1918] Pammel,— Prickly Lettuce 181 
following points; Des Moines, Dallas Center, Dubuque, Clinton, 
Keokuk, Corwith and Sioux-City, Iowa; Hamilton, LaSalle, Peoria, 
Zearing, East Dubuque, Illinois; Prairie DuChien and La Crosse, 
Wisconsin; Mitchell and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The var. 
integrata was the prevailing form at the following points; Forest 
City, Thompson, Spirit Lake, Lansing, Waukon, Postville, Sibley, 
Lake Park and Rock Rapids, Iowa, as well as Britt, Algona and 
McGregor, Iowa. This form seems to be able to hold its own better 
in Allamakee and Clayton county where the soil consists of clay. 
The L. Scariola seems to be adapted to conditions of drouth better 
than the var. integrata. This, I think, accounts for its abundance in 
the west. 
The purpose of writing this note is to call attention to the rapid 
disappearance of the variety integrata from the flora of lowa. Com- 
paratively few of the plants can be seen at the present time in the 
vicinity of Ames. There were more in 1916 and 1917 than this year 
and I saw more in Warren county, south of Des Moines this year than 
in Ames. In place of this variety we have the typical form of L. 
Scariola in great abundance. It is a terrible pest in the gardens. 
The species proper, that is to say the form with deeply lobed leaves, 
was in Iowa first observed on the Lincoln Highway near the college 
campus at Ames in June, 1909. I have seen it increase in numbers 
until now it occupies every vacant lot and field. These two kinds of 
prickly lettuce certainly show how one plant is much more aggressive 
than the other. Interesting hybrids between prickly lettuce and 
garden lettuce are reported in Iowa. 
Iowa STATE CoLLEGE, Ames, Iowa. 
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON FLORAL AREAS. 
In the spring of 1917 a committee was appointed, at the suggestion 
of Prof. M. L. Fernald, to study the distribution of New England 
plants in detail, to see if it were possible to map definite floral areas. 
Interleaved check-lists were prepared for the more active collectors, 
so that casual observations as well as specimens collected could be at 
hand. The larger New England herbaria and the local floras available 
have also been included in our labors. 
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