The diversity of Anderson Prairie's native plant community makes it an ideal outdoor classroom and museum.
More than 300 species of plants are found here. Some are common, but others have all but disappeared from our Illinois landscape.
Opportunities to see the complex relationships between plants, animals, butterflies, birds, and yes, people, help bring any text on the subject to life. Students have the chance to witness the complexity of prairie life, with all parts dependent upon other parts for survival.
Research being carried out at Illinois College in Jacksonville has shown that certain members of the orchid family cannot reproduce without a specific fungus in
the soil to help them absorb essential nutrients.
Anderson Prairie may one day be a host site for federally threatened Eastern white fringed prairie orchids.
Anderson Prairie was judged to be one of the few sites in Illinois capable of supporting new populations of the endangered orchids. This is part of a federal plan to recover the endangered orchid by the year 2020.
Wild orchids are among the most endangered of plants, due to their strict habitat requirements. The tiny ragged fringed orchid at right was photographed at Anderson Prairie Park in early summer.
