The Riley remnant is composed of two halves, one north of mellow lane and the other south. The two halves are quite a bit different for being separated by only a few meters. The northern half falls on the side of a hill that was most likely never plowed. The hillside is filled with the non-native Kentucky Blue Grass, with a few patches of another non-native: Brome. The most abundant flower was the wild rose, and amongst the grasses many soon to be flowering Purple coneflowers were apparent. Moving across the road to the southern half the dominant grass becomes Brome. There is wild rose here but not as much. There are a few tall grasses; the dead stalks from last year are visible. There is a path through the middle that is often driven over to get to an agricultural field about 100 meters south of the remnant. This southern half was probably scraped and used to create the road that now divides the remnant. There are several Purple coneflowers in the ditch surrounded by invasive sweet clover which has a tall yellow flower and is the most abundant flower in this half. From these first few minutes spent at the riley remnant it is evident that this site will soon be filled with Echinacea flowers. What a wonderful sight to see!
