To prepare for the May 3 wildflower workshop, Catherine & I visited the Reichert conservation property ahead of time. As we wandered around, though, we weren’t finding any of the wildflowers we expected: trilliums, spring beauty, wood anemone, etc. We started feeling mildly concerned about the pending workshop. Where were the wildflowers? As we continued around the site, we made note of something we *did* see: a smallish yellow-orange flower called hoary puccoon. And that was the clue Catherine needed to solve the mystery.
Hoary puccoon (lithospermum canescens) is an indicator of dry soils, such as those in certain prairies and oak barrens—and that was the habitat that was actually in front of us! -Suzie