THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 121 



spicata). In the swales the Cladium association was separated 

 from those bordering it even more plainly than in summer. 



As I went along the Cladium border, there began to appear 

 here and there little star-like specks of blue, just outside of the 

 Cladium and extending into the neighboringn association of 

 grasses and rushes. They proved to be the flowers of Gentiana 

 procera — single flowers at the tops of tiny plants. These plants 

 were dwarfs about three inches high, with three pairs of very 

 small leaves, which were closely appressed to the stem. The 

 only other flowers that I could find in the sand flats were a few 

 of the yellow flowers of the goldenrod, {Solidago nemoralis) , 

 which were still to be found on dwarf plants in a few places. 



The morning had been cloudy, but just after I reached the 

 bluff at Beach the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly. In 

 about ten to fifteen minutes, close to the open ground, there 

 flashed out spots of yellow. These were of course the om- 

 nipresent dandelion, {Taraxacum crythrospermum) . Deep in 



the woods along the bluff a few flowers were found on plants 

 of Aster drummondii and on one plant of Aster Tradescanti. 

 While going under a barb-wire fence I noticed a plantain, 

 (Plantago Rugelii), with three blooms among four nearly ripe 

 capsules. Above it on the bluff is an opening in the oak-hickory 

 woods was a clump of willows, the most conspicuous of which 

 was Salix serissima with its yellowish-green, nearly ripe cap- 

 sules, and a few lanceolate shining leaves. 



On the way back, I could see from the car window the yel- 

 low flowers of witch-hazel, {Hamamelis Virginiana) , in the 

 woods near Highwood and Glencoe. To complete the list, in 

 my yard at home chickweed, {Stellaria media), and speargrass, 

 {Poa annua), were also in bloom, making nine flowers in all. 

 — F. C. Gates, Chicago, III. 



