Jack Pine Surprise

August 4, 2024

Author: Phyllis Root
Photographer: Kelly Povo

The day begins with light, a huge, red, smoky sun lifting over the horizon as we drive in and out of mist that sparkles like ice crystals on big bluestem beside the road.

We are headed north in search of a stand of jack pines in Paul Bunyan Savanna, a Nature Conservancy site that is part of the Northland Arboretum in Brainerd.  Jack pine is Minnesota’s most common pine, dependent on fire to release its seeds.  But a combination of fire suppression, timber harvesting, and conversion of habitat to agriculture has made stands of jack pine rare. Badoura Jack Pine Woodland Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) is the only place we’ve visited where whole stands of jack pine grow.

At Northland Arboretum we follow Rudy’s Trail where we see occasional jack pines mixed in among other trees. A side trail takes us through a stand of jack pines where we find familiar flowers we’ve seen before at Badoura SNA : cow wheat, harebell, pipsissewa past blooming, We’re thrilled to know of another jack pine habitat, and we’re thrilled, too, to see tesselated rattlesnake plantain gone to seed.

We are not that far (as flower chasers measure miles)  from Badoura SNA where on our first visit we found tesselated rattlesnake in bloom. Although we’ve looked diligently on subsequent  visits for any sign of this orchid we’ve never found it again.  Seeing it gone to seed in Paul Bunyan Savanna convinces us to drive on to Badoura SNA to search again.  

We’ve always looked in the tallest stand of jack pines in Badoura SNA, partly  because the ground is more open, making it easier to spot flowers.  This time, though, we wander through a different stand, and to our delight we find tesselated rattlesnake plantain not yet completely done blooming. 

What we don’t expect to find is Hill’s thistle blooming in purple glory. Prickly thistles might not be everyone’s idea of an exciting wildflower find, but Hill’s thistle is uncommon, a species of special concern in Minnesota. We’ve seen Hill’s thistle before growing in dry hill prairies, but while jack pine woodland is listed as an important location for this thistle, we’ve never found it here until today. Farther down the road in another stand we find two more Hill’s thistles in lovely violet bloom.  

We’re glad to see tesselated rattlesnake plantain again (both blooming and gone to seed) but especially glad  to finally find Hill’s thistle in jack pine habitat.   You just never know where you might encounter a wildflower surprise, even in places where you’ve searched before.

Which is only one of the many reasons we love chasing flowers.

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