The Mid-Summer Prairie Meadow

Thinking of my upcoming stroll through the tallgrass prairie, my favorite wildflower in bloom has to be the woolly verbena with its purple tapering spikes. Held up in candelabra fashion, it blooms from the bottom up, a backwards burn-down! Michael Haddock's book on Kansas wildflowers states that cattle won't eat it because of its bitter taste. Good! Palatability has nothing to do with wildflower appreciation, unless it takes the pressure off the plant so the bees have a chance! The book also claims that Plains Indians made a tea from the leaves to cure stomachaches. Now that's a tough tonic to swallow! For color held high so that all can see, you can't "hold a candle" to woolly verbena this time of year. Find an open expanse of prairie and appreciate a few spikes this weekend.