Rosa carolina

Carolina roses are commonly found growing on the diabase soils of Glennstone Nature Preserve in full sun.

Redbud

Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is an understory tree that is frequently found growing on the diabase soils conducive to prairie.

Native and Exotic Bushclovers at Glennstone

Found nowhere else in the Ellerbe Creek watershed, the Round-Headed Bushclover (Lespedeza capitata) is a special plant species in the Glennstone Preserve. Needing lots of sunlight to prosper, it grows in clearings and especially along the sewer line right of way, which is a utilitarian name for a very attractive ribbon of grasses and wildflowers that threats through the preserve. The right of way is kept free of trees to allow access for maintenance of the sewer line buried beneath.

The large seeds of Round-Headed Bushclover are an important food for quail, wild turkey and mourning doves.







In the fourth photo you can see seeds from three kinds of bushclover at Glennstone. The largest, upper left in the photo, are from the round-headed bushclover. The next largest are from Slender Bushclover (Lespedeza virginica), which is also a native.

The smallest seeds in the photo are from a highly invasive exotic called Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata). Originally planted by the Dept. of Transportation for erosion control, it is now considered a noxious weed in 46 states. Though its seeds were thought to be good for wildlife, it is now believed that its small seeds move through birds undigested.

The exotic lespedeza has been invading the Glennstone Preserve along the sewer line, and is aggressive enough to completely displace the native bushclovers that wildlife need for food. ECWA has been working to eradicate this noxious weed from the preserve before it does more damage. The exotic lespedeza has a white flower, which is useful in distinguishing it from the pink-flowered native Slender Bushclover (last photo).



More information about the Round-Headed Bushclover can be found at http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/rh_bushcloverx.htm

Sun-Loving Prairie Wildflowers of Glennstone

Walking along the trails of ECWA's nature preserve at Glennstone, downstream from Durham, out towards Falls Lake, you will find many wildflowers that still flourish where trees have yet to cast their shadow. In the first photo is Carolina rose (Rosa carolina), a low-growing rose common at Glennstone. My most memorable encounter with this flower was in the middle of a very hot day when the landscape had already been parched by severe drought. Fortunately, I "stopped to smell the roses", and was rewarded by a fragrance sweet and soft, refreshing as a cool drink after a long trek through the desert.

Snowdrops, a kind of primrose, is another bright flower in May.

The last photo is of Round-Headed Bushclover, the native wildflower at Glennstone that I have encountered growing nowhere else in all my travels. It's discussed in a previous post on this website.