Stop 13

If you look to the north, you’ll easily see the Kansas River valley and Manhattan. Now, turn around and look to the south. This is what Kansas looked like 200 years ago.

 

This is also a good place to see smooth sumac. This shrub is abundant along this stretch of trail. Look for thick red stems that seem to be clustered together in one area. Sumac is clonal, meaning that the stems are all connected to common roots underground. Sumac is an invasive shrub of the prairie and is a problem plant for us here at Konza. It’s a problem because if you want to kill sumac, you have to kill the underground roots, not just the stems you see above ground. Fire is one tool we use to try and control the spread of sumac into the prairie.