Fall-Winter 2006
More Reflections from a Seed-Picker
Erin Tuttle
Copyright © 2006 Erin Tuttle. All rights reserved.
Yellow coneflower: Ratibida pinnata:
In the fall, I love dissolving the seed heads in my palm; inhaling the
sweet licorice smell before letting them take the breeze and scatter,
settling in crevices of earth until spring.
Rattlesnake master: Eryngium yuccifolium:
As winter approaches, I walk among these friends I have come to know. Stiff
goldenrod, no longer yellow, boasts a flat top of fluffy seed heads,
its sandpapery leaves now shriveled and small. The rough blazing star
is brown and braced against bitter wind, and patches of prairie dropseed
sprawl nest-like. Among them, Eryngium yuccifolium,
bristled leaves bruised by the cold, flower heads dark brown, is still
elegant, strong.
Pale coneflower: Echinacea pallida:
My favorite place to collect seed last fall was a plot of prairie in
Oswego, Illinois, where the setting sun would back-light bunches of
little bluestem, silver seed spikes shimmering on swaying red stems. Boneset
stood stoically here, and the stark black heads of Echinacea interrupted
the scene, shriveled, yet quiet, steady.
Cup plant: Silphium perfoliatum
My friend, Joe, calls this a 'bad-ass' plant, because its root system,
like many of the prairie plants, can extend to fifteen feet deep. This
enables it to withstand relentless sun and wind, fire, drought, and
bitter winters. I think of the little cup plant in my yard, how homely
it looks now, because it is pouring its first energy into developing
its roots, and I reckon my life is similar to this. Shady glens may
lie ahead, but for now, I will be shaped by the prairie. I will let
the wind whittle my heart into a softer shape, and the searing sun
teach me meekness, sending my roots deeper and deeper still.