My Pioneer ancestors came from New England and the South to setttle New Trerritory in the wilds of the Illinois Prairie.
My gggrandparents found the land still wild & untamed. When my ggggrandfather Dow took his wheat to be milled he had to tie strips of rags onto the tree branches and tall foilage to find his way back home. Although there were uncleared timbered areas there was also beautiful long grasses that blew in the wind and over 175 species of wildflowers.
Illinios has several types of prairie soil depending on the region.
Northern Illinois where they settled is known as black soil Prairie or Grand Prairie named such because of the great fertility of the soil.
Some of the plants that can still be seen here today are Purple Coneflower, White Morning Glory, Prairie Phlox, and Prairie Snowdrops.
On the right is Purple Coneflower.
To see pictures of the other prairie flowers scroll down on this page.
Photos courtesy of Illiois wildflowers.info
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