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prairiebotanist.com
Ecologist of Midwestern fire-dependent ecosystems & volunteer land steward @ Mukwonago River Oak Barrens. Opinions mine. Among them is the need to stop viewing grasslands, savannas, & woodlands through a productivist lens. He/Him
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A bit of my #oak #woods and #savanna #altlawn. #nativeplants. So much to see up close.

submitted 2 days ago • 2 comments

Last year I found one short green milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) at the oak barrens site we're working to restore. It was tucked between planted conifers that we're removing. It produced pods (don't think they are self compatable?). Seeds were viable. These will be planted back out at the site.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Let's talk about the interaction of fire exclusion with the return of fire to #prairie. This bluff prairie in SW WI had not seen fire for at least many decades and was being encroached on by woody vegetation. Low herbaceous plants had been excluded from large portions by excessive thatch. 1/

submitted 7 days ago • 3 comments

Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow stargrass) growing in a SE Wisconsin white oak woodland. This species can be extremely abundant (tens of individuals in 1/4 sqare meter) in #oldgrowth herbaceous sods of Midwestern #prairie, #savanna, and #oak #woodland. 1/

submitted 9 days ago • 2 comments

Recently I was out with a wicking glove to basal treat an area of dense, small glossy and common buckthorn when I came to this Cecropia cocoon. I really enjoy doing close, quiet stewardship work. It's when so many wonders reveal themselves.

submitted 14 days ago • 1 comment

In this situation, you are supposed to divert to Oh Hare

submitted 14 days ago • 2 comments

I put something on my 2026 work calendar today, and it just felt silly to do it for reasons that should be obvious to anyone in the US.

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

A new paper with some real applicability to tallgrass #prairie reconstruction. The clonal matrix vegetation gets its due appreciation--Fragaria, Comandra, Carex pellita, Potentilla simplex, etc. #ecologicalrestoration #grassland besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

"Our results support that dormant-season grazing plays a key role in weakening interspecific competition among plants and in enabling diverse forb communities to replace species-poor grass dominance." I suspect that minimization of thatch is a huge driver here.

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

Link to a talk on oak woods I gave for Pollinator Friendly Alliance's Best Practices for Pollinator's Summit a month ago. www.youtube.com/watch?v=76WC...

submitted 22 days ago • 1 comment

Bloodroot, wood betony, prairie dropseed, and midland shooting star are up…and have been for some time. The salubrious burn season for high quality S. WI woods and prairies is over.

submitted 24 days ago • 1 comment

Leatherwood has awakened. I usually still see lows to 20F when spring phenology reaches this point. #nativeplants #grownative

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

This is such an important article, about the simplistic visions now pushing aside scientific research and complex social issues. A must read. newrepublic.com/article/1933...

submitted 28 days ago • 32 comments

Make all elections referenda on Elon Musk.

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

Nice #biocrust of terricolous lichen among basalt stones, Bouteloua gracilis, and Echinocereus viridiflorus in northern New Mexico pinyon-juniper woodland.

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

Some Valles Caldera blue sky just now.

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments