August, 1955 



EvERs: Hill Prairies of Illinois 



427 



.liliiini stellatum Ker. This wild on- 

 ion was found on rocky slopes at Govern- 

 ment Rock and on loess slopes at Fults, 

 Sampson, and Phegley. Its occurrence on 

 loess and stony slopes was nowhere so 

 abundant as on rock ledges at the bases of 

 these slopes. 



*AUiuni lineale L. Field jiarlic was 

 found in two prairies. Sugar Loaf and 

 Phegley. 



* Asparagus officinalis L. Asparagus 

 was seen at Principia and Oblate Fathers 

 prairies. 



Camassia scilloides (Raf. ) Cory. Lo- 

 cally abundant in some upland prairies of 

 Illinois, wild hyacinth was found in hill 

 prairie at Chautauqua. 



\'tth'jscordum bivahe (L.) Britt. 

 False garlic, one of the most frequent 

 plants in thin soil of cliff-tops in the Shaw- 

 nee Hills of southern Illinois, was ob- 

 served on rocky slopes at Cave Creek and 

 Government Rock. 



Smilax bona-nox L. Fringed green- 

 brier, a dry-woodland species, occurred in 

 prairie at Fountain Bluff and Cave Creek. 



Smilax hispida Muhl. [5. tamnoides 

 var. hispida (Muhl.) Fern.] Common 

 greenbrier was found in Hidden Lake and 

 Phegley prairies. 



Smilax rotundifolia L. This woodland 

 species was seen in Phegley, Government 

 Rock, and Cave Creek prairies. 



Am.aryllid.aceae 



Agave virgiiiica L. American aloe was 

 seen on stony slopes at Allen Lake and 

 Cave Creek, and on loess slopes at Fults, 

 Sampson, and Phegley. It was obser\ed 

 also on rock ledges at South Prairie du 

 Rocher and Stotz. The mature plants 

 seem to flower every year. In thin soil 

 on rock, the plants have short vertical 

 stems and leaf-bases that vary in length 

 with the depth of the soil. The fleshy roots 

 radiate horizontally over the rock surface. 

 In places, chiefly on rock ledges, the ro- 

 settes form fair-sized patches. 



Irid.aceae 



*Belamcanda chinensis (L. ) DC. 

 Blackberry-lily, an Asiatic species that is 

 very common on open wooded slopes in 

 Pike and Greene counties, where it 

 forms dense stands on the basal slopes of 



the bluffs, was found in loess at Walnut 

 Creek and in the woodland border at 

 Swarnes. 



Sisyriiuhium albiduin Raf. This blue- 

 eyed grass was found growing in loess in 

 11 hill prairies, most of them in southern 

 Illinois. 



Sisyrinchiurii cainptslrf Bickn. This 

 species occurred in 14 hill prairies in cen- 

 tral and northern Illinois, from El Rancho 

 south to Block House. 



()rchid.ace.ae 



Spirant lies cernua (L.) Rich. Nod- 

 ding ladies'-tresses were seen at Clen- 

 denny, Reavis Spring, Bluff Springs, and 

 Phegley, in each case in loess. They were 

 fairly frequent at Reavis Spring. 



S.ALICACE.AE 



Populus deltoides Marsh. A few indi- 

 viduals of eastern Cottonwood were found 

 in L rsa and Homan hill prairies. 



Populus grandideiitata Michx. The 

 large-toothed aspen, usuall\ found on 

 wooded bluffs, occurred as small trees in 

 Menominee Station, Hill-Top, and South 

 Palisades hill prairies. 



Populus tremuloides Michx. Quaking 

 aspen was observed in the prairie at Me- 

 nominee Station, North Savanna, and 

 Balk. It and the large-toothed aspen 

 were "in" but not "of" hill prairie. 



Salix hutnilis Marsh. Prairie willow 

 was collected from si\ hill prairies. 



JUGLANDACEAE 



Carya texana Buckl. Buckley's or black 

 hickor\ (including varieties) is a tree of 

 dry upland woods. Seedlings occasion- 

 ally were found growing on the upper 

 prairie slopes at \'almeyer, Sampson, and 

 Phegley. Here it was found also at the 

 bluff-top in the woodland border. 



Juglans nigra L. Small individuals of 

 black walnut were seen in .North Sa- 

 vanna, Homan, Fall Creek, Walnut 

 Creek, and North Kldred prairies. Large 

 specimens were never found in prairie, 

 only in the adjacent coves and bluflF 

 woods. 



Betulaceae 



Cnrylus ameritana Walt. .American 

 hazel, a species of woods and thickets. 



