io6 



BOTANICAL GAZETTE 



[august 



distribution, occurring gregariously at the base of slopes and in 

 mesophytic depressions; frequently outlying individuals are found. 

 In the former situations it ranks not infrequently as a facies. It is 

 the largest of the woody perennials of our area, being a profusely 

 branched shrub frequently i to 1.25™ tall. It is characteristically 

 associated with the Poa sod, which it follows in the latter's advance 

 upon the prairie; the most advanced occupation is upon the north 



Fig. 2. — Late estival aspect; Symphoricarpus association in a depression of a 

 northwest exposure; Poa sod in foreground. 



to northwest exposures, where it also first appears (fig. 2). It is the 

 forerunner of Rhus glabra, which in other parts of the prairie follows 

 it closely, together making up the shrub stage, which is succeeded by 

 the Quercus macrocarpa and Ulmus fitlva association as the forest 

 pushes out upon the prairie. While the numerous axillary clusters 

 of pink flowers are not conspicuous from a distance, the masses of 

 dark-green leaves make the Symphoricarpus association very notice- 

 able. Very few seeds are borne in the white globular berries; 



