164 Rhodora [August 
The plains, on the other hand, occupy an area of rolling topography, 
so that their name was probably suggested by the vegetation. The 
older inhabitants of the region verify this idea, and state that it was 
originally completely treeless. At the present time it is almost com- 
pletely under cultivation, and several small groves of native trees 
occur. The prairie vegetation with which it was formerly covered 
has disappeared almost completely. A few species still occur along 
the roadsides, such as Andropogon furcatus, Desmodium illinoense, 
Silphium terebinthinaceum, Coreopsis tripteris, and Heliopsis scabra. 
Further search at other seasons would doubtless reveal others. 
Just north of this area there is still preserved a small tract of grassy 
marsh, about two acres in extent and in almost original condition. 
This marsh resembles a hydrophytic prairie closely in general appear- 
ance, and includes a number of prairie species in its floristic composi- 
tion. 
The wetter portion of the tract is dominated chiefly by Sorghastrum 
nutans and Sporobolus heterolems. The former is a common member 
of prairie associations farther west, although its distribution ranges 
eastward to the Atlantic coast. Sporobolus heterolepis is listed in 
manuals as extending east to Connecticut. It is abundant in the 
prairies of Iowa and adjacent states, is rare in Illinois, and is not listed 
at all in Beal’s Flora of Michigan. With these two grasses is a mixture 
of other herbaceous species. Some of these are common in Michigan 
bogs and swamps, as Sarracenia purpurea, Amphicarpa monoica, Par- 
nassia caroliniana, and Phragmites communis. Others are equally 
typical of hydrophytic prairies in Illinois, as Gentiana procera, Liatris 
spicata, Oxypolis rigidior, and Solidago ohioensis, while Tofieldia 
glutinosa suggests the shores of the Great Lakes. 
In the drier portion of the area Sporobolus heterolepis and Andro- 
pogon furcatus are dominant. The latter, the well-known blue-joint 
grass, is typical of the mesophytic prairies of the Middle West. Other 
prairie species in this portion are Thaspiwm aureum, Muhlenbergia 
mexicana, Solidago ohioensis, Helianthus grosseserratus, Phlox pilosa, 
Aster novae-angliae, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Andropogon scoparius, 
Cypripedium candidum, Sorghastrum nutans, Liatris spicata, and Des- 
modium illinoense. Four species common in most Michigan bogs also 
occur: Potentilla fruticosa, Eupatorium purpureum var. maculatum, 
Aspidium thelypteris, and Lilium philadelphicum. 
The peculiarity of the small tract, accordingly, lies not so much in 
