FIELD AND FOREST. 8l 



The Flora of Nashville. 



At the recent meeting of the American Association at Nashville, the 

 botanical section, though without officers or formal organization, per- 

 haps accomplished as much in the way of exploration of the surround- 

 ing region, as any section, devoting itself quite as assiduously to field 

 meetings, as to those at the capitol. 



This article will seek to give some of their results. 



The season was not the best, the summer flora had nearly passed 

 away, and the autumnal inflorescence, especially of the Compositae was 

 not at its height. Moreover there had been a drought of several 

 weeks duration. 



Nor is the geological character of the region favorable for the bo- 

 tanist: The limestone basin in the middle of which the city stands, 

 has only a very shallow covering of soil, so that vegetation, if it-es- 

 capes being pastured down, easily dries up. The city stands upon a 

 ledge, its gardens have only a few inches of soil, its cellars are 

 blasted out of the solid rock which crops out on all sides, and over 

 which the streets are laid out. 



The banks of the Cumberland river offer the most hopeful field 

 to the botanist. 



The infelicities of the locality and season, however, were largely 

 supplemented by the faithful labor for years, of Dr. A. Gattinger, 

 formerly State Librarian, a thorough student and enthusiast in natural 

 science, who has diligently explored not only the immediate vicinity, 

 but other points as Tullahoma, Cowan, Whiteside, and other rich lo- 

 calities. 



With unstinted generosity, he turned over to the botanists present, 

 huge fasciculi, enclosing the labors of years, and insisted that we 

 should divide them up as trophies. Most of the rarer plants enum- 

 ated here, are the fruits of his collections, and determined some by 

 himself and some by Win. M. Canby, Esq., since our return. 



Growing in the Capitol grounds, are seen in the early morning, the 

 bright blue flowers of Ruellia ciliosa and Commelyna Virginica. In 

 the waste places along the streets are noticed Eupatorium serotinum, 

 Crotott capitatum and monanthogynum, and in one place Solamim ros- 

 tratiun, recently arrived from farther west. 



