30 The Vegetation of the 



upward, and the same may be said of a number of monocarpic and rhizo- 

 earpic species. 



Flora Peoriana shall be called that complex of species and varieties of 

 plants that occur around the city of Peoria within a radius of 10 or 12 

 miles. About 80 per cent, of this area was originally covered by woods, 

 original prairie was little, and there is nearly none now. 



THE FOREST. 



Generally the forest is mixed of many species, although some are so- 

 ciable but never excluding others f. i. the white oak and the hickories, 

 with the hazel as undergrowth in the upland, and the willows and cotton 

 wood in the bottoms. 



The whole number of woody plants included, the small shrubs is 

 112 in 58 genera and 30 orders: Ranunculacese, 1; Anonaceas, 1; Menisp- 

 ermacese, 1: Tiliace^, 1; Anacardiaceae, B; Rutacese, 2; Vitacese, 4; Rham- 

 nacese, 3; Celastracese, 2; Sapindacese, 5; Leguminosae, 4; Rosaces, 15; 

 Saxifragaceae, 3; Hamaraeliaceae, 1; Cornacese, 6; Caprifoliacese, 6; Rubi- 

 acese, 1; Ericaceae, 3; Ebenaceae, 1; Bignoniacea, 1; Oleaceac, 5; Lauraceae, 

 1; Thymelaceae, 1; TJrticaceae, 4; Platanaceae, 1; Juglandaceae, 8; Cupuli- 

 ferae, 12; Salicaceae, 13; Coniferae, 2; Smilaeeae, 1. 



The biggest trees are the white elm, the sycamore, the cottonwood, 

 the soft maple, the white oak and the swamp white oak. They attain 

 often a diameter of 15 decimeter; then follow with an average thickness 

 of 13 decimeter, the scarlet, red and burr oak, the sugar maple, the black 

 walnut, the two shell-bark hickories, the pignnt and mockernut, the bass- 

 wood, the box elder, the honey locust and the hackberry; of 6 to 9 deci- 

 meter; the five species of ash, the slippery elm, the butternut, the pecan, 

 the bitternut, the shingle and chestnut oak, the cofEeenut, the wild cherry; 

 a thickness of 3 to 6 decimeter attain the mulberry, buckeye, sassafras, the 

 American and large-toothed aspen, black willow and the red cedar. 



Small trees are the persimmon, seryice berry, red bud, paw paw, horn- 

 beam, hop hornbeam, crabapple, sheep berry, plum, buckthorn, hop tree 

 and the haw thorn. 



Large shrubs often of tree form with stems 1 decimeter thick are the 

 following: witch hazel, wahoo, prickly ash, bladdernut, long-leaved wil- 

 low, smooth sumach, the silky, panicled and alternate-leaved cornel, the 

 black haw. Large shrubs are the hazelnut, the false indigo, chokecherry, 

 elder, button bush, rough-leaved and red osier dog wood, arrow wood, aro- 

 matic sumach, the silky and glaucous willows. 



Very small shrubs are three species of roses: the New Jersey tea, cur- 

 rant and gooseberry; leather wood, the hoary, prairie, dwarf and myrtle 

 willows; black huckleberry, low blueberry, bearberry, wild hydrangea and 

 the alder-leaved buckthorn. 



