Alpine flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Transcriber’s Notes:

Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Equal signs “=” before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold= in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected. The scale factor for the illustrations has been included in file, however this will be meaningless in an ebook since we have no control over how big the displayed image will be.

[Illustration: Mimulus Lewisii Pursh. (⅔ Nat.) Red Monkey-Flower.]

Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

By Stewardson Brown

Curator of Herbarium Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia

Illustrated with Water-Colour Drawings and Photographs By Mrs. Charles Schäffer

G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press 1907

Copyright, 1907 By G. P. Putnam’S Sons

OFFERED TO THE LOVERS OF ALPINE FLORÆ IN THE MEMORY OF DR. CHARLES SCHÄFFER OF PHILADELPHIA, WHO WAS AMONG THE PIONEER BOTANISTS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, AND WHO EARLY RECOGNISED THIS REGION AS A NEW AND INTERESTING FIELD FOR STUDY

Preface

The present volume, though prepared in manual form, is meant only as a guide to the rich and interesting flora of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks or those portions traversed by the Canadian Pacific Railway between Banff and Glacier. While many of the plants herein described are found throughout the entire region, yet the species characteristic of the two mountain ranges are vastly different. For the most part those of the Rockies might be characterised as plants adapted to the withstanding of severe conditions of drouth and cold, being mostly low and tufted, with small surfaces of leaf exposure, either thick and leathery or in many instances with an ample covering of protecting hairs; while those of the Selkirks, owing to the more humid atmospheric conditions, are essentially moisture-loving forms, with a luxuriant growth of stems and leaves; it is only where the conditions are similar in the two regions that we find the same or similar forms existing. Few of the more characteristic Rocky Mountain species extend west of the divide, while of those of the Selkirks, few extend east of it, except where there is a luxuriant forest growth, with the consequent retention of moisture, and then only at altitudes of from 2000 to 3000 feet greater.

Contrasting the plants of this region with those of the European Alps it is interesting to note, that while the species are for the most part vastly different, yet there is a certain close resemblance in the families and genera which are represented; the Anemones are here, but not in the scarlets and crimsons, running more to whites and purples, and so are the Buttercups, dwarf many of them, but with large, showy flowers; the Saxifrages and Drabas are innumerable as are the Vetches and also the Heaths, but the latter with fewer and very different species. Some plants, however, like the White Mountain Avens (_Dryas octopetala_), the Butterwort (_Pinguicula vulgaris_), the Moss Campion (_Silene acaulis_), the Mountain Cranberry (_Vitis-idæa_) and the Low Cranberry (_Oxycoccus_), the One-flowered Wintergreen (_Moneses uniflora_), the Forget-me-not (_Myosotis alpestris_) and others are found on both sides of the Atlantic, yet we have no such array of Primroses or Gentians as our European brothers, though both genera are represented with us, while on the other hand they can boast of nothing comparable to our Indian Paint-Brush, found throughout the region on the river shores and bars during late June and early July and later through the summer in its innumerable forms and colours in the moist alpine meadows and slopes.

The ferns and their allies with the more striking of the trees and shrubs have been included in the present work, together with the majority of the herbaceous flowering plants, though some of the largely represented but less striking groups such as the Grasses, Sedges, and Willows have been entirely omitted, not seeming of sufficient general interest to warrant the space required for their intelligent treatment. The species are arranged in accordance with their scientific relationships, with keys to the genera and a general key to the families. Among the illustrations herein contained, many of the plants of the Northwest are figured for the first time.

Acknowledgment is here made to Messrs. David McNicoll, Robert Kerr, and other officials and employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company through whose courtesy was made possible the gathering of the data for the basis of this work.

S. B.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, October 28, 1907.

Contents

PAGE PREFACE v GLOSSARY xxv GENERAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES xxxiii ADDER’S-TONGUE FAMILY 1 FERN FAMILY 3 HORSETAIL FAMILY 14 CLUB-MOSS FAMILY 18 SELAGINELLA FAMILY 22 PINE FAMILY 23 YEW FAMILY 34 ARUM FAMILY 35 BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY 36 LILY FAMILY 41 LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY FAMILY 45 IRIS FAMILY 52 ORCHID FAMILY 53 WILLOW FAMILY 68 BIRCH FAMILY 70 MISTLETOE FAMILY 72 SANDALWOOD FAMILY 73 BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 75 PURSLANE FAMILY 80 PINK FAMILY 81 CROWFOOT FAMILY 90 BARBERRY FAMILY 109 POPPY FAMILY 110 MUSTARD FAMILY 111 STONE-CROP FAMILY 125 GRASS-OF-PARNASSUS FAMILY 126 SAXIFRAGE FAMILY 128 GOOSEBERRY FAMILY 146 ROSE FAMILY 150 APPLE FAMILY 165 PLUM FAMILY 167 PEA FAMILY 168 FLAX FAMILY 182 CROWBERRY FAMILY 183 STAFF-TREE FAMILY 184 MAPLE FAMILY 185 ST. JOHN’S-WORT FAMILY 186 VIOLET FAMILY 187 OLEASTER FAMILY 191 EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY 193 GINSENG FAMILY 199 CELERY FAMILY 201 DOGWOOD FAMILY 205 WINTERGREEN FAMILY 207 HEATH FAMILY 211 HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY 220 PRIMROSE FAMILY 226 GENTIAN FAMILY 231 BUCKBEAN FAMILY 236 DOGBANE FAMILY 237 WATER-LEAF FAMILY 238 BORAGE FAMILY 240 MINT FAMILY 244 FIGWORT FAMILY 248 BUTTERWORT FAMILY 262 MADDER FAMILY 263 HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY 264 VALERIAN FAMILY 271 BELLFLOWER FAMILY 273 CHICORY FAMILY 275 THISTLE FAMILY 283 INDEX 323

Illustrations

Plate Facing Page

Mimulus Lewisii Pursh. _Red Monkey-Flower_ _Frontispiece_

1 Pinus albicaulis Engelm. _White Pine_ 24 1 Pinus Murrayana Oreg. Com. _Jack Pine_ 24

2 Larix Lyallii Parl. _Lyall’s Larch_ 26 2 Thuja plicata Don. _Giant Cedar_ 26

3 Abies lasiocarpa (Hook) Nutt. _Balsam Fir_ 28 3 Pseudotsuga mucronata (Raf.) Sudw. _Douglas Fir_ 28

4 Tsuga Mertensiana (Bong.) Carr. _Mountain Hemlock_ 30 4 Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. _Hemlock_ 30

5 Picea albertiana. S. Brown. _Alberta Spruce_ 32 5 Picea albertiana. S. Brown. _Alberta Spruce_ 32

6 Zygadenus elegans Pursh. _Tall Zygadenus_ 38 6 Zygadenus gramineus Rydb. _Zygadenus_ 38

7 Stenanthella occidentalis (A. Gray). Rydb. _Stenanthium_ 40 7 Clintonia uniflora Kunth. _Clintonia_ 40

8 Tofieldia intermedia Rydb. _False Asphodel_ 42 8 Vagnera stellata (L) Morong. _Star-Flowered Solomon’s Seal_ 42

9 Erythronium grandiflorum. Pursh. _Snow Lily_ 44

10 Lilium montanum A. Nels. _Red Mountain-Lily_ 46 10 Kruhsea streptopoides (Ledeb) Kearney. _Kruhsea_ 46

11 Cypripedium passerinum Rich. _Small White Lady’s Slipper_ 54 11 Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. _Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper_ 54

12 Corallorhiza Corallorhiza (L). Karst. _Coral-Root_ 56 12 Lyschiton kamtschatcense (L.) Schott. _Western Skunk-Cabbage_ 56

13 Cytherea bulbosa (L.) House. _Calypso_ 58 13 Orchis rotundifolia Pursh. _Small Round-Leaved Orchid_ 58

14 Limnorchis dilatatiformis Rydb. _Purplish-Green Bog-Orchid_ 62 14 Peramium Menziesii (Lindl.) Morong. _Menzies’ Rattlesnake Plantain_ 62

15 Ophrys borealis (Morong). _Northern Twayblade_ 64 15 Ophrys nephrophylla Rydb. _Heart-Shaped Twayblade_ 64 15 Cœloglossum bracteatum (Willd) Parl. _Long-Bracted Orchid_ 64 15 Limnorchis fragrans Rydb. _Fragrant White Bog-Orchid_ 64 15 Lysiella obtusata (Pursh) Rydb. _Small Northern Bog-Orchid_ 64

16 Comandra pallida DC. _White Comandra_ 74 16 Eriogonum subalpinum Greene. _Tall White Eriogonum_ 74

17 Claytonia lanceolata Pursh. _Spring Beauty_ 80 17 Claytonia parvifolia Moc. _Small-Leaved Spring Beauty_ 80

18 Silene acaulis L. _Moss Campion_ 82 18 Lychnis apetala L. _Nodding Lychnis_ 82

19 Alsine borealis (Bigel.) Britton. _Northern Stitchwort_ 86 19 Mœhringia lateriflora (L.) _Blunt-Leaved Sandwort_ 86 19 Arenaria capillaris nardifolia (Ledeb.) Regel. _Rock Sandwort_ 86

20 Caltha leptosepala Hook. _Caltha leptosepala_ 104 20 Trollius albiflorus (A. Gray) Rydb. _Western Globe-Flower_ 104

21 Aquilegia brevistyla Hook. _Small Blue Columbine_ 102

22 Aquilegia flavescens S. Wats. _Yellow Columbine_ 106 22 Aquilegia formosa Fisch. _Western Columbine_ 106

23 Delphinium Brownii Rydb. _Mountain Larkspur_ 108 23 Anemone globosa Nutt. _Wind-Flower_ 108

24 Anemone Drummondii S. Wats. _Alpine Anemone_ 92 24 Anemone parviflora Michx. _Northern Anemone_ 92

25 Pulsatilla hirsutissima (Pursh) Britton _Pasque-Flower_ 94 25 Pulsatilla occidentalis (S. Wats.) Freyn. _Western Anemone_ 94

26 Atragene columbiana Nutt. _Purple Virgin’s-Bower_ 90

27 Ranunculus saxicola Rydb. _Ranunculus saxicola_ 100 27 Ranunculus alpeophilus. A Nels. _Ranunculus alpeophilus_ 100 27 Ranunculus Eschscholtzii Schl. _Snow Buttercup_ 100

28 Ranunculus eremogenes Greene. _Ditch Crowfoot_ 98 28 Ranunculus Purshii Richards. _Pursh’s Buttercup_ 98 28 Ranunculus inamœnus Greene _Ranunculus inamœnus_ 98

29 Thalictrum megacarpum Torr. _Thalictrum megacarpum_ 96 29 Thalictrum occidentale A. Gray. _Western Meadow Rue_ 96

30 Delphinium Menziesii DC. _Blue Larkspur_ 110 30 Lithophragma parviflora (Hook.) Nutt. _Lithophragma_ 110

31 Physaria didymocarpa (Hook.) A. Gray. _Bladder-Pod_ 116 31 Smelowskia calycina (Desv.) C. A. Meyer. _Smelowskia_ 116

32 Draba oligosperma Hook. _Whitlow-Grass_ 112 32 Draba andina (Nutt.) A. Nels. _Mountain Whitlow-Grass_ 112

33 Draba glacialis Adams _Whitlow-Grass_ 114 33 Draba aurea Vahl. _Golden Whitlow-Grass_ 114

34 Parnassia montanensis Rydb. & Fern. _Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus_ 126 34 Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir. _Swamp Gooseberry_ 126

35 Mitella nuda L. _Naked Bishop’s-Cap_ 132 35 Pectiantia pentandra (Hook.) Rydb. _Mitrewort_ 132

36 Saxifraga cernua L. _Nodding Saxifrage_ 136 36 Saxifraga rivularis L. _Alpine Brook Saxifrage_ 136

37 Micranthes Nelsoniana (D. Don.) Small. _Nelson’s Saxifrage_ 140 37 Micranthes Lyallii (Engler) Small. _Lyall’s Saxifrage_ 140

38 Muscaria cæspitosa (L.) Haw. _Tufted Saxifrage_ 138 38 Micranthes rhomboidea (Greene) Small. _Mountain Saxifrage_ 138

39 Spatularia Brunoniana (Bong.) Small. _Tall Saxifrage_ 142 39 Leptasea austromontana (Wiegand), Small. _Common Saxifrage_ 142

40 Tiarella unifoliata Hook. _Western Foam-Flower_ 150 40 Lutkea pectinata (Pursh) Kuntze. _Cut-Leaved Lutkea_ 150

41 Rubus pedatus Smith. _Creeping Raspberry_ 152

42 Rubus parviflorus. Nutt. _Salmon-Berry_ 156

43 Fragaria glauca (S. Wats.) Rydb. _Wild Strawberry_ 158 43 Amelanchier florida Lindl. _Service-Berry_ 158

44 Dryas octopetala L. _White Mountain Avens_ 164 44 Dryas Drummondii Rich. _Drummond’s Mountain Avens_ 164

45 Geum strictum Ait. _Yellow Avens_ 162 45 Sieversia ciliata (Pursh) Don. _Long-Plumed Purple Avens_ 162

46 Phaca americana (Hook.) Rydb. _Arctic Vetch_ 172 46 Homalobus aboriginorum (Rich) Rydb. _Indian Vetch_ 172

47 Aragallus deflexus. (Pall.) Heller. _Drooping Vetch_ 176 47 Aragallus viscidulus Rydb. _Sticky Oxytrope_ 176

48 Aragallus Lamberti (Pursh) Greene. _Loco Weed_ 180 48 Lathyrus ochroleucus Hook. _White Vetch_ 180

49 Empetrum nigrum L. _Black Crowberry_ 182 49 Linum Lewisii Pursh. _Wild Blue-Flax_ 182

50 Pachystima myrsinites (Pursh) Raf. _Mountain Lover_ 184 50 Viola adunca longipes (Nutt.) Rydb. _Dog Violet_ 184

51 Elæagnus argentea Pursh. _Silver-Berry_ 190 51 Lepargyræa canadensis (L.) Greene _Buffalo-Berry_ 190

52 Epilobium luteum Pursh. _Yellow Willow-Herb_ 194 52 Chamænerion latifolium (L.) Sweet. _Broad-Leaved Willow-Herb_194

53 Chamænerion angustifolium (L.) Scop. _Fire-Weed_ 196 53 Berberis aquifolium Pursh. _Trailing Mahonia_ 196

54 Echinopanax horridum. (Smith) Dec. & Planch. _Devil’s Club_ 200

55 Cornus canadensis intermedia Farr. _Bunch-Berry_ 204

56 Pyrola asarifolia Michx. _Liver-Leaf Wintergreen_ 208 56 Pyrola uliginosa Torr. _Bog Wintergreen_ 208 56 Moneses uniflora (L.) A. Gray. _One-Flowered Wintergreen_ 208

57 Chimaphila umbellata (L.) Nutt. _Prince’s Pine_ 210 57 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. _Bear-Berry_ 210

58 Oxycoccus oxycoccus (L.) MacM. _Small Cranberry_ 212 58 Gaultheria ovatifolia A. Gray. _Ovate-Leaved Wintergreen_ 212 58 Vitis-idæa Vitis-idæa (L.) Britton. _Mountain Cranberry_ 212

59 Cassiope Mertensiana (Bong.) Don. _White Heath_ 216 59 Phyllodoce empetriformis (Smith) Don. _Red False-Heather_ 216 59 Phyllodoce glanduliflora (Hook.) Rydb. _White False-Heather_ 216

60 Ledum grœnlandicum Œder. _Labrador Tea_ 218 60 Azaleastrum albiflorum (Hook.) Rydb. _White Mountain Rhododendron_ 218

61 Menziesia ferruginea Smith. _Smooth Menziesea_ 220 61 Kalmia microphylla (Hook.) Heller. _Dwarf Swamp-Laurel_ 220

62 Vaccinium erythrococcum Rydb. _Alpine Bilberry_ 222 62 Vaccinium globulare Rydb. _Thin-Leaved Bilberry_ 222 62 Vaccinium ovalifolium Smith. _Blueberry_ 222

63 Primula Maccalliana Wiegand. _Maccalla’s Primrose_ 228 63 Androsace carinata Torr. _Sweet Androsace_ 228

64 Trientalis arctica Fisch. _Arctic Star-Flower_ 230 64 Dodecatheon conjugens Greene. _Shooting-Star_ 230

65 Gentiana affinis Griseb. _Large Gentian_ 234 65 Romanzoffia sitchensis Bong. _Romanzoffia_ 234

66 Phacelia sericea (Graham) A. Gray. _Mountain Phacelia_ 238 66 Phacelia heterophylla Pursh _Phacelia heterophylla_ 238

67 Lappula floribunda (Lehm.) Greene. _False Forget-me-not_ 242 67 Lithospermum linearifolium Goldie. _Narrow-Leaved Puccoon_ 242

68 Collinsia parviflora Dougl. _Small-Flowered Collinsia_ 248 68 Elephantella grœnlandica (Retz.) Rydb. _Long-Beaked Elephantella_ 248

69 Pentstemon confertus Dougl. _Yellow Beard-Tongue_ 250 69 Pentstemon pseudohumilis Rydb. _Pentstemon pseudohumilis_ 250

70 Pentstemon fruticosus (Pursh) Greene. _Large Purple Beard-Tongue_ 262 70 Pinguicula vulgaris L. _Butterwort_ 262

71 Linnæa americana Forbes. _American Twin-Flower_ 266 71 Lonicera ebractulata Rydb. _Fly Honeysuckle_ 266

72 Lonicera involucrata (Rich.) Banks. _Involucred Fly Honeysuckle_ 270

73 Valeriana sitchensis Bong. _Wild Heliotrope_ 272 73 Lobelia Kalmii strictiflora Rydb. _Brook Lobelia_ 272

74 Hieracium umbellatum L. _Narrow-Leaved Hawk-weed_ 276 74 Agoseris aurantiaca (Hook.) Greene. _Agoseris aurantiaca_ 276

75 Erigeron acris L. _Blue Fleabane_ 288 75 Erigeron salsuginosus (Rich.) A. Gray. _Large Purple Fleabane_ 288 75 Saussurea densa Hook. _Saussurea_ 288

76 Erigeron discoideus Rydb. _Cut-Leaved Fleabane_ 292 76 Erigeron melanocephalus A. Nelson. _Black-Headed Fleabane_ 292 76 Erigeron multifidus Rydb. _Cut-Leaved Fleabane_ 292

77 Aster Lindleyanus T. & G. _Aster Lindleyanus 298

78 Erigeron aureus Greene. _Golden Fleabane_ 302 78 Gaillardia aristata Pursh. _Great-Flowered Gaillardia_ 302

79 Arnica cordifolia Hook. _Heart-Leaved Arnica_ 304 79 Arnica louiseana Farr. _Pale-Flowered Arnica_ 304

Glossary

ACAULESCENT: with stem so short that leaves appear to arise directly from root. ACHENE: a small, dry, one-seeded indehiscent, seed-like fruit. ACUMINATE: tapering gradually to a point. ACUTE: with an abrupt point. ADNATE: growing together as the stamens with the petals, or the anthers with the filament. ALTERNATE: (leaves) not opposite but arising at different points on the stem. Stamens are alternate with petals when they are situated in the intervals. ANTHER: the part of the stamen which contains the pollen. APICAL: pertaining to the top or apex. AURICULATE: with ear-like appendages at base. AXIAL: pertaining to an axis.

BILABIATE: two-lipped. BLADE: the expanded portion of a leaf. BRACT: a modified and usually small leaf at the base of a flower or flower-cluster. In the latter case it is usually associated with others. BRACTEOLATE: furnished with small bracts.

CÆSPITOSE: growing in tufts. CALYX: the outer whorl of floral leaves forming usually a green cup. CAMPANULATE: bell-shaped. CANESCENT: greyish-white, due usually to fine hairs. CAPILLARY: hair-like. CAPITATE: arranged in a head; knob-like. CAPSULE: a dry, dehiscent seed-vessel. CARPEL: a pistil-leaf. The pistil is regarded as being composed of one or more such carpels. CATKIN: the scaly, cylindrical flower-cluster of Willow, Birch, etc. CAUDATE: with a tail-like appendage. CAUDEX: the perennial rootstock of an otherwise annual plant. CHARTACEOUS: papery or parchment-like. CILIATE: fringed with marginal hairs. CINEREOUS: ashen or greyish. CLEISTOGAMIC: (flowers) never opening as the late flowers of violets, etc. CONNATE: united. CORDATE: heart-shaped. CORIACEOUS: leathery. CORM: a solid bulb. CORYMBOSE: with a flat-topped or convex flower-cluster, the flower-stalks of which arise at different points on the axis, and of which the outermost flowers are the oldest. CRENATE: with rounded teeth. CRENULATE: with small rounded teeth. CUNEATE: wedge-shaped. CUSPIDATE: ending in a sharp, hard point. CYME: a flat-topped or convex flower-cluster, the flower-stalks of which arise at different points on the axis, and of which the innermost flowers are the oldest.

DECIDUOUS: subject to fall, as leaves of most trees and calyx and corolla of most flowers before the fruit forms. DECUMBENT: (stems) reclining on the ground with summit tending to rise. DECURRENT: (leaves) with base prolonged below insertion and forming a sort of wing. DELTOID: broadly triangular. DENTATE: toothed, usually with teeth projecting outwards. DENTICULATE: with little, outwardly projecting teeth. DIŒCIOUS: having staminate and pistillate flowers on separate plants. DISC: the central part of a head as opposed to the ray, _e. g._, in the sun-flower. Also a fleshy expansion of the receptacle of the flower. DRUPE: a stone-fruit. DRUPELET: a small stone-fruit.

ELLIPTIC: with the outline of an ellipse. ENTIRE: with the margin even and not toothed, lobed, or divided. EROSE: irregularly margined.

FIMBRIATE: fringed. FLOCCOSE: with loose tufts of wool-like hairs. FOLIACEOUS: leaf-like. FOLLICLE: a fruit of one carpel (pistil-leaf) which splits only by one suture. FUSIFORM: spindle-shaped.

GALEA: a helmet-shaped body. GLANDULAR: with small prominences which appear to have a secreting function. GLAUCOUS: covered with a bluish or white bloom. GLOBOSE: spherical.

INCISED: sharply and irregularly cut into. INDUSIUM: the membrane covering the fruit-dots of ferns. INFERIOR: (side of flower) the one away from the axis of the flower-cluster; (ovary) united with the calyx tube, the other floral parts apparently growing from its summit. INFLORESCENCE: the mode of arrangement of flowers on the stem; the flower-cluster. INTERNODE: the portion of the stem between the places where the leaves arise. INVOLUCRE: a whorl of small leaves at the base of a flower or flower-cluster.

KEEL: the lower petals of the peculiar corolla of the pea, etc., which are united in the form of the keel of a boat.

LACINIATE: with deep, triangular, narrow lobes. LANATE: woolly. LANCEOLATE: narrow and tapering at each end. LATERAL: pertaining to the side. LEAFLET: one of the divisions of the blade of a compound leaf. LINEAR: narrow and flat with the margins parallel. LYRATE: lyre-shaped.

MONŒCIOUS: having the separate staminate and pistillate flowers on the same plant. MUCRONATE: with a short, abrupt point.

NODE: the point of the stem from which one or more leaves arise.

OBLANCEOLATE: lance-shaped with the base tapering downwards. OBTUSE: blunt. ORBICULAR: circular. OVATE: egg-shaped (applied to flat bodies). OVOID: egg-shaped (applied to solids).

PALMATE: (compound leaf) with the divisions so arranged that they radiate from the petiole-like the fingers of the hand. PANICLE: a branched, flower-cluster with the older flowers outermost. PANICULATE: with much branched open flower clusters. PAPILLÆ: minute, blunt projections. PAPPUS: the bristles, awns, or hairs which crown the fruit of the Composites. PARIETAL: (placentæ) attached to the wall of the ovary. PEDUNCLE: a flower-stalk. PERENNIAL: lasting from year to year. PERFOLIATE: (leaves) having the basal part so extended and united as to make it appear as though the stem grew through them. PERIANTH: the calyx and corolla collectively. PETAL: a corolla-leaf. PETALOID: petal-like. PETIOLE: the leaf-stalk. PINNÆ: the primary divisions of a compound leaf. PINNATE: compound with leaflets arranged along a common axis. PINNATIFID: pinnately cleft. PINNULES: secondary pinnæ. PLACENTÆ: the parts of the ovary to which the seeds are attached. PLUMOSE: feathery. POLLEN: the fertilising powder of the anther. POLYGAMOUS: having both perfect and imperfect flowers. PROSTRATE: lying flat on the ground. PUBERULENT: covered with tiny almost imperceptible hairs. PULVINI: cushions or pads.

RACEME: a flower-cluster in which the stalked flowers are arranged along an elongated axis. RACEMOSE: raceme-like. RACHIS: the axis. RADICAL: arising from the root, or portion of the stem resembling the root. RECEPTACLE: the usually somewhat enlarged portion of the stem on which parts of a flower or of a flower-cluster are borne. RENIFORM: kidney-shaped. REPAND: wavy-margined. RETICULATE: arranged like a network. REVOLUTE: rolled backward. RHIZOME: an underground stem; a rootstock. RHOMBIC: having the shape of a four-sided figure with parallel and equal sides which may be either perpendicular or oblique to each other. RHOMBOID: of a somewhat rhombic shape. ROTATE: wheel-shaped. RUNCINATE: coarsely cut into with the segments turned backward.

SAGITTATE: shaped like an arrow-head with the lobes turned downward. SAMARA: a simple, indehiscent, winged fruit. SAPROPHYTE: a plant which grows on dead organic matter. SCALE: a minute, rudimentary leaf. SCAPE: a leafless or nearly leafless flower-stalk arising from near the ground. SCARIOUS: dry, thin, membranous. SCURF: minute scales on the epidermis (skin). SEPALS: the divisions of the calyx. SERRATE: with teeth pointing forwards. SERRULATE: with minute forward pointing teeth. SESSILE: (leaf) without any stalk. SHEATH: a tubular structure such as is formed by the lower part of the leaves of grasses, etc. SILICLE: a short and broad silique. SILIQUE: the elongated two-valved and usually dehiscent fruit of the Cress family. It is divided by a partition and the placentæ are parietal. SINUATE: with a strongly wavy margin. SINUS: the recess between the lobes of a leaf. SORI: the fruit-dots of ferns. SPADIX: a fleshy spike as in the Araceæ. SPATHE: a large bract or pair of bracts enclosing a flower or an inflorescence. SPATULATE: spoon-shaped. SPIKE: a flower-cluster in which the flowers are stalkless on an elongated axis. SPORANGES: the sacs containing the spores. SPORE: the reproductive body of ferns. SPOROPHYLL: leaf-like organ or receptacle containing spores. STAMEN: the organ of the flower which produces the pollen. STAMINODIA: sterile stamens or structures which are developed in the place of stamens. STELLATE: star-shaped. STIPE: the leaf-stalk of a fern. STIPULE: an appendage such as is found at the base of many leaf-stalks. STOLON: a trailing and rooting shoot. STRIATE: marked with slender, longitudinal stripes. STRICT: straight and upright. STYLE: (of pistil) the elongated portion at top of ovary. SUBULATE: awl-shaped. SUPERIOR: (side of flower) the one next the axis of a flower-cluster; (ovary) free from calyx tube.

TERETE: cylindrical, circular in cross-section. TERNATE: in threes. TOMENTOSE: clothed with matted wool-like hairs. TORULOSE: knobby; swollen at intervals. TRUNCATE: as if cut off at the top. TUBERCLE: a small knob-like outgrowth. TURBINATE: top-shaped.

UMBEL: an umbrella-like flower-cluster. UNDULATE: wavy.

VALVATE: (leaves in bud) meeting by the margins, not overlapping. VERTICILLATE: whorled. VEXILLUM: the standard of the peculiar flower of pea, etc. VILLOUS: with long soft hairs.

General Key To The Families

Plants Without Flowers

Ferns And Their Allies

Leaves large, fern-like. Sporanges in a spike or panicle above the sterile leaf. =Ophioglossaceæ.= Sporanges borne in sori, on the backs or margins of the leaves. =Polypodiaceæ.= Leaves small, reduced to scales. Stems erect, hollow, jointed, rush-like; leaves reduced to sheaths at the joints; sporanges in the terminal, cone-like spike. =Equisetaceæ.= Stems not hollow, creeping; leaves numerous, scale-like; sporanges of one kind, solitary in the axils of the leaves. =Lycopodiaceæ.= Stems creeping, moss-like; leaves numerous; sporanges of two kinds in the axils of the upper leaves, which are formed into a quadrangular spike. =Selaginellaceæ.=

Plants With Flowers

Woody Stemmed Plants; Trees, Shrubs, And Vines

TREES OR SHRUBS WITH RESINOUS JUICE; LEAVES USUALLY EVERGREEN. Fruit a cone, either dry or berry-like. =Pinaceæ.= Fruit a fleshy crimson berry. =Taxaceæ.=

TREES, SHRUBS, OR VINES WITH WATERY JUICE. Leaves deciduous. _Flowers in catkins._ Staminate and pistillate catkins on different plants; seed with white, silky hairs. =Salicaceæ.= Staminate and pistillate catkins on the same plant; fruit cone-like. =Betulaceæ.= _Flowers not in catkins._ (A) Trees. Leaves simple, not lobed; flowers white. =Drupaceæ.= Leaves lobed; flowers greenish-yellow. =Aceraceæ.= Leaves pinnate; flowers white. =Pomaceæ.= (B) Shrubs or vines. *Stems spiny erect or trailing. (_a_) Leaves simple or lobed. Flowers small in dense terminal racemes. =Araliaceæ.= Flowers few in axillary clusters or racemes. =Grossulariaceæ.= (_b_) Leaves pinnate or palmate. =Rosaceæ.= **Stems not spiny but with minute scales; fruit silver, scarlet or orange berries. =Elæagnaceæ.= ***Stems erect, smooth. (_a_) Petals distinct. †Leaves simple. Flowers small, in flat heads or clusters. Petals 4; stamens 4. =Cornaceæ.= Petals 5; stamens numerous. =Rosaceæ.=

Flowers in axillary clusters or racemes; petals 5; stamens numerous. Fruit a berry. =Drupaceæ.= Fruit a pome. =Pomaceæ.= ††Leaves pinnate; flowers yellow. =Rosaceæ.= (_b_) Petals united. Flowers small, short-campanulate in axillary or terminal heads. =Caprifoliaceæ.= Flowers large, funnel-form, in terminal or axillary clusters. (_Azaleastrum_) =Ericaceæ.= Flowers bell or urn-shaped, few, axillary. =Vacciniaceæ.= ****Stems creeping or twining, smooth or hairy. Flowers with distinct petals, blue or purple. (_Atragene_). =Ranunculaceæ.= Flowers with united petals. Corolla tubular. =Caprifoliaceæ.= Corolla bell-shaped. =Ericaceæ.= Leaves evergreen; shrubs or vines. Leaves pinnate; flowers yellow. =Berberidaceæ.= Leaves simple. Flowers inconspicuous; fruit a black berry. =Empetraceæ.= Flowers showy, open, campanulate or urn-shaped, white or pink. =Ericaceæ.=

Herbaceous Plants

Plants without leaves. Parasitic on branches or stems of evergreens. =Loranthaceæ.= Not parasitic on trees; roots coral-like. (_Corallorhiza_) =Orchidaceæ.= Plants with leaves. _Leaves parallel-veined._ (A) Flowers small, collected on a spadix. =Araceæ.= (B) Flowers not collected on a spadix. *Flowers regular; corolla lobes 6; stamens 6. (_a_) Leaves grass-like, mostly at the base. Flowers white or greenish. =Melanthaceæ.= Flowers pink. (_Allium_). =Liliaceæ.= Flowers blue. (_Sisyrinchium_). =Iridaceæ.= (_b_) Leaves not grass-like, mostly on the stem. Flowers white or pink. =Convallariaceæ.= Flowers green. =Melanthaceæ.= Flowers yellow or orange. =Liliaceæ.= Flowers red or wine-color. (_Kruhsea_.) =Convallariaceæ.= **Flowers irregular, frequently with broad or inflated lip and spur. =Orchidaceæ.= _Leaves not parallel-veined._ (A) Flowers small, in close heads surrounded by an involucre. Flowers all alike, florets ligulate. =Cichoriaceæ.= Flowers not alike, central ones tubular, marginal usually with rays. =Carduaceæ.= (B) Flowers in umbels at the ends of the stems or branches. Umbels broad, flat or nearly so, flowers white, yellow, or purple. =Apiaceæ.= Umbels round. Flowers greenish; leaves compound. =Araliaceæ.= Flowers white or pink; leaves simple. (_Eriogonum_.) =Polygonaceæ.= (C) Flowers not in umbels. *Flowers regular. (_a_) Flowers with 2 sepals and 5 petals; corolla pink. =Portulacaceæ.= (_b_) Flowers with 3 sepals and 3 petals; seeds triangular. =Polygonaceæ.=

(_c_) Flowers with 4 sepals and 4 petals. Stem angular; leaves in whorls. =Rubiaceæ.= Stem round; leaves not in whorls. Stamens 6, erect. =Brassicaceæ.= Stamens 8, spreading. =Onagraceæ.= (_d_) Flowers with 5 sepals or petals, distinct. †Stamens as many or twice as many as the corolla lobes. Stems swollen at the nodes. =Caryophyllaceæ.= Stems not swollen at the nodes. Stem leaves numerous, entire, thin; flowers in terminal or axillary clusters, white or greenish. =Santalaceæ.= Leaves basal, entire; flowers solitary on a 1-leaved scape. =Parnassiaceæ.= Leaves mostly basal, lobed or cut; flowers in a close spike or head. =Saxifragaceæ.= Leaves and stems fleshy. Follicles 2. =Saxifragaceæ.= Follicles 4. =Crassulaceæ.= Leaves numerous, stiff, awl-shaped; stems low, tufted. =Saxifragaceæ.= ††Stamens more than twice as many as the corolla lobes. §Leaves basal or mostly so. Leaves evergreen, simple or lobed, flowers yellow or white, solitary on naked scapes. (_Dryas._) =Rosaceæ.= Leaves not evergreen, simple, lobed, or much divided. Smooth. Stems erect or floating. =Ranunculaceæ.= Stems creeping. Flowers white or pink. =Rosaceæ.= Flowers yellow. =Ranunculaceæ.= Rough-hairy. Flowers yellow or pink. =Rosaceæ.= Flowers white, blue or purple. =Ranunculaceæ.= §§Leaves mostly on the stem. Leaves finely cut; stems creeping; flowers white. =Rosaceæ.= Leaves entire. Leaves bright green, black-dotted; flowers yellow. =Hypericaceæ.= Leaves glaucous, without black dots; flowers blue. =Linaceæ.= (_e_) Flowers with 5 sepals and 5 united petals or lobes. †Stamens 3; flowers small, in terminal clusters. =Valerianaceæ.= ††Stamens 5. Opposite to the corolla lobes. =Primulaceæ.= Alternate with the corolla lobes. Stems smooth, leafy; corolla campanulate. Stem leaves broad; flowers pink. =Apocynaceæ.=

Stem leaves narrow; flowers blue. =Campanulaceæ.= Stems rough-hairy. Corolla salver-form; stamens included. =Boraginaceæ.= Corolla tubular; stamens exserted. =Hydrophyllacæ.=

†††Stamens 10; flowers mostly in terminal heads or singly. =Pyrolaceæ.= **Flowers irregular. (_a_) Leaves all entire and basal, forming rosettes; flowers blue. =Lentibulariaceæ.= (_b_) Leaves all heart-shaped; flowers blue, white or yellow. =Violaceæ.= (_c_) Leaves not heart-shaped, simple or much cut, not pinnate. Stems square; flowers in close verticels in the axils of the leaves or in terminal heads. =Menthaceæ.= Stems round; flowers numerous in elongated terminal leafy heads or few on slender stems in the axils of the upper leaves. =Scrophulariaceæ.= (_d_) Leaves palmate; flowers blue in elongated spikes. =Ranunculaceæ.= (_e_) Leaves pinnately divided; flowers pea-like. =Papilionaceæ.= (_f_) Leaves compoundly lobed, not pinnate. Stems low, spreading, flowers small in dense terminal or axillary spikes. =Papaveraceæ.= Stems erect; flowers drooping in open terminal heads, either showy and spurred or not showy and without spurs; leaves maiden-hair fern-like. =Ranunculaceæ.=

Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Ophioglossaceæ

_Adder’s-Tongue Family_

More or less succulent fern-like plants, consisting of a stem and leaf growing from a fleshy root. Sporophyll in the form of a spike or panicle.

[Sidenote: =Botrychium lunaria= (L.) Sw. _Moon-wort._]

Very fleshy, 2—12 inches high. Leaf usually sessile, borne at or above the middle of the stem, pinnate with 2—8 pairs of moon-like or fan-shaped lobes which vary from crenate to entire and either close and folded together or distant; spore-bearing portion 2—3 pinnate, often dense, 1—2 inches long, about as high as the leaf.

In open or exposed situations, frequently on the tops of the highest mountains, rather rare; occurring in midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Botrychium simplex= E. Hitchcock. _Small Moon-wort._]

Plant 2—6 inches high, slender and very variable. Leaf ovate, obovate or oblong, entire, lobed or pinnately parted, borne near the base of the stem; spore-bearing portion a simple or slightly compound spike, sometimes reduced to only a few sporanges; apex of the leaf and spore-bearing portion erect in fruit.

In alpine meadows or grassy slopes, frequently through the Rockies but very inconspicuous; during summer.

[Sidenote: =Botrychium virginianum= (L.) Sw. _Virginia Grape Fern._]

Stem slender, 4 inches to 2 feet high. Leaf thin, ternately divided and spreading 3—12 inches across, pinnately much divided into oblong-toothed segments; spore-bearing portion long-stalked, much above the leaf 2—3 pinnate, cinnamon brown, when ripe.

In rich moist woods, sparingly throughout the region during the summer.

Polypodiaceæ

_Fern Family_

Ferns of various habits, the rootstocks horizontal, often elongated or short and erect; the leaves simple, pinnate, pinnatifid or decompound, coiled at the ends when young. Sporanges borne in clusters (_sori_) on the lower side or margins of the leaves or their segments, with or without a membranous covering (_indusium_).

Represented in the region by the following 10 genera.

Sori without indusia, leaves 2—3 pinnate or ternate. =Phegopteris.= Sori with marginal indusia formed by the more or less altered edge of the leaf. Sporanges at the ends of the veins, borne on a reflexed portion of the leaf. =Adiantum.= Sporanges on a continuous vein-like receptacle which connects the apices of the veins. =Pteridium.=

Sporanges at or near the ends of the unconnected veins. Leaves of two kinds, the spore-bearing ones contracted and more or less pod-like. =Cryptogramma.= Leaves uniform; sori minute, indusium usually interrupted. =Cheilanthes.= Sori not marginal, provided with spinal indusia. Sori oblong on oblique veins; leaves pinnate. =Asplenium.= Sori round. Indusium conspicuous. Leaves firm; indusium peltate. =Polystichum.= Leaves membranous; indusium reniform. =Dryopteris.= Indusium inconspicuous. Indusium under the sorus, stellately divided. =Woodsia.= Indusium hooded, fixed by a broad base. =Filix.=

[Sidenote: =Phegopteris alpestris= (Hoppe) Mett. _Western Beech Fern._]

Rootstock short, thick, erect or oblique; stems 4—10 inches long with a few brown spreading scales near the base; leaves 1—2 feet long, oblong-lanceolate, thrice pinnate, the pinnæ deltoid-lanceolate, the lower ones distant and smaller, pinnules oblong-lanceolate, finely cut-toothed; sori small, rounded and nearly marginal.

On moist banks in the Selkirks, frequent especially in the vicinity of Glacier, where it forms clumps of considerable diameter, up to 7000 feet elevation.

[Sidenote: =Phegopteris Phegopteris= (L.) Underw. _Long Beech Fern._]

Rootstock slender and creeping; stems 6—9 inches long; leaves triangular, thin, usually longer than broad, 6—9 inches long, 4—6 inches broad, hairy on the veins, especially beneath; pinnæ linear-lanceolate, the lowest pair deflexed and standing forward, segments oblong, obtuse, entire, the basal ones joined to the main rachis; sori small, near the margin.

In moist woods in the Selkirks at the lower elevations, not common.

[Sidenote: =Phegopteris Dryopteris= (L.) Fée. _Oak Fern._]

Rootstock slender, extensively creeping; leaves or short black stipes, broadly triangular 4—8 inches wide, the three primary divisions 1—2 pinnate, segments oblong, obtuse, entire or toothed; sori near the margin.

In moist woods and thickets throughout the region at the lower altitudes, frequently forming beds of considerable size.

[Sidenote: =Adiantum pedatum= L. _Maidenhair Fern._]

Rootstock slender, creeping; stems 9—18 inches long, dark chestnut brown or nearly black, shining, forked into nearly equal branches at the summit; leaves obliquely orbicular in outline, 8—18 inches broad, thin, the pinnæ arising from the branches of the stem, somewhat radiately arranged, the larger ones 6—10 inches long, 1—2 inches broad, pinnules triangular-oblong, or the terminal one fan-shaped, the lower margin entire and slightly curved, the upper cut, bearing the linear-oblong sori.

Sparingly throughout the region in woods or moist shaded situations, among rocks.

[Sidenote: =Pteridium aquilinum pubescens= Underw. _Bracken._]

Rootstock stout, widely creeping, subterranean; stems hairy, 1—2 feet high, erect, straw-colored or brownish, leaves soft-hairy, especially on the under surface, 2—4 feet long, 1—3 feet wide, ternate, the three branches each bipinnate, the upper pinnules undivided, the lower more or less pinnatifid.

In dry woods, thickets, and open hillsides, throughout the region.

[Sidenote: =Cryptogramma acrostichoides= R. Br. _American Rock-brake._]

Rootstock stout, short, and chaffy; stems densely tufted, straw-colored, 2—6 inches long, very slender, chaffy below; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate in outline, thin, smooth, 2—3 pinnate, the sterile shorter than the fertile, their segments and pinnules crowded, ovate-oblong or obovate, crenate or slightly sharply cut; fertile leaves with linear or linear-oblong segments half an inch long, the margins at first rolled back to the midrib, at maturity expanded and exposing the light brown sporanges.

Forming tufts among rocks throughout the region but most frequent in the Selkirks.

[Sidenote: =Cryptogramma Stelleri= (S. G. Gmel.) Prantl. _Slender Cliff-brake_.]

Rootstock slender, creeping, thread-like; stems slender, scattered 2—3 inches long, dark brown; leaves thin, ovate in outline 2—5 inches long, 1—2 inches wide, 2—3 pinnate or pinnatifid above, the fertile taller, with narrower pinnules and segments, pinnæ lanceolate-deltoid, cut to the rachis, in few lobed or entire segments; indusium broad; veins conspicuous.

In crevices of damp or dripping rocks, preferably limestone, in the Rockies up to 7000 feet elevation; not common.

[Sidenote: =Cheilanthes Féei= Moore. _Hairy Lip Fern._]

Rootstock creeping, covered with pale rusty-brown scales; stems tufted, wiry, chestnut brown, 2—4 inches long, hairy; leaves oblong-lanceolate in outline 4—9 inches long, gradually attenuate to the apex, twice pinnate; pinnules somewhat distant, lanceolate-deltoid, acute, deeply pinnatifid or incised, more or less covered with stiff hairs and usually somewhat glandular; sori numerous, covered by the infolded ends of the rounded oblong lobes.

On rocks and among broken stones at the lower altitudes of the eastern Rockies; growing in matted masses.

[Sidenote: =Asplenium viride= Huds. _Green Spleenwort._]

Rootstock stout, creeping, chaffy with brown scales; stems numerous, densely tufted, brownish below, green above; leaves linear-lanceolate, 2—8 inches long, once pinnate, pale green, with 12—20 pairs of ovate or rhomboid, crenate; obtuse, unequal-sided pinnules; sori oblong, numerous, or scattered.

On dry rocks and slides, frequent through the Rockies.

[Sidenote: =Asplenium Filix-fœmina= (L.) Bernh. _Lady Fern._]

Rootstock creeping, rather slender for the size of the plant; stems tufted, 6—10 inches long; straw-colored, brownish or reddish, with scattered brown scales which are large and numerous at the broadened base; leaves broadly oblong-lanceolate, pinnæ lanceolate, acuminate, 4—8 inches long; pinnules lanceolate, incised or serrate, sori short, the indusia straight or variously curved.

In moist woods and thickets throughout the region but especially in the Selkirks, being a common fern in the woods in the vicinity of Glacier.

[Sidenote: =Polystichum Lonchitis= (L.) Roth. _Holly Fern._]

Rootstock short, stout, and densely chaffy; stems 1—5 inches long, bearing large dark brown scales, with some smaller ones; leaves rigid, leathery, and evergreen, narrowly lanceolate in outline, once pinnate; pinnæ broadly lanceolate, scythe-shaped, 1—2 inches long, acute or acuminate at the apex, with an ear-like projection on the upper side at the base, and with a nearly straight edge on the lower, densely spiny-toothed; sori large, nearer the margin than the midrib.

In large tufts among rocks throughout the region.

[Sidenote: =Dryopteris Filix-mas= (L.) Schott. _Male Fern._]

Rootstock stout, ascending, or erect, chaffy; stems 4—6 inches long, very chaffy below; leaves broadly lanceolate, acute or acuminate at the apex, slightly narrowed at the base, 1—3 feet long, rather firm, half evergreen, pinnate or partly 2-pinnate; pinnæ lanceolate, broadest at the base, gradually acuminate, 3—6 inches long, pinnatifid almost to the rachis, or pinnately divided into oblong, smooth lobes; sori large, borne near the margin, more numerous on the lower halves of the segments.

In rocky woods in the Selkirks on the lower slopes of Mt. Macdonald.

[Sidenote: =Dryopteris spinulosa dilatata= (Hoffm.) Underw. _Spinulose Shield Fern._]

Rootstock stout, chaffy; stems 6—18 inches long, bearing large brown scales with dark centres; leaves broadly ovate or triangular-ovate, commonly 3-pinnate; pinnules lanceolate oblong, the lowest often much elongated; sori medium size; indusium smooth.

In moist woods through the Selkirks, probably the most abundant fern in the vicinity of Glacier.

[Sidenote: =Dryopteris oreopteris= (Sw.) Maxon.]

Rootstock short, erect or decumbent, scaly; stems light straw-colored, 2—6 inches long, tufted, copiously scaly throughout, with light brown scales; leaves 1½—2 feet long, rather firm, broadly lanceolate, gradually tapering from near the middle to both ends; pinnæ 2—3 inches long, deeply pinnatifid, gradually shorter to the lowest which are more distant, broadly triangular, and less than an inch long; segments flat, oblong, and nearly entire; rachis straw-colored, densely scaly with light brown scales, nearly to the apex.

In the Selkirks on the moist mountain slopes and rocky ravines at Glacier.

[Sidenote: =Woodsia scopulina= D. C. Eaton. _Rocky Mountain Woodsia._]

Rootstock short, creeping, and densely chaffy; stems brown, darker at the base, 2—4 inches long, glandular-hairy; leaves mostly glandular-hairy throughout, lanceolate, 6—12 inches long, tapering from about the middle to both ends; pinnæ numerous, oblong-ovate, pinnatifid into oblong-toothed segments; sori nearly marginal.

In crevices in the rocks and among broken stones on slides, throughout the Rockies, up to an elevation of 7000 feet; frequent.

[Sidenote: =Woodsia oregana= D. C. Eaton. _Oregon Woodsia._]

Rootstock short; stems smooth, brownish below. Leaves smooth, 2—10 inches long, lanceolate; pinnæ triangular, oblong, obtuse, pinnatifid, lower ones rounded and somewhat remote from the others; rachis straw-colored; pinnules oblong-ovate, dentate or crenate, the teeth often turned back and covering the submarginal sori.

Among broken stones on the slides near the base of Mt. Stephen in the Rockies.

[Sidenote: =Filix fragilis= (L.) Underw. _Brittle Fern._]

Rootstock short; stems 4—8 inches long, leaves thin, smooth throughout, oblong-lanceolate, only slightly tapering below, 4—10 inches long; pinnate or 2—3 pinnatifid; pinnæ lanceolate-ovate, irregularly pinnatifid with a broad central space, and bluntly or sharply toothed segments, decurrent along the margined or winged rachis; sori small, half way between the margin and the midrib; indusium narrow, soon withering.

In crevices in rocks and among broken stones throughout the Rockies.

[Sidenote: =Filix montana= (Lam.) Underw.]

Rootstock slender, widely creeping; stipes 6—9 inches long, slender; leaves deltoid-ovate, 3—4 pinnate, 3—6 inches broad, the lowest pinnæ triangular-lanceolate and much larger, their inferior pinnules 1—1½ inches long, deeply divided into oblong lobes, deeply toothed; sori numerous; indusium acute, soon withering.

On damp mossy banks and rocks throughout the Rockies; not common.

Equisetaceæ

_Horsetail Family_

Green, rush-like plants with usually hollow, jointed, simple or often much branched stems, rising from subterranean rootstocks; the branches verticillate.

Leaves reduced to toothed sheaths; sporanges clustered beneath the scales of terminal, cone-like spikes.

[Sidenote: =Equisetum arvense= L. _Field Horsetail._]

Stems annual, the fertile appearing in early spring before the sterile; fertile stems 4—10 inches high, soon withering, light brown, their loose sheaths mostly distant, whitish, ending in about 12 brown acuminate teeth; sterile stems green, much branched and slender, 2 inches to 2 feet high with numerous, mostly simple, 4-angled solid branches with 4-toothed sheaths.

In moist sandy soil throughout the region, frequent in wet woods and swampy places.

[Sidenote: =Equisetum sylvaticum= L. _Wood Horsetail._]

Stems annual, the fertile appearing in early spring before the sterile, at first simple, at length much branched, resembling the sterile except in the withered apex; stems 8—20 inches high, producing verticillate compound branches which are curved downward; sheaths loose and cylindric, those of the stem whitish, with 8—14 rather blunt brown teeth.

In moist sandy woods and thickets in the Selkirks, not common.

[Sidenote: =Equisetum fluviatile= L. _Swamp Horsetail._]

Stems annual, all alike, 2—4 feet high, bluish-green, smooth, usually producing upright branches after the spores are formed; sheaths appressed with about 18 dark brown or nearly black, short acute teeth.

In sloughs and shallow ponds throughout the region, frequent.

[Sidenote: =Equisetum hyemale= L. _Common Scouring rush._]

Stems stiff, evergreen, 2—4 feet high, rough, 8—34-furrowed, the ridges with two distinct lines of tubercles; sheaths rather long, cylindric, marked with one or two black girdles, teeth dark brown or nearly black and membranous, soon deciduous; spikes tipped with a rigid point.

In wet places and on banks and slides in the valley of the Kicking Horse River.

[Sidenote: =Equisetum variegatum= Schl. _Variegated Equisetum._]

Stems perennial, slender, evergreen, 6—18 inches long, rough, usually simple from a branched base, commonly tufted, 5—10 furrowed; sheaths companulate, distinctly 4-keeled, green variegated with black above; the teeth 5—10, each tipped with a deciduous bristle.

In moist, sandy soil throughout the region up to an elevation of 7000 feet, sometimes forming large patches.

[Sidenote: =Equisetum scirpoides= Michx.]

Stems perennial, evergreen, very slender, 3—6 inches long, rough, flexuous and curving, growing in tufts closely matted to the ground, mostly 6-furrowed with acute ridges, simple or branching from near the base; sheaths black, with three membranous rather persistent bristle-tipped teeth.

On moist sandy shaded banks throughout the Rockies.

Lycopodiaceæ

_Club-moss Family_

Branching, moss-like plants with small lanceolate or subulate, sometimes oblong or roundish simple leaves, arranged in two or many ranks on trailing or sometimes erect, usually branched stems.

Sporanges solitary in the axils of the leaves or on their upper surfaces.

[Sidenote: =Lycopodium Selago= L. _Fir Club-moss._]

Stems usually yellowish throughout, 3—6 inches high, thick, rigid, erect, 2—5 times forked, the branches forming a level topped cluster; leaves crowded, uniform, ascending, elongated, lanceolate with a spiny tip, the upper mostly 8-ranked and sterile, those below bearing small sporanges in their axils, leaves of the lower half of the stems again sterile; plant propagated also by enlarged bud-like organs.

Throughout the region in alpine meadows and slopes above 6000 feet elevation.

[Sidenote: =Lycopodium annotinum= L. _Stiff Club-moss._]

Stems much branched, slender, prostrate and creeping, rather stiff, 1—4 feet long, the branches similar, ascending 5—8 inches high, sparingly forked; leaves uniform, spreading, 5-ranked, rigid, linear-lanceolate, minutely serrulate, nerved below, spikes solitary or several at the ends of the branches, oblong, cylindric 1—1½ inches long, composed of ovate or ovate-cordate, short-acuminate and denticulate bracts, each with a sporange in its axil.

In woods throughout the region, frequent.

[Sidenote: =Lycopodium clavatum= L. _Running Pine._]

Stems extensively creeping, 1—4 feet long with similar short, irregular ascending or decumbent, densely leafy branches; leaves much crowded, many-ranked, incurved, linear-subulate, bristle-tipped, the lower denticulate, the upper nearly entire or slightly decurrent on either side; spikes 1—4 on long peduncles; bracts membranous, roundish, and irregularly denticulate below.

In dry woods and open grounds, rather rare in the region, observed only in the Selkirks around Glacier and Roger’s Pass.

[Sidenote: =Lycopodium sitchensis= Rupr. _Arctic Club-moss._]

Stems prostrate, 8—12 inches long, on or a little beneath the surface; sending up frequent branched stems which form compact masses of vertical, compressed branches 2—3 inches high, with occasional stronger, spike-bearing branches; leaves lanceolate with a broad base, spreading and curving upwards, thick, entire, acute, in five rows on the branchlets; the spikes nearly sessile.

On grassy alpine slopes 6000 feet and upwards in the Selkirks, especially in the region about Glacier.

[Sidenote: =Lycopodium complanatum= L. _Trailing Christmas-green._]

Stems extensively creeping, with erect or ascending reinform or fan-shaped branches, several times forked above with crowded flattened branchlets; leaves minute, overlapping, flattened, 4-ranked, the lateral row with somewhat spreading tips; peduncle slender, 2—6 inches high, forked, bearing 2—4 linear-cylindric spikes, bracts broadly ovate, acuminate, with pale irregularly cut margins.

In mossy woods at the lower altitudes, more or less frequent throughout the region, especially in the Rockies.

[Sidenote: =Lycopodium alpinum= L. _Alpine Club-moss._]

Stems prostrate, 8—20 inches long on or near the surface of the ground, forming numerous, several times branched clusters 2—3 inches high with glaucous leaves, and occasional stouter, compressed spike-bearing stems, extending above the others; leaves 4-ranked, erect, flattened, those of the lateral rows two to three times larger than those intermediate; spikes sessile, few, ½—¾ of an inch long.

In alpine meadows, on slopes, and in open woods throughout the region from 6000 feet upwards.

Selaginellaceæ

_Selaginella Family_

Moss-like plants with branching stems and scale-like leaves which are many ranked and uniform, or 4-ranked and of two types spreading in two planes. Sporanges solitary in the axils of the leaves which are so arranged as to form more or less quadrangular spikes.

[Sidenote: =Selaginella selaginoides= (L.) Link. _Low Selaginella._]

Sterile stems, prostrate and creeping, small and slender; fertile stems thicker, ascending, simple 1—3 inches high; leaves lanceolate, acute, spreading, sparsely spinulose-ciliate; spikes solitary at the ends of the fertile branches, bracts lax, ascending lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, strongly fringed.

A light green moss-like plant growing in wet sandy grounds in the Rockies; not infrequent.

[Sidenote: =Selaginella densa= Rydb.]

Densely tufted sterile branches very short and crowded; leaves, densely crowded, many-ranked linear or needle-shaped in age, slightly flattened and grooved on the upper side, the margin fringed, tipped with a white bristle; fertile branches erect, the spikes quadrangular ½—¾ of an inch long, bracts folded together, thick, triangular-ovate, fringed on the margin and tipped with a white bristle half as long as that of the leaves.

In sterile dry ground and on exposed rocks throughout the region from the bases to the tops of the highest mountains, forming grayish-green mats on the ground.

Pinaceæ.

_Pine Family_

Resinous trees and shrubs mostly with evergreen, narrow, entire or scale-like leaves; the pollen sacks and ovules borne in separate spikes; fruit a cone with numerous, several or few, woody, papery or fleshy scales, sometimes berry-like; seed wingless or winged.

Scales of the fruit numerous, alternate; leaf-buds scaly.

Leaves in clusters. Clusters ensheathed at the base, containing 2, 3, or 5 leaves. =Pinus.= Clusters not ensheathed at the base containing many leaves. =Larix.= Leaves solitary. Cones erect; scales deciduous. =Abies.= Cones pendent; scales persistent. Branchlets smooth; bracts 3-toothed. =Pseudotsuga.= Branchlets roughened by the persistent leaf bases. Leaves petioled, not pungent. =Tsuga.= Leaves sessile, pungent. =Picea.=

Scales of the fruit few, opposite; leaf-buds naked. Fruit fleshy and berry-like. =Juniperus.= Fruit a dry cone. =Thuja.=

[Sidenote: =Pinus albicaulis= Engelm. _White-bark Pine._]

A tree 20 or 30 feet high generally with a short trunk 2—4 feet in diameter, stout, very flexible branches, often standing nearly erect and forming an open irregular broad head; often a low shrub and nearly prostrate at high altitudes; bark thin with creamy-white plate-like scales; leaves stout, rigid, slightly incurved, clustered at the ends of the branches 1½—2½ inches long; cones oval or subglobose horizontal, sessile, dark purple, 1½—3 inches long with thickened acute scales.

[Illustration: Pinus albicaulis Engelm. (¼ Nat.) White Pine.]

[Illustration: Pinus Murrayana Oreg. Com. (¼ Nat.) Jack Pine.]

On alpine slopes and exposed ridges from 5000 feet elevation upward, occurring occasionally in the Rockies, but frequent throughout the Selkirks at or near the timber line.

[Sidenote: =Pinus Murrayana= Oreg. Com. _Black Pine, Jack Pine._]

A tree 40—80 feet high with a trunk 1—3 feet in diameter, slender, strict; branches frequently persistent nearly to the base of the stem, somewhat pendulous below, ascending near the top of the tree, forming a pyramidal spire-topped head; bark thin, close, light orange-brown with appressed scales; leaves 2 in a bundle, yellowish-green, 1—3 inches long, stout; cones yellowish-brown and shining oval to sub-cylindric oblique at the base, often clustered ¾—2 inches long, with slightly concave scales with slender deciduous prickles.

The most abundant tree at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies, frequently covering vast tracts, and rising on the mountain sides to 6000 feet or occasionally higher.

[Sidenote: =Larix Lyallii= Parl. _Lyall’s Larch._]

A tree usually 40—50 feet high with a diameter of 18—20 inches and remote, elongated, tough, persistent, nearly black branches, with prominent winter buds with conspicuous long white matted hairs fringing the margins of their scales and often nearly concealing the buds; bark on the old trunks ½ to ¾ of an inch thick, pale gray, divided into shallow irregular plates; leaves many in a cluster, 4-angled, slender, blue-green 1—1½ inches long; young cones showy with dark red or yellow-green scales and dark purple bracts; when mature, ovate 1½—2 inches long with reddish-purple scales and long tipped dark purple bracts.

[Illustration: Larix Lyallii Parl. (⅓ Nat.) Lyall’s Larch.]

[Illustration: Thuja plicata Don. (⅓ Nat.) Giant Cedar.]

An alpine tree occurring with more or less frequency throughout the Rockies from Banff to Field, from 6000 to 8000 feet elevation, at or near the tree limit, often much stunted and almost shrub-like; very abundant on the mountains in the region about Lake Louise.

[Sidenote: =Abies lasiocarpa= (Hook) Nutt. _Sub-alpine Fir, Balsam Fir._]

A tree usually 40—100 feet high with a trunk 1—5 feet in diameter, short crowded tough branches, usually slightly pendulous near the base and forming dense spire-like slender heads; bark rough on the older trees, with thick, appressed, cinnamon-red scales; leaves pale blue-green flat, 1—1¾ inches long on the lower branches, rounded or notched at the apex; on the upper branches thickened, not more than ½ an inch long, flattened and closely appressed with long rigid points; cones, oblong-cylindric, rounded, truncate or depressed at the narrowed apex, dark purple and soft-hairy, 1½—4 inches long with scales gradually narrowed from the broad rounded apex to the base, about 3 times as long as the bracts.

This tree the Balsam of the region is found throughout on the higher mountain slopes and summits, frequently forming the timber line in which case it is shrub-like and stunted.

[Sidenote: =Pseudotsuga mucronata= (Raf.) Sudw. _Douglas Spruce, Red Fir._]

A magnificent tree 80—100 feet high, with a trunk 2—3 feet in diameter, or frequently larger, with slender crowded branches and long pendulous lateral ones forming, while the tree is young, an open pyramid, soon deciduous from the trees crowded in the forest and leaving the bare trunk naked for ⅔ of its height and surmounted by a comparatively small, narrow head; bark on the young trees, smooth, dark gray-brown and lustrous, on the old trunks several inches thick, divided into oblong plates broken into irregularly connected ridges; leaves crowded, yellowish-green, straight or slightly curved, narrow, ¾—1¼ inches long, obtuse or acute at the apex; cones pendent on long stout stems, 2—4¼ inches long, with thin slightly concave scales; bracts often extending half an inch beyond the scales.

[Illustration: Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. (⅓ Nat.) Balsam Fir.]

[Illustration: Pseudotsuga mucronata (Raf.) Sudw. (¼ Nat.) Douglas Fir.]

Throughout the Rockies in the lower wooded valleys, the handsomest tree of this section especially when young, now rather rare in the mature state along the line of the railway, but may be so seen to perfection in the Yoho and some of the other outlying valleys.

[Sidenote: =Tsuga heterophylla= (Raf.) Sarg. _Western Hemlock._]

A tree frequently 200 feet high, with a trunk 6—10 feet in diameter, with short slender usually pendulous branches forming a narrow pyramidal head; bark orange-brown, thin when young, an inch or more thick on mature trees and divided into broad flat ridges; leaves flat, dark green and lustrous on the upper surface, marked below by broad white bands; cones sessile, oblong or oval, ¾—1 inch long with few yellowish-brown oblong scales abruptly contracted at the middle and purplish toward the base.

Abundant throughout the Selkirks.

[Sidenote: =Tsuga Mertensiana= (Bong.) Carr. _Mountain Hemlock._]

Tree usually 70—100 feet high with a tapering trunk 2—5 feet in diameter and gracefully pendent slender branches and drooping lateral ones; bark grayish and scaly, on mature trees 1—1½ inches thick divided into rounded ridges with closely appressed cinnamon scales; leaves more or less in clusters, standing out all over the sides of the branches, rounded, light bluish-green or in some pale blue ½—1 inch long; cones sessile, cylindric, oblong, narrowed toward the blunt apex and somewhat toward the base, pendulous, 1—3 inches long, with thin scales usually as broad as long, with slightly thickened or erose margins, purplish-brown, 4 times as long as the sharp, purple bract.

On the slopes and exposed ridges through the Selkirks, a most attractive tree.

[Illustration: Tsuga Mertensiana (Bong.) Carr. (⅔ Nat.) Mountain Hemlock.]

[Illustration: Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. (⅙ Nat.) Hemlock.]

[Sidenote: =Picea Albertiana= S. Brown. _Alberta Spruce._]

A tree 30—60 feet high, slender, strict; twigs smooth and shining or occasionally glandular, hairy, but never glaucous, yellowish-brown when young becoming darker with age, leaf bases long and standing out at right angles from the stem; leaves pale blue or blue-green, ½—1 inch long, nearly straight or curved, acute or with a rigid tip, 4-sided; cones ovate or oblong, bright crimson when young, at maturity 1—1½ inches long and nearly as broad when expanded, scales stiff and rigid, broadly rounded at the apex, entire, broader than long, cinnamon brown with a chestnut edging; bract very small with a sharply angular tip.

The common spruce in the lower valleys and river bottoms throughout the Rockies.

[Sidenote: =Picea Engelmanni= (Parry) Engelm. _Engelmann’s Spruce._]

A tree often 150 feet high but usually much lower, with a trunk reaching 4—5 feet in diameter; spreading branches, produced in regular whorls and forming a narrow compact pyramidal head, and gracefully hanging short lateral branches; bark when mature reddish-brown and broken into thin scales; leaves soft and flexible, slender or slightly incurved, stouter on the fertile branches, ½—1⅛ inches long, glaucous when young, becoming dark blue-green; cones oblong-cylindric, 1—2 inches long, lustrous, light chestnut brown with thin flexible wedge-shaped scales, with erosedentate margins.

On the higher mountain slopes in the Rockies, but much lower in the valleys of the Selkirks, where it grows to a great size.

[Sidenote: =Juniperus Siberica= Burgs. _Alpine Juniper._]

A depressed rigid shrub, with many slender, decumbent stems, curving upward and forming a circular mass frequently 10 feet in diameter and 18 inches high; bark reddish-brown; leaves numerous ⅓—½ an inch long, awl-shaped, rigid, spreading nearly at right angles to the branches, linear-lanceolate, acute, and tipped with sharp, slender points; channelled and whitened above, lustrous green beneath; berry-like cones, blue and glaucous, subglobose or oblong about ¼ of an inch in diameter.

On dry hills and stony slopes throughout the region.

[Illustration: Picea albertiana S. Brown. (½ Nat.) Alberta Spruce.]

[Illustration: Picea albertiana S. Brown. (½ Nat.) Alberta Spruce.]

[Sidenote: =Juniperus prostrata= Pers. _Shrubby Red Cedar._]

A depressed, creeping shrub seldom more than a foot high, with spreading branches; bark grayish-brown; leaves scale-like, appressed, 4-ranked, acute, with a short spiny point; berry-like cones, light blue and glaucous, a third of an inch in diameter.

On dry stony ground and slopes throughout the Rockies.

[Sidenote: =Thuja plicata= Don. _Giant Cedar._]

A tree frequently 200 feet high with a broad, gradually tapering buttressed base sometimes 15 feet in diameter; branches short, horizontal, usually pendulous at the ends, bright yellow-green during the first year, becoming reddish-brown and lustrous; bark thin, cinnamon-red, divided into broad rounded ridges by shallow fissures; leaves ovate, long pointed, ¼ of an inch long or less; cones purplish-brown, much reflexed, clustered at the ends of the branches, ½ inch long with 6 oblong thin leathery scales with thickened spine-bearing tips.

Occasionally met with in the lower valleys on the western slope of the Rockies; becoming an immense forest tree in the moist valleys of the Selkirks where it forms a striking feature of the landscape.

Taxaceæ

_Yew Family_

Trees or shrubs with narrow flat evergreen or deciduous leaves and a drupe-like fruit.

[Sidenote: =Taxus brevifolia= Nutt. _Western Yew._]

A small straggling tree or shrub seldom over 20 feet high and up to 12 inches in diameter; bark thin, covered with greenish-purple scales; leaves about ½ an inch long, linear-lanceolate, flat, dark yellowish-green above, paler below with stout midribs and rigid points; fruit a fleshy crimson disc ⅓ of an inch long and as broad, surrounding the hard, nearly black, depressed seed.

Occurs locally in the Selkirks, forming much of the underwood on Beaver Creek.

Araceæ

_Arum Family_

Smooth perennial herbs with tuberous or corn-like rootstocks and mostly basal, large showy leaves; flowers small and numerously crowded on a spadix which is generally surrounded or subtended by a simple showy leaf-like organ called a spathe.

A very numerous family found mostly in the tropics and represented in our region by but a single species.

[Sidenote: =Lysichiton kamtschatcense= (L.) Schott. _Western Skunk Cabbage._]

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.

[Illustration: Zygadenus elegans Pursh. (½ Nat.) Tall Zygadenus.]

[Illustration: Zygadenus gramineus Rydb. (½ Nat.) Zygadenus.]

[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.

[Illustration: _a_ Stenanthella occidentalis (A. Gray) Rydb.

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.

[Illustration: Tofieldia intermedia Rydb. (⅔ Nat.) False Asphodel.]

[Illustration: Vagnera stellata (L.) Morong. (¼ Nat.)

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.

[Illustration: Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh. (½ Nat.) Snow Lily.]

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.

[Illustration: Lilium montanum A. Nelson. (½ Nat.) Red Mountain-Lily.]

[Illustration: Kruhsea streptopoides (Ledeb.) Kearney. (½ Nat.) Kruhsea.]

[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.=

[Illustration: _a_ Cypripedium passerinum Rich. Small White Lady’s Slipper.]

[Illustration: _b_ Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper.

(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.

[Illustration: Corallorhiza Corallorhiza (L.) Karst. (½ Nat.) Coral-Root.]

[Illustration: Lyschiton kamtschatcense (L.) Schott. (¼ Nat.) Western Skunk-Cabbage.]

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.

[Illustration: _a_ Cytherea bulbosa (L.) House. (¾ Nat.)

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.

[Illustration: Limnorchis dilatatiformis Rydb. (⅙ Nat.)

Purplish-Green Bog-Orchid.]

[Illustration: Peramium Menziesii (Lindl.) Morong. (⅔ Nat.)

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.

[Illustration: _a_ Ophrys borealis (Morong). Northern Twayblade.

_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.

[Illustration: Comandra pallida DC. (⅔ Nat.) White Comandra.]

[Illustration: Eriogonum subalpinum Greene. (½ Nat.) Tall Eriogonum.]

[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.

[Illustration: Claytonia lanceolata Pursh. (½ Nat.) Spring Beauty.]

[Illustration: Claytonia parvifolia Moc. (½ Nat.) Small-Leaved Spring Beauty.]

[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.=

[Illustration: Silene acaulis L. (⅔ Nat.) Moss Campion.]

[Illustration: Lychnis apetala L. (⅔ Nat.) Nodding Lychnis.]

[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.

[Illustration: _a_ Alsine borealis (Bigel.) Britton. Northern Stitchwort.

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

[Illustration: Arenaria capillaris nardifolia (Ledeb.) Regel. (⅔ Nat.) Rock Sandwort.]

[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.

[Illustration: Atragene columbiana Nutt. (⅔ Nat.) Purple Virgin’s-Bower.]

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.

[Illustration: _a_ Anemone Drummondii S. Wats. Alpine Anemone.

_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.

[Illustration: _a_ Pulsatilla hirsutissima (Pursh Britton). Pasque Flower.

_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.

[Illustration: Thalictrum megacarpum Torr. (⅓ Nat.)]

[Illustration: Thalictrum occidentale A. Gray. (⅓ Nat.) Western Meadow Rue.]

[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.

[Illustration: _a_ Ranunculus eremogenes Greene. Ditch Crowfoot.

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

[Illustration: Ranunculus inamœnus Greene. (⅓ Nat.)]

[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._]

Smooth, 3—12 inches high, 1—3-flowered. Leaves round in outline, those at the root all 3—5-parted and deeply cut; their obovate or wedge-shaped divisions mostly lobed or narrowly cut, stem-leaves similar with oblong to spatulate or lanceolate, often entire divisions. Flowers bright yellow; petals 5, a third of an inch or more long.

Frequent at the higher altitudes, blooming close to the melting snow, throughout the region; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus alpeophilus= A. Nelson.]

Similar in habit to the previous species though usually larger, bright green and nearly smooth throughout. Leaves sparingly hairy on the margins, the basal broader and less divided. Flowers pale yellow, ¼ of an inch or more broad; petals little longer than the calyx.

Along streams and in moist grounds, an alpine species frequent throughout the Rockies; flowering in June and July.

[Illustration: _a_ Ranunculus saxicola Rydb.

_b_ Ranunculus alpeophilus A. Nelson. (½ Nat.)]

[Illustration: Ranunculus Eschscholtzii Schl. (⅔ Nat.) Snow Buttercup.]

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus saxicola.= Rydb.]

Stems about 4 inches long, decumbent or ascending, smooth. Basal leaves on petioles 2 inches long, rounded, somewhat hairy when young, 3-lobed, lobes spreading and toothed, stem-leaves 1—3, nearly sessile, cleft into 3—7 linear lobes. Flowers about ½ an inch broad, sepals tinged with brown, half the length of the petals, broad, obovate, obtuse, slightly hairy; petals broadly obovate, bright yellow; achenes more or less hairy, with a straight style.

Throughout the Rockies in stony ground at the higher altitudes; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus inamœnus.= Greene.]

Stems rather stout, 6—12 inches high, slightly hairy. Root leaves on short petioles, rounded, crenate-toothed or 3-lobed, stem leaves sessile and cut into 3—6 oblong-lanceolate segments. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more broad, usually several together on short slender peduncles; petals obovate-oblong, light yellow; achenes small, hairy.

In open ground sparingly throughout the Rockies at the lower elevations; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus Suksdorfii= A. Gray.]

Stem 3—6 inches high, smooth, slender, 1—3-flowered. Leaves ½ an inch or more long, sub-reniform or broadly fan-shaped with wedge-shaped base, deeply 3—5-cleft or parted, the radical into cuneate 3—5-cleft or incised divisions, those of the stem linear. Flowers bright yellow; petals round-obovate, ⅓—½ an inch long.

In moist ground on slopes, throughout the Rockies; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus eximius= Greene. _Low Buttercup._]

Stems hairy, 6—10 inches high, branching. Leaves few, basal, rounded in outline, ternately lobed, sometimes deeply so, on slender petioles; stem leaves sessile or nearly so, cut into narrowly linear or linear-lanceolate lobes. Flowers ¾ of an inch or more broad, petals spreading, bright yellow and shining on the upper surface; sepals not reflexed.

A showy low buttercup in the dry open valleys in the Rockies; flowering in June.

[Illustration: Aquilegia brevistyla Hook. (¾ Nat.) Small Blue Columbine.]

[Sidenote: =Ranunculus montanensis= Rydb. _Meadow Buttercup._]

Stem stout, 1—2 feet high, branching with long rough hairs. Basal leaves long, hairy all over, 3-parted, the divisions again divided or cut into linear or lanceolate segments; petioles 3 or 4 inches long; stem-leaves similar but short petioled. Flowers few, large; sepals broadly ovate with silky hairs; petals broadly ovate, nearly half an inch long, bright yellow; head of achenes, globose; style long, slender, and much curved.

Frequent in the Rockies at the lower altitudes in more or less shaded grassy situations; flowering in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Halerpestes Cymbalaria= (Pursh.) Green. _Creeping Crowfoot._]

Stems creeping and rooting at the joints, 1—7-flowered. Leaves broadly ovate, coarsely crenate, clustered at the base and joints of the long slender runners. Flowers ¼ of an inch across; petals light yellow, longer than the sepals; fruit in oblong heads.

A common species throughout the Rockies in damp ground, frequently forming mats several feet across; flowering continuously throughout the summer.

[Sidenote: =Caltha leptosepala= Hook. _White Marsh Marigold._]

Stems erect, 2—12 inches high, 1—2-flowered. Leaves roundish or oblong-cordate, longer than broad, irregularly crenate-toothed; sepals 6—8, lanceolate, ¾ of an inch long, white, strongly suffused with blue on the outside; stamens numerous; pistils 5—15.

In springy ground and wet alpine meadows throughout the region, often growing in such abundance as to make the meadows brilliant with the blue and white flowers, which appear soon after the snow has left the ground in June and July.

[Sidenote: =Trollius albiflorus= (A. Gray.) Rydb. _Western Globe-flower._]

Stem erect, 6—12 inches high, more or less branching. Leaves palmately divided, the segments many cleft. Flowers solitary, 1—1½ inches broad, subtended by a whorl of leaves; sepals broadly obovate 5—6, pure white tinged on the back with greenish rose; petals 15—20, less than ¼ of an inch long, narrowly truncate, bright yellow, nearly concealed by the numerous stamens.

One of the most abundant and conspicuous of the spring flowers of the alpine meadows, and marshy borders of alpine streams and lakes, commencing to flower when but a few inches high on the edges of the melting snow in May and June.

[Illustration: _a_ Caltha leptosepala Hook.

_b_ Trollius albiflorus (A. Gray) Rydb. Western Globe-Flower. (⅔ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Aquilegia brevistyla= Hook. _Small Blue Columbine._]

One to two feet high, slender, sparingly branched. Leaves, the basal long-petioled, biternate, lobed and crenate, the stem leaves few, nearly sessile and lobed. Flowers ½ an inch or more long, nodding, sepals blue, petals creamy-white with a short blue spur not more than ¼ of an inch long; styles and stamens hardly exceeding the petals.

In open rocky situations, rather local, common in the region around Banff, flowering in May and June.

[Sidenote: =Aquilegia flavescens= S. Wats. _Yellow Columbine._]

Stems smooth, 1—3 feet high, branched. Leaves ternate, leaflets round-cordate, 3-parted, the segments coarsely toothed, 2—3-cleft. Flowers yellow, an inch or more long, nodding; sepals reflexed, oblong-ovate, acute, longer than the spurs; petals spreading with a spur half an inch long; styles and stamens nearly equal, much exserted.

The commonest columbine throughout the region, growing in woods and on slopes up to 8000 feet, varying greatly in colour; flowering in June and July according to the elevation.

[Sidenote: =Aquilegia formosa= Fisch. _Western Columbine._]

Stem 2—4 feet high, branching, sparingly pubescent with spreading hairs. Leaves, the lower triternately parted on long petioles, the upper sessile and ternate or reduced to simple bracts, leaflets broadly wedge-shaped, 3-cleft. Flowers scarlet, drooping, more than an inch long; sepals scarlet varying to orange, spreading or reflexed, an inch long, lanceolate, acute; petals yellow, more or less spreading, with a scarlet spur about the length of the sepals; styles and stamens exserted.

Throughout the Selkirks, in moist ground, on slopes and borders of rocky alpine streams, flowering during July and late June.

[Illustration: _a_ Aquilegia flavescens S. Wats. Yellow Columbine.

_b_ Aquilegia formosa Fisch. Western Columbine. (⅔ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Delphinium Brownii= Rydb. _Western Larkspur._]

Stem tall, 2—5 feet high, leafy. Leaves mostly orbicular in outline, 5—7-parted, the upper into narrow-cleft, laciniate divisions, petioled. Flowers nodding, less than an inch long, dull purple, bluish or occasionally white, numerous in an elongated spike; sepals 5, blue, ⅓ of an inch long, not spreading, the upper one prolonged into a spur, half an inch long; petals white, nearly as long as the sepals.

Frequent in the region around Banff in open woods at the lower altitudes, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Delphinium Menziesii= DC. _Blue Larkspur._]

Sparingly leafy, 10—18 inches tall, from a tuberous rootstock. Leaves, the lowest round reniform, cut into irregular, oblong, obtuse lobes, the upper with linear, acute lobes. Flowers few in a simple panicle, sepals lanceolate, obtuse, ¾ of an inch or more long, spreading, brilliant blue, about as long as the short curved spur; petals exserted, white with purple veins.

Throughout the region in open ground and on grassy slopes; flowering in early June or later according to the altitude.

[Sidenote: =Actæa arguta= Nutt. _Western Red Baneberry._]

Stems erect, 2—3 feet high, smooth except the inflorescence. Leaves large, ternately compound, the basal leaf long-petioled, the divisions long petioled and pinnate, leaflets ovate, 1½—5 inches long, cut with sharp teeth. Raceme ovoid, 1—2 inches long; flowers small, white, with petal-like sepals; petals, 4—10 spatulate and minute; stamens numerous; berries in a spreading raceme, small, spherical, and purplish red.

Frequent in the rich woods throughout the region, at the lower altitudes; flowering in late May and early June.

[Illustration: Delphinium Brownii Rydb. (½ Nat.) Mountain Larkspur.]

[Illustration: Anemone globosa Nutt. (⅓ Nat.) Wind-Flower.]

[Sidenote: =Actæa eburnea= Rydb. _Western White Baneberry._]

Similar to the preceding species and often growing with it and difficult to distinguish from it when in flower: in fruit, however, they are quite distinct. In A. eburnea the berries are fully twice as large, nearly half an inch long and a quarter of an inch in diameter and pure waxy white.

In rich moist woods throughout the Rockies; flowering with the other species in May and early June; fruiting in late July.

Berberidaceæ

_Barberry Family_

Shrubs or herbs with alternate or basal leaves, with or without stipules, and solitary or racemed, mostly terminal flowers; sepals and petals generally overlapping in several series; stamens as many as the petals and opposite them; flowers perfect.

[Sidenote: =Berberis aquifolium= Pursh. _Trailing Mahonia._]

A smooth, trailing shrub. Leaves petioled, pinnate, leaflets 3—7, ovate or oval, oblique, obtuse, truncate or slightly cordate