Chapter VI

FLORA OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES

IN SPEAKING OF...
NATIVE WOODY PLANTS
GRASSES

IN SPEAKING of the flora of the above counties it is not our purpose to treat exhaustively on the plants of the respective counties, but rather to give a list of the native trees and grasses found within their limits.

"Mere catalogues of plants growing in any locality," says a learned writer, "might without a little reflection, be supposed to possess but little value ;" a supposition which would be far from the truth. The intelligent farmer looks at once to the native vegetation as a sure indication of the value of new lands. The kinds of timber growing in a given locality will decide the qualities of the soil for agricultural purposes. The cabinet maker and the wheelwright and all other workers in wood will find what materials are at hand to answer their purposes. The state of Illinois by the botanist is usually considered under three divisions; the heavily timbered regions of the south, the flora of which is remarkable for its variety; the central portion, consisting mainly of prairie, yet not without groves which are usually adjacent to water-courses ; and the northern section. The counties of Shelby and Moultrie represent the characteristics of both a timbered and prairie country. Few spectacles are so inspiringly beautiful as a grand prairie at certain seasons of the year, and yet the luxuriant vegetation, which at first view seems so various, comprises but few species of plants.

Upon the flora of these counties civilization has produced its inevitable effect. As the Indian and buffalo have disappeared before the white man, so have some of the native grasses been vanquished by the white clover and the blue grass.

Below we add a list of:

NATIVE WOODY PLANTS

Acer Saccharinum, rock sugar maple A. Nigrum, black " " A.Dasycarpum, soft maple, silver leaf maple A. Negundo, box-elder, ash leaf maple AEsculus Glabra, stinking buckeye A. Serrulata, smooth leaf alder Amelanchier Canadensis, true ser- vice berry Amorpha Fruticosa, false indigo shrub A. Canescens, lead plant Ampelopsis Quinquefolia, virginia creeper Asimina Triloba, paw paw B. Nigra, river or red birch Carpinus Americanus, blue beech, hornbeam Ceanothus Americana, red root C. Ovalis, great red root Cercis Canadensis, Judas tree, red bud Celastrus Scandens, false bitter sweet, wax work Celtis Occidentalis, hackberry Cephalanthus Occidentalis, button bush	C.Virginica, choke cherry C. Serotina, black cherry, cabinet cherry C. Alternifolia, false dogwood C. Sericea, kinnickinick C. Cercinata; pigeon berry C. Stolonifera, " " red osier C. Paniculata, " " C. Sanguinea, " " Corylus Americana, hazelnut C. Coccinea, hawthorn C. Tomentosa, " C. Crus-galli, " C. Alba, shagbark hickory C. Sulcata, thick shellbark hickory C. Tomentosa, white heart hickory C. Glabra, pig-nut hickory Dirca Palustris, leatherwood Euonymus Atropurpureus, wahoo, strawberry tree E. Americana, wahoo Fraxinus Americana, white ash F. Virdis, green ash F. Sambucifolia, black ash F. Quadrangulata, blue ash Gleditschia Triacanthos, three thorned acacia, honey locust Hamamelis Virginica, witch hazel.
Page 39
Gymnocladtis Canadensis, Kentucky coffee-nut Juglans Cinerea, butternut J. Nigra, walnut Juniperus Virginiana, red cedar Lonicera Grata, Woodbine Menisperum Canadense, moonseed Morus Rubra, mulberry Ostrya Virginica, hop-hornbeam, iron-wood Plantanus Occidentalis, buttonwood, sycamore Populus Tremuloides, quaking asp, aspen P. Monilifera, necklace poplar, cottonwood P. Angulata, cotton tree Prunus Americana, wild plum Pyrus Coronaria, crab apple Quercus Macrocarpa, burr oak Q. Obtusiloba, post oak Q. Alba, white oak Q. Prinus, swamp white oak Q. Discolor, swamp chestnut oak Q. Imbrecaria, laurel leaf oak Q. Nigra, blackjack oak Q. Tinctoria, yellow bark oak, quercitron oak Q. Coccinea, scarlet oak Q. Rubra, red oak Q. Palustris, swamp Spanish oak, pin oak R. Glabra, sumach R. Radicans, climbing poison ivy R. Toxicodendron, poison ivy Ribes Cynosbati, prickly gooseberry R. Hirtellum, smooth " R. Rotundifolium, " " R. Lacustre, swamp gooseberry	R. Floridum, black currant Rosa Lucinda, prairie rose R. Blanda, wood rose S. Tristis, rose willow S.Hamulis, cone willow S. Eriocephala, silky head willow S. Nigra, Black willow S. Fragilis, joint willow, brittle willow Sambucus Canadensis, elderberry S. Pubens, red fruit elderberry Sassafras Officinale, sassafras Shepherdia Canadensis, buffalo berry Smilax Hispida, greenbriar Spiraea Opulifolia, vinebark spireea Spiraea Salicifolia, hardhack, willow spiraea Staphylea Trifolia, rattle-box, wood- bladder nut Symphoricarpus Vulgaris, coral berry Tecoma Radicans, trumpet creeper Tilia Americana, basswood Ulmus Fulva, red elm U. Americana, white elm U. Racemosus, cork elm, hickory elm Vibernum Prunifolium, black haw, arrow wood V. Lentago, black haw Vitis Aestivalis, summer grape V. Cordifolia, frost grape Zanthoxylum Americanum, prickly ash Lindira Benzoin, spice bush Rubus Strigosus, red raspberry " Occidentalis, black raspberry " Villosus, blackberry Robinia Pseudocacia, black locust

Our article will particularly treat of the more valuable woods used in the mechanic arts, and the grasses, plants, vegetables, and flowers most beneficial to man, and particularly those which are natives of these counties. The plants are many and rare, s ome for beauty and some for medicine. The pinkroot, the columbo, the ginseng, the boneset, pennyroyal, and others are used as herbs for medicine. Plants of beauty are phlox, the lily, the asclepias, the mints, golden rod, the eyebright, gerardia, and hun dreds more which adorn the meadows and brook-sides; besides are climbing vines, the trumpet creeper, the bitter sweet, the woodbine, the clematis and the grape, which fill the woods with gay festoons, and add grace to many a decayed monarch of the forest. Here are found the oak, with at least its twenty varieties; the hickory, with as many more species; the thirty kinds of elm, from the sort which bear leaves as large as a man's hand, to the kind which bear a leaf scarcely larger than a man's thumb-nail; the black walnut, so tall and straight and beautiful is nearly gone; the hackberry, gum tree, black and sweet, the tulip, the giant cottonwoods, and hundreds more attest the fertility of the soil and mildness of the climate. The White Oak is much used i n making furniture and agricultural implements, as are also the Panel Oak, Burr Oak, and Pin Oak. The Blue Ash is excellent for flooring. The Honey Locust is a very durable wood, and shrinks less than any other in seasoning.

In the above list we have given the scientific as well as the English names, believing such a course best to pursue in the study of plants, and more beneficial to the student or general reader.

There may be some plants omitted, yet we think the list quite complete.

GRASSES

IN SPEAKING of these we purposely exclude the grain plants, those grasses which furnish food for man, and confine ourselves to those valuable grasses which are adapted to the sustenance of the inferior animals.

Timothy grass or cat's tail,
       naturalized
Agrastus vulgaris, red top or herbs
       grass
Muhlenbergia diffusa, nimble will
Calamagrastis Canadensis, blue joint,
       this is a native and grew upon
       prairies to the height of a
       man's head on horseback.
Dactylis glomerata, orchard grass
Poa Pretensis, Kentucky blue grass
Poa Compressa, true blue grass
Festuca Elator, meadow fescue
Bromus Leculinus, cheat chess,
       foreign
Phragmites Communis, the reed
Arundinaria Macrosperma, or cane

Solium Perenne, perennial ray grass
Anthoxanthum Odoratum, sweet-
       scented vernal grass
Phalaris Arundinacea, reed canary
       grass
P. Canadensis, canary grass
Paspalum Setaceum
Panicum Sanguinale, crab-grass
Panicum Glabrum, smooth panicum
Panicum Capillare, Witch grass
Panicum Crus galli, barn-yard grass
Setaria Glauca, foxtail
Setaria Viridis, bottle grass
Setaria Italica, millet
Andropogon Scoparius, broom-beard
       grass

Page 40

|| Return to Main Site Index ||