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Dee Hudson Photography

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Dee Hudson Photography

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  • This gal has hand–harvested the seeds from the native prairie plant, Cream Wild Indigo. These collected seeds will combine with a mix for a new planting, as Nachusa Grasslands restores a recently purchased cornfield back to prairie.
    Restoration 01
  • Most of the seeds at Nachusa Grasslands are hand–harvested so the seed proportions in a mix for a new planting can be determined and the prairie land remains undisturbed.
    Restoration 02
  • Hoverflies can be seen 'hovering' around these Spiderwort flowers. They resemble bees, but I know this is a fly because it only has two wings (one pair).<br />
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Hoverfly (Toxomerus marginatus)
    A Hoverfly on Spiderwort
  • The Wood Betony creates a lovely yellow carpet across Nachusa Grasslands prairie in the springtime. This lovely plant is actually parasitic on tall grasses, allowing the shorter grasses and flowers to populate areas of the prairie. The flowers are also a favorite bumblebee stop.
    Wood Betony
  • This beautiful prairie forb (flower) can be found throughout the prairie, blooming July through September. The purple and feathery flower heads are interesting because they begin blooming first at the top and then continue onward to the bottom. They are quite striking in bloom, especially in mass plantings. The Gayfeather is a great source of food for wildlife, providing nectar for butterflies, bees, and birds. Gayfeather or Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
    Gayfeather
  • The Yellow Coneflowers and the lavender Wild Bergamot blooming together in the prairie create a spectacular show! The Yellow Coneflowers have such a cheerful appearance and bloom for a long time, from July through September. Many insects, including bees and butterflies, enjoy the nectar from these flowers, while birds like Goldfinches, enjoy the flower seeds. Yellow Coneflowers (Ratibida pinnata)
    Yellow Coneflowers
  • With its sharp coppery–orange cone spikes and its purple–pink drooping petals, this native flower really “rocks” on the prairie. The coneflower is a very showy flower, especially when planted in mass or with other flowers of contrasting color. With the unique petal–twisting that can form, the flower gives an appearance of dancing in the wind. The nectar in the blooms attract butterflies, while the birds (Goldfinches) enjoy the seeds in the cone. Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
    Pale Purple Coneflower
  • The splendor of the rough blazing star on a quiet evening in the prairie.
    Quiet Splendor
  • The lavender spikes of the Gayfeather ascend from the prairie and sway in the gentle wind at sunset. Growing in mass like this, they are absolutely stunning! Gayfeather or Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
    Gayfeathers at Sunset
  • The pale purple coneflower is a very showy flower, especially when planted in mass or with other flowers of contrasting color. This sunrise view looks eastward over the Gobbler Ridge unit at Clear Creek Knolls. Volunteer stewards, Bernie & Cindy Buchholz, planted this stretch of prairie in 2011. Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
    Coneflower Sunrise
  • Nature's fall prairie quilt blankets Fameflower Knob, beginning with the patch of green coreopsis stems in the foreground, followed by a stand of yellow Canada goldenrod, and then all surrounded by orange–red little bluestem grass.
    A Mozaic of Coreopsis, Goldenrod & L..stem
  • This Spiderwort was photographed on a foggy morning in mid–June, when the dew was still clinging to the plant. The best time to see the spiderwort flowers is during the early morning hours, for each bloom is short–lived and closes up as the prairie heats up in the afternoon. Once a bloom closes, it will not reopen again, so the insects have to work very quickly to pollinate. Although each bloom has only a partial day to stay open, each stem may have twenty or more blooms, so this flower may be enjoyed for many days.<br />
Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
    Ohio Spiderwort
  • These floral spikes are so captivating, with the lavender flowers blooming from the bottom up. If the Vervain is planted near the Yellow Coneflower, a beautiful landscape scene begins to emerge. Many insects are attracted to the flowers, including bees, flies, grasshoppers and butterflies. Birds such as the Cardinal, the Junco (in winter) and the Field Sparrow, enjoy the seeds. Hoary Vervain (Ratibida pinnata)
    Vervain & Coneflowers
  • This hand holds ten to twelve conservative seed species for the new prairie planting. These conservative species are highly desired in restorations, because they were historically present in pre–settlement and unaltered prairies. <br />
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These conservative seeds are hand—planted throughout the entire new field by dropping about a dozen seeds on the ground every few feet and rubbing them into the soil.
    Conservative Cocktail
  • "What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." — Aldo Leopold. As I crouched low to frame my shot the light edged just above the horizon and created a beautiful and unexpected sunburst. Standing tall (these were around 9-10 feet) this native prairie plant has become one of my favorites. I photographed these at Nachusa Grasslands, where the Silphium laciniatum (Compass Plant) is once again beginning to tickle the bison bellies!<br />
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Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)
    Compass Plant
  • The four different Silphiums found growing in the prairie are all bright and sunny, and they all are very tall. The Rosinweed is no exception in the height department, standing up to six feet tall. Not only does this flower stretch high to the sky, but the Rosinweed also sinks deep below the ground, an impressive fourteen feet! This beautiful and cheerful flower attracts many pollinators, especially bees. Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium)
    Rosinweed
  • Elegant on its slender & leafless stems, the Western Sunflower danced in the early morning breeze. The blooms brighten the prairie landscape in late summer and create a breathtaking scene when they grow amongst the purple Rough Blazingstar. This native prairie bloom is actually rather short for a sunflower, growing only 2-3 feet tall. Western Sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis)
    Western Sunflower
  • Most of the seeds at Nachusa Grasslands are hand–harvested so the seed proportions for a new planting mix can be determined and the prairie land remains undisturbed.
    Old Field
  • Wire racks and trays support drying prairie seed species. The land steward for the Gobbler Ridge (GR) restoration, plants these seeds in the fall.
    Gobbler Ridge
  • Watch out prairie grasses! The Downy Yellow Painted Cup is coming for you! This native plant is unique because it is hemiparasitic.  The Downy Yellow Painted Cup will attach itself to other plants, mainly grasses, and shares some of their nutrients and water. This plant flourishes in the dry soil along the side of this hill, among its hosts of low–growing grasses and sedges. Downy Yellow Painted Cup (Castilleja sessiliflora)
    Downy Yellow Painted Cup
  • This Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadesis) was a glorious greeting in the early misty morning. Though it provides lovely color in early autumn, this particular species can become invasive in the prairie. The Canada goldenrod can multiply quickly and form dense large patches that prevent other species from establishing. Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
    Canada Goldenrod
  • "Clinging to Habitat." <br />
<br />
A Dickcissel grasps the pale purple coneflower.<br />
<br />
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)
    Dickcissel
  • 24 Pale Purple Coneflowers
  • 23 Pale Purple Coneflowers
  • Bottle Gentian
  • 21 Pale Purple Coneflowers
  • 36 Eastern White Fringed Orchid
  • Conflowers & Black-eyed Susans
  • The graceful spires of the White Wild Indigo appear to dance in the evening light. I photographed these beauties in the Holland West unit at Nachusa Grasslands.
    White Wild Indigo
  • Lupine
  • When invasive weeds are too numerous, staff and volunteers must hand–spray with an herbicide.
    Restoration 04
  • Lupine
  • Finds
  • Cream Wild Indigo
  • Butterfly Weed
  • Vibrant Blush
  • Pale Purple Coneflower
  • A volunteer land steward waves from his unit.
    Potholes
  • The White–lined Sphinx moth sips from a thistle.<br />
<br />
White–lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata)
    White–lined Sphinx Moth
  • Big Blue Kaleidescope
  • Sitting so still on a cool September morning, I could not resist the stunning beauty of this dragonfly covered in hundreds of tiny dew drops. Usually dragonflies are on the move, but at sunrise on a cool fall day, they are pretty immobile. Black Saddlebags Dragonfly (Tramea lacerata)
    Black Saddlebags Dragonfly
  • Kittentails
  • Black Saddlebags Dragonfly
  • The purple wild lupines and heart-leaved zizia
    Lupine Landscape
  • Gayfeather
  • Cup Plant
  • Winter Slumber 02
  • This showy beardtongue is an Illinois state-endangered plant. This particular plant here is the first large-flowered beardtongue I had ever seen. When I saw it in the field, it was so eye-catching that I immediately walked over to examine and photograph it.
    Large-flowered Beardtongue
  • This plant is a legume species — a type of plant with seeds that develop inside pods, like peas or beans. See how stunning the seed pods look when they are backlit by the sun! <br />
<br />
I am always amazed by the way this plant disperses its seeds. The pods are covered with little tiny hooked hairs that will grab hold of anything or anyone that brushes up against them. Thank goodness the seeds release easily, for many times my photography clothes and equipment are covered in these rascally clinging pods. Illinois Tick Trefoil (Desmodium Illinoense)
    Tick Trefoil
  • Swamp Milkweed
  • Silky Parachutes
  • Dynamic Duo 18
  • Fringed Gentian
  • Seed Box
  • Awaiting a strong gust of wind . . .
    Milkweed Seed
  • Rough Blazing Star
  • Bison are grazers, with grasses being their favorite food. In fact, their diet consists of ninety–nine percent grass! As residents in a prairie, the bison are quite an attraction, but they actually have an important job to do. As they continually graze on the grasses, they open up space for the forbs (the beautiful flowers) to compete and flourish, creating a lot of plant diversity in the prairie. During a typical day, an adult bison may consume about thirty pounds of grass.
    Bison Eating
  • A very showy spring prairie flower, the cream wild indigo. This forb is found in high quality restorations.
    Spring Cream
  • Golden Alexanders
    Prairie 1495
  • A Black Swallowtail butterfly sips nectar from a liatris.<br />
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Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
    Black Swallowtail
  • 17
  • Birdsfoot Violet
  • Here a Mourning Cloak butterfly feeds on the nectar of the common milkweed flower. This awesome butterfly does not migrate, but instead has the amazing ability to hibernate and survive through the very cold winters on the prairie. To survive, they produce chemicals in their body that prevent them from freezing.<br />
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Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
    Mourning Cloak