Location - This planting of native prairie is located on the south side of Marengo, at the intersection of Highway 6 and M Avenue. The prairie areas are on either side of the highway, west of M Avenue. When Deputy Surveyor J.E. Whitcher surveyed this general area in October 1843, he noted that the land was "beautiful prairie bottom" land.
Pale purple coneflower, which grows here, is found in tall grass prairies and blooms in the summer. It was called ashosikwimiakuk, which means "smells like muskrat scent" by the Meskwaki who used its root to treat eczema and to cure stomach cramps and fits. This plant was also used by early settlers to treat eczema. This particular plant group, Echinacea, was said to have had more medicinal uses among the native people of the Great Plains than any other. Roots of this group were boiled into a tea and used for spider and snake bites, toothaches and the flu. The scientific name of this plant is Echinacea pallida. Echinacea is the Greek word for "sea urchin," while "pallida" is the Latin word for "pale."
The ditch bottoms of this roadside are characteristically wet, highlighted by Sweet flag and Sweet grass in the spring, followed by Swamp milkweed and Blue joint grass in the summer. In the fall, this roadside area produces a colorful display of various asters and goldenrods.
|
