116 Union Bay 



I refer to established introductions only, those which ap- 

 parently have become a permanent part of the marsh flora. 

 In the period I have been a marsh observer I have watched 

 the extension of only four such plants, the history of which 

 may prove to be of interest. 



One of these plants, bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the 

 pea family and originally came from Europe, first arriving 

 in the eastern states and later here. Its pleasing yellow, or 

 yellow and red, flowers grow on numerous stems which come 

 from the same root. The leaves are divided into three leaflets. 

 The plant is a perennial and, once started, is hard to stop. 

 Whether it spread overland to the West from the East or 

 whether that important method, ship's ballast, brought it 

 directly to the West from Europe is not known. Neither have 

 I been able to determine how early it appeared in other parts 

 of the state. One spring I found a plant or two on the banks 

 of the ship canal in the marsh. When I checked it and found 

 that it was an extremely troublesome weed with the habit 

 of dominating much of the territory it entered, I determined 

 to uproot it and see if it were possible, by early action, to 

 keep it out of the marsh. I pulled these first plants, but when, 

 in the following spring, I found it in a dozen spots, and 

 learned that it was established elsewhere in the state, I made 

 no further attempt to control it. One botanist refers to its 

 habitat as "Waste places, in a few instances invading fields. " 

 This would place it as a plant of wide tolerance because in 

 the marsh it grows in places which are submerged for a few 

 weeks or more in spring. I hear sometimes of its establish- 

 ment in other districts, and doubtless we of the marsh are 

 about to witness the invasion of a plant, which, although 

 rather pretty and unobjectionable at present, may become 

 extremely annoying in certain places. 



Another plant whose entry I have observed with more 

 complacency is the yellow or sword flag, an iris with leaves 

 wider and of a lighter green than those of a cattail. The 



