The 2500-acre Lafarge Marblehead Quarry is home to over 25 rare plant species and an unusual alvar plant community. Alvars are areas of exposed limestone or dolomite bedrock maintained in an open state by natural phenomena such as drought, wave action, or ice formation. Although the natural alvar that once existed here has been severely altered by quarrying, plant associations unique to alvars still occur here at Marblehead. One of the rarest plants in this habitat is the Lakeside daisy (Hymenoxys herbacea), a very rare plant known from only four locations in North America: the Marblehead Peninsula in Ottawa County, Ohio; the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada; and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The quarry represents the largest natural population of this species in the U.S. Lakeside daisy forms basal rosettes, each of which may produce a leafless stalk topped with a yellow, daisy-like flowerhead. For over 10 years, Lafarge worked with the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves to protect this and other rare plants on the Marblehead Peninsula. The 19-acre Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve was purchased from Standard Slag, now Lafarge Construction Materials, in 1988. Since then, Lafarge allowed the Division to conduct a rare plant survey of the quarry and to collect Lakeside daisy plants and seeds for restoration efforts on Kelleys Island. In 1996, Lafarge allowed the Division to begin developing this landscaped area to showcase some of the quarry's unusual plants. Many of the species planted here are abundant throughout the quarry, including rare species such as the Lakeside daisy, which carpets the quarry in gold for a two-week period in mid-May, and narrow-leaved summer bluets (Hedyotis nigricans), whose tiny white flowers begin to open in June. More common prairie species that provide color during the rest of the summer include spiked blazing-star (Liatris spicata), butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), and stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida).