113 



quickly, and brought face to face with each other. The effect of this 

 is somewhat of a rotation. The weeds succumb — the stronger pre- 

 vail. I have observed something of this in the streets and waste- 

 places of Aiken durmg a period of twenty-five years past. 



The principal weeds now — those most predominant, and occupy- 

 ing the waste-places and the untrampled portions of the streets, are 

 Helenium tenuifoliiim^ Helianthemiun Canadense^ Acanihospermum 

 xanthioides Lespedeza striata^ all, if we except Helianthemum Cafia- 

 dense^ introduced plants ; the first-named, from beyond the Mississippi, 

 the two last from foreign regions. Helianthcvium may also be 

 classed as an introduced plant, for it has evidently come in from 

 elsewhere, and only in the past few years has been making much 

 progress. 



Helenium tefiuifolium 



It seems 



not to have been known by Elliott and our earlier botanists. Dr. 

 Chapman gives its locality as ** West Florida and westward"; 

 Torrey and Gray, in North American Flora, "in Louisiana, Mis- 

 sissippi and Arkansas." I have seen it in quantity along the Georgia 

 Railroad west of Augusta ; abundantly in the neighborhood of 

 Augusta; and in the streets of Aiken it is an '* evil weed " occupy- 

 ing acres of ground in dense patches, encroaching upon the side- 

 Avalks, and giving the street cleaners extra trouble to keep it within 

 bounds. I have had specimens sent to me from as far east as 

 Sumter County in this State on a line of railroad. It has evidently 

 traveled from beyond the Mississippi along the line of railroads, 

 and is now probably pretty well disseminated over our Atlantic 

 States. 



HeUanthe?nu??i-Canadense^ in the more light and sterile portions of 

 the streets, occupies patches of several acres, Xo the exclusion of 

 almost everything else, and is on the increase. 



Acanihospermum is a much later importation. It was brought 

 from South America, in w^ool used by the Augusta factories, about 

 twenty-five years ago. It is abundant all around Augusta and along 

 the line of the Georgia Railroad, running west ; was reported in 

 Macon several years ago, and now perhaps still further west; on 

 the S. C. Railroad towards Charleston; on the N. E. Railroad from 

 Charleston northward ; and on the Augusta, Columbia and Wilming- 

 ton Railroad in the eastern section of our State. Here, in Aiken, it 

 is generally diffused through the town, all over the streets, in yards 

 and in the gardens, and also extends out into the country around. 

 It is an annual, seeding abundantly ; and the small seeds, armed 

 with hooked barbs, help to carry it to long distances. 



Lespedeza striata 



J 



a longer period- I found it in small quantity, some forty years ago, 

 in the coast region about forty miles north of Charleston ; also along 

 the State road within ten miles of the city. Elliott and the earlier 

 botanists make no mention of it. MacBride, who aided Elliott in 

 his " Sketches," and who lived in the very region where I first found 

 it, and knew the flora very accurately, had never seen it.' It was 

 probably introduced through the port of Charleston by vessels from 

 the East Indies early in the present century, and began to spread 



