We went on a field trip today with the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) students from the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum! We went to the beautiful Illinois Beach State Park, where we learned about the restoration of Cirsium pitcheri (Pitcher’s Thistle) on the dunes there.
Cirsium pitcheri, ~ 10 months old Yes, it is adorable :3
Site of Cirsium pitcheri re-introduction. The seeds for these plants were prepared in a wet seed stratification method, which simulates the conditions the seed will be placed in before they are actually planted in the dunes. This increases the chance that the seeds will grow, without having to go through the laborious process of growing seedlings in a greenhouse.
Cirsium pitcheri, ~ 4 years old
Pretty color, isn’t it? The blue tinge is from the hairs on the leaves, which apparently is a common adaptation in plants that live in dry places (you wouldn’t think of the beach as a dry place, or I didn’t at least!) Like a lot of beach plants, C. pitcheri has long taproots to reach down into the ground water, so generally young plants (with their shorter roots) are more delicate than older ones.
A few notes on cross-breeding plants to increase their fitness for a restoration site:
Heterosis effect: When cross-breeding results in plants that are genetically superior to their parents, in that they have better fitness for the location. This is the goal in breeding.
Inbreeding depression: When cross-breeding results in plants that have reduced fitness, due to the parents being too closely related. Think of the Hapsburg chin.
Outbreeding depression: When cross-breeding results in plants that have a fitness that is intermediate between the sites where each parent is located, and thus the offspring is suitable for neither location. Sadness :'(
We saw a bunch of prairie plants on our walk around the park, which were very exciting because we actually knew the names! Highlights included Euphorbia corollata (Flowering Spurge), Needlegrass (which can be used as a mini javelin as Meghan has found out. The seed head is pointed so that the seed drills itself into the ground when it lands!), and our old friend Spiderwort from the previous post.
An albino milkweed! I walked right past this one, but luckily Amanda and Desiree spotted it! Isn’t it awesome and weird?
