Chapter III: List of Plants

The following is a list of the plants which I noticed in the Maine woods, in the years 1853 and 1857. (Those marked * not in woods.)

1. THOSE WHICH ATTAINED THE HEIGHT OF TREES

_Alnus incana_ (speckled or hoary alder), abundant along streams, etc.

_Thuja occidentalis_ (American arbor-vitæ), one of the prevailing.

_Fraxinus sambucifolia_ (black ash), very common, especially near dead water. The Indian spoke of “yellow ash” as also found there.

_Populus tremuloides_ (American aspen), very common, especially on burnt lands, almost as white as birches.

_Populus grandidentata_ (large-toothed aspen), perhaps two or three.

_Fagus ferruginea_ (American beech), not uncommon, at least on the West Branch. (Saw more in 1846.)

_Betula papyracea_ (canoe birch), prevailing everywhere and about Bangor.

_Betula excelsa_ (yellow birch), very common.

_Betula lenta_ (black birch), on the West Branch in 1853.

_Betula alba_ (American white birch), about Bangor only.

_Ulmus Americana_ (American or white elm), West Branch and low down the East Branch, _i. e._ on the lower and alluvial part of the river, very common.

_Larix Americana_ (American or black larch), very common on the Umbazookskus; some elsewhere.

_Abies Canadensis_ (hemlock spruce); not abundant; some on the West Branch, and a little everywhere.

_Acer saccharinum_ (sugar maple), very common.

_Acer rubrum_ (red or swamp maple), very common.

_Acer dasycarpum_ (white or silver maple), a little low on East Branch and in Chesuncook woods.

_Quercus rubra_ (red oak), one on an island in Grand Lake, East Branch, and, according to a settler, a few on the east side of Chesuncook Lake; a few also about Bangor in 1853.

_Pinus Strobus_ (white pine), scattered along, most abundant at Heron Lake.

_Pinus resinosa_ (red pine), Telos and Grand Lake, a little afterwards here and there.

_Abies balsamea_ (balsam fir), perhaps the most common tree, especially in the upper parts of rivers.

_Abies nigra_ (black or double spruce), next to the last the most common, if not equally common, and on mountains.

_Abies alba_ (white or single spruce), common with the last along the rivers.

_Pinus Banksiana_ (gray or Northern scrub pine), a few on an island in Grand Lake.

Twenty-three in all (23).

2. SMALL TREES AND SHRUBS

_Prunus depressa_ (dwarf cherry), on gravel-bars, East Branch, near Hunt’s, with green fruit; obviously distinct from the _pumila_ of river and meadows.

_Vaccinium corymbosum_ (common swamp blueberry), Bucksport.

_Vaccinium Canadense_ (Canada blueberry), carries and rocky hills everywhere as far south as Bucksport.

_Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum_ (dwarf-blueberry?), Whetstone Falls.

_Betula pumila_ (low birch), Mud Pond Swamp.

_Prinos verticillatus_ (black alder), 1857, now placed with _Ilex_ by Gray, 2d ed.

_Cephalanthus occidentalis_ (button-bush).

_Prunus Pennsylvanica_ (wild red cherry), very common at camps, carries, etc., along rivers; fruit ripe August 1, 1857.

_Prunus Virginiana_ (choke-cherry), riverside, common.

_Cornus alternifolia_ (alternate-leaved cornel), West Branch, 1853.

_Ribes prostratum_ (fetid currant), common along streams; on Webster Stream.

_Sambucus Canadensis_ (common elder), common along riversides.

_Sambucus pubens_ (red-berried elder), not quite so common; roadsides toward Moosehead, and on carries afterward; fruit beautiful.

_Ribes lacustre_ (swamp-gooseberry), swamps, common; Mud Pond Swamp and Webster Stream; not ripe July 29, 1857.

_Corylus rostrata_ (beaked hazelnut), common.

_Taxus baccata_, var. _Canadensis_ (American yew), a common undershrub at an island in West Branch and Chesuncook woods.

_Viburnum lantanoides_ (hobble-bush), common, especially in Chesuncook woods; fruit ripe in September, 1853, not in July, 1857.

_Viburnum Opulus_ (cranberry-tree), on West Branch; one in flower still, July 25, 1857.

_Viburnum nudum_ (withe-rod), common along rivers.

_Kalmia glauca_ (pale laurel), swamps, common, as at Moosehead Carry and Chamberlain Swamp.

_Kalmia angustifolia_ (lambkill), with _Kalmia glauca_.

_Acer spicatum_ (mountain maple), a prevailing underwood.

_Acer striatum_ (striped maple), in fruit July 30, 1857; green the first year; green, striped with white, the second; darker, the third, with dark blotches.

_Cornus stolonifera_ (red-osier dogwood), prevailing shrub on shore of West Branch; fruit still white in August, 1857.

_Pyrus Americana_ (American mountain-ash), common along shores.

_Amelanchier Canadensis_ (shad-bush), rocky carries, etc., considerable fruit in 1857.

_Rubus strigosus_ (wild red raspberry), very abundant, burnt grounds, camps, and carries, but not ripe till we got to Chamberlain dam and on East Branch.

_Rosa Carolina_ (swamp rose), common on the shores of lakes, etc.

_Rhus typhina_* (staghorn sumach).

_Myrica Gale_ (sweet-gale), common.

_Nemopanthes Canadensis_ (mountain holly), common in low ground, Moosehead Carry, and on Mount Kineo.

_Cratægus_ (_coccinea_? scarlet-fruited thorn), not uncommon; with hard fruit in September, 1853.

_Salix_ (near to _petiolaris_, petioled willow), very common in Umbazookskus meadows.

_Salix rostrata_ (long-beaked willow), common.

_Salix humilis_ (low bush willow), common.

_Salix discolor_ (glaucous willow) (?).

_Salix lucida_ (shining willow), at island in Heron Lake.

_Dirca palustris_ (moose-wood), common.

In all, 38.

3. SMALL SHRUBS AND HERBACEOUS PLANTS

_Agrimonia Eupatoria_ (common agrimony), not uncommon.

_Circæa alpina_ (enchanter’s nightshade), very common in woods.

_Nasturtium palustre_ (marsh cress), var. _hispidum_, common, as at A. Smith’s.

_Aralia hispida_ (bristly sarsaparilla), on West Branch, both years.

_Aralia nudicaulis_ (wild sarsaparilla), Chesuncook woods.

_Sagittaria variabilis_ (arrowhead), common at Moosehead and afterward.

_Arum triphyllum_ (Indian turnip), now _arisæma_, Moosehead Carry in 1853.

_Asclepias incarnata_ (swamp milkweed), Umbazookskus River and after; redder than ours, and a different variety from our var. _pulchra_.

_Aster acuminatus_ (pointed-leaved aster), the prevailing aster in woods, not long open on South Branch, July 31; two or more feet high.

_Aster macrophyllus_ (large-leaved aster), common, and the whole plant surprisingly fragrant, like a medicinal herb; just out at Telos Dam, July 29, 1857, and after to Bangor and Bucksport; bluish flower (in woods on Pine Stream and at Chesuncook in 1853).

_Aster Radula_ (rough-leaved aster), common, Moosehead Carry and after.

_Aster miser_ (petty aster), in 1853 on West Branch, and common on Chesuncook shore.

_Aster longifolius_ (willow-leaved blue aster), 1853, Moosehead and Chesuncook shores.

_Aster cordifolius_ (heart-leaved aster), 1853, West Branch.

_Aster Tradescanti_ (Tradescant’s aster), 1857. A narrow-leaved one, Chesuncook shore, 1853.

_Aster_, _longifolius_-like, with small flowers, West Branch, 1853.

_Aster puniceus_ (rough-stemmed aster), Pine Stream.

_Diplopappus umbellatus_ (large diplopappus aster), common along river.

_Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi_ (bear-berry), Kineo, etc., 1857.

_Polygonum cilinode_ (fringe-jointed false-buckwheat), common.

_Bidens cernua_ (bur-marigold), 1853, West Branch.

_Ranunculus acris_ (buttercups), abundant at Smith’s dam, Chesuncook, 1853.

_Rubus triflorus_ (dwarf raspberry), low grounds and swamps, common.

_Utricularia vulgaris_* (greater bladderwort), Pushaw.

_Iris versicolor_ (larger blue flag), common, Moosehead, West Branch, Umbazookskus, etc.

_Sparganium_ (bur-reed).

_Calla palustris_ (water-arum), in bloom July 27, 1857, Mud Pond Swamp.

_Lobelia cardinalis_ (cardinal-flower), apparently common, but out of bloom August, 1857.

_Cerastium nutans_ (clammy wild chickweed) (?).

_Gaultheria procumbens_ (checkerberry), prevailing everywhere in woods along banks of rivers.

_Stellaria media_* (common chickweed), Bangor.

_Chiogenes hispidula_ (creeping snowberry), very common in woods.

_Cicuta maculata_ (water hemlock).

_Cicuta bulbifera_ (bulb-bearing water hemlock), Penobscot and Chesuncook shore, 1853.

_Galium trifidum_ (small bed-straw), common.

_Galium Aparine_ (cleavers) (?), Chesuncook, 1853.

_Galium_, one kind on Pine Stream, 1853.

_Trifolium pratense_ (red clover), on carries, etc.

_Actæa spicata_, var. _alba_ (white cohosh), Chesuncook woods, 1853, and East Branch, 1857.

_Actæa_, var. _rubra_ (red cohosh), East Branch, 1857.

_Vaccinium Vitis-Idæa_ (cow-berry), Ktaadn, very abundant.

_Cornus Canadensis_ (dwarf cornel), in woods Chesuncook, 1853; just ripe at Kineo, July 24, 1857, common; still in bloom, Moosehead Carry, September 16, 1853.

_Medeola Virginica_ (Indian cucumber-root), West Branch and Chesuncook woods.

_Dalibarda repens_ (dalibarda), Moosehead Carry and after, common. In flower still, August 1, 1857.

_Taraxacum Dens-leonis_ (common dandelion), Smith’s, 1853; only there. Is it not foreign?

_Diervilla trifida_ (bush honeysuckle), very common.

_Rumex Hydrolapathum_ (_?_) (great water dock), in 1857; noticed it was large-seeded in 1853; common.

_Rumex crispus_ (_?_) (curled dock), West Branch, 1853.

_Apocynum cannabinum_ (Indian hemp), Kineo (Bradford) and East Branch, 1857, at Whetstone Falls.

_Apocynum androsæmifolium_ (spreading dogbane), Kineo (Bradford).

_Clintonia borealis_ (clintonia), all over woods; fruit just ripening, July 25, 1857.

A _Lemna_ (duckweed), Pushaw, 1857.

_Elodea Virginica_ (marsh St. John’s-wort), Moosehead, 1853.

_Epilobium angustifolium_ (great willow-herb), great fields on burnt lands; some white at Webster Stream.

_Epilobium coloratum_ (purple-veined willow-herb), once in 1857.

_Eupatorium purpureum_ (Joe-Pye-weed), Heron, Moosehead, and Chesuncook lake shores, common.

_Allium_ (onion), a new kind to me in bloom, without bulbs above, on rocks near Whetstone Falls (?), East Branch.

_Halenia deflexa_ (spurred gentian), carries on East Branch, common.

_Geranium Robertianum_ (herb-robert).

_Solidago lanceolata_ (bushy goldenrod), very common.

_Solidago_, one of the three-ribbed, in both years.

_Solidago thyrsoidea_ (large mountain goldenrod), one on Webster Stream.

_Solidago squarrosa_ (large-spiked goldenrod), the most common on East Branch.

_Solidago altissima_ (rough hairy goldenrod), not uncommon both years.

_Coptis trifolia_ (three-leaved gold-thread).

_Smilax herbacea_ (carrion-flower), not uncommon both years.

_Spiræa tomentosa_* (hardhack), Bangor.

_Campanula rotundifolia_ (harebell), cliffs, Kineo, Grand Lake, etc.

_Hieracium_ (hawkweed), not uncommon.

_Veratrum viride_ (American white hellebore).

_Lycopus Virginicus_ (bugle-weed), 1857.

_Lycopus Europæus_ (water horehound), var. _sinuatus_, Heron Lake shore.

_Chenopodium album_ (lamb’s-quarters), Smith’s.

_Mentha Canadensis_ (wild mint), very common.

_Galeopsis tetrahit_ (common hemp-nettle), Olamon Isle, abundant, and below, in prime, August 3, 1857.

_Houstonia cærulea_ (bluets), now _Oldenlandia_ (Gray, 2d ed.), 1857.

_Hydrocotyle Americana_ (marsh pennywort), common.

_Hypericum ellipticum_ (elliptical-leaved St. John’s-wort), common.

_Hypericum mutilum_ (small St. John’s-wort), both years, common.

_Hypericum Canadense_ (Canadian St. John’s-wort), Moosehead Lake and Chesuncook shores, 1853.

_Trientalis Americana_ (star-flower), Pine Stream, 1853.

_Lobelia inflata_ (Indian tobacco).

_Spiranthes cernua_ (ladies’-tresses), Kineo and after.

_Nabalus_ (rattlesnake-root), 1857; _altissimus_ (tall white lettuce), Chesuncook woods, 1853.

_Antennaria margaritacea_ (pearly everlasting), common, Moosehead, Smith’s, etc.

_Lilium Canadense_ (wild yellow lily), very common and large, West and East Branch; one on East Branch, 1857, with strongly revolute petals, and leaves perfectly smooth beneath, but not larger than the last, and apparently only a variety.

_Linnæa borealis_ (linnæa), almost everywhere in woods.

_Lobelia Dortmanna_ (water lobelia), pond in Bucksport.

_Lysimachia ciliata_ (hairy-stalked loosestrife), very common, Chesuncook shore and East Branch.

_Lysimachia stricta_ (upright loosestrife), very common.

_Microstylis ophioglossoides_ (adder’s-mouth), Kineo.

_Spiræa salicifolia_ (common meadow-sweet), common.

_Mimulus ringens_ (monkey-flower), common, lake-shores, etc.

_Scutellaria galericulata_ (skullcap), very common.

_Scutellaria lateriflora_ (mad-dog skullcap), Heron Lake, 1857; Chesuncook, 1853.

_Platanthera psycodes_ (small purple fringed orchis), very common, East Branch and Chesuncook, 1853.

_Platanthera fimbriata_ (large purple fringed orchis), very common, West Branch and Umbazookskus, 1857.

_Platanthera orbiculata_ (large round-leaved orchis), very common in woods, Moosehead and Chamberlain carries, Caucomgomoc, etc.

_Amphicarpæa monoica_ (hog peanut).

_Aralia racemosa_ (spikenard), common, Moosehead Carry, Telos Lake, etc., and after; out about August 1, 1857.

_Plantago major_ (common plantain), common in open land at Smith’s in 1853.

_Pontederia cordata_* (pickerel-weed), only near Oldtown, 1857.

_Potamogeton_ (pondweed), not common.

_Potentilla tridentata_ (mountain cinquefoil), Kineo.

_Potentilla Norvegica_ (cinquefoil), Heron Lake shore and Smith’s.

_Polygonum amphibium_ (water persicaria), var. _aquaticum_ Second Lake.

_Polygonum Persicaria_ (lady’s-thumb), log-path, Chesuncook, 1853.

_Nuphar advena_ (yellow pond-lily), not abundant.

_Nymphæa odorata_ (sweet water-lily), a few in West Branch, 1853.

_Polygonum Hydropiper_ (smart-weed), log-path, Chesuncook.

_Pyrola secunda_ (one-sided pyrola), very common, Caucomgomoc.

_Pyrola elliptica_ (shin-leaf), Caucomgomoc River.

_Ranunculus Flammula_ (spearwort, var. _reptans_).

_Ranunculus recurvatus_ (hooked crowfoot), Umbazookskus landing, &c.

_Typha latifolia_* (common cat-tail or reed-mace), extremely abundant between Bangor and Portland.

_Sanicula Marylandica_ (black snake-root), Moosehead Carry and after.

_Aralia nudicaulis_ (wild sarsaparilla).

_Capsella Bursa-pastoris_ (shepherd’s-purse), Smith’s, 1853.

_Prunella vulgaris_ (self-heal), very common everywhere.

_Erechthites hieracifolia_ (fire-weed), 1857, and Smith’s open land, 1853.

_Sarracenia purpurea_ (pitcher-plant), Mud Pond Swamp.

_Smilacina bifolia_ (false Solomon’s-seal), 1857, and Chesuncook woods, 1853.

_Smilacina racemosa_ (false spikenard) (?), Umbazookskus Carry, July 27, 1853.

_Veronica scutellata_ (marsh speedwell).

_Spergula arvensis_ (corn-spurry), 1857, not uncommon, 1853, Moosehead and Smith’s.

_Fragaria_ (strawberry), 1853, Smith’s; 1857, Bucksport.

_Thalictrum Cornuti_ (meadow-rue), very common, especially along rivers, tall, and conspicuously in bloom in July, 1857.

_Cirsium arvense_ (Canada thistle), abundant at camps and highway-sides in the north of Maine.

_Cirsium muticum_ (swamp thistle), well in bloom, Webster Stream, August 31.

_Rumex acetosella_ (sheep sorrel), common by river and log-paths, as Chesuncook log-path.

_Impatiens fulva_ (spotted touch-me-not).

_Trillium erythrocarpum_ (painted trillium), common West Branch and Moosehead Carry.

_Verbena hastata_ (blue vervain).

_Clematis Virginiana_ (common virgin’s-bower), common on river-banks; feathered in September, 1853; in bloom July, 1857.

_Leucanthemum vulgare_ (whiteweed).

_Sium lineare_ (water-parsnip), 1857, and Chesuncook shore 1853.

_Achillea millefolium_ (common yarrow), by river and log-paths, and Smith’s.

_Desmodium Canadense_ (Canadian tick-trefoil), not uncommon.

_Oxalis Acetosella_ (common wood-sorrel), still out July 25 1853, at Moosehead Carry and after.

_Oxalis stricta_ (yellow wood-sorrel), 1853, at Smith’s and his wood-path.

_Liparis liliifolia_ (tway-blade), Kineo (Bradford).

_Uvularia grandiflora_ (large-flowered bellwort), woods, common.

_Uvularia sessilifolia_ (sessile-leaved bellwort), Chesuncook woods, 1853.

In all, 145.

4. OF LOWER ORDER

_Scirpus Eriophorum_ (wool-grass), very common, especially on low islands. A coarse grass, four or five feet high, along the river.

_Phleum pratense_ (herd’s-grass), on carries, at camps and clearings.

_Equisetum sylvaticum_ (sylvatic horse-tail).

_Pteris aquilina_ (brake), Kineo and after.

_Onoclea sensibilis_ (sensitive fern), very common along the riversides; some on the gravelly shore of Heron Lake Island.

_Polypodium Dryopteris_ (brittle polypody).

_Woodsia Ilvensis_ (rusty woodsia), Kineo.

_Lycopodium lucidulum_ (toothed club-moss).

_Usnea_ (a parmeliaceous lichen), common on various trees.