32 MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



seen it, it is a rare species in Michigan, having been found, I believe, 

 in onlv one or two localities. 



The' ferns are few in number and each species is itself scarce; in the 

 woods on Belle Isle may be found the Dri/opteris simulata, recently 

 separated from D. Thcli/[>teris (Lin.) A. Gray by Mr. Davenport. It is 

 a rare fern an(t more commonly met with in the eastern states. Michi- 

 gan has not before been included in its range. 



Some eastern plants have been creeping west; among these may be 

 mentioned the Vunhuiiinc hirsuta Lin., the bitter cress; the Geiim 

 rcrnum (Raf.) T. & G. or spring avens; the Phijsalis Philadelphica Lam., 

 one of the ground cherries; the Euphorbia hirsuta (Torr.) Wiegd., the 

 hairy spurge; and a variety of chicory Chicorium Intijhus Lin. var. 

 diraricata DC. The Cardamine is rare in this country, being confined 

 generally to the eastern Atlantic states, it is the first time, I believe, 

 that it has been reported from west of the Appalachians. It was 

 found in moist dense woods on the upper half of Belle Isle. The 

 Euphorbia is another rare plant not before reported from w-est of New 

 York; it has recently been separated from the E. nutans or E, hijperici- 

 folia which aggregate has given rise to several so called species. 

 Another, the Aster' cricoidcs L. var. plati/pln/llus T. & G. has crept up 

 from the south; it is the first time it has been recorded for Michigan, 

 and is quite common near the water works, on grassy banks. There is 

 another peculiar form of aster which, perhaps, may turn out to be the 

 rare Aster atuethi/stinus Xutt. but it requires further study. 



A rare and interesting find, as ballast waifs, were the Pacific coast 

 Lnpinus poh/carpus Greene, Trifolium furcatum Liudl, and the T. de- 

 pauperatum Desv. Among other ballast plants may be mentioned the 

 Belladonna {Atropa Belladonna Lin.); the Ajowan (Carum Copticum 

 (Lin.) Bth. & Hk.f.); and the common garden beet [Beta vulgaris Lin.) 

 Probably a number of plants found on Belle Isle have been introduced 

 by means of bouquets taken to the island by pleasure seekers and 

 picnickers; as such, perhaj)s may be mentioned the American cowslip, 

 (Dodecatheon Meadia Lin.), the Hellebore [HeUehorus viridia Lin.), the 

 Rattlebox \Crotalaria saijittaHs Lin.), and the False Kue Anemone 

 (Isopi/runt hiternatuiii (Raf.) T. cV: G.). 



Several of our old and well known plants considered as single species 

 by our older botanists have been split up into several by the younger 

 botanists of the present generation. Whether or not these segregations 

 are w^ell taken can be told only by future field work and careful study. 

 Among the old species so treated may be mentioned Panicuni diehotomuni 

 Lin. which has been split into innumerable species of which we have 

 three, the P. Coluinhianuni Scribn., P. puhescens Lam., and P. lanuginosa 

 Ell. Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. has been divided and we now have 

 in addition to the type the varieties agreste Anders, and pilosuni 

 Scribn. iV' Sm. and A. Sniifhii Rydb. i^isgrinvhiunt Bcrmudlana Lin. 

 has also been segregated and we now have /Sf. graminoides Bicknell and 

 *S'. alhidum Raf. On the northeast corner of Belle Isle is an artificial 

 lake constructed to reclaim a large tract of marshy ground. On the 

 present site of the lake was discovered, several years ago, a peculiar 

 Sisgrinchiuni. Instead of having Hat winged stems and leaves as usual 

 these were almost thread-like or terete; the bases of the leaves were 



