1916] Farwell,— New Ranges for old Plants 243 



NEW RANGES FOR OLD PLANTS. 



Oliver Atkins Farwell. 



In the early autumn of 1915 I was invited by Mr. Gladewitz and 

 Mr. Chandler, both of Detroit, to accompany them on a botanical 

 excursion to Oakwood, a suburban village to the south of Detroit. 

 This is the site of one of the many salt works in this locality. Here is 

 located the Detroit Rock Salt Co. which has, in spite of many diffi- 

 culties, sunk the only salt "shaft" in Michigan if not in the entire 

 country. The water and fine crystals from the salt works have 

 converted a large tract of land from that of a fresh soil to one of a 

 saline character which has to a certain extent changed the character 

 of the flora. Many species have disappeared that once were common. 

 Some new ones have crept in that have a distinct preference for saline 

 situations. These are Salicornia Europaea L. and its varieties 

 pachi/stachya (Koch) Fernald and prostrata (Pall.) Fernald, Aster 

 stdmlatus Mx., and Pluchea camphorata (L.) DC. Just how these 

 seaboard plants found their way into Michigan is problematical. 

 Scarcely by means of birds as the feathered tribes do not travel east 

 and west but rather on a north and south line. We have no sub- 

 stantiated records showing that Atlantic or Pacific birds have mi- 

 grated across country and into the Great Lake regions. W 7 e can only 

 surmise that they may have been brought west by means of railway 

 freight traffic and when lodgement was made in this section, which 

 provided the proper saline conditions suitable for their development, 

 they persisted and have made flourishing colonies that are rapidly 

 extending over the entire section which has been made saline by means 

 of the escaping water and salt crystals from the mine and the salt 

 crushers. The Rayless Aster and the Salt Marsh Fleabane spread 

 rather slowly but apparently have become firmly established. 



The Glasswort has spread very rapidly and now covers acres of 

 ground. The variety prostrata with its long, widely spreading, and 

 decumbent lower branches seems very distinct from the normal form of 

 the species with ascending, more uniform (as to length) branches. The 

 variety pachystachja is frequent; but as found here it seems scarcely 

 worthy of recognition. The only distinction is one of measurements 

 and in the dried specimens, even this difference vanishes. There are 



