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Prairie Grove Glades Preserve a hidden jewel

It's amazing what you can find when you're not looking.

While driving to a Lawrence County residence for a story interview recently, I saw a sign for the Prairie Grove Glades Preserve on County Road 43. CR43 is an unpaved road with no signs that intersects with Alabama Highway 24. Had I not been following my car's GPS, I would never have been on this gravel road. And I would never have stopped at Prairie Grove Glades to learn the story of Lesquerella lyrata, a small annual mustard plant more commonly known as the Lyrate bladderpod.

The plant, which grows in deeper soils on the edges of the glades, is on the federally-threatened list of protected plants. Lyrate bladderpod is unique to a three-county area in northwest Alabama and is not known to be anywhere else in the world.

The largest concentration of Lyrate bladderpod can be found on Prairie Grove Glades, a 191-acre preserve that contains the largest intact cedar glade complex known in Alabama, where visitors can observe more than a dozen rare plants. Because of this, The Nature Conservancy selected the site as one of 16 protected areas in Alabama.

The Nature Conservancy is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization founded in 1951 with the mission of advancing conservation around the world by transforming how land is developed, used and conserved by working to protect critically important habitats, transforming how we use working lands and inspiring better land-use practices in areas facing the most pressure for development. The Alabama Chapter was established in 1989.

The Prairie Glove Glades Preserve is open to the public during daylight hours free of charge. Visitors can park at the entrance gate and follow the old roadbed behind the sign into the glade complex. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the paths and be mindful of fragile plants.

The glade is made of flat limestone outcroppings and shallow soils that are interspersed with islands of cedar trees and other hardwoods, according to the preserve's online description.

Rare species can be found, including the Harper's umbrella plant, Alabama larkspur and prairie Indian plaintain. Open rocky areas feature colorful yellow and white Alabama glade cress. Other flowering plants at the preserve include the purple topped Nashville breadroot and Tennessee milk vetch. During the wet springtime, watery seeps support glade quillwort and yellow sunnybells. Springtime visits come alive with beautiful colors of various wildflowers.

To visit the preserve, take Hwy. 24 East from Russellville into Lawrence County. Turn left onto County Road 43 and go about .9 mile. At the fork in the road, bear right and continue 1.5 miles to the preserve parking area and sign on the left.

You can support The Nature Conservancy in Alabama and help protect Prairie Grove Glades Preserve and similar areas around the state by contributing at www.nature.org/alabama or calling 205-251-1155, extension 125.

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