Flora & Fauna of Southern Illinois

Flora and Fauna of Southern Illinois

September 16th, 2013all photos & maps by presenter

except where noted

Camel Rock at Garden of the Gods Wilderness

Christopher D. Benda – Regional EcologistIllinois Natural Areas Inventory Update

Degognia Canyon – Jackson County

Photo credit – Randy Nyboer

Statewide Project5 Regional Ecologists

Illinois Native Plant SocietySouthern Chapter

www.facebook.com/southernillinoisplants

Technical Expert

Consultant

The Flora of Southern IllinoisPLB 451 – Plant Biology Dept.

Southern Illinois University

Chigger PoemOh why oh why do there have to be chiggers for a reaction in me they sure do triggerThe many little red bites feel like BrailleAnd when they itch they make me want to wail!

If you like evolution, then you must love the chiggerFor they would not be as bad if they happened to be biggerBut an invisible invertebrate has all the advantageAnd leaves me with little else than to put on a bandage.

I guess I could prevent them by staying on the trailOr if I took more time to scratch them with my nailI could spray myself with nasty chemicals and deetOr stay inside all together and beat the summer heat!

But that is not my style, I was born to exploreTo see the nature and learn from it more Plus if there were less chiggers there’d be more touristsAnd it would be impossible to be a nature purist.

Chigger Myths

1. If you can see the chigger, it is not a chigger!(they are invisible to the naked eye)

2.Fingernail polish may help the itching, but the chigger is long gone!

Binomial Nomenclature

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their rightful names.”

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

Animalia Cordata Reptilia Testudines Emydidae Emydoidea E. blandingii

Shawnee Hills & Shawnee Nat’l Forest

Japanese Stiltgrass – Microstegium vimineum

Camp Ondessonk – Packentuck Falls

Camp Ondessonk – Packentuck Falls

Camp Ondessonk – Pakentuck

Blue Curls - Trichostema dichotomum

Prickly Pear – Opuntia humifusa

Farkleberry – Vaccinium arboreum

Cardinal Flower – Lobelia cardinalis

Netted Chain Fern – Woodwardia areolata

Fence Lizard – Sceloporus undulatus

Cricket Frog – Acris crepitans

Spring Peeper – Pseudacris crucifer

Lichen Grasshopper – Trimerotropis saxatilis

Camp Ondessonk – Pakentuck

Phantoms Canyon

Phantoms Canyon

Phantoms Canyon

Phantoms Canyon

Bobcats Den

Shooting Star – Dodecatheon frenchii

Adam & Eve Orchid – Aplectrum hyemaleCranefly Orchid -Tipularia discolor

Goldenseal – Hydrastis canadensis

Blue-eyed Mary – Collinsia verna

Miami Mist – Phacelia purshii

Gray Treefrog – Hyla chrysoscelis

Gray Treefrog – Hyla versicolor

Green Treefrog – Hyla cinerea

Little Grand Canyon – Jackson County

Bishop’s Cap - Mitella diphylla

Partraige-berry – Mitchella repens

Shining Clubmoss – Huperzia lucidula

Sphagnum Moss – Sphagnum compactum

Forbe’s Saxifrage – Saxifraga forbesii

Marbled Salamander – Ambystoma opacum

LaRue Pine Hills

Wild Azalea - Rhododendron prinophyllum

Cleft Phlox – Phlox bifida

Dwarf Larkspur– Delphinium tricorne

Broadhead Skink – Eumeces laticeps

Cricket Frog – Acris crepitans

Zigzag Salamander – Plethodon dorsalis

Cave Salamander – Eurycea lucifuga

Southern two-lined Salamander – Eurycea cirrigera

American Toad – Bufo americanus

Fowler’s Toad – Bufo fowleri

Cottonmouth – Agkistrodon piscivorus

Timber Rattlesnake – Crotalus horridus

Timber Rattlesnakesnumber seen: 8

More Timber Rattlesnakes

Copperhead – Agkistrodon contortrix

Northern Watersnake – Nerodia sipedon

Boss Island – Little Black Slough

Boss Island – Little Black Slough

Buttonland Swamp – Lower Cache

Copper Iris – Iris fulva

Purple Fringeless Orchid – Platanthera peramoena

White Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias perennis

Azolla Fern – Azolla mexicana

Sensitive Fern – Onoclea sensibilis

Eastern Newt – Notophthalmus viridescens

Eastern Spadefoot Toad– Scaphiopus holbrookii

Crayfish Frog– Rana areolata

Stinkpot – Sternothorus odoratus

Copperbelly Watersnake - Nerodia eurythrogaster ssp. flavigaster X neglecta

Cave Creek Glade – Limestone Glade

Hoary Puccoon – Lithospermum canescens

Wild Hyacinth – Camassia scilloides

Blue-eyed Grass - Sisrhynchium albidum

False Garlic – Nothoscordum bivalve

Butterfly Milkweed - Asclepias tuberosa

Blue Sage – Salvia azurea var. grandiflora

Cave Creek Glade – June 2010

Cave Creek Glade – June 2011Full Glorious Bloom

Pale Purple Coneflower - Echinacea simulata

Pale Purple Coneflower - Echinacea simulata

Greater Spangled Fritillary - Speyeria cybele

13-year Periodical Cicada – Magicicada sp.

Bell Smith Springs

Natural Bridge

Wild Ginger – Asarum canadense

Fence Lizard – Sceloporus undulatus

Eastern Box Turtle – Terrapene carolina

Northern Slimy Salamander Plethodon glutinosus

Burden Falls

Burden Falls

Sandstone Glade - Garden of the Gods

Liesegang Banding

Spider Lily – Hymenocallis caroliniana

Indian Pink - Spigelia marilandica

Bellwort – Uvularia grandiflora

Starry Campion – Silene stellata

Walking Fern – Asplenium rhizophyllum

Milk Snake – Lampropeltis triangulum

Eastern Hognose Snake – Heterodon platirhinos

Racer – Coluber constrictor

Spicebush Swallowtail – Papilio troilus

Flying Squirrel – Glaucomys volans

Female Widow Skimmer – Libellula lactuosa

Male Widow Skimmer – Libellula lactuosa

Lusk Creek – Indian Kitchen

Cretaceous Hills

Whorled Pagonia Orchid – Isotria verticillata

Questions?