Friday Fabulous Flower - dwarf gentian

Yesterday TPP took a field trip to Don's prairie out in the

middle of the maize and soybean desert.  Don has a hobby and for the past few decades it has been restoring prairie on his family's farm land.  He keeps great records and took a most methodical approach, very professional in all respects, and very simply he has 15-16 acres of the best restored prairie TPP has ever seen. Wow, his efforts are impressive!  At any rate one of the flowering gems of tall grass prairies are gentians.  They flower in the late fall way down there in the deep fall grass.  Don had both bottle and prairie gentians, but he also has the very uncommon dwarf gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia).  Isn't this a great plant?  TPP has seen this once before on a little prairie remnant much west of Don's place.  It's great when just regular people get such a fantastic conservation ethic that they just decide to restore native habitat and communities.  However, he has no plans to introduce bison anytime soon.