The Flora of the Cayuga Lake Basin 453 



or dry nonboggy soil; Ontario plain. Cayuga Lake Valley, high hills, or ravines. In 

 this table, " marl bogs " included also the wet soil about marl springs. Under " high 

 hills " was included the region of higher altitude lying on the upper plateau of the 

 basin and extending from southwest, south, and east of Ithaca to the McLean Bogs 

 and Cortland. " Cayuga Lake Valley " included the land immediately adjoining the 

 lake and back for a mile or two imo the country, and up the Inlet Valley to Summit 

 Marsh and Spencer Lake. The two last-named localities are rather more closely 

 affiliated with the lake valley, and through it with the Ontario plain, than with the 

 surrounding highlands. " Ontario plain " in the table was considered to extend from 

 beyond the northern border of the basin southward to the foothills of the central 

 plateau at Geneva and Cayuga. From this initial table many other tables were pre- 

 pared, showing for the Ontario plain and other regions the proportion of pterido- 

 phytes, gymnosperms, monocotyledons, and dicotyledons, on acid bogs, marl bogs, or 

 wet or dry soils. 



From the tables prepared, the following generalizations may be deduced. It should 

 be borne in mind that the figures given will not always equal the totals, for some 

 plants belong in two or more categories. The generalizations are interesting ; but 

 too much weight must not be placed upon them, because they are based on a com- 

 paratively small number of plants and the experimental error is large. However, 

 when the differences are large there is little doubt that the results given are 

 significant. 



The flora of the Cayuga Lake Basin in general has a distinctly northern affinity 

 (127) ; somewhat fewer species are central (109), and distinctly fewer are southern 

 (79). There is a strongly marked western element (73), part of which is distinctly 

 of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys while the remainder is generally western. A 

 noticeable though much less extensive Atlantic coastal element (51) is evident, some 

 of which is truly of the coastal plain (28) while the remainder consists of salt-loving 

 plants (23). A small element of truly Appalachian plants is noted, though many of 

 the so-called " central " plants are more or less definitely Alleghenian, a fact which 

 has led Dudley to correctly point out that not only is this region a foothill region 

 of the Alleghenies, but also its flora is strongly Alleghenian as well. Exclusive of 

 the two kinds of bog floras, which are rather generally distributed, the northern 

 plants listed are slightly more numerous on the higher hills, the southern plants are 

 rather distinctly more abundant in the lake valley (58) with a large number on the 

 Ontario plain (41) and few on the hills (24), and the western element is distinctly 

 greatest in the Cayuga Lake Valley (S3) with few plants on the Ontario plain (17) 

 and on the high hills (17). The monocotyledons are slightly more northern than 

 the dicotyledons, while the dicotyledons show a strongly developed western affinity. 



It was found that peat bogs and marl bogs form two of the most distinct local 

 floral units, the former being generally acid in reaction and the latter weakly alka- 

 line and strongly calcareous. There were 21 monocots and 15 dicots found in peat 

 bogs, and 33 monocots and 26 dicots in marl bogs. The northern plants generally 

 outnumber those of any other region in both peat and marl bogs, the southern and 

 western plants being seldom found in bogs of either sort. Bog plants are mostly 

 common to both the Ontario plain and the higher altitudes of the hills. 



Of the plants in the list inhabiting wet nonboggy soil (146), there are more mono- 

 cotyledons than dicotyledons. The largest number occur on the Ontario plain (93) 

 and in the Cayuga Lake Valley (83), while on the hills the number is smaller (56). 

 Of these wet-soil plants, the northern (38) about equal the central (36), while only 

 19 are southern, 19 western, and a moderate number coastal (11). A strong saline 

 element is seen (21). The northern species are about equally distributed on the hills 

 (19), on the Ontario plain (19), and in the lake valley (18). The southern species 

 are more numerous in the lake valley (16) and on the Ontario plain (14L while only 

 7 are found on the hills. Of the western plants of wet soil, 14 are found in the lake 

 valley, 10 on the Ontario plain, and 5 on the high hills. Of the coastal plants, 8 



