Chapter II: Preface (2)

A stemless marsh plant with large leaves 1—4 feet long, 3—18 inches wide, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, acute, narrowed below into a short petiole. Flowers appearing before the leaves; spathe yellow with a broad acute blade 2—6 inches long, narrowed below to a sheathing petiole 3—10 inches long; spadix 2—4 inches long, densely flowered, on a stout peduncle 8 inches or more long.

In wet and marshy spots through the Selkirks. Very abundant near Bear Creek Station on the railway, flowering in early spring.

MELANTHACEÆ

_Bunch-Flower Family_

Lily-like plants with leafy stems, usually with tufts of grass-like leaves at the base and rootstocks or occasionally bulbs.

The flowers small and distinctly 6-parted, with the same number of stamens and three styles; the flowers grow in close heads at the top of the stems.

Anthers, 1-celled.
Leaves broad, petioles sheathing. =Veratrum.=
Leaves grass-like.
Flowers erect with a gland at the base of each petal.
=Zygadenus.=
Flowers nodding, petals without glands. =Stenanthella.=
Anthers, 2-celled. =Tofieldia.=

[Sidenote: =Veratrum viride= Ait. _American White Hellebore._]

Stem 2—8 feet high, very leafy, softly hairy especially above. Leaves dark green above, paler and hairy beneath, prominently veiny and sheathing at the base, oval or elliptic, acute, 6—12 inches long, 3—6 inches broad, the upper becoming successively narrower. Flowers yellowish-green, numerous in a spreading head often 2 feet long, with drooping branches; perianth segments oblong or oblanceolate, acute, ¼—½ an inch long, twice as long as the stamens.

In swamps and on moist slopes and stream borders throughout the region, frequently growing in great masses. In the Rockies it seldom grows below 6000 feet elevation, but is found much lower in the moist valley of the Selkirks.

[Sidenote: =Zygadenus elegans= Pursh. _Tall Zygadenus._]

Very glaucous throughout, with a cluster of narrow, grass-like leaves 5—10 inches long and ¼ inch broad, from a chaffy bulbous root; stem whitish-green or purplish, 1—2 feet high, with scattered, purple, leaf-like bracts and an open head of flowers 4—12 inches long; flowers greenish-white, open, ½ an inch or more across the six petals and sepals with a large, bright green gland at the base; stamens 6, erect, forming a central column, anthers scarlet on the opening of the bud, changing to yellow; styles 3.

Throughout the Rockies up to 6000 or 7000 feet elevation, in all kinds of situations and soils, a most attractive plant worthy, of a place in the flower-garden, blossoming during midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Zygadenus gramineus= Rydb. _Grass-like Zygadenus._]

A slender, yellowish-green plant 8—12 inches high, from an elongated ovoid bulb. Leaves narrow and grass-like, rough on the margins and midribs, all with sheaths around the stem. Flowers light yellow, ¼ of an inch broad in a compact head 2—3 inches long; stamens exserted, anthers yellow.

On open grassy hillsides in the Rockies from Banff to Castle Mountain, flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Stenanthella occidentalis= (A. Gray) Rydb. _Stenthium._]

Smooth 12—18 inches high from a bulbous base. Leaves 2—3 from the same root, 8—10 inches long, ½ an inch broad, spreading. Flowers 6—20, greenish-purple, ½ an inch long, open, drooping, in a simple slender head; sepals and petals 3 each, with recurved tips; stamens 6, included.

In moist woods throughout the Rockies, growing in moss; the dark green, widely spreading leaves and wand-like stem of drooping bell-like flowers, making a graceful and attractive plant during early summer.

[Sidenote: =Tofieldia palustris= Huds. _Scottish Asphodel._]

Low with numerous tufted grass-like leaves 1—2 inches long. Flowers 6-parted, minute, greenish-white in a compact oblong head ¼ of an inch long, elongated in fruiting; stamens 6; anthers yellow not exceeding the perianth; head of flowers borne on a slender, smooth stem 3—7 inches high.

Abundant throughout the Rockies in damp sandy or gravelly ground, on the flood-plains and banks of rivers and streams and on the gravelly shores of lakes and ponds; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Tofieldia intermedia= Rydb. _False Asphodel._]

Plant with a cluster of grass-like leaves, 3—8 inches long and about ¼ of an inch broad, yellowish-green, from an oblique and chaffy rootstock. Flowers few, less than ¼ of an inch long, pale yellow, 6-parted, on very short pedicels; stamens 6, slightly exserted, with purple anthers; the whole in a compact head about ½ an inch long, on a stem 8—10 inches high, with sticky hairs near the top.

Stenanthium.

_b_ Clintonia uniflora Kunth. Clintonia. (⅔ Nat.)]

Frequent throughout the region at an altitude of 4000 to 5000 feet, in wet open situations with shallow soil; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Tofieldia occidentalis= S. Wats. _Western False Asphodel._]

Similar to the preceding but readily distinguished by its taller stem and more open head of flowers, with longer sepals and pedicels, which are twice as long in each case.

In the Selkirks only, but frequent there in the bogs around Roger’s Pass.

LILIACEÆ

_Lily Family_

Plants with bulbs or corms but never rootstocks; leaves either at the base or in whorls or pairs on the stem; the flowers brightly coloured, frequently large, borne singly or in clusters at the summit of the frequently naked stem, the six parts though usually distinct, sometimes more or less united into a tube; stamens 6; stigma 3-lobed.

Bracts of the inflorescence thin and translucent. =Allium.=
Bracts of the inflorescence leaf-like or none.
Bulbs scaly. =Lilium.=
Bulbs corm-like. =Erythronium.=

[Sidenote: =Allium recurvatum= Rydb. _Wild Onion, Garlic._]

Plant 12—15 inches high with an oblique base from an oblong-ovoid bulb. Leaves narrow and grass-like, 6—8 inches long, thick and half rounded on the back, the old ones persistent and forming a mat at the surface of the ground. Flowers numerous, on slender pedicels, in a nodding terminal head; sepals and petals ¼ of an inch long, elliptic-ovate and obtuse, rosy pink with a darker mid-vein; stamens and styles exserted, anthers pale yellow.

Frequent throughout the Rockies on dry grassy or stony slopes and slides; flowering in June.

Star-Flowered Solomon’s Seal.]

[Sidenote: =Allium sibericum= L. _Northern Garlic._]

Stem 1—2 feet high from a narrowly ovoid bulb, with a single, elongated, round, hollow, basal leaf and 1 or 2 similar leaves on the stem. Flowers numerous in a compact round head; the sepals and petals about ½ an inch long, slender, with a tapering tip, bright rose-purple with a darker mid-vein; stamens much shorter than the perianth segments.

Not infrequent in moist open places throughout the Rockies; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Lilium montanum.= A. Nelson. _Mountain-Lily._]

Stem 12—18 inches high, rather stout, from a depressed globose bulb an inch in diameter. Leaves alternate except the uppermost which are in a whorl of 5—7, dark green above, paler beneath, minutely roughened on the edges, lanceolate, tapering but slightly toward the sessile base. Flowers erect usually one, but sometimes several, on a stem; sepals and petals 2½ inches long, somewhat spreading, elliptic-oblong, tapering gradually toward both ends, the base contracted into a claw, which is less than ⅓ the length of the blade; blade reddish-orange on the inner face, paler near the base, which is dotted with numerous purplish-black spots; outer face less brilliant, largely suffused with green; stamens and stigma purplish.

Frequent throughout the Rockies on the edges of woods and in the lower river valleys; very abundant in early July in the valley of the Lower Kicking Horse and Columbia rivers from Golden to Donald.

[Sidenote: =Erythronium grandiflorum= Pursh. _Snow Lily._]

A foot or more high from a deep-rooted, slender, membranous-coated corm. Leaves 2 or occasionally 3, opposite or in a whorl, broadly lanceolate, obtuse, 6—8 inches long, 2—3 inches wide, unequal, dull and glaucous green. Flowers 1—6, nodding, bright yellow, sepals and petals lanceolate 2 inches long, tapering to a slender, strongly reflexed tip; stamens exserted, anthers yellow or purplish-brown.

This beautiful lily is frequent on the slides and mountain slopes throughout the region at an elevation of 5000 feet or higher, appearing immediately after the snows have melted, and lasting but a short time. It may be found flowering according to the elevation and condition of the snow, from May throughout the summer. The plant has derived its common name no doubt from its habit of blooming so close to the melting snows. Where the plant occurs it is usually found in great numbers during the brief flowering period.

CONVALLARIACEÆ

_Lily-of-the-Valley Family_

Resembling the lilies, sometimes with naked but usually leafy stems, and simple or branched, frequently creeping rootstocks, flowers usually small and variously disposed on the stem, either scattered in the axils of the leaves or in terminal clusters, or occasionally solitary on a naked stem; either 4- or 6-parted, regular, perfect; stamens 6.

Plant producing but one flower. =Clintonia.=
Plant producing several flowers.
Flowers in a raceme or panicle. =Vagnera.=
Flowers in an umbel or solitary.
Flowers terminal on the branches. =Disporum.=
Flowers axillary.
Perianth narrowly campanulate. =Streptopus.=
Perianth rotate. =Kruhsea.=

[Sidenote: =Clintonia uniflora= (Schult.) Kunth. _Clintonia._]

More or less hairy throughout, with 1 to 3 or 4 dark green leaves, 4—8 inches long and 1—2 inches wide, oblong-lanceolate with an abrupt tip, and tapering at the base to sheathing petioles, from a creeping underground stem 2—3 inches long. Flower-stem shorter than the leaves with one or rarely two blossoms which are pure white, very open, 6-parted; sepals and petals ¾—1 inch long, oblanceolate, obtuse; stamens 6, shorter than the petals, anthers yellow.

In rich, moist woods throughout the region.

[Sidenote: =Vagnera stellata= (L.) Morong. _Star-flowered Solomon’s Seal._]

Glaucous throughout, 8—20 inches high, smooth or with a few short hairs, leafy from a stout fleshy root; leaves alternate, 2—5 inches long, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, with a clasping base, smooth and bright green above, glaucous and minutely hairy beneath. Flowers white, several forming a rather open terminal head. 1—2 inches long; petals and sepals narrow, ¼ to ⅜ of an inch long; stamens 6, about half their length, anthers nearly white.

Common throughout the region in moist words and thickets; flowering through June and July.

[Sidenote: =Vagnera amplexicaulis= (Nutt.) Greene. _False Solomon’s Seal._]

Tall, stout, and leafy, 18—30 inches high, from a fleshy rootstock; stem striate and slightly hairy especially near the top; leaves alternate, sessile or short-petioled, ovate or oblong, 3—7 inches long, 1½—3 inches broad, short, acuminate, often with a twisted tip. Flowers small, yellowish-white in a close terminal head 1½—3½ inches long; petals and sepals minute, about ¹/₁₆ of an inch long; stamens 6, the filaments petaloid and about ⅛ of an inch long, anthers yellowish white.

Common throughout the region in the moist rich woods; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Streptopus amplexifolius= (L.) DC. _Tall Twisted-stalk._]

Plant 1—3 feet high, from a short, stout rootstock, covered with numerous fibrous roots; stem glaucous, usually branching below the middle, smooth above and covered with stiff hairs below. Leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate, 2—5 inches long, 1—2 inches wide, acuminate, smooth, bright green above, glaucous beneath, heart-shaped and clasping at the base. Flowers numerous, 1 or 2 on a stem at the back of each of the upper leaves, stem bent or twisted about the middle; sepals and petals greenish-white or yellowish, narrowly lanceolate about ½ an inch long, spreading and turned back at the tips; berry ½—¾ of an inch in diameter, globose, yellow or bright scarlet.

A rather striking plant throughout the region in the moist rich woods among rocks; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Streptopus curvipes= A. M. Vail. _Smaller Twisted-stalk._]

Plant 6—24 inches high, smooth except the flower-stalks and margins of the leaves, simple or slightly branched from a slender creeping rhizome, with a few fibrous rootlets at the nodes. Leaves yellowish-green, sessile, oval or oblong-lanceolate, 1—3 inches long, acuminate at the tip and rounded or more or less clasping at the base, the margins more or less scatteringly glandular-hairy. Flowers few at the backs of the upper leaves, solitary on glandular-hairy, curved stalks ¼—¾ of an inch long; sepals and petals pale purple or rose colour, darker spotted on the inner surface, slender, slightly more than ¼ of an inch long; anthers beaked, the beaks slender; berry globose, about ⅜ of an inch in diameter, bright red.

In the damp woods in the Selkirks, frequent, growing in colonies and spreading largely by the creeping rhizomes.

[Sidenote: =Kruhsea streptopoides= (Ledeb.) Kearney. _Kruhsea._]

Smooth and simple, 3—6 inches high, from an extensively creeping rhizome, with a few fibrous roots at each node. Leaves 4—8, bright green and shining on both surfaces, ovate-lanceolate, acute, 1—2 inches long, the upper merely sessile, the lower clasping at the base. Flowers few, about ¼ of an inch in width, stellate and solitary on very slender, curved stalks about ⅜ of an inch long in the axils, at the backs of the upper leaves; sepals and petals deep wine-colour at the base, with yellowish-green reflexed tips; stamens 6, anthers ovoid, 2-lobed, yellow and prominent, slightly below the centre of the sepals and petals; ovary broadly urn-shaped; style none; berry nearly globose at maturity and bright red.

Known only in the Selkirks where it occurs in colonies of considerable size in the rich woods at Glacier; flowering in the middle of June.

[Sidenote: =Disporum Oreganum= (S. Wats.) B. and H. _Disporum._]

Stem 1—3 feet high, much branched and finely hairy above. Leaves yellowish-green when young, becoming darker with age, ovate or oblong, acuminate, distinctly heart-shaped at the base, 2—4 inches long, hairy, especially beneath. Flowers appearing as the leaves unfold greenish-yellow or nearly white, drooping 1 or 2 together at the ends of the branches; sepals and petals spreading half an inch or more in length, lanceolate and narrowed at the base into a broad claw; stamens exserted, anthers yellow; style simple, larger than the stamens; berry ovate, half an inch in diameter, smooth or nearly so when ripe, bright red and few-seeded.

In moist rich woods throughout the region, most abundant on the western slope of the Rockies and in the Selkirks; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Disporum majus= (Hook). Britton. _Large Flowered Disporum._]

Plant 1—2 feet high with few branches, hairy when young. Leaves ovate or oblong-lanceolate, acute or short, acuminate, rounded at the base. Flowers greenish-yellow or nearly white, 1—3 together at the ends of the branches; sepals and petals not spreading, half an inch or less in length, narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, stamens about equalling the sepals and petals; style slightly longer than the stamens, 3-cleft; berry a little less than half an inch in diameter, depressed, globose, and roughened with short papillæ.

In rich woods, most abundant on the eastern slopes of the Rockies; flowering early in June.

IRIDACEÆ

_Iris Family_

Perennial herbs with narrow 2-ranked, grass-like leaves and mostly clustered, perfect flowers, subtended by bracts; perianth of 6 segments, rolled together in the bud, stamens 3, inserted on the perianth opposite its outer series of lobes; filaments slender, distant or united; anthers facing upward.

[Sidenote: =Sisyrinchium septentrionale= Bicknell. _Blue-eyed Grass._]

Growing in small tufts, 4—10 inches high, pale, glaucous. Leaves stiff and very slender about half the length of the taller scapes, equalling the shorter ones. Spathe small purplish or green, often partly double and enclosing 3 or 4 small bright violet-blue flowers, less than half an inch broad, on erect pedicels.

Throughout the Rockies in open moist ground at the lower elevations; flowering in June.

ORCHIDACEÆ

_Orchid Family_

Perennial herbs, with corms, bulbs, or tuberous roots, sheathing entire leaves, sometimes reduced to scales, the flowers perfect, irregular, bracted, solitary, spiked or racemed. Perianth superior of 6 segments, the 3 outer (sepals) similar or nearly so, 2 of the inner ones (petals) lateral, alike; the third inner one (lip) dissimilar, often markedly so, usually larger and often spurred; stamens and style variously arranged. An extensive family with great diversity of flower form, and habit of growth. Most abundant in the tropics, represented in the region as follows:

Perfect anthers 2; lip large, sac-like. =Cypripedium.=
Perfect anther 1.
Plants saprophytic, without green herbage. =Corallorhiza.=
Plants with ordinary green herbage.
Flower and leaf solitary; root bulbous. =Cytherea.=
Flowers several to many in racemes.
Leaf only 1.
Flowers white with purple spots. =Orchis.=
Flowers greenish. =Lysiella.=
Leaves only 2, cauline. =Ophrys.=
Leaves more than 2.
Stem leaves reduced to bracts.
Basal leaves white veined. =Peramium.=
Stem leaves not reduced to bracts.
Flowers not spirally arranged.
Glands surrounded by a thin membrane.
=Cœloglossum.=
Glands naked. =Limnorchis.=
Flowers spirally arranged. =Ibidium.=

(⅔Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Cypripedium passerinum= Rich. _Small White Lady’s Slipper._]

Stem 8—10 inches high from a decumbent base, leafy, hairy throughout. Leaves 4 or 5, lanceolate, acuminate, veiny, 3—4 inches long, yellowish-green, and clasping at the base. Flowers solitary, small; lip obovate, inflated half an inch long, white, spotted with purple inside, particularly near the base; sepals greenish, shorter than the lip, the upper forming a sort of hood; the lateral petals white, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, half an inch long, spreading.

In damp shaded situations, frequent in the Rockies; flowers in July.

[Sidenote: =Cypripedium parviflorum= Salisb. _Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper._]

Stem 1—2 feet high, slender, and leafy. Leaves elliptic or lanceolate, 2—6 inches long, 1—2¼ inches wide, yellowish-green, veiny, scatteringly hairy. Flowers usually solitary, bright yellow; lip inflated, curved, an inch or more long, spotted and blotched inside with purple; sepals and petals longer than the lip, laterals twisted, 1½—2 inches long, lanceolate with an attenuate tip, yellowish-green or sometimes purplish.

Not uncommon in the Rockies in moist ground, very abundant on the torrent fan among loose stones at the head of Emerald Lake; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Corallorhiza Corallorhiza= (L.) Karst. _Early Coral-root._]

Stem smooth, greenish-yellow or purplish; 4—12 inches high from a mass of coral-like roots. Leaves absent but represented by 2—5 closely sheathing scales. Flowers 3—12 in a head 1—3 inches long; sepals and petals slender, ¼ of an inch long, yellowish or dull purplish; lip not quite as long as the petals, white or whitish, oblong, nearly entire or slightly notched at the apex, 2-toothed at the base, occasionally with purple spots.

Frequent in woods in the Rockies especially those of the “Jack Pine,” flowering in May and early June.

[Sidenote: =Corallorhiza multiflora= Nutt. _Large Coral-root._]

Stems 8—20 inches high, purplish, with several appressed scales. Flowers 10—30 in a head 2—8 inches long, brownish-purple ½—¾ of an inch long; sepals and petals linear-lanceolate, about ⅓ of an inch long; lip white, spotted and lined with purple, oval in outline, deeply 3-lobed, the middle lobe broadest; spur manifest and yellowish.

Not infrequent in the rich woods in the Selkirks; flowering in late summer.

[Sidenote: =Cytherea bulbosa= (L.) House. _Calypso._]

Stem 3—6 inches high, purplish, from a bulb nearly half an inch in diameter. Leaf solitary, dark, lustrous green, 1—1½ inches long, round, ovate, obtusely pointed at the apex, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, deeply veined. Flower solitary, nodding, an inch long, rosy purple variegated with pink and yellow; petals and sepals linear, erect or spreading, half an inch or more long with longitudinal purple lines; lip ¾ of an inch long, sac-like and spreading, divided into two below, with a prominent patch of yellow hairs near the point of division.

This charming little orchid, by far the most dainty of any found in the region, is frequent, growing in deep moss on the shaded slopes of the Rockies; very fragrant, flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Orchis rotundifolia= Pursh. _Round-leaved Orchid._]

Plant slender, 8—10 inches high with one leaf near the base, varying from nearly orbicular to oval, 1½—3 inches long, 1—2 inches wide, sheathing at the base. Spike 2—8 flowered; flowers half an inch or more long; lateral sepals spreading, somewhat longer than the petals, petals and sepals oval, rose-colour; lip white, purple-spotted, longer than the petals, three-lobed, the middle longest, dilated and two-lobed or notched at the tip; spur slender, shorter than the lip.

This beautiful little orchid is abundant throughout the Rockies in cool mossy spots and rich woods; flowering in June.

Calypso.

_b_ Orchis rotundifolia Pursh. Small Round-Leaved Orchid.]

[Sidenote: =Lysiella obtusata= (Pursh.) Rydb. _Small Northern Bog-orchid._]

Plant 6—8 inches high from a short thick rootstock; stem naked with a single obovate or oblong leaf at the base 1½—2½ inches long, ½—1½ inches wide, obtuse. Flowers few in a slender spike, yellowish-green; upper sepal round, ovate, erect, surrounding the broad column; lateral sepals reflexed and spreading; petals lanceolate, smaller; lip entire, linear-lanceolate, and deflexed; spur slightly curved especially at the tip, shorter than the ovary.

Frequent throughout the Rockies in the lower valleys, in cool shaded spots growing in moss, on the borders of streams, ponds, or lakes; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Ophrys nephrophylla= Rydb. _Heart-shaped Twayblade._]

Stem slender and smooth, 3—8 inches high. Leaves sessile, cordate or broadly ovate, ½—1 inch long; head of flowers rather loose, ½—2 inches long, 4—20-flowered; flowers very minute, purplish or greenish; sepals ovate; petals oblong, about ¹/₁₆ of an inch long; lip two-cleft, twice as long as the petals, the segments linear or hair-like.

This diminutive orchid is one of the commonest species throughout the region in early summer, growing abundantly in mossy places in the moist woods, frequently not rising more than an inch or two above the surface of the ground; the flowers varying greatly in color from yellowish green to purple.

[Sidenote: =Ophrys convallarioides= (Sw.) Wight. _Broad-lipped Twayblade._]

Stem rather stout, 4—10 inches high, glandular-hairy above the leaves. Leaves smooth, round, oval or ovate, obtuse, 3—9 nerved, 1—2½ inches long, ½—1½ inches wide. Flowers 3—12 in a loose head, yellowish-green, ½ an inch long; bracts nearly ¼ of an inch long; sepals and petals narrow and strongly reflexed in flower, much shorter than the lip; lip nearly half an inch long, broadly wedge-shaped with two obtuse lobes at the apex and with a tooth at each side of the narrow base; column elongated but shorter than the lip, and incurved with two short projecting wings above the anther.

In hemlock woods throughout the Selkirks; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Ophrys borealis= (Morong). _Northern Twayblade._]

Stems 3—5 inches high, smooth below, glandular and with long silky scattered hairs among the flowers. Leaves oval, slightly sheathing, obtuse, an inch or more long, half as broad, generally smooth. Flowers few in a raceme; sepals and petals nearly equal, linear, obtuse, about ¼ of an inch long; lip half an inch long, obtuse at the apex with very obtuse lobes. Yellowish-green with a purplish middle and purple nerves radiating into the apical lobes, column slightly incurved, ⅛ of an inch long.

Generally distributed throughout the Rockies but never abundant, seldom more than 3 or 4 plants being found together; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Peramium Menziesi= (Lindl.) Morong. _Rattlesnake Plantain._]

Plant 8—15 inches high from a hairy, creeping rootstock. Leaves basal, 1½—2½ inches long and a third as broad, tapering to both ends, dark green and veiny, sometimes blotched with white. Flowers ¼ to nearly ½ an inch long, yellowish- or greenish-white, in a slender spike; sepals and petals lanceolate, erect or nearly so about half the length of the lip, lip swollen at the base and with a long narrow recurved tip.

Frequent in rich woods throughout the region, growing in moss, the evergreen leaves forming a rosette at the base of the stalk of flowers, which blossom in August.

Purplish-Green Bog-Orchid.]

Menzies’ Rattlesnake Plantain.]

[Sidenote: =Peramium repens= (L.) Salisb. _Northern Rattlesnake Plantain._]

Plant 6—10 inches high, glandular-hairy in the upper part of the stem. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, an inch or more long and a third as wide, tapering to both ends, green and usually blotched with white along the veins. Flowers small in a one-sided spike, greenish-white, about ¼ of an inch long, densely glandular-hairy on the outer surface; sepals and petals erect, ovate; lip sac-like with a narrow recurved tip.

Frequent in the woods throughout the Rockies, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Cœloglossum bracteatum= (Willd.) Parl. _Long-bracted Orchid._]

Stem stout and leafy, 6—18 inches high, from a root of numerous fusiform tubers. Leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 2—4 inches long. Flowers in a loose spike 2—3 inches long with bracts an inch long; flowers yellowish-green, sepals ovate-lanceolate, dilated at the base, ¼ of an inch long; petals very narrow or sometimes thread-like; lip nearly half an inch long, oblong-spatulate, 2—3-toothed or lobed at the tip, more than twice as long as the white sac-like spur.

Frequent in open grassy woods and meadows throughout the Rockies; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Limnorchis dilatatiformis= Rydb. _Purplish-Green Bog-orchid._]

Stem 1, 2, or 3 feet tall, from a root of 2 or 3 fusiform, hairy tubers; leafy. Lowest leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, 2—5 inches long, upper ones lanceolate, acute, much longer. Spike of flowers 4—12 inches long, loosely flowered, the bracts linear-lanceolate, the lowest much longer than the flowers, 1—1½ inches long. Flowers about ½ an inch long; sepals yellowish-green and thin, the upper one ovate, erect, about ⅛ of an inch long, the lateral ones obtuse and spreading, ¼ of an inch long, petals lanceolate, acute, greenish-purple or green; lip purple or greenish, linear, obtuse, thick, over ¼ of an inch long; spur about ½ as long as the lip, sack-like.

Frequent through the region in open swamps, wet meadows and sloughs, varying greatly in size; flowering during June and early July.

_b_ Cœloglossum bracteatum (Willo) Parl. Long-Bracted Orchid.

_c_ Limnorchis fragrans Rydb. Fragrant White Bog-Orchid.

_d_ Lysiella obtusata (Pursh) Rydb. Small Northern Bog-Orchid.

_e_ Ophrys nephrophylla Rydb. Heart-Shaped Twayblade.

(⅔ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Limnorchis viridiflora= (Cham.) Rydb. _Small Green Bog-orchid._]

Stem 8—18 inches high, strict and leafy. Lower leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, 2—4 inches long, upper lanceolate and acute; spike of flowers short and dense, the bracts linear-lanceolate, the lower slightly exceeding the flowers. Flowers ½ an inch long or less, yellowish-green; upper sepals broadly ovate, erect; lateral ones ¼ of an inch long, acute, spreading; petals erect, lanceolate, acute; lip lanceolate, obtuse, less than ¼ of an inch long; spur club-shaped, curved, about as long as the lip. Differs from the last species in the bright green colour, slightly smaller flowers with broader based lip and the longer, club-shaped curved spur.

In bogs throughout the region; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Limnorchis borealis= (Cham.) Rydb. _Small White Bog-orchid._]

Stem 18 inches to 2 feet high, slender and leafy. Leaves, the lower oblanceolate and obtuse, the upper lanceolate, acute. Spike of flowers often rather dense, 4—8 inches long; bracts lanceolate, the lower often much exceeding the flowers; flowers ½ an inch or more long, white or sometimes yellowish or greenish-white; upper sepals ovate, obtuse, ¼ of an inch long, lateral ones oblong-lanceolate, spreading; petals lanceolate, slightly shorter than the sepals; lip rhombic-lanceolate, obtuse, about ¼ of an inch long; spur club-shaped about the length of or shorter than the lip.

Throughout the region in open boggy places and wet meadows; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Limnorchis fragrans= Rydb. _Fragrant Orchid._]

Stem slender, 8—12 inches high, from a narrow fusiform tuberous root. Leaves linear, acute, 2—4 inches long, about ½ an inch wide. Spike of flowers slender, lax; bracts, lanceolate, acuminate, the lower slightly longer than the flowers; flowers pure white with a spicy fragrance; upper sepal ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, the lateral ones linear-lanceolate, acute, and strongly veined; petals narrowly linear-lanceolate equalling the sepals; lip lanceolate with an ovate rhomboid base about ¼ of an inch long; spur slender and curved, slightly exceeding the lip.

In more or less shaded bogs through the Rockies, flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Ibidium romanzoffianum= (Cham.) House. _Lady’s Tresses._]

Stem smooth, 6—18 inches high, leafy below, bracted above; the lower leaves 3—8 inches long, linear or linear-oblanceolate. Head of flowers more or less glandular, hairy, 2—4 inches long, half an inch or more thick, bracts shorter than the flowers; flowers waxy white or greenish, nearly half an inch long with an open mouth, spreading horizontally and very fragrant; upper sepals broad and obtuse; lip oblong, broad at the base, and contracted below to the crisped apex, thin, transparent, and veined, callosities merely thickenings of the basal margins of the lip.

Throughout the region in springy places and wet alpine meadows; flowering toward the end of July.

SALICACEÆ

_Willow Family_

Trees or shrubs with light wood, brittle twigs, and simple alternate leaves; flowers borne in catkins; the staminate and pistillate on separate plants, the seed provided with a covering of long, white, silky, hairs.

[Sidenote: =Populus balsamifera= L. _Balsam Poplar._]

A large tree with nearly smooth gray bark, reaching a maximum height of 80 feet; branches stout, ascending, the larger buds very resinous. Leaves smooth, broadly ovate or ovate-lanceolate, entire, dark green and shining above, pale beneath, acute or acuminate at the apex, rounded or acute at the base, petioles round. Flowers in slender catkins, the staminate and pistillate on separate trees.

Throughout the region in the river valleys and on the surrounding slopes, usually a tree not over 20—30 feet high but sometimes attaining an immense size.

[Sidenote: =Populus tremuloides= Michx. _American Aspen._]

A slender tree with smooth, light green bark, seldom more than 40—50 feet high, and less than half that in our region. Leaves smooth when young except on the margins, ovate, short-acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, finely crenulate all around; petioles flattened laterally, very slender, causing the leaves to quiver with the slightest breeze. Flowers in rather stout catkins.

Frequent in the low valleys and slopes through the Rockies, forming groves, or singly.

The willows which are very largely represented throughout the region, in the low or moist ground and banks of streams, as shrubs or small trees; or on the drier slopes, and in alpine meadows and summits, frequently as very diminutive shrubs with stems less than an inch high, have been omitted entirely, owing to the extreme difficulty of distinguishing between them in a work of this kind.

BETULACEÆ

_Birch Family_

Trees or shrubs with alternate simple leaves; staminate and pistillate flowers borne in separate catkins on the same plant; the staminate usually long, slender, and drooping; the pistillate short and erect; fruit cone-like.

[Sidenote: =Betula papyrifera= Marsh. _Paper Birch, Canoe Birch._]

Becoming a large forest tree; bark chalky white, peeling in thin layers. Leaves ovate, acute, or acuminate, dentate and denticulate, smooth above, glandular and hairy on the veins beneath, slender-petioled 1½—4 inches long. Staminate catkins 2—4 inches long; pistillate catkins ¾ of an inch or more long.

Sparingly on the slopes in the vicinity of Field, British Columbia; not a common tree.

[Sidenote: =Betula occidentalis= Hook. _Western Red Birch._]

A tree sometimes 100 feet high but much smaller in our region; the bark smooth dark bronze; twigs gray-brown, warty. Leaves broadly ovate or nearly orbicular, sharply serrate, short-petioled, smooth on both sides or sparingly hairy beneath ¾—2 inches long.

On river shores throughout the region, sparingly from Field west.

[Sidenote: =Betula glandulosa= Michx. _Glandular Birch, Scrub Birch._]

A shrub 1—8 feet with brown, glandular, warty twigs. Leaves orbicular, oval or ovate, smooth, rounded at the apex, crenate-dentate, bright green above, pale and sticky, glandular-dotted beneath, short petioled, ¼—1 inch long. Staminate catkins, commonly solitary, about ½ an inch long; cones when ripe ½—1 inch long.

In moist ground and thickets in the lower valleys through the Rockies, frequent.

[Sidenote: =Alnus tenuifolia= Nutt. _Slender-leaved Alder._]

A shrub 4—20 feet high with brown bark. Leaves more or less broadly ovate, 2—3 inches long, acute, rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base, acutely doubly toothed, light green and smooth on both sides or slightly hairy. Staminate catkins slender, drooping, 1—2 inches long; fruiting cones erect, ½ an inch or less long.

In moist places and thickets and stream banks at the higher elevations throughout the region, very abundant in the Selkirks.

LORANTHACEÆ

_Mistletoe Family_

Parasitic herbs growing on woody plants and absorbing their food from the host plant through specialised roots; leaves opposite, frequently reduced to scales; flowers diœcious or monœcious, regular; in terminal or axillary clusters.

[Sidenote: =Razoumofskya americana= (Nutt.) Kuntze. _Dwarf Mistletoe._]

Greenish-yellow or brownish, smooth, fleshy; stems rather slender, numerous, and tufted, forked or branched into 4-angled jointed branches. Leaves reduced to opposite scales at the joints. Flowers very small, the staminate and pistillate on separate plants; staminate plants 2—4 inches long, with the flowers on terminal peduncle-like joints; pistillate plants much smaller and darker coloured; berries ovate, purplish-brown, ⅙ of an inch long.

Throughout the Rockies, parasitic on Pinus Murrayana; locally abundant, appearing in midsummer.

SANTALACEÆ

_Sandalwood Family_

Low herbs parasitic on the roots of other plants, with entire leaves and perfect, greenish flowers, either terminal or axillary; calyx 3—6-lobed; petals wanting; stamens as many as the calyx lobes and inserted near their bases or opposite them upon the disc; fruit in the only genus represented in the region, drupe-like, crowned by the persistent style.

[Sidenote: =Comandra pallida= DC. _Pale Comandra._]

Stem slender and leafy, 6—12 inches tall, pale and glaucous. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, acute or the lowest of those of the stem, oblong-elliptic. Flowers small, less than ¼ of an inch high with short pedicels, clustered at the summit of the stems, calyx purplish or sometimes nearly white; fruit ovoid-oblong, nearly half an inch high and crowned by the very short upper portion of the calyx tube.

On dry hillsides throughout the Rockies; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Comandra livida= Rich. _Northern Comandra._]

Stem slender, usually quite simple, 4—12 inches high. Leaves thin, oval, obtuse or rounded at the apex, narrowed at the base, short-petioled ½—1½ inches long, nearly half as broad, yellowish or purplish-green when young, becoming bright green or often variegated with age. Flowers small, less than ¼ of an inch broad; purplish-green, in axillary clusters of 1—5 flowers; drupe globose-oblong, ¼ of an inch in diameter, bright red when ripe.

Throughout the Rockies in moist ground and shaded mossy places and borders of woods, flowering in June. While inconspicuous early in the season, in midsummer it is apt to be quite showy on account of the striking, golden yellow veining of the otherwise green leaves; this condition is due to a fungoid or other disease of the plant.

POLYGONACEÆ

_Buckwheat Family_

Herbs and twining vines with alternate or sometimes opposite or whorled leaves, jointed stems and usually sheathing united stipules; flowers small, regular, perfect, monœcious, diœcious or polygamous; petals none, calyx 2—6-parted, the segments more or less folded over each other, sometimes petal-like; stamens 2—9 dilated at the base and distinct or united into a ring; ovary superior, one-celled with a solitary ovule.

Flowers not involucrate; stipules sheathing.
Leaves reniform, sepals 4. =Oxyria.=
Leaves not reniform; sepals 6.
Sepals unequal; stigmas tufted. =Rumex.=
Sepals equal; stigmas capitate. =Polygonum.=
Flowers involucrate, many; stipules wanting. =Eriogonum.=

[Sidenote: =Oxyria digyna= (L.) Hill. _Mountain Sorrel._]

Stems 2 inches to a foot high, scape-like and leafless, from a large chaffy rootstock. Leaves basal on long petioles, reniform or orbicular ½—2 inches wide with a wavy margin, sometimes notched at the apex. Racemes 2—3 inches or more long, of many small flowers on slender pedicels; crimson or pinkish and showy in fruit.

Frequent at the higher altitudes throughout the region in moist grounds and beside streams, flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Rumex acetosa= _Sour._]

Stems a foot or more high, smooth. Leaves oblong, hastate or ovate-sagittate, 1—4 inches long, acute, the basal few and long petioled, stem leaves sessile, the acute auricles entire. Flowers, diœcious, minute, crowded in a slender head 3—6 inches long, yellowish-green tinged with red.

In moist open ground at the higher elevations, more or less frequent throughout the Rockies, flowering in midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Rumex salicifiolus= Weinm. _Pale-leaved Dock._]

Smooth, pale green, erect, and spreading, 1—3 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, acute or acuminate at both ends, petioled. Flowers small greenish-white in erect or reflexed racemes, dense in fruit, interrupted below; wings of the fruit triangular-ovate, with a large ovoid tubercle.

Frequent throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering in summer.

[Sidenote: =Polygonum viviparum= L. _Alpine Bistort._]

Smooth, with a corm-like rootstock; stems solitary or clustered, 2—10 inches high. Basal leaves lanceolate or oblong. 1—8 inches long, rather acute, cordate at the base on long petioles; stem leaves narrowly lanceolate or linear, upper sessile with revolute margins. Flowers in a dense terminal raceme several inches long; rose-coloured or white; stamens exserted; small bulblets frequently developed among the flowers, which later produce leaves and young plants.

Frequent in moist sandy soil and river banks throughout the Rockies, flowering in June and July.

Several small weedy species of the genus are also found through the region but are not sufficiently striking to be here described.

[Sidenote: =Eriogonum subalpinum= Greene. _Tall White Eriogonum._]

Stems depressed, much branched, prostrate and matted at the base. Leaves oblong to ovate-spatulate, 1—2 inches long, on slender petioles, smooth and green above, white-woolly beneath. Scape-like peduncles, erect, 8—14 inches high, with a simple, large umbel of 8—12 rays subtended by a whorl of leaves. Flowers ⅛—¼ of an inch high, cream-coloured or nearly pure white, and tinged with rosy pink especially in age.

A striking plant growing in stony places and on rocky slopes, throughout the Rockies, flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Eriogonum ochroleucum= Small. _Yellowish-white Eriogonum._]

Tufted from a large rootstock. Leaves white and woolly throughout, densely crowded on the very short stems, elliptic to obovate-spatulate, half an inch or more long, narrowed at the base into slender, frequently spirally-twisted petioles; scapes slender, several, six inches or more high bearing a globular head of pale yellowish-white flowers ³/₁₆ of an inch high.

On a moist rocky slope at an elevation of 4500 feet near Glacier, abundant, the plant may occur elsewhere in the region but has not been observed; flowers in June.

PORTULACACEÆ

_Purslane Family_

Fleshy herbaceous plants, with regular perfect, unsymmetrical flowers; sepals commonly 2; petals 4 or 5, folded together, stamens equal in number to the petals or fewer.

[Sidenote: =Claytonia lanceolata= Pursh. _Spring Beauty._]

Stem 3—8 inches high from a round corm. Leaves oblong or lanceolate, ½—1½ inches long. Flowers nearly half an inch broad, few to several in a loose head, on slender pedicels; petals notched at the end or almost obcordate, white with pink veins.

One of the first plants to appear in spring on the edges of the snow banks, throughout the region, from the lower altitudes up to the alpine summits, flowering throughout the summer according to elevation and condition of the snow.

[Sidenote: =Claytonia parvifolia= Moc. _Small-leaved Spring Beauty._]

Stems 6—12 inches high, diffuse, ascending or somewhat reclined or creeping, sometimes reduced to slender naked runners. Leaves fleshy, rhombic-ovate, acute, about half an inch long, contracted at the base, the upper a quarter of an inch long or less. Flowers few and racemose; petals somewhat obcordate ¼ of an inch long, much surpassing the rounded sepals, rose-colour varying to white; propagating freely by bulblet-like offshoots in the axils of the stem leaves, as well as by the usual method.

In wet stony places and in the gravelly beds of Alpine brooks, frequent in the Selkirks, flowering in July.

CARYOPHYLLACEÆ

_Pink Family_

Herbaceous plants, often swollen at the nodes, with opposite entire leaves and perfect or rarely diœcious regular flowers; sepals 4 or 5 persistent, separated or united into a calyx tube; petals equal in number to the sepals or none; stamens twice as many as the sepals or fewer.

Sepals united; petals long clawed.
Calyx 10-many nerved.
Styles 3; capsule with 3 or 6 teeth. =Silene.=
Styles 5; capsule with 5 or 10 teeth. =Lychnis.=
Sepals free to the base or nearly so.
Petals two-cleft or rarely none.
Capsule cylindric, usually curved. =Cerastium.=
Capsule ovate or oblong, not curved. =Alsine.=
Petals entire or notched, rarely none.
Styles as many as the sepals and alternate with them. =Sagina.=
Styles fewer than the sepals.
Seeds appendaged. =Mœhringia.=
Seeds not appendaged. =Arenaria.=

[Sidenote: =Silene acaulis= L. _Moss Campion._]

Closely tufted, an inch or two high, forming cushion-like beds, often 2 feet or more across. Leaves sessile, crowded, linear, ½ an inch or less long, the margins ciliate. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more across, nearly sessile or raised on naked curved peduncles, often ½ an inch long; calyx narrowly campanulate, ¼ of an inch long, smooth, the teeth short, rounded; petals rose-purple or rarely white, entire or notched.

In alpine meadows, in stony ground, on the moraines and tops of the mountains throughout the region, flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Silene Lyallii= S. Wats. _Lyall’s Catchfly._]

Stems slender, decumbent at the base, 12—18 inches high, minutely hairy throughout, glandular above. Leaves, the basal spatulate, obtuse 1—2 inches long on long petioles, those of the stem linear 1—2 inches long, sessile. Flowers on short peduncles in rather loose terminal heads; calyx oblong, inflated, about ½ an inch long, narrow, glandular, teeth purple-tipped; petals white, nearly half an inch long, spreading, two-lobed.

On grassy alpine slopes throughout the region, flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Lychnis apetala= L. _Nodding Lychnis._]

More or less glandular-hairy, 2—6 inches high. Leaves linear or oblanceolate, ½-2½ inches long. Flower solitary, ½—¾ of an inch long, nodding; calyx inflated, strongly purple veined, its teeth triangular-ovate, acute; petals purple, as long as or shorter than the calyx, narrow, 2-cleft.

Among loose boulders on the moraines and alpine summits throughout the region, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Cerastium arvense strictum= (L.) Rydb. _Field Chickweed._]

Stems tufted, ascending from a decumbent base, 3—6 inches high, hairy throughout, roughly so at the base; glandular at the summit. Leaves numerous, ½—¾ of an inch long, narrowly lanceolate, acute, with a broad sessile base. Flowers several in a more or less close head, nearly half an inch broad, white; petals deeply notched.

In dry stony ground in the lower valleys of the Rockies, flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Cerastium behringianum= Cham. and Schl. _Alpine Chickweed._]

Thick, silky-hairy below, with sticky hairs above; stems matted 1—3 inches high. Leaves small, oblong, ¼ of an inch long or less, rather thick, obtuse. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more broad; petals white, notched at the apex, sometimes little longer than the lanceolate sepals.

In stony ground, alpine slopes and summits throughout the Rockies, flowering during summer.

[Sidenote: =Alsine longipes= (Goldie) Coville. _Long-stalked Stitchwort._]

Erect or ascending, tufted, simple or rarely sparingly branched, 3—12 inches high, smooth and shining. Leaves light green, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, ½—1½ inches long, broad at the base. Flowers few, ¼—⅓ of an inch broad, terminal, on long, slender, erect pedicels; sepals ovate or lanceolate, acute; petals 2-cleft, exceeding the calyx.

In moist open places throughout the Rockies, flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Alsine læta= (Richards.) Rydb. _Glaucous Stitchwort._]

Low, smooth, or somewhat hairy, 1—4 inches high, very glaucous throughout, densely leafy at the base. Leaves keeled, lanceolate, awl-shaped to linear, rather stiff, ¼—½ an inch long. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more across; sepals lanceolate, acute, ⅛ of an inch long; petals notched, longer than the sepals; stamens showy, with scarlet anthers.

In alpine meadows and moist grounds at high altitudes, throughout the region; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Alsine borealis= (Bigel.) Britton. _Northern Stitchwort._]

Erect or ascending, weak, much branched, smooth, or hairy above, 6—18 inches long. Leaves thin, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, ½—1½ inches long, acute, sessile, thin, margins slightly hairy or naked. Flowers small and inconspicuous in a leafy terminal compound head, ascending or spreading on slender pedicels; sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute; petals shorter than the sepals or none.

In wet places at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering throughout the summer from early June.

_b_ Mœhringia lateriflora (L.) Fenzl. Blunt-Leaved Sandwort. (½ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Sagina saginoides= (L.) Britton. _Arctic Pearl-wort._]

Smooth, stems very slender and tufted, 1—4 inches high. Leaves 1⅛ to nearly ½ an inch long with a spiny tip. Flowers small, solitary or few together, at the end of the slender stem, about ⅛ of an inch broad; petals white minute, hardly exceeding the calyx.

On rocks and moist sandy ground throughout the region; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Mœhringia lateriflora= (L.) Fenzl. _Blunt-leaved Sandwort._]

Stems erect or ascending, simple or at length, sparingly branched, finely hairy throughout, 4—12 inches high. Leaves thin, oval, or oblong, ½—1 inch long, obtuse, spreading, the margins and nerves fringed with hairs. Flowers few in lateral and terminal clusters or sometimes solitary; ¼ of an inch or more broad, their parts in 4’s or 5’s; sepals oblong, obtuse or acute, half as long as the nearly entire white petals.

In moist places growing among grass, throughout the Rockies; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Arenaria capillaris nardifolia= (Ledeb.) Regel. _Rock Sandwort._]

Smooth throughout except the tops of the stems and sepals, which are glandular; stems slender, 4—8 inches high, numerous from a tufted, leafy base. Leaves mostly in bundles ½—1½ inches long, smooth, very slender and curved, with a spiny tip, those of the stem few and much reduced. Flowers white, ½ an inch broad in a loose branching head.

A rather striking plant on grassy slopes throughout the region; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Arenaria verna equicaulis= A. Nelson. _Vernal Sandwort._]

Very slender, much branched and finely, sticky-hairy throughout; stems thread-like, numerous, nearly of a uniform length in the same plant, 2—3 inches long. Leaves crowded at the base, few and much reduced above, linear, awl-shaped, thick, semi-cylindric, nearly smooth. Flowers small, little more than ⅛ of an inch across; sepals ovate-oblong, acute, strongly 3-nerved; petals white, acute, not exceeding the sepals.

A small tufted plant with wiry stems and minute white star-like flowers, in moist or dry, sandy places throughout the region from the low valleys to the alpine summits; flowering in May and June.

[Sidenote: =Arenaria sajanensis= Willd. _Alpine Sandwort._]

Closely tufted, stems densely glandular-hairy, decumbent, very leafy below, ½—2½ inches long with 2 or 3 pairs of short, rather distant leaves and terminating in 1—3 flowers. Lower leaves, linear-obtuse, stiff, ⅛ of an inch or more long, smooth or slightly hairy; calyx lobes linear-oblong, 1—3 ribbed, glandular, hairy, ⅛ of an inch long; petals white, broad, equalling or exceeding the sepals.

On high alpine slopes and summits, throughout the Rockies; flowering in June and July.

RANUNCULACEÆ

_Crowfoot Family_

Herbs or rarely climbing shrubs with acrid sap; leaves usually alternate without stipules; flowers usually showy, blue, white, yellow, or scarlet; sepals 3—15, generally soon falling away, often petal-like; petals about the same number or occasionally wanting; stamens many; carpels many or rarely solitary.

Carpels with solitary ovules; fruit an achene.
Sepals valvate in the bud; leaves opposite. =Atragene.=
Sepals folded on each other in the bud; leaves not opposite.
Stem leaves three in a whorl.
Styles short, smooth or hairy. =Anemone.=
Styles long, plumose. =Pulsatilla.=
Stem leaves alternate or basal.
Petals none, flowers small; leaves compound. =Thalictrum.=
Petals present.
Flowers white. =Batrachium.=
Flowers yellow.
Achenes papillose or spiny. =Ranunculus.=
Achenes longitudinally nerved. =Halerpestes.=
Carpels with several ovules; fruit, follicles or berries.
Flowers regular.
Leaves simple.
Petals none; leaves cordate-orbicular. =Caltha.=
Petals linear-spatulate; leaves palmately parted.
=Trollius.=
Leaves compound.
Sepals spurred; carpels becoming follicles. =Aquilegia.=
Sepals not spurred; carpels becoming berries. =Actæa.=
Flowers irregular; upper sepals spurred. =Delphinium.=

[Sidenote: =Atragene columbiana= Nutt. _Purple Virgin’s-bower._]

A climbing or trailing vine with somewhat woody stems. Leaves trifoliate, the leaflets thin, on slender petioles, ovate, attenuate, acute, and entire, 2—3 inches long. Flowers purple, 1½—2 inches broad, on long peduncles, solitary in the axils of the leaves; sepals 4—6, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, more than twice the length of the stamens; styles persistent, forming a plumose head of fruit.

In rocky woods and on shaded mountain sides up to 6000 feet elevation, throughout the Rockies, trailing over the ground, or festooning the shrubs or lower branches of the trees; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Anemone parviflora= Michx. _Northern Anemone._]

Stem simple, sparingly hairy, 4—8 inches high. Basal leaves long-petioled, 3-parted, the broadly wedge-shaped divisions obtusely-lobed or crenate, those of the involucre nearly sessile, similarly lobed. Flower an inch or less in diameter, sepals, oblong, very obtuse, white, blue on the outside near the base; stamens numerous; head of fruit globose.

Common throughout the Rockies in moist ground and rich woods; flowering early in June.

_b_ Anemone parviflora Michx. Northern Anemone. (⅔ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Anemone Drummondii= S. Wats. _Alpine Anemone._]

Sparingly pubescent, with long whitish hairs, especially at the involucre, 4—6 inches high. Root leaves, slender-petioled, 3-parted, the divisions cut into linear, oblong obtuse lobes; leaves of the involucre similar on short petioles, their lobes slightly broader. Flowers usually solitary, half an inch or more broad on long peduncles; sepals 5, ovate or oval, obtuse, white, finely appressed-hairy and blue outside.

Throughout the region in alpine meadows and slopes near the snow, flowering in June and July as the snows disappear.

[Sidenote: =Anemone globosa= Nutt. _Wind-flower._]

Stems 3—15 inches high, close, silky-hairy. Root leaves long-petioled, nearly semicircular in outline, 3-parted, the sessile divisions deeply lobed, with cleft, linear segments, involucral leaves similar, short petioled. Sepals 5—8, red, bluish or nearly pure white, half an inch or less long, soft, hairy outside, receptacle oblong, in fruit densely woolly.

The most abundant anemone through the Rockies in the low open valleys, and, occasionally on the slopes, presenting the greatest variety of colouring from deep rosy pink to pure white and occasionally blue; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Pulsatilla hirsutissima= (Pursh.) Britton. _Pasque-Flower._]

Villous, 6—18 inches high. Leaves much divided into narrow, linear, acute lobes, the basal on slender petioles, those of the involucre sessile and erect or ascending. Flowers bluish-purple, sometimes nearly white inside; sepals 5—7 ovate-oblong 1—1½ inches long, forming a cup; fruit a head of long silky achenes 2 inches or more in diameter.

This is one of the earliest and most beautiful of all the spring flowers, in the open meadows and mountain sides, blossoming through May and June according to the situation. Probably its most common local name, in the Rockies where it is very abundant, is that of crocus, to which flower it does bear a superficial resemblance, in size, shape, and colour, and in the habit of the flower appearing as soon as the snow has left the ground, and before the leaves.

_b_ Pulsatilla occidentalis (S. Wats.) Freyn. (⅔ Nat.) Western Anemone.]

[Sidenote: =Pulsatilla occidentalis= (S. Wats.) Freyn. _Western Anemone._]

Stem rather stout, silky-hairy, 6—18 inches high, simple. Leaves biternate, the lower on long petioles, the divisions deeply pinnatifid into deeply cut linear, acute lobes; those of the involucre similar but short-petioled. Flowers 1½—2 inches broad, peduncled, the peduncles much elongated in fruit; sepals spreading, 6—7, oval-obtuse, white, the outside usually blue at the base; fruit of long plumose tailed achenes in a globular fluffy head.

Frequent throughout the Rockies at an elevation of 6000 to 10,000 feet, blossoming on the edges of the snow banks as they recede, a conspicuous feature of many an alpine meadow during early June.

[Sidenote: =Thalictrum megacarpum= Torr. _Veiny Meadow Rue._]

Smooth, pale green, and glaucous; stem purplish, erect, 6—18 inches tall. Leaves 3—4, ternate, long-petioled, leaflets firm, obovate, rounded at the apex, wedge-shaped or subcordate at the base, ¼—½ an inch long, 3—5-lobed, the lower surface prominently veined. Flowers diœcious, with 4 or 5 small, purplish-green sepals and large, linear, wedge-shaped anthers or slender styles; the achenes wedge-shaped and tapering into a short beak.

A frequent plant in the dry open valleys in the Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Thalictrum occidentale= A. Gray. _Western Meadow Rue._]

Stems slender, 1—3 feet high. Leaves 2—4, ternate, the lowest petioled; leaflets thin, ¼ to nearly an inch long, 3—9 lobed at the summit, sparingly glandular-hairy beneath. Flowers diœcious, nodding on very slender pedicels in an ample open panicle; calyx of 4—8 sepals which soon fall, filaments purplish and slender; anthers linear and pointed; achenes lanceolate or somewhat sickle-shaped, nearly half an inch long.

Frequent in rich woods and moist shady places at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering in June, like the previous species striking for its leaves, resembling a robust maiden-hair fern, and the large loose heads of delicate tasselled flowers.

[Sidenote: =Batrachium trichophyllum= (Chaix.) Bossch. _White Water Crowfoot._]

Aquatic herb with submerged stems, a foot long or more. Leaves petioled, 1—2 inches long, finely dissected. Flowers white with yellow centre, ½—¾ of an inch broad, blooming on the surface of the water on stout pedicels 1—2 inches or more long.

Frequent throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes in shallow ponds and ditches; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus Purshii= Richards. _Pursh’s Buttercup._]

Aquatic or creeping, hairy, at least on the younger parts. Leaves slender-petioled, ¼—1 inch, wide, palmately divided nearly to the base, into obtuse lobes. Flowers less than ½ an inch broad, bright yellow; petals 5; head of fruit globose, a little less than ¼ of an inch broad.

Frequent in shallow pools throughout the Rockies; flowering throughout the summer.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus reptans= L. _Creeping Spearwort._]

Stems creeping, rooting at the joints; flowering stems and peduncles ascending. Leaves linear-lanceolate or spatulate ½—2 inches long, entire, gradually narrowed into the petiole. Flowers nearly half an inch broad, solitary, on peduncles ¾—2 inches long; petals 4—7, much exceeding the calyx; stamens numerous; achenes flat.

On muddy shores of ponds and streams throughout the Rockies, flowering in midsummer, the creeping stems frequently interlaced and forming dense mats.

_b_ Ranunculus Purshii Richards. (⅓ Nat.) Pursh’s Buttercup.]

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus pedatifidus= J. E. Smith. _Northern Buttercup._]

Erect 4—12 inches high, branching. Basal leaves petioled, broadly ovate or nearly orbicular, about ¾ of an inch broad, crenate or often lobed, those of the stem deeply and narrowly lobed, nearly sessile. Flowers about ⅓ of an inch in diameter, petals little surpassing the spreading sepals.

In moist shaded situations near Banff; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus eremogenes= Greene. _Ditch Crowfoot._]

Stem branching, more or less hairy, 6—18 inches high, sparingly leafy. Leaves rounded in outline, mostly 5-parted, the segments cut into about 3-toothed lobes. Flowers of ¼ an inch or more broad, the light yellow petals surpassing the sepals; fruit in an obtusely ovoid head.

In wet springy places, ditches and the margins of pools, frequent through the Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus Eschscholtzii= Schl. _Snow Buttercup._]