THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



85 



in that district, it cannot withstand the dry winds of the upland 

 plains and hills, and occurs in patches, which are, as a rule, 

 protected from rough weather by thickets and banks. The 

 species does not flourish among the trees, however. Xo doubt, 

 the moister prairies of the upper Mississippi suit it very well. 

 Its restricted distribution where I found it is very Hkely due 

 to its adaptation to sheltered and well-watered spots. Rydberg 

 mentions it as one of the plants that have migrated up the 

 streams of the Black Hills country. 



yiy notes, made several years ago, contain no allusion to 

 its odor and my recollection is that there is none that is notice- 

 able. The color of the corolla is lavender-blue. The plant 

 has very much the aspect of a cultivated form, with its large, 

 showy flowers and its thickish, cordate-clasping leaves. In the 

 locality where I found its colonies, no other plant appeared to 

 dispute its occupancy of the ground. Wild roses of more than 

 one species are in bloom at the same time with our Pentstemon, 

 and one kind is shown in the picture. 



Among the contemporaries of Pentstemon are Ribes 

 aureuni and R. floridunv, which grows close to the water's edge, 

 while Erys'umini conceals, with abundant yellow, the old field- 

 sites that the Indians have given back to Nature. On the 

 heights at this time are blooming the red false-mallow {Mai- 

 vastnini coccineiim) , Calochortus, milk-vetches (Astragalus) , 

 Psoralea^ and numberless others. 



"The beautiful is as useful as the useful," and the one 

 use which I have known this Pentstemon to subserve is shown 

 in the illustration. 



