The plant in the photo looks to me more like Verbena urticifolia to me because the hairs are not hypodermic. Here is a photo I took of the stinging hairs on the stem of Urtica gracilis (with short non-stinging hairs) later in the summer, when the plant puts out fewer of them on its main stem.

I notice woodland phlox often gets winter-burned in my yard, where it gets mainly afternoon and evening sun. But I imagine having leaves burned away would benefit it because it has creeping stems. In leaf litter, those stems can grow too high up to touch the ground and root and expand the clump.

A long-beaked sedge clump burned yesterday over here, probably for the first time. It had mounded up rhizomes, but they looked like they didn't get cooked.

Yes, I'm very pleased with their work. We are looking forward to burns in the volunteer stewardship area around the Wildflower Garden. The white oak leaves finally started seriously dropping after the hard frosts a few days ago. Here are some pictures of the 36th Street Savanna from this morning.

Great to see! I heard it would be happening this fall and that was very encouraging because it's getting so shady. I was helping with little burns nearer to Hastings yesterday. I heard another section of the savanna had been burned several years ago. Is that right?

I hadn't thought of looking at the fraction of ground covered by charcoal, gray ash, white ash, etc. in annual vs. biennial burns. Seems a good rule of thumb for gauging fine-grained fire intensity. I'll have to notice that the next time I walk over recently burned ground.

Looks like a fair amount of insect habitat left. Over here I've heard about burn attempts that haven't worked out. I saw a mild frost in the morning on the same day and white oak leaves have been reddening but not falling much.

It looks similar to the unknown gall that someone else has reported on Gallformers.
www.gallformers.org/gall/2840

So much wood. I wonder how many plants can survive between the piles if the piles are ignited where they stand, even if conditions are relatively wet or cold.

Very stylish family. I've seen an annually burned former brome field where they are almost weedy in places. Weeds I would like to see more of. I guess their tiny seeds like germinating in soil crusts that develop in nearly thatchless conditions.

I was really excited to discover a population in Minneapolis last week. The leaves are so pretty.

Maybe even mid-June to make sure the Pennsylvania sedge that often grows in the same areas can ripen its seeds.

I'm entranced. I recently discovered poverty oats in large mowed areas at the park I volunteer at (those that weren't bulldozed and sown with lawn mixes), and early buttercup and wood betony would grow well with it.

What are the analogous concerns with oak woodland sites? MN DNR lists PLS-based long (10-year+?) surface fire return intervals for southern MN oak woodland or forest classes, but what has happened to ground-layer plants when people have burned after 10+ years of leaf and wood accumulation?