Hoary puccoon

One of the most common wildflowers I saw in early June in Illinois Beach State Park was hoary puccoon, Lithospermum canescens. The fringed puccoon I’m used to from Austin, L. incisum, also grows up there, but I didn’t see any, probably because it had bloomed earlier in the spring.

Below is a closer look at the way some hoary puccoon flowers brightened the beach on the overcast morning of June 7.

© 2016 Steven Schwartzman