IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 
83 
One of the groups of algae having the widest and most general 
distribution is undoubtedly the Diatomaceae. When these are 
finally worked up for the state there will undoubtedly be found 
several hundred of species at least. They are found everywhere, 
on moist soil in stagnant and running water, wherever there is a 
fair and constant supply of moisture. 
Next in abundance to these forms come the blue green algae or 
Myxophyceae. These are found likewise ubiquitously. Although 
their total number of species is not as great as some of the other 
groups, undoubtedly they surpass the remainder many times over 
in actual number of individuals. 
The genus Spirogyra with twenty-five reported species is the 
largest with respect to number of species, although it is believed 
that some of the genera of Desmids will become a close second on a 
further study of the flora of some sections of the state. It has fre- 
quently been stated that the Desmids are not found in numbers in 
the state. This certainly is not true of the marshy districts in the 
northern part of the state where in one collection some thirteen 
species of desmids were secured. These, however, are very local 
in their distribution. Undoubtedly these sloughs in the northern 
counties of the state contain a very rich desmid flora, especially 
those that consist largely of peat. 
Some of these algae are of some little importance in that they 
grow upon the mud along streams, sometimes in dense mats shad- 
ing the ground, and retaining the moisture and making possible 
the existence of phanerogamic flora which could not exist otherwise. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF IOWA ALGAE. 
1. 1880. Hobby, Dr. C. M. List of Iowa Algae in Vicinity of 
Iowa City. Appendix. Proc. Iowa Academy of Sci- 
ences. 1880. 
2. 1882. Arthur, J. C. History of Floyd County. 
3. 1882. Bessey, Prof. C. E. A Note on the Abundance of Algae 
about Ames. American Naturalist. 
4. 1884. Bessey, Prof. C. E. Preliminary List of Zygophytes, 
Protophytes, Oophytes and Carophytes of the Ames 
Flora. Bull. Ia. Agr. College, issued by Department of 
Botany. Nov., 1884: 134-148. 
5. 1894. Shimek, B. Notes on the Aquatic Flora of Northern 
Iowa. Proc. Ia. Acad, of Sciences. 4:77. 
