By Matt Hokanson

Have you ever discovered a population of rare native plants gorgeously in bloom and think to yourself “I must come back and collect seed from these plants to restore their population elsewhere”? Summer rolls on, life gets busy, and one fateful autumn day you suddenly remember the wonderfully healthy population of plants you were interested in collecting seed from. So, you gear up, head out into the field with marvelous vigor, but are soon sorely disappointed. You are too late, and the seed has fallen.

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever wished there was a guide readily available that could help you understand when the seeds of native species are ripe? Now, there is. For northern Illinois at least. Welcome to the Northern Illinois Native Seed Phenophases Guide.

The native species listed in this guide are local to what is generally known as “Northern Illinois”, specifically, the counties of McHenry, Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Lee. The data was generously donated from volunteer groups, not-for-profit organizations, and municipal agencies. Some of the seed collection data sources utilized in this guide date back to 2005 and it is assumed seeds were collected during their prime ripening stage in any given year and are specifically local. It is also assumed seeds were collected from wild sources (i.e. not collected in a formal manicured garden setting). Yearly differences in climate/weather patterns, annual/monthly precipitation data, and average monthly temperatures were not taken into consideration.

Finally, major variances and anomalies were removed from any data that was used. Examples include seeds from species that were collected during the winter and prior to the next growing season (e.g., seed that ripened in September 2018 and was collected in February 2019). Native brome and rye grasses are not recommended to be collected after late October because their seeds often disarticulate from the glumes quite early during the seeding phase.

If you are interested in helping add data to this project, please submit individual observations to the respective Facebook group within your county. Organizations or groups that perform large-scale seed collection operations can submit their data at the end of the season. If this guide works out well, it could be a model for other natural areas conservationists throughout the country to use.

The more data collected the more refined this list will become. Phenological shifts, which are likely happening due to climate change, can be tracked over time as well.

Here is a link to our website that has the chart available for viewing and download. This is where I will keep the most up-to-date documents. woodstowetlands.com/seedcollectionchart/