414 



Illinois Natlral History Survey Bulletin 



Vol. 26, Art. 5 



.^,000 specimens were collected from the 

 prairie areas; numerous others from tin- 

 adjacent rock ledges, upland woods, 

 wooded coves, and basal slopes of the 

 bluffs. These specimens now form a part 

 of the collections in the herbarium of the 

 Illinois Natural Historv Sur\f\ at Ur- 

 bana. 



Collections and identification of hill 

 prairie plants added several species to the 

 known Illinois Mora. Riidhcck'w missouri- 

 ensis was one of the rare plants reported 

 ( Evers 1951). The co'lections verified 

 the present-day existence of certain spe- 

 cies reported over a half century ago from 

 Illinois but not collected in the state again 

 until the field work for this study was 

 undertaken. Mintzdia oUgosperma is a 

 notable e\am|ile. The collections also in- 

 creased the knowledge of the distribution 

 of plants having somewhat restricted 

 ranges in Illinois. Thus, it is now known 

 that Bouteloua citrtipendula ranges al- 

 most continuously, in suitable habitats, 

 from northern to southern Illinois along 

 the western border, that Psoralea teniii- 

 ftora ranges southward into Monroe 

 County, and that Hauslonia nigricans is 

 quite common on loess slopes in south- 

 western Illinois. 



The hill prairies contain prairie, wood- 

 land, cultivated, and introduced species. 

 Tlie woodland species are occasionalh 

 found in prairie just as the prairie spe- 

 cies are found in woodland, especialh in 

 adjoining border areas. The cultivated 

 plants usually are escapes that have be- 

 come established in the hill prairies. Some, 

 Lespedeza stipul/icea for example, had 

 been planted in certain prairies or in ad- 

 joining pastures by the landowners. Asia 

 and Europe are the original homes of 30 

 of the species found, North America of 

 the remainder. 



Annotated List of Species 



This list was compiled from collections 

 made and notes taken on the Illinois hill 

 prairies visited. Field notes were used 

 to supplement the distribution record but 

 no species is included in this list unless it 

 was collected from at least one prairie. 

 The list is not intended as a complete 

 flora of the Illinois hill prairies. Such a 



compilatiun \\(juld require much addi- 

 tional time and many additional visits to 

 tiiese sites. In some cases, only the gen- 

 eric name of a plant is given. Thus, the 

 four species of grapes are included in this 

 list under the term litis spp. In most in- 

 stances, both generic and specific epithets 

 are used. Any pertinent synonym is 

 placed within brackets following the sci- 

 entific name. Brief notes on the occur- 

 rence of each plant or plant group follow 

 its name. The name of each plant that is 

 of foreign origin is preceded b\ an aster- 



isk_(*)- 



'I'able 14, which summarizes presence, 

 as discussed on page 392, contains a partial 

 enumeration of the annotated list of spe- 

 cies. Species found only on rock ledges, 

 in coves, or in woodland borders near, but 

 not in, the prairie stands of any site listed 

 in table 14 are not indicated for that site. 

 Some species mentioned in the annotated 

 list are not included in table 14 because 

 they are not native to North America or 

 are not regarded as characteristic prairie 

 species. 



Lecideaceae 



Licidca spp. Lichens of this genus 

 were found in 14 hill prairies. Two sam- 

 ples were identified by Dr. C. W. Dodge 

 of the Missouri Botanical Garden as L. 

 decipiens and L. demissa. These plants 

 grew between grass tufts under the shade 

 of the grass foliage on either loess or fine 

 rock fragments. 



Marchantiaceae 



Rcliuuliii heinisphaerica (L.) Raddi. 

 This was a frequently encountered liver- 

 wort on loess and rocks of hill prairies, 

 where it grew in interspaces between 

 bunches of grass. 



Muse I 



An unidentified moss (or mosses) grew 

 on loess of some hill prairies. All plants 

 examined lacked sporophytes and accord- 

 ingl\' remain unidentified. 



Selagixellaceae 



Selaginella rupestris (L.) Spring. The 

 rock selaginella grew in the sandy hill 

 lirairie at Devil's Backbone. Although 

 found on sandstone outcrops in southern 



