Illinois bundleflower is not the showiest of plants, but its many subtly beautiful features make it a pleasure to find. The foliage is fern-like and delicate—and the little leaflets "close" by folding together at night or on very hot days. The flowers appear in summer (mostly in July, in our area) and are more or less ball-shaped, with dozens of worm-like, white stamens protruding. Following the flowers, fascinating seed pods are produced in clusters that hold up to 18 flattened pods. These distinctive clusters persist into the fall and winter, progressing from green to dark brown, and the plant can thus be recognized in the dead of winter.

Look for Illinois bundleflower along railroad beds, where it is especially frequent, and along rivers and streams. It is distributed primarily in the Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio River watersheds.

plants are about 2–5 feet high

small, mimosa-like flower; flower buds in background

fern-like foliage

flattened seed pods replace flowers

developing seed pod

pods contain 3–5 small seeds

References: GN Jones 1971, RL Jones 2005, Voss & Reznicek 2012, Kurz 2014, Mohlenbrock 2014, Hilty 2018, USDA 2018.

Kuo, Michael & Melissa Kuo (July, 2018). Desmanthus illinoensis (Illinois bundleflower). Retrieved from the midwestnaturalist.com website: www.midwestnaturalist.com/desmanthus_illinoensis.html

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