NOTE: Go take another look at the 6.24 post! I wrote something incorrect about the Rudbeckias, but have replaced it with equally cool information!
This was our last site in the Chicago Park District, just across the path from the Wavy site. It had a gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline! The soil was pretty rocky and inhospitable, which may be why a lot of these Park restorations were particularly weedy.
Ratibida pinnata (Pinnate Prairie Coneflower) seedling leaf
Ratibida pinnata (Pinnate Prairie Coneflower) adult plant leaf
The seedling and mature leaves look so different!
Juncus tenuis (Path Rush)
I love the purple fruiting structures of this rush!
Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem)
This is a characteristic prairie grass that we’ve been seeing for a while, but is finally old enough to start getting its blue/purple coloring. You can tell Big Blue from Little Blue because you can roll the base of Big Blue, while the Little Blue base is flat (and the plant is smaller when fully mature.)
View of the Loop from site
And this was when the weather told us it was time to go!
