Friends of Minnesota
Scientific & Natural Areas
Kellogg - Weaver Dunes SNA: Spring Flowers
A spring field trip on May 22 to Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA was blessed with sunshine and lots of flowers blooming in the north unit of the dunes, a portion of which had experienced a prescribed burn a month earlier. One of the flower species we admired was the Minnesota State Threatened Hudsonia tomentosa (Beach Heather). We started walking the dunes at 9 am to make sure we caught these blossoms before they wilted and lost their petals which happens late morning. The spreading yellow blossoms are pictured in two of the photographs below.
"An inhabitant of sunny, dry sandy soils, Beach Heather's growth habit gives all the appearances of a desert survivor. A glorious but fleeting display in bloom, it must be caught in the early hours of the day as the intensifying sun burns away the day's petals like dew on the morning grass. Beach Heather is a rare species, found primarily on sand dunes and blow-outs." Minnesota Wildflowers.
