Minnesota Plant Life. g 



are intermediate forest zones between the prairies of temperate 

 regions and the tundras about the poles. 



Minnesota is situated between the forest and prairie regions 

 of the North American continent and includes a representation 

 of each. A careful study of the populations in these regions 

 will show that each is striving to extend itself; thus wherever a 

 stream flows from the forests of the north down through the 

 prairies of the south, forest plants advance along the banks and 

 reach more southern latitudes. In Minnesota the pine trees 

 that in the north form so characteristic a growth are found in 

 isolated patches, fewer in numbers, down the Mississippi even 



FIG. 2. Prairie scene on the Coteau. Sunflowers line the roadway on either side. After 

 photograph by Mr. R. S. Macintosh. 



beyond the confines of the state, for the white pine exists upon 

 the Mississippi bluffs in Iowa. Similarly, along the open which 

 a river produces, there is chance for southern winds to distribute 

 the seeds of prairie plants, and characteristic vegetation of the 

 prairie, such as sunflowers and golden-rods, has pushed its way 

 up into the forest, leaving the larger streams along their tribu- 

 taries, and finding a path even into depths of the pine-woods 

 where the soil is favorable. It would be a great mistake to 

 count plants quiet, unenterprising creatures, not alert to make 

 use of every opportunity for growth and development. The 

 forest must rather be regarded as composed of plants eager to 

 compete with those of the prairie upon their own ground, and 

 equally must the prairie plants be regarded as ambitious on their 



