4 



304 Hill: Notes on Plants of the Chicago District 



an Atlantic coast range or occur eastward of the Allcghanics, cx- 

 tendine in some cases alons^ the coast to the southwest to Louis- 

 iana, Texas and Mexico. . I have ceased to, be surprised at this 

 since first meeting with such plants in 1S70 growing on the sandy 

 terraces or the bordering wettish lands along the Kanlcakee river 

 in Illinois. . All of these have since been traced to the dune region 

 of Lake Michigan, or have had their range extended to other parts. 

 But some of them have not yet had intermediate stations recorded 

 for them till the Atlantic slope is reached, like Ryncliospora cy- 

 mosa, Elcocharis capitata and E. viclanocarpa, unless they occur 

 inland farther to the south. To these may now be added Pant- 



^ 



cujH ■ vcrnicflsuni Muhl, P. la/n/ghiosian Ell., Sclcria Torrcyaua 



Walp., Psilocarya nit c us Wood, Xyris Caroliniana 



rauije from Massachusetts or New Jersey south to Florida, or 



Walt 



aloner the e^ulf to Louisiana and Texas, and, in the case of 5. Tor- 

 uynna, to Mexico. Psilocarya scirpoidcs Torr. occurs with P. 

 nitens but has a more restricted range along the coast, " eastern 

 Massachusetts and Rhode Island." Perhaps there should be 

 added to these Ryncliospora niacrostachya Torr., which is made a 

 variety of i'v. corniculafa A. Gray and given the same range as the 

 type in Britton and Brown's " Illustrated Flora," but in the older 

 books is confined to the coast region. , It is well marked, its long 

 slender spikelets erect or but slightly spreading. It is remarkably 

 abundant where it occurs, like grass in a meadow, and very strik- 

 ing with its prominent brown spikes. . Xyris. Caroliniana spreads 

 over considerable areas making masses of yellow beds in the less 

 grassy portions of desiccated or partially desiccated sloughs in the 

 summer season. The two Psilocaryae are specially noteworthy, 

 growing in company in the muddy borders of sloughs, usually in 

 dense masses, so that a single handful . will show specimens of 

 both kinds, but so distinct that a little practice enables the eye to 

 separate them without resort to a lens to examine their achenia, 

 which is the final test. Though so close together it is hard to find 

 a specimen that is intermediate in character or classed without dif- 

 ficulty with its appropriate type. ...^ I know few plants of any genus 

 so intimately associated that maintain their characters so uniformly 

 and so plainly show that they are specifically distinct. Though 

 frequently intermingled in the same ground-bed they usually oc- 





