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Black Jack Ruts Prairie Exhibit Audio Description
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A Walk on the Prairie. 972 words.
As you face this graphic panel at the side of the gravel path, you are looking out over a series of long swales running diagonally from your upper left to your lower right. They look like wide ditches covered with various grasses. The path continues to the left then curves towards the right to cross the swales. A small woody thicket lies on the far side of the swales.
The graphic is three feet wide and two feet deep. The background shows a photograph of a view across a gently rolling prairie. The grasses are green with yellow and red wildflowers dotted in the foreground. Tops of a couple of trees peek up past a small rise. Text at upper left reads, “Tallgrass prairie surrounds you in this rare, unplowed, and beautiful place. Trail travelers walked amongst 230 species of native plants while wagon wheels left their physical marks on the land. Eastern tallgrass prairie height varies from year to year depending on precipitation but even with five- to seven-foot-tall grasses, five swales are visible year-round. Another five are visible after the annual spring burn.”
In the upper right are ten photographs of flowers and grasses arranged in two rows. Text above the pictures reads, “Thriving Diversity, Human Use. Caution: Do not eat wild plants without training to properly identify them. It is easy to mistake a deadly plant for an edible”.
Beginning at the left end of the top row there is a picture of two long flower stalks with feathery purple blossoms open at the tops. The caption reads, “MEDICINAL & EDIBLE. Kansas Gayfeather. Bulbs could be eaten cooked or raw and the roots brewed to treat kidney and bladder diseases as well as gonorrhea.”
Next to the right is a photo of a cylindrical flower cluster with five-petaled white flowers. The caption reads, “EDIBLE. Prairie Hyacinth. Bulbs could be eaten cooked or raw. When not in bloom it can be confused with Death Camas, a plant that is deadly if eaten.”
Next is a picture of a green cluster with yellow, daisy-like flowers. The caption reads, “MEDICINAL & EDIBLE. Common Rosinweed. Tea used as a diuretic, emetic, and tonic stimulant. Resin chewed as gum.”
The next picture shows a slender flower stalk with white tubular flowers alternating on either side. The caption reads, “CULTURAL. Slender Ladies’ Tresses. This rare plant blooms in the summer and fall. Cultural use relates to the customs and behaviors of a society, such as tribes, traders, or settlers.”
The final photo in the top row shows several five-petaled pale violet flowers rising from low foliage with groups of three leaves. The caption reads, “EDIBLE. Violet Wood Sorrel. The leaves and fruit taste sour and salty when chewed. Ingesting too much leads to gastric discomfort.”
The leftmost photo on the second row shows the tops of several tall stalks of grass with groups of cylindrical seed clusters near the top. The caption reads, “CULTURAL. Big Bluestem. This five to nine foot tall grass is the predominant one of the prairie. Imagine being surrounded by this plant on a journey west.”
The next photo to the right shows a thick clump of medium-height grass stalks. The caption reads, “MEDICINAL. Little Bluestem. Ashes made a compress for sores and when mixed with water helped to relieve indigestion.”
Next is a picture of a grass stalk with a feather-shaped cluster of seeds at top. The caption reads, “CULTURAL. Indiangrass. Showy grass of the prairie, four to eight feet tall. Look for these as you walk.”
The next photo shows a stalk with several flower cluster at top, looking like prickly golf balls. The caption reads, “MEDICINAL & CULTURAL. Rattlesnake Master. Tea made from roots and leaves treated fever and snakebite. Leaf fibers used for weaving.”
The last photo in the row shows flat clusters of white flowers, some fully opened, others still in bid. The caption reads, “MEDICINAL & EDIBLE. Slender Mountain Mint. The tea brewed from the leaves is calming but chewing the raw leaves acts as a stimulant.”
Below the photos text reads, “Source: Kelly Kindscher, Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide, and Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide.”
At the bottom left corner of the panel are two photos of animals. The top one shows a Greater Prairie Chicken, a plump bird with brown and tan stripes on its body a tall ruff behind its head and large orange spots on the sides of its neck. Below that is a picture of an American Bison with its large shaggy head and short horns. Text to the right of the pictures reads, “Survival on the Prairie. Plains Indian cultures relied on bison for food and shelter. They used every bit of the animal, including the meat, hides, brains, intestines, and bones. Similarly, the meat and feathers from the prairie chicken played a constant role in food, dress, and ceremonies. As with game, prairie plants had a wide range of uses over time, whether for food, medicine, fibers dyed for weaving, or other cultural practices. Food, water, and shelter all came from the land. To early traders and pioneers, however, the land was a connecting route for trade and settlement.”
At lower right is a photograph looking down one of the swales. A woman stands at the bottom, showing that it is deeper than her waist. The ground is bare and blackened and a small sign reads, “Santa Fe Trail, Wagon Ruts.” To the right text reads, “Preserving the Prairie. Before controlled burns, prairies naturally ignited every couple of years. This prairie is burned annually, eliminating woody vegetation and dead litter to return nutrients to the soil. Improper management can destroy the diversity of the prairie. Intact prairies like this one are rare today.”
End of Description.
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