Prairie Flower Series - Saw Toothed Sunflower #3
A prairie is a temperate grassland, plains of grass that get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Before the European settlement of North America, most of the interior was prairie. Due to the settlement, the environment was radically altered by the infusion of agriculture.
Earlier this winter, we learned about animals that live on the prairies (Parks winter caches). This series will teach us about plants that live on the prairies and most are used in flower gardens in warm areas.
This perennial plant is 3-12' tall. Plants in dense colonies are only 3-5' tall, but 'lone wolf' plants can achieve considerable height. The stout central stem is glabrous, glaucous, terete (circular in cross-section), and often reddish or reddish-purple in color. There is very little branching, except for some flowering stems that occur along the upper half of the plant. The leaves are up to 8" long and 2½" across, lanceolate-oblong, and either smooth (entire) or slightly to strongly serrate along their margins. The upper leaf surface is medium to dark green with a sandpapery texture that derives from the presence of minute stiff hairs. The lower leaf surface is pale green and softly hairy. The leaves are often slightly recurved, and they have a tendency to fold upward along their central veins, particularly during hot dry weather. The leaves are opposite below, but they become either alternate or opposite along the upper half of the plant. The leaves taper gradually into slender petioles that are about ½" in length. The upper stems terminate into either individual or small clusters of flowerheads. Each flowerhead is 2½-4" across, consisting of 10-20 ray florets that surround numerous disk florets. The tiny corollas of the disk florets are tubular-shaped and yellow, while the petaloid rays along the circumference of the flowerhead are bright yellow and oblong in shape.
Taken from: www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/swt_sunflowerx.htm
This cache is located in the Onondaga Park in the village of Liverpool. This is a highly muggle area so please hide as found and beware of the muggles! Hope you enjoy the series.
This cache is hidden on the south side of the trail. It is a camo’d pill container. The trail is an easy flat walk by the lake! Enjoy the hike. Check for parking coords.