironweed PVC Wet/Lots
Veronicastrum virginicum Culver's root PVC Wet























































































































































































1 comment:

  1. Thanks, Tom and Kathie, for giving us the opportunity to help, and for that lovely lunch. The weather you served up was pretty wonderful, too. Please let me know about other volunteer events, and I'll make it if I can.

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