August, 1955 
Solidago nemoralis Ait. Field golden- 
rod was found to be the most abundant 
goldenrod of the hill prairies. It was ob- 
served in 33 loess and rock prairies in [Ili- 
nois. 
Solidago petiolaris Ait. ‘This species 
was found in cherty prairie at Tamms. 
Solidago radula Nutt. Rough golden- 
rod was found in 15 hill prairies from 
North Pandarmie and North Eldred 
south to Government Rock. 
Solidago rigida L. Rigid goldenrod, 
common in flatland prairie remnants, was 
seen in hill prairie at El Rancho, Reavis 
Spring, Block House, Valmeyer, Renault, 
and Government Rock. 
Solidago speciosa Nutt. Showy gol- 
denrod was collected from loess prairie at 
Sunset Trail, Devil’s Backbone, and Val- 
meyer. 
Solidago ulmifolia Muhl. Elm-leaved 
goldenrod, a plant of thickets and open 
woods, was found in six hill prairies, 
chiefly in stony soil. 
*Tragopogon major Jacq. [T. dubius 
Scop.] This European species was found 
in the rock prairie at Devil’s Backbone. 
*Tragopogon pratensis L.  Goat’s- 
beard was found in loess prairie at Sunset 
Trail and Oblate Fathers. 
Verbesina helianthoides Michx. ‘This 
crownbeard, usually found growing in 
dry woods and thickets, was seen in rock 
prairie at Fountain Bluff and Cave Creek 
and in loess at Chautauqua and Fountain 
Bluff. 
Verbesina virginica L. White crown- 
beard, or tickweed, was collected from 
rock prairie and woodland borders at 
Cave Creek. 
Vernonia baldwini Torr. This iron- 
weed was found in loess at six hill prai- 
ries from Sessions and North Eldred south 
to Sampson. 
Vernonia missurica Raf. More gener- 
ally present in hill prairie than the pre- 
ceding species, this ironweed was found in 
11 loess hill prairies and in some of the 
adjoining wooded coves. 
Three hundred ninety-four species and 
varieties of plants were found by the 
writer in the hill prairies of Illinois. Of 
these, 390 were vascular plants distributed 
among 209 genera and 70 families. The 
family represented by the greatest numbers 
Evers: Hitt Prairigs oF ILLINOIS 
441 
of species and genera was the Compositae, 
71 species and varieties in 26 genera. Aster 
was the largest genus; 12 species were rep- 
resented. The four species of nonvascular 
plants included two species of the lichen 
Lecidea, a liverwort, and a moss. 
Geographical Relations of the Hill 
Prairie Flora 
The majority of plant species in Illi- 
nois hill prairies are presumably of south- 
eastern origin. Three of the important 
grass species, Andropogon scoparius, A. 
gerardi, and Sorghastrum nutans, came 
from southeastern United States. 
There are, however, numbers of species 
characteristic of the western plains and of 
the Ozark plateau. These are Bouteloua 
hirsuta, Psoralea tenuiflora, Polytaenia 
nuttallu, Asclepias stenophylla, Mentzelia 
oligosperma, Salvia pitcheri, Plantago 
purshit, Agoseris cuspidata, Ambrosia 
coronoptfolia, Solidago drummondu, Aster 
anomalus, and Rudbeckia missouriensts. 
The last three possibly are from the 
Ozark plateau. In addition to the plants 
enumerated above, Synthyris bullit_ may 
be mentioned as a species, possibly from 
the Rocky Mountains, that migrated east- 
ward along glacial moraines (Pennell 
1935). 
SUMMARY 
1. Hill prairies are grasslands on pro- 
nounced slopes. Prairies is here used as a 
vegetational term rather than a locational 
or topographic term for an expansive flat. 
2. Of the many hill prairies in I]linois, 
61, with a combined area of more than 
200 acres, were visited by the writer in 
the course of this study. 
3. In Illinois, hill prairies occur on 
the exposed upper or brow slopes of the 
generally southwest- and west-facing bluffs 
east of the Mississippi River for most of 
the length of the state and on similar slopes 
along the Illinois River from Putnam 
County southward into Jersey County, 
where the valley of the Illinois enters the 
Mississippi valley. Hill prairies are present 
also along the Sangamon and Rock rivers. 
4. Location and topography exert the 
strongest controls, or place influences, that 
