McAfee — Notes on Winter Blooming at Washington. 131 



Tansy (Tanacelum vulgare) December 30. 

 Fireweed (Erechtites hieracifolia) November 16. 



Early Flowering. 



Early flowering, which gives us some of the most enjoyable instances of 

 winter bloom, apparently can be separated from autumnal flowering in 

 certain cases, only by an arbitrarily chosen date. In this locality the month 

 of December is normally mild, and as noted in previous paragraphs, yields 

 numerous cases both of "late" and "autumnal" flowering. January is 

 definitely a winter month and naturally carries the impression of earliness 

 while December often is a continuation of the autumn and in every way 

 is associated with lateness. It would seem best therefore to select January 



1 as the date after which flowering should be classified as early. Confining 

 records of early flowering to actual winter months, it is noted that the fol- 

 lowing flowers have been observed in bloom in Washington region in 

 January and February. 1 



Spear grass (Poa annua) Winter 1876. 



Blue grass (Poa pratensis) January 5, 1918. 



Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) February 29, 1880; January 12, 

 1913. 



Weeping willow (Salix babylonica) 2 February 22, 1874. 



Silver poplar (Populus alba) 2 February 22, 1874. 



Alder (Alnus rugosa) January 12, 1913, February 28, 1915, February 22, 

 1919. 



Alder (Alnus glutinosa) 2 February 22, 1919. 



Elm (Ulmus americana) February, 1876. 



Chick-weed (Cerastium viscosum) February 29, 1880. 



Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) February 19, 1876, February 29, 

 1880. 



Hepatica (Hepatica triloba) February 20, 1876, January 5, 1913, February 

 2, 25, 1919. 



Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) early February, 1919. 2 



Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) Winter, 1876. 



Whitlow grass (Draba verna) January, February, 1876; February 24, 

 1878; February 16, 1913. 



Peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum) January 5, 1918. 



Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) January, 1876. 



Golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium americanum) February 17, 1878. 



Broom (Cytisus scoparius) 2 February 14, 1919. 



Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) January 15, 1876; February 15, 24, 

 1878; February 23, 1919. 



Red maple (Acer rubrum) February 29, 1880; February 13, 1909; Feb- 

 ruary 2, 1913; February 28, 1915; February 9, 1919. 



iData from personal observations, from Ward. (loc. cit.) and from Field and Forest, 

 Vol. 1, Nos. 8-9, Jan. Feb. 1876, p. 72; Nos. 10-11, March-April, 1876, p. 88; No. 12, May, 

 1876, p. 94; Vol. Ill, Nos. 10-12, April-June, 1878, p. 151, and Forest and Stream, Vol. 

 6, No. 8, March 30, 1876, p. 115. 



2 Cultivated. 



