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Plants 1 Plants 2 Trees

Moraine Hills State Park, McHenry, Illinois
We will learn the geologic processes that formed these structures, identification of wetland plants, wetland management, and general surface hydrology.

In the Moraine Hills area, Haeger Till predominates. Walking up into the tree-covered hills, the predominantly sand and gravel till can be seen containing small chunks of igneous and metamorphic rocks carried down from northern Wisconsin and Canada.

All of these lakes are kettle lakes with human regulated water levels. Through wetland management each part of the park has its own water level depending on the vegetation and wildlife desired. Specific water levels are achieved through the use of board gates where the water naturally drains from the marshes and lakes. Yellow-Head marsh is an example of wetland management in that it has been kept high this year to increase the population of muskrat living in the marsh and decrease the population of cattails along the shoreline, through drowning them. Lake Defiance is naturally and human regulated. It covers 47.8 acres and has a maximum depth of 18 feet with 1.2 miles of shoreline. It still uses board gates to regulate the overall water level, however on the southwest corner of the lake there is a 200-yard beaver dam (See Photo) that keeps it 18 inches higher than normal. Lake Defiance gets its water from Pike Marsh to the south and wetlands to the east. It is one of the few glacial lakes in Illinois that has not been developed but is slowly filling in with peat from its unstable shoreline.
Human activity around the park has also affected the water levels. The three lakes to the north were once supplied by a constant flow of fresh water from a gravel pit settling pond. The gravel pit stopped production in that area and their settling pond dried up. Subsequently the lakes within the northern portion of the park substantially lost water levels. Tomahawk decreased from being 8 feet and stocked with fish, to 1 foot deep. Warrior and Wilderness lakes went from 1 foot deep, to marshland. Throughout the park the overall drainage is the marshes drain into Lake Defiance through natural gravity driven flow or one of fifteen man made ditches (See Photo) and then into the Fox River.

    One type of plant is Reed Canary Grass. Unf ortunately, Reed Canary Grass ( See Photo) here in Moraine Hills is an exotic species, which means that it is not native to Illinois. It was brought here from Europe as fodder for cattle. The grass does, however, provide food for birds and muskrats.         Willows are also evident in Moraine Hills. In McHenry County, there are 15 species total but here the majority types of willow are: Heart-leaved Willow, Black Willow, Pussy Willow or Hoary Willow. They are hard to distinguish because they tend to hybridize themselves. Other plants that will be identified are Goldenrod, Sunflower, Leatherleaf, Common Milkweed, and Common Cattails.
    Goldenrods are herbs with wand like stems and stalkless leaves. They usually grow to a height of 1.2 m (4 ft), but environmental conditions and species variations give them a range of 30 cm to 2 m (1 to 7 ft). Their yellow flowers are grouped in clusters called racemes.
    The Sunflower is easily distinguishable by its tall large solitary flower. Some of the tall-growing forms may attain a height of 3 m (12 ft). The daily orientation of the flower to the sun is a direct result of differential growth of the stem. A plant-growth regulator, or auxin, accumulates on the shaded side of a plant when conditions of unequal light prevail. Because of this accumulation, the darker side grows faster than the sunlit side. Thus, the stem bends toward the sun. Indians extracted Safflower oil from the seeds for bread flour, cooking and for dressing their hair. In the 19th century, it was believed that if you had sunflowers growing near your home, you would be protected from malaria.
    Leatherleaf is a green shrub common to bogs and wetlands. Because of its high acidity, it is sometimes the beginning plant of a bog by forming floating mats around the edge. In Massachusetts, the rate of advance of the Leatherleaf plant has been recorded at 1 foot per decade. For an example of a bog, Moraine Hills offers the Leatherleaf Bog. We will, however, be traveling to Volo Bog for our trip.

Another plant you will encounter is the Common Milkweed (See Photo). These herbs have erect stems, opposite or whorled leaves, and small, flowers borne in clusters at the top or along the stem of the plant. The colored parts of each flower are organized in two five-membered whorls. Milkweeds can be divided into two groups: those with broad leaves and those with narrow leaves. Both are characterized by abundant milky sap, called latex, and by inflated fruit pods tightly packed with silky or cottony fuzz. At maturity the pod cover dries, opens, and releases many large, flat, brown seeds. Each is attached to a bit of the fuzz; so that the seed can drift for long distances in gentle currents of air. Milkweed contains glycosides which, when absorbed by Monarch butterfly larvae whose sole source of food is milkweed foliage, makes the larvae and adult butterflies toxic to birds and other predators. Glycosides are a class of complex chemical compounds in plants which are broken down by plant enzymes into sugars, among which glucose is generally included, and into other substances.
Common Cattail is another easily distinguishable plant around Lake Defiance. It is characterized by a creeping rootstock; long, flat leaves; flowers in dense cylindrical terminal spikes; and brown, cylindrical fruit with a velvety surface. It is a favorable habitat for red-winged blackbirds as well as other marsh birds and muskrats. Its rootstock is starch and edible. Indians and early colonist used to use the rootstock for food. Young shoots can be eaten like asparagus, the immature flower spikes can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob, and the sprouts at the tip of the rootstock can be used in salads or boiled and served as greens.
On the eastern edge of Lake Defiance is a plant known as the Pitcher Plant (See Photo). Unfortunately no one can view the plant because it is considered endangered at Moraine Hills because too many people have taken it. It is a green carnivorous plant with pitcher like leaves that collect water. Organisms are attracted to the colored lip so they land on it and have difficulty crawling upward because of the recurved hairs. Eventually they fall down into the standing water inside the plant and drown. Enzymes secreted by the plant aid it in the digestion of the insect although much of the breakdown is passive, a result of bacterial activity. The plant is able to get additional nutrients this way, especially nitrogenous compounds.

The trees you see at Moraine Hills are characteristic of a young hardwood forest consisting of Oak and Hickory. Their distinctive fruit, the acorn, easily recognizes Oak trees. Oaks produce durable, tough wood and are important lumber trees. The wood is used in cabinetry and barrel making and as flooring and veneers. Hickory trees are characterized by their light gray bark. They are about 30 m (about 100 ft) tall, often grow among oaks in dry uplands, and have long taproots. Their leaves are compound, with 3 to 17 leaflets that turn bright yellow in autumn. Each tree has male and female flowers, the male is found along the stem in hanging, three-branched catkins and the female is found at the twig ends in small, petalless clusters. In the future, according to natural forest succession, Hard Maple and Sugar Maple will take over when the Oak and Hickory die out.

Directions to Moraine Hills Extensions for Teachers