CI^c (Dl}\o TCatnvalist 



PUBLISHED BY 



THE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 



Vol. J. 



MARCH, 1 90 J 



No. 5 



PERENNIAL TUMBLEWEEDS. 

 John H. Schaffneb. 



Tumbleweeds may be classified under three general heads : 



Annual tumbleweeds, 

 Tumble-grasses, 

 Perennial tumbleweeds. 



The annual tumbleweeds are mostly plants with a small root 

 system which shrivels up or rots away soon after the seed has 

 matured. The plants are then easily torn from the ground or broken 

 off and go tumbling away before the wind. In some cases the roots 

 become quite fleshy and brittle. In the tumble-grasses the panicle 

 is generally the only part which is transported, the stems of the 

 panicle being usually very brittle and breaking readily even in those 

 forms which are easily torn up from tlie roots. 



Fig. 1. Psoralea floribunda. Plant growing on prairie, Clay Co., Kan. 



