The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-26
BOTANY OF THE CAPITAL
Plants of All Descriptions in the
Immediate Vicinity.
An Excellent Field for Research
Open to Horticultural Delivers
Valuable Roots and Buds-Treas-
ures in the Rock Creek Reggie.

In the early days Of this city there ex
listed an organization known as the Wash
iRgton Botanical Society, which was dis
solved in 1925. 1t was followed by III,
Botanic Club, organized the same year
This latter society left a catalogue IN
titled 'tFIorae ColumbIanae Prodromus,
which contained a description of 919 els.
tinct names of species and varieties Of
plants in the vicinity OF the city. OF
these names ffty-nine are mere syno-
nyms for the same plant, in reality, leav-
ing $50 distinct varieties. In this early
catalogue nf the fora of the District 14i
plants enumerated therein have yet TO be
found.
II seems hardly probable that these JIG
species have become extinct since the
catalogue was published, and the failure
to find them has been accounted for in
various ways. Botanists have now come
to the conclusioa that the following are
the most likely explanations to account
for the absence of the missing plants:
/. The early botanists made mistakes in
naming plants to the number Of forty
three.
2. There were introduced into the cata-
logue the names OF twelve plants not be-
longing to the flora Of the vicinity.
3. The range was SO unduly exters.ed as
10 include ten plants not belonging to
this vicinity, and,
4. There were eighty-one Indigenous
plants actually extinguished.
Belonging to this fourth class, which
have become extinct around Washington
were the cucumber tree, the American bar
berry, the water chinguapin, the Mexican
poppy, whitlow grass. the sweet white
wet, milk-wort. stone crop, catchfy,
corn spuney the indigo plant, the yetch,
trefon. butterfly pea, hawthorn, alum root
mitrewort, Diamorpha pusilia, deer grass,
wild sarsap2rilla, sunfiower. tckseed,
groundsel, piumeless thistle, lobelia wat
tallii, bellfower, black ash. Indian hemp
poke milkweed. Maryland pink root,
American century plant, American column
DO. heliotrope, cromwell, false cromwell.
hedge hyssop. Gerardia queTcifolia and
amiculata, blue cur!s, mountain mint,
horse mint, skulIcap false dragon head.
wild ginger, strawberry bite, glasswOrt, or
saltwort, knotweed, of the buckwheat fam
fly, red bay, sprngwort, three-seeded mer-
curry, sugar berry, American aspen, downy
poplar, Gala palustris, or water arum,
pondweed, arrowhead, Arethusa bulbosa
Pogonia pendula, lady's slipper. feur de
luce. alllm stratum, of the onion family,
birth root, yellow-eyed grass, dust blower
CALM gale, nut grass, joint grass, club
moss. and certain water plant.
The extinction of this large number of
plants is said to be duo, at least in part.
10 the fact that n considerable part OF the
country which is now built over or under
cultivation was. At the time the catalogue
was published, a primeval forest
II is stated By an eminent bctanist In
tho Agricultural Department that the
''Prodromus" was by no means a complete
record OF the plants which existed here in
the early days. 1T would appear said
this authority. that only little over half
the plants actually existing were discov-
cred by the early botanists. II the proper
ton Of disappearance could be assumed TO
be the same for species not described as
for those described by them. this would |
raise the aggregate number to consIdera- |
bly, above 100 perhaps TO 125.
THE great number OF present known |
Species" continued the Agricultural De- |
psrtment expert, mot enumerated in the |
'Prodromus.' soms Of them among our |