M OST of the forage crops grown in this country are introductions from Europe and Asia. Only a relatively small number of our native grasses and practically no native legumes are used as cultivated forage plants. In 1948, I had the opportunity to conduct a collecting expedition in Asia Minor for the Division of Plant Exploration and Introduction of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. My assignment was a general one and only a small proportion of the time could be devoted to forage crops either wild or cultivated. The forage collection was, therefore, quite small compared to collections of other types of plants, but several hundred samples were obtained and sent back for evaluation. The leguminous flora of Asia Minor is especially rich and here are some of the wild native plants which we found and were able to collect. White clover, red clover, alsike clover, burclover, button-clover, yellow sweetclover, common vetches, hairy vetch, alfalfa, sainfoin, bitter vetch, peavines, milkvetches, crownvetch, white lupine, European blue lupine, tuberous grasspea and, among the grasses, orchardgrass, smooth brome, crested wheatgrass, Harding grass, oatgrass, needlegrasses, ryegrass, velvetgrass, Turkestan and Caucasian bluestem. The cultivated forage plants were primarily alfalfa, sainfoin, common vetch, hairy vetch, white lupine, and a. few others. Grasses are seldom sown in Turkey for forage plants, since in most sections they cannot compete with the more aggressive native legumes. Attempts to establish grass-legume mixtures usually result in rapid domination by the legume. This is even true when grass alone is planted; the native, wild legumes quickly invade the grass seeding and soon dominate the mixture. The caretakers of city parks and gardens frequently attempt the establishment of bluegrass or ryegrass lawns only to find the grass nearly displaced by wild clovers in a short time. This succession follows even under close use or clipping. The collecting work began in south Turkey along the Mediterranean coast because the season was most advanced there. We then worked the Aegean and Black Sea regions reaching the high mountains of the east in August and early September, which was the only time of year collections could be made there. Later we covered central Anatolia and made a quick trip to Syria and Iraq. The season of 1948 was unfortunately very cold, wet, and late. No seed had matured anywhere along the Mediterranean coast at the time I was there. The Mediterranean flora is largely annual, but by far the richest in number of species in Asia Minor. Weedrows, roadsides, and waste places of every sort are carpeted with a rich leguminous flora. In one meter quadrat, I counted 15 distinct species of legumes, Not until I reached the Aegean coast in May did the season catch up with me so a few collections could be made. All of the myriad forms of the rich Mediterranean flora had to be passed up. Even then it was not possible to do ‘justice to the forage collection. The collection of seeds of wild plants is so time consuming that we would have