12 THE PLANT WORLD 



middle of March. The pasque-flower {^Pulsatilla hirsiitissima) comes 

 next. In the deep and rocky ravines this beautiful flower may be seen 

 during the month of April. A little while after the pasque-flower first 

 comes into bloom the leaves of various other perennial plants, anxious to 

 greet the spring, show themselves above the surface of the ground. 

 Among these we see the first foliage of vervains, pentstemons, Malvas- 

 trum coccineum, and others. 



Late in April we find in bloom a yellow violet, most probably Viola 

 scabriusaila, which clings close to the gravelly soil in the shelter of the 

 hills. About the same time we find the kidney-leaved crowfoot {Ranun- 

 ailus abortivus) in bloom near the brook. 



One of our most conspicuous flowers in spring is Le^icocrinum mon- 

 tanum. The white blossoms stud the broad plains like countless stars. 

 By May 25 it has about disappeared from the open prairies, but along 

 fences and in sheltered nooks it still lingers now and then, somewhat as 

 vanquished species for ages still linger upon restricted areas after having 

 been driven from the main field of strife. About May 20 it is noticeable 

 that Zygadenus venenosus has taken the place of Leucocrinum as the most 

 abundant and widespread plant of the plains. 



Anogra albicaulis, an evening primrose, grows exuberantly in old 

 abandoned fields. Its conditions of existence have thus been improved 

 through man's agency, for hereabouts on the virgin prairie it grows 

 sparsely. 



Close to the creek in summer we have the seaside crowfoot ( Oxy- 

 graphis cymbalaria^ . Pentstenion grandiflorus grows in the bottom- 

 lands — most abundantly where trees are fewest — and seldom meets its con- 

 geners of the hills. It is a most attractive-flowered species, and is with 

 us but a short time. Wild Columbine grows in thickets on the flood-plain 

 of the creek. 



The prickly poppy {Argemone intermedia) is sometimes an annoying 

 weed in grain-fields. On the hills is found the handsome Mariposa lily 

 {Calochoj'tus Nuttallii^ . In company with it grows Ratibida coluninaris , 

 a compositous plant, the yellow-rayed form of which is everywhere on 

 the higher ground, while the brown-rayed form, which in Coulter's 

 Manual is called pulcherrima, is very rare. A very handsome and promi- 

 nent object on the hills in summer and autumn is Bratoieria angiistifolia, 

 the narrow-leaved cone-flower. The button snake-root {,Laci7iaria 

 punctata) appears in July and August. It is more abundant in the sand- 

 hills near the Nebraska line than here. 



Steironema ciliatum haunts the shaded copses on the lower grounds. 

 It must be a favorite of the fauns and satyrs, so secluded does it remain. 

 So successfully does it shield itself from the gaze of man that it is not well 

 enough known to have received a vernacular name except in botanical 



