Nature  Wildflowers and grasses Some areas of the Old Plank Road Trail have never been cultivated. The right-of-way for the Oswego and Indiana Plank Road was bought around 1850, only a couple decades after the first settlers came to Will and Cook Counties and much of the land was native tall grass prairie as it ad been for centuries. Many of the plants pictured are native prairie flowers and grasses that were rediscovered in the early 1970s when the abandoned railroad right-of-way was inventoried. Over 200 plants unique only to prairies along with over 2,000 species of animals, birds (175 and counting), and insects not ordinarily seen except in prairies make up this unique trail right-of-way.  Butterfly weed - Asclepias tuberosa Page Notes: The book, Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers: A Field Guide, was helpful in identifying the plants pictured on this page. It was written by Doug Ladd with photos by Frank Oberle and others. It was published in 1995 by the Globe Pequot Press of Guilford, Connecticut. Let me know if you have comments or corrections. Thanks for identification assistance: • Tinley Park Public Library staff • Keith G. Nowakowski, Landscape Architect  Click Here for a listing of flora along a selected stretch of the Old Plan Road Trail in Rich Township. Click Here for a listing of flora along a selected stretch of the Old Plan Road Trail in Rich Township. A 22-mile recreation and nature trail in northeastern Illinois