NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1523285
42 Nebraskaland • July 2024 hen appearing as a guest on podcasts or radio shows, I am often asked, "What is your favorite plant?" I suppose the interviewer thinks this is a great icebreaker and that I will have a pat answer. I don't, however, and there's always an uncomfortable pause as I ponder. The problem is that I don't have a favorite plant. Nebraska has more than 1,500 native plants. How would I pick just one? Furthermore, as a botanist, I fi nd the question somewhat socially inappropriate, like asking a parent, "Which is your favorite child?" Being polite, I eventually provide the interviewer with the answer they seek, saying that my favorite plant is a beautiful orchid or one of our state's few threatened or endangered plants, allowing them to relax. Then comes the standard follow-up question: "Why is it your favorite plant?" And the lies continue. "Oh, it is so stunning, so rare, so … whatever." Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit. Although I don't have a single "favorite" plant, there are many native plants I greatly admire. Unlike what you might expect, most of these are not rare or super showy plants, but rather the salt-of-the-earth type. One such plant is the perennial marbleseed (Onosmodium molle). One reason I admire this plant is its folksy name, marbleseed, which accurately describes its roundish, hard seeds. I can imagine dusty, barefooted kids branding it with this name as they played with handfuls of its seeds in the prairie outback behind their sod house. The plant's other common name is false gromwell which, by comparison, I fi nd rather boring. Also admirable, marbleseed is an extremely hardy plant. It grows in upland prairies throughout the state, excluding the Sandhills and southern Panhandle, but thrives in very dry, gravelly or rocky hilltop prairies where only the tough survive. In addition, its coarse, hairy leaves make it unappealing to grazing livestock, allowing it to fl ourish in overgrazed pastures where most other wildfl owers succumb to the constant nipping of hungry mouths. Then there's the plant's elusive beauty, starting with its leaves, which are rigid, have prominent veins and are covered in dense, bristly hairs, giving them a distinct texture and strong lines. I fi nd the leaves to be the most photogenic of our native plants, especially when covered with dew early on a summer morning. Another artistic aspect of marbleseed is its overall form. Arising from a stout, woody root, it often grows as stiff , multi-stemmed clumps reaching 3 feet tall. In hard-grazed pastures, these clumps stand out like sculptures ascending above the short grass, unbending to strong prairie winds, as if placed there by a wandering artist. W Marbleseed fl owers bloom in June, attracting bees and butterfl ies as their primary pollinators. GERRY STEINAUER Marbleseed By Gerry Steinauer, Botanist An Admired Plant