New Species

During the 2002 growing season two native plant species were found at Fermilab.

¨ Flat-topped Aster (Aster umbellatus) was found in ELM-1 (Plot 1). It would appear that a seed mixture collected by an outside seed donor contained seeds of this plant. Since the species is usually found in low calcareous prairie marsh fens, it is surprising to find it in a developing mesic prairie community. It is quite possible that twenty-seven years of prairie restoration and its accompanying rebuilding of the former agricultural soil into a slightly alkaline prairie soil with its water-stable macro-aggregates and increase in soil micro-organisms has enabled this plant to survive in this tract.

¨ Cancer Root (Conopholis americana) was found in ELM-24 (Big Woods). This is an uncommon strange-looking root-parasite of trees, especially oaks. It forms large rounded knobs on tree roots. Since it lacks the green chlorophyll of most plants, its 3 to 4 inch flowering stems are chestnut-brown supporting small yellowish flowers. These thick sub-cylindrical chestnut-brown aerial flowering stems covered with scales resemble old pinecones lying on the ground.

Total Species

With theses two additional species, there are now 261 native prairie and prairie marsh species along with 196 species of native trees, shrubs, and woodland flowers for a total of 457 native species found at Fermilab. Additionally, there are 168 non-native (exotic) herbaceous weeds and 30 species of non-native trees and shrubs for a total of 198 exotic species found at Fermilab for a grand total of 655 species.

Changes in Species Population

In spite of the moratorium on burning, most prairie and prairie marsh tracts continue to show increases in biodiversity.

¨ First Stage Prairie Species: A number of first stage species continue to increase their numbers in the older tracts of ELM-1 (Plots 1-11, 13) and ELM-26 (Plot 12), and the middle-age tracts of ELM-25 (Plots 14, 15, 16, 16B, 17). Examples of these species are: nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum), round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata), wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium), and golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea).

However, in many of these older tracts first stage species that were once very common are now decreasing and occur only as isolated specimens. Examples of these are: tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris), showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense), yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), rosin weed (Silphium integrifolium), and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans).

An interesting occurrence this year, which has not been observed before, was the profusion of prairie compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) and prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) in both the older and more recent tracts.

¨ Second Stage Prairie Species: Second stage species are now making their appearance and slowly increasing their populations throughout these older tracts. Some examples of these species are: Bicknell’s sedge (Carex bicknellii), purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida), yellow gentian (Gentiana flavida), marsh betony (Pedicularis lanceolata), white prairie clover (Petalostemum candidum), purple prairie clover (Petalostemum purpureum), and Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum).

Relatively spectacular increases of these second stage species were observed this past season in ELM 1 (Plots 4, 7, 9). Examples were: thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica), false dragonhead (Physostegia virginiana), prairie coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata), and common spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis).

¨ Third and Fourth Stage Prairie Species: Scattered isolated specimens of both third and fourth stage species are continuing to appear chiefly as isolated specimens in foci (advanced successional pockets) usually in the same areas populated by late first and early second stage species. Some examples of these third stage species are: lead plant (Amorpha canesens), sky-blue aster (Aster azureus), smooth aster (Aster laevis), and prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis). Examples of fourth stage species are the prairie gentian (Gentiana puberulenta) and yellow stargrass (Hypoxis hirsuta). The latter plant is not a grass but belongs to the Amaryllis family.

¨ Changes in the Marshes: Marshes continue to show increases in various species. Examples are the numerous non-descript sedges (Carex spp.), spike rushes (Eleocharis spp.), bulrushes (Scirpus spp.) and nut rushes (Scleria spp.). There has been a notable increase in gentians, such as bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii), yellow gentian (G. flavida), and stiff gentian (G. quinquefolia occidentalis), in the marshy-wet prairie ditch along the north side of Pine Street in ELM-14 and 18.

Table 1. New species for prairie and marsh tracts

Species	Common Name	Location
Allium cernuum	Nodding wild onion	ELM 4 (Plot 19)
Amorpha canescens	Lead plant	ELM 1 (9); ELM 25 (15)
Anemone cylindrica	Thimbleweed	ELM 1 (4)
Angelica atropurpurea	Great angelica	ELM 26 (12)
Apocynum sibiricum	Dogbane	ELM 25 (17)
Asclepias incarnata	Marsh milkweed	ELM 4 (19)
Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly milkweed	BN RR
Aster azureus	Sky-blue aster	ELM 1 (1)
Aster laevis	Smooth blue aster	ELM 1 (7)
Aster sagittifolius drummondii	Drummond’s aster	ELM 25 (7)
Aster umbellatus	Flat-topped aster	ELM 1 (1)
Baptisia leucophea	Cream wild indigo	ELM 25 (16B)
Camassia scilloides	Wild hyacinth	ELM 26 (12)
Cicuta maculata	Water hemlock	ELM 1 (1)
Comandra richardsiana	False toadflax	ELM 25 (14)
Coreopsis palmata	Prairie coreopsis	ELM 25 (14)
Dodecatheon meadia	Shooting star	ELM 1 (7,9); ELM 26 (12); ELM 25 (16B)
Elymus canadensis	Canada wild rye	ELM 1 (7); ELM 5 (21)
Eupatorium maculatum	Spotted Joe Pye weed	ELM 26 (12)
Galium obtusum	Wild madder	ELM 26 (12)
Gentiana andrewsii	Bottle gentian	ELM 25 (15)
Gentiana flavida	Yellow gentian	ELM 1 (1,9)
Gentiana puberulenta	Prairie gentian	ELM 1 (7)
Gentiana quinquefolia occidentalis	Stiff goldenrod	ELM 1 (13)
Helenium autumnale	Sneezeweed	ELM 1 (2)
Hypoxis hirsuta	Yellow stargrass	ELM 25 (14)
Liatris aspera	Rough blazing star	ELM 1 (6); ELM 26 (12)
Liatris pycnostachya	Prairie blazing star	ELM 1 (4,6)
Liatris spicata	Marsh blazing star	ELM 1 (10)
Lobelia cardinalis	Cardinal flower	ELM 1 (10)
Lobelia spicata	Pale spiked lobelia	ELM 25 (15)
Lythrum alatum	Winged loosestrife	ELM 1 (2)
Pedicularis canadensis	Lousewort	ELM 1 (7); ELM 26 (12)
Pedicularis lanceolata	Fen betony	ELM 1 (7); ELM 26 (12)
Petalostemum purpureum	Purple prairie clover	ELM 26 (12)
Physostegia virginiana	False dragonhead	ELM 25 (15)
Potentilla simplex	Common cinguefoil	ELM 4 (19)
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium	Slender mountain mint	ELM 1 (2); ELM 25 (17)
Sencio pauperculus	Balsam ragwort	ELM 1 (7); EJE RR
Smilacina stellata	Starry false Solomon’s seal	ELM 1 (4); ELM 25 (17)
Solidago gymnospermoides	Viscid grass-leaved goldenrod	ELM 1 (2,7)
Stachys palustris homotricha	Woundwort	ELM 4 (19); ELM 25 (16)
Veronia fasciculata	Common ironweed	ELM 1 (3)
Veronicastrum virginicum	Culver’s root	ELM 1 (3,10); ELM 4 (19); ELM 25 (14)
Viola sororia	Common blue violet	ELM 25 (16B)
Zizia aurea	Golden Alexanders	ELM 25 (16B,17); ELM 26 (12)

Twenty of 27 prairie tracts were checked at least once during the growing season for new species.

Table 2. Tracts with the highest numbers of new species for 2002 season.

ELM #	Plot #	# Times Visited	# New Species
26	12	2	10
1	7	4	8
4	17	1	5
4	19	1	5
1	2	1	4
24	16B	1	4

¨ Changes in the Woodlands: Woodland wildflowers are continuing to recover from heavy grazing caused by the overpopulation of deer. With the resumption of autumnal burns, woodlands are expected to progress toward climax flora of woodlands and/or savannas.

In this regard, it is interesting to note what occurred in the Big Woods. In the autumn of 2001, the woods experienced their first autumnal burn since the moratorium ended. In the following spring (2002), there was a carpet of woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) throughout the woods. Scattered through this blue carpet of blooms were patches of both large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) and declined trillium (Trillium flexipes). There were more of these patches and they appeared to be larger than seen in previous years.

¨ Weed Problems: A sad note is the slow but inexorable fall in the population of the native common cattail (Typha latifolia) and rise in the apparently introduced narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia) and the common reed (Phragmites australis). It is probable that the salting of the roads and highways have enabled both the narrow-leaved cattail and the common reed to survive this change in osmotic condition, whereas the common cattail cannot. It would appear that very little can be done to change this population decline.

The moratorium on burning has given a breather on the slow elimination of the crown vetch (Cornilla varia) patches in ELM-1 (Plots 4, 7, 9). Hopefully, with the return of burning, these patches will slowly disappear from the tract.

Seed Collection

¨ Collections at Fermilab: As in past years, group seed collecting was carried out on the last Saturday in September and the first Saturday in November. This year there was an increase in the number of participants. This is probably due partly to the relatively fine weather and partly to a relaxation in some security regulations.

¨ Collections at Local Prairie Remnants: As in past years, about a half-dozen collecting trips were made to a number of local prairie remnants to collect seeds of second and third stage species. Occasionally, a few seeds of a fourth stage species were collected and hand-planted in relatively small rich prairie patches where they were more likely to survive.

¨ Seed Exchange: As in past years, seed of later successional stages are also obtained from local forest preserve districts, such as DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties, in exchange for harvested seed of the first stage (matrix) collected at Fermilab.

Table 3. Seed collected or donated.

Habitat	Scientific Name	Common Name
Prairie and Marsh	Allium canadense	Wild onion
	Allium cernuum	Nodding wild onion
	Amorpha canescens	Lead plant
	Andropogon scoparius	Little bluestem
	Anemone canadensis	Meadow anemone
	Anemone cylindrica	Thimbleweed
	Asclepia incarnata	Marsh milkweed
	Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly milkweed
	Aster azureus	Sky-blue aster
	Aster ericoides	Heath aster
	Aster laevis	Smooth blue aster
	Baptisia leucantha	White wild indigo
	Bromus kalmii	Prairie brome
	Cacalia plantaginea	Prairie Indian plantain
	Calamagrostis canadensis	Blue joint grass
	Carex bicknellii	Bicknell’s sedge
	Carex pellita	Broad-leaved woolly sedge
	Castilleja coccinea	Indian paintbrush
	Camandra richardsiana	False toadflax
	Coreopsis palmata	Prairie coreopsis
	Coreopsis tripteris	Tall coreopsis
	Desmodium canadense	Showy tick-trefoil
	Dodecatheon meadia	Shooting star
	Echinacea pallida	Purple coneflower
	Eryngium yuccifolium	Rattlesnake master
	Galium boreale	Northern bedstraw
	Galium obtusum	Wild madder
	Gentiana andrewsii	Bottle gentian
	Gentiana flavida	Yellow gentian
	Gentiana puberulenta	Prairie gentian
	Helenium autumnale	Sneezeweed
	Helianthus rigidus	Prairie sunflower
	Heliopsis helianthoides	False sunflower
	Heuchera richardsonii	Prairie alum root
	Iris virginica shrevei	Blue flag iris
	Liatirs aspera	Rough blazing star
	Liatris pycnostachya	Prairie blazing star
	Liatris spicata	Marsh blazing star
	Lilium philadelphicum	Wood lily
	Lithospermum canescens	Hoary puccoon
	Lobelia spicata	Pale spiked lobelia
	Lysimachia quadriflora	Prairie loosestrife
	Monarda fistulosa	Wild bergamot
	Panicum leibergii	Panic grass
	Parthenium integrifolium	Wild quinine
	Pedicularis canadensis	Prairie betony
	Penstemon calycosus/digitalis	Smooth/foxglove beard tongue
	Petalostemum candidum	White prairie clover
	Petalostemum purpureum	Purple prairie clover
	Phlox glaberrima interior	Marsh phlox
	Phlox pilosa	Prairie phlox
	Physostegia virginiana	False dragonhead
	Polygala senega	Seneca snakeroot
	Potentilla arguta	Prairie cinquefoil
	Prenanthes racemosa	Glaucus white lettuce
	Pycnanthes virginianum	Common mountain mint
	Ratibida pinnata	Yellow coneflower
	Rudbeckia subtomentosa	Sweet black-eyed Susan
	Scirpus atrovirens	Dark green rush
	Scirpus validus	Great bulrush
	Silphium laciniatum	Compass plant
	Silphium terebinthinaceum	Prairie dock
	Sisyrinchium albidum	Common blue-eyed grass
	Sisyrinchium angustifolium	Stout blue-eyed grass
	Solidago juncea	Early goldenrod
	Solidago nemoralis	Old-field goldenrod
	Solidago rigida	Stiff goldenrod
	Spartina pectinata	Prairie cord grass
	Sporobolus heterolepis	Prairie dropseed
	Stipa spartea	Porcupine grass
	Thalictrum dasycarpum/revolutum	Purple/waxy meadow rue
	Tradescantia ohiensis	Common spiderwort
	Verbena hastata	Blue vervain
	Veronicastrum virginicum	Culver’s root
	Zizia aptera	Heart-leaved meadow parsnip
	Zizia aurea	Golden Alexanders
Savanna and Woodland	Carya laciniosa	Kingnut hickory
	Carya ovata	Shagbark hickory
	Hydrastis canadensis	Goldenseal
	Hystrix patula	Bottlebrush grass
	Lithospermum latifolium	Broad-leaved puccoon
	Phlox divaricata	Blue phlox
	Polemonium reptans	Jacob’s ladder
	Quercus macrocarpa	Bur oak
	Quercus rubra	Red oak
	Sanguinaria canadensis	Bloodroot
	Trillium grandiflorum	Large-flowered trillium

Comments

With the restoration of burning, it is highly probably that the Fermilab prairie and wood communities will move forward in an ever increasing rate toward the climax vegetation that once covered this region in pre-settlement times.