Chapter IV: Preface (4)

Frequent in dry stony ground throughout the Rockies at elevations ranging from 4000 to 10,000 feet, forming dense mats of considerable size on the surface of the ground; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Dryas Drummondii= Richards. _Drummond’s Mountain Avens._]

Similar in manner of growth and general appearance to the preceding species. Leaves generally narrower at the base, the lobes dentate-crenate. Flowers ½ an inch long, campanulate, drooping on a densely woolly pedicel; sepals ovate, acute, black glandular-hairy; petals lanceolate, obtuse, bright yellow, about twice the length of the sepals; stamens included; styles numerous, conspicuously plumose in fruit.

In gravel and loose stony soil throughout the Rockies, especially abundant on river shores and flood-plains, like the previous species frequently forming mats of considerable size; flowering in June.

_b_ Dryas Drummondii Rich. Drummond’s Mountain Avens.

(⅞ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Rosa Macounii= Greene. _Macoun’s Rose._]

Stems branched, 2—3 feet high, prickly. Leaves pinnate, leaflets large, ¾—1½ inches long, oval, coarsely toothed. Flowers solitary, on slender pedicels, bright pink, petals broadly obovate, an inch or more long, sepals entire with a long acuminate obtuse tip, persistent and erect in fruit, fruit globose, bright scarlet.

The wild rose of the region, in open ground, on slopes, borders of woods, stream and river banks throughout the Rockies; flowering in late June and early July.

POMACEÆ

_Apple Family_

Trees and shrubs with alternate leaves, and regular, perfect flowers; calyx superior, 5-toothed; petals 5; stamens numerous; fruit a more or less fleshy pome.

Leaves pinnate. =Sorbus.=
Leaves simple, entire-toothed or lobed. =Amelanchier.=

[Sidenote: =Sorbus sambucifolia= (Cham. and Schl.) Roem _Western Mountain-ash._]

A small tree with smooth bark. Leaves pinnate, leaflets 5—15, ovate-lanceolate or oval, obtuse or short-pointed, serrate, smooth and dark green above, pale and usually more or less hairy beneath, especially along the veins, seldom over 2½ inches long. Flowers white, nearly ½ an inch across in a compound flat cyme, 2—4 inches broad; petals spreading, short-clawed, obovate; stamens numerous; fruit bright scarlet, more than ¼ of an inch in diameter.

In moist stony ground throughout the region; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Amelanchier alnifolia= Nutt. _North-western June-berry._]

A shrub, soft-hairy when young, at length nearly smooth. Leaves thick, broadly elliptic or almost orbicular, very obtuse and often truncate at the apex, round or subcordate at the base; coarsely dentate above the middle. 1—2 inches long. Flowers in rather short, dense racemes, pedicels short; petals oblanceolate, ¼—¾ of an inch long, 2—4 times the length of the calyx; fruit purple when ripe and very sweet.

On slopes at the lower altitudes throughout the region, flowering in June.

DRUPACEÆ

_Plum Family_

Trees or shrubs, the bark exuding gum. Leaves alternate, petioled, serrate, the teeth and petiole often glandular; flowers regular, perfect; calyx 5-lobed inferior, deciduous; petals 5, inserted on the calyx; stamens numerous, inserted on the petals; fruit a 1-seeded drupe.

[Sidenote: =Prunus demissa= (Nutt.) Walp. _Western Wild Cherry._]

A shrub or small tree. Leaves thick ovate or broadly oval, acute or slightly obtuse, serrulate with short teeth. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more broad, in drooping racemes at the ends of the leafy branches; drupe dark purple or black, globose, over ¼ of an inch in diameter.

In thickets in the Rockies, frequent in the vicinity of Banff; flowering in May and early June.

PAPILIONACEÆ

_Pea Family_

Herbs or vines with alternate, compound leaves and irregular, perfect, yellow, purple, blue, or white flowers, mainly in racemes; calyx 4—5-toothed; petals more or less united or separate, consisting of a broad upper one (standard), two lateral ones (wings), and two front ones more or less united (keel).

Herbs; leaves unequally pinnate, not tendril-bearing.
Pods not jointed.
Keel of the corolla blunt.
Pod not much swollen, fleshy, leathery or papery;
flowers blue or purple. =Astragalus.=
Pods much inflated, membranous; flowers white. =Phaca.=
Pods flat, both sutures prominent externally. =Homalobus.=
Keel of the corolla acute. =Aragallus.=
Pods jointed, flowers purple or white. =Hedysarum.=
Herbaceous veins; leaves evenly pinnate, with tendrils.
Style slender with a tuft of hairs at the summit. =Vicia.=
Style flattened, bearded along the inner side. =Lathyrus.=

[Sidenote: =Astragalus adsurgens= Pall. _Ascending Milk-vetch._]

Stems whitish with close hairs or nearly smooth, ascending or decumbent, 4—18 inches long, simple or branched at the base. Leaflets 15—25 oval or linear-oblong, sometimes notched at the apex, narrowed at the base, ½—1 inch long; peduncles exceeding the leaves. Flowers purplish, ½—¾ of an inch long in dense short spikes; calyx villous with long partly black hairs, ½ the length of the corolla, with slender teeth, half the length of the campanulate tube.

In open ground at low altitudes, probably the most frequent of the vetches on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, often forming great patches of blue during June.

[Sidenote: =Astragalus hypoglottis= L. _Purple Milk-vetch._]

Hairy or nearly smooth, stems decumbent or ascending, slender, branched at the base, usually low, but ranging from 6—24 inches long. Leaves 2—5 inches long with 17—25 leaflets which are oblong or elliptic, obtusish and usually notched at the apex, rounded at the base ¼—½ an inch long. Flowers violet-purple, ½ to nearly an inch long in dense heads, calyx nearly ⅓ the length with long black and white hairs.

Frequent at the lower altitudes, in dry ground and roadsides on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, particularly in the region around Banff; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Astragalus alpinus= L. _Alpine Milk-vetch._]

Ascending or decumbent, branching from the base, 6—15 inches high, slightly hairy or smooth. Leaves 2—5 inches long, with 13—25 oval or elliptic, obtuse or retuse leaflets, narrowed or rounded at the base, ¼—½ an inch long. Flowers ½ an inch or more long, pale violet, the keel commonly darker, in short rather open racemes; calyx about ⅓ the length of the corolla, with short black hairs.

The most dainty of any of the vetches, frequent in rocky soil in slightly shaded situations throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering during June and July.

[Sidenote: =Astragalus convallarius= Greene. _Slender Milk-vetch._]

Stems slender, ascending and rigid, 10—18 inches high, branching from the base; hairy throughout. Leaves 3—6 inches long with 9—17 narrowly linear, silky leaflets ½—1 inch long, remote. Flowers pale violet or mauve, half an inch or more long, scattered in a slender raceme 3—5 inches long; peduncles much longer than the leaves; calyx about ⅓ the length of the corolla with scattered white or brownish hairs.

On the eastern slopes of the Rockies in dry stony ground at the lower altitudes; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Astragalus Macouni= Rydb. _Macoun’s Vetch._]

Stems 18—24 inches high, stout and leafy, slightly striate and nearly smooth. Leaves 2—4 inches long, thin, odd-pinnate with 4—8 pairs of obtuse, oblong, or oval leaflets, ½—1 inch long. Flower scream-coloured, tinged with blue, in heads 1½—3 inches long, on peduncles 4—10 inches long, from the axils of the upper leaves; calyx ⅛ of an inch long, black-hairy, lobes very slender and short; corolla ¼ of an inch or more long.

Frequent in more or less moist open ground throughout the Rockies at varying altitudes; flowering during June and early July.

[Sidenote: =Phaca Americana= (Hook) Rydb. _Arctic Milk-vetch._]

Erect, nearly simple and smooth, 1—2 feet high. Leaves 3—6 inches long with 7—17 oval or ovate-lanceolate obtuse leaflets, ¾—1½ inches long. Flowers white, ¾ of an inch long in loose racemes on peduncles equalling or exceeding the leaves; pedicels slender, ½ an inch long in fruit; pod membranous, inflated, an inch long.

In moist or wet rocky shaded places throughout the Rockies; flowering during June and early July.

[Sidenote: =Homalobus aboriginorum= (Richards) Rydb. _Indian Vetch._]

Stems erect and branching, 6—18 inches high, hairy throughout, from an enlarged root. Leaves pinnate with 7—11 linear leaflets; stipules ovate, acute, foliaceous. Flowers white, tinged with mauve, in a loose raceme 1—2 inches long; peduncles longer than the leaves, calyx black-hairy, about ⅛ of an inch long, with slender teeth nearly half as much longer; corolla more than twice the length of the calyx.

An abundant species at the lower altitudes in open dry ground on the eastern slopes of the Rockies; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Aragallus monticola= (A. Gray) Greene. _Mountain Oxytrope._]

Silvery-pubescent throughout, with appressed or slightly spreading hairs; tufted. Leaves basal, 3—6 inches long with 9—19 linear-oblong or lanceolate, acute or obtusish leaflets ¾—1 inch long. Flowers pale yellow or creamy-white ¾ of an inch or more long in dense heads, on peduncles longer than the leaves; calyx nearly half as long as the corolla, with long white and short black hairs.

Frequent throughout the Rockies in dry stony and alpine meadows and slopes, at varying elevations; flowering from June to early July.

[Sidenote: =Aragallus Lamberti= (Pursh) Greene. _Loco Weed._]

Tufted, the branches of the caudex short; scapes few or several, erect, rather slender, 4—20 inches high. Leaves several, mostly erect, shorter than the scapes; leaflets 10—15 pairs, mostly oblong-lanceolate, from sparsely soft-pubescent to lightly canescent, acute, ½—1 inch long. Flowers pale yellow, ½ an inch long and twice as long as the calyx, in a loose head, 2—4 inches long.

Abundant in the open ground on the eastern slopes of the Rockies; a strikingly handsome vetch frequently found in masses of considerable extent, especially in the region around Banff; flowering in June and early July.

[Sidenote: =Aragallus splendens= (Dougl.) Greene. _Showy Oxytrope._]

Densely silky, silvery-villous, acaulescent, and tufted. Leaves 4—9 inches long, erect; leaflets very numerous, in verticels of 3—6, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, acute or acutish at the apex, rounded at the base, ½ to nearly an inch long. Flowers deep purple, about ½ an inch long in dense spikes on peduncles exceeding the leaves.

A very showy plant frequently flowering in considerable masses in the open grounds on the eastern slopes of the Rockies and dry alpine meadows; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Aragallus viscidulus= Rydb. _Sticky Oxytrope._]

Tufted, with parts of the old leaves remaining. Leaves all basal, 4—6 inches long with 8—15 pairs of leaflets, loosely villous-pubescent, oblong, obtuse or acutish, ¼ to nearly ½ an inch long, glandular on the margins. Flowers nearly ½ an inch long varying from pink to dark purple, in loose spikes on glandular sticky scapes, much longer than the leaves; calyx more than half as long as the corolla with white and shorter black hairs; calyx teeth and bracts of the inflorescence densely glandular.

In dry open ground and alpine meadows through the Rockies at the lower altitudes, flowering in early June and forming dense tufted masses of brilliant pink, blue, or purple flowers; probably the most striking species in the vicinity of Banff.

[Sidenote: =Aragallus deflexus= (Pall.) Heller. _Drooping-fruited Oxytrope._]

Loosely soft-pubescent or silky, decumbent or ascending 10—18 inches high. Leaves 4—6 inches long with 12—16 pairs of lanceolate to oblong, acute leaflets, ¼—½ an inch long. Flowers small, pale purple, little more than ¼ of an inch long in slender spikes 2—4 inches long on peduncles much surpassing the leaves. Calyx nearly as long as the corolla, with short black and longer white hairs; fruit strongly reflexed.

In moist open ground throughout the eastern Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Aragallus inflatus= (Hook) A. Nelson. _Inflated Oxytrope._]

Acaulescent or more or less so, 1—4 inches high, soft-hairy. Leaves pinnate with 5—11 pairs of short linear-lanceolate or oblong leaflets. Flowers violet-purple, 1 or 2 on the peduncles which scarcely exceed the leaves; calyx densely dark-hairy; pods much inflated.

On high alpine slopes and summits through the Rockies, not a common plant but probably more general than is now known; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Hedysarum americanum= (Michx.) Britton. _Purple Hedysarum._]

Stem erect or somewhat decumbent, smooth or nearly so, 6 inches to 2½ feet high, generally simple. Leaves 2—8 inches long with 11—21 oblong or oblanceolate-obtuse leaflets, ½ to nearly 1 inch long. Flowers violet-purple or nearly white, deflexed, ½—¾ of an inch long in rather loose elongated racemes; calyx teeth ovate-acute, shorter than the tube.

One of the taller of the vetches growing in open stony places and slides throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Hedysarum sulphurescens= Rydb. _Yellow Hedysarum._]

Erect, 12—15 inches high, minutely hairy. Leaves with 5—6 pairs of oblong-elliptic, obtuse-cuspidate leaflets, ½—¾ of an inch long, finely hairy beneath. Flowers bright yellow, over ½ an inch long; 15—30 in a rather dense raceme; wings exceeding the vexillum but shorter than the keel.

Throughout the Rockies in open woods and meadows up to 8000 feet elevation; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Hedysarum Mackenzii= Richards. _Mackenzie’s Hedysarum._]

Stems erect or decumbent, 12—18 inches high, usually minutely hairy. Leaves 3—6 inches long with 11—19 oblong-elliptic leaflets about ½ an inch long. Flowers ¾ of an inch long, reddish-purple, 20—30 in loose racemes on peduncles longer than the leaves; calyx teeth very slender, longer than the tube.

On slides and in loose stony soil throughout the Rockies at varying altitudes; flowering during June and July.

[Sidenote: =Vicia Cracca= L. _Cow Vetch._]

Finely hairy or sometimes nearly smooth; stems tufted, slender, and weak, climbing or trailing 2—4 feet long. Leaves tendril-bearing 2—3 inches long of 18—24 thin, linear or linear-oblong, obtuse or acutish, mucronate leaflets, ⅓—¾ of an inch long. Flowers deep bluish-purple, ½ an inch long or less in dense spike-like racemes 1—4 inches long on peduncles equalling or exceeding the leaves.

In dry or moist soil throughout the Rockies at the lower elevations, flowering during June and July.

[Sidenote: =Vicia americana= Muhl. _American Vetch._]

Smooth or some with appressed hairs, trailing or climbing 2—3 feet long. Leaves nearly sessile, 2—3 inches long, tendril-bearing, with 8—14 elliptic, ovate or oblong leaflets, ½—1½ inches long, obtuse or sometimes notched or mucronulate at the tip. Flowers bluish-purple about ¾ of an inch long, 3—9 in loose racemes, on peduncles usually shorter than the leaves.

In moist ground at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies, climbing over the surrounding shrubs and herbaceous plants; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Vicia linearis= (Nutt.) Greene. _Narrow-leaved American Vetch._]

Smooth or nearly so; stems weak, often zigzag, 1—2 feet long. Leaves tendril-bearing, with 4—7 pairs of narrowly linear or linear-oblong leaflets, 1—3 inches long, entire, acute and mucronate at the tip. Flowers purple or purplish, about ¾ of an inch long, 2—6 in loose racemes, on peduncles shorter than or about equalling the leaves.

In dry soil at low altitudes throughout the Rockies especially near the line of the railway; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Lathyrus palustris= L. _Marsh Vetchling._]

Smooth or sparingly hairy, stems angled and winged, slender, 1—3 feet long; stipules half sagittate, lanceolate-linear or ovate-lanceolate, ½ to nearly an inch long. Leaves with branched tendrils and 2—4 pairs of lanceolate oblong or linear, acute, mucronate leaflets; 1½—4 inches long. Flowers purple, half an inch or more long, 2—6 in loose-headed racemes on peduncles about equaling the leaves.

In wet ground and swamps at the lower altitudes throughout the region; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Lathyrus ochroleucus= Hook. _Cream-coloured Vetchling._]

Stems slender, somewhat angled, trailing or climbing, smooth and slightly glaucous, 2—2½ feet long, stipules broad foliaceous, half ovate and half cordate, ⅓—1 inch long. Leaves with branched tendrils and 3—5 pairs of thin, ovate or broadly oval, obtuse leaflets, 1—2 inches long, green above, whitish beneath. Flowers yellowish or creamy-white ½—¾ of an inch long, 5—10 on peduncles shorter than the leaves.

On shaded river banks and hillsides at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering during June.

LINACEÆ

_Flax Family_

Herbs with perfect regular nearly symmetrical flowers; sepals 5, persistent; petals 5 and alternate with the sepals; stamens 5 opposite the sepals.

[Sidenote: =Linum Lewisii= Pursh. _Lewis’s Wild Flax._]

Perennial from a woody root, 1—2 feet high, densely tufted, smooth, glaucous. Leaves crowded, oblong or linear, ¼—1½ inches long, acute or acutish, 3—5 nerved. Flowers bright blue, 1—1½ inches broad; petals 5, soon falling; sepals 5, oval, mainly obtuse, ⅓ or ¼ the length of the petals; stigmas shorter than the styles; stamens 5, longer than the styles.

In open, dry, stony ground and slopes throughout the Rockies; flowering in June and July.

EMPETRACEÆ

_Crowberry Family_

Low evergreen shrubs with narrow nearly sessile leaves jointed to short pulvini, channelled on the lower side by the revolute margins and small monœcious, diœcious or rarely polygamous flowers; sepals, petals, and stamens each 3, fruit a black, berry-like drupe.

[Sidenote: =Empetrum nigrum= L. _Black Crowberry._]

Smooth or the young shoots hairy, usually much branched, the branches diffusely spreading, 2—10 inches long. Leaves crowded, dark green, linear-oblong, thick and obtuse, about ¼ of an inch long with strongly revolute, roughish margins. Flowers very small, purplish; stamens exserted; berry nearly ¼ of an inch in diameter, black.

Frequent throughout the Rockies in damp woods, especially those of the “Jack Pine” where it frequently forms a considerable part of the forest floor, in dense, close mats.

CELASTRACEÆ

_Staff-Tree Family_

Shrubs with simple evergreen leaves, and regular perfect flowers, sepals, petals, and stamens each 4 in our species.

[Sidenote: =Pachystima myrsinites= (Pursh) Raf. _Mountain Lover._]

Low evergreen shrub, densely branched or nearly simple, 1—3 feet high. Leaves opposite, smooth, ovate to oblong or lanceolate, cuneate at the base, the upper half serrate or serrulate ½—1 inch long on very short petioles. Flowers small in axillary cymes; petals 4, stamens 4, inserted at the edge of the broad disc.

In gravelly and stony situations extending from the Valley of the Columbia River at Beavermouth, westward throughout the Selkirks, the minute blossoms appearing in the latter part of May; a pretty but very variable shrub in habit and leaf form.

ACERACEÆ

_Maple Family_

Trees or shrubs with watery often saccharine sap, opposite, simple and palmately lobed leaves and axillary or terminal, cymose or racemose, regular, polygamous or diœcious flowers; fruit of 2 long-winged samaras, joined at the base.

[Sidenote: =Acer glabrum= Torr. _Smooth Maple._]

A shrub or small tree 6—30 feet high, 2—8 inches in diameter, smooth throughout except the scales which are densely soft, hairy inside. Leaves round-cordate with shallow sinus, 2—4 inches broad and nearly as long, more or less deeply 3-lobed or parted, the ovate-acuminate lobes doubly serrate with slender teeth; conspicuously veined. Flowers greenish-yellow, somewhat corymbose on short 2-leaved branchlets appearing after the leaves. Fruit smooth with slightly spreading wings about an inch long.

One of the few deciduous trees of the region, growing on slopes with the other forest trees and in the moist valleys.

HYPERICACEÆ

_St. John’s-Wort Family_

Herbs in our species with opposite, black-dotted leaves, and cymose yellow flowers; sepals and petals 5, twisted in the bud; stamens many.

[Sidenote: =Hypericum Scouleri= Hook. _Scouler’s St. John’s-wort._]

Simple or sparingly branched above often with numerous small branchlets from running rootstocks, 1—2 feet high. Leaves thin, shorter than the internodes, about an inch long, mostly obtuse, more or less clasping and usually black-dotted along the margin. Flowers bright orange, ½—1 inch in diameter in more or less panicled cymes, sepals oval or oblong, much shorter than the petals, stamens numerous in three fascicles.

In moist gravelly soil in the Selkirks at Glacier; flowering in July.

VIOLACEÆ

_Violet Family_

Herbs in our species with basal or alternate simple leaves and solitary or clustered perfect irregular flowers; sepals 5, petals 5, the lower one larger or with a posterior spur.

[Sidenote: =Viola cognata= Greene. _Early Blue Violet._]

Acaulescent; rootstock short and thick. Leaves long-petioled, smooth or more or less hairy, slightly fleshy, cordate with a broad sinus, acute or acuminate, crenately toothed. Flowers large, blue or violet, scapes 2—10 inches long, equalling or surpassing the leaves; petals narrow, ½—¾ of an inch long, all villous at the base, the 3 lower strongly so.

In moist shaded ground, on stream banks and in marshes, frequent throughout the Rockies; flowering in May and early June.

[Sidenote: =Viola palustris= L. _Marsh Violet._]

Acaulescent, smooth, petioles and scapes arising from a very slender, creeping or horizontal rootstock, the scapes mostly exceeding the leaves. Leaves thin, cordate, broadly ovate, orbicular or reniform, 1—2½ inches wide, crenulate. Flowers pale lilac or nearly white with darker veins; petals broad, ⅓—½ an inch long, spur short.

In marshy places among moss in the Selkirks near Glacier; flowering in June; not a common species in the region.

[Sidenote: =Viola sempervirens= Greene. _Low Yellow Violet._]

Sparingly hairy, stems weak and decumbent, multiplying by long slender rootstocks. Leaves mostly basal, rounded, cordate, reniform or sometimes ovate ½—1½ inches broad, finely crenate; peduncles mostly exceeding the leaves. Flowers yellow; petals oblong, ⅓ of an inch or more long, sparingly veined with brown toward the base; spur short and sac-like.

In open woods throughout the region at elevations ranging from 5000 to 7000 feet, blossoming very early in May or June shortly after the melting of the snow.

[Sidenote: =Viola glabella= Nutt. _Tall Yellow Violet._]

Minutely hairy or smooth, stems fleshy from a short fleshy horizontal rhizome, naked or sparingly leafy below, 5—12 inches high. Basal leaves on long petioles, the upper short-petioled reniform-cordate to cordate, acute, crenate-toothed, 1—4 inches broad. Flowers bright yellow on peduncles mainly shorter than the leaves; petals broadly oblong, ⅓—½ an inch or more long, the lateral and lower with brown lines at the base.

A striking plant on shaded banks and borders of streams and rills at the higher altitudes, very abundant in the Selkirks; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Viola canadensis= L. _Canada Violet._]

Smooth or nearly so; stems 3—14 inches high, tufted, leafy throughout. Leaves broadly ovate or nearly orbicular, cordate, acuminate or acute, 1—2½ inches long, serrate, the veins on the lower surface often hairy. Flowers on peduncles mainly shorter than the leaves, pale violet or nearly white, veined with purple, and often tinged with purple on the outside, ½—¾ of an inch broad; petals nearly in the same plane.

In rich moist woods throughout the Rockies and occasionally in the open alpine meadows, continuing in flower from June until September.

[Sidenote: =Viola adunca longipes= (Nutt.) Rydb. _Dog Violet._]

Slightly hairy or nearly smooth, branching from the base, usually 3—11 inches high, at length sending out runners that bear cleistogamic flowers. Leaves ovate, more or less cordate at the base, ½—1½ inches long, obscurely crenate. Flowers on peduncles usually longer than the leaves, violet-purple to white; petals ½ an inch or more long; spur ¼ of an inch long, rather slender and curved.

A low-stemmed violet usually with brilliant blue flowers, growing in dry, sandy, shaded or open ground at varying elevations throughout the Rockies: flowering in June and July.

ELÆAGNACEÆ

_Oleaster Family_

Shrubs or trees mostly silvery-scaly or stellate-pubescent with entire leaves and flowers clustered in the axils or at the nodes of twigs of the preceding season; fruit drupe-like.

Stamens as many as the perianth parts; flowers perfect
or polygamous: leaves alternate. =Elæagnus.=
Stamens twice as many as the perianth parts; flowers
diœcious; leaves opposite. =Lepargyræa.=

[Sidenote: =Elæagnus argentea= Pursh. _Silver-Berry._]

A stoloniferous much branched shrub sometimes 12 feet high, the young twigs covered with brown scurf, becoming silvery. Leaves oblong-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, densely silvery-scurfy on both sides, acute or obtuse short petioled, 1—4 inches long. Flowers usually numerous in the axils of the leaves, fragrant, silvery, ½ an inch or more long; perianth silvery without, yellowish within, the lobes ovate and short.

On the eastern slope of the Rockies, on the banks of the rivers and streams, very abundant at Banff on the Bow and Spray rivers; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Lepargyræa canadensis= (L.) Greene. _Canadian Buffalo-Berry._]

A shrub 4—8 feet high, with brown-scurfy young shoots. Leaves with short petioles, ovate or oval, obtuse at the apex, rounded or some of them narrowed at the base, 1—1½ inches long, green and sparingly scurfy, stellate above, densely silvery, stellate, scurfy beneath, some of the scurf usually brown. Flowers small, yellowish, in short spikes at the nodes of the twigs, expanding with or before the leaves; fruit showy ¼ of an inch in diameter, translucent, varying in colour on different plants from orange to brilliant crimson.

Thickets and wooded banks throughout the Rockies; flowering in May or early June.

ONAGRACEÆ

_Evening Primrose Family_

Herbs, with alternate or opposite leaves and perfect flowers; calyx tube adnate to the ovary, 2—6 lobed; petals white, yellow, pink, or purple, folded on each other in the bud; stamens usually as many or twice as many as the petals.

Parts of the flower in 4’s; seeds with tufts of hair on the ends.
Calyx tube not prolonged beyond the ovary; flowers large.
=Chamænerion.=
Calyx tube prolonged beyond the ovary; flowers usually small.
=Epilobium.=
Parts of the flowers in 2’s; fruit with hooked hairs. =Circæa.=

[Sidenote: =Chamænerion angustifolium= (L.) Scop. _Great Willow-herb, Fire-weed._]

Erect, stout, simple or branched, usually smooth, 2—8 feet high. Leaves numerous, alternate, very short petioled, lanceolate, entire or denticulate, 2—6 inches long, ¼—1 inch wide, pale beneath, thin, acute at the apex, the lateral veins confluent in marginal loops. Flowers ¾—1½ inches broad, reddish-purple, in elongated terminal spike-like racemes, 1—2 feet or more long.

An abundant plant throughout the entire region on open mountain sides and banks, especially where visited by fire, flowering throughout the summer, the air being filled with the white cottony seeds a few weeks after flowering commences.

[Sidenote: =Chamænerion latifolium= (L.) _Sweet Broad-leaved Willow-herb._]

Erect, usually branching, very smooth below, 6—18 inches high. Leaves mostly sessile, 1—2 inches long, ¼—½ an inch wide, denticulate or entire, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acutish at both ends, thick, those of the branches opposite, the veins inconspicuous. Flowers reddish-purple, 1—2 inches broad, mainly in short leafy-bracted racemes; petals entire; stigma 4-lobed.

On gravelly river bars and moist clayey banks throughout the entire region; flowering during July.

_b_ Chamænerion latifolium (L.) Sweet. Broad-Leaved Willow-herb.]

[Sidenote: =Epilobium luteum= Pursh. _Yellow Willow-herb._]

Stems rather stout, 1—2 feet high, usually simple, nearly smooth. Leaves 1—3 inches long, ovate or elliptical to broadly lanceolate, acute or acuminate, sinuate-toothed, sessile, or when large, obliquely tapering to a winged petiole, slightly fleshy. Inflorescence with more or less glandular pubescence; flowers about ¾ of an inch long, not opening widely, pale yellow, rather few, at first nodding in the axils of the upper leaves; style usually exserted and deeply 4-parted.

A rather rare plant in springy places and along alpine brooks, confined to the Selkirks: flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Epilobium alpinum= L. _Alpine Willow-herb._]

Slender, smooth or nearly so, 3—12 inches high. Leaves pale, petioled, opposite or the upper alternate, obtuse or obtusish at the apex, ½—¾ of an inch long. Flowers, few, white, nearly erect, ¼ of an inch or more broad; stigma nearly entire; capsules slender stalked, 1—2 inches long, seeds beaked.

In damp and springy places at the higher altitudes throughout the region; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Epilobium anagallidifolium= Lam. _Nodding Willow-herb._]

Low, usually tufted, 2—6 inches high, slender, smooth or nearly so; stems commonly hairy in lines and nodding at the apex. Leaves oblong or narrowly ovate, entire or nearly so, obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base into a short petiole ½—1 inch long. Flowers few, axillary, clustered at the apex, pink-purple, nodding, about ¼ of an inch broad; stigma entire.

On damp stones and along alpine brooks at high elevations throughout the region; flowering during midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Epilobium Hornemanni= Reichb. _Hornemann’s Willow-herb._]

Erect, 6—12 inches high, simple or nearly so, slightly hairy above, otherwise smooth. Leaves short-petioled, ovate or elliptic, mostly, broadly obtuse at the apex, narrow or rounded at the base, entire or rather remotely denticulate, thin, ½—1¼ inches long. Flowers few in the upper axils, pink-purple or violet, ¼ of an inch or more broad; stigma entire.

A frequent and very variable species throughout the region at the higher elevations, along alpine brooks or in damp, partly shaded or springy spots; flowering during June and July.

[Sidenote: =Circæa alpina= L. _Smaller Enchanter’s Nightshade._]

Mostly smooth or slightly hairy above, 3—8 inches high. Leaves acute or acuminate at the apex, more or less cordate at the base, coarsely dentate, 1—2 inches long. Flowers about ⅛ of an inch broad, white, on pedicels nearly ¼ of an inch long, subtended by minute, slender bracts, in a slender raceme; fruit nearly obovoid, about ⅛ of an inch long, covered with weak hooked hairs.

In moist shaded situations and beside alpine brooks, through the Selkirks; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Circæa pacifica=. Achers and Magnus. _Western Enchanter’s Nightshade._]

Mostly smooth, stems usually simple, 6—12 inches high, from a small tuber. Leaves ovate, rounded or cordate at the base, acute or acuminate, repandly dentate, 1—3 inches long, the slender petiole about the same length. Flowers white, very small in slender racemes, without bracts; fruit about ⅛ of an inch long loosely covered with soft curved hairs.

Growing oftentimes with the other species in moist shaded situations through the Selkirks; flowering in July.

ARALIACEÆ

_Ginseng Family_

Herbs, shrubs or trees with alternate or verticillate leaves, and flowers in umbels, heads or panicles; calyx tube adnate to the ovary; petals usually 5, sometimes cohering together; stamens as many as the petals and alternate with them; seeds flattened, somewhat 3-angled with a coloured, fleshy covering.

Herbs; leaves compound. =Aralia.=
Shrubs; leaves simple. =Echinopanax.=

[Sidenote: =Aralia nudicaulis= L. _Wild Sarsaparilla._]

Acaulescent or nearly so, rootstock long. Leaf usually solitary, arising with the peduncle from a very short stem; petiole erect, 6—12 inches long, primary divisions of the leaf slender, stalked, pinnately 3—5 foliate; leaflets sessile or short-stalked, oval or ovate, acuminate, rounded at the base, finely serrate, 2—5 inches long, often hairy on the veins beneath. Flowers on a peduncle usually shorter than the leaves; umbels usually three, nearly round, composed of numerous small greenish flowers.

In rich woods throughout the region, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Echinopanax horridum= (Smith) Dec. and Planch. _Devil’s Club._]

Very prickly throughout; stems erect from a decumbent base 4—12 feet high, leafy at the top. Leaves roundish, cordate, prickly on both sides, palmately lobed, more or less hairy beneath, 6—24 inches long. Flowers greenish-white in a dense terminal paniculate umbel; petals 5; stamens 5, alternate with the petals; fruit berry-like, laterally compressed, bright scarlet when ripe.

An ornamental though very prickly shrub, in moist rich woods throughout the region, sparingly in the Rockies, west of the divide, but very abundant in the Selkirks where it frequently forms dense impenetrable thickets, flowering in early summer.

APIACEÆ

_Celery Family_

Herbs with alternate, compound or simple leaves; flowers small, white, yellow or purple in compound flat heads; fruit dry, usually of two flattened carpels.

Stems 1—2 feet high.
Leaves pinnately or ternately compound, cut into fine divisions.
Flowers yellow or white; not purple. =Lomatium.=
Flowers purple. =Leptotænia.=
Leaves simple or 3-lobed; flowers yellow. =Zizia.=
Stems 2—3 feet high; leaves ternate. =Ligusticum.=
Stems 4—8 feet high, soft-hairy.
Leaves ternately divided; flowers white. =Heracleum.=

[Sidenote: =Lomatium macrocarpum= (Nutt.) C. and R. _Large-seeded Parsley._]

Nearly stemless, 4—24 inches high, more or less hairy, much branched at the base from an elongated thick root. Leaves pinnately compound, segments pinnately-incised, on rather short petioles, purplish at the base; flowers white or pinkish in a somewhat equally 3—10-rayed umbel; rays 1—4 inches long.

In dry stony ground throughout the Rockies, very abundant on the lower ridges in the vicinity of Banff; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Lomatum triternatum= (Pursh). C. and R. _Narrow-leaved Parsley._]

Purplish at the base, with or without stems, 1—2 feet high, slightly hairy. Leaves twice or thrice ternate, the leaflets narrowly linear, 2—4 inches long. Flowers small, deep yellow in an unequal umbel of 5—18 rays, with slender bracts.

Through the Rockies on dry ridges and grassy slopes; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Leptotænia multifida= Nutt. _Cut-leaved Parsley._]

Stems 1—3 feet high, very leafy at the base, from a large fleshy rootstock. Leaves ternate or thrice pinnate, segments very finely cut. Flowers small, brownish-purple in nearly equal 8—20 rayed, rounded umbels, 3—4 inches in diameter, usually without an involucre.

A most striking plant from its beautifully dissected leaves and rather large heads of rich brownish-purple flowers blossoming in June; on grassy slopes of Stony Squaw, Banff.

[Sidenote: =Zizia cordata= (Walt.) Koch. _Heart-leaved Alexanders._]

Stout, erect, branched, and smooth or somewhat hairy, 1—2 feet high. Basal and lower leaves long-petioled, broadly ovate or orbicular, undivided, deeply cordate at the base, 1—3 inches long, crenate; stem leaves short-petioled, ternate, the segments ovate or oval, crenate or lobed. Flowers small, bright yellow, in nearly flat 7—16 rayed umbels, 1—2 inches in diameter.

Common on the eastern slopes and foothills of the Rockies; flowering in May and early June.

[Sidenote: =Ligusticum apiifolium= (Nutt.) A. Gray. _Wild Parsley._]

Smooth throughout except the slightly hairy inflorescence and rough leaf margins; stems 2—3 feet high with 1—3 rather small leaves with inflated petioles. Leaves ternately divided, the segments usually distinct, ovate, deeply cleft into linear acute, sharply serrate or entire lobes. Flowers white in nearly flat, many rayed umbels, 2—3 inches in diameter.

Abundant in wet places and along streams through the Selkirks, especially so in the Asulkan Valley at Glacier; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Heracleum lanatum= Michx. _Cow-parsnip._]

Very stout, soft-hairy, 4—8 feet high, the stems rigid, often 2 inches thick at the base. Leaves petioled, ternately divided, very hairy beneath, the segments broadly ovate or orbicular, cordate, stalked, lobed or sharply serrate, rather thin, 3—6 inches broad; petioles much inflated. Flowers white in 8—30 rayed umbels, 6—12 inches broad, the rays stout, 2—4 inches long.

Common throughout the region in wet places along streams and river banks, frequently growing in great masses; flowering in June and July.

CORNACEÆ

_Dogwood Family_

Shrubs or trees with simple, opposite, verticillate or alternate leaves, usually entire; flowers in cymes, heads, or rarely solitary; sepals and petals 4 or 5, stamens as many as the petals or more numerous and inserted with them; fruit a drupe.

[Sidenote: =Cornus canadensis intermedia= Farr. _Dwarf Cornel. Bunch-berry._]

Smooth, herbaceous from a nearly horizontal rootstock, woody only at the base; flowering stems, erect, scaly, 5—7 inches high. Leaves verticillate at the summit of the stem or sometimes 1 or 2 pairs of opposite ones below, sessile, oval, ovate or obovate, smooth or minutely appressed, pubescent, acute at each end or sometimes rounded at the base, entire, 1—3 inches long. Flowers small, capitate, purple, surrounded by a white involucre of 4—6 petaloid-ovate bracts, ⅓—¾ of an inch long; stamens alternate with the petals; styles exserted, deep purple; fruit globose, ⅓ of an inch in diameter in a close head; bright red.

Common throughout the region in moist woods flowering in early summer.

[Sidenote: =Cornus stolonifera= Michx. _Red-stemmed Dogwood._]

Shrub 3—16 feet high, usually stoloniferous, the twigs smooth and bright reddish-purple or the youngest finely hairy. Leaves slender-petioled, ovate, ovate-lanceolate or oval, acute or short acuminate, rounded or narrowed at the base, finely close-hairy above, white or whitish and sparingly hairy beneath or sometimes smooth on both surfaces, 1—5 inches long. Flowers in flat-topped cymes, 1—2 inches broad, petals white, less than ¼ of an inch long; berries white or whitish.

In moist places and along streams and river banks throughout the region; an attractive shrub, sometimes forming thickets of considerable size, the red stems contrasting beautifully with the dark green leaves; flowering in June.

PYROLACEÆ

_Wintergreen Family_

Low, mostly evergreen perennials with branched rootstocks and petioled leaves; flowers nearly regular, white or pink; calyx 4—5-lobed; corolla deeply 4—5-parted or of 5 petals; stamens twice as many as the divisions of the corolla, anthers opening by pores or short slits; stigma 5-lobed.

Flowers racemose; leaves basal. =Pyrola.=
Flowers solitary or corymbose; leaves opposite or whorled.
Stem leafy at base; flower solitary; style long. =Moneses.=
Stem horizontal; branches erect, leafy; style short. =Chimaphila.=

[Sidenote: =Pyrola chlorantha= Sw. _Greenish-flowered Wintergreen._]

Stems 4—10 inches high, 3—10 flowered. Leaves all basal, small, orbicular or broadly oval, mostly obtuse at both ends, sometimes narrowed at the base, thick, leathery, dull, obscurely crenulate or entire, ½—1 inch long, shorter than or equalling the petioles. Flowers greenish-white, nodding, slightly odorous, about half an inch broad; stamens and style declined, ascending; anther sacs short-beaked.

On dry wooded slopes throughout the Rockies; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Pyrola uliginosa= Torr. _Bog Wintergreen._]

Scape 6—12 inches high, 7—15-flowered. Leaves broadly oval or orbicular, dull, rather thick, obscurely crenulate, obtuse at both ends. Flowers frequently over half an inch broad; calyx lobes oblong or ovate-lanceolate, ¼—⅓ the length of the petals; style and stamens declined; anther sacs beaked.

In bogs throughout the Rockies, a very pretty species with bright rosy flowers and rounded leaves; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Pyrola asarifolia= Michx. _Liver-leaf Wintergreen._]

Stem 6—15 inches high, 7—15-flowered. Leaves reniform, usually wider than long, thick, shining above, obtuse at the apex, cordate at the base, crenulate, 1—1½ inches long, usually shorter than the narrowly margined petioles. Flowers ½—¾ of an inch broad, pink, nodding in a slender raceme 2—4 inches long; stamens and style declined, ascending; style exserted.

In damp ground, in woods and swamps throughout the Rockies; flowering in July.

_b_ Pyrola uliginosa Torr.

_c_ Moneses uniflora (L.) A. Gray. One-Flowered Wintergreen. (⅔ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Pyrola minor= L. _Lesser Wintergreen._]

Leaf blades thin, broadly oval or nearly orbicular, dark green, crenulate, obtuse but sometimes with a spine-tipped apex, rounded, slightly narrowed or subcordate at the base ½—1 inch long. Flowers pinkish, ¼ inch broad, nodding, in a close raceme; style straight included, stamens not inclined.

In damp mossy places throughout the region at the higher altitudes; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Pyrola secunda= L. _One-sided Wintergreen._]

Stems generally several together, from the much branched rootstock, slender, 4—10 inches high. Leaves ovate or often oval, thin, acute or rarely obtuse at the apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, crenulate-serrate, ¾—2 inches long, longer than the petioles. Flowers greenish-white, ¼ of an inch or more broad, many, at first erect but soon drooping, in a dense one-sided raceme; style straight, exserted; stamens not declined.

Common in woods throughout the region at the lower altitudes; flowering during early July.

[Sidenote: =Moneses uniflora= (L.) A. Gray. _One-flowered Wintergreen._]

Stem bearing 1—3 pairs or whorls of leaves at the base, continued above into a bracted or naked scape 2—6 inches high. Leaves orbicular or ovate, obtuse at the apex, narrowed, rounded or sometimes subcordate at the base, rather thin, ¼—1 inch long, longer than or equalling the petioles. Flowers white, ½—¾ of an inch broad, nodding at the summit of the stem; petals spreading; capsule ¼ of an inch in diameter, about as long as the persistent style and lobed stigma; the stamens in pairs opposite each petal.

In mossy spots in the woods throughout the region; flowering in early July.

[Sidenote: =Chimaphila umbellata= (L.) Nutt. _Pipsissewa, Prince’s Pine._]

Stems extensively creeping, sending up both sterile and flowering branches 3—12 inches high. Leaves numerous, crowded near the summit of the stem, spatulate or cuneate-oblanceolate, obtuse or acutish at the apex, sharply serrate, bright green and shining, 1—2½ inches long, ¼—1 inch wide above the middle. Flowers several in an umbellate head, waxy white or pink, the form of the region being usually bright, rosy pink, ½ an inch or more broad, petals spreading with the rosy pink anthers opposite them in pairs; capsule about ¼ of an inch broad surmounted by the short style.

Locally abundant throughout the region; flowering during July.

ERICACEÆ

_Heath Family_

In our species, shrubs with simple leaves and perfect flowers; calyx free from the ovary 4—5-parted, mostly persistent; corolla regular, 4—5-toothed, -lobed or -parted; stamens usually as many or twice as many as the corolla lobes; anthers 2-celled, attached to the filaments by the back or base, the sacs, often prolonged upwardly into tubes; ovary 2—5-celled; fruit a capsule, berry or drupe.

Fruit a berry or drupe.
Calyx becoming large and fleshy. =Gaultheria.=
Calyx small.
Leaves thick and leathery; drupe reddish-brown.
=Arctostaphylos.=
Leaves membranous, veiny; drupe scarlet. =Mairania.=
Fruit a dry capsule.
Anther cells each with a recurved tip. =Cassiope.=
Anther cells not appendaged.
Corolla with united petals.
Bracts firm, persistent; no scaly leaf-buds.
Leaves heath-like; corolla without pouches.
=Phyllodoce.=
Leaves lanceolate; corolla with pouches. =Kalmia.=
Bracts thin, deciduous; leaf-buds scaly.
Corolla funnel-form, 5-lobed. =Azaleastrum.=
Corolla globose, 4-toothed. =Menziesia.=
Corolla with distinct petals.
Flowers white, umbelled; leaves evergreen. =Ledum.=

_b_ Gaultheria ovatifolia A. Gray. Ovate-Leaved Wintergreen.

_c_ Vitis-idæa vitis-idæa (L.) Britton. Mountain Cranberry. (¾ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Gaultheria ovatifolia= A. Gray. _Ovate-leaved Wintergreen._]

Depressed, trailing, with ascending branches with rusty hairs. Leaves broadly ovate, ½—1 inch long, serrulate, dark green and shining above, lighter beneath. Flowers pink or nearly white, campanulate, less than ¼ of an inch long, on short solitary pedicels in the axils of the leaves; fruit bright scarlet, ⅓ of an inch in diameter.

A rather rare plant in the region but abundant in places on the slopes of Avalanche Mountain at Glacier.

[Sidenote: =Gaultheria humifusa= (Graham) Rydb. _Low Wintergreen._]

Tufted, creeping or depressed, smooth, the flowering branches 1—5 inches long. Leaves oval or rounded, mostly only ½ an inch long; pedicels solitary in the axils, very short, 3—5 bracteolate. Flowers depressed-campanulate, white or pinkish, little surpassing the calyx; fruit scarlet, ⅓ of an inch in diameter.

Common in alpine meadows throughout the Rockies and Selkirks; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi= (L.) _Spreng. Bear-berry._]

Trailing or spreading on the ground; branches 6—24 inches long, the twigs soft-hairy. Leaves leathery, evergreen, spatulate, obtuse, entire, smooth or minutely hairy toward the base, ½—1 inch long, ⅓ as wide, short-petioled. Flowers ¼ of an inch or less long, ovoid, constricted at the throat, rosy pink or white, few, in short racemes at the ends of the branches.

In dry sandy or stony soil throughout the Rockies at the lower elevations; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Mairania alpina= (L.) Desv. _Alpine Bear-berry._]

Tufted or depressed-prostrate, branches 2—5 inches high, the twigs smooth or nearly so. Leaves thin, obovate, crenulate, conspicuously reticulate-veined, ½—1 inch long, ⅓ as wide. Flowers few, appearing before or with the leaves from scaly buds; corolla ¼ of an inch long, white, ovoid, constricted at the throat; berry bright scarlet.

Growing in moss on the wooded slopes throughout the Rockies, flowering in May and early June.

[Sidenote: =Cassiope Mertensiana= (Bong.) Don. _White Heath._]

Rather stout with rigid, ascending, woody, much branched stems, a foot or less high. Leaves ½ an inch long, smooth, not furrowed on the back, closely crowded in 4-ranks. Flowers pure white, nodding, campanulate, ¼ of an inch long with 5 deeply cut obtuse spreading lobes, on smooth peduncles half an inch or less long, near the tips of the apparently 4-sided stems; calyx smooth, usually red, making the bell-like flowers appear red and white.

Throughout the region at the higher elevations, frequently carpeting the ground; flowering in late June and early July.

[Sidenote: =Phyllodoce glanduliflora= (Hook.) Coville. _White False-heather._]

Stems rather rigid, much branched, 3—12 inches high. Leaves numerous and crowded but spreading, linear, oblong, obtuse, ¼—½ an inch long, thick, leathery with a white line through the centre below and deeply furrowed above, the margins thick and rough. Flowers ovoid, glandular throughout, less than ¼ of an inch long, much contracted at the throat, short-lobed, on glandular pedicels ½—1 inch long at the ends of the branches.

In alpine meadows and woods at the higher elevations throughout the region; flowering during June and early July, often in clumps of considerable size.

[Sidenote: =Phyllodoce intermedia= (Hook.) Rydb. _Pink False-heather._]

Much branched, from a more or less decumbent base, 6—12 inches high. Leaves linear, ¼—½ an inch long, obtuse, leathery, with thickened revolute, slightly glandular-toothed margins. Flowers pale pink, ¼ of an inch long, urn-shaped, slightly contracted at the throat, with 5 spreading lobes; at the ends of the branches on glandular pedicels ½—1 inch long; calyx slightly glandular; corolla smooth; slightly fragrant.

Throughout the region growing in the same situations as the other heathers, and often associated with them, perhaps a hybrid; flowering in late June and through July.

_b_ Phyllodoce glanduliflora (Hook.) Rydb. White False-Heather.

_c_ Cassiope Mertensiana (Bong.) Don.

(¾ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Phyllodoce empetriformis= (Smith) D. Don. _Red False-heather._]

Much branched from the base, 6—12 inches high. Leaves linear, obtuse, ¼—½ an inch long, with strongly revolute, thick rough margins. Flowers ¼ of an inch long, bright rose-colour, campanulate, with broad, spreading obtuse lobes, very fragrant, on slender, slightly glandular pedicels ½—1 inch long at the ends of the stems; calyx and corolla smooth.

Abundant throughout the region at the higher elevations, in the same situations as the two previous species and flowering with them during late June and early July.

[Sidenote: =Kalmia microphylla= (Hook.) Heller. _Small-leaved Swamp Laurel._]

A smooth shrub, 2—6 inches high with erect or ascending branches, the twigs 2-edged. Leaves opposite, short petioled, less than ½ an inch long, oblong or ovate, obtuse, narrowed at the base, the margins revolute. Flowers on slender pedicels 1—1½ inches long, few in simple umbels terminating the branches; corolla saucer-shaped, bright rosy pink about ½ an inch in diameter.

Frequent in mossy alpine bogs and meadows throughout the region at the higher altitudes; flowering during June and early July.

[Sidenote: =Azaleastrum albiflorum= (Hook.) Rydb. _White Rhododendron._]

A shrub with stems 2—6 feet high, with slender hairy branches more or less glandular when young, nearly smooth with age. Leaves, thin, light green and shining above, paler beneath, oblong, 1—2 inches long, with slightly wavy margins. Flowers white, nearly an inch broad, open, with 5-spreading lobes; on short nodding stems in numerous clusters of 1—3 near the ends of the branches, on wood of the previous year; sepals nearly ½ an inch long and leaf-like, filaments bearded at the base; stigma peltate, 5-lobed.

On the wooded hillsides at the higher elevations through the Rockies, but much lower in the Selkirks; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Menziesia ferruginea= Smith. _Smooth Menziesia._]

A shrub 2—6 feet high, twigs more or less chaffy. Leaves obovate, obtuse and glandular-tipped at the apex, pale, glaucous and smooth or very nearly so beneath, sparingly hairy above, ¾—1½ inches long, the margins ciliolate. Flowers 1—5 on glandular pedicels ½—1 inch long in spreading umbels, becoming erect, corolla ¼ of an inch long, cream and pink or salmon, urn-shaped, with 4 spreading teeth; stamens 8, included, with hairy filaments.

Throughout the region in moist woods and slopes; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Ledum Grœnlandicum Œder.= _Labrador Tea._]

A shrub 1—4 feet high, with twigs densely rusty woolly. Leaves oblong, obtuse, 1—2 inches long, ¼—½ an inch wide, green and deeply veined above, densely brown woolly beneath, the margins strongly revolute. Flowers numerous, white, nearly ½ an inch broad in close umbels or corymbs; petals 5, narrow, spreading.

Abundant throughout the region at the lower altitudes in bogs and swamps; flowering during June.

VACCINIACEÆ

_Huckleberry Family_

Shrubs or small trees with alternate leaves and small perfect flowers; calyx tube adnate to the ovary, 4—5-lobed or cleft; corolla 4—5-lobed, rarely divided into single petals, deciduous; stamens twice as many as the corolla lobes, inserted at the base; filaments mostly short; anthers attached on the back 2-celled; fruit a globose berry or drupe.

Swamp-Laurel.]

Erect deciduous shrubs; corolla cylindric or urn-shaped,
white, pink or greenish. =Vaccinium.=
Low evergreen shrub; corolla open-campanulate, pink;
berry red. =Vitis-Idæa.=
Trailing or creeping evergreen shrubs.
Corolla short-campanulate, white; berry white. =Chiogenes.=
Corolla with spreading curved petals, pink; berry red.
=Oxycoccus.=

[Sidenote: =Vaccinium cæspitosum= Michx. _Dwarf Bilberry._]

A shrub 3—7 inches high, much branched and nearly smooth throughout. Leaves obovate or oblong, cuneate, obtuse or acute, green and shining on both sides, nearly sessile, serrulate, with close bluntish teeth. Flowers white or pink, small bell-shaped, ⅛ of an inch long, mostly solitary in the axils and longer than their drooping pedicels; berry ¼ of an inch or more in diameter, blue with a bloom.

On slopes and in alpine meadows throughout the Rockies at the higher altitudes; flowers appearing with the leaves in early June.

[Sidenote: =Vaccinium erythrococcum= Rydb. _Alpine Bilberry._]

Stems erect with numerous slender, strict, green branches and branchlets, 3—18 inches high. Leaves ovate or oval, ½ an inch long or less, bright green. Flowers ovate, ⅛ of an inch long, white or pink, 5-lobed, solitary in the axils of the leaves; berries small, bright red.

On slopes and in alpine meadows throughout the Rockies at the higher altitudes; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Vaccinium ovalifolium= Smith. _Blueberry._]

A straggling branched shrub, 3—12 feet high, the branches slender, twigs smooth, joints sharply angled. Leaves oval, short-petioled, smooth on both sides, green above, pale and glaucous beneath, rounded at both ends or somewhat narrowed at the base, thin, sometimes spine tipped, entire or nearly so, 1—2 inches long. Flowers commonly solitary in the axils on rather recurved pedicels; corolla pink or white, ovoid, ¼ of an inch or more long; berries blue with a bloom ½ an inch in diameter.

In the beds of snow slides, occasionally in the Rockies, and abundant through the Selkirks, where it is also found in the woods; flowering in May.

Vaccinium globulare Rydb. Thin-Leaved Bilberry.]

[Sidenote: =Vaccinium globulare= Rydb. _Thin-leaved Bilberry._]

A branching shrub 1—3 feet high, nearly smooth throughout, stems round, only the youngest twigs slightly angled, bark grey and somewhat shreddy. Leaves broadly oval or obovate, obtuse to acute, somewhat pale beneath, veiny, sharply and finely serrate, ½—1½ inches long. Flowers on pedicels ½ an inch long; calyx teeth almost obsolete; corolla depressed globose, frequently more than ¼ of an inch in diameter, greenish-white; berry dark purple, ¼ of an inch in diameter.

In beds of snow slides and in woods in the valleys of the Selkirks; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Vitis-idæa Vitis-idæa= (L.) Britton. _Mountain Cranberry._]

A low evergreen shrub with creeping stems, the branches erect, 3—8 inches high, nearly smooth. Leaves thick and leathery, crowded, green and shining above, paler and black-dotted beneath, ovate or oval, short-petioled and entire or sparingly serrulate ¼—¾ of an inch long, the margins revolute. Flowers in short terminal 1-sided racemes or clusters, nodding, longer than their pedicels; corolla white or pink nearly ⅛ of an inch long, open-campanulate, 4-lobed; berries dark red, acid, nearly ½ an inch in diameter.

In bogs and moist mossy places throughout the Rockies; flowering during June.

[Sidenote: =Chiogenes hispidula= (L.) T and G. _Creeping Snowberry._]

Creeping, branches rough-hairy, slender, 3—12 inches long. Leaves leathery, persistent, oval, ovate or slightly obovate, acute at the apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, dark green and smooth above, sprinkled with stiff, brown hairs beneath and on the revolute, entire margins; ¼ to nearly ½ an inch long. Flowers white, ovoid, about ⅛ of an inch long, few, solitary in the axils, nodding, on the lower side of the creeping stems; berry about ¼ of an inch in diameter, white, bristly, aromatic.

Throughout the Rockies at the lower elevations, growing in moss and on damp, decaying logs; flowering in May.

[Sidenote: =Oxycoccus Oxycoccus= (L.) MacM. _Small Cranberry._]

Stems slender, creeping and rooting at the nodes, 6—18 inches long; branches ascending or erect 1—6 inches high. Leaves thick, evergreen, ovate, entire, acutish at the apex, rounded or cordate at the base, dark green above, white beneath, ⅛ of an inch or less long, ½ as wide, the margins revolute. Flowers 1—6, from terminal scaly buds, nodding on slender erect pedicels; corolla pink, ⅓ of an inch broad, the petals curled backwards; stamens and style protruding; berry globose, ¼ of an inch or more in diameter, acid, often spotted when young.

In sphagnum bogs throughout the Rockies, though not common; flowering during July.

PRIMULACEÆ

_Primrose Family_

Herbs with perfect regular flowers; calyx free from the ovary, usually 5-parted; corolla 5-cleft; stamens as many as the corolla lobes and opposite to them; flowers purple, yellow or white.

Lobes of the corolla erect or spreading.
Leaves in a rosette at the base of the scape.
Corolla tube longer than the calyx; flowers pink. =Primula.=
Corolla tube shorter than the calyx; flowers white or yellow.
=Androsace.=
Leaves whorled at the top of the stem; flowers white.
=Trientalis.=
Lobes of the corolla reflexed. =Dodecatheon.=

[Sidenote: =Primula americana= Rydb. _Bird’s-eye Primrose._]

Leaves spatulate or oblong, obtuse at the apex, narrowed or somewhat wedge-shaped at the base, tapering into petioles, green, usually white-mealy beneath, at least when young; 1—4 inches long, the margins crenulate-dentate. Flowers umbellate 3—20, on scapes 4—18 inches high; corolla pink or lilac, usually with a yellowish eye, the tube slightly longer than the calyx, the lobes wedge-shaped, notched at the apex, ¼ of an inch or more long.

In swamps and wet meadows in the lower valleys of the eastern slopes of the Rockies not penetrating far into the mountains; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Primula Maccalliana= Wiegand. _Maccalla’s Primrose._]

Similar to the preceding species but much smaller. Leaves spatulate or obovate, mostly quite broad; pale green above, more or less mealy beneath, denticulate or repand, obtuse at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the base, petioled or sessile, ½—1½ inches long, forming a rosette at the base of the scape. Flowers ⅜ of an inch broad or less, umbellate, on a peduncle 1—6 inches high; pale pink or bluish with a conspicuous orange eye; the lobes obcordate; corolla tube yellow, slightly longer than the calyx.

The commonest primrose of the region on wet banks and moist, sandy or gravelly places at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering in June, also occurs sparingly in the Selkirks.

[Sidenote: =Androsace carinata= Torr. _Sweet Flowered Androsace._]

Proliferously branched at the base and cæspitose. Leaves folded over each other, forming rosettes at the bases of the many-flowered scapes; from lanceolate to oblong-spatulate or ovate, keeled, 1-nerved, ¼—½ an inch long, acute, fringed with hairs on the margins. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more broad, cream-coloured with a brilliant yellow eye; 4—10 in a close umbel, on slender hairy scapes 1—3 inches high; flowers delicately fragrant.

Throughout the Rockies in open situations either dry or moist, and at low or high altitudes; flowering from early June to midsummer according to the altitude.

[Sidenote: =Androsace septentrionalis= L. _Alpine Androsace._]