30 Flora of Peoria. 
There is no Betula, Fagus or Castanea. 
There is more leaf surface, more wood, but much less timber than there 
was fifty years ago. This is easily accounted for; then the fires kept down 
the young growth which sprang up thickly and grew rapidly as soon as they 
were prevented. The great oaks and walnuts, those grand old monarchs of 
the forest, which were common in early days, together with most of the other 
valuable timbers, have been cut away and used for building and other pur- 
poses. Many times have I seen white oak and walnut trees four feet in diam- 
eter, thirty and forty feet to a limb and straight as an arrow, but they have all 
disappeared. 
The composite is here as in other parts of the United States the most nu- 
merous of the herbacea, there being thirty-four genera, thirty of which are 
indigenous and four introduced; and one hundred and thirty-seven species, 
one hundred and twenty-seven indigenous and ten introduced. The Asters 
and Solidagos are the most numerous, there being twenty-one species of Asters 
and eighteen of Solidagos. This is a paradise for these genera. In the fall 
the borders of the woods are blue with asters and the prairies yellow with 
Golden Rods. The Helianthus and Silphium are abundant. In late summer 
and early autumn they are a very conspicuous part of our flora. There are 
ten indigenous species of the former and four of the latter. The Rudbeckia, 
Lepachys, Actinomeris, Coreopsis, Helenium and Bidens are quite abundant 
and add much to the golden hue of the autumn landscape. The Antennaria 
plantaginifolia is the first composite to flower in the spring and whitens many 
of our hills. While it is yet in flower the Erigeron bellidifolium mingles with 
it and extends to lower and more moist ground with a tinge of bluish purple 
in its flowers. A little later the E. Philidelphicum, E. annuum and HE. stri- 
gosum opens out, the two former white, flesh-color or shaded with purple, the 
latter pure white. These are abundant in copses and open places. The 
Eupatoriums are among ths most common and conspicuous of the composite 
order. We have the E. purpurium, E. altissimum, E. sessilifolium, E. perfolia- 
tum, E. serotinum and E. ageratoides. The E. purpurium grows on moist 
ground, but there is a smaller variety of it found in our swamps with rich 
purple flowers quite showy and handsome. The E. perfoliatum, or boneset, is 
abundant in places. The E. serotinum covers much of our bottom land, and 
the beautiful white E. ageratoides is abundant in the copses, especially on the 
north hillsides. The Cacalia, though rather rare, has four representatives:— 
C. suaveolens, C. reniformis, C, atriplicifolia and C. tuberosa. 
The Leguminosz order is represented by twenty genera, eighteen indigenous 
and two introduced, wlth forty species, thirty-six of which are indigenous and 
four introduced. 
The Rosace order eleven genera and twenty-one species, all indigenous. 
The Ranunculace order eleven genera and twenty-two species, all indigenous. 
The Cruciferze order eleven genera and seventeen species, twelve indigenous 
and five introduced. 
The Umbelliferze twelve genera and eighteen species, seventeen indigenous 
and one introduced. 
The Scrofulareacze fourteen genera, twenty-two species, nineteen indigenous 
and three introduced. 
The Labeatee fifteen genera, thirteen indigenous and two introduced; twen- 
ty-four species, twenty-one indigenous and three introduced. 
The Orchidace has genera and sixteen species, all indigenous. 
There are ten genera and seventy-seven species of Cyperace, all indigenous. 
The number of genera of Graminez in this vicinity is thirty-six, of species 
eighty, sixty-nine of which are indigenous and eleven introduced. 
These are the most numerous orders in our flora, but besides these there are 
seventy-six orders embracing one hundred and fifty-eight genera and three 
hundred and nine species, making in all about eight hundred species (788). 

