By Al Benson
Fox Valley Norwegian-Americans uncovered 21 wildflower varieties Sunday, April 18, Johnson’s Mound Forest Preserve on Hughes Road south of Elburn.
Nancy Andersen of St. Charles led a wildflower walk for a dozen fellow members of Sons of Norway Polar Star Lodge 5-427.
Andersen said, “We saw 21 different kinds of wildflowers, 19 were open and two were still in buds. Varieties included Virginia bluebells, wood anemones, white trout lilies, cutleaf toothwort, Dutchman’s breeches, bellwort blossoms, wild phlox and Mayapple.
“The woods are carpeted with millions of wildflowers in early spring. Early ephemeral wildflowers bloom for a while, and then disappear while others open.
“As the trees leaf out, the ephemerals are finished for the season and disappear under taller plants and the forest canopy of leaves.
“Johnson’s Mound is a glacial gravel moraine (kame) that has never been plowed, so it has all of the native flora.”
Andersen’s husband, Arthur, took photographs of the walk. Cookies and coffee concluded the event.
SON Polar Star Lodge 5-472, a Norwegian-American social group, meets on the second Sunday of each month for a potluck luncheon and program at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Montgomery.