BOTANIZING IN WESTERN WISCONSIN. 

 By L. H. Painmel. 



THE region in western Wisconsin, about La Crosse, is one of con- 

 siderable interest to the collector. A considerable number of 

 boreal, as well as austral types, are represented. Some of 

 the austral species nearly reach their northern limit, as Moms 

 rubra, which I found last summer in the southern part of Houston 

 County, Minnesota; according to Mr. Upham* is said to have been 

 observed by J. S. Harris, of La Crescent. 



Gyiniiocladiis Canadense occurs on the Wisconsin side of the Missis- 

 sippi below La Crosse and in the Root river bottoms in Houston 

 County, Minnesota. Another austral type, Melica inntica, was found 

 for the first time last summer along the shaded bluffs close to the Iowa 

 line in Houston County. The most southern locality of Larix Ameri- 

 cana known to me in Minnesota is Pine Creek, opposite La Crosse. 

 The swamp is small in extent and is accompanied by the usual 

 hydrophytic plants, Habeiiaria psycodcs, Cypripedimn spectahilt\ 

 Pogonia ophioglossoides^ Calopogoii pulchellus ?in^ Drosera rotiindifolia. 

 Most interest, however, centers in the vegetation of the hills. La 

 Crosse is situated on a sandy prairie, having an elevation of 640-660 

 feet above sea level. Here occur many plants of xerophytic char- 

 acter, as Talimiui teretifoliinii, Aristida tuberculosa, Monarda punctata^ 

 Polanisia graveolcns, Anemone patens, var., Nuttalliana (comiTionly 

 called the Crocus), \^iola pedata, Anemone Caroliniana, and in sandy 

 woods Lupi)ius peroinis Quercus tinctoria is a small shrub or a small 

 tree. The hills lying back of the old flood plain of the Mississippi river 

 rise to a height of 150 to 300 feet. The hills are largely made up of 

 Potsdam sandstone with outcrops of a white sandstone near the base, 

 the upper parts of the higher hills being covered with magnesium 

 limestone. The hills are usually flattened or slightly rolling and 

 inclined towards the valleys. The surface soil consists of fine vege- 

 table mould with underlying argillaceous soil. The simny sides of 

 the hills are usually devoid of trees, though on north slopes a dense 

 growth of trees occurs. The higher dry points of the hills are usually 

 denuded excepting a few species of trees and shrubs. The character- 

 istic grasses over these denuded hills are Andropogon scoparius, 

 Bouteloua racemosa, Stipa spartea, Poa compressa, in places Poa pra- 

 tensis frequent. On the sandy rocks may be found the boreal Poa 

 nemoralis, which is, however, a rare species; Campanula rotundifolia, 



*Upham. Flora of Minnesota. 



