
1890.] Botany. 77 
climb up we ate berries also of Rudus strigosus Michx., Ribes aureum 
Pursh., R. foridum L., and R. rotundifolium Michx. At the base of 
the bluff the common Cystopteris fragilis Bernh., grew. Near the top, 
in more open places, we discovered the western fern Woodsia oregana 
Eaton. At the top and also over the sand hills in numerous places 
the dwarf sand cherry Prunus pumila L. occurs very plentifully. 
Along the bank of the river, just above the water’s edge, we found 
rank growths of Asplenium filix-femina Bernh., and Aspidium 
thelypteris (L.) Swartz. Nowhere else in Nebraska have I seen such 
a luxuriant growth of ferns. I collected fronds of each fully two and 
a half feet high. This is the only place the former species is known 
to occur in Nebraska. About a mile further up the stream a low wet 
patch of ground of about two acres in extent is a perfect mat of ferns 
Onoclea sensibilis L., and Aspidium thelypteris (L.) Swartz. 
The next morning we took a walk along the edge of the bluffs on 
the south side to investigate the flora and the fauna of the ‘‘ blow- 
outs.’’! Here we made some excellent finds. Right in the ‘‘ blow- 
outs,” where almost nothing else grew, we found quite commonly 
bunches of Redfieldia flexuosa Vasey (Torr. Bull., July, 1887). Such 
a find pleased me, but think of finding also in the same place bunches 
of Eragrostis tenuis (Ell.) Gray. The former has heretofore been re- 
ported from Colorado and Canadian R., the latter from Texas 
and Arizona. Both were also found in Nebraska this summer near 
Valentine. Branches of Muhlenbergia pungens Thurb. were also com- 
mon, and are found usually just at the edge of the ‘‘ blow-outs,”’ hang- 
ing over. Astragalus pictus Gray, var. filifolius Gray (bird-egg, I call 
it, from its beautifully mottled red or purple and white pods), also 
frequents the ‘‘ blow-outs.’’ These with Lathyrus polymorphus Nutt., 
Psoralea lanceolata Pursh., Pentstemon ceruleus Nutt., and sparingly 
Munroa squarrosa Porr., form at this place the principal and remark- 
able flora of the Dismal River ‘‘ blow-outs.”’ 
On the hillsides, etc., patches of buffalo grass (Buchloé dactyloides 
Engelm.) frequently occur, and in one place a few stems of Paspalum 
setaceum Michx. were found. Yucca angustifolia Pursh. is scattered 
here and there all through this region, and almost every plant has its 
leaves more or less affected by Kel/ermannia yuccigena E. and E. 
In the grass on a sandy hill another find of the trip was made, 
Tylostoma angolense Welw. and Curr. This until last year was known 
1 A “blow-out ” is a crater-like cavity in the side of a sand hill. Within it is a mass 
of loose sand, bordered by grasses and other plants which grow upon its margin. It is 
supposed to be formed by the action of the wind. 
