Gibson County, Indiana - Chapter 5: Flora, 1884

FLORA. HEN we gare out over a landscape the 'eye in pleased with ite chequered beauty and loveliness. Hero and there are E) bright flowers, clinging vines, green hills sod dales; majestic forest trees, whose towering heads bave withstood the storms and blasts of many winter, rise in grandeur before us. Those, however, were not created merely to please the «ye and beautify the world, but were made to servo man in many ways. The cereals and grasses serve tho important purpose of furnishing food for man and beast, Our article will particularly treat of the more valuable woods ntilized in the mechanic 'arte and other purposes, and the grains, grasses, vegetables, plants and flowers mest beneficial to man, and ularly those which are natives of the county and indigenous to the soil and climate. Many species of the native vegetable kingdom have long since fled, and consequently we may not be able to enumerate all of them in this article. On the other hand, many others bave made their appearance with the onward march of civilization. 'The plants are many and rare, some for their beauty and some for their medicinal virtues. Among the plants of beauty are the phlox, the lilies, the ascelpias, the mints, golden rod, the eyebright, gerardia, and hundreds of other varieties which adorn the mead. ows, the timber and the brooksides. Besides the above there are many varieties of the climbing and twiniog vines, such as the bitter-sweet, trumpet creepers, woodbine, the clematis, the grape and others, which ll the woods with gay festoons and add grace and beauty to many a decaying monarch of the forest. The pinkroot, the columbo, ginseng, boneset, pennyroyal, sarsaparilla, nip and many others are utilized as herbs for medicime, and in early days the good housewife had a plentiful supply of these roots and herbs always ready, to be used in an emergency when physicians were perhaps miles away. The climate and soil of this county is peculiarly adapted to the growing of great variety of cereals, chief among which are winter wheat (of many varieties), Indian corn, oats, barley and rye. 'These have contributed largely to the wealth of the county, and have done much in making this one of the best agricultural counties in the state. other grain plants that are scarcely necessary to mention,

'The principal grasses found here now are those valuable forage and food plants that contribute so largely to the sustenance of the lower animals. They are timothy, red clover, white clover, Kentucky blue grass, orchard grass, top or herb grass, millet and Hunarian grass. Among the other grasses that may or have been found here are the following: Nimble Will (Muhlenbergia diffuse); Mae joint (Calamagrostis Canadensis); true blue gress (PouCompressu); meadow fescue (Festuca Elatior); chent chess, foreign (Bromus Secalinus); reed (Phragmites Communis); cane (Arundinaria Macrosperma); perennial ray grass (Solinum Perenmi); sweet-scented vernal grass (Anthoxanthum Odoratum); reed canary grass (Phalaris Arundinaces); paspalum setaceum crab grass (Panicum Sanguinale); Smooth panieum (Panicum Glabrum); witch grass icum capillare); barnyard grass (Panicum Crns-galli); foxtail (Setaria Glauca); bottle grass (Setaria Viridis); brown beard grass (Andropogon Scoparius)

On account of its latitude and the richness and variety of soil, thin county is remarkable for the quality and variety of hard-wood timber which originally covered nearly the entire county. We will endeavor to give » list of the various kinds of trees and shrubs that were native to this soil. (Acer rubrum, L.)

white or sugar maple; (Acer saccharinum) common sugar maple; (Acer saccharinum var. nigrum) black suger maple; (¿Escalas glabra) smooth or Ohio buck eye: (Alnus serrulata) smooth alder; (Amorpha fruticosa) false indigo; (Asimina triloba) common paw pa (Betula lenta) cherry or sweet birch; (Betula nigra) river or red birch; (Carpinus Americans) ironwood or hornbeam; (Carya oliveformis) pecan nut; (Catalpa speciosa, Wardu) Indian bean; (Carya alba) shellbark or shagbark hickory; (Carya microcarpa) small fruited hickory; (Carya Sulcata), or Western sbellbark hick- 'ory; (Carya tomentosa) mockernut or white hearted hickory; (Carya porcina) pig nut or brown hickory; (Carya mera) butternut or swamp hickory; (Celtis occidentalis) sugar berry; (Celtis Mississippiensis) Mississippi hackberry: (Cephalanthus occidentalis) button bush; (Cersis Canadensis) red bud, Judas tree; (Cornus Floride) flowering dogwood; (Cornus sericea) silky cornell, kinnikinnik: (Cornus paniculata) panicled cornell; Corylus Americana) wild hazlenut; (Corylus rostrata) beaked hazlemut; (Crategus tomentose) black or pear thom; (Cra tegus tomentose) var. mollis; (Crategus punctata) Jacq; (Crataegus cordata) Washington thorn; (Cratargus (Crus-galli)cockepur thorn: (Diospyros Virginians) common persimmon; (Enonymus atropurpureus) burning bush, waboo; (Enonymus Americanus) strawberry bush; (Fagus ferrazinea) American beech; (Fraxinus Americana) white ash; (Fraxinus pubescens) red ash (Fraxinus viridis) green ash; (Fraxinus quadrangulata) blue asb; (Gleditschia trincauthus) honey locust; (Gleditschia monosperma) walt, one-seeded or water locust; (Gymnocladus Canadensis) coffee tree; (Hydrangen arborescens) wild hydrangea; (Hydrangea prolicum) shrubby St. John's wort; (Hex decidua) wait; (Juglans cinerea) butternut; (Juglans nigra) black walnut; (Juniperus communis) common juniper: (Lindera Benzoin) spice bush, Benjamin-bush; (Liquidamber styraciflua) sweet gum tree; (Liriodendron Talipifera) tulip tree, poplar; (Morus ruba) red mulberry; (Negundo acercides) box elder; (Nyssa multiflora) black gum, tapelo; (Ostrya Virginica) hop hornbeam, leverwood; (Platanus occidentalis) sycamore, plane-tree; (Populus heterophylla) cottonwood, downy poplar; (Populus monilifera) necklace poplar, cotto wood; (Populus tremuloides) American aspen; (Prinos wild yellow or red plum; (Prunus insitita) Bullace plum; (Prunus serotina) wild black cherry; (Pyrus coronaria) sweet scented crab apple; (Pyros angustifolis) narrow leased crab apple; (Pteles trifcliata) fer ash, sbrobby trefoil; (Quercus alba) white ouk: (Quercus stellata) wang, post oak; (Quercus macrocarpa) burr or overeop oak; (Quercus macrocarpa var. oliveformis) olive-fruited overcap (Quercus lyrata walt) lyreleaved oak; Quercus bicolor var. Michauxii, Engelm) large-fruited swamp onk; (Quels muhlenbergii Engel) chestnut oak; (Quercus tinctoria) black or tanner's oak; (Quercus coccinea) scarlet oak; (Quercus rubra) red oak; (Quercus falcata Micbauzii) Spanish oak; (Quercus palustris) pin or water oak; (Quercus nigra) black jack or barren onk; (Quercus Phellos) willow oak; (Quercus imbricaria) laurel or shingle oak; (Rhus tophina) staghom somach; (Rhus glabra) smooth sumach; (Rhus copallina) dwarf sumach; (Salix tristis) dwar gray willow; (Salix discolor) glaucous willow; (Salix eriocophala) wooly-hended willow; (Salix petiolaris) long-stalked green osier; (Salix nigra) nek willow; (Salix rigida) stifl-lenved willow. (Sambucus Canadensis) common-elder; (Sassafras officinale) common sassafras; (Spira opulifolia, L) nine barks; (Spinea L) meadow sweet; (Staphylea trifolio) bladder mut; (Symphoricarpus occidentalis) wolf or buckberry; (Sympboricarpas vulgaris) Indian current; (Taxodium distichum) American bald cyprus; (Tilia) American basswood; linden; (Tilia heterophylla) white basswood; (Ulmus fulva) slippery eha; (Ulmus Americana) American or white elm; (Ulmus alta) winged elm; (Viburnum prunifolium) black haw; (Viburnum nudum) white rod; (Zanthoxylum Americanura) prickly

'The wild flowers and plants in former days were varied and numerous, and many of them beautiful, while others were weful. Some of thera havo been exterminated and others aro extremely scor tenin and may bo found growing in the virgin soil of tho forests. Others that found now eame in the

'Tho following list we think will contain most of then if not all: (Cannabis antiva) hemp; (Humulus Iupulus) hop; (Scirpus pangens) bulrush; (Arisema triphylum) Indian turnip; cut-tnil; (Sagittarin varibile) arrow.hend; (Cypripedium pubescens) yellow Indy's slipper: (Cypripedium candidum) white Indy's slipper; (Datura stramonium) Jamestown weed; (Asclepias Cornuti) milk weed: - (Phytolucca doeade) poke wood; (Amarantus hybridus) woodi (Rumex erspus) sour dock; (Marrubium vulgare) hoarhound : ` (Salonum nigrum) night- (Physalis viscosa) ground cherry; (Monarda 1) horsemint; (Nepota cataria) catnip; (Hodeoma y royal; (Plantaga majer) plantain; (Cirsium lan: secutum) common thistle; (Lappa n (TaruxacumDons-lconis)coramon dandelio " hicracifolia) fire weed; (Ambrosia axternsinfolin) rag wed; (Xanthium strumarium) cocklo bur; (Bidens bipinnata) Spanish needle; (Bidens chrysantiemoides) beggar ticks; (Manta cotula) May weed; (Leucnnthemum vulgare) common ox-eye daisey; (Eupatorium perfoliatum) thourongbwort; (Nelumbinm luteum) May apple; (Sanguinaria Canadensis) blood root; (Lepidium. inicum) wild popper-grass; (Portulacca oleracea) pursue; (Baptisis tiactoria) indigo weed; (Fragaria Virginians) wild strawberry; emilax; sarsnperilin; (Ribes Cynosbati) wild gooseberry; (Rosa. setigera) climbing rose; (Rubus lucida) dwarf wild rose; (Rubus villosus) blackberry; (Rubus occidentalis) black cap | raspberry; (Rubus Canadensis) dowberry; (Rhus Toricadendron) poison oak or ivy; (Vitis aestivalis) summer grape: (Vitis cordifolia) frost grape; (Aupelopsis quinquefolia) Virginia creeper; (Crategus) several species. In the forgoing lists wo have given scientific as well | English names, believing such a course to be of more | advantage to the general reader and student in pursuing the study of plante. We may have omitted somo plants, yet the list in general we think quite complete.