FOREWORD 



This book is a selection of more than 600 of the more common wild 

 rtowers of Illinois. It has not been intended as a complete botanical 

 record, either seasonally or geographically, but rather as a guide to 

 the enjoyment of those flowers most frequently met in walks through 

 our woods and fields. For that reason the descriptions are as non- 

 technical as possible, and the less familiar botanical terms employed 

 are explained in the introductory chapter. 



This way of presenting to the people of Illinois, and especially 

 the youth, an ordered description of the state's principal wild flowers 

 originated in a manuscript acquired by the Natural History 

 Survey in 1929. It was written by Dr. W. B. MacDougall, then 

 assistant professor of botany in the University of Illinois. 



Publication of the book was delayed until a suitable place for it 

 could be found in the Survey series, and by the time of its allocation 

 another and inclusive project had been undertaken which materially 

 afl^ected much of the original writing. This project was the Flora of 

 Illinois, for the compilation of which Dr. Herman S. Pepoon of 

 Chicago was engaged. To sustain a more perfect agreement between 

 the two texts, Dr. Pepoon was consulted on the preparation of this 

 wild flower collection, and to him fell the task of checking the new 

 information and revising the keys. In this manner about one 

 hundred sixty additional species were placed in the work, mostly as 

 footnotes, and all the main descriptions were reworked to conform to 

 the standard of information it was felt that each should supply. 



Without the assistance of several Illinois botanists the book 

 could not have merited the confidence of its sponsors or the public 

 to whom it is presented. Dr. MacDougall having removed from 

 the state, it was found necessary to confer with other scientists. 

 It is for this reason that authorship of the book is not ascribed to 

 one writer, and that we record our thanks and appreciation of those 

 friends who have contributed to this endeavor. 



Nomenclature, which follows the seventh edition of Gray's 

 Manual except for a few obligatory changes, has been certified by 

 Mr. Paul G. Standley of the Field Museum of Natural History, 

 Chicago. Two sections in the introductory chapter have been 

 prepared by men outside the Survey staff — the ecological material 

 entitled "Plants in Their Homes," page 2, by Dr. George D. Fuller, 

 associate professor of botany in the University of Chicago, and the 



