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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



When fine specimens are collected, suitable for press- 

 ing and properly mounting in a botanical album, the 

 study of these beautiful plants is most fascinating, not to 

 say useful and important. Either family is divided 



into num erous 

 tribes, genera, and 

 species, while in 

 the case of the 

 Grass family at 

 least two sub- 

 families are us- 

 ually recognized. 

 In the present 

 article it is not 

 my intention to 

 enter very exten- 



THIS GRASS IS KNOWN AS LYME GRASS 

 OR WILD RYE 



Fig. 1 All the grasses of the genus Elymus 

 are, for the most part, of this dainty order; this 

 is probably the species known as the Canadian 

 Lyme Grass (Elymus canadensis}. 



sively into this subject ; but on the 

 other hand it will be of interest to 

 present a few specimens, in that the 

 reader may appreciate not only what 

 beautiful pictures we may obtain 

 from such by the use of the camera, 

 but also to illustrate their wide vari- 

 ation, delicate structure, and attrac- 

 tive appearance. The species figured 

 are all abundant types in many parts 

 of the eastern United States, and we 

 may collect, in an afternoon's ram- 

 ble, scores of other species equally 

 beautiful. 



One group or genus of the grasses 

 are known as the Wild Ryes or Lynie grasses ( Fig. i ) : 

 there are some ten or a dozen species of them in the 

 northeastern section of the country, and they have been 

 grouped in the genus Elymus a term derived from the 

 Greek, and which was applied in ancient times to some 

 sort of grain or other. The Canadian Lyme grass shown 

 in Figure I flourishes generally in sandy soil from Nova 

 Scotia, westward to Manitoba, and southward to the 

 Gulf. A subspecies of it, known as E. c. glaucifolius, 

 has been described, but it is difficult to distinguish it. 

 Some of the species of Elymus are very distinct and 

 readily recognized, as the prairie species known as 

 Macoun's Lyme grass (. macounii), which is found to 



be more or less abundant in Minnesota and Iowa and 

 from thence westward. 



Another exquisite and very abundant species of sedge 

 is found, with many others, in the extensive genus 

 Cyperus, and a pretty illustration of it is shown in 

 Figure 2, it being C. hystricinus, described by Fernald. 

 It may be known as the Spiny galingale Galingale be- 

 ing the common or vernacular name applied to these 

 sedges, the species of the genus Cyperus. As a rule, the 

 various species are found growing during the summer 

 in sandy barrens, waste fields, or dry woods. Only a 

 few grow in rich soil, as C. echinatus, found in Virginia 

 to Missouri and southwards. The sedges of this group 

 are very striking and not difficult to identify, notwith- 

 standing the fact that some of them run pretty close. 

 Very frequently we find a number of different species 

 of sedges and grasses growing to- 

 gether in the same area; in fact we 

 may often gather half a dozen of 

 either group in an area of an hun- 

 dred square feet, if the soil and con- 

 ditions be favorable ; this renders 

 their collecting especially interesting 

 and attractive. For example, where 

 we met with the just-described 

 species growing luxuriantly, we may 

 often find the related species known 



SEVERAL OF THE SEDGE FAMILY (Cvper- 

 area,) HAVE THE FORM OF THIS ONE 



Fig. 2 An example of Cyperus hystricinus 

 from Maryland; it is more or less nearly re 

 lated to such sedges as C. lancastriensis and 

 C. dipsaciformis. The beautiful caterpillar 

 shown is the larva of our well-known Io moth 

 ( Autoineres io). It was in this exact position 

 when the plant was collected. 



as C. ovularis 

 flourishing ; it is 

 shown here in 

 Figure 3. It is 

 readily recognized 

 by its globular 

 beads and the dis- 

 tinctive character 

 of its other struc- 

 tures. In fact, in this part of the United States we have 

 no other sedge wherein the heads are as globular as in 

 this species. In waste ground around the city of Phila- 

 delphia we meet with a species that appears to have been 



NEARLY EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR WITH 

 THIS CHARACTERISTIC SEDGE (C. ovu 

 laris), A MOST ABUNDANT SPECIES. 



Fig. 3 Sometimes the heads are double, as is 

 here seen on the largest ray to the left. 



