We are in the process of reviewing many excellent applications for research internships. Thanks to references who sent in letters of recommendation! Thanks to all applicants–we will contact you soon.

Meanwhile, Jared has returned for a field trip to California, Stuart finished grading final papers, we are preparing for the SER meeting, and our citizen scientists continue clean heads, count achenes, and take random samples for x-raying. Yay team!

We arrived at the Botanic Garden on Monday and had a tour of the labs and a discussion with Stuart to introduce us to the Echinacea Project. We began our work by cleaning 82 Echinacea angustifolia heads, separating the top 30 achenes and the bottom 30 achenes. The rest of the achenes were labeled as mid or unknown (if we did not know the location the achenes came from). Once the top and bottom achenes were separated out, we affixed them to sheets in preparation to x-ray.

Graduate students and post docs shared information on their research and advice on graduate school options. Lynnaun introduced us to his graduate research involving fungus on orchid roots. Evelyn discussed her path to working at the Chicago Botanic Garden as a post doc researcher, including her PhD research on ferns and what type of work is available after getting a PhD. Rob shared his graduate research on the effect of buckthorn invasion in oak savannas on the ectomycorrhizal community. One evening after our work at the gardens, we attended a journal club for the graduate students who work in the labs at the Botanic Garden and attend Northwestern University. Jessa discussed with us her time spent after under-grad working in an arboretum and how that led to her involvement in graduate research here at the Botanic Garden.

Looking forward to next week!

– Emma and Jocelyn

One of my projects this summer was monitoring the flowering phenology of Echinacea pallida in the restoration east and southeast of the parking lot at Hegg Lake Wildlife Management Area. When compared with Echinacea angustifolia flowering phenology, this will help us assess the temporal extent of the opportunity for hybridization between these species.

There were 19 flowering heads on 16 plants. The figure below illustrates the flowering periods of the 17 heads for which I could assess start and end dates (two heads finished flowering before I started monitoring). I define flowering period as the period from the first day of male florets to the last day of female florets. I estimated the last day of female florets based on patterns of flowering and style persistence. Error bars indicate the range of possible end dates (last day florets observed to first day no florets observed).

This week I was able to share my work with my parents and my brother. My parents came out in the field on Thursday to learn about how we document phenology in the remnants. My mother expressed her surprise that the remnants are much smaller than she had expected. Stuart was in the field with us and gave my parents a detailed explanation of what we are doing this summer and answered all of my parents’ questions. Yesterday my brother drove up to visit me. I showed him Staffenson prairie reserve which has blooming blazing star, sunflowers, lead plant, Echinacea, wild onion, bergamot and more! It was fun to show my older brother around and finally get a chance to teach him a think or two.

Well Billy Joel, although your 1980’s classic hit is all too catchy, technically we did start this fire.

Over the past weekend, Team Echinacea decided to cap off a week of diligent work with a nice, relaxing potluck paired with an epic campfire. The food was delicious, but the company was even more enjoyable. Stuart and Gretel provided a delectable pesto, Jared and Claire (aka Clairred) prepared a tasty bean dip, and Maureen capped off the scrumptious meal with a cherry pie and a peach crumble that were to die for (not literally of course! That would be ridiculous). Following the feast, a fire was started to honor the great Echinacea Gods, which have blessed us with a prosperous flowering season and delightful weather. There was a little bit of difficultly starting the fire, but no problem is too large for a group of extremely bright scientists (at least that what we tell ourselves anyway). During the fire, Per, Hattie, Elizabeth, and I tested our luck at a friendly game of badminton. I paired up with Per while Elizabeth chose Hattie as her partner. What started as a friendly matchup, quickly turned into a competitive, all-out battle of the sexes! It wasn’t long before Hattie and Per were spiking shuttlecocks at each other while Elizabeth and I exchanged looks of distaste. Fortunately, the gruesome battle was cut short when Per spiked the birdie so hard that the rubber tip fully detached from the plastic base portion. I think it’s safe to say that this particular birdie won’t be flying again anytime soon. Although some harsh words were exchanged (all in good faith of course), at the end of the day, all conflict was left in the past as the team enjoyed roasted marshmallows over melty chocolate sandwiched between two yummy, graham crackers. And if you don’t enjoy S’mores, the only thing I have to say to you is “You’re killing me smalls!” (If you didn’t get that reference, then you need to go watch The Sandlot immediately. If you’ve never heard of The Sandlot, then I’m sorry but it’s too late to save you). All in all, it was a memorable weekend for the members of Team Echinacea.