110 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



of Special structure for particular ends, excite the liveliest 

 interest. 



Brown University, Providence, R. I. 



SOME PLANTS OP HEMPSTEAD PLAINS. 



BY JAMES KIRBY. 



IN looking over a recent number of The American Bot- 

 anist I w^as much interested in reading the names of 

 some wild flowers which I found on a trip across the 

 Hempstead Plains some two years ago. One of the plants 

 is the Baptisia tincton'a, or false indigo. It grows here 

 in quantit}', and is very attractive when in bloom. The 

 other is Hypoxis erect a, star grass. Here also in great 

 patches \s Andromeda Mariana, t\\t stagger bush. Cattle 

 eating the leaves of this, lose the power of their limbs, 

 and in some instances die from its effects. It flowers in 

 May, and is a beautiful si^hc when in bloom with its 

 white "lily-of-the-valley " like flowers. 



These plains are noted for the acres of vio'ets, — {V 

 blanda) the white sweet-scented, V. Delphinifolia and* 

 others. They certainly are a sight worth seeing. Num- 

 bers of school children and adults iVom the adjoining 

 villages gather them by the thousands. Other plants 

 which grow in quantity on the plains are ^/etr/s farinosa, 

 Helianthemum corymhosum and H. canadense. I have 

 seen herbalists gathering th.* Helianthemum and Aletris 

 for medicinal purposes. 



Taking an opposite direction and going east towards 

 Hicksville we find some Opuntias and Arctostaphylos uva 

 ursa or deer feed, the latter plant is found in quantity 

 from Hicksville east through the center of the island, as is 

 the wintergreen {Gaultheria procumbens). A little south 

 of the Meadow Brook Clu':) is a meadow on the edge of 

 whch I found Hahenaria ciliaris, some Eupatoriums, 

 Chelone glabra, and numbers of ferns which I did not 

 know at that time. 



[It can probably be said with truth that New York 

 City is in the center of a richer flora than any other part 



