The Flora of Osborne County, Kansas

Abstract

Osborne county is situated in the north central part of Kansas, about 30 miles from the Nebraska line and about 170 miles east of the Colorado line. It has about 900 square miles, being thirty miles on each side. The first census, taken in June, 1871, showed 724 inhabitants, 281 of which were eligible to vote. The county was organized in the fall of 1871 and named after Vincent B. Osborne, a private of company A, Second Kansas cavalry. The chief cultivated crops of Osborne county are wheat, corn, sorghums, and alfalfa. Beef and dairy cattle, hogs and poultry are the chief live stock. Considerable grazing is carried on over the hilly portions of the county. The annual average rainfall is about 20 inches, 80 per cent of which falls in the growing season. Both the north and south branches of the Solomon river pass through the county. The former cuts through the northeast corner from Portis to Downs, while the latter passes through the entire county from west to east, passing near Alton and Osborne and thence eastward, uniting with the north fork a few miles east of the Osborne county line. A number of smaller streams flow northeastward into the South Solomon. These are Medicine creek, Kill creek (two branches), Covert creek, Indian creek, and other minor streams. The extreme southern portion of the county drains southward. All these streams have a fringe of trees. These are largely Ulmus americana, Ulmus fulva, Populus sargentii, Salix amygdaloides and Quercus macrocarpa interspersed with Celtis occidentalis, Salix nigra, and in some places Juglans nigra. In many of the swampy spots Salix longifolia is common. It is to be regretted that the few native trees in the county are being so rapidly cut down for fuel. However, it is gratifying to note that a number of low waste places are being planted to the elms and poplars. The county as a whole is rolling to quite hilly. The highest elevation in the county is east of Covert and is about 2,000 feet above sea level. For the most part the hills are composed of limestone gravel, but in many places they are quite rocky. The characteristic flora of these hills are such plants as Viorna fremontij, Polygala alba, Leucelene ericoides, Townsendia exscapa, Senecio plattensis, Tetraneuris fastigata, and Arenaria texana. In most of the upland valleys the common trees are Celtis occidentalis, Ulmus americana, Ulmus fulva and Quercus macrocarpa. A few of the common shrubs in these valleys are Rhus toxicodendron, Rhus trilobata and Ceanothus ovatus pubescens. A number of species of plants seem to be quite rare in the county. For instance, in my survey of the county for plants only one specimen of Sonchus asper was found. Celastrus scandens was found in but a few places and is confined to the wooded creeks or river banks. The small legume, Acmispon americanus, was found only in a certain pasture about three miles south of Downs. I found but two specimens of Plantago lanceolata, and these were near a small-town lawn. Two small mud-loving plants, Cyperus inflexus and Heteranthera limosa, were found only at the edge of a pond six miles northeast of