ON THE FLORA OF MADISON AND VICINITY, A PRE¬ 
LIMINARY PAPER ON .THE FLORA OF DANE 
COUNTY, WISCONSIN. 
BY L. S. CHENEY AND R. H. TRUE. 
In its conception, the plan of the work which has resulted in 
this paper, included merely the formation of a list of the 
phsenogamous flora of Madison and vicinity. As the work pro¬ 
gressed, however, the determination of limits became increasingly 
difficult and it was finally resolved to make the results already 
obtained the first instalment of a list of the flora of Dane county. 
It, therefore, follows that the list, fairly complete through the 
Bryophyta, for the original locality, becomes a rather meager 
one for the larger area. As it is intended to thoroughly can¬ 
vass the remaining parts of the county as time may permit, it 
Las seemed best to entitle this paper “a preliminary list, ” with 
a request that errors and additions be kindly brought to the 
notice of the writers. 
As environment is so influential in determining the character 
of the flora of any given region, it has seemed best to preface 
the consideration of the plant life of the area in question by 
a brief notice of its topography, geological structure and meteor¬ 
ological conditions. 
In drawing up the following account, free use has been made 
of the descriptions and plates found in the “Geology of Wis¬ 
consin,”* especially Vol. II, and those desiring greater local 
detail than the limits of the subject permit here, are referred 
to that work. 
Dane county occupies a position about midway in the width 
of the State and its southern boundary is twenty-four miles 
north of the Illinois state line. It has an area of about 1,238 
♦Madison, Wis. T. C. Chamberlin, Chief Geologist, Vol. II, 1878. (Roland D. Irving, As¬ 
sociate Geologist for Central Wisconsin.) 
6—A. & L. 
