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"...When Addie became tired of staring at the emptiness, of trying to find something -- anything -- on the horizon, she dropped to her knees and let the tall grass with its sweet, dry smell swallow her up."
- from Laurie Lawlorís Addie Across the Prairie
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Many
prairie plants, including grasses that cover prairies, have adapted over
thousands of years to droughts, fire, and animals grazing.
A major adaptation they evolved is that the leaves and flower stems grow from the base of the plant. If the top is eaten, burned, or drought stricken, the plant can continue to grow. In fact, being grazed up or singed in a fire, actually stimulates the growth of the plant. Grasses in neighborhood lawns across the nation have this way of growing. Every week, we think the grass needs to be cut. By cutting it, we are helping to encourage the grass to grow. If you cut off the top of a tree, it would die because the growing point is there; however, grasses thrive when their tops are trimmed. This method of growing allows prairie vegetation to thrive where other plants can't survive. |
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| Blazing
Star
(Liatris pychnostachya) |
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You can see the leaves, stems, and flowers above the ground, but that part of the plant is small in comparison to what lies below the soil -- an extensive root system -- another prairie adaptation.
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Copyright © 1999 Illinois State Museum
