Over 200 plant species grow in vernal pools and the surrounding prairie. Half of these are rarely found outside this unique habitat. A single pool typically supports only 15 to 20 species in an unpredictable array of combinations. In that way, vernal pools are a lot like snowflakes – botanically speaking, no two are alike.
“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” - Rainer Maria Rilka
For 2 billion years, bacteria were the only creatures on Earth. Long before the dinosaurs, a special type of bacteria slowly increased the level of oxygen in the Earth’s air to 20 percent. Without this oxygen other plants and animals could not have evolved, including us.
White Flowers
White Flowers
Yellow Flowers
Yellow Flowers
Orange Flowers
Orange Flowers
Pink, Red or Purple Flowers
Pink, Red or Purple Flowers
Blue Flowers
Blue Flowers
Green, Brown or No Flowers
Green, Brown or No Flowers