1 894-] PLANTS OF MONROE COUNTY. 3 



SCOI'E OK TllK I, I ST. 



The list aims to include the names of plants which grow without 

 cultivation in Monroe and adjoining counties. While it is believed to 

 be nearly complete as regards Monroe county, it is not claimed to be 

 so for the adjacent counties. 



The list includes phanerogams and vascular acrogens. Much 



care has been exercised in the determination of specimens, and all 



those concerning which there have been reasonable doubts have been 



excluded. 



Territory Included. 



The territory included, as seen by the accompanying map, com- 

 prises the whole of Monroe county and parts of Genesee, Livingston, 

 Orleans, Ontario and Wayne counties. The area in general is the 

 lower drainage basin of the Genesee river, with that of Irondequoit 

 creek and smaller streams upon the lake border. 



THE MAP. 



The map, Plate i, was drawn expressly to accompany this list, and 

 is designed to be a guide to all parts of the region, locating as it does 

 the roads and streams, and points of especial botanical interest. In 

 lack of any definite geographic boundaries, the outlines of the map 

 were fixed somewhat arbitrarily. 



Authorities and Collectors. 

 early botanists of the region. 

 The work and records of some of the early botanists have been of 

 great assistance to us. Among these botanists Dr. Chester Dewey, 

 whose work in Rochester extended from 1836 to 1867, is the most 

 eminent. His great work on the Carices had been commenced in 1824, 

 and he brought to Rochester an established reputation as a botanist. 

 •' Botany was a favored subject in the school curriculum, and it was 

 seldom that a class was lacking to receive his instruction. Up to the 

 year 1S50 farming lands and the virgin forests occupied a large 

 portion of the present area of the City of Rochester, and therefore 

 the meadows and fields, woodlands and by-ways, were easy of access, 

 and the native plants were gathered by many eager collectors. In 

 this way Dr. Dewey examined and re-examined many times the 

 greater portion of the flora of this region, while at the same time he 

 was training up the youth to share his interest in botanical pursuits. 

 The influence which he thus exerted is still perceived by some of the 



