Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission

08/28/2026

This week we’re highlighting Foxglove Beardtongue, a striking native wildflower known for its tall stems of white tubular blooms and the gentle buzz of pollinators it attracts.

Largely found throughout the Mississippi River watershed, this species is a familiar sight across much of the central United States, including right here in Arkansas. Foxglove Beardtongue typically reaches between three to five feet tall and thrives in open woodlands, prairies and even sunny roadsides.

This native flower is a favorite among many pollinators like hummingbirds, butterflies, songbirds and bees. The faint purplish lines within each flower act as guides, directing bees to the flower’s resources. It even supports a unique relationship with the Beardtongue Scraper Bee (Osmia distincta), a specialized mason bee whose larvae rely exclusively on pollen from Foxglove Beardtongue.

Despite its name, this plant is not a true Foxglove (Digitalis spp.) and therefore is not toxic like other Foxgloves.

If you spot these elegant white flowers, you’re seeing a plant perfectly adapted to the landscapes shaped by this major watershed and its many tributaries! Happy Friday, and happy flower-spotting!

📸 Photos by ANHC Staff.

08/27/2026

Is still a thing? If so, we're feeling extra thankful today for our incredible cohort of 2026 ANHC Summer Interns! As the summer internship season wraps up, we want to celebrate the hard work, passion and commitment each intern brought to conserving Arkansas’ natural heritage.

Also, a huge thank‑you to the wonderful sponsoring organizations who made these opportunities possible:
🪵 The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas – Stewardship Intern, Kylee Branch
🌾 Ecosystems Protection Service, LLC – Stewardship Intern, Jordan Dozier
🐦‍⬛ Arkansas Bird Alliance – Zoology Intern, Faith Maynard
🌱 Arkansas Native Plant Society - Botany Intern, Ty Tillman

We're deeply grateful for support from partnering organizations like these that help us cultivate the next generation of conservation professionals.

And to our interns: thank you for your enthusiasm, your curiosity and the energy you brought to every project. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish next!

Photos courtesy of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

08/21/2026

Happy Friday! Today’s flower Rose Vervain (Glandularia canadensis), also called Rose Verbena, is a fragrant, trailing native wildflower that brightens sunny spaces with clusters of rosy purple blooms.

Found nearly statewide, it thrives in sandy or rocky habitats, like the restored glades of Devil’s Eyebrow Natural Area. Rose Vervain can bloom for several months throughout Arkansas prairies, forest openings or bluffs. The plant’s long bloom period, paired with its vibrant colors, makes it a reliable pollinator favorite, especially for butterflies. Look for its distinct five-petaled clusters of pink to purple flowers from late spring (usually March through June), with the occasional late bloom come late summer to early fall.

📸 All photos by ANHC Staff.

08/20/2026

You can be chic too! 🪭

08/19/2026

08/14/2026

Happy World Lizard Day!

You may already be familiar with the fact that many lizard species have a remarkable survival skill in which they are able to drop their tail when threatened and later grow a new one.

This fascinating feat is known as caudal autotomy. When a predator (or a human) grabs a lizard’s tail, specialized fracture planes in the vertebrae allow the tail to detach almost instantly. The detached tail actually continues to wiggle, effectively distracting the predator long enough for the lizard to make its escape. Over time, the tail regenerates and becomes fully functional again, though it often looks a bit different from the original.

This incredible adaptation highlights just how resilient and cleverly designed reptiles can be. Today is a perfect day to celebrate native lizards across Arkansas and all their amazing adaptations!

📸 Photos of Prairie Lizard (Sceloporos consobrinus) taken at Cove Creek Natural Area by Dustin Lynch, ANHC Chief of Research.

08/13/2026

Tucked away in eastern Arkansas is one of the state's rarest natural landscapes. 📍Downs Prairie Natural Area protects a small but important remnant of the Grand Prairie's historic tallgrass prairie, home to vibrant wildflowers such as Indian paintbrush, ashy sunflower, and white wild indigo, as well as native wildlife. Though this ecosystem once stretched across more than 400,000 acres, less than one percent remains today.
Experience one of Arkansas's hidden gems and plan your next outdoor adventure at ArkansasHeritage.com.

08/07/2026

Today’s , Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum), is a striking native wildflower of prairies, glades and open woodlands. Known for its impressive height, often reaching up to 8 feet tall, Compass Plant towers above surrounding grasses in the prairie. This distinctive characteristic allowed early explorers to navigate the Great Plains, especially since the plant’s leaves orient like a compass. The leaf tips always point north to south, while the upper and lower surfaces of the blades face east to west, giving people a way to orient themselves directionally, even in the dark!

Compass Plant’s sturdy, rough stems are decorated with bright yellow, sunflower-like blooms and deeply divided leaves that grow largest toward the base. Like other Silphium species, Compass Plant contains a sticky resin in its stems, which was historically chewed as a natural gum.�
Compass Plant plays a valuable role in maintaining balanced native ecosystems. Its flowers are pollinated by a wide variety of native bees, provide nectar for Monarch butterflies and provide a food source for several other native insect species. Blooming from July through September, it’s an unmistakable highlight of Arkansas’ tallgrass prairies during peak summer.

Let us know if you’ve seen Compass Plant lately in the comments!
�📸 All photos by ANHC Staff.

08/05/2026

We're excited to share latest edition of the Arkansas Out of Doors magazine! Our favorite articles feature the diverse grassland ecosystems of Arkansas as well as the joy of snorkeling though Arkansas' streams and rivers. Check it out here: https://arwild.org/magazine/.

Arkansas Wildlife Federation Southeastern Grasslands Institute

☀️Don't miss the summer issue of Arkansas Out of Doors, featuring the gallery of winning artwork from the 2026 Wildlife of Arkansas Student Art Contest!

Also inside this issue:
🔎Grasslands of Arkansas
🔎Stream Snorkeling
🔎Alligators in The Natural State..and more.

🌐Read online at https://arwild.org/magazine/
📪Contributors receive printed copies in the mail - donate today!

08/04/2026

In celebration of International Owl Awareness Day today, we’re sharing some throwback photos of the Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio), taken in 2012 at Warren Prairie Natural Area by our former Director, Bill Holimon! 🦉

The Eastern Screech Owl is one of Arkansas’ most charming year-round forest residents. These small, well-camouflaged owls can be found throughout the state. They are often grey or red ( or rufous), blending seamlessly into surrounding tree bark as they roost in tree cavities and hunt at night. They feed on insects, small mammals, reptiles and even songbirds. Raptors, including owls in particular, play an important role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.

We are excited for the chance to look back at these images and celebrate a species that continues to thrive across Arkansas’ diverse natural areas.

📸 Photos by Bill Holimon.