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patches of barren sand. Cowles (2) in 1899 described the ecology 

 of these dunes, and showed conclusively that the flora is xero- 

 phytic. Coulter (i) listed the vascular plants of these oak dunes, 

 totalling 43 species, all of which are of a xerophytic character. 

 The nature of the situation is best shown by listing some of the 

 most conspicuous and abundant plants contributing to the 

 undergrowth. These are Pteris aquilina, Lupinus perennis, 

 Viola pedata lineariloha, Opiintia Rafinesguii, Vaccinium penn- 

 sylvanicum and Phlox pilosa. The Indian pipe, not being 

 abundant, seems to have been entirely overlooked by the numer- 

 ous investigators of the sand dune flora. Its scarcity, however, 

 may be due to other than edaphic causes. Coulter (i) reports 

 it as widely distributed throughout Indiana, but not abundant, 

 so it may be as common here as in more mesophytic areas in the 

 state. This author listed the counties in which the plant has 

 been found, but it seems not to have been reported from any of 

 the counties bordering the lake, nor from any of the counties 

 adjacent to these, although it doubtless occurs in all. I 

 found at the above mentioned station September 15, 1912 a 

 single clump of this species at the base of a black oak {Qiiercus 

 velutina), consisting of three stalks, evidently of recent appear- 

 ance, as the summit of the stems showed no tendency to become 

 erect as is the case when the fruit matures. Stalks of the pre- 

 ceding year were also found. Early in October of the same year 

 I found in a similar situation at Dune Park, a few miles east of 

 Miller, another clump of these plants with the seeds nearly all 

 shed. It is seen, therefore, that the aerial life of this species 

 is very brief, doubtless of less than a month in duration, at least 

 in this locality. While the plants found at Miller were some- 

 what dwarfed, the two dried stems before me measuring 11 and 

 12.5 cm., they are considerably above the minimum height, .5 

 dm., given in Gray's Manual. 



It should be here noted that Coulter (i) reports tke species 

 as occasional on dry wooded hillsides in the southern counties of 

 Indiana, and I have myself found it on the summits of dry oak 

 covered hills in DeWitt Co., Illinois, where the plants are locally 

 abundant. Such habitats, while probably not nearly so xero- 



