78 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The highest of all the orders, the Crowfoot Family (Ranuncu- 

 lacece) is represented by forty-two. Characteristic among these 

 for their humble beauty are six species and one variety of Anemone. 

 Five species and one variety of Crowfoot (Ranunculus) are abun- 

 dant in their season. The Larkspurs (Delphinium) are still more 

 abundant. No species, however, of this family is so remarkable 

 for its beauty and abundance as the Columbine (Aquilegia.) They 

 are a conspicuous form along the line of the Burlington & Missouri 

 Railroad in Nebraska, between Ashland and Plattsmouth. Here they 

 grow to a size, and attain to a beauty rarely witnessed elsewhere. 



Among the early flowering plants the violets here, as elsewhere, 

 hold a conspicuous place. No temperate region is complete without 

 them. Eleven species adorn our prairies and woodlands. One of 

 them, the Downy Yellow Violet ( Viola pubescens) is found only 

 in the belts of timber. The Larkspur Violet ( V. delphinefolia) 

 and the Arrow-leaved Violet ( V. sagittatd) are the most abun- 

 dant. Their abundance sometimes is so great in woodlands that 

 they give a violet hue to the ground and exclude all other forms. 



In the Pink family no flower is so abundant as the Starry Cam- 

 pion (Silene stellatd). Its favorite locality is the thick underbrush 

 of woodlands. 



The Mallows are represented by some delicately beautiful forms. 

 Chief among these is one with scarlet flowers and branching stems 

 (Callirrhoe involucrata). Another (C. triangulate?}, is more abun- 

 dant, and only less beautiful than the last. Another, with a scarlet 

 salmon color, shading into yellow purple, grows in patches cover- 

 ing the ground. This is one of the most desirable for cultivation. 

 Two species of Hebiscus are abundant, but one of them (If. trior- 

 num) which has become abundant in many parts of the State, is a 

 foreigner, having escaped from cultivated grounds. 



The Pulse Family (Leguminosce) are exceedingly abundant in 

 species and individuals. One of the earliest of the species of this 

 order to bloom is the Ground Plum (Astragalus caryocarpus), 

 so called by the early " voyageurs" over the plains. Its young 

 tender pods are no mean substitute for peas, as I many times ascer- 

 tained by experience when camped on the unsettled prairies. Its 

 purplish violet racemes of flowers which often shade into white, 

 are the most conspicuous forms on the plains in their season. 

 There are nineteen other species of Astragalus in the State, many 

 of which with intense scarlet flowers are marvelously beautiful. 



