I was intrigued by the balled clumps of seeds on this shurb size plant; similar to emerging fern were these leaf balls, but these were seeds not leaf buds. Meet another native of Northeastern Illinois, Illinois Bundleflower (Desmanthus Illloensis). Copyright 2023 Pamela BreitbergPrimarily found in the prairie river valleys, this was in the prairie plantings along the ponds through Lincoln Park; it prefers loamy or sandy alluvial soils. Read about this native here.Illinois Blundleflower is also known as Prairie-mimosa and Prickleweed. Copyright 2023 Pamela BreitbergA little further from my original sighting of Illinois Bundleflower, I did find one plant with a couple flowers; they are small white flowers that are short lived. The seeds are high in protein and known to be a favorite of cattle. Copyright 2023 Pamela Breitberg
