412 
the bluff-top ridge and the east-facing 
slope of this ridge were forested, except 
for some cleared areas serving as fields 
for cultivated crops. This prairie was 
visited on the same dates as Phegley. 
Stotz.—This hill prairie took its name 
from a quarry about a half mile north of 
Prairie du Rocher. Fight spurs of a bluff- 
ridge comprised the prairie, which covered 
about 6 acres in 1950; intervening ravines 
were wooded. The southernmost spur 
had been much trampled by humans, the 
others pastured. Native plants and weeds 
occurred on the pastured spurs in nearly 
equal proportions; the native plants per- 
sisted better on the nonpastured spur than 
on the others. dndropogon scoparius was 
the dominant grass of the prairie slopes. 
Patches of Bouteloua curtipendula grew 
throughout the prairie. The orchid Hex- 
alectris spicata was found in the wood- 
land border at the base of one spur. Stotz 
prairie was visited May 24 and July 30, 
1950. 
Allen Lake.—A small, crescent-shaped 
lake located near a loess-capped bluff-top 
supplied the name for this prairie, which 
was visited July 29, 1950. The prairie 
was west of the lake and 1.2 miles south 
of Prairie du Rocher. Prairie occupied 
4.5 acres of the upper slope of the bluff. 
Limestone fragments covered the lower 
part of the slope. The dominant grass 
was Andropogon scoparius. 
South Prairie du Rocher.—When 
visited June 16, 1950, this very small, 
pastured hill prairie occupied a part of 
the bluff 1.6 miles south of Prairie du 
Rocher. Andropogon scoparius was the 
dominant grass. Cacalia tuberosa was 
found growing in the loess. 
Grand Canyon.—In 1949, this small 
prairie opening in section 2, T. 10 S., R. 3 
W., 8 miles southwest of Murphysboro, 
Jackson County, occupied a west-facing 
slope at the north end of the bluff called 
Chalk Bluff, just south of the mouth of 
the valley known as Grand Canyon. dn- 
dropogon scoparius was the dominant 
grass. Small trees of hickory, sassafras, 
and white oak were scattered throughout. 
Grand Canyon prairie was visited Octo- 
ber 28, 1949. 
Fountain Bluff.—This hill prairie, 
observed in 1950 and 1951, took its name 
Intinois NatuRAL History Survey BULLETIN 
Vol. 26, Art. 5 
from the isolated upland known as Foun- 
tain Bluff, which has a dissected loess top 
and for the greatest part vertical sand- 
stone walls and is situated between the 
Mississippi River and the broad bottoms of 
the Big Muddy River west of the main 
chain of bluffs in western Jackson County. 
This isolated upland extends 4 miles 
north and south, and is 1.8 miles across at 
the widest part. Prairie-covered slopes 
were observed in section 36, T. 9 §., R. 4 
W., at the northern end of Fountain 
Bluff, a distance of about 1 mile west and 
a little south of Gorham. 
The northern and northwestern side 
of Fountain Bluff is an almost vertical 
sandstone wall into which a sizable ra- 
vine has cut southeast and then eastward 
so that part of the ravine is almost paral- 
lel to the steep northwest wall. A sizable 
ridge lies between the ravine and the Mis- 
sissippi River bottomland on the north. 
On this ridge were the prairie-covered 
slopes, described in detail below. 
Above the vertical rock cliff which 
forms the northeast wall of the ravine are 
four rock-strewn spurs, which at the 
time of this study were covered with prai- 
rie plants; Andropogon scoparius was the 
dominant grass. These prairie-covered 
spurs were separated by three narrow 
belts of woodland in shallow drainage- 
ways. The three narrow belts of wood- 
land were joined upslope to form another 
and larger belt of woodland, at right an- 
gles to the three; the larger belt covered 
a rock-strewn slope. 
Upslope from the rock-strewn slope, the 
bluff is capped by loess. Three spurs on 
this highest exposure of the ridge were 
occupied by prairie, the intervening coves 
by small trees and shrubs. One spur faced 
almost westward, overlooking the Missis- 
sippi bottomland, the others southwest- 
ward. ‘The westward-facing spur was 
separated from the others by a narrow 
belt of timber. At the ridge-top, the prai- 
rie areas of the two southwest-facing 
spurs were connected to form a U-shaped 
hill prairie with the prongs of the U ex- 
tending downslope. 
When visited June 14, August 17, and 
September 19, 1950, and April 19 and 
May 23, 1951, prairie occupied about 3 
acres of these spurs. 
plecyids i 
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