Salem Cemetery: Prairie Restoration

An opening between today's rain clouds allowed for a scenic afternoon program in the Salem Cemetery Prairie, a restoration project headed by Warren Uxley of the Crawford County Park District.

Along with fall flowers, 5 species of butterflies were seen. This New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae , a quintessential native plant of Ohio's fall prairies and road sides was being visited by an Orange Sulphur butterfly. Could any plant be more lovely?

Warren immerses himself in the story of the short-grass prairie. This prairie remnant has been damaged by being scraped to harvest soil for road and rail-road bed fill. The rich top- soils have been removed, leaving only dry barren soil conducive to the likes of Butterfly-weed, Asclepias tuberosa and Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium.

A late blooming Indian Grass displays its delicate golden anthers and sticky stigmas- wind will do the work of pollination.

This large stand of Indian grass, Sorghastrum nutans was planted into the restoration. It holds forth against the September sky, seed heads characteristically arrow-like.

Salem Cemetery, one of Ohio's back road treasures and link to the past. Look on the Morrow County.net website for more information.