2008's newly discovered plants

While our controlled burns were a bit of a flop this past spring, I did manage to add a few new species to the checklist.

Lactuca Canadensis (wild lettuce) is a plant most often found in savanna type habitats, however my first sighting of this tall plant was in the middle of our mesic prairie. After I was able to identify this plant, I began to recognize it along the sides of some back roads and in a few heavily shaded areas. It is an interesting plant that can achieve incredible heights. I found one across the street that was growing in a dead stand of white ash that was approximately 10 feet tall. The one discovered in the prairie was only about 4 feet tall, and being a biennial that probably means it grows best in semi-shaded areas. See photo.

Another interesting plant was dudley's rush, a dry prairie rush. In fact, I believe it is one of the only non-wetland rushes that are characteristic of dry prairie habitats. Hopefully it will naturally spread with the introduction of fire to that area.