Blue Sky Botany – Sunflowers

Blue Sky Botany – Sunflowers

by | Aug 14, 2026 | Identification & Education

Blue Sky Botany — Sunflowers

Article and photos by Rob Baller. Input provided by Pat Trochlell, Jim Rogala and Dan Carter.

August 14, 2026

Botanist and early The Prairie Enthusiasts member Rob Baller created this series for our friends at Blue Mounds Area Project. The “blue sky” technique is Rob’s favorite for taking stunning plant photographs. Let him know what you think at robertballer@outlook.com.

ALWAYS get permission from the property owner if you want to try this technique.

Click to enlarge the images below!

Ox-eye

(Heliopsis helianthoides)

Mid-July-August. 3-5 ft tall. Mesic soil, usually full sun. Infamous for not being a true sunflower because both ray flowers and disk flowers form seeds. The rays impress me as being golden-orange rather than sunflower yellow. Leaves average twice as long as wide, creating a broadly triangular look, often squared at the base. It helps to unfold the curled leaf to examine it. Branching is strictly opposite, top to bottom.

Woodland sunflower

(Helianthus strumosus)

Mid-July-September. 3-6 ft tall. Petioles (leaf stem) a quarter inch long, leaf base squarish to broad and/or rounded, rough-scratchy to the touch, and those phyllaries under the flowers are peeling-away-little-wavy spears. I suspect this is the most common of the shade-tolerant ‘woodland’ sunflowers on all dappled roads and woodland edges in southern Wisconsin. In newer oak savanna restorations, it may explode into huge colonies. There are at least three more difficult species of woodland sunflowers that botanists disagree over. My advice is don’t worry about it.

Showy sunflower or few-leaved sunflower

(Helianthus pauciflorus, formerly H. laetiflorus)

August-September. 3-5 ft tall. Full sun, mesic to dry prairie. Leaf bases taper gradually into the petiole, forming an angle that is acute. Leaf tips equally acute. The leaf arrangement has less leaves toward the top (somewhere between naked and woodland with regard to number of leaves and location). Phyllaries twice as long as wide, or wider, fitting tightly to the underside of the flower like shingles on a roof, with maybe the tips slightly peeling. 

Dan Carter provided a taxonomic detail on this species: H. laetiflorus was often used for H. pauciflorus, but it also was and still is used for hybrids and backcrosses involving Helianthus tuberosus and Helianthus pauciflorus.

Western sunflower, naked stem sunflower or few-leaf sunflower

(Helianthus occidentalis)

August-September. 2-5 ft tall. Full sun, dry prairie, sands, barrens. Definitely our driest sunflower, well-adapted with leaves restricted to a rosette at the base, and maybe one or two pairs of tiny Tyrannosaurus leaves midway up the stem.

Sawtooth sunflower

(Helianthus grossesseratus)

September. 6-9 ft tall. Tallest common sunflower. Full sun, rich mesic soils, sometimes lining cornfield margins along with giant ragweed. Leaves long-tapering, arching, the edges slightly toothed; “sawtooth” is overly optimistic. Phyllaries are long-tapering, spreading, wavy spear points.

Giant sunflower

(Helianthus giganteius)

This sunflower is provided by Dan Carter. Quite similar to sawtooth sunflower. Common on The Prairie Enthusiasts’ sites. One main difference between sawtooth sunflower and giant sunflower is that sawtooth has smooth stems and giant sunflower has hairy stems. The two sunflowers sometimes occur together and hybridize.

About The Prairie Enthusiasts 

The Prairie Enthusiasts is an accredited land trust that seeks to ensure the perpetuation and recovery of prairie, oak savanna, and other fire-dependent ecosystems of the Upper Midwest through protection, management, restoration, and education. In doing so, they strive to work openly and cooperatively with private landowners and other private and public conservation groups. Their management and stewardship centers on high-quality remnants, which contain nearly all the components of endangered prairie communities. 

One Year Protected: Mukwonago River Oak Barrens

One Year Protected: Mukwonago River Oak Barrens

by | Jul 17, 2026 | News

One Year Protected: Mukwonago River Oak Barrens

Written by Dan Carter. Photos by Dan Carter.

July 17, 2026

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a year since The Prairie Enthusiasts protected the Mukwonago River Oak Barrens.

Maybe it’s a distinction without a difference, since volunteers had been working out there for two years already at that point, but things have continued to pick up, with over 1500 hours of volunteer work time through that first year spent conducting prescribed burns, collecting and spreading seeds, planting roots/plugs, removing brush and trees, and staging and burning piles.

Volunteers have opened up and expanded our management footprint by about 3.5 acres during the first year, and this was augmented by contract work that has opened up another two acres and was funded through the Natural Resources Foundation Besadny Conservation Fund, The Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium Assistance Program, and donations from the Kettle Moraine Chapter of Wild Ones and other donors. Additional Natural Resources Foundation Rare Plant Preservation Funds will be used to open up more habitat this winter for two rare sedges that occur at the site.

This year we saw our first blooms from locally sourced wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis), prairie blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya), and several other species seeded into areas opened up between late 2023 and 2024. We have continued to find species indigenous to the site that we were not aware of, including yellow stargrass (Hypoxis hirsuta) and prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) early this year, and most recently week sedge (Carex debilis).

The count of known, native plants present at the site without our having added them stands at 320.

Glacial Prairie Chapter volunteers spread seed over the snow last winter.

Glacial Prairie Chapter volunteers burn conifer material.

Glacial Prairie Chapter volunteers pull brush in an area that supports alumroot (Heuchera richardsonii), false toadflax (Comandra umbellata), Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Canada blue-joint grass (Calamagrostis canadensis), and butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).

Fire burns through an area of southern sedge meadow at the barrens late last October.

Yellow stargrass growing in a strip of remnant wet to wet-mesic prairie in the southern part of the property.

Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense) blooming along the transition of the oak barrens to southern sedge meadow this July.

learn more about mukwonago river oak barrens

About The Prairie Enthusiasts 

The Prairie Enthusiasts is an accredited land trust that seeks to ensure the perpetuation and recovery of prairie, oak savanna, and other fire-dependent ecosystems of the Upper Midwest through protection, management, restoration, and education. In doing so, they strive to work openly and cooperatively with private landowners and other private and public conservation groups. Their management and stewardship centers on high-quality remnants, which contain nearly all the components of endangered prairie communities. 

Blue Sky Botany – Thimbleweeds

Blue Sky Botany – Thimbleweeds

by | Jun 22, 2026 | Identification & Education

Blue Sky Botany – Thimbleweeds

Article and photos by Rob Baller

Originally written April 29, 2023

Botanist and early The Prairie Enthusiasts member Rob Baller created this series for our friends at Blue Mounds Area Project. The “blue sky” technique is Rob’s favorite for taking stunning plant photographs. Let him know what you think at robertballer@outlook.com.

ALWAYS get permission from the property owner if you want to try this technique.

Two thimbleweeds (Anemone cylindrica and A. virginiana) reside here in Wisconsin, one trending in the prairie and the other in oak savanna. Both have slender, stiff stems rising from the earth like antennae. Both produce a whorl of highly dissected, pointed, palmate leaves that emerge maybe half-way up the plant. Within this circle of leaves are a few more antennae; these become the stalks that bear a single flower on each antenna, somewhere between knee and waist high. All have 5 to 6 petals, and some people claim they are off-white or pale green or bland yellow. If these two different thimbleweeds accidentally sprout close to each other, as they are wont to do, we get confused, because they look mighty alike. Especially when there are no flowers, but only seed heads. Calm yourself. We’ll handle this. 

  

Prairie thimbleweed (A. cylindrica) 

June-July. Knee high. Sunny prairie, on steep and rolling hills and everywhere in between that’s pretty dry. Though I have not seen it in sand; let me know if you have. The seeds of this plant grow tightly compacted in a fuzzy, inch-long vertical cylinder the diameter of a pencil, and that shape helps name and identify this species. The color is usually whitish. The sides of the seed cylinder are parallel.  

  

Tall thimbleweed (A. virginiana) 

June-July. They tend to begin flowering a few weeks later than the prairie thimbleweed, but they do overlap. Shin to waist high. In part shade, from mesic to rocky ground, such as steep stony slopes with oak savanna, and on a variety of lightly shaded sites, making it possible to grow within feet of a bona fide prairie thimbleweed but not usually. Flowers are much like the prairie thimbleweed, but I believe more yellowish and a little larger on average even. The wooly seedhead thimble is oval.  Its sides are not parallel. And it appears more golden colored. 

  

The best, most reliable feature for distinguishing these two cousins is that prairie thimbleweed has only one whorl of leaves along its elongated flowering stems. Tall thimbleweed has an extra tier of leaflets; first there are the regular leaves, and then, higher up, are another grouping of smaller leaflets.  

  

It is tempting to describe how the leaves and/or leaflets of these species differ in shape and form. I feel they can be too close to call, confusing the innocent. Even my treasured reference book, Wildflowers of Wisconsin by the esteemed Merel Black and Emmet Judziewicz, appears to have a suspect photo of A. cylindrica, its leaf shape not quite right in my view. Perhaps there are regional variations I don’t know about. So, I won’t say anything. 

About The Prairie Enthusiasts 

The Prairie Enthusiasts is an accredited land trust that seeks to ensure the perpetuation and recovery of prairie, oak savanna, and other fire-dependent ecosystems of the Upper Midwest through protection, management, restoration, and education. In doing so, they strive to work openly and cooperatively with private landowners and other private and public conservation groups. Their management and stewardship centers on high-quality remnants, which contain nearly all the components of endangered prairie communities. 

Rattlesnake Rescuer

Rattlesnake Rescuer

by | Jun 22, 2026 | Identification & Education

Rattlesnake Rescuer

Member Profile: Stephen Winter 

Article by Melinda Knutson, Coulee Region Chapter Chair

June 5, 2026

Stephen Winter removing a snake from St. Mary’s University. Photo by Dusty Hoffman.

Stephen Winter wears many hats, most of them related to conservation. Steve is an active member of the Minnesota Driftless Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts; he served on the Chapter Board for several years. He now serves on Chapter committees and manages the Chapter Facebook page. Steve lives in Winona, MN. During the day, he’s a Refuge Biologist for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which covers 261 river miles from Wabasha, Minnesota to Rock Island, llinios. When he’s not busy with work or volunteering with his Chapter, he enjoys a most unusual hobby —rescuing rattlesnakes.  

Timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) are mainly confined to the Driftless Area in the Upper Midwest, inhabiting bluffs along the Mississippi River drainages. In Minnesota, they are only found in six southeastern counties. In the Driftless, the hill prairies or ‘goat prairies,’ as they are sometimes called, are an important habitat for timber rattlers and are a focus for restoration by both the Minnesota Driftless and the Coulee Region Chapters  and the state Minnesota DNR. Management of these remnant prairies is essential for stabilizing and restoring timber rattler populations.  

Occasionally, some of these snakes wander into yards, gardens, farm buildings and other areas where their human neighbors wish they wouldn’t be. Unfortunately, many people’s first inclination is to kill the snake. However, the species is listed as Threatened in Minnesota due to steep population declines. To avoid snake mortality and secure public safety, Minnesota has developed a Rattlesnake Responder Program consisting of trained local staff and volunteers who respond to nuisance rattlesnake calls. The County law enforcement dispatch office is the point of contact for the public.  

Stephen participates in this program as a volunteer, rescuing snakes from people’s properties. “People call the law enforcement dispatch office, and they send out a message to the local responders,” says Winter. “With luck, one of them will respond and go out to rescue the snake. Someone is not always available, due to work or other commitments, which is too bad. I think we have at least six responders in Winona County.” 

Timber rattlesnake held by with a hook. Photo by Stephen Winter.

Knutson: How did you get interested in prairies and rattlesnakes, in particular?

Winter: I grew up in Nebraska on a rural acreage. We had six acres of remnant prairie that my brother and I used to play together in. Of course, I didn’t know anything about remnant prairies at the time. In college I read the classic Nebraska wildflower book by Jon Farrar1 and learned that many of the plants in that six-acre patch of ground were characteristic of remnant prairies. When I attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Kansas State University, I learned a lot about prairies through the many range ecology and range management classes I took. My time in Kansas at Konza Prairie was transformative; I now have a ‘Konza world view’ when it comes to understanding tallgrass prairie ecology. I studied the interaction of fire and large grazers, bison and cattle, in multiple Great Plains grasslands during my Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University, and in my subsequent post-doctoral work there. Through it all, I developed an ever-greater passion for prairies! 

I’ve been interested in snakes for as long as I can remember; my oldest sister kept a garter snake in the garage when I was a small child, and I remember being fascinated by it. There were lots of big bull snakes on our land in Nebraska. I’ve interacted with many different types of snakes in several jobs, including stints in California, Texas and Kansas. Among many close calls with rattlesnakes around the country, a massive western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in Texas particularly stands out in my mind.  

Knutson: How does one rescue a snake?

Winter: We’re trained to use both snake hooks and tongs, a holding bag and other tools to safely capture and hold the snakes until they can be released. Jaime Edwards, a now-retired Minnesota DNR employee, did a great job of training me to handle these rattlesnakes during relocation events. She has done so much to raise awareness about timber rattlesnakes in southeast Minneosta and the need to protect and restore their habitat here in the Driftless Area. 

Knutson: Tell me about one of your rescues.

Winter: One landowner is regularly visited by timber rattlers; he told me he gets three to six snakes a year in his yard. He said he doesn’t mind them if a responder is available to relocate them. The day before I arrived, a different responder had rescued one snake, but another one escaped. I captured the second snake and was ready to take it to my car by walking between his house and the neighbor’s house. But he said: “Don’t say anything to the neighbors. Come through the house and go through the front door to your car so they don’t see it. They may be upset to know there are rattlesnakes around here and start killing any snake they see.”  

Knutson: What do you do with the snakes you’ve rescued?

Winter: We try to find suitable habitat as close as possible to the capture site, ideally no farther than ½ mile. Research shows that the snakes are very tied to their own winter dens; if they are moved too far and can’t find it, they are likely to die. Because female snakes don’t reproduce until they are 7-11 years old and they only reproduce every 2-3 years, the loss of even one female is significant. Females don’t move very far from their winter dens. In the summer they give birth, usually at what are called birthing rocks —rock outcroppings exposed to the sun but with crevices they and their neonates (young snakes born that summer) can retreat into. These are often on the hill prairies that the conservation community works to protect and manage. The neonates follow their mother’s scent trail to her winter den, thus imprinting them on that winter den, which they’ll use exclusively for the rest of their lives. 

Knutson: What is your advice to someone who comes upon a timber rattlesnake?

Winter: They’re relatively rare; you may never see one again in your lifetime. They won’t bother you unless provoked. If you are lucky enough to see one, stop and stand at a safe distance. Soak up the experience and count yourself lucky that you got to see such a wonderful creature. 

Timber rattlesnake found in Winona. Photo by Stephen Winter.

This article appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of The Prairie Promoter, a publication of news, art and writing from The Prairie Enthusiasts community. Explore the full collection and learn how to submit your work here. 

About The Prairie Enthusiasts 

The Prairie Enthusiasts is an accredited land trust that seeks to ensure the perpetuation and recovery of prairie, oak savanna, and other fire-dependent ecosystems of the Upper Midwest through protection, management, restoration, and education. In doing so, they strive to work openly and cooperatively with private landowners and other private and public conservation groups. Their management and stewardship centers on high-quality remnants, which contain nearly all the components of endangered prairie communities. 

Porcupine Grass

Porcupine Grass

by | Jun 22, 2026 | Identification & Education

Porcupine Grass

Written by Dan Carter. Photos by Dan Carter.

June 22, 2026

Abundant porcupine grass with pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) at Bush Clover Prairie in Grant County, WI.

Porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea, AKA needlegrass), one of our most important prairie grasses, is presently beginning to disperse its unique seeds. In Curtis’ The Vegetation of Wisconsin porcupine grass was the most frequently encountered grass in a meter square of mesic prairie, twice as frequent as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii).

Porcupine grass is a cool-season bunchgrass grass that initiates growth in late March and Early April, flowers in late May/early June, and ripens its fruits in mid-June. The structure and fuels environment it contributes to differs vastly from big bluestem and Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), which have tended to become more abundant on prairies over the last several decades or one-hundred years. Porcupine grass thrives with and contributes to low-intensity, dormant-season fires, and it declines in response to post-green-up burning or with prolonged fire exclusion, which are better-tolerated by big bluestem and Indiangrass.

The long awns of porcupine grass seeds (really grains) curl in response to moisture changes, straightening when conditions are humid, and curling when they are dry. This serves to move them laterally across the soil surface and also to drive the seed into the ground; the latter is facilitated by a very sharp tip and hairs that prevent the seed from backing back out of the soil. Seed is often broadcast fresh, soon after collecting, but in my experience plants will establish from seed planted in fall as well. It seems to establish best when hand-broadcast into existing grassy vegetation burned annually or very frequently in the dormant season to prevent thatch build-up, especially if that vegetation isn’t too dense (if you can see some soil surface down through the grass in midsummer).

Read more about the true prairie grasses here. 

Close-up of porcupine grass with seeds that are almost mature.

A tangled ball of porcupine grass seeds in a bag after harvest from a roadside patch in Waukesha County, WI.

Seeds dry upon harvest, causing their awns to curl.

About The Prairie Enthusiasts 

The Prairie Enthusiasts is an accredited land trust that seeks to ensure the perpetuation and recovery of prairie, oak savanna, and other fire-dependent ecosystems of the Upper Midwest through protection, management, restoration, and education. In doing so, they strive to work openly and cooperatively with private landowners and other private and public conservation groups. Their management and stewardship centers on high-quality remnants, which contain nearly all the components of endangered prairie communities.