QK 169 .ATI Arthur, J Contributions to the Flora of I ova 64 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. [From Proceeding's Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, Vol. IV.] CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF IOWA.— No. VI. BY J. C. ARTHUR. Presented before the Davenport Academy of Sciences, February Sth, 1SS4. Only phanerogams have been included, heretofore, in the present series of contributions. In this number an innovation is begun by ex- tending the catalogue to the pteridophytes, which is to be continued, in succeeding numbers, until all the orders of lower plants, in their proper sequence, are eventually included. A large amount of material for this purpose is already on hand. The manner of cataloguing will be essentially the same as observed in the phanerogamic portion, and the whole is intended to finally present a uniform list of the Iowa flora. The numbers are continued from the catalogue of 1876 (Contr. No. I.). Their value lies in securing greater ease of reference, and in permitting subsequent discoveries to be readily referred to their approximate places in the list ; for, on account of the numerous interpolations, they no longer serve to show the total number of species recorded. The practice in the phanerogamic portion has been to use the nomen- clature that accords with the latest information, but to adhere to the sequence of orders given in Gray's "Manual," 5th edition. Subsequent changes of synonymy, or of previous changes not known to the writer at the time of publication, have not been recorded. On the other hand, all errors of determination have been corrected in the contribution fol- lowing their discovery. This leaves the catalogue as accurate as pos- sible in regard to the primary fact of the occurrence of the species within the State, but in some instances quite out of date in regard to synonymy and distribution. These defects can be remedied at some future time by revising the whole list, bringing the synonymy up to date, and adding the localities reported since the first publication. In enlarging the scope of the catalogue, it becomes necessary to adopt some system of classifxation for the added portion. Whatever system is used, it is desirable that it be familiar to the several collect- ors of the State and others assisting in the work, or one easily obtained by them. That given in Bessey's "Botany for High Schools and Col- leges" has, therefore, been adopted for the sequence of the orders, as \^ O T A « { e . giving, on tlie whole, the best iiiiironn classification, in accorcKhicrfwith recent views, that is accessible to all. It will be necessary, however, to reverse the order (jf the book, and pass from the higher to the lower forms, so as to make the added part of the catalogue continuous with the portion already published. 'I'he particular arrangement to be ob- served for species will jje anno. meed for each order when the first list under it is published. The ijresent contribution contains all the pteridoi)hytes or vascular cryptogams at ])resent known to occur in the State. The orders are arranged according to IJessey's "Botany," and the genera and species according to Underwood's "Our Native Ferns and their .'\.llies," a most valuable work.* The list is considered tjuite comi)lete, being much larger than has before been accredited to the State. The following named ferns, however, may quite confidently be exjjected to occur within our borders, and the attention of collectors is specially directed to their detection : Cheilaiithcs vestita, Aspleniuin ebcneum^ A. TricJio- manes, Phegopteris Dryopteris, Asp id in in Noveboracense, A. fi/ix-inas, A. tnarginale, A. cristatiim^ A. cristatiim, var. CUntonianum. The present list only covers, geographically, about one-half the State. If a nearly straight line be drawn from the northwest to the southeast corner, it will pretty accurately separate the eastern portion, the pteri- doi^hytic flora of which is cjuite well known, from the western portion, from which no specimens have yet been received. The northwestern part of the State consists almost wholly of treeless prairies, with few localities suitable to the growth of ferns and allied iilants. What the rest of the western part of the State affords must be determined by future ex[)lorations. The State as a whole is not a favored one for such plants. They are most nuinerous, in both species and individuals, along the Mississippi River, and become fewer as we pass westward. The peculiarity of the flora is well indicated in the sparseness of lyco- pods and selaginellas, but one locality being known for the only species of Lycopodium yet reported, and only two localities with few individuals for the single Selaginella. Much credit is due the several collectors for the trouble they have taken to obtain and forward specimens. Those communicating mate- rial for the present contribution are as follows : R. I. Cratty, of Arm- strong, Emmet county j E. W. Holway, of Decorah; John Leiberg, late of Mankato, Minnesota; Prof. C. E. Bessey, of Ames; Prof, and *To be ol)t:iined of the iiuthor, Prof. L. M. I'nderwood, Syratuse, N. V.; price, $1.^5. 66 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. Mrs. T. H. McBride, of Iowa City; J. G. Haupt, of Durant, Cedar county; Mrs. M. C. Carter, of Hesper; Dr. George E. Ehinger, of Keokuk; Prof. J. E. Todd, of Tabor, Fremont county; Dr. J. J. Davis, of Racine, Wisconsin; George D. Butler, of Fort Jones, California; and O. G. Young, of Raymond, Elackhawk county. Acknowledgment should also be made to several well-known botanists for determination of specimens submitted to them. Special thanks are due Prof. Bessey for placing the herbarium and other facilities of the Iowa Agricultural College at the service of the writer. Some information was obtained from an illustrated and descriptive list of Iowa ferns represented in the Agricultural College herbarium, compiled by Miss Ida Twitchell, and published in the Aurora (the college paper) for October, 1880, under the title of "Filices lowenses." Credit is also due Dr. George Engel- mann, Mr. R. Hitchcock, and Mr. N. L. Britton, for assistance in trac- ing the history of our Marsilia. I'he following plants, regarding which information has been furnished by Mr. David F. Day, of Buffalo, New York, and other collectors, are reported to be in the State, but are for the present withheld from the list, because no specimens have yet been received: Cyc/oloina plafyphvllum, Corispermuin hyssopifolhim^ Petalostenwn villosiis, Actinonieris helian- thoides, Mitlgediitin acuiniiiatum. Verbena Aubletia, Carex Jiliforinis, and Phegopteris polypodioidcs. The next contribution (No. VII. j will contain the mosses and Hver- worts. Not many specimens have yet been communicated, and in the region bordering the Mississippi River, where the most material is to be expected, there are, unfortunately, few local collectors. The present additions to the previously published lists are as follows : Phanerogamia. 204-' Desijiodinm Dil/e/iii, Darl. Keokuk. 243^ Fotentilla Fennsylvanica, L. Lyon county. 270** Hamavielis Virginiea, L. Dubuque. 288** Opimiia fragilis, Haw. Lyon county. 459** Artemisia fi igida, \N\\\(\. Lyon county. 508'' Chiniaphila i/iidh'/Iata, Nutt. Hesper. 509'^ Ilex verticillata. Gray. Osage. 539^ Veronica serpyllifolia, L. Iowa City. 540^ Veronica arvensis, L. Hesper; Keokuk. 600'' Lithospermurn aivense, L. Keokuk. 624=" Solanum rostratum, Dunal. Fremont county; Council Bluffs. CONTRIIUJTIONS TO THE FLORA OF IOWA. 67 640*^ Asclepias spcciosa, Torr. Emmet county. 683-'* Polyi^^oiiion tc/ii/c, Michx. Lyon county. 761'' A/'ies Imlsaincd, Marsh. Decorah. 783=^ Potamoi:;eton pusilliis, L. Emmet county. 794'' Spirant lies ^i:;racilis, Bigel. Decorah. 85 3*^ Eleocharis IVolJii, (xray. Emmet county. 854** Scirpus piin^^ens, Vahl. Ames. 885^^ Carex Meadii, Dew., var. Bebbii (Olney). Emmet county. 893"" Carex Pseudo-Cyperiis, "L. Spirit Lake; Emmet county. 927'' Bi/c/ihe dactyloides, }Lngc\n-i. Lyon county. 92 7^^ Graphephonim festncaceum. Gray. Emmet county. 950** Schedounardits Texanus, Steud. Lyon county. 952'' Ai^ropyniin 7'iolaceinii, \"asey. Emmet county. PtERIDOI'HV'JA. LsOETACE.^. 980 Isoeies melanopoda, J. Gay. Clinton. Selaginellace^. 981 Selaginella rupestris, 'i\mng. Lyon county; Vinton. Lycopodiace^. 982 Lycopodium lucididian, Michx. Hesper. Rhizocarpe.-e. 983 Marsilia vestita, Hook. & Grev. "Near the Mississippi River." O PH too I.OS.SACE/E. 984 Bfltrychiiim teniatitiii, Swz. Charles City. 985 BotrycJiium Virginianinn^ Swz. Common. FiLICE.S. 986 Polypodhim Tulj^are, L. Boone county; Winnesheik county; Muscatine county. 987 Adiaiitiiin pcdatiim, L. Common. 988 Ptcris aijiiilina, I .. Common. 989 C/u'ilanthes /a/uii^iiiosa, Nutt. Winnesheik county; Dubuque. 990 Pelhea i^rac-i/is, Hook. Winnesheik county; Iowa City; Charles City. Probably also at Davenport, as it is accredited to Iowa in Eaton's " Ferns of North America," on authority of Dr. Parry. 991 Pelhea atropurpurea, Lk. Mason City; Fort Dodge; Des Moines; and sparingly throughout the eastern half of the State. 992 Aspleniwn angustifolium, Michx. Delaware county. 993 Asp/e nil/ III thelypteroi des, Mxchx. Iowa City; Muscatine county. 68 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 994 Aspleiiiiiiii JiILx-fccnii/ia, Hernh. Ames; Keokuk; Winnesheik county; Emmet county; Delaware county; Muscatine county; Iowa City; Charles City. The var. Michaiixii, Mett., in Polk and Story counties. 995 Caiuptosorus rhizophyllus^ Lk. Des Moines; Ackley ; Fort Dodge; Delaware county; Iowa City; Decorah; Monticello; Musca- tine county. 996 Campiosonts rJiizophylhis, Lk., var. inteniicdiiis, Arthur. Mus- catine county. 997 Pile i:;opt c ri s }u\\a}^o)ioptera, Yin. Delaware county ; Muscatine county; Iowa City. 998 Phei:;opteris calcarea, Fe'e. Decorah. 999 Aspidiiiin aciosticlwides, Swz. Muscatine county. 1000 Aspidium Thelyptcris, Swz. Winnesheik county; Scott county; Iowa City. 1 00 1 Aspidium Goldiaiut/ii, Hook. Muscatine county. 1002 Aspidii/in spiniilosHi/i, ?i\wz. Keokuk; Muscatine county. 1003 Crs/opliT/s />/i//d/('rii, Bernh. Charles City; Winnesheik coun- ty; Delaware county; Muscatine county; Iowa City. 1004 Cystopieris fragilis, Bernh. Very common, as also the var. dc/itata, Hook. 1005 Onoclea sensibilis, ]-. Not uncommon from Charles City, Ames, and Keokuk, eastward. 1006 Onoclea Sfri/t/iiopteris, Hoftm. Throughout the eastern half of the State as far south as Iowa City; also in Emmet county. 1007 Woodsia obtusa, Torr. Johnson county; Delaware county; Winnesheik county; Boone county; Muscatine county. 1008 Osiiwnda Claytojiiana, \,. Charles City; Winnesheik county; Ames; Iowa City. P>()UISETACE/E. 1009 Egiiiselimi anw/ise, \ .. \^ery common. loio E(iiiisetiiiii Hiiiosiiiii,\.. Story county; Scott county; Emmet county. 10 1 1 Equisetitiii robustiiiii, A. Br. Keokuk; Clinton county. 10 1 2 Kquisctiiiii ]iiei)iah\ L. C'ommon. 10 1 3 /ujitiseiiii/i leeTigafmii, A. Br. Emmet county. The following descrijjtions are of species not given in Gray's "Man- ual," 5th edition, nor in Underwood's "Our Native Ferns and their AlHes:" CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OK IOWA. 69 Opuntia FRAGILIS, Ha'oorth. — Joints small, ovate, compressed or tumid, (^r even terete, 1-1%. inches long, fragile; larger spines 4, cruciate, mostly yellowish brown, with 4 to 6 smaller white radiating ones below; bristles few; flowers small, yellow; fruit small, with 20 to 28 clusters of bristles, only the upjier ones with a few short spines; seeds few, regular. — On the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone, southward to New Mexico. iVatsoi in King's Rep., V., i ig. SoLANUM ROSTRATUM, Dunal. — Somewhat hoary or yellowish, with a copious, wholly stellate pubescence, a foot or two high; leaves irregularly or interruptedly bipinnatifid, some of them only once pinnatifid; corolla yellow, about an inch iu diameter, hardly regular, the short lobes broadly ovate. — Plains of Nebraska to Texas. Graves Syn. Fl. N^. Am., //. , 2ji. This has been observed by Prof. Todd in the southwestern county of the State, and by Mr. David F. Day at Omaha, fifty miles from the southern boundary. According to Prof. Todd, it occurs spanngly in gardens and about barns, and is apparently not well established. He is inclined to consider it adventitious, and it is accordingly so printed. ASCLEPIAS SPECIOSA, Tori'ty. — Finely canescent-tomentose, rarely glabrate with age; leaves from subcordate-oval to oblong, thickish; peduncles shorter than the leaves; pedicels of the many-flowered dense umbel and the calyx densely tomen- tose; flowers purplish, large; corolla-lobes ovate-oblong, 4 or 5 lines long; hoods 5 or 6 lines long, spreading, the dilated body and the short inflexed horn not surpass- ing the anthers, but the center of its truncate summit abruptly produced into a lanceolate-ligulate thrice longer termination; column, hardly any; wings of the an- thers notched and obscurely corniculate at base. — Along streams, Nebraska to Ar- kansas, and west to Southern Utah, California, and Washington Territory. Graves Syn. FL N. Am., II., gi. The locality cited in the list extends the range of this species more than two hundred miles farther northward than has before been recoided east of the Rocky Mountains. It is one of the most conspicuous and beautiful of American milk-weeds. Eleocharis Wolfii, G>(iy. — Rhizomes very small, creeping, perennial, fcjrm- ing small scattered tufts; culm a foot high, slender, pale-glaucescent, striate, two- edged, one side flat, the other convex; sheath oblicjuely truncate, hyaline above; spike ovate-oblong, acute; scales oblong-ovate, obtuse, scarious, pale purple; style 3-parted; achenium pyriform, shining, having about 9 nearly equidistant obtuse ribs, with transverse wrinkles between; tubercle small, depressed, truncate, more or less apiculate; bristles of the perigynium [always?] none. — Margin of ponds, in very wet soil, Fulton county, Illinois, John Wolf. Probably it will prove to be not un- common. I have specimens collected in the same region, doubtless at Athens, Illi- nois, in the year 1861, by Elihu Hall. Prof. Wolf, in a letter, alluded to six bris- tles of the perigynium, but I detect none whatever in the specimens. The spike, as to form and imbrication of the scales, is much as in E. tenuis and E. acictilaris, etc.; but the achenium, with its several longitudinal ribs and delicate transverse 70 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. lineation, is upon the plan of that of E. acicularis. This renders the species a very peculiar and distinct one. Proc. Ante)-. Acad., X., 77. The species occurs sparingly at Peoria, Illinois, according to Bren- del's Flora Peoriana, p. 85. The Iowa specimens, which agree well with the description, apparently possess no ])erigynial bristles. Carex Meadii, DeiiK, var. Bebbh {Olney). — This was published in Olney's Carices Bor.-Amer., Fasc. I., No. 22, without comments, as a variety of C. panicea, L., and has never, I believe, been described. The following description will enable collectors to identify the plant : Sterile spikes with stalk two to four times its length; fertile spikes usually 2, erect, remote, slender-peduncled, rather loosely flowered; sheaths of the foliaceous bracts long and slightly inflated; perigynia and scales as in C. Meadii, except paler, and the former less distinctly nerved; culms slender, somewhat roughish. Resembles C. tdanica, for which it is sometimes mistaken, in habit and in the loosely flowered fertile spikes, only with longer jjcduncles, but C. Meadii in the perigynia and scales; it may be merely an attenuated form of the latter. Moist prairies, Winnebago county, Illinois {Behb); Om.c'A.go {Bah'ock); Racine, Wisconsin {Dai'is); and northwestwardly. Collected in Iowa by Mr. Cratty. BucHLOE, Eiigcbn. — Flowers dioecious, heteromorphous. Male plant: Spikes i-sided, 2-ranked; spikelets 2 to 3-flowered; glumes i-nerved; squamulte in pairs. Female plant: Spikes i to 3, oblique in the involucrate sheaths of the upper leaves; spikelets i-flowered, crowded; lower glume of the lowest spikelet i to 3- nerved, the lower side adnata to the back of the upper glume; lower glumes of the other spikelets (internal as to the head) i-nerved, free, smaller; upper glumes (ex- ternal) nerveless, connate at the base with the thickened rhachis, at length like a hard, woody involucre; squamulte as in male flowers; ovary lenticular, glabrous; stigmas much longer than the two erect styles. B. DACTYLOIDES, Eugelm.- — Densely tufted, spreading by stolens, forming broad mats; culms 3 to 6 inches long. Male plant: Flowering stems 4 to 6 inches high; leaves nearly smooth; sheaths strongly bearded at the throat; uppermost spikelets abortive, bristle-form; lower glume ovate-lanceolate, with a scarious margin; upper glume twice longer, ovate; lower palet convex, 3-nerved, upper one 2-nerved; sta- mens 3. Female plant: Flowering stems much shorter than the leaves, i^ to 2 inches high; 3 minute rudimentary stamens; grain free. — Elevated plains from British America to Mexico and New Mexico. Floi-. Col., Port. &= C'onl., /^y. This is the well-known buffalo-grass. It grows sparingly in the north- west corner of the State, on thin, dry soil covering the rocks, where other plants have much difficulty in maintaining themselves. Graphephorum festucaceum, O'rav. — Panicle loose, rather erect, primary branches subverticillate; spikelets oblong, about 4-flowered; glumes nearly or quite as long as the spikelets; florets terete, with clustered hairs at the base; outer palet CON'lKir.lillONS TO THK F[,()KA OK IOWA. 7l 7-ncrvc(I, incgularly cut at the apex, forniini; short awns, imier palet hidentate; leaves broadly linear, flat, rough to the touch. — Carlton House Fort, on the Sas- katchawan. Thi.s fine grass is considered by Dr. Torrey to be the same as the Fes- ttica boreal is, M. & K. The culm in our specimen is as thick as a swan's (juill, 3-4 or more feet high; leaves 8-10 inches long, broadly linear-acuminate, rough to the touch. Panicle a foot and more long, almost quite erect, as well as the subvert icil- late slender branches. Spikelet erect, Yz-^ of an inch long, scattered or subfasci- cled, sessile or pedicellate, generally 4-flowered. Glumes unequal, concave, rounded at the back, not keeled, the outer one shorter than the florets, acute, entire at the point, the middle nerve reaching beyond the point so as tt) form a sliort arista, there are besides, on each side, two short lateral nerves; the inner glume as long as the whole spikelet of florets, torn at tlie point, aristate, the middle nerve reaching be- yond the point, there are besides two lateral nerves reaching to the apex, and two intermediate shorter ones. Florets cylindrical, closely placed, with a tuft of white hairs at the base of each; outer valve of the perianth jagged at the point, shortly aristate, with 7 nerves reaching to the summit; the inner lanceolate, the margin in- flexed, with two strong, green, ciliated nerves at the flexures, running out so as to form a bifid apex. Hook. Flor. Bor. Ant. Hooker gives the above under Festuca borealis, M. & K. The spe- cies was first described by Willdenow and referred to Anmdo. In 1 86 1, Dr. Gray revised and considerably extended the genus Graplic- f/ioruiii (Proc. Am. Acad., V.), placing the present species in the first section. The Iowa specimens, Communicated by Mr. R. I. Cratty, agree fully with the description, exce])t that the sj^ikelets are not so large, scarcely exceeding Y^ of an inch in length. Pedicels of the spikelets rough; awns formed by the nerves, especially of the glumes, inconspicuous, and sometimes barely observable. It grows 3-5 feet high in water, at the margin of lakes. The spot where foimd, some five or six square rods, had an abundance of individuals, and it doubtless occurs at other lakes in Iowa and Minnesota. The range given in Vasey's "Grasses of the United States" is from British America to Alaska. It is now for the first time detected in the United States. Camptosorus RHiZdPHYiJ.tis, Li/i/c, var. intermedius, Arthur. — Root-stalk short, ascending, clothed with a few dark-brown scales ; stipe green, with a brown base, containing a single rounded-triangular fibro-vascular bundle without accom- panying sclerenchyma; fronds subcoriaceous, thinnish; sterile frond 2-4 inches long, triangular-acuminate, sometimes prolonged and rooting, base broadly wedge-shajie, apex blunt; fertile frond 4-12 inches long, narrowly lanceolate, broadest close to the base, greatly attenuated and prolonged, rooting at the apex; base acute, broadly wedge-shape, never cordate; veins strongly ascending, anastomosing and forming about two series of areolae; sori few, oblong, sometimes in ])airs, or confluent at the upper part of the areolas; indusium smooth, delicate, with a sinuous margin; spores ovoid, with broad anastomosing wings of irregular width. — Sterile l^lade 72 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. %-y2 'iK-li broad near the base, fertile blade %-^ inch broad. Limestone cliffs in Eastern Iowa. Bot. (y't/s., VIII., igg, Plate III. Resembles C. rlnzophyllus, Init may be readily distinguished by the soHtary axial bundle of the stipe, destitute of the e.xtra-fascicular scle- renchyma, the thinner and narrower fronds, acute base, simpler vena- tion, and short sori. The typical form has two distinct bundles at the base of the stipe, which coalesce above into one ; these are accomj^a- nied by a dark thread of sclerenchyma situated outside each bundle, and usually anterior to it, which unite to form a single thread after the union of the bundles, or, when lateral, remain as distinct lateral threads. In the variety the bundle is simjile throughout, and has no external scle- renchyma. Again, in the tyi:)ical form the base of the frond is never strictly wedg-'-sha|)e, as in the variety, but, however much reduced, has still some indication of auricles. It is the opinion of Mr. George E. Davenport (in litt. ) that this "is only a weakly growth, in which the plants have simply failed to develop their full characters." a con- clusion which some of the facts do not ajjpear to corroborate. The small area covered by the ])lants was within a few yards of as large and thrifty a growth of the typical walking-leaf as one is likely to find. Small plants have been gathered by the writer and others in various parts of the State, but none of them show the distinctive char- acters of the variety. A specimen in the herbarium of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, collected by A. H. Curtiss in Virginia, more nearly approaches the variety in external appearance than any other yet seen by the writer; the fibro-vascular bundle, however, is in every respect typical. If this be only an individual form, it is still interest- ing, as all the deviations from the fyi^e are in the direction of the Sibi- rian species, C. Sibiricus, the only other species known. The walking- leaf is not a rare fern in Iowa, and the discovery of the variety in other localities may confidently be expected. • Corrections and Explanations. The following are corrections of i)revious contributions and some additional notes on the present one: In Contr. No. \'., for Kiunuii Co., read Enmiet Co. Aphylloii fasciciilatiuii (No. 523) is to be dropped from the catalogue. ITpon re-exaniinalion, the specimens ])rove to be the same as No. 522" of Contr. No. II. It {A. ii/ti/Ioniiii, T. & Ci.) is a very rare plant in the State, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF IOWA. 73 Polygonum tenue, Michx. (No. 683'^), has a number of times been reported with specimens from various parts of the State, but has always heretofore proved to be a small form of the abundant P. ramflsissimum. The true P. tefiue is, without doubt, a rare plant in Iowa. The region from which the i)resent specimens come, the extreme northwestern corner, is geologically and botanically very unlike the rest of the State. Potamoi^don pusillus, L. (No. 783 '^j, is said by Mr. Morong to be the typical form, but what has generally been called var. vulgaris. Schedomuxrdus TexaJius, Steud. (No. 950'') is described in Gray's Manual under the name of Lepiurus pa?iiculatus, Nutt. See North American Genera of Grasses, by F. L. Scribner, in Bull. Torr. CI., IX., 134, and X., 8; also. Grasses of United States, by George Vasey, 1883, p. 32. Agropyrum vifllaceuin, Vasey (No. 952^^;, is described in Gray's Man- ual vmder the name of Triticum violaceum, Horn. See Vasey's Grasses of the United States, 1883, p. 45. Isoetes mela7iopoda. J. Gay (No. 980), was collected near CImton by Dr. George Vasey in 1862, and specimens are now in his herbarium in IlHnois. They were determined by Dr. Engelmann. No other speci- mens are known to have been collected in the State. The plants, being grass-like in appearance, are doubtless overlooked. The Iowa specimen is cited in Engelmann's Isoetes of North America, p. 3. Marsilia vestita, Hook. & Grev. (No. 983), is given solely on the au- thority of Wood's Class-book of Botany (editions of i860 and 1869), p. 810, which says that it was "sent from Iowa, near the Mississippi River, by Dr. Cousens." Probably no other specin\ens than those re- ferred to have been collected in the State. The citation of Iowa under M. vestita in Underwood's Our Native Ferns and their Allies, p. 115, is on the same authority, as I am informed by the author. In Wood's Botanist and Florist (1870), p. 360, a later publication than the Class- book, we find that Iowa is credited with M. uncinata, Br., with no ref- erence to M. vestita of the Class-book, or to Dr. Cousens' specimens. Inquiry at the College of Pharmacy, in New York City, where Prof. Wood's herbarium is now deposited, discloses the unfortunate fact that many of the specimens were considered worthless, when the herbarium recently came to be mounted, and were destroyed, and that as the specimens in question cannot be found, they were doubtless among the discarded ones. We have therefore no direct way of determining with 74 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. certainty what form of Marsilia was really collected, or in what locality it was found. A review of the few instances in which specimens of Marsilia have been collected in this region will, however, afford some slight assistance. A Marsilia appears to be comparatively abundant in Dakota. It was first found in 1839 by Geyer, of Nicollet's Expedition, in "dry swamps in the prairies near Devil's Lake," Northern Dakota. Torrey, in the report of this expedition, p. 166, determined it to be M. vesiita, and specimens are in both the Torrey and Chapman herbaria at Columbia College, New York City. A. Braun, however, referred it to M. nmcronata in an account in Monatsberichte der Akademie, Berlin, 1863, p. 423, and adhered to the same opinion in a fuller account in the same publication of 1870. Sterile specimens of what may be the same species were gathered by Mr. J. M. Holzinger in July, 1883, near Pierre, in Central Dakota, in a ditch by the railway track on the prairie. I'he specimens are now in my possession. Michaux collected a sterile specimen in Illinois, still in the Michaux herbarium, which A. Braun doubtfully refers to M. mucronata (1. c, 1870), but it has not been de- tected since. These are all the specimens known to the writer to have been collected nearer us than Arkansas. We may conclude that there is little doubt that either M. vestita or M. mucronata, or it may be both, will finally be found in Iowa. The two are much ahke, and Braun seems to have arrived at the opinion that they can scarcely be specifi- cally distinct, a conclusion adopted by Watson in the Botany of Cali- fornia, p. 351, where the latter is made a form of M. vestita. Marsilia has slender, creeping stems, leaves closely resembling those of white clover, but with four leaflets instead of three, fruit the shape of a bean, and nearly half the size of one, and commonly grows in shallow water or mud. As with Isoetes, so with Marsilia, it has probably been over- looked; and the main reason for inserting M. vestita in the present list without accompanying specimens, which is contrary to the established rule, is to bring the matter to the attention of local collectors. Bofrychium ternatum, Swartz (No. 984), was found by the writer in August of 1 88 1. Only a single plant was discovered, which grew in an open pasture. The specimen was unfortunately dropped and lost before reaching home. Judging from memory of the hasty examination made when in hand, it belonged to sub-variety intermedium of Eaton. The plant was nearly a foot high, and had a close resemblance to the figure given in Eaton's Ferns of North America, Vol. I., PI. XXa, of a specimen of this variety from Shelbourne, N. H. It is undoubtedly rare in Iowa. The only other instance of its having been found in the CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF IOWA. 75 State is that recorded by Miss Mary E. Wood (Bot. Gaz., VII., 73}, who reports it from the Maquoketa River, about fifty miles west of Du- buque, but I have seen no specimens. Phegopteris cakarea, Fe'e (No. 998), is "closely related to P. Dryop- teris, the principal differences being a somewhat thicker root-stalk, glandular stalk and fronds, fronds more rigid and erect, and smaller pinuK on the lower side of the primary divisions" (Eaton). It is not uncommon in Europe, but the only localities known in North America are a station on the St. Louis River, in Minnesota, and a spot of a few yards square at Decorah. The Decorah specimens are specially fine and well developed. It is to be looked for on limestone chffs, particu- larly those facing the north. Mr. Davenport, in his Supplement to the Catalogue of the Dav. Herbarium TMarch, 1883J, writes the name P. Dryopteris, Fe'e, var. Robertiamim (Rupr.), and gives the history of the synonymy, maintaining that it is not entitled to specific rank. Aspidiiiin spinidosian, Swartz (No. 1002), in the comparative size of the pinnules and the markings of the spores in the Iowa specimens, approaches var. dilataiiwi, which variety will doubtless be found event- ually within the limits of the State. Cystopteris bulbifera, Bernh. (No. 1003), shows an interesting varia- tion in a specimen received from Muscatine county. The under sur- face of the frond is unevenly glandular, and the usually smooth bulb- lets are clothed with dark brown lanceolate scales (pale^e), half as long as the length of the bulblets, each scale tipped with a colorless, globu- lar, usually stalked gland, and with or without i to 3 similar glands on either side, near the base. Spirit Lake, Iowa, December, 188 j. 126 ^v^KiYENPOST ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. Contributions to the Flora of Iowa. -"'^ 15Y .T. C. ARTHUR. The following list comprises all the species of Iowa plants brought to my notice up to date, and not mentioned in my *•' Flora of Iowa." Speci- mens of each from which the names were determined, are either in my private herbarium, or in the herbarium of the Agricultural College, and were all furnished by Dr. Geo. E. Ehinger of Keokuk, J. G. Haupt of Davenport, Prof. C. E. Bessey of Ames, and R. Burgess of Ames. 7Ga Draha verna, L. Ames. 97a Hyx>ericum prolificum, L. Keokuk. 110a Lychnis vespertina, Sibth. Decorah. 207a Lespedeza violacea, Pers. Keokuk and Davenport. 236a Agrmionia ixirviflora. Ait. Keokuk. 353a Eupatoriimi altissinmm, L. Harrison County. 362a Aster Shortii, Boott. Keokuk. 365a Aster ericoides, L. Keokuk. 369a Aster tenuifolius, L. Plymouth County. 468a Senecio aureus, L. Var. obovatus, Gr. Ames. 422a Aphyllon unijlorum, T. & G. Keokuk. 427a Collinsia verna, Xutt. Keokuk. o33a Conohea multifida, Benth. Keokuk. 539a Veronica Americana, Schw. Keokuk. o79a Monarda punctata, L. Cedar Rapids. 638a Apocynum cannaMmim, L,. Y?ii\ imbescens, DC. Blackhawk Co. 644a Asclepias quadrifolia, Jacq. Keokuk. 670a Froelichia Floridana, Moq. Cedar Rapids. 751a Salix sericea, Marshall. Plymouth Count" 754a Salix lucida, Muhl. Plymouui Counuy. 811a Trilliimi erectum, L. Decorah. 843a Cyperus inflexus, Muhl. Ames. 934a Glyceria fluitans, R. Br. Ames. Lespedeza capitata, var. angiistifoUa of the '• Flora of Iowa", (No. 209), should be changed to L. leptostachya, Engelm. The following descrip- tion of this new species is from Proceedings American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. XII (Dec. 1876): '■'• Lespedeza leptostachya, Engelm. —Clothed with appressed, silky pubescence ; leaves linear ; petiole longer than the terminal petiolule ; spikespaniculate, slender, somewhat loosely flowered, rather longer than the peduncle ; legume equal to or slightly longer than the calyx. Minnesota, T. J. Hale ; Illinois, Bebb. ; Iowa, J. C. Arthur, Bessey. Has passed for L. angustifolia, from which its slen- der spikes and paniculate habit at once distinguish it." Many names have been reported from different parts of the State, but not being accompanied by specimens, it is thought best not to include them in this list. Additions will be made as often as sufficient material accumulates. Botanical Laboratory, Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa; March, 1877. 258 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. AlTGlTST 2d, 1878. — BlOLOaiCAL SectiojJ". Four members present. The following paper was read : Contributions to the Flora of Iowa — No. III. BY J. C. ARTHUR. The following accessions have been received since the publication in March, 1877, of my first list of additions.* They have been verified by the examination of specimens sent by those reporting the names. I am indebted for all but ten names to Geo. D. Butler, of Almont, Clinton County, Dr. Geo. E. Ehinger, of Keokuk, E.. Burgess, of Ames, E. W. Holway, of Decorah, Dr. J. J. Davis, late of Vinton, and Prof. C. E. Bessey, of Ames. I desire to gratefully acknowledge their kind consid- eration in furnishing specimens, and the interest they have taken in extending the list of the State flora. *Aute, p. 136. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF IOWA ARTHUR. 259 42a Brasenia peltata, Piirsh. Ames. 52a Nasturtium sessiliflorum, Nutt. Clinton. 55a Nasturtium lacustre, Gray. Clinton. 62a Arahis hirsuta. Scop. Clinton. 66a Barbarea vulgaris, R. Br. Ames. 97t> Hypericum sphcerocarpon, Michx. Vinton and Clinton. 101a Hypericum Canadense, L., var. major, Gr. Vinton, Lyons and Ames. 112a Arenaria stricta, Michx. Clinton. 154a Vitis CEstivalis, Michx. Clinton. 177a Trifolium reflexum, L. Vinton and Clinton county. 196a Astragalus Plattensis, Nutt. Harrison county. 206a Besmodium Illinoense, Gray. Ames. 235a Spiraea Aruncus, L. Clinton. 237a Qeum Virginianum, L. Vinton. 244a Potentilla fruticosa, L. Decorah. 250a Rubus Canaderisis, L. Clinton. 285a Ludwigia palustris, Ell. Vinton. 285b Ammannia humilis, Michx. Vinton. 285c Avimannia latifolia, L. Ames. 314a CoTiius circinata, L'PIer. Ames and Vinton. 364a Aster sagittifolius,\Y\l\(\. Plymouth county. 366a Aster dumosus, L. Vinton. 372a Aster p)uniceus, h., var. vimineus, Gr. Ames. 374a Aster amethystinu^, Nutt. Charles City and Ames. 42Sa Helianthus occidentalism Riddell. Vinton and Clinton. 435a Coreopsis lanceolata, L. Clinton. 438a Coreopsis aristosa, Michx., var. muticn, Gr. Vinton. 47la Cnicus lanceolatus, Hoffm. Clinton. 495a Sonchus oleraceus, L. Cedar Rapids. 512a Plantago Fatagonica, J-dcq.,\i\r. gnaplialioides, Gr. Humboldt. 525a Linaria Canadensis, Spreng. Cedar Rapids and Vinton. 59:)a Scutellaria parvula, Michx., var. 7nollis, Gr. Iowa City. 6'*6a Mf/osotis verna, Nutt. Vinton. 607a Echinospermum deflexuyn, Lehm. Clinton. 615a Phlox divaricata, L. Lyons. 616a Phlox bifida. Beck. Vinton. 619a Cuscuta tenuiflora, Engelm. Vinton and Keokuk. 625a Physalis p)id)esceyis,'Li. Ames. 696a Ceratophyllum demersum, L. Keokuk. 697a Euphorbia Geyeri, Engelm. Vinton. 708a Euphorbia obtusata, Pursh. Ft. Dodge. 777a Potamogeton natans, L. Ft. Dodge. 782a Potamogeton compressus, L. Vinton. 787a Sagittaria heterophylla, Pursh. Clinton. 818a JJvularia sessilifolia, L. Vinton. 850a Hemicarpjha subsquarrosa, Nees. Ames. 855a iSaipMs ftuviatilis. Gray. Ames and Clinton. 260 I)AVENP4:)ET ACADEMY OF NATUKAL SCIENCES. 856a. Scirjyus lineatus^ Michx. Auies. 862a Carex crus-corvi, Shut. Clinton. 863a Carex conjuncta, Boott. Ames. S63k> Carex alopecoidea, Tuckerm. Ames. 879a Carex stra^ninea, Schk., var. tejjera, Boott. Charles City, Keo- kuk, Ames. 88oa Carex ietanica, Schk. Ames. 890a Carex oUgocarpa, Schk. Ames and Keokuk. 891a Carex 2jedunculata, Mnhl. Clinton. 893a Carex trichocarpa, Muhl., var. iniherhis, Gr. Ames. 89oa Carex Grayii, Carey. Ames. 897a Carex squarrosa, L. Keokuk. 901a Alopecurus geniculatus, L. Vinton, Ames and Lyons. 931a Eatonia Pennsylvanica, Gray. Ames. 9-l2a Eragrostis pectinacea, Gray. Vinton. 943a Festuca elatior, L. Ames. 950a Lolium perenne, L. Ames. 953a Hordeum %)ratense, Iluds. Keokuk. 972a Panicum depattjieratum, Muhl. Vinton. The following descriptions are of plants named in this list, and not de- scribed in Gray's Manual. The range of the species, as given, is that hitherto known and published with the respective descriptions. It will be observed that in each instance it is considerably extended by the localities given above. Desmodiuii IijLinoense, Grai/. — Eeserabling I), ranescens in flowers and foliage, and D. r/'gidum in inflorescence and fruit; stem (erect, 3-5 feet) and leaves with short rough pubescence; leaflets (2-4 inches long] ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, sub-coriaceous, beneath cmereous, veins and voinlets prominent, strongly reticulated, the lower leaflets nearly equahng the petiole; the persistent stipules and caducous bracts ovate-lanceolate, striate, taper- pointed; racemes simple; pods scarcely over an inch, very shortly stipitate, sinuate on both marijins (deeper below); joints 3-5, oval, not exceeding three lines. — Illinois, in dry ground. Fruc. Ariier. Acad., 1870. Scutellaria parvola, Michx., var. mollis. Gray. — Rather more diffuse, softly pubescent throughout, pubescence somewhat viscid ; leaves usually three- fourths of an incli long — Oqnawka, Illinois, on the sandy banks of the Missis- sippi. Proc. Amer. Aivid., F///, 1873. Dr Gray says: " So different in aspect is this plant from the ordinary 8. p/(rvida, that I at tirst took it for 8. Drum- ???fl«f7«<, and then lor a distinct species; but I cannot detect sufficient charac- ters, and there are transitions to the ordinary 8. parvula. EcHiNOSPERMUM DEFLExuM, Lelim. — Diffusely branched, a foot or so high; leaves from oblong to lanceolate; racemes lax, loosely paniculate, the slender pedicels recurved or deflexed in fruit; flowers soon sparse, 1-3 lines in diame- ter; nutlets with a triangular mostly naked back (a line long), the margins armed with a close row of flat prickles, their bases often confluent. — Saskatch- ewan and Wiunepeg Valley, Dnunrnond, Bonrgenu; Brit. Columbia, iy^f/^. Siberia to Europe. The American specimens have occasionally some few prickles developed from the rough granulate dorsal face of the nutlets. Gray^s Synop. Fl. N. Amer., 1878. CORRECTIONS. Amarantus Blitum (N'o. 66S), of "Flora of Iowa," is A. blUoides, RECORD OF RROCEEDINGS. ^ 261 Watson. The following description is from Proc. Amer. Acad., XII, 1877. Amarantus (Pyxidium) blitoides, Watson. — Prostrate or decumbent, the slender stems bccomino; a foot or two long, glabrous or nearly so; leaves broadly spatulate to narrowly oblanceolate, attenuate to a slender petiole, an inch long or usually less; flowers in small contracted axillary spikelets; bracts nearly a line broad. — Frequent in the valleys and plains of the interior, from Mexico to N. Nevada and Iowa, and becoming introduced in some of the Northern States eastward. It somewhat resembles the A. Blitum, L., of the Old World, and has been mistaken for it. Aster Novi-Belgii (No. 371) is to be omitted from the list. The speci- mens on which the determination was made, prove to belong to a much commoner species. A few very interesting names are withheld for further verification. Collectors will confer a favor if they will forward information in regard to the State flora. It is proposed to publish additions as fast as consis- tent with accuracy. Botanical Laboratory, Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa; August, 187^. ^ **, O T * '^ '• ■ [From Proceedings of Davenport AcaTbemy of ^Jrffiiral Sciences — Vol. III.] Contributions to the Flora of Town— No. IV. I'.Y .1. ( . ARIHI R. The activity <>i' i(»si(ltMit collcctdrs in (•.Ktcndiui;' tlic state fldra has greatly increased since ISIO. Tlie ([uality fit' tlie specimens sent has also im])r()ve(l, as wcdl as tlie liberality with which they are provider! for determination or verification. It will he seen by the localities in the following list, that the different portions of the state ai-e quite fairly r(-])resented, except the three southern tiers of counties west of the immediate vicinity of the Mississippi. This large section when explored, will give a long list of additions. All the western border of the state may be expected to yield many very interesting species which do not ex- tend further t^ast; whih' no locality in the whole state yet seems to be exhausted. The names of the present list ai'e for tli(^ preceding two years. The specimens for them have been furnished by the following per- sons, to whom T am wholly indebted for the material for the pres- ent report: John T>eiberg, Seney, Plymouth Co., M. E. Jones, Grinnell, Mrs. M. C. Carter, Hesper. Winneshiek Co., E. W. Hol- way, Decorah, Geo. D. Butler, late of Almont, Clinton Co., Fred. Reppert, Muscatine, Dr. Geo. E. Ehinger, Keokuk, R. Burgess, Ames, Dr. J. J. Davis, formerly of Vinton. A specimen of No. 544" is in the Harvard Herbarium at Cambridge, communicated by Dr. Vasey. 51* Nasturtium officinale. R. Br. Decorah. 65* Arahh perfoUata^ Lam. Vinton. 84* Viola Jcoiceolata, L. Muscatine. 90* Viola pedata^ L., var. hicoloi\ Pursh. Muscatine. 124* Talimim teretifolium^ Pursh. Lyons Co. 237^ Genm macrophyllvm, Willd. Clinton Co. 244b Potcntilhi trident((ta. Ait. Hesper. 247* Mulnis triflorus, Rich. Hesper. 299* Archemora rigida^ DC, var. . Keokuk. 520" Utricidaria bijfora^ Lam. Muscatine. 544* (xerdrdia tenuifolta^ Vahl., var. itiacTOplnjlla., Benth. Coun- cil Bluffs. 545* Gerarilid f^arn^ L. Clinton Co. 596* Lamiuni amplexicaule, L. Keokuk. 619^ Cuscuta i/iflexa, Engelin. Grinnell. 620* Cuscuta Gronooii, Willd., vai. hitifloi-n^ Eno-(4m. Hesper. 628* Datura Tatula, L. Muscatine, Grinnell and Cedar Rapids. 650* Acevatefi hamghtoHa., Dec. Plymouth Co. 662* Chenopodium urbicxnn, T>. Keokuk, Des Moines, Nevada, and Grinnell. 676* PoJggoiiuin /iydr<>j>ip< ri>i-aliistris, L. Emmett Co. 787^ Sagittaria' cristata^ Engelm. ined. Emmett Co. 834* (/uncus Palticus, Deth. Emmett Co. 857* Eriophonmi gracile, Koch, var. jyaucinervium^ Engelm. Emmett Co. 860* Carex siccata, Dew, Emmett Co. 867* Carex cliordorMza^ Ehrh. Emmett Co. * Read at tlie .June meeting of the Academy, 1882. 2 867^ Carex Deweyana^ Schw. Spirit Lake. SeS** Carex stellulata, L. EYfSfiett W^ 879^ Carex straminea, Schk., var. /estKcricea^ Boott. Grinnell and Ames. 883* C'irex liinoso^ L. Emmett Co. 892*' Carex piibescens^ Muhl. Grinnell. 893'* Carex cotnosa, Boott. Emmett Co. 897'^ Carex retrorsa, Schr. Ei^imett Co. 897'' Carex monile^ Tuck. G^nnell and Emmett Co. 900" Leersia lenticularis, Mx. Montrosy. 920" CaJamagrostis stricta, Trin. Emmett Co. 934'' GJyceria aqiiaHra^ Smith. Plymoutli Co., and Hesjier. 935" Poei ccesia^ Smith. Ha^^eock Co. 9G1" BeckmCDDiia eruce^/ormis. Host. Ph-mouth Co. 902" Panicumfiliforme, L. Keokuk. The following are descriptions of species n^t given in tlie 5th edi- tion of Gray's Manual. Amokpha microphylla, Pursh. — Nearly smooth, dwarf; leaves with very short petioles, obtuse at both ends; spikes short, solitary ; calyx nearly naked, pedicellate, teeth all very acu^jiate;ifcyimes 1-seeded. (.4. nami, Nutt.) On the banks of the Missouri." Fronrl to 2 feet high; flowers purple and fragrant. A very elegant little sluub. FursJi\s Fl. Amer. Bep., II, i66. This compact little shrub is al)undant on the dry prairies of north- western Iowa. It flowers in May, and not in July and August as stated by Pursh. The leaflets are ol^long, conspicuously punctate, iind in 10-20 pairs. Heli.anthus Maximilian!, Schvad. — Stem strigose-scabrous, branched; leaves alternate (those of the branches sometimes opposite), lanceolate, en- lire or nearly so, tapering to each end, acuminate, very scabrous and often canescent-strigose on both sides, the lower petioled; scales of the involucre lanceolate-subulate, much attenuate, strigose-canescent; pappus of two lan- ceoli^e slightly fringed chatiy scales. Prairies. Missouri, Texas. Torrey and Gr