BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 485 
Americana ; thickets of Corylus Americana occurring here 
and there in the valley ; and Quercus Chinquepin on the lime- 
stone hills. 
By enumerating the different forest.trees, it will be seen 
that none but the most common are diffused so far away 
from the Missouri river-woods. This is the most remote 
western habitat of Platanus occidentalis, Juglans nigra, Gym- 
nocladus Canadensis, Morus rubra, Tilia Americana, Celtis 
occidentalis, Quercus macrocarpa, Fraxinus acuminata, Acer 
eriocarpum, Negundo fraxinifolium, and Æsculus pallida ; 
the undergrowth consisting of Cornus circinnata and alba, 
Zanthoxylon fravineum, Rhamnus parvifolius, Crategus crus 
galli, Ribes triflorum and floridum, Vitis riparia, cordata and 
quinquefolia. Of herbaceous plants, likewise, only the most 
common accompany the foregoing forest-trees to the limit 
of their range, chiefly Anemone Pennsylvanica, Urospermum 
Claytoni, Geranium maculatum, Sanicula Marylandica, and 
Carex varia. 
Turning away from the outskirts of the gigantic western 
forest to the beautifully undulated prairies of the lower 
Kanzas, stretching themselves, as if endless, along the 
horizon, great is the disappointment of the traveller, for 
he must soon exchange them for the desert! It is a charm- 
ing sight, in the months of May or June, (in fact throughout 
the summer season also) to behold these prairies teeming 
with flowers. Already, in April, Viola delphinifolia, and 
Anemone tenella, with Hypoxis erecta, constitute the first 
ornament ; next follow Batschia canescens, Castilleja coccinea, 
Pedicularis Canadensis, Cypripedum candidum, with Carex 
Torreyana, and Meadii, in such abundance, as to form al- 
most a carpet by themselves. On the upland prairies 
and limestone-hills, we find the superb Pentstemon grandi- 
florum, with its no less showy companions Pentstemon 
dubium, Œnothera Drummondii, Polytaenia Nuttallü, Come * + 
thus Americana, and Amorpha canescens. aa 
In the month of June another flora is preceptible a the | 
lower plains. Plants, flowering for twice: time a 
