STUDIES ON SUBTERRANEAN ORGANS. I. COM- 

 POSITAE OF THE VICINITY OF MANHATTAN, 



KANSAS.* 



A. S. Hitchcock. 



The following notes include observations made during the 

 fall of 1898, and also some made while preparing Bulletin No. 

 76, of the Kansas Experiment Station. 



So far as the duration of the underground parts is con- 

 cerned the plants fall naturally into three categories, annuals, 

 biennials and perennials. 



The following are annuals : Erigeron Canadensis, E . diva- 

 ricatus, E.slrigosus, G7iaphalium poly ceph alum, Iva ciliata, I. 

 xantliiifoUa , Ambrosia trifida, A. artemisiaefolia, Xaniliium 

 Canadense, Eclipia alba, Heliantltus annuus, H. petiolaris. 

 Coreopsis involucrata, Bidens frondosa, B. connata, B. chry- 

 santhemoides,B. cernua, Dysodia chrysa7ithemoides, Erechtites 

 hieracifolia, SoncJnis asper. Most of these are found in low 

 ground, waste places, or cultivated soil, and would be classed 

 as mesophytes. A few are hydrophytes or at least lovers of 

 damp places, Eclipta, Coreopsis, and the last three species of 

 Bidens. Two are lovers of sandy soil (psammophytes), 

 GnapJialium and Helianthus petiolaris. Three are prairie 

 xerophytes, Erigeron divaricaius, E. strigosus and Dysodia. 

 The last is frequently abundant on limestone bluffs and is the 

 only annual that is properly a member of such communities. 



The following are apparently biennials, though more obser- 

 vations are needed upon some of the species to determine this 

 point: Grindelia squarrosa, Arctium Lappa, Cnicus altissi- 

 mus, Hieracium longipilum, Prenanthes asper, Lactuca Can- 

 adensis, L. Ludoviciana, L. Floridana. Cnicus altissimiis 

 produces the first year a fleshy tap-root and often several 

 ateral tuberous roots in addition. Grindelia, Lactuca and 



♦ Presented to The Academy of Science of St. Louis, January 23, 1899. 



