150 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Feb. 



of awns in oats when grown under different conditions was 

 discussed. L. H. N. 



January 4th, 1913, at the home of Mr. A. E. Attwood, 

 Present, in addition to the host, Messrs. Buck, Brown, 

 Malte, Whyte, J. M. Macoun, W. T. Macoun, Newman, 

 Dreher, Blackader, Dymond, Tully and Honeyman. The subject 

 for the evening was the Ecology of the Ottawa Flora, the dis- 

 cussion being opened by Mr. J. M. Macoun, who gave some in- 

 teresting information. At the outset Mr. Macoun made the 

 announcement that "The Flora of the Ottawa District," originally 

 begun by the late Dr. James Fletcher and completed by Prof. 

 John Macoun, so far as the names and localities were concerned, 

 would soon be ready for publication. In addition to the list of 

 plants there will be a key by which the species can be readily 

 identified. This key, which has been prepared by Dr. Malte, 

 assisted by Mr. Macoun, will apply only to the local flora, and 

 in this respect will be different from all^ other keys which have 

 been published, and on account of the relatively few plants on 

 the list it should prove a very simple matter to identify a species. 

 ' Mr. Macoun said that while the definition of Ecology was 

 sometimes given as "Plants in their Relation to Environment" 

 the proper definition was "Adaptation of Plants to Their 

 Environment." 



Plants have been classified from an ecological standpoint 

 according to their environment; such as, those growing entirely 

 under water, those having only their leaves above water and 

 through A^arious other gradations until all the plant except the 

 roots was out of water. 



Another group are those plants which grow in very dry 

 soils. In this group is included all those that grow on dry rock 

 as distinguished from those growing in crevices or on loose soil 

 over rock. 



Another are those on very saline soil, of which we have none 

 in this district. 



The last group includes all plants which are moisture-loving 

 (hygrophytes) during some favourable part of the year, and dry 

 (xerophytes) during the rest of the year; as, deciduous trees 

 and shrubs, deciduous herbaceous plants with underground 

 perennating organs, and annuals. This group was first called 

 mesophytes, but afterwards changed to tropophytes. 



Mr. Macoun drew attention to the fact that in these group- 

 ings the great bulk of our Ottawa Flora is thrown into the last 

 group. One member objected strongly to a classification which 

 included deciduous trees and bulbous plants in the same group. 



E. H. B. 



