USA > Iowa > Mills County > History of Mills County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. > Part 43
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PLANTÆ *
WOODY PLANTS AND VINES.
Negundo aceroides, box elder, common; handsome.
Quercus rubra, red oak, common; excellent fuel.
Quercus nigra, black oak, abundant; valuable; medicinal; bark as- tringent.
Quercus palustris, pin oak, rare; a course grained variety.
Quercus castanea, chesnut oak, fairly common.
Quercus macrocarpa, burr oak, very common.
* It is manifestly impossible to present the reader with anything like a complete list of the county's plants, since their nomenclature alone would require a volume of greater pro- portions than this. Three classes only have been given, the arboreous and shrubby -- with a few climbing plants-and the medicinal, the latter including only the most common and best known varieties. It is a peculiarity of all science that many forms-small in them- selves-rejoice in a nomenclature the length of which is altogether disproportionate to their size. Yet, such is the looseness with which popular names are used that identifica- tion is simply an impossibility, unless recourse is had to the proper botanical nomencla- ture-which is a sufficient apology for the introduction of these technical names .- R. E. C.
360
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Quercus imbricaria, laurel oak, rare, valuable only for fuel.
Quercus phellos, (?) willow oak; valuable for fuel.
Quercus tinctoria, yellow bark oak; very rare; bark astringent. Ulmus americus,, white elm, common in bottoms.
Ulmus fulva, slippery elm, common; bark medicinal; demulcent.
Ulmus alata, winged elm, doubtful very, more eastern.
Acer rubrum, red maple, rare; valuable in cabinet work. Acer dasycarpum, white maple, very common.
Acer saccharinum, hard maple, cultivated; valuable for sugar and fuel. Salix tristis, (?) glaucous willow, common.
Salix lucida, shinning willow, very common.
Salix petiolaris, petioled willow, very common.
Salix nigra, black willow, very rare.
Salix longifolia, long-leaved willow, very common.
Salix candida, (?) white willow, medicinal; astringent.
Salix humilis, prairie willow, not common.
Populus tremuloides, aspen, cultivated.
Populus angulata, water poplar, not common; a large tree.
Populus monilifera, cottonwood, abundant; tall and large.
Platanus occidentalis, sycamore, common along streams; "the largest though not the tallest tree in the American forest; conspicuous by its whiteness.
Tilia americana, basswood, linn, common; large. Juglans nigra, black walnut, valuable in the arts.
fuglans cinerea, buternut, rare; medicinal; cathartic. Carya alba, shell-bark hickory, common; valuable. Carya glabra, pignut hickory, abundant; fruit bitter. Carya amara, bitternut, valuable for fuel; common.
Betula nigra, red birch. a stately tree; mild tonic; common.
Fraxinus americana, white ash, common; valuable. Fraxinus viridis, green ash, rare.
Fraxinus sambucifolia, black ash, abundant; valuable for rails.
Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree, valuable substitute for pine; very large; bark medicinal; diaphoretic.
Gymnocladus canadensis, coffee tree, rare; fruit peculiar.
Gleditschia triacanthus, honey locust, not rare; wood heavy.
Carpinus americana, hornbeam, doubtfully referred to the county.
Alnus incana, black alder, common.
Alnus serrulata, smooth alder, doubtful; rare, if at all.
Cornus florida, cornel, abundant; very pretty ; bark medicinal; a decided roborant.
Cornus paniculata, panicled dogwood, common; flowers white.
361
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Rhus toxicodendron, poison ivy, dangerous; easily recognized.
Rhus glabra, sumac, common; poisonous.
Rhus radicans, three-leaved ivy, rare; poisonous.
Robinia pseudacacia, locust, fragrant; valuable; common.
Sambucus canadensis, elderberry, fairly common; edible; medicinal; see below.
Corylus americana, hazel-nut, very abundant; edible.
Spire @tomentosa, hackberry, common.
Spiræa sulicifolia, meadow sweet, very common.
Morus rubra, mulberry, common; edible.
Ostrya virginica, ironwood, common along bottoms; heavy.
Rhamnus catharticus, perhaps lanceolatus, buckthorn, common; medi- cinal.
Cratagus tomentosa, blackthorn, common; very tough.
Cratagus coccinea, white thorn, abundant.
Craægus viridis, red haw, everywhere; a misnomer.
Amelanchier candensis, service berry, common; edible; several varie- ties.
Prunus americana, wild plum, abundant; edible.
Cerasus pennsylvanica, wild red cherry, common; edible.
Cerasus virginica, choke cherry, abundant; insipid.
Cerasus serotina, black cherry, common; edible, but bitter.
Aesculus glabra, buckeye, occasional; fetid.
Asimina triloba, pawpaw, common; edible.
Rosa lucida, wild rose; everywhere; pretty.
Rosa setigua, early wild rose, prairies; beautiful.
Pyrus ioensis, wild crab appple, abundant; fruit useless unless preserved. Ribes rotundifolium, smooth gooseberry, common; edible.
Ribes cynosbati, prickly gooseberry, abundant; edible.
Ribes floridum, wild black currant, common; fruit insipid.
Lonicera flava, wild honeysuckle, hillsides, common.
Lonicera grata (?), American woodbine; elegant, often cultivated.
Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Virginia creeper, common; harmless.
Xanthoxylum americanum, prickly ash, common; medicinal. Vitis cordifolia, frost grape, common; edible.
· Vitis aestivalis, river bank grape, abundant; edible.
Ceanothus americanus, Jersey tea; abundant on prairies.
Ceanothus ovalis, red root, pernicious; abundant.
Staphylea trifolia, bladdernut; rare.
Amorpha canescens, lead plant ; abundant.
Viburnum lentago, black haw; common.
Shepherdia argentea (?) buffalo berry; fruit edible, scarlet, acid.
362
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Cercis canadensis, red bud, common; used for dyeing.
Amorpha fruticosa, false indigo.
Cephalanthus occidentalis, button bush.
Euonymus atropurpurcus, wahoo, fairly common.
Juniperus virginiana, cedar .*
Celtis crassifolia, hackberry (?) common.
Celastrus scandens, bittersweet.
Symphoricarpus vulgaris, common nearly everywhere; perhaps two species.
Rubus occidentalis, common.
Rubus villosus, rare, perhaps accidental; root-bark astringent.
Menispermum canadensis, moonseed, in woods.
Smilax rotundifolia ? green briar; common; determination doubtful.
The preceding list comprises all the trees, shrubs and woody climbing plants known in the county. The major part of them may be found along the bottom lands of the principal streams, or along the bluffs of the Mis- souri river. It will be seen that the county is well wooded with varieties valuable both as fuel and in the arts. The varieties are many, but, as is usual in wooded districts, a few kinds predominate. No attempt has been made to discuss the relations of the flora to that of the remainder of the state, nor to point out the few species of plants peculiar to it. The design has been to present a list-with brief notes-of the more valuable and large plants, and it is believed the county's resources, in this particu- lar, are quite fully represented by the foregoing catalogue.
There is, however, one feature that cannot be passed without comment. The flora of the county is distinctively divided in that it comprises species both of woodland and prairie habitat, i. e., its forms are found in either the one or the other location. Associated with the trees and shrubs are innu- merable herbs, such as are commonly found in low or in wooded districts, and are, in the main, distinct in habitat from the plants of the higher and more exposed country. The prairie, on the other hand, is peculiarly rich in that order of flowering plants known as the Compositae. Riding across the country one may see thousands of blossoms raising their brilliant selves above the grasses that would obscure their beauty. The golden solidagos, the purple asters or the brilliant puccoons, (Lithospermum) vie with each other in claiming the attention of the passer-by. In the more moist places is to be seen the pretty penyroyal, (Hedcoma) and by its side blossoms the invaluable boneset (Eupatorium). Who would recognize in these brilliant white flowers, the nauseous mixtures our "grandames and aunts" were wont to prepare for us?
* Only fossil specimens of this species are known in this county. They seem to have thrived in the ravines and valleys of the age immediately preceding the deposition of the loess. In Fremont county specimens have been found thirteen inches in diameter. R. E. C.
363
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
To see the prairie in all its beauty, it is needful that not one trip, but many, should be made-and let the occasion suit the season. In the earlier summer the omnipresent "nigger- head"-(Echinacea purpurea)- lifts its form as defiantly and jauntily withal as the "ox eye" daisy (Leucanthemum) for which the meadows of New England are so famous. Then, in the valleys bloom the "iron- weeds," ( Vernonia fasciculata) while on the prairies the "rosin-weed," (Silphium laciniatum) lifts its cheerful golden face to nod knowingly at you as you pass by. Here, there, everywhere, some beautiful blossom smiles at you, and awakens feelings in your heart that only a prairie flo can. What wonder our fathers stopped here amid so much splendor-a splendor withal that marked the great fertility of the virgin soil. From early spring, when first appear the "Johnny jump-ups," ( Viola cucullata) and "Bird's foot violet," ( Viola delphinifolia) to late autumn, when the last aster and golden-rod succumb to Nature's inexorable laws, the prairie forms the botanist'sparadise. Inviting, did you say? Aye, more than that; instructive in the highest sense, for here some orders reach a devel- opment unknown elsewhere on the globe. Here one finds the princes of the flower realm of Nature. Cunningly, wisely, and full of a hidden secret meaning, a thousand forms look up into the faces of pedestrians who, with repressed curiosity, and not quite willingly tread them under foot. They are leaves of the great folio, marginal notes on the pages of the book of Nature, often and to many, and for a long period to every one, hieroglyphs whose deciphering would repay all the requisite toil.
But very many of these plants have an infinitely greater value than that conferred by their beauty. Does some astute utilitarian mutter to himself, "Now you are getting sensible?" Wonder if he thinks of this when making grimaces at some unsavory decoction his physician has pre- scribed? Wonder if he would not rather look at than take them? Enter- ing largely into the category of medicinal plants as do many of the forms found in this county it is deemed a matter of interest to the general reader to know their habitat, their abundance, and their uses. The following list is very far from exhaustive, dealing as it does with only some of the most common or most easily recognized plants that possess a medicinal value. Where practicable, the portion of the plant which is used is indi cated, together with the nature of its action physiologically.
CATALOGUE OF COMMON MEDICINAL PLANTS.
Parmelia parietina, common yellow wall lichen; tonic.
Adiantum pedatum, maiden hair fern: common, astringent.
Veratum viride, white hellebore, common in swamps; poisonous; an energetic irritant; not safe.
364
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Mentha canadensis, spearmint; common stimulant and tonic.
Hcdeoma pulegioides, pennyroyal; common; stimulant and carmina- tive.
Verbascum thapsus, common mullein; emulcent, slightly narcotic. The leaves are used.
Taraxacum dens-leonis, dandelion; common; tonic and stomachic.
Eupatortum perfoliatum, boneset, very abundant; emulcent, an emetic.
Sanguinaria canandensis, blood root; abundant, diaphoretic.
Cassia marilandica, senna, common; cathartic.
Oxalis stricta, abundant; an excellent refrigerant.
Linum usitatissimum, flax, now naturalized; an emollient and demul- cent.
Cimicifuga racemosa, black snake root, only the root used; it is an astringent, quite local and only in woodlands along the Missouri bluffs.
Tanacetum huronense, doubtful here; tonic, leaves only.
Polygonum incarnatum, knot-weed, abundant; roots cathartic.
Datura stramonium, Jamestown-weed, abundant; leaves and seeds nar- cotic.
Sambucus canadensis, common; the flowers are mildly, stimulant and sudorific; the berries diuretic, and the inner bark is narcotic and emetic.
Solidago missouriensis, common; the flowers reputed valuable in wounds.
Gillenia stipulacea, American ipecac, leaves emetic.
Mertensia virginica, lung-wort; the root said to be a valuable expec- torant.
Acorus calumus, sweet flag, rare, the root; tonic.
Sciliu fraseri, squill, rare, the bulb; diuretic.
Arabia quinquefolia, ginseng, rare, the root; tonic.
Marrubium vulgare, hoarhound; a weak tonic.
Geranium maculata, cranesbill; root astringent.
Sabbatia angularis, American centaury: febrifuge and tonic.
Achillea millefolium, milfoil, introduced; tonic.
Cannabis americana, American hemp; hypnotic.
365
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
REPTILIA .*
TOADS, FROGS, SNAKES AND TURTLES.
In the number and variety of reptiles the county is equal to any in the state. The dry prairies form congenial homes for the skinks (E. septen- trionalis); its streams are the homes of several species of turtles and batrachians, and its woods and fields shelter a large number of serpents. Of all the latter that are here listed, only two species, the rattlesnake (C. tergemina and C. horridus), are poisonous. While local and popular tra- dition arms most of the remaining, and especially the " blowing-viper" (Heterodon simus), with deadly powers, the fact is that without a single exception they are perfectly harmless. In the economy of farming they are beneficial, ridding the fields and gardens of many destructive forms. Of all the varieties mentioned in the following lists the toads and turtles are beyond a doubt the most beneficial to the farmer. The first rid him of many destructive insects; the latter clear his streams from dead and deleterious matters.
OPHIDIA -- SERPENTS.
Reptiles, not shielded with an epidermal covering of imbricated scales, which is shed as a whole and replaced at regular intervals; mouth very dilatable; the bones of the lower jaw separate from each other, only uni- ted by ligaments; limbs wanting or represented by small spurs on the sides of the vent-a transverse slit. Various anatomical characters distin- guish the snakes, but the elongated form and absence of limbs separate them at once from all our other vertebrates, excepting the lizard Opheo- saurus, and this is not in any other respect, snake-like .- fordan.
COLUBRIDÆ-COLUBRINE SNAKES.
1. Heterodon platyrhinus, blowing viper, perfectly harmless.
2. Heterodon simus, hog-nosed snake, innocent.
3. Tropidonotus erythrogaster, red-bellied water snake.
4. rhombifer, Holbrook's water snake.
5. 66 grahami, Graham's snake.
6. Tropidoclonium kirtlandi, Kirtland's snake, pretty.
7. (?) Storeria occipitomaculata, red-bellied snake, doubtful.
8. Eutania saurita, riband snake, handsome; small snake, rare.
9. faireyi, Fairie's garter snake.
*The classification adopted is that of Jordan's Manual of Vertebrates, 2d edition. A close and more extended survey may add a few more species to the list. Species with a question mark preceding are of doubtful determination. Many of them have been identi- fied through alcoholic specimens. R. E. C.
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HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
10.
66 proxima, Say's garter snake.
11.
radix, Hoy's garter snake; determination doubtful. sirtalis, striped snake; several varieties.
12. 13.
Pityophis sayi, western pine snake, seventy inches long.
Coluber obsoletus, racer, one of the largest snakes.
14. 15.
66 vulpinus, fox snake.
16. 66 emoryi, Emory's snake.
17. Cyclophis œstivus, summer green snake, splendid.
18. Diadophis punctatus, ring-necked snake, also var amabilis.
19. (?) " arnyi, Arny's ring-necked snake.
Ophibolus sayi, king snake.
20. 21. doliatus, corn snake. 22. 23. 25. (?) Virginia elegans, ground snake. 25. Carphophiops amænus, ground snake.
“ triangulus, spotted adder, harmless.
calligaster, Kennicott's chain snake.
26. vernus, worm snake, rare and local.
CROTALIDÆ-CROTALID SNAKES.
(These snakes are both renowned for the deadliness of their venom.) 27. Crotalus horridus, rattlesnake; deadly; doubtful determination.
28. Caudisona tergemina, prairie rattlesnake; abundant.
There is much doubt that Crotalus horridus is found here. The prairie rattlesnake varies so wonderfully that it is not at all sure but that some local form of that species is confounded with the wood-rattlesnake, which is more eastern in its distribution.
BATRACHIA.
Cold-blooded vertebrates, allied to the fishes, but differing in several respects, notably in the absence of rayed fins, the limbs, being usually developed and functional, with the skeletal elements of the limbs of rep- tiles: toes usually without claws.
The batrachians undergo a more or less complete metamorphosis, the young (" tadpoles ") being aquatic and fish-like, breathing by means of external gills or branchiæ; later in life lungs are developed and, with one exception, the gills disappear; skin naked and moist, (rarely having imbed- ded scales) and used to some extent as an organ of respiration; heart with two auricles and a single ventricle; reproduction by means of eggs, which are of comparatively small size, without hard shell, developed in water or in moist situations .- fordan.
RANIDÆ-FROGS.
Rana halecina, leopard frog; common.
clamitans, green frog.
367
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Rana cutesbiana, bull frog; "well noted for its rich bass notes." temporaria, wood frog; variety.
HYLIDÆ -- TREE FROGS.
Hyla versicola, common tree toad. (?) Hyla Pickeringii, Pickering's tree toad. Acris gryllus, cricket frog.
(?) Chorophilus sp.
BUFONIDÆ-TOADS.
Bufo lentiginosus, American toad; variable; somewhat rare. PLETHODONTID.E -- SALAMANDERS.
Hemidactylium scutatum, four-toed salamander. Spelerpes bilineatus, two-striped salamander.
Speler pes longicaudus, cave salamander. Spelerpes ruber, red triton.
AMBLYSTOMIDÆ -- AMBLYSTOMAS.
Amblystoma opacum, opaque salamander; handsome. Amblystoma tigrinum, tiger salamander; common.
· Amblystoma microstomum, small mouthed salamander. Amblystoma punctatum, large spotted salamander. Meno poma alleghaniense, hell bender; common. LACERTILIA-LIZARDS.
Opheosaurus ventralis, glass snake; tail breaks into pieces when caught. Cnemidophorus sexlineatus, six-lined lizard.
SCINCIDE-SKINKS.
Eumeces fasciatus, blue-tailed lizard; common.
Eumeces septentrionalis, northern skink; common, everywhere in prai- ries.
TESTUDINATA-TURTLES.
Cistudo clausa, common box turtle.
Cistudo ornata, northern box turtle; very abundant.
Malacoclemmys geographicus, map turtle.
Malacoclemmys pseudogeographicus, Le Sueur's map turtle. Chrysemys picta, painted turtle. . (Not seen. Possibly, in local tradi- tion, confounded with the elegant terrapin.)
Pscudemys troostii, yellow-bellied terrapin.
Pseudemys elegans, elegant terrapin; very common.
Chelydra serpentina, snapping turtle; common.
Cinosternum pennsylvanicum, small mud turtle; in Wahbonsie lake. Trionyx ferox, soft-shell turtle.
Aspidonectes spinifer, in Missouri river .*
* Yeste. Prof. J. E. Todd.
368
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Few persons realize the numbers and beauty of many of these forms of life which are usually considered either dangerous or disgusting. They are often of surprising beauty and always instructive. Belonging, as they do, to the highest branch of animal life-the vertebrata-though to some of its lower orders, they come to us revealing through their structure and structural affinities that long line of ancestry through which the highest orders have been evolved. They take us back, in thought, to those remote periods of the world's history when birds, reptiles and fishes were difficult of separation; when each comprised in their structure some of the salient features of the others. While, perhaps, the structural resem- blance of the modern forms is recondite or hidden to the casual observer, by the aid of forms long since entombed in the rocks the competent stu- dent not only detects, but places on them their proper value. It is said that "there are sermons in stones," but with, perhaps, greater accuracy it may be said there is history in bones.
MOLLUSCA.
In the streams of the county, and in its wooded districts as well, are found some of those low forms of animal life that are rarely if ever seen by a people dwelling in prairie regions. These creatures are the mol- lusks, numerous in individuals, but comparatively rare in species. In all the perennial streams they find a congenial home. The species, of both land and fresh-water shells found in the county, are as follows:
FRESH-WATER MOLLUSKS.
* Unio alatus, Say-The winged unio.
66 rubiginosus, Lea-The ruddy unio.
coccineus, Hild-The saffron unio.
parvus, Barnes-The little unio.
luteolus, Lam-The straw-colored unio.
66 undulatus, Barnes-The wavy unio.
pressus, Lea, the flat unio.
“ ligamentinus, Barnes, the ligament unio.
gibbosus, Barnes, the gibbous unio.
ventricosus, Barnes, the inflated unio.
rectus, Lamarck, the straight unio.
mississippiensis, Lea, the Mississippi unio.
Margaritana* complanata, Barnes, the complanate clam. rugosa, Barnes, the rugose margaritana.
Anodonta danielsii, Lea, Daniel's anodon.
*Unio and Margaritana both mean pearl bearing. Most of the mollusks in this list are to be found without much labor or pains. The Uniones or "clam-shells" may be found in every shallow place in the Missouri ; the others require a little more care in searching for them.
369
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Anodonta grandis, Lay, the splendid anodon.
ferussaciana, Lea, Ferrussac's anodon. imbecillis, Say, the slight anodon.
Sphaerium striatinum, Lam., the striated globe-shell.
occidentale, Prime, the western globe-shell.
66 rhomboideum, Prime, (very rare) the rhomboid globe-shell.
Pisidium abditum, Prime, the hidden pea-shell.
Limnaca reflexa, Say, the reflected river-snail.
humilis, Say, the humble river-snail.
decidiosa, Say, abundant.
Physa heterostropha, Say, the sinistral physa. Common, very. gyrinu, Say, (var. last?), the tadpole physa.
Ancylus rivularis, Hald., the river limpet.
Planorbis trivolvis, Say, the three-whorled plane-shell.
66 campanulatus, Say, the little-bell-like plane-shell.
parvus, Say, the little-plane-shell.
66 lentus, Say, the smooth plane-shell.
Melantho subsolidus, Anth., the somewhat-solid black snail.
LAND MOLLUSKS.
These forms are very few, and none of them abundant. It is barely possible that the great prairie fires of past years were the main agency in reducing their numbers. These animals are to be sought in the woods, in shady, moist ravines and may be taken in greatest abundance during the warm rains of spring. They are easily prepared, and when properly cleansed make most beautiful-though fragile-ornaments. Many of the smallest kinds must be sought under chips and decayed vegetation, and even then will be commonly overlooked.
Helix albolabris, Say, white-lipped snail-shell.
profunda, Say, the deeply umbilicated snail-shell.
alternata, Say, the striped land-snail.
hirsuta, Say, the hirsute snail-shell.
arboreus, Say, the tree-snail.
66 pulchella, Mull, the beautiful whorled shell (minute).
monodon, Rackett, the one-toothed snail.
leaii, Ward, Lea's land-snail; variety of monodon ?
clausa, Lea, the closed (umbilicus) land snail.
Pupa pentadon, Say, the five-toothed pupa-shell (very small). Vertigo ovata, Gould.
Many of these shells possess great beauty, but all lack the brilliant col- oration of species that are found in tropical countries, or even in some portions of North America. There are numerous highly colored varie-
4
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HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ties on the West Coast, and some few found in the southern states. Only two of the above list attain any considerable size, the Helix albolabris, and HIclix profunda, which sometimes grow to one and a half inches in diameter. Further investigation of all the shells of this county will abundantly reward any interested person.
MAMMALIA.
Time was when the prairies and woods of Mills county gave sustenance and shelter to many interesting animals among the higher orders. The buffalo (Bison americanus) once roamed here in countless numbers, and even now, in the marshes and morasses along the river bottoms their remains are frequently exposed. The American panther (Felis concolor), once found a congenial home in its woods, but the coming of the white man-who wages a merciless war on wild life of every sort-has driven them to other and remote homes. The wolf (Canis lupus), is still occa- sionally seen, skulking along the lowlands, the self-despised remnants of a once numerous race. The fox ( Vulpes vulgaris), under its various names of "red fox," "silver fox," and "black fox," occasionally enjoys a "square meal" at the farmer's expense, and to the detriment of his hennery, but hunted in revenge for his depredations and in desire for his pelt, he is rapidly becoming extinct. One animal still flourishes, the enterprising nature of which is not unfrequently wafted to us on the "stilly breezes of night," to our disgust, and yet a most valuable companion to the farmer, the skunk (Mephitis mephitica). The French, perhaps, had sufficient reason to name him " le enfant diabalc," but he is a great entomologist, if he does occasionally disgrace himself, and conducting his entomological excursions by night, he rids the farmer of many a pest otherwise sadly destructive. Notwithstanding that his scalp commands a bounty, the industrious gopher (Geomys bursarius), piles his mounds of dirt here and there, all unconscious of the legal care of which he is the recipient. In addition to the animals above mentioned, there are in the county the fol- lowing:
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