'II mm- L I E) RAI^Y OF THE UN IVERSITY or ILLINOIS cop, 2 './.lUHAL HISTORY SURVEY STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION SOME UNUSUAL NATURAL AREAS IN ILLINOIS AND A FEW OF THEIR PLANTS ROBERT A. EVERS Biological Notes No. 50 July, 1963 NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION Urbana, Illinois Fig. 1." A quiet pool in Bay Creel< as it llows through the Bell Smith Springs Recreational Area. SOME UNUSUAL NATURAL AREAS IN ILLINOIS AND A FEW OF THEIR PLANTS ROBERT A. EVERS This article has one main purpose: to acquaint interested persons with some unusual natural areas in Illinois. A natural area can be defined as an area of any size in which is found one or more rare spe- cies of plants or animals, an important biotic com- munity, a significant natural landscape, or some pre- historic condition that has been scarcely, or not at This paper is printed by authority of the State of IlllDols, Ch. 127, IBS, Par. 58.12. Dr. Robert A. Evers Is Associate Botanist, Illinois Natural History Survey. all, disturbed by the activities of man. This definition permits designation of certain localities in Illinois as natural areas, although they may have been some- what disturbed by man. Such areas can be called scientific areas as well as natural areas, because they are valuable for certain types of research. Two centuries ago, most of what is now Illinois was scarcely touched by man. By 1900, however, our state had lost much of its forest land and most of the once vast flatland prairie. All of the big game ani- I. APPLE RIVER CANYON- STATE PARK 7. ILLINOIS RIVER- SAND PRAIRIE 8. TWIN CULVERT CAVE- 9. COLE CREEK HILL PRAIRIE- 13. FULTS HILL PRAIRIE 14. FOUNTAIN BLUFF 15. GRAND CANYON 16. PINE HILLS ond WOLF LAKE 17. HORSESHOE LAKE -2. ILLINOIS BEACH STATE PARK ■3. VOLO BOG •4. WAUCONDA BOG -5. TROUT PARK -6. CLARK RUN -10. ROCKY BRANCH -II. ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD PRAIRIE -12. DEVIL'S PROP 18. CACHE RIVER SWAMPS •24 LUSK CREEK CANYON ■23. HAYES CREEK CANYON ■ 22. BELL SMITH SPRINGS ■21. JACKSON HOLLOW ^20. FORT MASSAC STATE PARK 19. THORNTON'S RAVINE Fig. 2.— Map of Illinois showing locations of natural or scientific areas described in this article. mals ~ buffalo, elk, cougar, and bear — could no longer be found in the state. Deer, beaver, and turkey were gone, but they have since been reintroduced. A small area east of Rantoul was available as one of the last, ujidisturbed flatland prairies of the state, but by 1915 it had been plowed. Illinois now has no sizable sample of the flatland prairie -- only remnants along railroads and fencerows. Not only the flatland but other types of prairie have been destroyed. The large expanses of bottomland prairie, grasslands that occupied huge areas of the floodplains of our larger streams, have been plowed and cultivated. Only fence- row remnants remain. Most of the sand prairie has been converted into fields of grain or melons or transformed into turkey farms. Prairies on the brow slopes of die valley walls of our large rivers - hill prairies — are the least disturbed of our prairies. Our state and the nation are experiencing a rapid rise in population and a concomitant need for more housing and homesites, more factory sites and shop- ping centers, and wider highways for swifter trans- portation. These place heavy demands upon land. As a consequence, many of our wetlands, the swamps, marshes and bogs, refuges for rare and unusual plants and homes or resting places of numerous birds, have been or are being drained. Hill prairies near metro- politan areas are being converted into homesites. Some of our remaining forest is being cut and the land cultivated or used as homesites. We are rapidly los- ing an important heritage - our natural areas. Although natural or scientific areas are ordinarily places of beauty, fig. 1, to the scientist they are much more than that. In such localities the biota - the community of plants and animals - lives in nearly undisturbed conditions. Here it is possible to study in natural surroundings a single species of plant or animal, or groups of plants or animals, or the rela- tionships of both. It is in these places that the once abundant and now rare species can survive. In these refuges the biologist can study the soil flora and fauna and their relationships to other organisms, a field of study in which much remains to be done. Without these natural areas, protected from all types of "management," such researches will be impos- sible. To scientists and laymen, natural or scientific areas are of great importance. In 1959, six Natural History Survey staff mem- bers (William E. Clark, Robert A. Evers, R. Weldon Larimore, Milton W. Sanderson, Philip W. Smith, and Lewis J. Stannard) who were interested in natural areas in Illinois, where they were located, and what was unique about them, became greatly concerned about our loss of scientifically important places. They suggested approximately 70 localities and from these selected 23 that they believed to be the most unusual. Most of the 23 localities are among the 24 natural areas described in this article and located in fig. 2. The others are of importance, and doubtless there are many more areas within the state that are worthy of preservation. Many of the state parks have been omitted, not because they lack natural areas but because they have been described elsewhere. It is my hope that from this article many citizens of Illinois will become conscious of the existence of our remaining natural areas and will obtain some knowledge of them. It is my further hope that this article may arouse a desire in some persons to visit these places, not to pick the flowers or kill the wildlife, but to enjoy the genuine natural beauty. (If a natural area is in private ownership, permission to enter it should be obtained from the owner.) Many of us who are concerned about these areas hope that a sizable group of people will become interested and will help in the preservation of some or all of these localities by supporting organizations that promote the preservation of natural areas and by supporting legislation that makes adequate preservation pos- sible. We hope that Illinois citizens of the present and future generations may enjoy natural and scien- tific areas in their state. Common names are employed throughout this ar- ticle except for plants that have no recognized com- mon names. A list of the scientific equivalents for the common names is appended. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank Richard R. Graber, Milton V. Sanderson, Philip W. Smith, and Lewis J. Stannard, all of the Illinois Natural History Survey staff, for supplying certain information included in this paper. William E. Clark took the photographs used as figs. 17, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, and 43. Wilmer D. Zehr took those used as figs. 10, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, and 40. All other photographs were taken by the author. The map that serves as fig. 2 is the work of Miss Marguerite Verley. I also wish to thank George E. Ekblaw and Jack Simon of the State Geological Survey for information on the geology of some of the localities, Harlow B.Mills, H. H. Ross, and J. Cedric Carter for the encouragement they have given, and James S. Avars, who edited the manuscript. 1. APPLE RIVER CANYON Apple River Canyon, about 4 miles southeast of the village of Apple River, is partly included in a state park that lies in the south half of section 4, T. 28 N., R. 4 E., in Jo Daviess County-. The canyon extends beyond the park limits into the northwest quarter of section 9, the east half of section 8, the north half of section 17, and the south half of the northeast quarter of section 18. The actual area of the park is small; much more of the canyon should be purchased and preserved. Geologically this is a most interesting locality. The valley that trends from northwest to southeast widens southeastward. Another valley, which joins it at a right angle and trends southwestward. is narrow and has high cliffs. Younger than the valley that trends southeastward, it is the valley through which Apple River flows from this area, not into it, as would be the usual condition. Before the advance of the Winnebago glacier, the earliest of the Wisconsinan stage (the latest stage of the ice age), Apple River flowed from the northwest to the southeast and possibly continued to the east through a valley now partly occupied by Yellow Creek in Stephenson County. Such a flow would readily explain the wider valley to the south- east. The Winnebago glacier blocked the southeast oudet and impounded the water. The impounded water cut a new channel to the southwest. This channel drained the valley from the northwest and also drained the blocked valley to the southeast. Upon deglacia- tion, Apple River continued to use this channel to flow southwestward and to empty into the Mississippi River. The canyon is in a driftless area, one of the unglaciated parts of Illinois. The rocks exposed along the canyon walls are Ordovician in age, about 400 million years old. Apple River Canyon has a vegetation of decidu- ous forest with northern coniferous representatives, prairie remnants, and an interesting cliff flora. Among the coniferous representatives are white pine and Canada yew. The forest contains such deciduous trees as white oak, northern red oak. Hill's oak, bass- wood, hop hornbeam, and rock elm. Prairie is repre- sented mostly by remnants along the roadsides near the park and by a few remnants of the dry prairie type on the ridges. Big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass, and sunflowers ate reminders of a more widespread prairie. The rare bird's-eye primrose grows on some of the cliffs, fig. 3- One cliff is so much adorned by this plant that it is known as "Prim- rose Cliff" (Pepoon 1917). This rare plant also grows on cliffs farther upstream, outside the park boundary. Studies of the plant life, have been published by Boewe, Barrick, & Hague (1935) and by Fuller (1946), as well as by Pepoon. Disturbance by visitors in the park is present but not yet acute. Some pressure on the facilities provided in this park has been removed by the open- Fig. 3." Apple River and the Primrose Cliff in Apple River Canyon State Park, Jo Daviess County. In early .May, the cliff is bedecked with many pinkish blossoms of bird's-eye primrose. ing of another park — Lake Le-Aqua-Na -- to the east in Stephenson County. Picnicking and camping are permitted at Apple River. Apple River Canyon State Park was acquired by the state in part through the persistent efforts of Dr. Herman Pepoon, a physician who preferred to teach high school biology, rather than practice medicine, and whose interest in nature doubtless developed during his youth, which was spent in the Apple River area. He visualized a much larger park (Pepoon 1920). Perhaps we can still hope that more land to the southwest and northwest can be obtained and more, if not all, of the canyon can be placed in public ownership. 2. ILLINOIS BEACH STATE PARK Bordering Lake Michigan between Waukegan, Illinois, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, lies a sand and gravel beach that is superimposed upon glacial till; its western limit is the Glenwood beach ridge of glacial Lake Chicago. Many writers have referred to this area as "the Waukegan moorland," but Gates (1912), who studied it in detail, called it the "Beach area." Illinois Beach State Park occupies 1,555 acres of this sand and marsh terrace with dune ridges. The southern boundary of the park is approximately the middle of section 10, T. 45 N., R. 12 E. The eastern boundary is Lake Michigan, along which the park ex- tends northward for 3.5 miles, to the north line of section 26, T. 36 N., R. 12 E. The northern boundary follows the north line of sections 26 and 27 westward, almost to the railroad trackway in the area. The west- ern boundary is irregular. Part of it lies west of the trackway. Other parts, totaling 1.5 miles, coincide with the east side of the trackway. Still other parts lie east of the trackway, as much as 0.5 mile. Fig. 4.— The mouth of Dead River in Illinois Beach State Park. The sand and gravel bar blocks the passage of water from the river into Lake Michigan. The geologic history of the area is complex. It includes a glacial lake known as Lake Chicago in the Lake Michigan basin. The highest level of this lake, termed the Glenwood stage, was 640 feet above sea level. Subsequent stages, the Calumet and Tol- leston, were at levels respectively of 620 and 600 feet above sea level. Beaches were developed at all of these levisls. Continued lowering of the lake to the present level (580 feet, mean level) resulted in the accumulation of the broad sand terrace of beach and dune ridges. The ridges of sand that border Lake Michigan were formed by currents that moved south- ward, not quite parallel to the present shore. Wind has reworked some of the sand deposits, but no dunes of the magnitude of those on the east shore of Lake Michigan have been formed in the Beach area, be- cause few strong and sustained winds come from the east, the wind direction required for dune building in this locality. The plant cover of the Beach area includes de- ciduous forest, prairie, marsh, a man-made coniferous forest, and the aquatic vegetation of Dead River. The deciduous forest is represented on the dune ridges by the forest, in which black oak is dominant. White oak, bur oak, cottonwood, and quaking aspen also are present. The shrubs include lead plant. New Jersey tea, and poison ivy. Humus is not abundant in this forest. The dune prairie is the typical sand prairie, with such grasses as little bluestem, switchgrass, Indian grass, and Calamovilfa longi folia var. magna among the common species. In the sand prairie, especially in blowouts, as well as in the forest, the creeping juniper and bearberry are abundant. These two spe- cies help stabilize the sand. Wet prairie includes such grasses as prairie cordgrass, reed grass, and sedges of the genus Carex. Fringed gentians flower in some of the wet prairies. Cattails are very abun- dant in the marshland, where bulrushes also thrive. Dead River, a sluggish stream, drains part of this area. Its source is a few small lakes in the marshland, near the railroad trackway. The stream meanders northeastward, turns southward and south- eastward, makes an abrupt turn to the norrh and then to the east to enter Lake Michigan. The mouth of the river is often blocked by a bar, fig. 4. In the water of Dead River can be found pondweeds, water-milfoil, and waterweeds. Elsewhere along the stream can be seen yellow pond lily and white water lilv. pickerel weed, and giant bur-reed. Vlhite buttercup and com- mon arrowhead also grow here. The man-made coniferous forest is unique in Illinois, .■\bout a century ago, Robert Douglass, a nurseryman, scattered seeds of various species of pines on the prairie-covered ridges south of the mouth of Dead River. The seeds germinated and the pines grew. Presently some species are thriving and seed- ing themselves. The Austrian pine is the most abun- dant of them, followed by Scotch pine, fig. 5. Several Fig. 5." Some of the Scotch and Austrian pines that form a part of the coniferous forest south of Dead River Beach State Park. Prairie plants dominate the herbaceous layer. nil white pines survive on the western limits of this forest, and a few trees of pitch pine are scattered in the sand just south of Dead River. A few trees of European larch grow in the interdunal troughs. Many prairie herbs still persist under the pines. Along the shore of Lake Michigan are a few in- teresting associations. Beyond the range of the or- dinary storm waves, sea-rocket and cocklebur are the dominant species; winged pigweed also grows here, and Russian thistle is an invading species but is not present every year. Arrowgrasses grow on the mar- gins of beach pools. Illinois Beach State Park is owned by the State of Illinois and is under the control and supervision of the State Park Division df the Department of Conser- vation. To accommodate the vast throngs of people who descend upon this place of beauty, a number of bathhouses have been constructed along the lake shore for those who wish to swim, and a lodge offers rooms and meals to guests. The area south of the lodge has been designated as a nature area. If citi- zens of Illinois believe that such official designation will preserve this area, I must add that there is con- stant pressure to convert this delightful and restful part of the park to golf courses, picnic areas, play- grounds, and similar enterprises. Citizens of Illinois must be constantly on the alert to prevent the de- struction of this nature area, which has great scien- tific value. 3. VOLO BOG Volo Bog, 1.5 miles north and 1 mile west of V'olo, Lake County, is situated in the center of sec- tion 28, T. 45 N., R. 9 E- The bog is a water-laid peat deposit in two basins of a single depression that in earlier times formed a sizable lake on a gla- cial moraine. The bed is sand. The shallow basin is completely filled; the deeper basin has a pool of open water, fig. 6. Above the sand is a jelly-like ooze, and above the ooze is a deposit of sedge and sphagnum peat. Live sphagnum is growing on the surface. The depth of peat varies; in the deeper basin it is 33 feet deep. Artist (1936) made a study of the peat in this bog. Surrounding the bog is a zone that contains ca- nary reed grass, smartweed, and Canada thistle. A few willows, such as black willow and peach-leaved willow, grow scattered in the narrow border of the Fig. 6.— The pool of c>pen water in \'olo Bog, Lake County. Duckweeds grow on the surface of the water. The pool is lined with cattails. bog and in the adjacent fields. The bog is easily viewed from the higher ground of the pastureland on the west. A plank walk, fig. 7, extends from the pas- ture to the open pool within the bog. Within the narrow border is a zone of shrubs in which poison sumac and winterberry are very abun- dant. Such herbs as sensitive fern, cinnamon fern, and marsh fern grow in the muck of the bog surface. To venture away from the plank walk is very hazardous, as it is possible to sink deep into the muck in those places where the plant roots grow sparsely beneath the surface and do not form a dense, tight network. Farther along the plank walk, tamaracks tower above the shrubs. Near the open pool the density of the shrubs and trees decreases and herbaceous vegeta- tion predominates. The pool supports a heavy growth of several species of duckweeds. A zone of cattails with some giant bur-reed scattered throughout lines the shore of this pool. Numerous sedges and some bulrushes grow inland from the cattail zone. Some plants that are rare or semirare in Illinois occur in this zone. They include Scheuchzeria palustrfs vat. americana, cotton sedge, Dulichium amndinaceum, Pogonia ophioglossioides, and the grass-pink orchid. An un- common shrub in Illinois that thrives here is leather- leaf. Inland from the pool and about 20 feet from the plank walk, the rare pitcher plant was once abundant. Far too many unscrupulous collectors have visited Volo and have almost destroyed the stands. Buckbean and purple cinquefoil were associated with the pitch- er plant. Part of Volo Bog, about 47 acres, is owned by the University of Illinois. The remainder is in private ownership. The bog is a well-used educational and scientific area. Many students from the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, and other univer- sities and colleges annually visit this bog to study ecology. 4. WAUCONDA BOG Wauconda Bog, at the southeast boundary of the village of Wauconda, is in the north half of section 36, T. 44 N., R. 9 E., Lake County. The bog covers about 67 acres. Like Volo Bog, Wauconda was once part of a large lake of which present Bang's Lake is but a Fig. 7.-- The plank walk near the entrance of Volo Bog. This walk permits easy access to the pool shown io fig. 6. small remnant. If the water level of Bang's Lake should rise 8 feet, the surface of Wauconda Bog would be covered with water. Unlike Volo, no pool of open water exists within the bog; the old lake bed is filled with sphagnum and sedge peat. In the cycle of development of bogs, Wauconda is an older bog than Volo. Wauconda can be characterized as a bog with cattails, low shrubs, and herbs alternating with tam- arack, tall shrubs, stunted deciduous trees, and an herbaceous understory, fig. 8. A large stand of common reed grows near the center of the bog. Some of the tall shrubs are poison sumac, alder buckthorn, red osier, and winterberry. Some of the smaller shrubs are chokeberry, dwarf birch, and a number of species of shrubby willows. Deciduous angiospermous trees include soft maple, bur oak. quaking aspen, and bass- wood. Numerous sedges and grasses, among them reed grass, form much of the herbaceous cover. Grow- ing among the grasses and sedges are other herbs, a few of which are marsh marigold, purple cinquefoil, buckbean, swamp thistle, saxifrage, and numerous asters and goldenrods. The beautiful pink ladyslipper, fig. 9> also grows here. Hummocks of sphagnum moss grow throughout, but not so abundantly as in Volo Bog. Most of 'I'auconda Bog will soon be ringed by residential areas. The pastureland that once bordered 8 Fig. 8.-- Wauconda Bog, Lake County. At the right are shrubs and small trees. In the middle distance are a few tama- racks. A large expanse of common reed grass is visible in front of the trees on the far side of the bog. a preserve -- a last refuge for the plant and animal life of an extensive region in these morainic. hills of northern Illinois known as the 'Oak Openings' or Oak Grove Savannas because of their prevailing timber character." So wrote H. C. Berike (1932) in the Elgin Courier-Neivs for March 29. Numerous springs and seeps occur on the east bluffs, which are composed of glacial drift. The water from the springs and seeps, forming pools and brooks, makes its way down slope to the base of the bluffs and into the Fox River. These water sources appar- ently never run dry. The bluffs support a mesic veg- etation " plants that grow in habitats that are neither extremely wet nor extremely dry. Along the rivulets and bordering the seeps, arbor vitae grows abundant- ly, fig. 10. According to Benke, some individuals of this species in Trout Park are older than our nation. Willows of various species, elderberry, and touch-me- not abound in these moist situations. The forested ravine slopes of the east bluffs support such trees as butternut, quaking aspen, large- toothed aspen, northern red oak, hackberry, blue ash, and elms. The bluff-top forest includes white oak, northern red oak, white ash, and wild black cherry. The alternate-leaved dogwood is one of the un- derstory trees. Numerous shrubs grow under the forest canopy. Witch hazel, several shrubby dogwoods, and viburnums are common. Trout Park is rich in an her- baceous flora that includes many species in numerous genera and families. Over 60 species of grasses thrive here. Of rare plants in the Illinois flora, this refuge boasts of six orchids and five gentians, including the bottle or closed gentian and the fringed gentian. Benke (1932) included in his Courier-News article published , jvB^^^^^Hk'' ^^^ ac?!^ J®' Fig, 9.-" Pink ladyslipper, one of the rare plants of Wauconda Bog. the bog on the south has recently been subdivided into lots and roadways. The north side of the bog touches the village. Part of Wauconda Bog is owned by the University of Illinois. 5. TROUT PARK (ELGIN BOTANICAL GARDEN) Trout Park, also called Elgin Botanical Cjarden, is located in the northeast quarter of section 1, T. 41 N., R. 8 E., on the east bluffs of the Fox River in the northern part of Elgin, Kane County. The tract now embraces less than 60 acres; formerly it was larger. "Trout Park is not a 'park' in the ordinarily ac- cepted sense of the term. It is more than a park; it is on consecutive days three lists of the plants in Trout Park and neighboring areas. On March 29, Benke (1932) wrote: "While owned by the City of Elgin, the park tract is under the cus- tody of those who so earnestly labored for its acqui- sition — the nature societies of Elgin, foremost among which are the Illinois Nature Study, and the Elgin Audubon Societies. These establish the rules for the park's supervision which are in turn executed by the city. This admirable arrangement guarantees the tract's preservation with nature supreme and artifici- alities restricted to the minimum." Unfortunately, preservation of the tract was not guaranteed. The Illinois Toll Road, Interstate 90, now passes through what was the largest and biologi- cally richest ravine in Trout Park. The right-of-way is about 450 feet in width and stretches in the park from the base of the bluff to the summit. The exper- ience of Elgin proves that individuals, organizations, and local governments must be on the alert if they are to prevent the destruction of irreplaceable natural areas by "artificialities" that could be located else- where. Presently Trout Park is owned by the City of Elgin. 6. CLARK RUN Clark Run is a small stream, about 7 miles in length, northeast of Utica, La Salle County. The stream originates in section 31, T. 34 N., R. 3 E., and empties into the Illinois River near Utica. The area of botanical importance lies in the extreme north 1m 10. A path on the blull.-- i :h of El^in, Kane The p.ith leads the visitor past large arbor vitae trees, some of which are visible in the photograph. 10 I part of section 9 and the southwest quarter of section 4, T. 33 N., R. 2 E., where the stream flows through a canyon, the walls of which are St. Peter sandstone. The stream cascades over falls into a canyon, fig. 11, and then slowly meanders between sandstone cliffs. Marshy areas border the stream in many places Fig. 11.— Upper part of the canyon at Clark Run. The scream enters the canyon by this route. Mallard ducks were swimming on the water of the pool below the falls on Octo- ber 11, 1962, the date this picture was taken. where the canyon cliffs have been eroded away. In these areas the skunk cabbage and marsh marigold flower in early spring. The latter occasionally blooms also in autumn. Bordering the stream are stands of blue beech, willows, and other small trees. Mayapple forms sizable clones on the relatively dry parts of the floodplain. Canada yew, arbor vitae, red cedar, and white pine grow on the cliffs. In those places where the sandstone cliffs have eroded to leave steep slopes, rattlesnake plantain, partridge berry, bunch- berry, white pine (some of the trees 24 inches in di- ameter), and other plants can be observed. Witch hazel, saxifrage, pasture gooseberry, and false lily- of-the-valley thrive in the ravines. Above the cliffs the conditions are more xeric, that is, the water supply is lower and the evaporation rate higher. Black oak and Hill's oak find a favorable environment in such sites. Some of the shrubs of the xeric bluff-tops are fragrant sumac, smooth sumac, and lead plant. Herbaceous plants include little bluestem, needle grass, wild indigo, and the narrow-leaved aster. Clark Run, similar in many respects to some of the canyons of Starved Rock State Park, has not been overrun by people. Much of the canyon area and most of the adjacent uplands have been pastured, some parts severely. In spite of this treatment, some of the rare plants have survived. If cattle were removed, doubtless Clark Run would revert to a very beautiful and biologically rich area. Clark Run is presently in private ownership. 7. ILLINOIS RIVER SAND PRAIRIES Along the east side of the Illinois River from the big bend in Putnam County south into Scott County sizable deposits of sand form terraces upon which a dunic topography has developed. These deposits were laid down during the Wisconsinan glaciation. At that time the meltwater from the ice front with its load of sand and silt was flooding the valley of the Illinois and aggrading it. After the close of glaciation, the river cut its channel into these sand deposits, leav- ing the terraces. The sand terraces of the Illinois River valley supported forest, prairie, and marshland until the coming of European man. After his arrival, much of the area of sand terraces was put into culti- vation -- into fields of corn, wheat, soybeans, rye, melons, or into pine plantations or turkey farms. Scat- tered throughout the area are small remnants of forest and prairie. The University of Illinois owns land on the sand terrace northwest of Kilbourne, Mason County. This acreage includes both prairie and forest. The prairie lacks large dunes but possesses sizable blowouts of a compound nature. Thes.e blowouts tend to be stabil- ized by goat's rue, fig. 12, three species of three-awn grass, the common panic grass of sand areas, Panicum pseudopubescens, and the sedge Bulbostylis capil- laris. Other sedges, Cyperus schiieinitzii and C. fili- rulmis, grow scattered in the blowouts. Black-jack oak thrives at the border of one blowout. Elsewhere the sand prairie contains such grasses as little bluestem, switchgrass, sand love grass, needle grass, and the tall Calamoiilfa longi folia var. magna. In the interstices are such plants as goat's rue, polygala, small to moderately large patches of prickly pear, and rose mallow. A common shrub of this prairie is fragrant sumac. In one depression where the sand remains quite moist, blackberries and seed-box thrive. It is impossible to find all the plants of the Illi- nois River sand prairies growing in this one locality near Kilbourne. Within a 15-mile radius, in other prairie remnants, numerous other species can be found, including two plants rare in Illinois, Cristatella jamesii and bladder-pod. During the early part of this century a number of workers were occupied with studies of sand areas in Illinois. The work of Hart & Gleason (1907) is con- sidered a biological classic. A study of the sand land vegetation by Gleason (19-10) included the Illinois River sand areas. Vestal (1913) studied the relation- ships of plants and animals, especially the insects, 1 1 w^':*'mm Fig. 12.— View of a sand prairie near Kilbourne, Mason County, and black oak forest in the distance is second growth. showing a soviet) ol ^oat' ^ r." I j»- Is. c dr. in the sand areas of the Illinois River, chiefly those near Havana. 8. TWIN CULVERT CAVE Twin Culvert Cave is located in the middle of the southwest quarter of section 17, T. 7 S., R. 2 W., about 2 miles southwest of Pearl, Pike County. The name is taken from the two large limestone overpass- es, fig. 13, that span a small stream, the bed of which at this place also forms a part of the county road to the southeast. The overpass or culvert on the south carries tracks of the Gulf Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The culvert on the north has become covered with brush. It was once part of a railroad trackway, now abandoned. The creek that flows through these cul- verts is small, but in periods of heavy rains it may rise 8 feet or more above the gravel stream bed. The cave is located between the two culverts, upslope on the west bank of the small stream, very close to the present railroad trackway. The slope on which the cave is found supports a deciduous forest containing such species as hard maple, white ash, black walnut, chinquapin oak, hop hornbeam, and shingle oak growing together. Some of the common shrubs are poison ivy, wild hydrangea, bladdernut, wafer ash, and buckthorn. Wild grapes and climbing bittersweet are common vines. Of the her- baceous plants, fragile fern, clearweed, bedstraws, and violets occur very frequently. The bluff bordering the abandoned trackway on the west side of the creek has been altered by the removal of rock, possibly for the construction of the !■ ig. 13'— Culverts constructed of local limestone near Pearl, Pike County. These culverts supply the name — Twin Culvert Cave ~ for the nearby cave. An infrequently used county road and a small stream share the culvens. 12 fill and the culverts. This disturbed site contains a mixture of native forest and prairie species, as well as some common weeds of European origin. The chief objects of interest in this locality are the cave, fig. 14, and springs. Bretz & Harris (1961) described the cave as follows. "Entrance to this cave is through a roof breakdown. A network of joint- controlled vertical slots that should not be negotiated without a rope is immediately encountered. Two sets of joints cross at approximately right angles. Ceilings Fig. 14.— Entrance to Twin Culvert Cave. Because of the nature of this cave, ropes, ladders, and ample light should be available if its exploration is attempted. and depths appear to vary along each set." The cave is sometimes visited by a large colony of gray bats, Myotis grisescens, a migratory species that is poorly known and is rare in collections. Twin Culvert Cave is presently in private owner- ship. 9. COLE CREEK HILL PRAIRIE Cole Creek hill prairie is located in the north- west quarter of section 4, T. 9 N., R. 13 ^'•, 2 miles south of Eldred, Greene County. The prairie occupies part of a bluff of the Illinois River and part of the north bluffs of Cole Creek. This locality was previ- ously described under the name South Eldred hill prairie (Evers 1955). The bluff of the Illinois River has a small toe slope, a limestone cliff, and a loess-covered brow slope. The bluffs of Cole Creek also have a loess cover but no visible rock outcrops. The loess was deposited during Wisconsinan time. Vegetation characteristic of hill prairies covers about 4.5 acres of two southwest-facing slopes that form an inverted U, the prongs of the U extending downslope, fig. 15- Little bluestem is the dominant grass. Some other grasses of these slopes are big bluestem, Indian grass, side-oats grama, andScribner's panic grass. The bluets Hnuslonia nigricans grows in this prairie, which is near the northern limit of the range of the species in Illinois. On October 1, 1958, I"ig. 15.— One of the spurs of the hill prairie along Cole Creek, south of Eldred, Greene County. Forest with many chinquapin oaks grows in the coves. 29 stems of nodding ladies'-tresses, fig. 16. were observed in this prairie. The toe slope, the ravine between the prongs of the U, and the bluff-tops support a deciduous forest in which common tree species are white ash, Ameri- 'M^M I :, :. --Iiii^ laJ)L 'i;, , |n 1958, JV stems of this species were observed in Cole Creek hill prairie. 13 can elm, various oaks and hickories, red cedar, and Iowa crabapple. Some of the shrubs present are prickly ash and rough-leaved dogwood. Cole Creek hill prairie is presently in private ownership. 10. ROCKY BRANCH Rocky Branch is the name applied to a small stream in northern Clark County. This small stream, not more than 1.5 miles in length, has its source in the east half of section 30, T. 12 N., R. 12 W.; it empties into the West Fork of Big Creek in section 29 of the same township. The area of greatest interest to naturalists is more than 300 acres in extent. It centers on the small stream, on the surrounding forest, and on much of the forest on the south bank of Big Creek, including its tributary ravines. By road, the. Rocky Branch natural area is 1.5 miles east and 1 mile north of Dolson (known also as Clarksville). Rocky Branch has long been attracrive to the lover of natural beauty (Stover 1930). The small stream has cut deeply into the sandstone to form a valley with steep walls and, in some places, perpendicular cliffs, fig. 17. Sizable undercuts in many of the cliff bases clearly show the eroding power of the stream when in flood. During flood stage the water in Rocky Branch may rise 8 feet above its gravel and sandstone bed, as evidenced by the debris left in trees and shrubs along the bank. Several small tributary ravines enter Rocky Branch from the south. Their streams have carved beautiful gorges in the sandstone. The vegetation of Rocky Branch is chiefly de- ciduous forest. In wide parts of the valley are small plots that were once cleared of trees, maintained for l>*,-;^:'ac^..x. Fig. 1~.-- Rocky Rranch area. This view, which is from the bed of Rocky Branch, shows a cliff, the undercut formed by the stream, and the steep slope above the cliff. 14 I a while as cultivated fields, and later abandoned. The narrow road that once traversed the valley from its head to its mouth has also been abandoned. The forest of the ravine floor is rich in plant species. Trees of this forest include sycamore, hard maple, tulip tree, beech, butternut, white ash, and hackberry. Some of the understory trees and shrubs are blue beech, wild hydrangea, elderberry, bladdernut, and spicebush. The ravine floor is a place of beauty in the spring when it is carpeted with numerous patches of colorful wild flowers. By autumn the forest floor is no longer a carpet of color, but here and there are asters, goldenrods, and white snakeroot. Among the plants of the forest floor are such ferns as the broad beech, Christmas, and grape. Ravine slopes support vegetations that range from the xeric to the mesic. The driest slopes maintain a forest of black oak, northern red oak, shagbark hick- ory, and other species. Poverty grass, various moss- es, and lichens are abundant on the dry soil. The moist ravine slopes sustain a forest of beech, hard maple, hop hornbeam, redbud, flowering dogwood, and other arborescent species. Beech-drops, Christmas fern, wild hydrangea, and arrowwood, as well as num- erous mosses, grow on these slopes. In one locality, at the summit of a sandstone cliff, sphagnum moss is abundant. In another locality, the walking fern, hepat- ica, and asters grow together in patches of moss on large sandstone blocks that lie above the floodwaters of the creek. The sandstone cliffs possess a flora of mosses and liverworts; Conocephalum conicum is the common species. In the recesses, wild hydrangea and several species of asters and goldenrods, as well as the maid- enhair fern, find places in which they can live. Part- ridge berry is not uncommon at the tops of the cliffs and it grows elsewhere with mosses. Lady fern thrives in some places at the cliff bases. The upland woods is one of oaks and hickories. The forest is dry, and the floor supports mosses, lichens, poverty grass, and other xeric species. Nod- ding ladies'-tresses, which blooms as late as mid- October, grows in the open parts of the upland woods. The abandoned fields maintain a mixture of herbs and varying numbers of trees and shrubs scattered here and there. In a field abandoned in 1958, one of the few woody plants observed in I96I was the black- berry. In older fields, smooth sumac, black walnut, tulip tree, northern red oak, and American elm have become established and perhaps are the beginnings of a deciduous forest that eventually will dominate the fields. Rocky Branch is of interest botanlcally because it lies in the westernmost limit of beech, black gum, and tulip tree in central Illinois. In addition, several species of orchids grow here. According to Stover (I93O), the ground pine Lycopodium lucidulum throve on the sandstone. Irresponsible collectors and van- dals have destroyed all traces of the club moss at Rocky Branch. The absence of sizable forest trees indicates that the original forest was felled at some earlier date. Rocky Branch is in private ownership except for 135 acres that the Nature Conservancy has recently purchased and has designated as a natural area. It has served as an outdoor laboratory for students of botany and zoology at Eastern Illinois University for more than 30 years. 11. AN ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD PRAIRIE A little over a century ago, much of east-central Illinois was flatland prairie. Although early settlers shunned the land as being unsuitable for cultivation because of a belief that only forest soils were fertile, later ones found it was extremely productive and Fig. 18.— Prairie remnant in railroad trackway near Watseka, Iroquois County. Such remnants are all that remain of a once great expanse of flatland prairie. valued it highly. After a suitable plow had been per- fected to break and turn the prairie sod and after drain tile had been placed to lower the water level, vast stretches of prairie were converted to farmland. Now only remnants of prairie are left; they are along road- sides or railroad trackways. These remnants, fig. 18, must be preserved if we wish any Illinois flatland prairie vegetation to remain for future generations to study and enjoy. A prairie area located along the trackway of the Illinois Central Railroad between Laclede, Fayette County, and Alma, Marion County, is actually a series of remnants of the Twelve-Mile Prairie of south-cen- tral Illinois. Numerous stretches of this trackway have been plowed for production of farm crops or of nursery stock. Some stretches that were cultivated have been abandoned and have reverted to a prairie type of vegetation. The area is relatively flat except for those places where small streams have eroded into the flatlands. A century ago the drainage was poor, and the flat- lands between the streams were very wet except in late summer, the dry season. At that season giant cracks appeared in the clay soil. Today numerous ditches along the railroad and highway drain the land 15 rapidly. What effect the drainage had on the biota no one knows, as no one carefully studied these prairies a century ago. The plants of the area are typically those of the tall grass prairie. Big bluestem, fig. 19, is the usual dominant, although switchgrass and Indian grass are locally abundant and occasionally dominant. In the wettest parts of the prairie, prairie cordgrass is the dominant plant and densely covers the ground. In places of little disturbance, the prairie is a patchwork of a few species covering sizable areas. In some sites, big bluestem covers much ground, while a short distance away may be blazing stars, rosinweed, prairie-dock, compass plant, wild hyacinth, or one of the numerous goldenrods, as Solidago rigida. Shrubs in the prairie include New Jersey tea and lead plant. The seasonal aspect of the prairie is interesting to observe. In early spring the prairie is dormant and shows little activity until May, except for the flower- ing of a few cruciferous weeds, including Whitlow's grass. Some of the early flowers are small and rather inconspicuous, as blue-eyed grass, or small and con- spicuous, as puccoon. The large and showy flowers of the beard-tongues appear in late May. In June the lead plant and the purple coneflower give a purple cast to the landscape. From then to the frosts of autumn a gradual but continual change of blossoms occurs, with the purple being replaced by yellow as the dominant color. Goldenrods and asters bloom prdfuseiy toward the close of the growing season. Unfortunately, many people incorrectly believe the coarse prairie plants to be undesirable weeds. Within undisturbed prairie remnants very few, if any, noxious weeds — the type that cause the farmer trou- ble — can be found. Only after the prairie has been plowed or tremendously disturbed do the noxious weeds obtain a foothold. They then remain long after the land is no longer cultivated and they even thrive in the secondary prairie type that develops. This prairie area between Laclede and Alma is owned by the Illinois Central Railroad. Efforts have been made by the Nature Conservancy to obtain a long-term lease for stretches, about 12 miles, of these remnants of the once vast flatland prairie. 12. DEVIL'S PROP Devil's Prop is the local name applied to a ra- vine area in the northwest quarter of section 25, T. 1 S., R. 3 E-. 2 miles south of Divide, a very small community in north-central Jefferson County. The ravine has been carved from the sandstone that under- lies the area. At one place a pillar of sandstone ap- pears to support the cliff, fig. 20- From this pillar, or prop, the locality received its name -- Devil's Prop. Fig. 19." An expanse of big blue.stem. This grass is the dominant plant in many of the flatland prairie remnants of central Illinois. 16 The upland to the west and northwest of the ra- vine has been disturbed by agricultural pursuits. Some of this land has served as pasture. On the southeast side of the ravine, a part of the upland has served as pasture and another part is a fallow field that is unpastured. In the fallow field, certain prairie plant species have persisted and are common. These include Indian grass, little bluestem, blazing star, American feverfew, goldenrods and asters. Broom- sedge grows in this area. The forests of the upland contain shagbark hickory, red cedar, black-jack oak, and post oak. Poverty grass, pencil-flower, and sev- eral species of three-awn grass grow on the floor of Fig. 2U.-- I'evil's l^rop area. A pillar of sandstone that appears to support the cliff above supplies the name for this area near Divide, Jefferson County. the relatively open woods. Sizable patches of mosses of several species and some lichens form patches on the soil. The orchid Spiranthes gra\i is not uncommon in the fallow field, and a few plants grow in the wood- land border. At one place the small stream flows through a narrow, V-shaped ravine, fig. 21. In some places, the sandstone of the steep sides is exposed and in other places covered with a thin layer of soil. Much of the steep slopes is covered with a growth of mosses, in- cluding hairy-cap moss. On the less steep slopes and on the floor of the widest portions of the ravine grows a deciduous forest; black gum, northern red oak, bit- ternut hickory, shadbush, white oak, and hop horn- beam are some of the tree species. Wild hydrangea and winged sumac are common shrubs in this forest. Devil's Prop is presently in private ownership. 13. FULTS HILL PRAIRIE Fults hill prairie (Evers 1955) is located on the bluff south of Fults Creek, southeast of the village of Fults in Monroe County, about midway between Valmeyer and Prairie du Rocher. The prairie is a part Fig. 21.-- A narrow, V-shaped valley through which a small stream flows in the Devil's Prop area. of old French land grants, the longest boundaries of which were perpendicular to the bank of the Missis- sippi River. Such boundaries were common in St. Clair, Monroe, and Randolph counties. The bluff on which the prairie is located trends northwest to southeast; the brow slope faces south- west. This bluff, like others in the vicinity, is tall, towering more than 300 feet above the adjacent bot- tomland, fig. 22. The limestone bedrock is exposed for some distance as a tall cliff. The toe slope of the bluff is talus. A blanket of loess caps the bedrock to form the brow slope, which varies in width. This slope is widest at the northwest, where there are sizable spurs and coves. Southeastward the brow slope is not so wide, and the spurs and coves are poorly defined. At the extreme southeast, however, the brow slope widens and supports a broad expanse of prairie. Vegetation of the bluff is of two types. The toe slope and the larger coves on the brow slope support deciduous forest. The spurs and the remainder of the brow slope are prairie. At the top of the cliff is a narrow rock ledge. The tall cliff faces are devoid of plants except for a few ferns and a few composites. Fults hill prairie is not rich in plant species. As on other hill prairies, little bluestem is the dom- inant grass. The rare or semirare species this hill prairie contains make it important as a natural area. The bedstraw (Galium I'irgatum is known in Illinois only at this site, where it grows abundantly at the base of one prairie spur. Scattered plants of blue- hearts grow in this prairie. The rare Heliotropium tenellum, first reported in Illinois from this site (Evers 1951), and stickleaf grow on the rock ledge. 17 Fig. 22.-- Fults hill prairie, southeast of Fults, Monroe County, as seen from the adjacent bottomland. Several rare species of plants and animals live on this bluff. Fults hill prairie and bluff are in private owner- ship. On the northwest section of the bluff-top is a cemetery surrounded by pastureland. The remainder of the brow slope has not been pastured and has been little disturbed by man. 14. FOUNTAIN BLUFF Fountain Bluff, in Jackson County, is located south of Gorham and north of Grand Tower. It is an outlier of the bluffs of the west side of the Missis- sippi River valley; it was isolated by the diversion of the river from its main valley on the east into a narrower valley on the west. The older valley on the east is 4 miles wide; the one on the west is about 1 mile wide. Fountain Bluff is 4 miles long and 1.8 miles across at the widest point; it has a perimeter of slightly more than 10 miles. Limestone of the Chester series, which scarcely outcrops at the south end of this outlier, is overlain with Caseyville sandstone. This massive sandstone forms the spectacular cliffs of Fountain Bluff. In a number of places the sand- stone has been eroded to form large ravines or small valleys, some of which have been named. Loess caps the sandstone. The highest elevation on Fountain Bluff is 779 feet above sea level or 419 feet above the floor of the valley to the east and about 430 feet above the Mississippi River to the west. Approximately a dozen farm homes are located at the base of the cliffs and in the largest ravine, known as Happy Hollow. A road follows the creek through Happy Hollow for a mile before it ascends to the top of the ridge on the west and then trends about a mile northeastward to the point of highest eleva- tion, the site of Fountain . Bluff Lookout Tower, a structure removed before 1950. On the east side of Fountain Bluff, three cemeteries, Goodbread, Henson, and Hudson, occupy small areas. A railroad, a branch of the Illinois Central from Carbondale to Gale, skirts the base of Fountain Bluff on the north and west. Years ago a station. Fountain Bluff Station, stood at the mouth of a beautiful ravine on the northwest side of the bluff, fig. 23- Later a dam was constructed across this ravine, near its mouth, to impound water for a swimming pool. Both station and pool have dis- appeared. The pool was filled by silt carried in by running water. The silt now supports semiaquatic and mesic plants. On the west side of Fountain Bluff is another large ravine, Trestle Hollow. On the southwest, not on the bluff but on the riverbank and adjacent bottom- land, several industries — a grain loading dock, a sand 18 Fig. 23'~ Mouth of the ravine at the site of the old Fountain Bluff station. This is the only sizable break in the tall sandstone cliff in the north side of the bluff. and gravel company, and a power station -- have de- veloped. Three power lines from the power station cross Fountain Bluff. Two extend eastward; the third stretches northward for some distance on the crest of the bluff ridge along the Mississippi River. The vegetational cover of Fountain Bluff is most- ly deciduous forest; it is interspersed with small prairie openings and one large hill prairie. A small area serves as agricultural land for crop and live- stock production and as a site for a commercial enter- prise. The dominant tree of the forest appears to be the tulip tree. This tree grows on the slopes and in the ravines. Associated with this species is northern red oak, black oak, white oak, chinquapin oak, and white ash. In the valleys or ravines the sycamore, beech, honey locust, hard maple, and American and slippery elms grow profusely. Black locust evidently was once widely planted in the area. The understory trees include sassafras, redbud, flowering dogwood, hop hornbeam, Iowa crabapple, and blue beech. Com- mon shrubs and vines are poison ivy, spicebush, wild hydrangea, and the introduced Japanese honeysuckle. In some places, this honeysuckle has become a pest; it covers the ground surface, forms a dense growth on tree trunks, fig. 24, and completely covers small shrubs. Many ferns and herbaceous flowering plants, including rare orchids, grow in the moist ravines. Mosses are ordinarily common on the soil surface. Fig. J I.— Japanese honeysuckle in the Fountain Bluff area. This plant forms a dense cover over the ground and on shrubs; also, it forms a dense columnar growth on tree trunks. and both mosses and liverworts abound on the moist sandstone outcrops and cliffs in the ravines. Of in- terest to botanists are the numerous patches of plume grass that are scattered on the ridge top to the north and at the base of the bluff to the east. This grass may reach heights of 8 feet or more, fig. 25. Fig. 25.— Plume grass on Foun t:iin Blull. I htse culms are over 8 feet tall. 19 Fig. 26.— One of the small prairie openings on a ridge top on the western side of Fountain Bluff. The prairie openings are small and most of them are on the ridge tops, fig. 26. The one sizable hill prairie of this area is situated on the southwest- facing ravine slope at the northern end of Fountain Bluff (Evers 1955)- The dominant grass of the prairie types is little bluestem; big bluestem and Indian grass are not uncommon. 15. GRAND CANYON Grand Canyon natural area, located about 8 miles southwest of Murphysboro, Jackson County, oc- cupies the southeast quarter of section 35 and the southwest quarter of section 36, T. 9 S., R. 3 ^'■, the west half of section I, and much of section 2, T. 10 S., R. 3 W.; it is more than 700 acres in extent. The names Chalk Bluff, Hickory Ridge, and Viney Ridge are applied to the area or to parts of it. This natural area is a part of the bluff system of the Mississippi River valley. From the floodplain the bluffs rise precipitously 360 feet, reaching an altitude of 720 feet above sea level. The tall, west-facing cliff in section 2 is about 0.75 mile in length and is named Chalk Bluff. The cliff is plainly visible from Fountain Bluff, 4 miles to the west, and from other points in the river valley. Above the tall cliff lies a stony slope; loess caps the bluff. To the north of Chalk Bluff is a large valley, not quite 0.2°^ mile across, that is tributary to the Missis- sippi. This tributary valley, known as Grand Canyon, has steep walls and cliffs. To the south of Chalk Bluff is Clear Creek. This stream flows in a rather broad valley appro.ximatelv C^ mile wide and enters the Big Muddy River, which here flows southward through the Mississippi River floodplain. From Grand Canyon, sizable ravines trend upslope to the south and from Clear Creek valley similar ravines trend upslope to the north to dissect the area into a series of deep ravines separated by ridges. The main ridge, which trends eastward from Chalk Bluff, almost mid- way between Grand Canyon and Clear Creek, is known as Vinev Ridge. A half mile east of Chalk Bluff is Hickory Ridge. On this ridge the United States Forest 20 Service has constructed a lookout tower. The eleva- tion at this site is 740 feet; from the tower a view of the ridges and bottomland is obtained, fig. 21, The ridges support a mixed forest, including such species as chinquapin oak, northern red oak, black oak, sweet gum, bitternut hickory, tulip tree, and red cedar. Hop hornbeam, Hercules' club, and redbud grow as understory trees. Poison ivy, smooth sumac, and winged sumac are common shrubs. In some places two species of greenbrier form dense, almost impenetrable patches. Plume grass grows profusely in some of the small openings of the ridge top and also on some slopes. The ravine slopes support a forest that includes some of the species enumerated above and also beech and tulip tree, which are very abundant. The under- story includes flowering dogwood, papaw, and, along the rivulets, the blue beech. On these slopes the Christmas, the maidenhair, the broad beach, the glade, and other ferns are not uncommon. In spring, numerous wild flowers clothe the slopes. When I visited this area in 1949, a small hill prairie occupied part of the west-facing brow slope at the northern extremity of Chalk Bluff. Little blue- stem was the dominant grass. Scattered throughout the prairie were small hickories, sassafras, and white oak (Evers 1955). The bottomland forest beyond Chalk Bluff toward the Big Muddy River contains such species as over- cup oak, swamp white oak, pin oak, pecan, and big shellbark hickory. Grand Canyon harbors some rare and semirare plant species: the clubmoss Lycopodium lucidulum, which grows on a sandstone cliff of one of the tribu- tary ravines (Evers 1950); sphagnum moss, which covers a sizable, moist sandstone outcrop in another ravine; and several orchids, including Wister's coral- root and twayblade. Fig. 2".— Deciduous forest as seen from Hickory Kidge Lookout Tower in the Cirand C^anyon area. Fig. 28.— Cherty limestone cliff on the bluffs of the Mississippi River at Pine Hills. This cliff rises to a height of 100 feet above the nearby bottomland. Much of Grand Canyon natural area is under the supervision of the United States Forest Service, but some parts remain in private ownership. 16. PINE HILLS AND WOLF LAKE One of the most beautiful localities in Illinois is Pine Hills and the adjacent Wolf Lake and Larue swamps in Union County. No matter what the season is — winter, spring, summer, or autumn — this place abounds in natural beauty. It is located in sections 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 16, 21, 22, 27, 28, 33 and 34, T. 11 S., R. 3 W., and sections 3 and 4, T. 12 S., R. 3 W. The hills extend 6 miles north from the village of Wolf Lake. The bluffs of the Mississippi River that form pine Hills are underlain with cherty limestone that outcrops to form sizable cliffs up to 100 feet high, fig. 28. Cherty slopes lie above the cliffs, and loess caps the bluffs. At the cliff bases, toe slopes of var- ious sizes have been formed of rock fragments that have spalled from the cliff faces. The swamps are in the bottomland adjacent to the bluffs, fig. 29. They occupy the old channel of the Big Muddy River, which enters the Mississippi River valley west of Murphys- 21 boro, Jackson County, and meanders southward along the bluffs into section 4, T. 11 S., R. 3 W., then south- westward and westward to enter the Mississippi River below Grand Tower. In earlier days, the Big Muddy continued its course southward along the bluffs. Present-day Otter Pond and Wolf Lake are parts of the old river channel. Big Muddy is an example of a Yazoo River type of tributary. The vegetation of Pine Hills is mostly deciduous forest. Prairie openings and one hill prairie (Evers 1955) are found here. The toe or talus slopes of the bluffs are forested, as are the ravines that extend eastward into the bluffs. The south-facing ravine slopes are covered with xeric oaks and hickories and some prairie herbs, the north-facing slopes withmesic forest, including tulip tree and hard maple. The cliffs support few plants except scattered individuals of cliff brake, some species of goldenrod, especially Drummond's, and red cedar. The brow slopes above the cliffs maintain forest in some places, prairie in others. Some of this prairie is of the typical hill type, with little bluestem the dominant grass, and some exists as small openings within the forest. The forest is a mixed deciduous type, with southern yellow pine and pink azalea as unusual species. Southern yellow pine is restricted in Illinois to two localities: Pine Hills and southern Randolph County to the north. Farkleberry is a com- mon shrub on the Pine Hills slopes. These slopes are also the type locality of Lialris scabra, a species of blazing star that was first described from collec- tions made here. Fig. 29'-" Bottomland swamp as seen from the bluff top in the Pine Hills area. 22 Fig. 30.— One of the coves of Horseshoe Lake. VChen this picture was taken, mosquito fern completely covered the surface of the cove to give the effect of a lawn rather than open water. The swamps are of interest botanically for the occurrence of several species that are rare in Illinois. Several species of duckweeds, including Volffiella floridana. live in the water of this swamp, as do frog- bit and swamp loosestrife, the last a species more common much farther north. Here can also be found the rare grass Clvceria pallida. Part of Pine Hills and the adjacent swamps is in the Shawnee National Forest, part in the Southern Illinois University Biological Station, and part in private ownership. 17. HORSESHOE LAKE Picturesque Horseshoe Lake, located south of Olive Branch, occupies parts of 12 sections in T. 16 S., R. 2 W., in Alexander County. The outline of the lake, which somewhat resembles a horseshoe, possibly suggested the name. The lake was formed from an old meander of the Mississippi River, which is now several miles to the west. The east arm of the lake is approximately 3.75 miles long and 0.25 mile across. To the northwest is a mixture of small lakes and swamp areas. Stretching from the northwest are two arms. One trends southeastward, is about 2.75 miles long and 0.25 mile across, and joins the east arrn about 0.5 mile north of the southern extremity of the lake. Between this, the central arm, and the east arm is an island, about 2 miles long and 0.5 mile wide. The other arm. the western, trends southward for 0.5 mile, where a levee impounds the water and prevents its flow to the old lake bed that stretches on farther to the south. A dam and spillway at the south ends of the eastern and central arms control to some extent the water level of the lake. Overflow at the dam enters Lake Creek and flows northeastward into the Cache River. Runoff from the surrounding farmland and several small creeks to the north, in- cluding Pigeon Roost Creek, supply water to the lake. During the dry seasons, several large wells augment this supply. The lake and some of the surrounding area serve as a state wildlife refuge. The native vegetation of the refuge can be clas- sified as (1) forest and (2) aquatic and semiaquatic. On the island and on some of the land to the west of the central arm are cultivated fields of corn, sun- flowers, and soybeans. The products of these fields serve as food for the Canada geese that come here in huge numbers in October and remain until March. Floating on or just beneath the surface of the lake, sometimes densely covering immense areas, are several duckweeds, including the rare K olffiella flori- dana. The mosquito fern floats in such numbers on the water, either with the duckweeds or in pure stands, that the surface of some parts of the lake is completely covered, fig. 30, and assumes a purplish hue. Hornwort and other aquatic plants grow sub- merged in the lake. Bald cypress and tupelo rise from the shallow water to produce the picturesque appear- ance of Horseshoe Lake, fig. 31- In small, shallow pools of the west arm, American lotus covers large areas. The vast numbers of large, circular leaves rise from the water to heights of 6 feet. In July and Au- gust, thousands of cream-colored flowers, 6 inches or more across, appear over the leafy mass. In the very shallow water along the shore, such plants as arrowhead, pickerel weed, and primrose- willow are frequently observed. Other plants of the fluctuating shoreline are buttonbush, swamp privet, swamp honey locust, swamp cottonwood, Drummond's maple, box elder, and numerous herbs, including Eclipta alba. On slightly higher ground bordering the lake shore, other tree species grow in profusion. Shingle, pin, swamp white, overcup, and southern red are the most common of the species of oaks. Soft maple is common; basswood is scattered here and there, as are black walnut and pecan. Three vines are common on trunks of the trees: Virginia creeper, trumpet creeper, and poison ivy. Two additional vines, raccoon grape and passion flower, are less common but can be easily found. In the plant community bordering the lake, clearweed, false nettle, and water horehound are abundant. Numerous picnic tables have been placed near the lake and close to some of the all-weather roads. The island is usually closed to the public. The over- wintering geese attract to this area numerous hunters and bird watchers who, it is estimated, spend over a million dollars annually in Cairo and the vicinity. Horseshoe Lake Wildlife Refuge is under the supervision and control of the State of Illinois De- partment of Conservation. 18. CACHE RIVER SWAMPS Remnants of once vast cypress swamps are found in a number of localities in southern Illinois, includ- ing the Cache River valley and the broad valley that Fig. 31."" Bald cypres.s and tupelo growing in tin- waur - portunities to see bits of the forests and prairies for which Illinois was once famous and to obser%'e the plants and animals, both common and rare, in some of these interesting habitats. It is in these places that they can relax and listen to the sounds of nature. Many persons receive a lift from such relaxations. In our society, which requires a rapid pace but also provides much leisure time, these individuals deserve consideration. The observers of nature should be provided with places where they can enjoy their leisure hours and where they can relax, just as others have been provided with hunting, fishing, boating and playground areas. I have attempted to take you, the readers of this article, very quickly through 24 natural or scientific areas of the State of Illinois by means of descriptions and photographs. I hope this vicarious journey may arouse an ardent desire in some of you to visit these localities, at least the ones nearest home. Enjoy yourselves in these places. Help preserve them for future generations. LITERATU Allen, John W. 1949. Pope County notes. South. 111. Univ. Mus. Nat. and Social Sci. Contrib. 22- 95 pp. Artist, Russell C. 1936' Stratigraphy and preliminary pollen analysis of a Lake County, Illinois, bog. Butler Univ. Bot. Stud- ies 3(1 3): 19 1-8. Benke, H. C. 1932. Trout Park "wonderland" is revealed. Elgin Cour- ier-News, March 29, pp. 1-2. More of park flora is listed. Elgin Courier-News, March 30, p. 2. Boewe, G. H., Stella Holmes Barrick, and Stella M. Hague 1935. Mosses from Apple River Canyon, Mississippi Pal- isades and White Pinefe Forest state parks. 111. State Acad. Sci. Trans. 28(2):83-4. Bretz, J Harlen, and S. E. Harris, Jr. 1961. Caves of Illinois. 111. State Geol. Surv. Rep. Invest. 215. 87 pp. Evers, Robert A. 1950. Notes on the Illinois flora. Am. Midland Nat. 44(3): 617-21. 1951. Four plants new to the Illinois flora. Rhodora 53 (628): II 1-3. 1955. Hill prairies of Illinois. 111. Nat. Hist. Surv. Bui. 26(5): 367-446. 1961. The filmy fern in Illinois. 111. Nat. Hist. Surv. Biol. Notes 44. 16 pp. Fuller, George D. 1946. A check list of the vascular plants of Jo Daviess County, Illinois. III. Acad. Sci. Trans, 38:51-63. RE CITED Gates, Frank Caleb 1912. The vegetation of the beach area in northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. III. Lab. Nat. Hist. Bui. 9(5):255-3""2. Gleason, Henry Allan 1910. The vegetation of the inland sand deposits of Ill- inois. III. Lab. Nat. Hist. Bui. 9(3):2>174, pis. I-XX. Hart, Charles A., and Henry Allan Gleason 1907. On the biology of the sand areas of Illinois. 111. Lab. Nat. Hist. Bui. 7(:'): 137-272. Mohlenbrock, Robert H., and John W. Voigt 1959. Tipularia discolor in Illinois. Taxonomic Index 22: xxxix-xi in Brittonia 11(3). (Name misspelled as Mohlenbrook in publication.) Pepoon, H. S. 1917. The primrose rocks of Illinois. III. State Acad. Sci. Trans. 10:159-62. 1920. A proposed new state park. III. State Acad. Sci. Trans. 12:64-8. Stover, E. L. 1930. A mesophytic ravine ("Rocky Branch"): a floristic account. East. III. State Teachers Col., Teachers Col. Bui. 110. 26 pp. Vestal, Arthur G. 1913. An associational study of Illinois sand prairie. III. Lab. Nat. Hist. Bui. 10( 1): 1-96. Winterringer, Glen S., and Arthur G. Vestal 1956. Rock-ledge vegetation in southern Illinois. Ecol. Monog. 26{ 2): 105-30. 30 SCIENTIFIC EQUIVALENTS OF COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS CITED Alder, smooth — Alnus senutala ( Ait.) Willd. . Arbor vitae — Thuja occidentalis L. Arrowgrass — Tri^lochin maritima L. 7". palustris L. Arrowhead, common — Sagittaria latijolia Willd. Arrowwood — Viburnum dentatum L. Ash, blue — Fraxinus quadrangulata Michx. Ash, prickly — Zanthuxylum americanum Mill. Ash, wafer — Ptelea trifoliata L. Ash, white — Fraxinus americana L. Aspen, large-toothed — Populus grandidentata Michx. Aspen, quaking — Populus tremutoides Michx. Aster — Aster spp. Aster, narrow-leaved — Aster linariifolius L. Azalea, pink — Rhododendron roseum (Loisel.) Rehd. Basswood — Tilia americana L. Bearberry — Arctostaphylos uia-ursi (L.) Spreng. Beard-tongue — Penstemon spp. Bedstraw — Galium spp. Beech — Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. Beech, blue — Carpinus caroliniana Walt. Beech-drops — Epifagus virginiana (L.) Bart. Beggar-ticks — Bidens spp. Birch, dwarf — Betula pumila L. Birch, river — Betula nigra L. Bittersweet, climbing — Celastrus scandens L. Blackberry — Rubus spp. Bladdernut - Staphylea tri folia L. Bladderpod — Lesquerella ludoviciana (Nuti.) Wats. Blazing star — Liatris aspera Michx. L. pycnostachya Michx. Blood-leaf — Iresine rhizomatosa Standi, Blue-eyed grass — Sisyrinchium albidum Raf. Bluehearts — Buchnera americana L. Bluestem, big — Andropogon gerardi Vitman Bluestem, little — Andropogon scoparius Michx. Box elder — ,4cer negundo L. Broomsedge — Andropogon virginicus L. Buckbean — Menyanthes trifoliata L. Buckthorn — Rhamnus lanceolata Pursh Buckthorn, alder — Rhamnus frangula L. Bulrush — Scirpus spp. Bunchberry — Cornus canadens is I,. Bur-reed, giant — Sparganium eurjcarpum Engelm. Buttercup, white — Ranunculus aquatilis L. Butternut — Juglans cinerea L. Buttonbush — Cephalanthus occidentalis L. Cabbage, skunk — Symphlocarpus foetidus (L.) Nutt. Cardinal flower — Lobelia cardinalis L. Cattail — Typha lati folia L. T. angustifolia L. Cherry, wild black — Prunus serotina Ehrh. Chokeberry — Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Ell. Cinquefoil, purple — Potentilla palustris (L.) Scop. I Clearweed — Pilea pumila (L.) Gray ' Cliff brake — Pellaea atropurpurea (L.) Link Cocklebur — Xanthium strumarium L. ■ Compass plant — Silphium laciniatum L. 1 Coneflower, purple — Echinacea pallida Nutt. ' Coralroot, Wister's — Corallorhiza wisteriana Conrad Cordgrass, prairie — Spartina pectinata Link Cottonwood — Populus deltoides Marsh. Cottonwood, swamp — Populus heterophylla L. I Crabapple, Iowa — Malus ioensis (Wood) Britt. ' Cypress, bald — Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. Dogwood — Comus spp. Dogwood, alternate-leaved — Cornus alternifolia L. f. Dogwood, flowering — Cornus florida L. \ Dogwood, rough-leaved — Cornus drummondi C. A. Mey. Duckweed — Lemna spp. Wolffia spp. Elderberry — Sambucus canadensis L. Elm, American — i'lmus americana L. Elm, rock — i'lmus thomasi Sarg. Elm, slippery — Vlmus rubra Muhl. Elm, water — Planera aquatica (Wall.) Gmel. Farkleberry — Vaccinium arboreum Marsh. Fern, broad beech — Dryopteris hexagonoptera (Michx.) C. Chr. Fern, Christmas — Polystichum acrostichoides(Michx,) Schott Fern, cinnamon — Osmunda cinnamomea L. Fern, common wood — Dryopteris intermedia (Muhl.) Gray Fern, filmy — Trichomanes boschianum Sturm Fern, fragile — Cystopteris jragilis (L.) Bernh. Fern, glade — Athyrium pycnocarpon (Spreng.) Tidestr. Fern, grape — Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw. Fern, lady — Athyrium angustum (Willd.) Presl Fern, maidenhair — Adiantum pedatum L. Fern, marsh — Dryopteris thelypteris (L.) Gray Fern, mosquito — Azolla caroliniana Willd. Fern, sensitive — Onoclea sensibilis L. Fern, walking — Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link Feverfew, American — Parthcnium integrifolium L. Frogbit — Limnobium spongia (Bosc) Steud. Gama grass — Tripsacum dactyloides L. Gentian — Gentiana spp. Gentian, closed — Gentiana andrewsii Griseb. Gentian, fringed — Gentiana crinita Froel. Goat's rue — Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers. Goldenrod — Solidago spp. Goldenrod, Drummond's — Solidago drummnndii T. & G. Gooseberry — Ribes cynosbati L. Grama, side-oats — Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr. Grape — Vitis spp. Grape, catbird — Vitis palmata Vahl Grape, raccoon — Ampelopsis cordata Michx. Greenbrier — Smilax bona-nox L. S. rotundifolia L. Gum, black — i\yssa sylvatica Marsh. Gum, sweet — Liquidamhar styraciflua L. Hackberry — Celtis occidentalis L. Hackberry, Mississippi - Celtis laevigata Willd. Hepatica — Hepatica acutiloba UC. Hercules' club — Aralia spinosa L. Hickory - Carya spp. Hickory, big shellbark - Carya laciniosa (Michx. f.) Loud. Hickory, bitternut - Carya cordiformis (Wang.) K. Koch Hickory, shagbark - Carya ovata (Mill.) K. Koch Honeysuckle, Japanese - Lonicera j aponic a Thur\h. Horchound, water - Lycopus americanus Muhl. Hornbeam, hop - Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch Hornwort — Ceratophyllum demcrsum L. Hyacinth, wild — Camassia scilloides (Raf.) Cory Hydrangea, wild - Hydrangea arborescens L. Indian grass — Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash Indian pipe — Monotropa uni flora L. Indigo, wild — Baptisia leucophaea Nutt. Ivy, poison — Rhus radicans L. Juniper, creeping — Juniperus horizontalis Moench Ladies'-tresses, nodding — Spiranthcs cernua (L.) Rich. Ladyslipper, pink — Cypripedium reginae Walt. Larch, European — Larix decidua Mill. Lead plant — Amorpha canescens Pursh Leatherleaf — Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench Lily-of-thc-valley, false — Maianthcmum canadense Desf. Lily, spider — Hymenucallis occidentalis (Le Conte) Kunth 31 Lizard's-tail — Saururus cernuus L. Locust, black — Robinia pseudoacacia L. Locust, honey — Gleditsia triacanthos L. Locust, swamp honey — Gleditsia aquatica Marsh. Loosestrife, swamp — Decodon verticillatus fL.) EH. Lotus, American - Nelumbo lutea (Willd.) Pers. Love grass, sand - Eragrostis tnchodes (Nutt.) Wood Mallow, rose — Callirhoe triangulata (Leaven-w.) Gray Maple, Drummond's — Acer rubrum vat. drummondii (H. & A.) Sarg. Maple, hard — Acer saccharum Marsh. Maple, red — Acer rubrum L. Maple, soft — Acer saccharinum L. Marigold, marsh — Caltha palustris L. Mayapple — Podophyllum peltatum L. Moss, hairy-cap — P olytrichum spp. Mulberry — Moras rubra L. Needle grass — Stipa spartea Trin. Nettle, false — Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw. New Jersey tea — Ceanothus americanus L. Oak - Quercus spp. Oak, black — Quercus velutinaham. Oak, black-jack — Quercus marilandica Muenchh. Oak, bur — Quercus macrocarpa Michx. Oak, chinquapin — Quercus muhlenbergii Engelm. Oak, Hill's — Quercus ellipsoidalis E. J. Hill Oak, northern red — Quercus borealis var. maxima (Marsh.) Ashe Oak, overcup — Quercus lyrata Walt. Oak, pin — Quercus palustris Muenchh. Oak, post — Quercus stellata Wang. Oak, shingle — Quercus imbricaria Michx. Oak, swamp white — Quercus fc/co/or Willd. Oak, white — Quercus alba L. Oak, willow — Quercus phellos L. Orchid, grass-pink — Calapogon pulchellus (Salisb.)R. Br. Osier, red — Cornus stolonifera Michx. Panic grass, Scribner's — Panicum oligosanthes var. scribnerianum (Nash) Fern. Papaw — Asimina triloba (h.) Dunal. Partridge berry — Mitchella repens L. Passion flower — Passiflora lutea L. Pear, prickly — Opuntia rafinesquii Engelm. Pecan — Gary a illinoensis (Wang.) K. Koch Pencil-flower — Stylosanthes biflora (L.) B.S.P. Persimmon — Diospyros virginiana L. Pickerel weed — Pontederia cordata L. Pigweed, winged — Cycloloma atriplicifolium (Spreng.) Coult. Pine, Austrian — Pinus nigra Arnold Pine, pitch — Pinus rigida Mill. Pine, Scotch — Pinus sylvestr is L. Pine, southern yellow — Pinus echinata Mill. Pine, white — Pinus strobus L. Pitcher plant — Sarracenia purpurea L. Plantain, rattlesnake — Goodyera pubescens (Willd.) R. Br. Plume grass — Erianthus alopecurioides (L.) Ell. Polygala — Poly gala verticillata L. P. poly gama Walt. Polypody — Polypodium polypodioides (L.) Watt Polypody, common — Polypodium vulgare var. virginianum (L.) Eaton Pond lily, yellow - Nuphar advena Ait. Pondweed — Potamogeton spp. Poverty grass — Danthonia spicata (L.) Beauv. Prairie-dock — Silphium terebinthinaceum J acq. Primrose, bird's-eye — Primula mistassinica Hichju Primrose-willow — Jussiaea decurrens (Walt.) DC. /. diffusa Forsk. /. teptocarpa Nutt. Privet, swamp — Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir. Puccoon — Lithospermum canescens (Michx.) Lehm. Puttyroot — Aplectrum hyemale (Muhl.) Torr. Redbud — Gercis canadensis L. Red cedar — Juniperus virginiana L. Reed, common — Phragmites communis Trin. Reed grass — Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. Reed grass, canary — Phalaris arundinacea L. Rose, swamp — Rosa palustris Marsh. Rosinweed — Silphium integrifolium Michx. St. John's-wort, marsh — Triadenum ualteri (Gmel.) Gl. Sassafras — Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees. Saxifrage — Saxifraga pensylvanica L. Sea-rocket — Gakile edulenta (Bige\,) Hook. Sedge — Carex spp. Sedge, cotton — Eriophorum virginicum L. Seed-box — Ludwigia alternifolia L. Selaginella, rock — Selaginella rupestris (L.) Spring Shadbush — Amelanchier arborea (Michx. f.) Fern. Silver-bell tree — Halesia Carolina L. Skullcap — Scutellaria lateriflora L. Smartweed — Polygonum hydropiperoides Michx. Snakeroot, white — Eupatorium rugosum Houtt. Sphagnum — Sphagnum spp. Spicebush — Lindera feenzoin (L.) Blume Stickleaf — Mentzelia oligosperma Nutt. Stonecrop, ditch — Penthorum sedoides L. Sumac, fragrant — Rhus aromatica Ait. Sumac, poison — Rhus vemix L. Sumac, smooth — Rhus glabra L. Sumac, winged — Rhus copallina L. Sunflower — Helianthus spp. Switchgrass — Panicum virgatum L. Sycamore — Platanus occidentalis L. Talinum — Talinum parviflorum Nutt. Tamarack — Larix /aricina (DuRoi) K. Koch Thistle, Canada — Girsium arvense (L.) Scop. Thistle, Russian — Salsota kali var. tenuifolia G.F.W. Meyer Thistle, swamp — Girsium muticum Michx. Three-awn grass — Aristida desmantha Trin. & Rupr. A. oligantha Michx. A. tuberculosa Nutt. Trumpet creeper — Campsis radicans (L.) Seem. Touch-me-not — Impatiens biflora Walt. Tulip tree — Liriodendron tulipifera L. Tupelo — I^yssa aquatica L. Twayblade — Liparis liliifolia (L.) Rich. Viburnum — V iburnum spp. Violet — Viola spp. Virginia creeper — Parthenocissus quinquefolia (\..) Planch. Walnut, black — Juglans nigra L. Water lily, white — .\ymphaea tuberosa Paine. Water-milfoil — Myriophyllum verticillatum L. Waterweed — Anacharis spp. Whitlow's grass — Draba spp. Willow — Salix spp. Willow, black — Salix nigra Marsh. Willow, peach-leaved — Salix amygdaloides Anders. Willow, Virginia — Ilea virginica L. Winterberry — Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray Witch hazel — Hamamelis virginiana L. Yew, Canada — Taxus canadensis Marsh. 32 ■ -A' . I »■.• - ii Si r r \ ' -: •,. » » > l^•^.v; . ,r • •• ■ '^l--:';- t. • , im.-. J•'■::■ V r 'j >?> -^ ,vt-(-*»r •, i.-iii-r . ^ -;,. "viJV •\ ./' r. •