October 28, 2023

The air now has a sharper chill that leaves you shrugging for warmth. The volunteers gather for seed collecting assignments and disperse throughout the prairie in search of their species. We spent most of the morning collecting rose hips. I’ve been slathering the oil on my face for years without knowing the plant from which it was derived. The roses were concentrated in a small remnant prairie in a floodplain. The fruits are a glossy, festive red. The large clusters of plants are made even easier to spot by their spindly, red stems. Our buckets grow heavy with them before we head back for the day.

Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) looks especially dainty as it wavers in the wind, with tiny tufts of white glowing on its seeds.

This remnant prairie was spared from the surrounding farmland due to a woman who loved the prairie phlox that bloomed there. Her admiration of those pink blooms saved hundreds of species. White posts mark the research plots where these rare plant communities are being studied. Most of the surrounding prairies have been restored since being turned to farmland, and there is much to learn from the associations of plants living in remnants.