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PREFACE. 



The following catalogue of the plants growing without cultivation 

 in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, is based chiefly on the collec- 

 tions made by the writer during the last thirty years and now in the 

 herbarium of the New England Botanical Club at Cambridge, supple- 

 mented by those of other members of the Club, deposited in the same 

 place. A few species are entered in the list which are not represented 

 in that herbarium but no species has been admitted which the writer 

 has not personally examined. In the case of difficult groups every 

 effort has been made to have the writer's identification verified by 

 competent authorities: In the Appendix a list is given of plants which 

 have been attributed to the County, specimens of which have not 

 been seen by the writer or by some competent authority. A list is also 

 given in the Appendix of plants which the writer believes have been 

 attributed to the County through error. 



No catalogue of the plants of Berkshire County has been published 



since Dewey's list in 1829 (vid. Introduction, p. 178). The great 



advance made in our knowledge of the New England flora since then 



seems to justify the publication at this time of a summary of our 



present knowledge of the flora of the region. 



S" That such a list must be incomplete goes without saying. Addi- 



i^ tional introduced plants are likely to make their appearance at any 



— - time. There are doubtless a few native plants in the County which 



"77 have up to the present eluded the search of collectors. Our knowledge 



of the range within the County of some of the plants in the list is still 



incomplete. One of the functions of a local list is to stimulate students 



to add to the knowledge therein contained. The writer will be glad to 



hear from anyone who has additional data to offer. Communications 



to be of value should be accompanied by specimens from which the 



identity can be determined, together with particulars of occurrence, 



etc. These specimens should be properly dried under pressure. 



In the present list the names of all indigenous species, varieties, and 



S forms are printed in bold-faced type; those of introduced species, 



'^"^ varieties, and forms in small capitals. The nomenclature and order 



uV followed are those of Gray's Manual, seventh edition, except where a 



later name has apparently received the sanction of the editors of the 



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