The American Botanist 



VOL. XXVI. FEBRUARY, 1920. No. 1. 



TL • 1-4 A/ K-S8RARr 



I here is no glory m star or blossom, WEW vaj» 



Till locked upon by a loving eye: ^®TANICAI. 



There is no fragrance in April breezes, ^^itDctH 



Till breathed with Jo}) as they wander by. 



-^ryant. 



A RARE OHIO PLANT IMMIGRANT 



By Cari, Krkbs 



SOME seventy-five years ago, a wealthy and eccentric far- 

 mer named Farnnm planted a grove of pine trees {Pinus 

 strobns) in the Cuyahoga valley of Ohio, which, owing to its 

 shape, he called "God's Heart." Here he also maintained a 

 zoological collection. Last fall a friend and myself resolved 

 to explore this locality, but as we anticipated we found only 

 a rank undergrowth of brambles in the grove. In exploring 

 the surrounding country, however, we were surprised to come 

 upon a colony of sprawling plants with bluish-black berries 

 and shining leaves resembling holly. 



The plants were unfamiliar to us but were later identified 

 as the Oregon grape or trailing Mahonia {Berheris aquifolia) 

 The following spring we visited the locality again and found 

 the plants in blossom. The bright yellow of the flowers con- 

 trasted most beautifully with the sombre green of the holly- 

 like leaves. 



The home of the trailing mahonia is the Rocky Moun- 

 tains and westward. We could find no record of its being 

 found previously in Ohio. Judging from the locality, our 



