SMILAX GLA UCA IN WINTER. 105 



good deal of accuracy. Thus there is a narrow belt of the Wooded- 

 Bluff and Meadow-land Region along- the eastern and northeastern 

 border of the state ; next to this is the Prairie Region, and beyond this 

 the Sand Hill Region, while near the western border there is a belt 

 of the Foot-Hill Region. Each of these is easily separable into dis- 

 tricts, the first into the Missouri and the Ponca districts; the second 

 into the Elkhorn, the Platte and the Blue river districts. The Sand Hill 

 Region is separable into the Niobrara, the Loup and the Republican 

 districts, and the Foot-hill Region into the Pine-Ridge and the Lodge- 

 Pole districts. A map has been constructed on which these have been 

 outlined with much attention to the boundary details, and another 

 map giving the physical features of these regions and districts is almost 

 ready for publication. 



The matter for another part of the "Flora," dealing with the 

 " Fungi Imperfecti," is well under way, and it is hoped that it may be 

 sent to press before many months. The fifth report which is now in 

 preparation will include some new species, and from one hundred and 

 fifty to one hundred and sixty-five additions, bringing the total number 

 of species for the state to about thirty-four hundred. 



The University of Nebraska. 



SMILAX GLAUCA IN WINTER. 

 By C. F. Saunders. 



THE genus Smilax is represented in that part of Southeastern 

 Pennsylvania which is contiguous to Philadelphia, by the three 

 species 5. r^Z/z/z.^/Z/b/z'^ (the Common Cat-brier), 5. lierbacea 

 ( the Carrion-flower ), and 5. glaiica ( the Glaucous Greenbriar). 

 The last named species is abundant in the picturesque hills which line 

 the Schuylkill river near Philadelphia. There it is found from a 

 couple of feet high in old fields and dry, open woodlands, up to twenty 

 feet or so in length climbing upon shrubs and small trees or straggling 

 over old stone fences. By the superficial observer it may be and 

 sometimes is mistaken for the Cat-brier, which it resembles in leaf 

 and general habit, but a careful examination will reveal distinct differ- 

 ences. These differences are very apparent in the late fall and in 

 winter, at which seasons the Cat-brier in this latitude is quite denuded 

 of foliage, while on the vines of .S. glaiica many of the leaves persist 

 — beautifully crimsoned and mottled by the cold, and well distin- 

 guished by the powdery covering of their under surfaces. 



The stem of S. glauca is a very characteristic part of the plant. 

 It is perceptibly slenderer, more flexuous and much less terribly 



