prairie presentation

Starting The Savannah and Beargrass Prairie

Typical days in the prairie included; weeding and turning soil, planning the design, mapping the plot, watering plants, removing excess debris, planting collected plants, laying rocks, re-mulching the trail, and general clean-up in the area. The plot was started in week 2 and continually worked on until week 6.  Mid-week,  the planting of new beargrass plants began and the lot started to look more like a western Washington glacial prairie.
Savannah and Beargrass Prairie week 2
Before
After

The Savannah and Beargrass Prairie
Weeding the Savannah and Beargrass Prairie
Savannah and Beargrass Prairie week 6
The prairie is ready to have plants added and cared for. Daily watering of the plants now is important. The newly transplanted plants are fragile and need special care. Work is conducted on a daily basis to help keep the garden alive and well. Water has been limited due to the lack of rain and the plants that were watered show a contrast between the wet soil and the parched soil. Removal of the unwanted plants is important in these conditions because invasive plants would compete for water and important nutrients.
Contrast of week 2 and week 6
Week 2
Week 6
The removal of unwanted plants can be appreciated by more than just the plants in the garden, but by the people who view the plot and see its resemblance to a Washington glacial prairie. Bunch grasses, wildflowers, and other prairie plants, including yarrow and tall Oregon grape, were added to make the prairie authentic.
Mari-lee’s garden
The friendly Petersons were accommodated us and even offered to donate their personal specimens of beargrass to the longhouse ethnobatnical garden.
The Savannah and Beargrass Prairie
These bunch grasses were and transplanted into the prairie. Pete and Mari-lee told us where to find the plants without much trouble and we appreciated their advise.
The condition of the grasses should improve in the garden with proper care.
Planted Beargrass
Here are two of the beargrass plants that were donated by the Peterson’s.We are very thankful for their helpful advice and generosity. Mari-lee offered to help students next fall, and we are happy to have them as friends of Our garden. 
The Savannah and Beargrass Prairie
Xerophyllum Tenax specimen purchased at the Olympia farmers market.
This stand at the farmers market is where the bear grass specimen was purchased.
Olympia farmers market beargrass procurement
The Savannah and Beargrass Prairie
These boulders were laid in the garden thanks to Mike Smith who had the know-how and transportation to maneuver these rocks onto the garden’s edges. A total of 8 new rocks were placed in the garden.
Mike determined the boulders to be a type of Granite rock.  Looks like Mike needs a bigger truck
Lynch quarryEatonville, Washington
Plants in the prairie
Beargrass
Tall Oregon Grape
Yarrow
Violet
Buttercup
Camas
Protected Glacial Prairie

Text Box: Mima mounds

Mima Mounds
 Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve (DNR)                 From Littlerock, go West  for 0.8 mile. Turn right on Waddell Creek Rd. Go 0.9 mile. Turn left at entrance with sign. Continue for 1 mile to site.

Features: Interpretive display, 1900 ft. paved trail through mysteriously mounded prairie, beautiful spring wildflowers, butterflies. Day-use only. Pets prohibited.

Other Info: Check for updates at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/lm/recreation/recreation.html or call 1-800-264-0890.
Mima Mounds Background
n            The Mima mounds is a glacial prairie and grassland in the southern Puget Sound area. It is home to a variety of wildlife and vegetation that have been maintained from the end of the Pleistocene glaciation. The prairie’s sediment contains a large concentration of glaciated rocks and pebbles that help to maintain a drier saturation index than the surrounding forest soils. Roemer's Fescue is the common bunchgrass found on the grassland. This type of grassland once covered thousands of acres of the western Washington region. The prairie is a habitat to a variety of butterflies, birds, and flowers.n             Butterfly species include; the Ochre Ringlet (gold and tan) and Tiger and Anise Swallowtails (large black and orange).  n            Wildflowers include; yellow Buttercups, deep pink Shooting Stars, wild Strawberries, Common Camas, Chocolate Lilies, Woolly Sunflower, yellow Slender Cinquefoil, Death Camus, Blue-purple crown Brodiaea Lilies, white Yarrow, Scot’s Bluebells, Goldenrod, White Topped Aster. Lichen in the prairie is reindeer lichen, which changes from seasonally from dry to saturated. n            Birds in the prairie include; Vesper, White Crowned Sparrow, Northern Harriers, Western Meadowlarks,  Western Bluebird,  n            Thanks to the DNR pacific cascade region office. www.wa.gov.dnr
Plants of the Puget Sound Prairie
Shooting Star
Buttercup
Virginia Strawberry
Common Camas
Chocolate Lily
Potentilla
Death Camas
Brodiaea Lily
Plants of the Puget Sound Prairie
Yarrow
Scots Bluebells

Goldenrod

White

White Tipped Aster
Reindeer Lichen
Garry Oak

                       


Serviceberry
Amelanchier

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Edible berries ripen in June

                                                     

Violet
Flowers leafs and roots are eaten for their medicinalpurposes
Viola
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Comfrey
Roots and leaves used for medicinal propertiesPoultice, whooping-cough, sprains, swellings and bruises.
Symphytum

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Kinnikinik
Edible red berries, tea made from leaves .

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Roemer’s Fescue
Long-lived perennial bunchgrass
F. pratensis

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Reindeer Lichen
C. rangiferina
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Can not survive fires as a ground cover

                                              

Cascara
R. purshiana

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Bark used as a laxative and nausea inducer

                                  

                                         

           

Garry Oak
Q. garryana

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Sacred to the gods of thunder, Grow small reddish acorns. 

                                 

                                                                                  

            

Hawthorn
C. monogyna

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Hawthorn is effective for curing insomnia. Hawthorn is used to prevent miscarriage and for treating nervousness. Hawthorn has been used for centuries in treating heart disease, as regular use strengthens the heart muscles, and to prevent arteriosclerosis, angina, and poor heart action.


http://www.gaiagarden.com/products/hawthorn/?source=google&gclid=CN_v3dnMw4wCFSmkhgodu2ZyVg

                                              

Yarrow
A. millefolium

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Yarrow has seen historical use as a medicine, mainly because of its astringent effects. Decoctions have been used to treat inflammations, and also headaches. Confusingly, it has been said to both stop bleeding and promote it. Infusions of Yarrow, taken either internally or externally, are said to speed recovery from severe bruising. The most medicinally active part of the plant are the flowering tops. They also have a mild stimulant effect, and have been used as a snuff. Today, yarrow is valued mainly for its action in colds and influenza, and also for its effect on the circulatory, digestive, and urinary systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarrow

                                    

                                                          

          

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Shooting Star

Blue Violet

Buttercup

Camas

Oxeye Daisy

Self-heal

Scotch Bellflower

Spotted Cats Ear

Goldenrod

St. Johns Wort

Slender Cinquefoil

Virginia Strawberry

               

Signs needed in the prairie
n      Tall Oregon Grape      Mahonia aqifoliumn      Western Buttercup      Ranunculus occidentalisn      Garry Oak                   Quercus garryanan      Yarrow                        Achillea millefoliumn      Bear-grass                  Xerophyllum tenaxn      Common Snowberry   Symphoricarpos albusn      Serviceberry                Amelanchier

   

Plants to look for in procurement
n              Argoseris elata  (tall goat chickory) n               Argoseris grandiflora   (large-flowered agoseris, large-flower goat-chicory)  non palatable to human according to usda.n              Artemesia ludoviciana  (white sagebrush, gray sagewort) non-toxic, non-palatable.n              Anthasanus pussilus   (common sandweed) species not known to be poisonous.“According to the e-flora atlas”n              Crepis occidentalis  (largeflower hawksbeard, western hawksbeard) non palatable to human”USDA”  leaves eaten raw according to  Kelly, Isabel T. 1932 Ethnography of the Surprise Valley Paiute. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 31(3):67-210 (p. 103).n               crocidium multicaule (common spring-gold, gold star) nontoxic, not palatable to humans according to usda.n              crytantha intermedia (Clearwater cryptantha, common cryptantha, clearwater cat's eye)  n               draba verna (spring draba, spring whitlow-grass)  edible and astringrnt acording to “plants for a future”n               erigeron oreganus (gorge fleabane, gorge daisy, Oregon fleabane) basalt outcropping in the Columbia river gorgen              erigeron salishii (Star Peak fleabane, Salish daisy)  n              erigeron speciousus (aspen fleabane, splendid fleabane)  dandelion.n               erysimum capitum (sanddune wallflower, rough wallflower, prairie rocket)  cultivated for its blooms and blossoms.n               githopsis speculaiodes (common bluecup)  n              grindelia integrifolia (Puget Sound gumweed, Willamette Valley gumweed, Puget Sound gumplant)  Preparation & Uses: The resin is listed as being antispasmodic, diuretic, expectorant and sedative. It has most specifically been used for treating spasmodic respiration problems such as asthma, dry hacking coughs or whooping cough. Moore says it was sometimes combined with Yerba Santa. As a mild stomach tonic, it has been used for indigestion and colic.

For kidney and bladder problems, both tincture and tea have been used. A little brandy is usually added to the tea to dissolve the resin. Moore says it is specific for cystitis caused by fungi or food but not so good for ``honeymoon`` cystitis. He also states it is a mild cardiac relaxant though not all that reliable.

The Blackfoot Indians made a decoction of the dried ground root for liver problems and as a spring purge. Nevada Indians used small doses of the decoction during measles and smallpox epidemics. Gumweed is known to increase excretions.

Externally, fresh gumweed or fresh plant tincture can be applied as a wash for poison ivy/oak. It has also been used as a wash for burns, rashes, sores, wounds and the like. A poultice can be made of the herb and used for rheumatic joints, breaks, and wounds. http://www.wrc.net/wrcnet_content/herbalresources/herbwalk/herbwalk.aspx?hwid=26n               lepidium oxycarpum (forked pepperweed, sharpfruited pepperwort)   mustard family not yet assessed.

 

1,808,000-11,550 calendar years

 
evolution of anatomically modern humans, present ice age starts 
Pleistocene 
Neocene  
Cenozoic  
Phanerozoic  
11,550 calendar years 
end of recent glaciation, rise of human civilization 
Holocene 
Neocene 
Cenozoic 
Phanerozoic 
Time Line 
Major Events
Series
Period
Era
Eon


Glaciation of Western Washington


Plants to look for in procurement
n             minuartia tenella (slender stitchwort) grows on limestonen             opuntia fragilis (brittle prickly-pear) fruit used as food. Conservational acts protect the species as an endangered cactus.n             senecio neowebsteri (Olympic Mountain ragwort)n             sericocarpus rigidus (Columbian white-topped aster, rigid white-topped aster)  n             solidago missouriensis (Missouri goldenrod) infusion of blossoms used for various fevers.n             solidago simplex (Mt. Albert goldenrod)  non toxic non palatable to humans according to usda n              stellaria nitens  (shiny chickweed, shiny starwort) Flowering spring. Dry, open habitats: sand dunes, stream banks, rocky outcrops, open woodlands, beneath boulders, disturbed areas; 0-2000 m; B.C.; Ariz., Calif., , Mont., Nev., Oreg., Utah, Wash. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250060937n              symphyotrichum chilense (Pacific aster, common California aster) Symphyotrichum chilense is restricted to coastal habitats from southwestern British Columbia to central California. It is almost entirely coastal in Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia, where it is mainly hexaploid (2n = 48). In Oregon, where it is sympatric with S. subspicatum, the latter is mainly duodecaploid (2n = 96). The distinction does not hold in British Columbia, however, where S. subspicatum is both 2n = 48 and 96, and where S. chilense is less common (G. A. Allen 1984). The species was erroneously thought by Nees to occur in Chile. The plants named Aster chilensis var. medius Jepson are hybrids of S. chilense and S. lentum. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250060937n             symphyotrichum novae- angliae (New England aster) can be used for roadside plantings, prairie restoration, wildlife cover, prairie landscaping, and wetland situations. http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_syno2.pdfn             symphyotrichum hallii  (Hall's aster)   

    

                                                              

                   

Bibliography
n            Plants Of The Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska   by Jim Pojar (Compiler), Andy MacKinnon (Compiler)  Paperback: 528 pages Publisher: Lone Pine Publishing; Revised edition (November 30, 2004) Language: English  ISBN-10: 1551055309 ISBN-13: 978-1551055305 http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/comfre92.htmln              http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Harrier.htmln              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantn              http://www.dnr.wa.gov/n              http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/washington/preserves/art12967.htmln               http://www.southsoundprairies.org/documents/Indigenousburning.pdfn             http://depts.washington.edu/propplnt/Plants/Festuca%20idahoensis%20subsp.htmn              http://www.davidsonia.org/files/17_2_dunwiddie.pdf n               http://www.wnps.org/plant_lists/counties/thurston/documents/MimaMounds.pdfn               http://www.wnps.org/plant_lists/counties/thurston/documents/ThurstonCounty.doc n             http://www.gaiagarden.com/products/hawthorn/?source=google&gclid=CN_v3dnMw4wCFSmkhgodu2ZyVgn              http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/n              Information Center
(360) 902-8844
(Hours: 8AM - 5PM,
Monday - Friday)
   http://www.parks.wa.gov/ n              http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250060937   

john dalelio, mike smith
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