98 Trans. Acad. Sct. of St. hous. 
down as the Grand Falls, some two or three miles below. 
On two or three of these excursions Mr. B. F. Bush has 
accompanied me; and I am indebted to him for the de- 
termination of a number of the species. 
The picturesque scenery along this part of the creek 
attracts many picnic parties and campers from Joplin 
and other nearby towns. The locality has been known 
to geologists since Swallow first described it in the old 
Missouri Reports of 1855. In connection with the work 
of the Geological Survey Professor Broadhead also made 
a small collection of plants in the vicinity of Grand 
Falls. The botany of the barrens formed by the chert 
exposures, scarcely less interesting than the geology of 
the region that has been studied by both the United 
States and State Surveys, presents several features 
worthy of investigation and description. To the en- 
thusiastic collector the locality is one of special interest 
on account of the presence of a number of plants that 
are rare or unknown elsewhere in this part of the coun- 
try. The peculiar ecological conditions under which 
the plants grow, and which undoubtedly make it possible 
for them to maintain themselves against the encroach- 
ments of the common dominant species that surround 
them, while at the same time limiting their range strictly 
to the area occupied by ‘this particular geological for- 
mation, also offer an interesting field for study. 
In the present paper only a brief sketch can be given 
of the singular physiographic features of the region and 
the resulting peculiarities of the local flora. The local- 
ity is one that would well repay a closer study with a 
more complete list of plants than that appended, which 
is based on the results of several hasty collecting trips 
at various times in the year, although scarcely covering 
the entire season. However it is intended to include 
all of the higher plants noted that seem peculiar to the 
region as well as a number common to the dry woods 
and prairies surrounding the barrens. 
The geological formation that gives rise to the Shoal 
