It is now thirty-nine years since the publication of Dudley's Cayuga Flora.¹ This period has been one of great activity among American taxonomic botanists. Many new species have been described, and the status of others has been changed. In some cases the limits of genera and of families have been modified, and a system of classification wholly different from that employed by Dudley is now in general use. Botanical nomenclature has undergone a considerable evolution, a change which has resulted in a crystallization of procedure into definite codes. In connection with this, a not inconsiderable change in names has taken place.

During this whole period, local botanists have actively continued the exploration of the Cayuga Lake Basin and the critical study of its flora. For some time it has been apparent that a new catalog is urgently needed in order that the present knowledge of the region may be in more readily available form. Some nine or ten years ago, the project of rewriting the flora was definitely outlined and work upon it was begun in earnest. At that time much work still remained to be done on the exploration of remote or little visited localities, and it was necessary to collect a sufficiently large quantity of herbarium material to give accurate data on range and frequency and to serve as a basis for revisional study in the more difficult groups. About fourteen thousand collections have been made and a specimen from each has been mounted for the herbarium. This large number of collections should render the records fairly complete. Many revisional studies have been finished and the results published in botanical journals. Little evidence was at hand as to the soil preference of various species and varieties, and their local soil distribution. Consequently, notes and data were accumulated not only from the field but also from herbarium records, catalogs, and other sources. However, the subject of soil preference is new, and, though progress has been made, there still remains much to be done.

The work on the flora has been stimulated by the growing conviction that, among other factors, one which is of prime importance to the progress of scientific agriculture is a knowledge of the wild-plant covering of the land. Useful and deleterious plants are thus detected and recorded, while of still greater fundamental importance is the ability gained to judge the nature of the soil by means of the wild plants as indicators. It is therefore as a contribution both to pure science and to agriculture that the present work has been undertaken.

1Dudley, William R. The Cayuga flora. Part I: A catalogue of the Phaenogamia growing without cultivation in the Cayuga Lake Basin. Bulletin of the Cornell University (Science), 2:1-xxx, 1-132. 1886.

In plan, the treatment herewith presented shows some marked departures from that of Dudley's Flora. This catalog is intended to include all vascular plants growing spontaneously within the limits of the drainage basin of Cayuga Lake and its tributary streams, while Dudley's Flora covered only the Spermatophyta. A more important difference, however, is the introduction of keys, which should add greatly to the usefulness of the work, and which at the same time afford a concise means of recording much new information acquired during the study of the large amount of material collected in recent years. A considerable effort has been made to verify these keys, and it is hoped that they are reasonably correct. Also, the new Flora differs widely from the old one in the system of classification followed. The original Flora was arranged on the Benthamian system, whereas the system here employed is that of Eichler-Engler, now used very generally throughout the world. By adopting this system the authors do not wish to imply an unquestioned acceptance of it as representing the most modern conception of plant relationship; but until some other more modern system has been generally accepted, it would not be practicable, in a flora of this scope, to modify that now in vogue. The writers have given themselves some freedom in the interpretation of family limits and in the arrangement and sequence of genera, and still more freedom in dealing with species and varieties.

Another marked departure from the old Flora is in the nomenclature employed. The names used by Dudley were, with few exceptions, those found in current manuals. .In the present work the International Code (Vienna Code) is consistently followed. Nomenclatorial changes due to this and other causes will give an impression of strangeness to one familiar with the Dudley Flora.

In the matter of specific, generic, and family limits a conservative attitude has been adopted, and departures from widely accepted procedure have been made only after extended study has shown that the old position is no longer tenable. In the main, comprehensive groups have been favored, especially when they can be more clearly defined or when such groups are more nearly coordinate with other related groups than the segregates would be; and also the belief is held that the indication of relationship shown by the use of comprehensive generic names must be given some consideration. Though there may be a difference of opinion in this regard, it would seem that, for beginners, larger and fewer groups, with fewer generic and family names, are less confusing and less difficult to master than smaller, more homogeneous though not structurally distinct, segregates. An attempt has been made to give consideration in each case to the arguments usually applied by those holding different points of view.

In this work, varieties and forms as categories in rank below the species are retained. Accurate scientific taxonomy would seem to require some such means of indicating and classifying lack of uniformity within the species. Differences between plants are of different grades, and without this finer means of expression the comparative value of the differences must often be misrepresented. Species are distinct from one another. Varieties run together. The term variety as here employed usually indicates the extreme of a more or less continuous series, either local or geographical. The distinction is not usually employed, however, unless there is a sufficient break in the series at some point to render the separation of the variety of practical value. Generally the variety is characterized by the extreme of only one or two characters. Form is comparable to the old terms sport and freak, and represents an incidental condition which may appear independently wherever the species is found.

Following the general English and American practice, the variety of a polymorphic species on which that species was established is not separated as var. typica, but is treated as the species itself or as the typical form of the species, without further designation.

Many forms occur in the flora which give the appearance of being natural hybrids. If this seems the most rational explanation when all evidence is considered, they are so treated in the text. In such cases it must be remembered that their hybrid origin is not proved, but rests on circumstantial evidence. Hybrids are not given nomenclatorial status in this work, except occasionally when there is a citation of their supposed parents connected by the sign x. If they are given definite names, their status in taxonomy is unduly emphasized and they are likely to be confused in standing with the real species from which they have been derived.

In the catalog part of the text, the statements regarding habitat and frequency, and the lists of stations, have been formulated to express the views of the authors based on their experience. The dates of flowering are taken from Dudley's Flora, but they have been checked by recent collections and observations, and modified when the experience of the authors would indicate them to be incorrect. The ranges are added for the convenience of students of plant geography, as well as to give every student some idea of where the plant is found. These ranges are taken freely from current manuals, but they have frequently been emended when further knowledge of the plant has made this necessary. It is not claimed, however, that they are more than reasonably accurate.

Perhaps the part of this text most liable to error is that dealing with the soil preferences and with occurrence on the Coastal Plain. Actual scientific knowledge of the soil requirements of individual species is as yet very meager, and only impressions from general experience could be drawn upon for the statements given. A beginning in soil study is so important, however, that it was thought best to record what is locally, though imperfectly, known. In order to throw light on soil requirements, it seemed desirable to add information as to the occurrence of each species on the Coastal Plain. This region is one of the most distinct, and also one of the most interesting, of the geographical regions of eastern North America, and is characterized not only to some extent by its climate, but more particularly by peculiarities of soil. The authors found it necessary, however, to compile the information concerning occurrence of plants on the Coastal Plain from fragmentary records in catalogs and from personal notes, and thus there is opportunity for error. No new names are proposed in this work. All new names required have already been published in journals.

In the work of preparing this flora, kindly aid has been extended by many persons. To all of these, gratitude is expressed. Particularly are to be mentioned Mrs. Mabel White Allen and Mr. Stewart Burnham, who tested the keys and otherwise aided in editorial work on the manuscript. Much credit is due to the Editorial Office of the College for the manner in which the work is issued.

LOCATION AND LIMITS OF THE FLORA

Cayuga Lake is located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, on the southern border of the drainage basin of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The region thus has a general slope toward the north. Cayuga Lake lies near the geographical center of the State, and is about centrally located in the lake region of which it forms a part. In this position it extends in a north-and-south direction. The lake is one of the two largest in the series, and is 61.3 kilometers (38.1 miles) long. Its maximum breadth is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles), though through most of its length it is only about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) wide. Like the other finger lakes, it is thus extremely long and narrow, and it has characteristically straight shores and is almost free from islands. In altitude it is the lowest of these lakes, its height above sea level being 115 meters (380 feet).

The drainage basin of Cayuga Lake as herein limited at the outlet end extends from the village of Westbury on the north to North Spencer on the south, and has a maximum length of about 114.5 kilometers (71 miles). At the northern end the basin is comparatively narrow, being only about 19.3 kilometers (12 miles) wide at Cayuga, but southward the width increases until near the southern end of the lake it is about 51.4 kilometers (32 miles). This widest part extends from near Cayuta Lake on the west to the Cortland marl ponds on the east. The drainage area lies in the counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Tompkins, Tioga, Schuyler, Seneca, and Wayne. Tompkins County is almost wholly contained within its limits, but only small parts of the counties of Cortland, Tioga, Schuyler, and Wayne fall within the basin. The southern border of the basin is on the watershed between the St. Lawrence and Susquehanna River systems.

At the northern end, where the lake basin fades into the great Ontario plain, an arbitrary limit has been established. Again, as in Dudley's Flora, the somewhat independent region of the West Junius ponds is included, and several miles of territory to the north of Montezuma are also added in order that the Flora may cover all of the region between Cayuga Lake and the immediate drainage area of the Lake Ontario shore. The present work is planned to include all vascular plants growing spontaneously within the limits outlined above, and also those of the watershed marshes and ponds.

EXPLANATION OF THE CATALOG

While the catalog in general is self-explanatory, a few details may need further explanation. Specific and varietal names when heading the treatment of that species or variety are printed in bold-faced type if the plant is native about Ithaca or in this general part of the country. If the plant is an immigrant from some other country or from a distant part of this country, light-faced small capitals are used. Such plants, when first entering the region and not yet established, are said to be adventive, when brought in by man in other than accidental ways, they are introduced; when fully established, they are naturalized. Only native plants or those so fully established as to maintain themselves from year to year are given a full numbered place in the catalog. Those not yet established are listed in brackets, or a few in footnotes only. Varieties are indicated by the abbreviation var., and forms by the word forma. Common names are given when such are known to be frequently applied to the plant. Synonyms are given only when their omission would lead to confusion. In general, they are included only when the name used differs from that employed in Gray's Manual of Botany (seventh edition). A reference is added, in such cases, to a place where the status of the name is fully discussed. An attempt has been made to correlate the nomenclature used with that found in Dudley's Flora.

Plants are listed as to frequency under the following terms, in sequence as to abundance: rare, scarce, infrequent, frequent, common. A plant having five known stations or less is considered rare unless it is so abundant at some of the stations as to violate the idea of rareness. Collectors, except when these are the authors, are cited for rare plants. Stations are not cited for plants that are common. The symbol (D.) indicates that this station was listed in Dudley's Flora, and (!) indicates that the plant has been seen by the present authors at the same station. The dates given in the first paragraph under each species refer to the time of flowering unless specifically indicated to represent the fruiting period.

Only species and varieties are included in the keys, forms being omitted. Occasionally at the end of a paragraph in a key, additional material is given in parenthesis. This is for information only, and is not intended to contrast with a similar statement in the corresponding division of the key.

MAPS

Two maps are provided. One is merely an outline map of New York showing the location of the Cayuga Lake Basin. The other is a detailed map of the basin, on which are located the important political features of the region together with most of the swamps, ponds, and streams that are of importance to the collector and are cited in the text. Four levels of altitude are indicated on the map, in an attempt to represent the Ontario plain, the lower plateau, the upper plateau, and the highest hills. After a study of the escarpments between these regions, the altitude chosen to limit the lowest level was 275 meters (900 feet). The second level then fell between 275 and 427 meters (900 and 1400 feet), the higher level between 427 and 550 meters (1400 and 1800 feet), and the highest hills between 550 and 640 meters (1800 and 2095 feet). The map was checked with the United States topographical maps for accuracy of detail in placing towns, railroads, swamps, ponds, streams, and other features, and the topography was worked on to the map from the topographical maps.

While the towns and other gross features can be readily located on the map, difficulty may be encountered in locating many of the collecting regions. The following index is intended to aid in the location of places less well-known which are cited in the text. By the index number given, their approximate location may be determined.

Amphitheater, Six Mile Creek.-South side of creek at lower reservoir. I 20 1/2.

Bald Hill, Caroline.-K 23. Dudley's "Bald Hill" seems to have been northwest of this hill.

Bald Hill, Ithaca = Eagle Hill.

Ball Hill, Danby.-H 1/2 23.

Bates Woods.-Near Glenwood. G 3/4 191/2.

Bear Swamp = Woodwardia Bog. Dudley's "Bear Swamp" was north of Benson Corners.

Beaver Brook.-L1/2 18.

Beebe Lake.-Fall Creek Gorge below Forest Home.

Beech Woods, Six Mile Creek.-Below lower reservoir.

Benson Corners.-J 18.

Besemer.-J 21 1/2.

Big Gully.-F 12.

Black Brook, Tyre.-C 8.

Black Creek.-C 5.

Black Lake.-D 8 1/2.

Botrychium Woods, Spring I.ake.-Northwest of Spring Lake village. F 4.

Brookton Springs.-J 1/2 22.

Bull Hill, Newfield.-F 1/2 23.

Burdick Glen = Esty Glen.

Burt Schoolhouse = Fleming Schoolhouse.

Bushy Point, Cayuga Lake.-Mentioned by Dudley, but location not now known.

Buttermilk Glen.-H 21.

Canoga Marshes.-D 11.

Caroline Pinnacles.-K 23.

Cascade Pond = Dwyer Pond.

Cascadilla Glen.-I 20 1/2.

Cayuga Bridge.-Long railroad bridge at Cayuga.

Cayuga Heights.-North of Cornell Heights and just outside limits of city of Ithaca. H 1/2 20.

Cayuga Lake Park.-Opposite Cayuga. D 9 1/2.

Cayuga Marshes.-Southern part of Montezuma Marshes.

Cayuta Lake.-D 1/2 22.

Cayutaville.-E 22.

Chicago Bog.-M 18.

Chicago Crossing = Gracie Station.

Chicago Springs.-One mile south of Gracie Station, and west of road.

Chickaree Woods.-East of Agricultural College barns, formerly.

Circus common, south of Percy Field.-Between Falls Street and Fall Creek, formerly.

Connecticut Hill.-F 22.

Cortland marl ponds.-M 1/2 17 1/2.

Coy Glen.-H 21.

Crane Creek.-F 7.

Crowbar Point.- G 1/2 19.

Crusoe Bog, Lake, and Prairie.-D 5.

Dart Woods.-On hill south of Ellis Hollow Swamp.

Dryden-Lansing Swamp.-I 1/2 19.

Duck Lake.-F 4.

Dwyer Pond.-Cascadilla Creek just above South Avenue.

Eagle Hill.-I 1/2 20 3/4.

East Lawn Cemetery.-I 20 1/2.

Eddy Pond.-Now Girls' Playground, Cascadilla Glen.

Ellis Hollow Swamp.-J 1/2 20 1/2.

Elm Beach, Romulus.-D 14 1/2.

Enfield Glen.-G 21 1/2.

Esty Glen.-I 19.

Factory Street = Stewart Avenue, Ithaca.

Fall Creek Gorge.-I 20.

Farley Point.-E 11 1/2.

Featherbed Bog.-F 3 1/2.

Ferris Brook.-At Ferris Place, Ithaca.

Fir Tree Swamp between Slaterville and Dryden.-L 20 1/2.

Fir Tree Swamp, Danby-I 22.

Fir Tree Swamp, Freeville.-K1/2 18 1/2.

Fiske-McGraw grounds = Chi Psi grounds, near Morse Hall.

Fleming Meadow.-Inlet Valley, near Buttermilk Falls but west of railroad. G 3/4 21.

Fleming Schoolhouse.-Inlet Valley near Buttermilk Falls.

Fox Ridge.-E 1/2 6.

Franklin Ravine.-About two miles north of King Ferry.

Free Hollow = Forest Home.

Freeville Bog.-K 18 1/2.

Frontenac Island.-E 11.

Frontenac Point.-F 1/2 18.

Geer Gulf = Coy Glen.

Girls' Playground, Cascadilla Glen.-Along South Avenue, south of athletic fields.

Glass Works.-Junction of Cascadilla Creek and the Inlet, formerly.

Glen Pond.-Cascadilla Glen at Stewart Avenue.

Goodwin Point = Taughannock Point.

Gracie Station.-M 17 1/2.

Gracie Swamp = McLean swamp along Beaver Brook.

Green Tree Falls = Potter Falls.

Grotto.-J 17 3/4.

Hanshaw Corners.-I 20.

Hardenburg Gulf.-Between Coy Glen and Enfield Glen.

Headwaters Swamp.-H 1/2 24 1/2.

Hibiscus Point.-E 11.

Hill Branch = Stream south of Sawyer Creek. E 1/2 11.

Howland Island.-F 5.

Howland Point.-E.

Incline, South Hill.-Near junction of Cayuga Street and railroad.

Indian Salt Spring.-South of Black Lake.

Indian Spring.-Lake Street, Ithaca, one-half mile south of Renwick.

Inlet Marshes.-Cayuga Inlet between Ithaca and the lake. "Ithaca Marshes" in part.

Isoetes Pond.-Westernmost and smallest of Cortland marl ponds, northeast of Chicago Bog.

Ithaca Falls.-At lower end of Fall Creek Gorge.

Jennings Pond.-I 23.

Judd Falls.-Near East Ithaca, at railway bridge over Cascadilla Creek.

Kennedy Corners.-G 20.

Key Hill.-F 1/2 22 1/2.

Kidders Ferry = Kidders. E 16.

King Ferry.-F 15 1/2.

Krum Corners.-G 19 3/4.

Lake Como.-L 15.

Larch Meadow.-H 21.

Lay Iron Spring.-Just west of Black Lake.

Lick Brook.-H 22.

Locke Pond = Lake Como.

Lockwood Flats.-At mouth of Big Gully.

Long Point.-E 14.

Lowery Ponds.-A 8 1/2.

Lucifer Falls.-High falls in Enfield Glen.

McGowan Woods.-I 1/3 20 1/4.

McKinney Twin Glens.-At McKinneys.

McLean Bogs.-M 18.

Malloryville Bog.-L 18.

Marl Creek Meadows.-M 1/2 17 1/2, by large marl pond.

May Point.-E 8.

Michigan Hollow Swamp.-I 23.

Midway.-I 18.

Miller Bog, Spring Lake.-One-eighth mile west of Spring Lake village.

Montezuma Marshes.-E 7.

Moore Creek.-H 18.

Mud Creek, Freeville.-L 18 1/2.

Mud Pond, Conquest.-F 4.

Mud Pond, Ira.-G 1/2 3.

Mud Pond, McLean Bogs.-M 18.

Narrows, Six Mile Creek.-Below dam at lower reservoir.

Neguaena Creek = Cayuga Inlet.

Negundo Woods.-Cayuga Inlet at upper D., L. & W. R. R. bridge.

Newfield Swamp.-Southwest of Key Hill.

Newton Ponds.-A 8 1/4.

Nook.-Lake Street, Ithaca, at first cove north of Fall Creek.

Osmun.-Near Midway, formerly. I 18.

Otter Lake.-H 1/2 4.

Otter Spring.-M 3/4 16 3/4.

Outlet Marshes = Montezuma Marshes.

Paine Creek.-F 14.

Phillips Pond.-A 8 1/2.

Pleasant Grove Brook.-150 yards south of Renwick.

Pleasant Grove Cemetery.-At head of Pleasant Grove Brook.

Pony Hollow.-F 24.

Portland Point.-H 19.

Potter Falls.-I 1/4 21.

Pout Pond.-A 9.

President White Place = President's house, Cornell University campus.

Pumping station, Ithaca water works.-At Van Natta Dam.

Red Mills and Red Mill Pond.-L 18 1/2.

Renwick Park = Stewart Park.

Rhodes Woods.-On hill south of Etna.

Ringwood.-K 20.

Roger Corner.-L 16.

Round Marshes = McLean Bogs.

Salmon Creek.-H 17.

Salt Creek.-North of Montezuma village.

Salt Pond west of Howland Island.-E 5 1/2.

Salt springs.-East of Montezuma village; along Salt Creek, south of Black Lake; Cayuga Lake shore, opposite Cayuga.

Saxon Hill = Connecticut Hill.

Shurger Glen.-I 18 1/2.

Signer Woods.-H 3/4 24 1/2.

Slaterville Swamp.-L 22.

Slayton Pond.-G 5.

Snyder Hill.-J 21.

South Hill Marsh.-H 1/2 21 1/4.

Spencer Lake.-H 1/2 25.

Spring Lake.-F 4 1/2.

Spruce Swamp, Enfield.-F 1/2 21.

Stark Pond.-G 1/2 5.

Stevens Woods.-Along railroad, Ithaca, near southwest corner of Cayuga Lake. G 3/4 20.

Stewart Park.-South end of Cayuga Lake, east of lighthouses.

Sulphur Spring, Six Mile Creek.-East side of creek, at first cove above Van Natta Dam.

Summer Hill.-L 16.

Summit Marsh.-H 1/2 25.

Taft Hill = Bald Hill, Caroline.

Taughannock Gorge.-F 1/2 18 1/2.

Thatcher Pinnacles.-H 1/2 23 1/2.

Townley Swamp.-J 18.

Triphammer Falls.-Fall Creek, just below Beebe Lake.

Turkey Hill.-J 20.

Turtle Pond.-In Tamarack Swamp. D 4 1/2.

Utt Point.-South of Farley Point and north of Big Gully Point.

Valentine Brook.-Small brook near Valentine Place, Ithaca.

Valley Cemetery.-Inlet Valley, southwest of Buttermilk Falls.

Vandemark Pond.-A 8 1/4.

Van Natta Dam.-At junction of Six Mile Creek and Giles Street.

Warren woodlot.-North of Fall Creek and one-half mile east of Forest Home.

Waterburg.-E 1/2 19.

Wells Falls.-Just below Van Natta Dam.

Westbury Bog and Prairie.-E 2 1/2.

White Church.-K 23.

Willets.-E 14 1/2.

Willow Glen.-K 19 1/2.

Willow Point.-South of McKinneys.

Willow Pond.-Just east of Cascadilla Hall, Ithaca, formerly.

Wood Mill.-H 13.

Woodwardia Bog.-L 18 3/4.

Wyckoff Swamp.-J 17 1/2.