Pool: THE VEGETATION OF THE SANDHILLS OF NEBRASKA 291 



to result in very sharply delimiting these closely related formations. 

 The meadow formation in its Aarious aspects is often very 

 highly developed as a belt, or a series of belts, about lakes and 

 ponds and in the lower valleys in many parts of the sandhills. 

 Neighboring marshes are sometimes connected by a stretch of 

 slightly higher land covered by meadow associations. 



THE RUSH-SEDGE WET MEADOW ASSOCIATION 



The earliest stage in the development of meadow vegetation 

 and one of the most- common types of this formation throughout its 

 range in the sandhills is the rush-sedge wet meadow association. 

 From their sub-paludose nature wet meadows are characterized bv 

 the presence of sedges and sedgelike plants of the genus J uncus, 

 commonly termed rushes. Some such meadows contain little in 

 addition to sedges while in other places the J unci are dominant. 

 A'ery commonly the two groups occur in various mixtures. Alanv 

 other moisture-loving species become especially abundant as second- 

 ary species wherever the association is more or less open. The 

 extremely rich floristic composition of this association is indicated 

 in the lists that follow. 



Composition of the Rush-Sedge Association 



Carex trichocarpa 

 Eleocharis acicularis 

 Eleocharis acuminata 

 Eleocharis glaucescens 

 Eleocharis palustris 

 JiiJicus balticus 



Agrostis hyenialis 

 Caltha palustris 

 Campanula aparinoides 

 Distichlis spicata 

 Dodocatheon meadia 

 Halerpestes cymbalaria 

 Juncus longistylis 

 Lilium umhellatum 

 Lotus americanus 



dominant species 



Juncus marginatus 

 Juncus nodosus 

 Juncus tenuis 

 Juncus torreyi 

 Scirpus americanus 



principal species 



Lyfhruni alatmn 

 Panicularia americana 

 Panicularia nervata 

 Plantago eriopoda 

 Spartina cynosuroides 

 Steiron ema ciliatum 

 Strophostyles pauciHora 

 Trizlochin maritima 



