342 



THE AMERICAN 



§0lHniraI gepartmml. 



Dr. GEOUGE VASEY, Editor, Kichviow, Ills. 



MARITIME PLANTS OF THE GREAT LAKES AND 

 THE INTERIOR. 



The occurrence on the sliores of the Great 

 Lakes and in tlie interior of tlie Continent of 

 a considerable number of plants which are 

 n.tuall)' confined to the vicinity of the sea-.^hore, 

 has given rise to .some speculation as to the 

 cause of the phenomenon. The plants of this 

 cliaracter are not confined to any particular 

 family, although the Grasses and Sedges are 

 probably most frequently i-epresented. On the 

 beach in the vicinity of Chicago the Sand-reed 

 (Calaniar/roslis arenaria) sends its long fibrous 

 matted roots deeply into the sand, binding to- 

 gether the shifting soil, giving stability and 

 permanence to the lacustrine boundaries. The 

 Bur-grass (C'enchi-us tribuloides) presents liere 

 and there prickly clumps which are the horror 

 of bare-footed juveniles; and the Baltic Itush 

 (Juiicus Balticus) by means of its creeping 

 tangled rhizomas, striking root at every joint, 

 is an eflScient co-worker with the Sand-reed in 

 giving firmness to the sandy shore. 



This work is also performed by various spe- 

 cies of Cyperus, Scirpus, and Carex, which, 

 however are more extended and cosmopolitan 

 in their range. In the low ground back from 

 the lake the Squirrel-tail grass, (Hovdeum 

 jnbatum) waves in graceful billows before the 

 breeze. The Arrow-grass {Triglochin 3Iariti- 

 miirn) is common in the wet marshes near the 

 lake ; and in pools connected with the lake are 

 many Pond weeds, among them a species (Foto- 

 niageton pectinatus), which also abounds in 

 similar situations along the seacoast. 



The sea-side Spurge {Euj)horbia polygoni- 

 folia) luxuriates in the clean, loose sand of the 

 ridges near the lake shore. 



Atriplex hastata a plant of the pig-weed 

 family (Chenopodiacece) common on the sea- 

 shore has also recently been found in the vici- 

 Jiity of the lake. Another remarkable plant of 

 this family {Corispermmn hyssopifoKum) is an 

 immigrant to the lake borders from the far 

 Northwest, and has followed the line of the 

 lakes down as far as Buffalo on Lake Erie. 



Tlicre are perhaps no Composite in the neigh- 

 borhood of the Great Lakes which are at all 

 peculiar to the seashore. The Arlemesia cau- 

 data which occurs on the New England coast 

 appears also ou the lake shore, but is not con- 

 fiaed to it, beiug fouad also far in the interior. 



The Prickly pear, (Opuntia vulgaris) once 

 very abundant in sandy fields north of Chicago 

 still occurs in limited quantities, and when iu 

 bloom presents a very showy appearance from 

 the large yellow flowers with which the prickly 

 masses are covered. 



The Beach pea {Lathyrus maritimus) also 

 makes its appearance on the shores of the Great 

 lakes, seemingly quite as much at home as in 

 the vicinity of salt water. 



Of Cruciferous plants from the seashore we 

 have the Sea-Rocket, {Cakile Americana) grow- 

 ing in the pure sand " almost to the water's 

 edge." 



The sea-side Crowfoot (^Ranunculus cymbala- 

 ri.a), (the subject of an article iu a previous num- 

 ber), is abundant in the neighborhood of Chi- 

 cago, and in the vicinity of the Salina (N.Y.) 

 salt-springs, but not elsewhere East until we 

 reach the Atlantic coast. 



The attention of our Chicago botanists has 

 been directed to this subject, and some theories 

 have been advanced as to the origin or intro- 

 duction of these peculiar plants. 



In a paper read before the Chicago Botanical 

 Society, by Mr. II. A. Warne, after a review of 

 'most of the plants which we have mentioned 

 he proceeds to say : 



" It is an interesting" question why it is these 

 maratime plants are found so far inland, and yet 

 confined to the borders of the great fresh water 

 lakes. How came they here? Have they by 

 some means been brought from the Eastern 

 coast and become accustomed to new conditions 

 of life, passing through a process of weaning 

 from a saline soil and atmosphere? Or have 

 these species, wherever found, no siiecial relish 

 for maritime conditions of life, including the 

 presence of salt? Two of the plants enumera- 

 ted, it appears from Gray's Manual, are also 

 found inland ai-ound the salt springs at Salina, 

 N. Y., thus seeming to be naturally attached to 

 a saline region. It is, therefore, the more re- 

 markable to find them here by the side of fresh 

 water, and restricted to the region of the Great 

 Lakes. 



The other species mentioned are all true 

 maratime plants, but do not so plainly Indicate 

 the relish for salt. Yet still the question re- 

 turns, how shall we explain the pi'esence of 

 these seaside plants here? How shall we solve 

 this relation of the Great Lakes to the sea? 

 The problem may seem utterly insoluble; but 

 if we accept the theories of those distinguished 

 naturalists, who pronounce each vegetable or- 

 ganism the lineal descendant of the plants of 

 the past, even to the remotest epochs of geolo- 

 gical history, however changed they may be 

 from original types, and adapted to modified 

 conditions of life, we may readily find a solu- 

 tion of their presence here, in the existence of 

 a vast ocean, of which the chain of Great Lakes 

 are but the pools remaining after a redistribu- 

 tion of the waters, freshened, it may be, by 



