94 KANSAS Academy of Science. 



Thelesperma gracile Gr. and Hymenopappus tenuifolins Pursh., both slender 

 plants, with very few pinnatifid, hairy leaves, are also quite common there. 



The asters there all have fine foliage, and either hairy or viscid. Aster multiflorns 

 Ait., A. ericiefolius, and A. tanacetifolins HBK., are the chief representatives. The 

 first two have almost subulate leaves, rigid and thick, and the entire plant from 3 to 

 10 inches high, contrasting very strongly with our Eastern asters, from one foot to 

 six feet tall, as A. salicifolius Ait., A. paniculatus Lam., and A. cordifolius, all of 

 which have very thin, smooth leaves. 



Our common Echinacea purpurea Moench is replaced by E. augustifolia DC, 

 which is densely hirsute, and from three to six inches tall. 



The Helianthi are usually about one-half as tall as ours in eastern Kansas. I col- 

 lected many specimens of Helianthus annuus L., in blossom, that were scarcely six 

 inches tall, and proportionately small. 



Another Compositse is the Lepachys columnaris Torr. & Gray, and its variety 

 pulcherrima Torr. & Gray and L. tagetes Gr. Both have thick, slightly viscid, pin- 

 natifid leaves. The variety pulcherrima is not very common, being comparatively 

 rare, while the other two are very abundant, taking the place of our L. pinnata Torr. 

 & Gray. 



Baccharis wrightii is another example of almost leafless plant, the leaves being 

 almost spines, subulate, short, and rigid, while Lygodesmia juncea Don. is perhaps 

 the most striking example of all, or at least in the order Compositte. This plant 

 somewhat resembles a common rush, but is rather diffusely branched, entirely desti- 

 tute of foliage, bearing a small pink flower on the tip of each stiff branch, which 

 look very odd on such a naked plant. 



The order Asclepiadacefe is represented by the two extremes: the little, narrow- 

 leaved Asclepias verticillata Gr., var. pumila Gr., from three to eight inches tall, and 

 the large-leaved, rather tall species, Asclepias jamesii. 



In Boraginacere, there is Krynitzkia Jamesii, scarcely six inches high, very hairy, 

 and gray, with a spiny fruit. 



The Solanums are S. rostratum, common here, and S. trifiorum, with finer, smooth 

 foliage. 



The Penstemons are P. albidus Nutt. and P. gracile Nutt., both about six inches 

 tall; while our common P. grandiflora Nutt. and P. tubiflorus Nutt. are from one to 

 three feet. Our common Plantago major L. is entirely replaced by the little gray, 

 hairy species, P. patagonica, varieties gnaphalioides and aristata, from two to six 

 inches, with narrow, grass-like, hairy leaves. 



The order Nyctaginaceje is represented by Oxybaphus angustifolius Sweet, also 

 narrow-leafed, slender, and seldom ever more than a foot tall. Our O. nyctagineus 

 Sweet often exceeds three feet, and has oval leaves. 



In the order Illecebraceoe, there is the whitish plant, scarcely three inches high, 

 called Paronychia sessilifiora. Its white appearance is duo principally to the silvery, 

 scarious bracts, which equal or exceed the short, narrow leaves. It grows in close 

 mats in the gypsum banks, being almost the same color. 



In Chenopodiacese is found the ordinary Chenopodinm album L., though some- 

 what reduced in size, and smaller foliage, and Cycloloma platyphyllum Moq., and 

 Corispermum hyssopifolium L., both with reduced foliage, almost scale like, or 

 spines. The Cycloloma is hairy, the Corispermum coriaceous, and but a few inches 

 high. 



The order Gramineae is well represented in this region, as well as farther east, 

 but they are rigid and wiry, and have the characteristic dull, grayish color. 



Of course, the buffalo grass, Buchloe dactyloides Englm., is the most common. 



