The Arborescent Flora of Midwest Farmsteads

While the writer was making a canvass of Buffalo County, Nebraska, during August, 1922, for the purpose of eradicating the common barberry, he became interested in trees and shrubs usually planted in rural dooryards. Buffalo County is situated on the north bank of the Platte river, near the south-central part of Nebraska, in the semiarid region. The rainfall is about twenty-five inches per year as an average, with years of much less, as was the year 1922, when the amount was about nineteen inches

The Liliales of Iowa

The order Liliales consists of monocotyledonous plants, having for the most part regular and complete flowers, the perianth being well developed and made up of three or six parts. Ovary compound, superior or inferior

The Scrophulariaceae of Iowa

The Figwort family comprises nearly 2,500 species, which are grouped in about 165 genera. The species are quite widely distributed, but are most abundant in temperate regions, occurring rarely towards the poles and equator. Heller, in his Catalogue of North American Plants, includes 51 genera and 627 species and varieties belonging to the Figwort family. The flora of Iowa has representatives of 21 genera, there being about 45 species

The Juglandaceae of Iowa

The walnut family comprises six genera and about 35 species. Only two genera occur in Iowa, namely, Juglans (Walnut) and Hicoria (Hickory), and these two genera are represented by two and five species respectively. From an economic point of view the species are valuable and consequently have been largely utilized until but few specimens of the older forest remain. The younger growth is hardy and will, if spared, eventually yield fair returns

Betulaceae of Iowa

The Birch family as now understood, comprises six genera and about seventy-five species, mostly natives of the northern hemisphere. Some authors include this family with the Oak or Beech family under the name of Cupuliferae. The chief distinction is the arrangement of the pistillate flowers. The Birch family has the pistillate flowers in aments while the Oak family has the pistillate flowers subtended by an involucre which becomes a bur or cup in fruit

The Fagaceae of Iowa

The oak family comprises five genera and 375 species. The family is of wide geographical distribution, and from an economic point of view, of very great value. Four genera occur in the United States, namely, Fagus (the Beech), Castanea (the Chestnut), Quercus (the Oak), and Castanopsis. The number of species and varieties recognized is 87. Of this number 82 belong to the genus Quercus, one each to Fagus and Castanopsis, and three to Castanea. The only genus indigenous to Iowa is Quercus, the oak, and the number of species recognized is 15

New or Little Known Plants

The following plants are new or little known to the flora of Iowa: Lechea tenuijolia Mx. Van Buren County. Common in sandy soil. July. Circaea alpina L. Clayton County. Deep woods along the Mississippi River. Rare as compared with C. lutetiana L. July. Collinsia verna Nutt. Jefferson County. Frequent. Gilia linearis Gray. Decatur County. Frequent in prairie soil. June. Inula helenium L. Johnson County. Common locally where it has been observed for many years. Corallorhiza Odontorhiza Nutt. Reported in Natural Science Bulletin of the State University of Iowa (Vol. 3, No. 4) as new and rare