Newsletter title

July 2013

In This Edition

At the Visitor’s Center

—Deanna Jolly

I want to let you know what a joy it was to have filled in at the Visitor’s Center this 4th. Some people failed to sign the register and some we just failed to count, but last count was sixty visitors. It was a busy day. We had a professional photographer from Washington, D. C. who lived in Maryland, a fellow with his children who takes packers to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and many on their second and third visits to the Prairie. Mr. Frank Longley, 89, came in and talked about the ranch and had many stories about Ben Johnson Sr. marrying his very young bride. He was visiting where his home was 89 years ago … of course it was gone. The weather was perfect. Some people saw the bison from afar, some saw them crossing the road. All in all, it was a good day.

Prairie Watching: Yellow Wildflowers

—Dwight Thomas, Ph.D.

Those of us who have been on the prairie and especially on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve this year have seen an abundance of yellow wildflowers. At times and places, these yellow wildflowers have formed a carpet of color and pattern contrasting with this year’s brilliant green grass. You probably noticed that even though the carpet was yellow, it was not always in the same place, and the wildflower species that made up that carpet changed as the season progressed.

Fringed Puccoon by Dwight Thomas

Early in the spring, we saw the Fringed Puccoon (Lithospermum incisum) and the Prairie Ragwort (Senecio platensis) in abundance, but they grew only in patches here and there. With the Prairie Ragwort, we saw the beginning of a seasonal succession of composites (Asteracea) of which there are many yellow-flowered species. Remember, the composites are usually composed of heads of disc flowers in the center surrounded by ray flowers on the edge of the head. Most of the color comes from the ray flowers. Sometimes, there are only disc flowers (Thistles and Boneset); sometimes there are only ray flowers (Dandelions, Chicory). All of those showy yellow ones that we have seen in such abundance have both disc flowers and ray flowers.

Prairie Ragwort by Dwight Thomas

In mid-Spring, we saw the beginnings of the masses of yellow wildflowers blooming at the same time covering large areas. This beginning was the flowering of the Large Flowered Coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora). These could be recognized by the indentations on the ends of the ray flowers and the yellow disc flowers. This species had one of its best showings that I can remember.

Blackeyed Susan by Dwight Thomas

Then in late Spring, the next wave hit with the Clasping Leaf Coneflowers (Rudbeckia amplexicaulis) and the Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). From a distance, these can look alike, but up close we can tell them apart easily; look for the length of the cone, the leaf growth habit at the stem, and the presence of hair [hirsuteness] on the stems. Look at the scientific names and see if you can guess which one has hair on the stems and which one has leaves that wrap around the stem at the leaf base. Often mixed in with these species (but not in as much profusion) was the Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columifera), which has a longer columnar cone and drooping yellow ray flowers.

Clasping Leaf Coneflower by Dwight Thomas

The next wave of yellow was the Golden Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) with its reddish-brown disc flowers and reddish-brown pattern on the ray flowers making a large but relatively flat reddish-brown center surrounded by yellow. These are often taller and have smaller heads than the earlier yellow wildflowers, but even with the smaller heads and the reddish-brown centers, they still can make the prairie look yellow.

Large Flowered Coreopsis by Dwight Thomas

And then as Summer continues into Autumn, we will begin to see the variety of Sunflowers (Helianthus, Silphium, etc.) that inhabit the prairie. Again, there will be a progression of species with blooming continuing until frost. We will also see the various species of Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) blooming in mass among a smattering of many other yellow wildflowers.

Yellow seems to the most prevalent wildflower color on the prairie, but wait, we will soon have the Liatris, Vernonia, and Eryngium blooming, and we may have to change our belief — the prairie is not yellow but has become purple.

Visitor Counts

—Iris McPherson

Visitor history

In May we had a total of 720 visitors. Of that number there were 707 visitors representing 29 states and 13 international visitors representing 6 countries. Following Oklahoma (549) in number of visitors were the top three states of Missouri (22), California (16), and Kansas (15). We had our first visitors from Cuba in May.

I encourage each of you make sure to ask our visitors to sign the guest book. I think you’ve been doing a good job. Just keep it up. Here’s to a high visitor count in 2013 and a great year for the prairie!

Docent Coverage Of Season Days

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

Docent Coverage of Season Days Docent Coverage of Season Days Summary

Other Places to Visit

Here we provide some links to other places worth visiting.

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Visitor’s Center Latitude & Longitude

Here is the latitude and longitude of the Visitor’s Center that you can give to visitors for entry into their GPS navigation device.

Kiosk Maintenance

The manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning the touch-screen recommend use of a soft dry cloth only. This proved inadequate for smeared fingerprints. Soft-paper kitchen towels work well, slightly damp with a small drop of soft handsoap. Application of a dry kichen towel removes any residual moisture.

Over time, a matter of several weeks continuous operation, I have noticed that calibration of the touch-screen drifts away from the initial set-point. If you notice that the cursor isn’t under your finger when you touch the screen then restart the kiosk by unplugging it from the wall, waiting a few moments and then re-inserting the power plug. It will restart and recalibrate.

This link points to the complete Kiosk Maintenance Manual.

Back Issues

Some printed back issues of the Docent Newsletter, to February 2009, can be found in the two green and one blue-black zip-binders, stored in the Perspex rack by the file cabinet in the office of the Visitor’s Center.

All back issues are available electronically via the links shown below. All newsletters prior to December 2007 are available in Portable Document Format (PDF), which means that you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read these files. All newsletters from December 2007 onwards are in HTML format that is easily read using your web-browser.

2013January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December—2013
2012January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2012
2011January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2011
2010January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2010
2009January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2009
2008January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2008
2007January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2007
2006—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2006
2005January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2005
2004—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2004
2003—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December—2003
2002—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2002
2001January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2001
2000January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2000
1999January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1999
1998January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1998
1997January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1997
1996—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1996
1995—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1995

Selected Topics Index

This persistent index of selected topics should make finding articles of interest easier. The list will grow as I move further into the past and it will grow as I add interesting topics from each new newsletter. Iris McPherson lent me the paper copies of the newsletter from the very early years of the docent program; I ran them through a scanner equipped with a document feeder, saving them as PDF files, then added them to Back Issues section above. Let me know of any dead links that you discover. Also, please lend me any paper copies of the newsletter that are missing so that I can scan and add them to the list of back issues.

Newsletter Publication

Deadline for submission of articles for inclusion in the newsletter is the 10th of each month. Publication date is on the 15th. All docents, Nature Conservancy staff, university scientists, philosophers, and historians are welcome to submit articles and pictures about the various preserves in Oklahoma, but of course the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in particular.