June, 1901] Schaffner — Tumbleweeds 129 



OHIO TUMBLEWEEDS. 



John H. Schaffner. 



Tumbleweeds are characteristic of wind-swept plains and dry 

 prairies. As tlie forests are rapidly disappearing, the conditions in 

 Ohio are becoming very favorable for the introduction and develop- 

 ment of such forms of vegetation. A few species are already abun- 

 dant and some like Amaranthus graecizans appear to flourish 

 better than on the prairies of the interior. The past summer a 

 number of cornfields about Columbus were covered with very large 

 tumbleweeds and during the winter a number of hedgerows were 

 filled with them, presenting an appearance quite as striking as any- 

 thing the writer lias seen along this line. 



The following is a list of the Ohio plants which may develop as 

 tumbleweeds. Those with a question mark have not been seen by 

 the writer to act as tumbleweeds and a few are given on the author- 

 ity of Dr. W. J. Beal. 



ANNUAL TUMBLEWEEDS. 



1. Cycloloma atriplicifolium (Spreng.) Coult. 



2. Salsola tragus L. 



3. Amaranthus graecizans L. 



4. Lepidium apetalum Willd. Beal. 



5. Trifolium procumbens L. Beal. 



6. Onagra biennis (L.) Scop. Beal. 



TUMBLE-GRASSES. 



7. Panicum capillare L. 



8. Panicum flexile (Gattg.) Scrib. 



9. Eragrostis pectinacea (Mx.) Steudl. 



10. Eragrostis tricliodes (Nutt.) Nasli. 



11. Eragrostis capillaris (L.) Nees. ? 



12. Eragrostis frankii Steud. ? * 



13. Eragrostis purshii Schrad. ? 



14. Agrostis hyemalis (Walt.) B .S. P. 



PERENNIAL TUMBLEWEEDS. 



15. Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R. Br. 



MEETINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL CLUB. 

 May Meeting. 



The Biological Club met in Zoological Lecture Room May 6, 1901. 



Professor Schaffner reported that the committee appointed to con- 

 sider the disposition to make of exchanges, had had a meeting and 

 appointed Professor Osboru to consider the matter further. 



Professor Landacre gave a paper entitled A Study of Passalus Cor- 

 nutus. He gave the more important conclusions he had arrived at, 

 after an extended study of the muscular and skeletal systems of that 

 beetle. 



Mr. Griggs read a paper on Vernation in the Willows. 



Moulds and other Fungi Injurious to Foods was the title of a paper 

 given by Miss Mary Dresbach. She gave 9, list of fungi found o^ food 

 products. 



