Smithsonian
Institution
Libraries
Gift of
BETTY
A. and LLOYD SCHERMER
latllmm Whitman.
36th Congress, 1 1st Session. j
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Ex. Doc. No. 56.
REPORTS
OF
EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS,
ASCERTAIN THE MOST PRACTICABLE AND ECONOMICAL ROUTE FOR A RAILROAD
FROM THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
MADE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR, IN
1853-5,
ACCORDING TO ACTS OF CONGRESS OF MARCH 3, 1853, MAY 31, 1854, AND AUGUST 5, 1854.
VOLUME III.
BOOK II.
WASHINGTON:
THOMAS H. FORD, PRINTER. 1 8 6 0.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES— February 14, 1855.
Resolved, That there be printed, for the use of the House, ten thousand copies of the reports of surveys for a railroad to the Pacific, made under the direction of the Secretary of War, embracing the report of F. W. Lander, civil engineer, of a survey of a railroad route from Puget’s Sound, by Fort Hall and the Great Salt lake, to the Mississippi river ; and the report of J. C. Fremont, of a route for a railroad from the head- waters of the Arkansas river into the State of California ; together with the maps and plates accompanying each of said reports necessary to illustrate them.
Attest: J. W. FORNEY,
Clerk of the Howe of Representatives of the United Slates.
THIRTY-SECOND CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION — Chapter 98.
Sect. 10. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized, under the direction cf the P resident of the United States, to employ^such portion of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and such other persons as he may deem necessary, to make such explorations and surveys as he may deem .advisable, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean, and that the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expense of such explorations and surveys.
Approved March 3, 1853.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION— Chapter 60.
Appropriation : For deficiencies for the railroad surveys between the Mississippi river and the Pacific ocean, forty thousand dollars.
Approved May 31, 1854.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION— Chapter 267.
Appropriation: For continuing the«explorations and surveys to ascertain the best route for a railway to the Pacific, and for completing the reports of surveys already made, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Approved August 5, 1854.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES— March 25, 1860.
Resolved, That there be printed, for the use of this House, ten thousand extra copies, in addition to the usual number, of Governor Stevens’s final report of the exploration and survey of the northern route for a Pacific railroad.
^3
W ry
1%5S
Tl/Aastd
J C'Nbi
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XII-BOOK II.
PARTS II AND III OF THE NARRATIVE AND FINAL REPORT BY ISAAC I. STEVENS, GOVERNOR OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY, UPON THE ROUTE NEAR THE FORTY-SEVENTH AND FORTY-NINTH PARALLELS.
PART IT.
EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS FOR A RAILROAD ROUTE FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO THE PACIFIC
OCEAN— WAR DEPARTMENT.
ROUTE NEAR THE FORTY-SEVENTH AND FORTY-NINTH PARALLELS,' EXPLORED BY I. I. STEVENS, GOVERNOR OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY, IN 1853- ’55.
BOTANICAL REPORT
WASHINGTON, D. C.
1 860.
CONTENTS.
No. 1.
REPORT UPON THE BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.
No. 2.
CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECTED EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
BY. PROF. ASA GRAY.
No. 8.
CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECTED IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Plate I.— A. ASTRAGALUS FILIFOLIUS.
Figure 1. Pistil enlarged. 2. Cross section of the ovary enlarged. 3. Legume transversely divided. 4. Same longitudinally divided . . . . . - . . . . . _ . . _
B. ASTRAGALUS BISULCATUS.
Figure 5. Fruit with a leaf, &c. 6. Fruit, with the calyx, &c., transversely divided, enlarged to thrice the natural
6ize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Plate II.— MUSENIUM DIVAEICATUM.
Figure 1. Vertical section of a flower. 2. Fruit, 3. The same, with the mericarps separating. 4,5. Cross sections of the fruit and seeds. The details variously magnified . . . . . .
Plate III. — ENDOLEPIS SUCELEYI.
Figure 1. Staminate flower. 2 Vertical section of the same, with the lobes of the calyx inflexed 3. Pistillate flower, with the involucre entire. 4. Same, with one side of the closed involucre cut away. 5. A 4-leaved calyx of a pistillate flower 6. Pistillate flower with its 3-leaved calyx, the involucre removed. 7 Pistil, with its ovary divided. 8. Fruit in its involucre. 9. Same, with one side of the involucre cut away. 10. The seed with its funiculus ; the micropyle has become superior. 11. Embryo detached. The details all variously mag¬ nified _ _ .. _ - _ _ _ . _
Plate IV.— OBIONE SUCKLEYANA.
Figure 1. Staminate flower spread open. 2 Pistillate flower in its involucre. 3. Same vertically divided. 4. Fruit in its involucre. 5. Cross section of the same. 6. Longitudinal section of the same. 7. The seed vertically divided. Details variously magnified _ _
Plate V.— ASTRAGALUS (HOMALOBUS) SEROTINUS.
Figure 1. — Vexillum, wing, and a keel petal. 2. Stamens, &c. 3 Calyx and pistil. 4. Legume transversely
divided, &c. The details magnified . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . .
Plate VI.— OROBUS LITTORALIS
Figure 1. Vexillum, wing, and a keel petal. 2. Calyx. 3. Stamens. 4. Pistil. 5. Inner face of the style. 6. Legume. 7. Same with one valve removed. All the details except 6 and 7 enlarged .
.
No. 1.
REPORT ON THE BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
By J. G. COOPER, M. D.
THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS.
The most superficial examination of the natural productions of Washington Territory cannot fail to show that it possesses a remarkable variety of botanical and zoological regions, each distinguished by more or less peculiar forms of life. A concise and systematic account of them, as far as they fell under my observation, seems necessary to complete the scattered notes on the distribution of species which I have already given. Reversing the usual order, I com¬ mence with the most elevated region, which was one of the first I visited.
At an elevation of 5,000 feet above the ocean we found the vegetation and animals subalpine in character, but still with a preponderance of those belonging to the lower country. On the hills, there but partially covered with forests, we found, during our visit in the first week of August, a profusion of berries of several kinds, which the Indians were engaged in collecting. Among them was a huckleberry not before seen, (V. myrtilloides? Michx.,) with fruit nearly as large and as finely flavored as a grape. Two kinds of pine, (P. monticola. Dougl.,) resembling the white pine, and (P. ponderosa , Dougl.,) with a magnificent species of mountain spruce, (A. nobilis , Dough,) were the characteristic trees, replacing, to some extent, those of the lower regions. Blue, purple, red, yellow, and white flowers, in rich profusion, ornamented the surface; and the whole region looked more like a garden than a wild mountain summit, covered for nearly half the year with snow.
On the morning of August 9, a rain having extinguished the burning of the forests below us, and cleared away the smoke which had for several days obscured the view, there was revealed to us a scene probably unsurpassed in magnificence by any in America. Five snowy peaks surrounded us, rising many thousand feet above our camp; and we found that we were still far below the limits of perpetual snow. From a distant view I supposed that dwarf vege¬ tation continued on these peaks for a thousand feet higher, forming the truly alpine region , and I much regretted that time did not permit me to explore this. Months might be well spent in collecting in this most interesting region, even above the limits of the forest growth. It is well known to have even a group of large animals peculiar to it — such as the mountain sheep and goat, white grouse, and probably others. A dwarf glaucous juniper, (J. communis,) with large berries, spreading like a carpet on the summit of the highest point I ascended, was the most characteristic subalpine plant, and seemed to be limited to that region, as none occurred lower down. This point was, by the barometer, nearly 5,103 feet above the sea. The vegetation of August, at this height, corresponded to that of May at Yancouver, many of the same plants occurring in flower, though of a more stunted growth. But spring, summer,
14
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
a^ autumn are so crowded into the space of three to five short months that even the subalpine region may be said to have but two seasons — first, that of vegetation, and secondly, winter, continuing for the rest of the year, while the ground is covered with snow. Though the days were very warm during our stay there, ice formed at night one-third of an inch thick at our camp : and we had a violent and cold hailstorm, which for a short time buried the flowers, thus in an hour changing summer into winter.
The precise limits of the seasons cannot be definitely fixed, and probably vary much in different years and on the different exposures of the mountains. About the 12th of the following October snow fell in the Nachess Pass during Lieutenant Hodge’s journey across it, its elevation being nearly the same, 4,890 feet above the sea. Snow is known to fall at this height in every month between September and May, but it does not lie constantly for so long a time, and vegetation probably goes on during both those months, and even for a month or two longer. But the local differences are very great and must amount to a month or more, according to the exposures of surface to sun and rain even at the same elevation. There is no dry season at this height, as clouds are almost constantly hovering about the peaks, and rain can be seen even from the valleys below, falling at all seasons, especially on the more westward parts of the range.
I found animals more abundant in this cool elevated region than below. The large herbivo¬ rous quadrupeds had sought the fresh spring-like herbage, and were probably followed by many beasts of prey. Ducks, geese, and cranes abounded, with the interesting little phalarope, seeking these cool regions to raise their young; but in our hasty journey across I could merely glance at the multitude of new beings which surrounded me.
The moist hollows between the mountains were densely covered with rank grass, promising rich pasturage for the herds which, when the country becomes more settled, will doubtless be driven there during the summer, when the plains eastward are parched by drought. In healthi¬ ness and beauty of scenery these mountains cannot be excelled.
On the 11th of August we commenced to descend the eastern slopes of the Cascade range near the base of Mount Adams, and at once found ourselves in quite a different natural region from any before seen. Although forests continue as on the western slopes, they are composed of entirely distinct species of trees, and have a very different appearance. Instead of spruces, one pine almost exclusively prevails, (P. pondeeosa, called “Yellow Pine,”) growing usually over a hundred feet high, with a straight clear trunk three to five feet thick, branching at the height of about forty feet. Its bark is thick, reddish, and deeply furrowed, like that of the chestnut. The wood is said to be unusually heavy and useful for many purposes, besides being excellent fuel. A few of the smaller “White Pine” and stunted larches are mixed with this on the higher parts of the slope, and descending below, about the elevation of 3,500 feet, the oak began to reappear.
There is so little underbrush in these forests that a wagon may be drawn through them without difficulty, forming a striking contrast to the dense thickets of the western slopes, to be here¬ after described. The level terraces, covered everywhere with good grass and shaded by fine symmetrical trees of great size, through whose open light foliage the sun’s rays penetrate with agreeable mildness, give to these forests the appearance of an immense ornamental park. Almost the only shrub is a Ceanotlms , (C. velutinus, Dougl.,) with beautiful shining foliage and a strong aromatic odor something like cinnamon, growing in scattered thickets.
This beautiful forest continued for about twelve miles eastward from Mount Adams. It
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
15
occupies a zone along the eastern side of the mountains between the heights of 2,500 and 5,000 feet at the Columbia river, and becoming lower as we go northward, until at fort Colville and on the Okanagan river, at latitude 49°, it extends quite down to the level of the rivers, occupying all the surface except some small prairies in the valleys.
At the mountain gaps of the Columbia and Yakima rivers trees also extend further down along the streams, but in small numbers. The well marked and usually abrupt lower limit of these forests evidently corresponds to the degree of moisture derived either from the rains of the mountain summits, or from the rivers. The moist winds from the ocean, intercepted by the highest ridges, pass through the two gaps above mentioned, and to a small extent favor the growth of trees lower down. Doubtless the cessation of fires on the dry plains will be followed by a further increase of forests in such places.
North of latitude 48°, the country being generally hilly, is better supplied with rains; and on the northern slopes of the hills I observed dense forests, while frequently their southern exposures were bare, showing the direction of the prevailing winds and consequent moisture. This fact was also noticed by others among the western spurs of the Rocky mountains. The same effect is well marked southward on Cape Mendocino, in California; while thirty miles south of San Francisco trees almost entirely of a distinct and southern group grow chiefly on the southern slopes, indicating a corresponding difference in the direction of the moist winds.
The dry season was already far progressed, and I found, therefore, but few plants in a con¬ dition for preservation, though those collected happened to be of peculiar interest. — (See Phoe- lipoea comosa , Erigeron Douglasii, Pceonia Brownii, Spraguea umbellata , Acer glabrum J &c.) The entire vegetation seems to belong to the Rocky mountain group much more than that of the western slopes, although several of the plants are, as far as known, peculiar to this range and the Sierra Nevada.
A corresponding group of animals also first appeared there, such as the coyote, badger, and Say’s striped squirrel; but large game continued very scarce, and the season was unfavorable for birds, which seemed to have almost all deserted these forests during August.
To complete their description, I extract from my journal the notes on these forests as they appeared further north, and at later seasons.
On September 13 I rode from the camp on the Yakima about fifteen miles up its valley, and found the forest commencing about six miles up, at an elevation of about 2, 200 feet, as abruptly as where we left it before, with exactly similar vegetation and the same dreary absence of animal life.
On the 20th the expedition crossed the ridge separating the waters of the Yakima and Pisquouse rivers. There, 5,750 feet above the sea, we found a scattered belt of forest, in which the larch, (L. occidentalis, NuttaV) appeared, of great size, and about equal in abund¬ ance with the pines. This magnificent tree sometimes excels the latter in size, and its feathery foliage, just beginning to fade yellow, gave it a beautiful appearance in contrast to the deep green forest around it. With these were a few scattered spruces of several species, which I could not well determine, finding no cones.
From the summit of this ridge we had a panoramic view of a vast extent of country on all sides of us. Towards the west the numberless irregular peaks of the Cascade range looked like the confused waves of a rough sea. Below their highest snow-capped peaks the belt of forest could be plainly seen extending down on spurs to the Columbia, but crossing it only at a far distant point near the northern boundary of the “ Great Plain,” which extended eastward
16
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
as far as we could see. But large portions of the ridges west of the river were also bare of trees to an apparent height of about 3, 000 feet. Further north we met with none but scattered patches of forest, until reaching the high ridges bounding the valleys of the Methow and Okan¬ agan rivers, where, as well as along their banks, trees are grouped in beautiful groves, forming a sufficient supply for the population which must in time inhabit these picturesque valleys.
I have already noticed the prevalence of the forests near the 49th degree along the Columbia, and most of the country thence south to latitude 38° 30' is occupied by them.
From Fort Colville, southward, to the Spokane river, we found a pleasing country of mixed forests and prairies, with a fertile soil, which is evidently in part due to the intermingling of spurs of the Cascade mountains with those of the Bitter Boot range, which appear towards the east well covered with forests on their higher parts. They intercept and precipitate over these northern tracts sufficient moisture to make them highly fertile.
The lowest points on the Great Plain where trees are found in any abundance are about 2,000 feet above the sea. This most elevated division of the great forest regions of the Territory, covering only the mountain slopes and summits, botanically and zoologically constitute a south¬ ward extension of the more northern flora and fauna following the mountain ridges, and thus irregularly interlocking with the third great region of plains. Towards the east and south a dryer climate is found to diminish the extent of forests, until gradually rising higher and higher towards the line of perpetual snow, at length they almost disappear on some of the eastern slopes of the Bocky mountains and on the ranges of southern Oregon and Utah.
GREAT PLAIN OF THE COLUMBIA.
Although the great forests west of the Cascade range might most naturally follow in the description of regions after those just mentioned, being allied to them in products and in rela¬ tion to climatic agencies, I prefer to give here the brief and incomplete observations which I was able to make during our journey over the Great Plain, occupying the central portion of the Territory.
This region, characterized by an entire absence of trees, occupies an intermediate place in elevation between the mountain forests and the lowlands. Though its name gives the impres¬ sion of a surface uniformly level, it has (as remarked in my preliminary report) its mountains and valleys, which cannot be separated by any peculiarities of natural products, and must, in a technical sense, be considered as a part of the “plains” region. Thus, on the divide between the Yakima and Pisquouse, I noticed that the forests did not appear until near its summit, at nearly 5, 000 feet elevation.
East of Mount Adams the greatest height of the woodless regions is 3,000 feet, at the Spokane river about 2,600 feet, and the lowest point near the centre of the Columbia plain, at Walla- Walla, is 409 feet above Vancouver. Though the canon of the Columbia is cut down through the elevated plain to the level of 119 feet at the Dalles, the general surface around is much higher, and at the lower points there is little doubt that trees would grow freely if protected from fires, being encouraged by the constant supply of moisture carried through the gap of the mountain by the prevailing strong west winds.
I may therefore assume an average elevation of from 500 to 2,500 feet for the dry region of the central portion of the Territory, where trees will not grow without artificial irrigation.
This Great Plain of the Columbia is bounded on the north by an irregular line running between the parallels of 48° and 49°, north of which it is presumed that but few branches of it extend.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
17
the country becoming very mountainous, and therefore well wooded. Southward it is continuous with the central plains of Oregon, through them with those of Utah, and through the South Pass with the vast plains extending eastward to the Mississippi river.
In order to show the peculiarities in the vegetation of the plain region, I have included the plants collected there in a separate list. Though made at an unfavorable season, and few in number, they show a marked dissimilarity from those obtained west of the mountains, yet many of the latter belonging to the prairies west of the mountains are also known to be found on the plains of the central districts.
One peculiar group of shrubs represents in this region the forest trees, and are characteristic of all the plain regions between the eastern base of the Rocky mountains and the Pacific.
( Purshia tridentata, Artemisia trid.entata , Linosyris cdbicaulis, L. viscidijlora, Sarcobatus ver¬ micular is.)
As the most characteristic animals, I refer to the badger, coyote, or barking wolf, cock of the plains, or sage fowl ; sharp-tailed grouse, or prairie chicken, and other smaller kinds, mentioned more particularly elsewhere. The antelope, buffalo, prairie dog, and some others found in other parts of the plains, doubtless are sometimes to be met with in this Territory, though we neither saw them nor heard of them as being common.
The various divisions of the plains due to differences of elevations, soil, and moisture, have each their peculiarities, which would require a long description, had my opportunities been sufficient to make it complete. A short notice of the most striking may not be without interest here.
The high ridges forming spurs of the Cascade range, extending with a gradual slope from the pine forests down to the Columbia on each side the Yakima valley, between its branches, are too dry to serve as anything but a grazing region. Some portions near their summits are also very rocky and barren, but these are comparatively small. The greatest obstacle to cultivation is the absence of means of irrigation, but there can be little doubt of the success of winter grains on many parts of these ridges. The Spokane plain, between that river and the Snake, west of longitude 118°, resembles, in soil and elevation, the lowest part of these ridges, being from 500 to 2,500 feet in elevation. But being a great plateau, it has the advantage of retaining moisture, and in many parts are tracts sufficiently irrigated naturally for general cultivation. Alkaline lakes and marshes, and some very rocky portions, are all that cannot be made use of, but these seem to occupy comparatively a small extent of it.
On all the branches of the northern Columbia crossed by us we found valleys of various extent, which form the best portion of the plain region. Terraces varying in height from five to two hundred feet above the water border these valleys, and present various soils, from the very dry gravel of the ridges down to the fertile alluvium of the river banks. The change in the native vegetation from one to another of these is very remarkable, indicating an adaptation for various crops. Long rank grass covers the moister portions of the bottoms, and there is always some timber close to the water, except towards the mouth of the Yakima. Those valleys north of latitude 48° are doubtless the best in soil and climate, crops doing admirably at Fort Colville without any irrigation.
The lands immediately along the Columbia itself, from just below the mouth of the Spokane to near the Dalles, and all the adjoining region below the elevation of about 2,000 feet, seem available only for grazing without the assistance of irrigation. But it has, as well as the higher valleys, great advantages for effecting this object in the terraces which often partially form a 3 1
18
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
dam, and, with the immense and inexhaustible timber on the mountains, can be made to retain a supply of water both for this purpose and to assist in navigation in the mode suggested by Mr. Ellet, in the Smithsonian Contributions, for improving the navigation of the Ohio. The natural accumulation of alluvial soil in the lowest places would, without doubt, make the banks of this river the most fertile instead of the most barren of all, were it not for the extreme dryness of the climate. Like the rich valley of the Nile, it may, by irrigation, hereafter support a population as great and flourishing as that of Egypt in her palmiest days. It has also the advantage that the worst land of the G-reat Plain is far superior to the deserts which border the Nile valley. In the chapter on the climate of the country along the route this question of cultivation will be found more fully discussed, and compared with other countries.
The relations of climate to the natural productions of the central division of the Territory are very interesting, and although the data are still incomplete, they show that moisture must be the only thing wanting to produce a luxuriant vegetation.
There being little rain, of course snows must be light, but, north of latitude 48°, begin early and cover the ground throughout winter, forming an excellent protection for winter grains, besides advantages for travelling, and do not become so deep as to prevent grazing. While at Fort Colville, as early as October 24, we had a fall of about six inches of snow, almost the first storm of the season. This, however, melted off in twenty-four hours, and we found that south of the Spokane river it had been replaced by rain. After October 1 there is a fall growth of grass, especially where the surface has been burnt over, and we found the hills near the Okonagan in October, and near the Walla-Walla in November, covered with the richest green herbage. As early as February 19, 1854, Lieutenant Grover found the grass “springing up plentifully” on the Spokane plain, while the forests he had just left north and east of that river were still obstructed by deep snows. The growing season begins and ends early, extending from about March 1 to June, like that of the fertile valleys of California.
The time during which I collected on the central plains of the Territory, extending from August 16 to November 17, was the worst period of the year for that purpose. Yet in the small collection of eighty species of plants there are two new ones, (Astragalus serotinus and Malacothrix crepoides,) besides several others of interest, showing that at more favorable seasons the botanist may still obtain novelties in a field already more explored than any other west of the Rocky mountains. Among mammals, all kinds of which were scarce, I can only mention one as new, ( Hesperomys austerus.) Of birds, one is new, ( Podiceps Occident alls,) others scarcely before known, (Picus alpolarvatus, Sittapygmaea,) although I never saw a region so poor in these animals during summer. After October the fall migration began to bring southward many interesting species, which our rapid travelling during the short days did not allow me time to collect.
Dr. Le Conte has found several new insects among those obtained there, and the few reptiles and fish I succeeded in preserving furnish several new and interesting species.
REGION WEST OF THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS.
I now return to the western region of the Territory, including the entire surface west of the Cascade range, which I have left for the last description because it occupies the lowest portions of the Territory, and because my residence in it of two years gives me the means of describing it the most fully. Occasional extracts from my journal may show its striking peculiarities in a stronger light than mere methodical description alone. In descending the Columbia from the
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
19
Dalles, on November 1 7. we found the mountains to rise very rapidly in height and become suddenly densely wooded $ the trees observed being usually of the species prevailing on tho western slopes of the range.
This great mountain gap, unequalled in depth and extent by any on the continent, presents in some parts the perpendicular walls of the canon , in others the gradual slopes of a narrow valley.
Even from the Dalles we could perceive a thick fog hanging in the gap, but were quite unprepared to find a heavy rain, which we entered long before reaching the Cascades, and which continued unceasing during the whole day and night following, when we reached Vancouver. Even after entering this rain we could see the bright unclouded sky of the plains eastward, but I thought the moist and milder air more agreeable than the cold dry climate we had just left.. The change in the appearance of the country in the distance of a few miles was almost as great as I have since observed between New York and the isthmus of Panama in January, as we left the ground at the Dalles covered with snow, and entered a region of perpetual spring, with gigantic evergreen forests, tropical looking shrubs, and large ferns, where several spring flowers were still blooming. Even the perpendicular rocks supported a green covering of mosses, &c., over which cascades, unbroken for a thousand feet, fell from the mountains directly into the river.
This change in the character of the scenery, so strongly observable in passing from the central plains to the western region, prevails over the whole of the latter, though less marked in portions of a drier climate. The ‘‘ Cascades” are noted for rain, which prevails there at all seasons, being caused by the precipitation among the surrounding cold mountain summits. This moisture assimilates the vegetation of the gap to that immediately on the coast, and the shores of the Columbia everywhere below show less of the regional peculiarities than are observed a little distance from them.
These, though not sufficiently extensive and well marked to constitute regions, are yet divisions important enough for separate descriptions. As a whole, the region has a surface mountainous and hilly, interspersed with fine valleys, lying between the level of the sea and an elevation of about 2,000 feet at the summits of the Coast range, and perhaps somewhat more on the western slopes of the Cascade mountains.
PRAIRIES OF THE WESTERN REGION.
The first division which I shall describe is that of the prairies, which naturally follow after the central plains, of which they may be considered branches, closely similar in vegetation, and, to some extent, in animal products. They form, too, the division most important to the settler, who, in the western section, finds the absence of trees as desirable as is their presence in the open country of the interior. The prairies generally occupy the lowest lands only, and are divisible into several kinds, differing in soil, vegetation, elevation, and in the causes which produced them. To commence with the lowest, we find about the mouths of rivers running into the ocean extensive tracts of “tide-lands,” resembling the salt meadows of the eastern coast, but much superior in soil and products. They are overflowed by the tide only at its highest periods, about two or three times annually, and this may be easily and entirely pre¬ vented by embankments. At all other times they may be traversed without difficulty, and are so dry as to produce excellent vegetables of many kinds. Potatoes and almost all garden vege¬ tables succeed admirably with a little care, and even good crops of wheat have been raised on
20
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
them.* Naturally they produce luxuriant crops of grass from two to four feet high and of fine quality, which is green all summer, affording excellent pasturage at the very time when the upland prairies are dry and parched. The floods that do occur are in winter, when they do little harm.
Such tide prairies are most extensive about Shoalwater bay and near the Straits of Fuca. They are less extensive up the sound and on the Columbia and Chehalis, where the water is fresher, and are often covered with a dense growth of small spruces, crab -apple, and other bushes.
Ascending through these to the waters entirely fresh, we find on the Upper Chehalis and Columbia, near Vancouver, tracts of meadow lying below the line of summer inundation, and therefore overflowed in many years from June to August. This has been the greatest obstacle to their cultivation, until the plan was adopted of waiting for the floods to subside, after which crops are found to flourish quite as well as if put in the ground earlier. Embanking is only partially successful, as the water soaks up from below. In most years, however, the flood produced by the melting snows is so short and partial as to be of more service than injury. The soil is very productive, and most of the plants similar to those of the tide lands. Between these meadows and the rivers there is usually a ridge, rarely overflowed, and covered with trees, which conceal the view of the prairies from the water. The absence of trees is on all these evidently due to their occasional inundation either by salt water or the ice-cold flood from thejnountains.
Small prairies, constantly marshy from springs, are found about the heads of rivers, especially among the mountain summits, which produce either a tall, coarse grass, or, where drier, are covered with thickets of low bushes. Such are the cranberry marshes along the coast, where we find precisely the same group of plants as on the mountains 5,000 feet higher, as well as in the most northern parts of this continent and other parts of the world.
The next and a more interesting kind of prairies consists of those which are constantly dry. These are perhaps less rich than the preceding, though varying in this respect. The best are those occupying the river bottoms about Shoalwater bay, the Chehalis, and small rivers run¬ ning into Puget Sound. On Whidby’s island, and other places adjoining the Straits of Fuca, are similar rich prairies, with the appearance of having been formed by a similar alluvial deposit from rivers, though now more than a hundred feet above the water. The rich, black soil is on all these from one to three feet deep, and almost entirely vegetable in composition. It of course produces everything adapted to the climate in luxuriant profusion, though often too rich for grain, especially in the moist climate west of the Coast range. Prairies, with a drier and poorer soil, exist in a narrow strip along the sandy sea-beach, and at an elevation of several hundred feet above tide-water about the head of Puget Sound, where their soil is either sandy or gravelly, producing the same plants as those near the sea-beach, and mostly quite different from those of the rich alluvium.
I give some extracts from my notes to show the general appearance of these prairies at different seasons, and at the same time some idea of out-door life in the Territory.
March 26, 1854, I made an excursion in a sailboat up the Willopah, a river running into the north end of Shoalwater bay. “I was more pleased with this little river and its valley than with any I had yet seen. It has not, of course, the grandeur of the Columbia, but the variety
*In Nova Scotia lands precisely similar, but more subject to overflow, form the best agricultural tracts of the province. — ( Dawson's Acadian Geology.)
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
21
and rich luxuriance of vegetation is more stinking as we pass close along the banks, and at every bend are new scenes of rural beauty as pleasing because uncommon in a new and wild country. For ten or twelve miles meadows, covered even now with fine green grass, occur alternately on either side, with intervening points of higher land covered with trees. Above the limits of tide-water is a change in the vegetation and surface, the upper valley being com¬ posed chiefly of the richest prairies, surrounded by the usual dense forests.”
On the 18th of July following I went with a party to explore a route through this valley to the sound. “Very few of the Indians knew anything of the trail, as it had not been used for twenty years, or since the whole tribe of Willopahs inhabiting the valley were exterminated by smallpox. Reaching the first prairie, at the head of tide-water, we loaded a pack-horse with our provisions and blankets, and, each equipped with axe or gun, started on our pedes¬ trian adventure. The morning was delightful ; the prairie covered with grass full three feet high, and adorned by a great variety of flowers. It yet scarcely showed any effects of the dry season which was just commencing. Ten of these prairies, varying from a quarter of a mile to a mile in extent, occur in this valley ; their soil excellent and surface generally level, though sometimes undulating, and making the most beautiful of farms with scarcely any labor. The rest of the valley is also excellent in soil, but covered with trees, and along the river bank sometimes overflowed in winter.”
Crossing the Coast range (to be hereafter more fully described in the account of the forests) we soon struck prairies on the upper Chehalis river. Here the gravelly soil characterizing the whole valley between the Coast and Cascade ranges, together with a drier climate, had pro¬ duced much more of the effects of the dry season than in the Willopah valley, and the grass, naturally shorter, was quite brown, while a very distinct group of flowers, still blooming in abundance, made it seem as if we had in the distance of a few miles reached an entirely new country. I recognized at once the characteristic plants of the dry prairie near Vancouver and along the Cathlapoot’l river, where the preceding summer I noted, in July, that “we passed through, in the distance of fifty miles, seven prairies from one to four miles in width, generally with abundant grass, rich soil, and forming a charming contrast to the almost impenetrable forests.”
We rested a day at “ Boisfort prairie,” so called by a Canadian settler, the name being a French translation of the Indian name of the oak, which first appears here in going eastward. “It is one of the most beautiful of the little prairies we meet, like oases, in this wilderness of forest. Oval in form, about two and a half miles long by one in width, its surface gently undulating in long, terraced slopes. Near its centre stands a remai'kable mound, conical and about fifty feet high, probably formed by the action of water, though looking very much as if built purposely by ancient inhabitants for a citadel.
‘ 1 The fine fields of grain just ripe, numerous cattle, and comfortable houses, with all the pleasant appliances of rural life, gave the place the air of an old settlement, although the twelve families there had been settled less than a year.”
At short intervals, all along the upper Chehalis, and beyond it to Steilacoom, we passed through similar fine prairies, which occupy a large portion of this valley between the Coast and Cascade ranges.
The “Nisqually plains,” about thirty square miles in extent, lie in irregularly oval form between Puget Sound and the Cascade range, with the Nisqually river on the south and the Puyallup north of them. Their surface is smooth and level, rising in successive terraces from
22
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
ten to forty feet high, and generally parallel to the mountains. At short intervals occur lakes, small but beautifully clear, though usually without visible outlet, the gravelly soil rapidly absorbing the water during the dry season. Few, however, dry up completely, and they become neither muddy nor stagnant, thus indicating, perhaps, a subterranean flow. Around these are beautiful groves of poplar, aspen, ash, maple, and a few pines and oaks. Scattered over the surface are rounded hills, looking like islands in the level plain, and covered with groves of the usual fir, which also sometimes grows on the slopes of the terraces. The whole plain looks like a magnificent park ornamented by the highest skill of the landscape gardener, while to the southeast-, and in full view from all parts of it, stands the majestic Mount Rainier, forty miles distant, though in appearance not more than five.
On the much discussed subject of the mounds so abundant on the praries about Puget Sound, I must make a few remarks, since Mr. Gibbs has suggested that they might have been produced by the immense growth of the “giant root,” (Megarhiza Oregana ,.) forming a nucleus around which the soil has been gradually washed away. — (Yol. I, p. 469.) I have noticed this plant quite as often on level ground and in hollows as on these mounds, and have found deep cavities where its roots have decayed. I cannot, therefore, consider it a cause any more than roots and stumps of other kinds, which never produce mounds so symmetrical and uniform as these are found. I would suggest that they may have been produced by eddies and whirlpools, probably at a time when this sound formed the estuary of a great river like the Columbia, or perhaps these prairies were branches of the great system of northwest sounds, which extends from the Columbia river to Sitka, or further. I have seen such whirlpools in the narrow inlets of the sound, during the violent ebb of the tide, that seemed to me quite capable of thus raising mounds of gravel, just as is done by the eddies of the wind with the light sand along the sea shore and on the plains. Any vegetable origin must be quite inadequate to produce such mounds as I have seen along Black river, which I believe were never seen by Mr. Gibbs. There they stand so close together that it is impossible to walk between them without stepping on the adjoining slopes, and, while standing at their bases, I could not see over them. Such covered the surface for miles near the western border of the prairies, there being r one in the adjoining forest. Their form, as is there most distinctly marked, is very perfectly circular ; height from a scarcely perceptible swell to eight feet, and diameter at least six or eight feet. Their bases do not coalesce, though close together when they are well marked. The low ones seem to have been partially covered, so as to conceal their bases, and form level intervals between the summits that still protrude.
Note. — Mr. Gibbs, in his Geological Report, dated two months later than the above reference, (Yol. I, p. 486,) says that their origin “is clearly due to water.”
In a journey up the Chehalis and down the sounds to the Straits of Fuca, in March, 1855, I found vegetation as far advanced as is usual in May at New York. Strawberries,' &c., were beginning to flower, and many summer birds had arrived, including the delicate humming bird, swallows, and warblers. Indeed, the mildness of the winters makes the prairies more green and beautiful at that season than in summer, and up to the end of December, 1853, I found several flowers still blooming about Yancouver.
Many of the richest prairies are much injured by a- dense growth of fern or brake, which grows on them eight feet high, and as it also occurs about two feet high on the poorer soils, becomes a sure indication of richness. It is said that by cutting off for a few times at a height of several inches the stems will “bleed” to death, the sap running so as to exhaust the roots.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
23
The other vegetation of these prairies is too varied for special enumeration here. Most of the plants found in them are mentioned in my list of those collected west of the Cascade range. Of the 360 species there given, more than 150 are peculiar to these prairies, being a very large proportion considering their small extent in comparison with the forests. It is also observable that these are of a group characteristic of the Great Plains and California, of which botanical regions these prairies form the northwestern outskirts.
From February to July they look like gardens, sucb is the brilliancy and variety of the flowers with which they are adorned. The weary traveller, toiling through the forests, is sure to find in them game, or, at least, some life to relieve the gloomy silence of the woods.
The narrow strip of sandy prairie along the sea beach is particularly interesting to the botanist, for there he finds many beautiful plants not seen elsewhere, which, wandering from more southern climes, meet in the adjoining cranberry marshes the cold-loving northerners before alluded to as common in the swamps. — (See Abronia arenaria and umbellaia , Orobus littoralis , Cymopterus ? littoralis, Fragaria Ghilensis , Franseria, (two species , ) Calystegia, Sold, a- nella, &c.)
A few remarks are necessary upon the origin of the dry prairies so singularly scattered through the forest region. Their most striking feature is the abruptness of the forests which surround them, giving them the appearance of lands which have been cleared and cultivated for hundreds of years. From various facts observed I conclude that they are the remains of much more extensive prairies, which, within a comparatively recent period, occupied all the loAver and dryer parts of the valleys, and which the forests have been gradually spreading over in their downward progress from the mountains. The Indians, in order to preserve their open grounds for game, and for the production of their important root, the camas, soon found the advantage of burning, and when they began this it was only those trees already large that could withstand the fires. Occasionally gigantic fir trees, isolated or in groups, show, by their immense size, that these prairies have not been produced by, nor always exposed to, fires, for they must have attained a considerable age before they could have resisted fire.
The introduction of the horse, about the beginning of this century, was a further inducement for burning, and doubtless also caused an increased settlement in the prairies by these people, hitherto accustomed to travel mostly by water, and to depend upon fishing for their subsistence. On some prairies near Yancouver and Nisqually, where this burning has been prevented for twenty years past, young spruces are found to be growing up rapidly, and Indians have told me that they can remember when some other prairies were much larger than at present. That they never were covered with forest is shown by the perfect smoothness of their surface; while in places very completely cleared of forests by fires is always found mounds and hollows, left by stumps, and an immediate growth of shrubs and trees follows, showing a tendency to return to forest, instead of to form prairies. Great changes must have occurred in the conformation and climate of this part of the coast since forests began to cover a surface once probably as bare as that of the Central Plains.
Several kinds of animals are closely confined to these prairies or their borders. Among them are the deer, rabbit, gopher, meadow-mice, and, in less degree, probably, the sewellel, ( Aplo - dontia ,) mole, prairie-mouse, (Hesperohys austerus,) which seems, like the plants, to have wandered from the east side of the Cascades to Steilacoom. Wolves and foxes are scarce, compared to their numbers on the plains, while their associates there, the badger, coyote, and other species, have not been found west of the Cascades.
24
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Few birds are strictly peculiar to them, though almost all the smaller species, shunning the dense forests, frequent their borders. The shore lark and Savannah sparrow are, perhaps, the only land birds never seen in the woods, while some waders frequent their marshy portions, with the brown crane and the Canada goose, which are never or rarely seen along the sea shore. The prairie chicken, sage fowl, Oregon and California quails are worthy of introduction.
FORESTS OF THE WESTERN REGIONS.
The forests of the western regions deserve a particular description since, though they are less important than the prairies to the agriculturist, they are one of the principal sources of commercial wealth to the Territory.
As I believe no attempt has been yet made to point out in a systematic manner their natural characters, distribution and useful properties, I will here mention each species in the order of its importance.
It will be observed that they are nearly all of different species from those constituting the forests east of the Cascade range, though some of them are supposed to extend much further eastward, north of the Territory, as they reappear upon some of the highest parts of the most eastern Rocky mountains.
The country bordering on the lower Columbia has been celebrated ever since its discovery for the gigantic growth of its forests. Even species so nearly resembling those of the Atlantic States as to be generally considered identical attain a much greater size.
The mild climate and abundant moisture causing a longer growing season may be con¬ sidered, perhaps, as one cause of this increase in size. It seems certainly to have an influence upon many smaller plants, and most strikingly so on cultivated vegetables, whose seeds we know to have been brought from the east. The great height to which trees grow may also be due to the rarity of lightning, as it is well known that thunder-storms, though common on the mountains, are very rare in the valleys.
CONIFEROUS TREES.
The tree most abundant, and therefore most characteristic of these forests, is that of which varieties are known in the Territory as “red” and “black fir,” (Abies Douglassii.) It is, at the same time, the species most generally useful. Its foliage resembles that of the white spruce of Canada, but the leaves are larger and longer. Its cone is also very different from that of any other spruce, being ornamented with three-parted bracts between the scales, which at once distinguish it. Its trunk is straight, commonly without branches for fifty feet or more, and covered with a thick bark, resembling, in its ashy color and deep furrows, that of the chestnut. The wood is rather coarse-grained and liable to shrink, but is more used for lumber than any other, being adapted for all kinds of rough work exposed to the weather. It also forms excel¬ lent fire-wood, even when green, and in dead trees the bark and wood are often so full of resin as to burn like a torch. From its combustibility extensive tracts of this forest get burnt every year, taking fire from friction or any other slight cause. During our ascent of the western slopes of the Cascade range we passed for days through dead forests, perhaps burnt by ignition from the hot ashes which were thrown out from Mount St. Helen’s several years before; but large tracts were on fire at the same time, filling the air with smoke, so that we could not see the surrounding country for several days. Large tracts of the eastern slopes of the Coast range are also desolated by the same cause.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
25
The fir forms the mass of forest growth on the dry, gravelly soils, from an elevation of probably 3, 000 feet on the Cascade range, entirely across the valley to the summits of the Coast range, west of which it is almost entirely replaced by another species, and it is not found at all on lands subject to inundation. It is only where it abounds that extensive tracts are found killed by conflagration.
The tree known as “yellow fir” in the country (A. grandis) I have met with only on the sandy alluvial river banks between the Cascade and Coast ranges, to which limits I believe it is very strictly confined in this Territory. I do not know its highest limits, but suppose that the influence of salt water may determine its most western range along the rivers, as it is strictly limited by tide-water. Its foliage is denser and darker than that of the preceding, and it is a fine looking tree, growing much higher than any other, often exceeding 300 feet. This, with the shortness of its branches, which gives its top a cylindrical shape, easily distinguish it at a distance. Its wood is much finer grained, tougher and more elastic, than that of the red fir, being especially adapted for the enormous masts and spars which are now exported from the Territory even to Asia and Europe. Much lumber, of fine quality, is also made from it along the Columbia river. Its bark is thinner and finely grooved, of a pale gray hue ; the cone oval, about three inches long, and destitute of the peculiar bracts of the preceding species.
The “black spruce” (A. Menziesii) is the characteristic tree of the coast slope, where we find it very strictly limited to the neighborhood of tide-water, though a moist climate and soil seem to be the most essential conditions for its growth, as it reappears upon the higher parts of the Cascade range, and does not extend up Puget Sound, (where the soil and climate are dry, ) though common at the Straits of Fuca. It is remarkable for growing on brackish marshes, sometimes overflowed, and on inundated islands of the Columbia.
This tree has sometimes a diameter of eight feet, but is less lofty than the red fir, which is distinguished west of the Coast range by overtopping this the prevailing species. Its bark is dark reddish and scaly, not unlike that of the wild cherry of the Atlantic States, (C. serotina.) Its branches commonly commence about thirty feet from the ground, and grow more densely than in any other species, while its leaves, growing in several rows entirely around the twigs, form a thick, dark green foliage, with bluish reflections when their glaucous under surface is turned upward by the wind. The cones grow near the ends of the branches, and are about two inches long, of a fine bright purple color when young. Its wood is very tough, and when not too knotty makes good masts and planks for vessels, but is poor fuel, excepting the young branches, which are very resinous. The long, tough, fibrous roots are used by the Indians to make very strong baskets and bags. It resembles the “Norway spruce” of our gardens, in general habit, more than any other.
The tree probably most generally diffused, though nowhere forming forests alone, is the “ Oregon cedar,” (Thuya gigantea,) more nearly allied to the arbor-vitas than to the juniper, commonly called cedar eastward. This, like the other trees, grows to an immense size, being often from twelve to fifteen feet in diameter, but is not equal to the spruces in height. Its trunk is often straight and branchless for twenty feet, but the top is so knotty as to be of scarcely any value. In lightness, softness, and durability, its wood excells any other, but is deficient in strength and elasticity. It is used chiefly for shingles, rails, and fine inside finishing. For most purposes for which the redwood of California is used it is superior, and is therefore much exported from the Territory. A backwoodsman, with his axe alone, can, in a few days, make out of one of these cedars a comfortable cabin, splitting it into timbers and 4 t
26
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
hoards with the greatest ease. This the Indians did long before an iron axe was known among them, using stone hatchets, and wedges of the crab-apple. They also make from its trunk those celebrated canoes, which have an elegance and lightness superior to any other except the fragile shells of birch bark used further north. The following facts will show the wonderful durability of the wood of this cedar, which excels that of its eastern relatives, as seen in the peat-bogs of New Jersey, ( Cupressus Thuyoides , the “white cedar :”)
In the damp, dark forests close to the coast I have seen its trunks lying prostrate with several spruces, from three to four feet in diameter, growing upon them, having evidently taken root in the decaying bark, and extended their roots into the ground adjoining, while the interior of the log I found still sound, though partially bored by insects. Judging of the age of the spruces by ordinary rules, this log must have thus lain hundreds of years exposed to the full action of one of the most moist of climates.
On some of the tide-meadows about Shoalwater bay dead trees of this species only are standing, sometimes in groves, whose age must be immense, though impossible to tell accurately.
They evidently lived and grew when the surface was above high-water level, groves of this and other species still flourishing down to the very edge of inundation. But a gradual, slow sinking of the land (which seems in places to be still progressing, and is perhaps caused by the undermining of quicksands) has caused the overflow of the tides, and thus killed the forests, of which the only remains now left are these cedars. This wood is perfectly sound, and so well seasoned as to be the very best of its kind.
Continued and careful examination of such trees may afford important information as to the changes of level in these shores. That these have been numerous and great is further shown by alternating beds of marine shells and of logs and stumps, often in their natural position, which form the cliffs about the bay to a height of 200 feet. But while these remains show that the changes took place in the latest periods of the miocene tertiary epoch, there is no evidence in the gigantic forests living on these cliffs that any sudden or violent change has occurred since they began to grow — a period estimable rather by thousands than by hundreds of years.
This cedar is most abundant near the coast, but common also in damp forests nearly to the top of the Cascade range, and is known to extend northward to the western slope of the Rocky mountains, growing at a high elevation along their summits into Utah. It is recognizable by its foliage and cones, both resembling those of the arbor-vitas of Canada, but larger. Its bark, too, is thin, coming off in long riband-like strings, of which the Indians make bags and articles of dress. It has been suggested as a good material for the manufacture of paper.
The hemlock spruce (Abies Canadensis?) is generally considered the same species as that found in the Atlantic States, but which does not extend north or west of Lake Winnipeg. It differs on the western coast only in superior size, which is often from six to eight feet in diameter and over a hundred and fifty feet in height ; while three feet diameter and eighty feet high seem to be the maximum size of those near the Atlantic. It is found scattered through the forests from the subalpine regions down to the coast, mostly in the dampest portions, but nowhere forming forests by itself.
The “Oregon yew,” (Taxus brevifolia,) also much larger than that of Canada, though perhaps of the same species, and much more like the European yew than that is, grows commonly in damp soil, about the edges of meadows, springs, &c. It is a tree thirty feet
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
27
high and a foot in diameter, though commonly smaller, the largest being about Puget Sound. Its wood has all the toughness and elasticity of the European yew, and, like it, was formerly used for bows by the natives. Its larger and brighter leaves, smooth red bark, and coral-red sweet berries, easily distinguish it from the hemlock, which it much resembles in growth and foliage. I have seen it at a height of about a thousand feet on the Cascade mountains.
But one other coniferous tree is common in the western region — a pine (P. contorta) so much resembling the “Jersey scrub pine” (P. inops) as to be commonly considered identical. It grows in dry, sandy prairies, forming groves along the sea beach and also high up the mountains. It grows forty feet high and two in diameter, but is of little value as timber. The range of the Jersey pine is widely separated from it, and none occur in the interval from Kentucky to the Rocky mountains.
Besides these seven species, which compose the bulk of the forests, there are a few other coniferous trees which I shall briefly mention, as they occur only in scattered localities, and are therefore of little value.
A tree called “white spruce,” but very distinct from that so named in Canada, found in small numbers about the sound, becoming scarcer towards the Columbia river. It has smooth, white bark, when old becoming dark; very long, shining, dark green leaves, arranged mostly in a single series; and as it branches at regular intervals and in symmetrical whorls, forms one of the most beautiful trees of this family. I never could obtain cones, as they fall to pieces after ripening, but from the characters of its leaves have little doubt of its being Abies taxifolia, Lambert. It is certainly entirely distinct from the Douglass or red fir.
A few stunted trees of the yellow or heavy pine, (P. ponderosa,) already described, are found on the dry, gravelly plain near Steilacoom, but are so stunted as to be scarcely recognizable as the same tree so majestic on the eastern slope of the Cascade range.
A “white pine” is said to grow abundantly on the Olympia range and along the west side of Hood’s Canal, where, I believe, it is sawed into lumber. I could never ascertain whether it was the species found on the Cascade mountains (P* Monticola) or some other.
The Nootka cypress (Cupressus Nutkatensis) is doubtless found in the Territory, as it grows both northward and far south on the Cascade mountains of southern Oregon, where it was found by my friend Dr. Newberry. From the general similarity of its foliage to that of a juniper, it seems probable that the tree seen by Mr. Gibbs, “in swamps at the mouth of the Snohomish river,” was the former, which is much more likely to grow in such a situation than a true juniper.
A second species of arbor-vitee (Thuya plicata) is said by Nuttall to be found on the islands north of the Straits of Fuca, and probably extends within the Territory. “Cedars” on Whidby’s and other islands resemble it in their smaller size and denser branching, but I attributed the variety to soil and did not preserve specimens.
BROAD-LEAVED TREES.
Forests almost exclusively composed of the evergreen conifer® produce, of course, but few trees of other classes; but those found in the Territory are well worthy of special notice, on account of their valuable properties.
The ‘foliaceous” trees there grow almost exclusively on the borders of prairies, river banks, and such open situations; never in the thick forests of evergreens, though sometimes in scattered
28
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
localities when not much shaded. They are thus, like the spruces, much limited by natural boundaries to particular districts.
The same oak (QuERCUS G-arryana) which I have mentioned as found in small numbers east of the Cascade range, is more abundant in the valley between it and the Coast range, west of which I do not think there is a single oak tree. On the Columbia, Oak Point is its lowest locality, and a corresponding point on the Chehalis is near the mouth of Black river, where a few stunted oaks occur, covered with long moss, and evidently suffering from the excess of moisture in the vicinity of the coast. At the same place, and from the same cause, the “black spruce” begins to grow, and the “yellow fir” disappears.
The wood of this oak, though inferior to some kinds of the Atlantic States, is useful for many purposes to which oak wood is applied. It rarely grows more than fifty feet high and two in diameter, branching low like an apple tree, so that at a distance groves of it look much like orchards, giving to the prairies where it grows a rural and home-like aspect. It is rare on the prairies near the Straits of Fuca, but is said to extend further north. It is, however, one of the more southern group of plants which I have mentioned as belonging to the prairies , and is crowded out by the extension of the spruces over them. In the partial shade of these it sometimes grows slender and tall, like the oak of our eastern forests.
The “white maple,” (Acer macrophyllum,) quite different from any eastern species, is the most beautiful of its family in North America. It is frequently eighty feet in height, and attains a diameter of six feet, with smooth, white bark and pale green leaves from six to twelve inches in breadth. Its long racemes of yellow flowers appear with the young leaves in May, giving the tree an elegant appearance. Its wood is superior in beauty of veining to either the “curled” or “birdseye” varieties, and is capable of a high polish. Sugar has been made from its sap at the Cascades, and may yet become an important product. This maple grows from a high elevation on the mountains to the ocean; but I did not see it east of the Cascade range, where it seems to be replaced by the third species of the Catalogue, (A. glabrum,) a species of the Rocky mountain forests.
The “vine maple,” (A. circinatum,) so called from its prostrate and tangled growth, forms almost impenetrable thickets in damp parts of the forests. It grows only twenty or thirty feet high, with a diameter of a foot at most, and is used chiefly for fuel, and boat timbers, for which its crooked stems are well adapted. Its rich purple flowers are very ornamental in April, and its leaves are the only kind that turn scarlet in autumn, like those of so many eastern trees.
The “Oregon alder” (Alnus Oregona) inhabits a similar extent of country, but is most abundant near the sea, where its light green foliage and white bark contrast agreeably with the dark hue of the spruce forests. It grows sixty feet high, has very soft white wood, excellent for carved work, furniture, Ac. In the dry soil of the valley it is rather scarce, but is said to reappear on the western slopes of the Rocky mountains.
Another smaller alder, (A. viridis,) little more than a shrub, grows in small numbers near Steilacooto, and is, perhaps, that mentioned by Nuttall (“A. rubra”) as occurring near Oak Point.
The “Oregon ash” (Fraxinus OregoNa) grows in moist, sandy soil, on river banks, in the valley between the Cascade and Coast ranges, but, like the yellow fir, stops at brackish water; and although a few are found down to the mouth of the Columbia, none grow along other rivers
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
29
west of the Coast range. It is a larger tree than the eastern white ash, and has all the elasticity and lightness for which that tree is so well known.
The “Oregon dogwood” (Cornus Nuttallii) is still more strictly limited to the above valley, and seems to disappear north of Steilacoom. It much resembles that of the Atlantic States, but is of much larger size in all its parts, and quite equal in toughness and strength. Its white flowers, sometimes six inches in breadth, ornament the forests in April.
With a similar range, but extending quite to the Straits of Fuca, is the beautiful arbutus, (A. Menziesii,) often called laurel. Its smooth cinnamon-colored bark and shining evergreen leaves have almost a tropical appearance among the northern spruces, and it is, indeed, like the oak, one of the few southern trees which extend from southern California northward in the prairies. It grows almost luxuriantly on gravelly points and banks at the sound, but never west of the Coast range. It attains forty feet in height and two in diametex*, and its wood is veiy strong and heavy, so that crooked pieces are used to make anchors by binding them abound stones.
Two, and perhaps more, species of poplar form the forest growth on the inundated river banks from an elevation of 5,000 feet down to tide-water. They ai’e also found on all the rivers running from the Rocky mountains, and perhaps entirely across the continent. The latter is the “cotton-wood,” (Populus monilifera.) The other, distinguished as “balsam,” or “bitter” poplar, is peculiar to the western half of the continent, (P. angustifolia.) The wood of both is of little value, but they grow rapidly and are ornamental. The islands and low shores of the Columbia are covered with these trees, of larger size than I have ever seen them elsewhere.
Another poplax*, (P. tremuloides, ) the “American aspen,” common across the continent, grows on the high mountains, and in small numbers about the lakes near Steilacoom, but not west of the Coast range. It is more abundant northward and east of the Cascades. Its wood is of little value, and rarely grows more than a foot in diameter, with a height of forty feet.
Many species of willow grow along the rivers, but only two or three attain the size of trees.
One, (Salix speciosa,) with very large and long leaves, seems mostly limited to the streams east of the Coast l'ange. East of the Dalles this and a small hackberry (Celtis reticulata) are the only trees seen for hundreds of miles along the Columbia.
The second (S. Scouleriana) is most abundant west of the Coast range, and grows thirty feet high and one in diameter, but is of little value. Its leaves are large and oval, and its flowers among the first to appear, opening as eaidy as Februai-y 20.
The willows along river banks, by their thickly matted roots and stems, support the sandy soil, and accumulate it until it becomes high enough for other trees to grow on it.
The wild cherry (Cerasus mollis) attains a height of thirty feet, and in appearance closely resembles the cultivated kinds, which may be advantageously grafted on it. Its Avood is of little value, and its fruit small and bitter.
The “Oregon crab-apple,” (Pyrus rivularIs) grows sometimes twenty feet high and one in diameter, but usually forms low, tangled thickets, equal to the tropical mangroves in impene¬ trability. Its wood is hard and tough, used for wedges, &c., and its fruit, though small, is abundant and Avell flavored, ripening in October. At Astoria excellent apples have been produced by grafts on this tree.
The “Oregon buckthorn,” (Frangula Purshiana,) one of three distinct plants called “bear- berry” in this Territory, grows on mountain sides and open ravines to the height of thirty feet,
30
BOTANY OP THE ROUTE.
but is less than a foot in diameter, and I believe of no especial value as timber. The berries have violent cathartic properties, and, though eaten greedily by bears, are not used by the Indians as food.
A birch (B. occidentals ?) is said to be common north of the straits, but I did not meet with it. A low, shrubby species, east of the Cascade mountains, exudes from its branches a bitter resinous substance, (B. glandulosa.)
SHRUBBY UNDERGROWTH.
To complete the description of the forests, I must notice briefly the numerous shrubs which constitute an almost impassable underbrush in most parts of them, and are nearly all of use either for their wood or fruits. In their distribution they are even more local than the trees, and different groups characterize very fully the districts into which the forests are divisible. East of the mountains I have remarked that a peculiar group takes the place of forests on the Great Plains. There is also another group belonging to the Rocky mountain forests which grow along the higher river banks, but, not being in a good condition during my visit there, do not appear in the list of plants collected, though I identified the following species among them : Rhus diversiloba, Torr. & Gray ; Crataegus sanguinea, Pall ., and another species, Cerasus Virginiana?; Rosa cinnamomea, Linn.) Ribes Aureum, (a fine yellow currant;) R. cereum ; Clematis LiGUSTiciEFOLiA, NuttaU.
The hazel, (Corylus Americana,) red cornel, or “willow,” (Cornus Drummondii,) and bar¬ berry, are also found on both sides of this range. This latter shrub, absurdly called * 1 Oregon grape,” (Berberis aquifolium, the “holly leaved barberry,”) extends west to the Coast range only. It produces a blue berry, eatable when cooked, and is much cultivated in the Atlantic States as an ornamental plant. This, with a spiraea, (S. arle folia,) a ceanothus, (C. Oregonus, ) and the hazel, form most of the underbrush of the “fir” forests between the Cascade and Coast ranges. A “mock orange” is also common from the Columbia to Puget Sound, (Phila- delphus.) Three species of raspberry are also found, mostly in this region, (Rubus Nutkanus, leucodermis, and macropetalus,) but to some extent also west of the Coast range. Three species of gooseberry have similar limits, though they do not grow in the shade of forests. (Ribes divaricatum, niveum ?, and sanguineum,) and a peculiar rose is found only on the borders of the fir forest, (Rosa gymnocarpa.) On Whidby’s island are found two shrubs of much interest on account of their locality, Shepherdia Canadensis and a Rhododendron, closely resembling R. maximum, but perhaps distinct, which extends along the Cascade range into southern Oregon. — (Dr. Newberry.)
Near Steilacoom, and in other scattered localities, some of the shrubs belonging to the Rocky mountain group are occasionally found, (Rhus, Ceanothus velutinus, Oreophila myrti- folia.) On the dry prairie two shrubs are met with — the service berry (Amelanchier Cana¬ densis, var.l alnifolia) of the northern group, and an elder (Sambucus glauca) which belongs to the plains. In the adjoining forests, and often very near it, grows its northern representa¬ tive, (S. pubens, var. ?) meeting it here just as it does the allied elder of the Atlantic States near New York. Of the shrubs more characteristic of the black spruce forests, but which occur also on the higher and moister parts of the Cascade range, many are evergreen, giving these gloomy forests an undergrowth of almost tropical appearance, though belonging to alpine or boreal families of plants. They do not generally obstruct these forests so much as the pre¬ ceding group, and, except close to the ocean, they can be easily penetrated along the uplands.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
31
Probably the most abundant shrub is the “sallal,” (Gaultheria shalon,) important to the Indians from bearing a fine berry which forms much of their winter stock of provisions.
This fruit has, when fully ripe, much the same flavor as a summer af)ple. The sallal is not uncommon in the fir forests, where, however, it grows only one or two feet high, while near the coast it attains the height of eight feet. Its large, dark evergreen leaves and rose-colored flowers are very ornamental, and in general appearance somewhat resemble the eastern large laurel, (Kalmia,) whi§h it here takes the place of.
Three species of huckleberry have the same range. The first (Vaccinium ovatum) is ever¬ green, with leaves much like a myrtle, and flowers from January to May, producing a black, sweet berry, which remains on it all winter.
The second, (V. ovalifolium, ) with small deciduous leaves, bears a red acid fruit, tasting much like a cherry. The third (V. parvifolium) bears a blue acid berry less agreeable in flavor.
Three kinds of gooseberry grow with these, but their fruit is not eatable, (Rises laxiflorum,
BRACTEOSUM, and LACUSTRE.)
Another shrub, allied to the huckleberries, produces a dry capsule, instead of a berry, (Menziesia ferruginea.)
The most remarkable shrub of this region is the Echinopanax horridum, allied to the Aralia of the eastern States, and, like it, called “Devil’s Walking Stick.” Its elastic thorny stems, six feet high, and crowned at the top only by a number of very large leaves, shaped like those of a maple, are very unpleasant to encounter in the woods, as they are generally felt before they are seen in the damp thickets where they grow.
A beautiful evergreen species of wax myrtle (Myrica Californio a?) occurs rarely about salt marshes at the coast and straits, which seems near its most northern limit, as I never could find on it either flowers or fruit.
I have already mentioned a group of plants which characterize the sphagnous swamps and cold springs at the coast as well as on the mountain tops, and in the most northern parts of the world, among which some are shrubby, (Vaccinium macrocarpon, Ledum palustre, Kalmia
ANGUSTIFOLIA.)
There is a remarkable scarcity of climbing shrubs in these forests — one only, a honeysuckle, (Lonicera occidentalis,) occurring rarely in the fir forests, though several herbaceous climbers assist in obstructing them, (Megarhiza Oregona, Vicia gigantea, Lathyrus polyphyllus, and others.)
The last group of shrubs to be mentioned is that growing on inundated river banks, often in the shade of poplars, and forming generally dense thickets. None of these are evergreen, and in winter these poplar woods become quite bare, while the adjoining forests are green above and below.
I have referred to the many shrubby willows which form the first growth at the edge of the water, and are often partly submerged during most of the year. Next to these is found the red cornel, already mentioned, closely resembling one belonging to the northeastern States. Another species (C. pubescens) is less common in similar situations, and has a green stem. On ground a little higher, but below the summer inundation, grow two species of snowberry, (Symphoricarpus.) Still higher grow the excellent salmonberry, (Rubus spectabilis, ) a kind of raspberry, with purple flowers and a yellow or red fruit of delicious flavor. The crab-apple, hawthorn, wild rose, (Rosa fraxinifolia,) and fly blossom, or “bearberry,” (Lonicera involu- CRATA,) form thickets with these. All of these also occur in damp, open places and wet
32
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
prairies, where sometimes a spiraea (S. Douglassii) entirely covers the surface, and closely resembles the eastern “hardhack.”
One shrub, allied to the cherry, but, unlike any eastern kind, (Nuttallia cerasiformis,) grows in damp places, and most abundantly under spruce trees on the brackish marshes.
To call these varied and magnificent forests by the general name of “pine/7 as is often carelessly done by travellers, neither conveys a correct idea of them to strangers nor does justice to their importance. “Spruce” would be better, but is the term applied in the Territory to the forest of black spruce west of the Coast range, while “fir” is the general term for those between this and the Cascades. Pines are truly characteristic of the forest on the eastern side of this range.
I need not here particularize the animals of these forests, since nearly all the quadrupeds collected west of the range belong to the forest exclusively. Of these, the most peculiar to them are the red lynx, (L. fasciatus,) bushy -tailed rat, (Neotoma occidentalis,) and several little shrews and mice; while the panther, black bear, raccoon, skunk, fisher, marten, mink, weasel, Oregon tree squirrel, ground squirrel, and flying squirrel, nearly resemble eastern species; and being all climbing arboreal animals, except the skunk, are almost entirely limited to the forest.
The elk and deer may be considered inhabitants of the prairies, as they obtain most of their food there; and the little rabbit of the Territory is never found in the dense forests. Few birds inhabit their gloomy recesses, and especially in summer their silence is rarely broken, except by the harsh voice of the jay, the screaming of the hawk, or the barking of the squirrel, which, though not loud, is audible for miles. Occasionally the blue grouse or the pheasant startle the traveller with their loud whirring flight, or an owl silently glides past him, astonished at so unusual a visitor; but it is rare for the traveller to see any of the larger animals, unless provided with good dogs. The Indians, from fear of the panthers and of “skookums” or spirits, fear to go through the dense woods, except in large parties, and they are, therefore, generally a pathless and solitary wilderness, Such we found them when ascending the western slopes of the Cascade range, and the same character prevails throughout the still denser forests of the Coast range. The occurrence of many anjmals was a sure indication of an approach to prairies or openings.
CLIMATE OF THE WESTERN REGION.
I have already alluded to the influence of climate on the distribution of trees east of the Cas¬ cade mountains, and also to the same cause as affecting the growth of species on the opposite sides of the Coast range. As a means of comparison, I here quote the records kept at Van¬ couver, bv which it appears that in 1852 the total fall of rain amounted to 52.45 inches; in 1853, 42.04 inches; the mean of which is 46.49 inches; while at the Dalles it was but 14.70 inches. It also appears that rain fell during every month of 1853, and that more fell at Puget Sound than at Vancouver.
West of the Coast range it is well known that more rain falls than east of it. The “Hyetal charts,” accompanying the Surgeon General’s Meteorological Register, illustrate the difference in a very striking manner. These show the difference at Astoria to be 5 inches more in spring, 10 in autumn, and 10 in winter, giving about 60 inches for the year; while at Vancouver it is
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
33
45. In summer there is little or no difference recorded. In addition to this, the nature of the soil causes the retention of much more moisture near the coast, there being often a very tenacious clay at or near the surface. Near the mouth of the Columbia there is also much more rain than at a distance of a few miles north or south of it. I have stated that towards the summit of the Cascade range there is also a much greater precipitation of moisture, which is accompanied by the reappearance or greater luxuriance of the trees and other plants of the coast forests, and this is especially well marked in the gap of the Cascades.
I have already mentioned the difference observed in the temperature both of summer and winter at the Dalles and at Vancouver, which are in nearly the same latitude. By the same records it appears that the mean annual difference between Vancouver and Steilacoom, a hundred miles further north, is exactly two degrees, each season being a little cooler at the latter place. The same or a greater difference exists along the coast, but has not been recorded. The effect, however, of these differences on vegetation is scarcely appreciable, and the amount of moisture is by far the most influential. Of cultivated crops no statistics are at hand, but I have observed that in the wet summer of 1854 they did best east of the coast range ; while that of 1855, being much dryer, they succeeded best west of it.
I have alluded to the mildness of the winters, and, in addition to the published records, some notes on its effects in relation to natural history may be interesting.
At Vancouver, from November 18 to January 4, 1853, the weather was very mild and rainy, though with many bright, warm days. There was often slight frost at night, but vegetation continued, and flowers of several kinds were constantly to be found on the prairie. I thought December pleasanter than the month I had spent there after my arrival in the middle of June, as it was cooler and not much more rainy.
On January 5 there was a fall of two inches of snow, and the rest of the month was clear and cool for days together, an easterly wind taking the place of the usual winter sea breeze. More snow fell on the 13th, 16th, 20th, and 24th, making in all about six inches, which covered the ground for two weeks. By the 26th the Columbia was closed with ice nine inches thick, which broke up on February 10. The thermometer did not fall to zero during the winter, and the lowest I noted was 15°.
On February 20 I went to the mouth of the Columbia, and remained there and at Shoalwater bay the spring following. On the 25th the native willow and chickweed (Stellaria borealis) were in flower and winter at an end, although there was a light fall of snow afterwards, and spring came slowly. This winter was one of the coldest ever known at Vancouver, where it is rare for the river to freeze at all. Its effect on the migration of birds was marked, as it drove southwards the immense flocks of swans, geese, and ducks, which usually make the Columbia their winter resort. A few birds, too, seemed to have crossed from the colder eastern side of the Cascades, (Picicorvus,) but the greater part of the land' birds, as usual, remained constantly at their summer homes, including more than twenty species.
The next winter I spent at Shoalwater bay, and made the following notes regarding it: There was white frost first on the 7th of October, and afterwards much clear frosty weather up to the last week in December, with northeast wind, unusual at this season. The last week of the year was marked by a continued and severe storm, not cold, but with heavy rains from the southwest. On December 21 I saw the large brown salamander still crawling actively about, and the same week noticed a warbler and snipe.
1855. — The new year began clear and cold, like the last. January 2d it snowed a little, but
5 +
34
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
this was washed away by a rain following after it. It again snowed on the night of the 5th, and cleared olf so cold that ice formed along the shore of the bay. On the 9th the warm southwest winds again prevailed, and there was scarcely any cold weather .afterwards.
January 14. — It was so warm that a bat came out and flew about the house for some hours before dark. “January 27. The weather has been, lately, growing daily warmer, with a SE. wind. Observed to day many frogs and striped snakes, and the large slugs and salamanders are crawling about. In the evening frogs are piping their serenade, the pleasant harbinger of early spring. The myrtle-leaved huckleberry is beginning to blossom, and the buds of trees are bursting ; everything seems as advanced as in April at home.”
This clear, warm weather continued until February 1, when it rained again, almost constantly for two weeks. Then came another mild, clear term, followed by cold weather, ice forming ^-inch thick.
February 20. — ‘ 1 Nardosmia palmata , Rubus spectabilis, and Trillium grandiflorum are in flower.” On the 23d I went up the Chehalis river, and to Puget Sound, which I soon after descended as far as the Straits of Fuca. There, as early as March 17, I found that the delicate little humming bird, swallows, and warblers had already reached the extreme northwest corner of the Territory, and I was disappointed in my hopes of obtaining some rare winter visitors from the north. The flowering currant, strawberries, and many other flowers were there blooming, and the winter was, of course, ended. During this winter more than twenty land and sixteen aquatic species of birds were almost constantly about the bay, some leaving only for a few days during the coldest part of January. A comparison of these numbers and species of birds with those remaining through winter in the same latitudes on the eastern coast will show very strikingly the difference in climate on the opposite sides of the continent.
FRESH WATERS OF THE TERRITORY.
Some general remarks upon the waters of the Territory, and their peculiar relations to their animal and vegetable productions, are necessary to complete these notes on the natural regions.
Taking the fresh waters first, they being, with few exceptions, branches of the Columbia, and those which are not so being small and few, I shall treat of them as if they were, knowing but few differences in their natural products. Closer examinations will, doubtless, disclose the fact that these different waters have many arfimals, especially small fish, peculiar to each of them, but those which are amphibious can migrate from one to another, and plants are generally extended throughout them by means of their seeds, which are transported by birds, winds, &c.
I have already alluded to the fact that an extensive group of plants inhabiting marshes were of identical species with those found in similar places throughout the northern part of this continent, and even of Europe and Asia. A smaller series, more truly aquatic, presents the same fact in a remarkable manner, ( Scirpus lacustris, Typlia latifolia, Polygonum ampMbium, and others.)
The low temperature of the rivers, and of the springs which form most of the marshes, accounts in great measure for this similarity in vegetation at the level of the sea, and at a height of 5,000 feet on the mountains. The original source of all these waters (except those arising in the Coast range south of the Chehalis) is in the perpetual snows of the mountains, and in their rapid course to the sea they become heated only in those few places where expanded into small lakes and sloughs. The very perfect drainage of the country prevents the formation of extensive swamps, and no doubt accounts for the remarkable healthiness of a country exposed to such great moisture from rains. An inspection of the map will show that,
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
35
especially west of the Cascade range, the rivers, though small, are exceedingly numerous. Many, too, of quite large dimensions during the rainy season, become nearly or quite dry in summer, particularly east of the Cascades. Their water is almost always exceedingly clear, though some are turbid during the summer floods, especially the Columbia and Cowlitz, which has then a bluish, milky hue.
I have seen very few that presented the dark hue arising from decomposed vegetation. One of these is the Okanagan, east of the Cascades, which, unlike all the others on that side, is dark, slow, and broad, having many lakes in its course caused by its expansion. The temperature of this river on September 27 is stated by Lieutenant Mowry as “much higher” than that of the Columbia near its mouth, which was 52°. To this fact I attribute the occurrence in it of several interesting species of mollusca, of which I had hitherto found but three species in the rivers..
Again, on the west side of the range is the Black river , much smaller, though apparently deeper, and perhaps conveying as much water. Around this is the most extensive swamp I have seen in the Territory, partially covered with forest, and doubtless producing many plants not to be found elsewhere. I had no opportunity of collecting anything there.
It is observable that both of these, as well as the Willamette and that part of the Columbia from the Cascade to the Coast ranges, flow nearly parallel instead of transverse to the mountains, and, having slow currents, are consequently deeper, warmer, and more expanded than the other streams. In June, 1853, I found the Willamette warm enough to bathe in at Portland, while the Columbia at Vancouver, then high from the summer floods, was entirely too cold. The published record of its temperature during the freshet of 1854 shows that at the commence¬ ment, on May 8, the temperature of the river at Vancouver was only 40°. It can scarcely be supposed to have been warmer previously, as the rains had not ended nor the weather become hot. From 40° it rose and fell alternately until July 20, when the record terminates, the highest temperature being, on June 30, 55°. It is somewhat singular that the rise in tempera¬ ture corresponded with the rise of the water, and vice versa during June, which may have been due to warm rains. But as the water fell, during July, the warmth gradually increased from 47° to 53°. 5, the points given for the first and twentieth of the month. It, doubtless, continued to increase afterwards during the lowest stage of the river, which is between July and December.
It is, however, hardly probable that the warmest portions of the Columbia attain a warmth much above 60°, which is allowing an increase of eight during its course from the mouth of the Okanagan to Vancouver, while it is continually receiving branches from the mountain snows. The temperature of 52°, observed at the former point on September 27, is, doubtless, about the highest it reaches there, since that period was at the very middle of the dry season, and the snow-flood had long since ceased.
In connexion with this low temperature, and with the fact that in most winters the streams west of the mountains rarely freeze, thus limiting the temperature of the year between about 35° and 60°, we find that, though abounding in fish of many species, all those constantly inhabiting it belong to but two families, Salmonid2B and Cyprinhue, excluding those which merely enter the river in summer to spawn, as the sturgeon, lamprey, &c. Reptiles and mollusca are also rare, being confined almost exclusively to the lakes, marshes, and sloughs near the river, which become warmer in summer.
36
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
The Columbia continues fresh so near its mouth that I have found the water drinkable even at high tide, and in August, just within Cape Disappointment, less than a mile from the breakers outside the bar.
To this fact is attributable the scarcity of such animals as usually inhabit estuaries. Though I visited the place at all seasons I never found on the shores of Baker’s bay but two species of mollusca, while in Shoalwater bay, only a mile or two north of it, are more than twenty. But several species are known to inhabit the deep water about the bar of the Columbia, where they were dredged up by the Exploring Expedition. It is probable that the water is much salter at that depth than near the surface.
Aquatic mammalia, such as beaver, muskrat, otter, and seal, abound in the fresh waters; and one seems to be peculiar to the Territory, the water shrew, (Neosorex navigator,) caught while swimming a foot below the surface of one of the lakes at the head of the Yakima river, and at least 2, 500 feet above the ocean.
SALT WATERS OF THE TERRITORY.
The salt waters of the Territory constitute a botanical and zoological region, equal in importance to the others described, and, in their great variety of animal life, far surpass the corresponding portions of the Atlantic coast. A short description of the peculiarities in the conformation of the shores will, in some degree, account for this fact. Commencing with the northwest sounds, we find there a large body of water from twenty to sixty fathoms deep, with shores almost everywhere bold and hard, so that the largest ships can literally tie fast to the trees along shore in many portions where they cannot readily anchor on account of the depth. This great body of water is nearly as salt as the ocean itself, and is renewed twice in each day by tides, which range between the limits of eighteen feet, each alternate tide being less than the preceding, until it is reduced to a rise or fall of less than a foot, when it begins to increase again, the other series decreasing in its turn. By this arrangement it happens that the extreme low tides occur about once in every fortnight.
The high mountains, and generally steep cliffs on each side, completely protect the sounds from storms, so that calms are almost constant in their inner labyrinths, and they are thus as admirably fitted for the production of animal life as the most carefully constructed aquarium. In very short visits and hasty voyages on the sounds I had little opportunity for collecting, and obtained, I believe, nothing new. But the great number of animals obtained by others, and most of which exist in abundance, show its richness in zoology, while it may be safely estimated that a third of its inhabitants are yet unknown to science.
A long residence at Shoalwater bay allows me to speak of it more particularly. It is twenty-five miles long and from three to seven wide, thus including an area of more than a hundred square miles. Of this large surface two-thirds may be said to become bare at ordinary low tide, and probably more than three-quarters at the lowest semi-monthly ebbs, of which those of May and June are even lower than the others, though all less in their extremes than those of the sounds.
The least depth of water on the bar . is, by the Coast Survey charts, three and a quarter fathoms, which increases just within it to seventeen fathoms, and varies in the channels from this depth to three fathoms at the mouths of the larger rivers. There are five rivers emptying into the bay, which bring down a large amount of fresh water, and six large creeks, which, though wide at high water, become almost dry at medium ebb-tides, and were caused by the
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
37
tides flowing through channels in the meadows originally formed by small brooks. The Willopah is navigable for about fifteen miles; the other rivers from four to twelve. There is, of course, a large mixture of fresh water with the salt in the bay, while, at the same time, the rivers are all more salt at their mouths than the Columbia, and for a proportionately much greater distance up them. The bottom of the bay is composed of sand, hard near its mouth, but becoming more and more mixed with mud towards the mouths of rivers and its south end, where it is too soft to bear a man’s weight. There are several hard, sandy or gravelly points about the bay, and isolated rocks in a few places.
Such a variety of “stations” produces a corresponding variety of molluscous and other animals, which are fully spoken of elsewhere with regard to their distribution. I may remark that while all the same varieties of station occur in the sounds, and produce a corresponding series of animals, the greater depth, saltness, and more rocky bottom of those waters, favor the existence of many additional species.
The immense numbers of waterfowl that frequent this bay at almost all seasons is also referred to in my notes on them, and it will be remarked that nearly all of them are of the same species as on the Atlantic coast, though some, like the pelican, reach a much more northern latitude. The variety of fish is apparently greater than in the Columbia, though less than in the sounds. A single large starfish, occasionally washed up from deep water, is the only radiate animal I have seen there.
Grey’s harbor has, apparently, much -less variety of animal life than Shoal water bay. Its bottom is more sandy, and the water probably salter than in the bay; and I have remarked that the tides flow up it for forty-five miles, though it does not taste brackish at that distance up.
The shore of the ocean, from the Columbia to Gray’s harbor, which is the only part I have visited, is shallow and sandy, and produces less variety of animals than might be expected from visiting the other waters. Though I have walked the whole distance of forty miles twice, and part of it oftener, and at all seasons, I have obtained little more than I did in the bay. I also made a voyage outside, from the Columbia to Shoalwater bay, in a small schooner, being two days and two nights out, but I observed nothing not before seen.
There are several animals peculiar to the ocean, which are worthy of special reference, being more fully described in my notes on species elsewhere given.
The sea otter, inhabiting the rocky coast further north and south, is the most interesting and important, being a close link between the otters of fresh waters and the seals, of which one or more species abound along the coast, and go far up the rivers Allied to these are the cetaceans, of which small kinds, called “humpback” and “finback” whales, are constantly to be seen at a distance of a mile or two from the shore, and are sometimes washed up on the beach, supplying a rare feast to the Indians, as well as a supply of oil to the whites. One of these, some years ago, is said to have entered Shoalwater bay, and spouted about there for several days, while the few inhabitants had no weapons to attack it with. Occasionally the large “right whale” is said to be washed ashore along this beach. Porpoises are common in summer, and enter the bays; and the species called by whalers the “killer” has been rarely washed up, one of them in the summer of 1855.
Several birds are peculiar to the ocean. The albatross and several little known auks, of singular forms, are seen out of sight of land, but never enter the bays and rarely ever approach the beach, though said to be abundant on rocky islands along other parts of the coast. At
38
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
the lofty rocky promontory of Cape Disappointment I found two or more species rarely seen within the mouth of the Columbia, though frequenting the outside of the cape in immense numbers — (Graculus and Aphriza.)
Of the fish peculiar to the ocean I know little, though the large skate found at the mouth of Shoalwater bay seems to be one* of them. Immense numbers of small cod, and of an excellent kind of anchovy, are sometimes washed up near and within the mouth of the Columbia.
A peculiar radiate (Spatangus) is found along the beach, and one mollusc, only, that I have noPTound elsewhere, (Machaera,) called there the razor clam, and considered the best of the bivalves for the table.
The vegetation of the salt waters is almost as interesting as its animals, although, being of a low organization, it has not yet attracted so much attention.
The immense “kelp” of the Pacific, (Macrocystis,) rivalling the gigantic forest trees of the coast, sometimes said to be 300 feet in length, and growing at both ends of that ocean, is a most remarkable object as it lies extended along the beach like an immense serpent, or, coiled in tangled masses, it floats about, carrying attached to its roots stones of many pounds weight. In the sound this seaweed grows plentifully, as well as in the deep sea, but not on sandy parts of the coast.
Mr. Ashmead has kindly noticed two other interesting species of Algae collected on the coast in my catalogue of plants. The plants of higher orders growing close to or in salt water illustrate the same fact in respect to distribution as those found along rivers, &c., most of them being of very wide distribution both on this continent and in other parts of the world. (Latliyrus maritimus, Potentilla anserina , Lignsticum scoticum, Plantago marUima , Armeria vulgaris , Glaux maritima , Zostera marina , Ruppia maritima, and several others.)
In regard to the temperature of the salt waters I can only say that it prooably varies much less than that of the fresh, since the currents of the oceans coming from the northwest keep it cool in summer, while it never freezes, except where largely mixed with fresh water, and in shallow bays. It is well known, too, that the vast body of the North Pacific is warmer than the Atlantic in the same latitudes, and that icebergs are never seen anywhere near the coast of the Territory.
SCENERY OF THE WESTERN REGIONS.
The natural features of Washington Territory are strikingly different throughout from those of a corresponding portion of the Atlantic coast, owing both to its mountainous character and peculiar products. To a traveller approaching the coast by sea the whole country appears mountainous and densely clothed with dark green forests from the water level to the limits of perpetual snow. Far above this tower in indescribable majesty and beauty the brilliant snow- clad peaks of the Cascade range, in strong relief against the deep blue sky, and seemingly close to the sea, although Mount St. Helen’s, the nearest, is one hundred miles inland. At sunset the softening mist which often hangs over them becomes tinted with the most delicate hues, gradually changing through the shades of rose, purple, and lilac, until in the moonlight they become like monuments of shining silver.
On nearing land this noble scenery is found to be accompanied by a proportionately gigantic vegetation, and, indeed, everything seems planned on a gigantic scale of twice the dimensions to which we have been accustomed. The Columbia, unequalled in grandeur even by the “Father of Waters,” is bordered by lofty cliffs and ^mountains, clothed from base to summit
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
39
with perpetual verdure, and supporting on almost every foot of surface trees of astonishing magnitude. At every bend constantly varying scenes of the wildest beauty burst upon the view, while the calm silence is often unbroken, save by the screaming of the panther or the shrill cry of the eagle soaring far overhead.
The universal and gloomy forest soon becomes monotonous, and it is a relief to see the canoe gliding silently along, the log-cabin of the pioneer on the shores, or to hear the shrill whistle of the steamboat echoing from bank to bank, and starting the savage inhabitants of the woods. Though few signs of inhabitants may be seen, there are usually a few yards back of the line of the poplars that edge the river large and fertile prairies, and farms well stocked with the products of the soil.
On the smaller rivers a striking variety in scenery is observed, as in a few miles we pass from the sandy sea-beach through luxuriant meadows, upland prairies, and forests with all their different vegetation, until reaching the end of navigation we find a mountain torrent, walled in by precipitous sides, and falling in successive cascades for hundreds of feet. All this is seen within ten miles of the ocean, on the “ Copalux river,” as well as on some running into Puget Sound.
Entering by the Straits of Fuca the scenery is quite different but no less interesting.
The calm blue waters of the sounds lie placid as a lake in the basin formed by their steep shores with an ever varying outline of points and bays, and dotted with islands of every form and size. Prairies are often visible to the water’s edge, interspersed with evergreen forests, and extending as an elevated plateau to the base of the rugged and snowy mountains that rise like walls on the east and west.
With all this magnificence there is not wanting scenery of a milder and more home -like aspect. The smooth prairies, dotted with groves of oaks, which in the distance look like orchards, seem so much like old farms that it is hard to resist the illusion that we are in a land cultivated for hundreds of years, and adorned by the highest art, though the luxuriant and brilliant vegetation far excels any natural growth in the east. Nothing seems wanting but the presence of civilized man, though it must be acknowledged that he oftener mars than improves the lovely face of nature.
The sea-beach, too, has peculiar attractions for one accustomed to live in its vicinity. Its broad hard sand forms an excellent road, smooth and solid as the floor, on which are often to be found objects of interest and value, free gifts from the domains of Neptune. The constant roar of the surf forms a pleasant relief to the silence of the surrounding forests, and in solemn tones unceasingly it speaks of that Power who created all these things, “whose path is in the great waters, and whose footsteps are not known.”
No. 2
CATALOGUE OF
PLANTS COLLECTED EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,
BY PROFESSOR ASA GRAY.
PLANTS COLLECTED EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
This collection was made by Dr. Suckley from the Mississippi river westward to Fort Benton, and Lieutenants Donelson and Mullan along the Missouri river from near St. Louis to Fort Union. All the plants were collected between May 10 and the end of August. This collection all belongs to one and the same region, physically and botanically — that of the plains of the northwestern portion of the great Mississippi basin. The species may, therefore, be enume¬ rated without regard to their particular localities, which, moreover, are not always recorded in the collection. Little novelty was to be expected in a collection made in rapidly traversing a district already so repeatedly and thoroughly investigated. The species are, therefore, enumerated in the form of a classified list, such remarks or descriptive observations as are requisite being appended, as are the characters of some new plants ; for this collection is found fo contain three undescribed species and one new genus.
Clematis Yirginiana, Linn. Yermilion river, Mo.
Pulsatilla patens, DC.
Anemone Pennsylvanica, Linn.
Anemone cylindrica, Gray.
Thalictrum coRNUTi,Linn.
Ranunculus divaricatus, Schrank. This is the Ranunculus aquatilis in part of Linnaeus and of American authors, and R. circinatus, Sixth. It is the only species of the section Batrachium which I have seen in this country.
Ranunculus abortivus, Linn.
Ranunculus recurvatus, Poir.
Ranunculus repens, Linn.
Aquilegia Canadensis, Linn.
Delphinium tricorne, Michx.
Delphinium azureum, Michx.
Actasa rubra, Bigelow.
Menispermum Canadense, Linn.
Podophyllum peltatum, Linn.
Argemone Mexicana, Linn, var: albiflora.
CORYDALIS AUREA, Willd.
Nasturtium sessiliflorum, Nutt.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
41
Nasturtium palustre, DO.
Nasturtium obtusum, Nutt.
Nasturtium limosum, Nutt.
Arabis hirsuta, Scop.
Sysimbrium canescens, Nutt. A nearly glabrous variety.
Erysimum cheiranthoides, Linn.
Erysimum asperum, DC.
Stanleya integrifolia, James. Without much doubt this is a mere state of S. pinnatifida. Stanleya pinnatifida, Nutt.
Sinapis nigra, Linn. (Introduced.)
Capsella bursa-pastoris, DC.
Lepidium Yirginicum, Linn.
Lepidium intermedium, Gray, PI. Wright.
Drab a micrantha, Nutt.
Cleome integrifolia, Torr. & Gray.
Viola cucullata, Ait.
Viola palmata, Linn.
Viola Canadensis, Linn.
Elodea Virginica, Nutt.
Mcehringia lateriflora, Fenzl.
Cerastium arvense, Linn.
Cerastium mutans, Raf.
Malvastrum coccineum, Gray. One hundred miles above Fort Pierre.
Linum perenne, Linn.
Linum rigidum, Pursh.
Geranium maculatum, Linn.
Oxalis violacea, Linn.
Oxalis corniculata, Linn.
Zanthoxylum Americanum, Mill.
Rhus toxicodendron, Linn.
Rhus aromatic a, Ait. White river, Nebraska.
Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Michx.
Ceanothus ovalis, Bigel., var.
Staphylea trifolia, Linn.
Negundo aceroides, Moench.
Polygala alba, Nutt.
Vicia Americana, Muhl.
Lathyrus linearis, Nutt.
Lathyrus polymorphus, Nutt.
Lathyrus venosus, Muhl.
Amphicarpa monoica, Ell.
Glycirrhiza lepidota, Nutt.
PSORALEA LANCEOLATA, Pursh.
Psoralea argophylla, Pursh, and var. decubens. Less silvery and silky-hirsute; stems slender, decumbent or diffuse; stipules mostly near equalling the short petiole; leaflets ellip- 6 t
42
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
tical or narrowly oblong, (l-li| inch long, ^ inch wide,) some glabrate above, flowers smaller. Little Muddy river, August 10. This is perhaps the P. campestris , Nutt., which I have never seen; but the leaves of that species are said to be only one or two lines broad. Fruiting spe¬ cimens are desirable.
PSORALEA CUSPIDATA, Pursh.
PSORALEA ESCULENTA, Pursh.
Amorpha fruticosa, Linn.
Amorpha nana, Nutt., ( mycrophylla , Pursh.)
Amorpha canescens, Nutt.
Petalostemon violaceum, Michx.
Petalostemon candidum, Michx.
Trifolium stoloniferum, Muhl.
Trifolium pratense, Linn.
Trifolium repens, Linn.
Hosackia Purshiana, Benth.
Astragalus caryocarpus, Ker.
Astragalus gracilis, Nutt.
Astragalus Missouriensis, Nutt.
Astragalus adsurgens, Pall., var. robustior, Hook. Astragalus striatus , Nutt, in Torr. and Gray, FI. 1, p. 230. Apparently very abundant on the Upper Missouri, the specimens in flower only; fruit not seen. This is evidently only a larger form of Hooker’s A. adsurgens , which seems to be that of Pallas also. The lower stipules cohere more or less opposite the petiole, but the upper ones are distinct.
Astragalus Canadensis, Linn. ? in flower only.
Astragalus racemosus, Pursh.
Astragalus bisulcatus, Gray. (Plate I.) Phaca bisidcata, Hook. FI. Bor. -Am., 1, p. 145, Specimens with mature truit, of which I give a figure.
Astragalus pectinatus, Dough Phaca pedinata, Hook., 1. c. 54. The ripe fruit is much blunter and thicker than in Hooker’s figure.
Astragalus filifolius, (Plate I.) Phaca longifolia , Nutt.; Psoralea longifolia, Pursh. The name longifolius being preoccupied in Astragalus, this may take the more characteristic name of A. filifolius.
Oxytropis Lamberti, Pursh. Various forms, doubtless including more than one of Nuttall’s species.
Oxytropis splendens, Dough A most elegant plant, with its crowded silvery silky-villous foliage and spikes, and deep blue corollas. It was gathered on the Chippewa river.
Desmodium nudiflorum, DC.
Lespedeza hirta, Ell.
Lupinus pusillus, Pursh.
Lupinus perennis, Linn.
SOPHORA SERICEA, Nutt.
Thermopsis rhombifolia, Nutt.
Gleditschia triacanthos, Linn.
SCHRANKIA UNCINATA, Willd.
Cerasus Virginiana, DC.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
43
Geum Virginianum, Linn.
Geuh strictum, Ait.
Geum triflorum, Pursh.
Sanguisorba annua, Nutt.
Cham^erhodos erecta.
POTENTILLA NORVEGICA, Linn.
POTENTILLA PARADOXA, Nutt.
POTENTILLA PeNNSYLVANICA, Linn.
Potentilla Canadensis, Linn.
POTENTILLA ANSERINA, Linn.
Potentilla arguta, Pursh.
Fragaria vesga, Linn.
Rubus strigosus, Michx.
Rubus villosus, Ait.
Rosa blanda, Ait.; Fort Clark, Neb.
Crataegus coccinea; Fort Union, Neb.
Ammania latifolia, Linn.
(Enothera biennis, Linn.
Oenothera albicaulis, Nutt.
(Enothera coronopifolia. Torr. & Gray.
(Enothera c^spitosa, Nutt.
(Enothera serrulata, Nutt.
Gaura coccinea, Nutt.
ClRCiEA LUTETIANA, Linn.
Mentzelia (Bartonia) ornata, Torr. & Gray.
Echinocystis lobata, Torr. & Gray.
Ribes hirtellum, Michx.; fifty miles above Fort Union, Neb.
Ribes rotundifolium, Michx.
Ribes floridum, L’Her.; near Fort Union, Neb.
Ribes aureum, Pursh. ; one hundred miles above Fort Pierre, Neb.
Opuntia Missouriensis, DC.
Heuchera Richardsonii, R. Br.
Sanicula Marylandica, Linn.
OSMORRHIZA LONGISTYLIS, DC.
Cymopterus glomeratus, DC.
Musenium divaricatum, Nutt. (Plate II.) The specimens in this collection, from various localities, all have smooth ovaries and fruit, and therefore belong to the typical form of the species. We give a figure to illustrate the plant. The variety JSookeri, Torr. & Gray, M. Hookeri , Nutt, ined., and Nuttall’s M. tr achy sper mum and M. angustifolium appear to be all one species, having shorter as well as scabrous fruit, and probably distinct from M. divaricatum; but my present means of comparison do not suffice for determining this point. The number of the vittae, whether one or more in each interval, rarely affords valid characters; and Musenium will probably be merged in Tauschia ; but this question should perhaps be deferred to a general recension ol unbelliferous genera, which is greatly needed. The leaves of M. divaricatum are not all opposite, the uppermost being usually alternate.
44
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Aralia nudicaulis, Linn.
Cornus sericea, Linn.; Fort Clark, Neb.
Cornus stolonifera, Michx. ; Fort Clark, “ Kinnickinnick.,,
Symphoricarpus occidentalis, R. Br.
Symphoricarpus vulgaris, Michx.
Galium aparine, Linn.
Galium trifidum, Linn.
Galium triflorum, Michx.
Galium boreale, Linn.
Liatris punctata, Hook.
Eupatorium perfoliatum, Linn.
Kuhnia eupatorioiues, Linn. ; broad-leaved variety.
Aster sericeus, Yent.
Aster multiflorus, Ait.
Erigeron pumilum, Nutt.
Erigeron c^espitosum, Nutt.; var. radiis flavidis. This is exactly Nutt all’s Erigeron ccespito- sum , or its var. grandiflorum, except that the rays are light yellow in the dried specimens; so decidedly so that one can hardly suppose them to have been pure white when living; yet this is possibly the case.
Erigeron Philadelphicum, Linn.
Erigeron Canadense, Linn.
Solidago rigida, Linn.
Solidago incana, Torr. & Gray.
Solidago Missouriensis, Nutt.
Solidago gigantea, Ait.
Aplo pappus spinulosus, DC.
Aplopappus lanceolatus, Torr. & Gray.
Grindelia squarrosa, Duval.
Chrysopsis villosa, Nutt.
Silphium laciniatum, Linn.
SlLPHIUM PERFOLIATUM, Linn.
Euphrosyne xanthifolia, Gray.
IVA AXILLARIS, Pursh.
Ambrosia coronopifolia, Torr. & Gray.
Ambrosia trifid a, Linn., and var. integrifolia.
Xanthium echinatum, Murr.
Heliopsis LiEVis, var. scabra, Torr. & Gray.
Echinacea purpurea, Moench.
Echinacea angustifolia, DC.
Lepachys columnaris, Torr. & Gray, and varieties.
Helianthus petiolaris, Nutt. A diminutive state of this species, common in the collection, is perhaps the H. pumilus of Nuttali.
Helianthus rigidus, Desp.
Helianthus maximiliani, Schrceder.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
45
Helianthus strumosus, Linn.
Gaillardia pulchella, Foug.
Hymenopappus tenuifolius, Pnrsh.
Actinella acaulis, Nutt.
Achillea millefolium, Linn.
Artmeisia dracunculoides, Pursli.
Artemisia Canadensis, Michx.
Artemisia cana, Pursh.
Artemisia ludoviciana, Nutt.
Artemisia biennis, Willd.
Artemisia frigida, Willd.
Antennaria plantaginifolia, Hook.
Senecio aureus, Linn., and vars.
Senecio lobatus, Pers.
Cirsium undulatum, Spreng.
Cirsium Hookerianum, Torr. & Gray, var. Leaves mostly pinnately-parted, the segments lanceolate or linear, sparingly spinulose-toothed. — L’Eau qui Court. (Flowers apparently ochroleucous.)
Cirsium Drummondi, Torr. & Gray. Only the heads, with their naked peduncles, were gathered, so that the species is scarcely determinable.
Lygodesmia juncea, Don.
Troximon cuspidatum, Nutt.
Troximon glaucum, Nutt.
Mulgedium pulchellum, Nutt.
Lobelia spicata, Lam.
Specularia perfoliata, DC.
Campanula rotundifolia, Linn.
Campanula linifolia, Lam.
Plantago major, Linn.
Plantago Yirginica, Linn.
Plantago gnaphalioides, Nutt.
Lysimachia ciliata, Linn.
Aphyllon fasciculatum, Torr. & Gray. The name “P. glabra ,” of Pursh, is a little subse¬ quent in date to Nuttall’s P. eriantliera ; but the latter can hardly be said to be characterized in Fraser’s catalogue, and the name is badly chosen, the anthe’s being very slightly hairy, that Pursh’ s name may properly enough be preferred. This very handsome species has recently been found by Hooker under the name of P. Gordonianus. This genus (Anoplon, Waller, or Anoplanthus, Endlicher, but long ago called Aphyllon by Mitchell) will perhaps be merged in Phelyp^a, Tourn.
Pentstemon grandiflorus, Nutt Pentstemon glaber, Pursh.
Pentstemon gracilis, Nutt.
Pentstemon albidus, Nutt.
Veronica peregrina, Linn.
Castilleja sessiliflora, Pursh.
46
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Verbena Aubletia, Pursh.
Lycopus sinuatus, Ell.
Mentha Canadensis, Linn.
Hedeoma hispida, Pursli.
Monarda fistulosa, Linn.
Blephilia ciliata, Raf.
Lophantus anisatus, Benth.
Scutellaria paryula, Michx.
Stachys sylvatica, Linn.
Teucrium Canadense, Linn.
Onosmodium holle, Michx. In this, as I have observed in the too closely allied genus Macromeria, there is, if I mistake not, a dimorphism of the flowers, affecting the form and length of the corolla and filaments.
Lithospermum canescens, Lehm.
Lithospermum angustifolium, Michx.
Pentalophus longiflorus, A. DC.
Echinospermum patulum, Lehm.
Echinospermum (Lappula) Fremontii, Torr. (n. sp.) : “Stem erect, branching above ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, clothed with stiff, incumbent hairs ; fructiferous pedicels erect ; disk of the nutlets flattish, tuberculate ; prickles in a double series, slender, the interior ones longer than the diameter of the nutlets — differs from E. patulum in its double row of prickles, and con¬ siderable larger fruit : from E. Lappula in the much longer prickles and flattish disk, which often has a number of small prickles along the axis. Colonel Fremont collected this plant in his second journey (1844) on Pass creek, near the southern extremity of the Sierra Nevada.” — Torrey.
Cynoglossum Morrisoni, DC.
Ellisia Nyctelea, Linn.
Hydrophyllum Virginicum, Linn.
Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, Michx.
COLLOMIA LINEARIS, Nutt.
Phlox divaricata, Linn.
Phlox pilosa, Linn.
Phlox aristata, Michx.
Phlox Hoodii, Richards.
Calystegia Sepium, R. Br.
Physalis hirsuta, Dunal.
Apocynum cannabinum, Linn.
Apocynum androsaemifolium, Linn.
Acerates viridiflora, Ell.
Asclepias speciosa, Torr. (A. Douglassii, Hook.)
Asclepias nivea, Linn.
Fraxinus viridis, Michx.
As arum Canadense, Linn.
Oxybaphus nyctagineus, Sweet.
Atriplex hastata, var. ( Chenojoodium subspicatum, Nutt.)
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
47
“ENDOLEPIS, N. Gen.
“Flowers monoecious ; the male ebracteate, in glomerate terminal spikes ; the female solitary and sessile in the axils of the leaves. Masc. Calyx gamosepalous, urceolate, five-lobed ; the lobes thin, triangular — subulate strongly indexed, each with a fleshy, protuberant gibbosity at its base outside. Stamens five ; filaments subulate, short ; anthers oblong, large scarcely exserted. No rudiment of an ovary. Fern . bibracteate ; the bracts ovate, membranaceous, inappendiculate, united to the summit, forming a compressed theca which encloses the flower. Calyx of three distinct sepals. No stamens nor staminodia. Ovary ovate ; styles two, distinct, filiform, slightly exserted ; ovate erect. Utricle ovate, compressed, enclosed in the membranaceous theca. Seed ovate, rostellate at the summit, vertical, embryo nearly annular, very slender ; radicle superior. An annual low herb, in aspect resembling Chenopodium or Atriplex, with lanceolate acute, entire leaves.
“Endelopis Suckleyi, n. sp. (Plate III.) As a genus this is characterized among Atriplices both by the remarkable calyx of the staminate flowers, and by the presence of a manifest three-sepalous calyx in the fertile flowers. The species is dedicated to my former pupil, the discoverer. ’ ’ — Torrey.
Obione canescens, Moquin.
Obione argentea, Moquin ?
Obione Suckleyana, Torr., n. sp. (Plate I Y.) “Annual, stem branching, prostrate; leaves suborbicular on long petioles, acutely repand-dentate, pale-green both sides, nearly glabrous ; glomerules axillary, monoecious bracts of the sessile fruit deltoid, united to the summit, the margin narrowly winged, crenate- denticulate. Yery distinct from every other North American species of Obione, but having some resemblance to 0. argentea. It is remarkable for the roundish leaves, very long petioles, and the large and much compressed nearly glabrous fruit. The male flowers were tetramerous.” — Torrey; This was collected in the Milk River valley, August 19.
Eurotia lanata, Moq.
Eriogonum flavum, Nutt.
Polygonum aviculare, Linn.
Polygonum ramossissimum, Michx.
Polygonum Yirginianum, Linn.
Polygonum amphibium, Linn.
Rumex venosus, Pursh.
Rumex crispus, Linn.
Rumex persicarioides, Linn.
Rumex salicifolia, Weinm.
Shepherdia argentea, Nutt. Yellowstone river, Nebraska.
COMANDRA UMBELLATA, Nutt.
Euphorbia marginata, Pursh.
Euphorbia platyphylla, Linn.
Urtica dioica, Linn.
Pilea pumila, Gray.
Morus rubra, Linn. Yermillion river, Mo.
POPULUS MONILIFERA, Ait.
48
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Salix angustata, Pursh. Near Fort Union, Nebraska.
Juniperus Virginian a, Linn.
Arum triphyllum, Linn.
Alisma.Plantago, Linn.
Sagittaria variabilis, Engelm.
Cypripedium pubescens, Ait.
Iris versicolor, Linn.
Sisyrinchium anceps, Linn.
Smilax hebracea, Linn.
Polygonatum giganteum, Dietrich. P. canaliculatum ; but the name is a bad one. The species is, I think, distinct from P. multiflorum of Europe.
Smilacina stellata, Desf.
Smilacina racemosa, Desf.
Allium Canadense, Linn.
Allium reticulatum, Nutt.
Yucca angustifolia, Nutt.
Lilium Philadelphicum, Linn.
Lilium Canadense, Linn.
Calochortus elegans, Pursh.
UVULARIA GRANDIFLORA, Smith.
Zygadenus glaucus, Nutt.
Juncus TENUIS, Willd.
Tradescantia Virginica, Linn.
Carex rosea, Schk.
Carex Muhlenbergii, Schk.
Carex straminea, Schk. *
Carex cristata, Schw.
Carex stricta, Lam.
Carex filiformis, Linn.
Carex Shortiana, Dewey.
Carex Davisii, Schw. & Torr.
Carex grisea, Wahl.
Carex anceps, Willd.
Carex aristata, It. Br.
Phalaris arundinacea, Linn.
Calamagrostis Canadensis, Beauv.
Calamagrostis longifolia, Hook.
Stipa sparta, Linn.
Stipa capillata, Linn.
Vilfa cuspid ata, Torr.
Spartina cynosuroides, Willd.
Bouteloua oligostachya, (Atheropogon ; Nutt.)
Sesleria dactyloides, Nutt.
Festuca tenella, Willd.
Koeleria cristata, Linn.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
49
Reboulea Pennsylvania, Gray. Poa pratensis, Linn.
Poa crocata, Michx.
Triticum repens, Linn.
Elymus canadensis, Linn. Hordeum pusillum, Nutt. Hordeum jubatum, Ait.
Panicum clandestinum, Linn. Panicum xanthophysum, Gray. Anpropogon scoparius, Michx. Equisetum hyemale, Linn. Cistopteris fragilis, Bernh. Woodsia obtusa, Torr.
Asplenium angustifolium, Pursh. Adiantum pedatum, Linn. Botrychium Yirginicum, Swartz.
7t
No. 3
CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECTED IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.
PLANTS COLLECTED IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
Note. — In order to show the marked dissimilarity in the Floras of the opposite sides of the Cascade range, I have made separate lists of the plants collected by me in the two regions.
Though that from the east side (including a few from the summit of the range) presents a comparatively small number of plants, still it seems to indicate something of the striking distinctions referred to, those from the west having been collected during two seasons, and being a comparatively complete list of the most characteristic plants. Most of the plants common to both regions are inhabitants of the prairies, and it is but just to mention that many of such as inhabit the western prairies have been found by other collectors in those east of the range, though at an earlier season than I visited them. I have made some notes on the distribution of these in the chapter on the trees, &c.
The whole of the first collection was examined and named by Professor Gray. Most of those of the latter collections were also named by him or Professor Torrey, who, as well as Mr. G. Thurber, have kindly assisted me in their determination. I have marked such species with the initials G. and T. , where the authority rests on Professors Gray and Torrey.
I am also indebted to Mr. Gibbs for much assistance in collecting, and to Miss. E. Lincoln, of Astoria, Oregon Territory, for a very well prepared collection of plants from the vicinity of Cape Disappointment, Washington Territory, containing several species which I did not myself obtain.
The four hundred or more species enumerated does not include probably more than a third of the plants of the Territory, and in the little known alpine regions of the several mountain ranges much novelty doubtless remains for the botanist.
I limited my notes on plants to such additions or corrections as I could make to the already very complete descriptions contained in Torrey and Gray’s Flora of North America; in Hooker’s Flora Boreali-Americana, and the other works cited in the lists. The localities, range within the Territory, and notes of size, colors, &c. , are, however, always given as far as known to me. In some instances thp only specimens of species collected were the seed and their envelopes.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
51
PLANTS COLLECTED FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS,
EASTWARD TO THE UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER, AND NORTHWARD TO THE
FORTY-NINTH DEGREE OF LATITUDE, BETWEEN JULY AND SEPTEMBER,
1853.
Ranunculus alismaefolius, Geyer, var? In a marsh, not far southeast of Mount Adams; August 12; rare.
Delphinum simplex, Dough Common in prairies; from Vancouver eastward; August 12.
Aconitum Columbianum, Nutt. (A. Nasutum, Fischer.) Two varieties found on borders of mountain streams on eastern slope of Cascade range; August 13; rare, 4 feet high, flowers deep blue.
Nasturtium lyratum, Nutt. Along hanks of Columbia river, near the Dalles; November; common.
Cleome lutea, Hooker. South hank of Columbia, from Walla- Walla to the Dalles; not seen northward; November 8 to 15.
Spraguea umbellata, Torr. High on Cascade mountains, east of Mount Adams; August. A single depauperate specimen. “It was known only from the base of the Sierra Nevada in Upper California, where Fremont gathered the specimens described and figured by Dr. Torrey in his Plant® Fremontian®.” — Gray.
Sidalcea malvaeflora, Gray. Small form. ($. Oregona,) Nutt, in FI. of N. A.) Common along both sides from the height of 4,000 feet downwards; August 12; 2 feet, purple.
Malvastrum Munroanum, Gray. Near mouth of Okanagan river; October 4. Second flowering on land lately burnt over; orange red. UM. Thurberi , Gray, (Plant® Thurberian®,) is the same as this, or at least is the M. fasciculata , Nutt., which has been referred to M. Munroana. } ’ — Gray.
Erodium cicutarium, L’ Her. Common along streams on the higher parts of the range east of the summit; August.
Geranium incisum, Nutt. Not very common at the same time and place. Two feet high, flowers pale purple.
Acer glabrum, Torr. (A. Douglassii, Hook.) Not abundant. On the mountains east of the summit only; fruit nearly ripe in August; a small tree.
Vicia Americana, Muhl. (V. Oregana, Nutt.) Common in damp places.
Lathyrus palustris, Linn., var. Several varieties common with the preceding, but in damper soil.
Hosackia Purshiana, Benth. and varieties. Common, but out of flower except in shady and damp spots.
Astragalus (Homalobus) serotinus, n. sp., PI. V. Near the Columbia river, about latitude 48°. Rare; probably a second growth on burnt ground; October.
1 1 Description . — Cinereous, with a minute strigulose pubescence ; stems branching from the perennial root, ascending, slender, angled, often flexuous, (8-15 inches high; stipules triangular- acuminate, more or less united opposite the petiole; leaflets 9-21, linear (rarely oblong-linear or oblanceolate) mucronate, not rigid, glabrous, or nearly so above, the terminal one resembling the others; peduncles exceeding the leaves; racemes loosely many-flowered, virgate; bracts much shorter than the at length spreading or recurved pedicels; calyx campanulate minutely
52
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
pubescent, its teeth very short; corolla purple; the legume sessile in the calyx, linear, acute, glabrous, or minutely puberulent, 8-10 seeded; the narrow valves considerably convex. Two forms occur, one rather smaller and more cinereous than the other. Leaflets half an inch to one inch long, varying from half a line to two lines wide. Corolla four or four and a half lines long. Legume nine or ten lines long, a line and a half wide; neither suture in the least introflexed or tumid; the funiculi short. To none of Nuttall’s too numerous species of Ilomalobus can this be referred. It most resembles his H. decumbens, but is less rigid, not silky-canescent, and has very much shorter and blunter calyx-teeth. It may possibly be the obscure Astragalus miser of Douglas, but the pubescence of the calyx is seldom and slightly blackish. ’ ’ — Gray.
Lupinus sericeus, Pursh. Common on higher parts of eastern slopes in the pine forest, growing three feet high, and in August nearly past flowering.
L. leucophyllus, Lindl. In similar localities. A very beautiful plant three feet high, with long spikes of blue flowers.
Spirea betulaefolia, Pallas. Collected near 49th° on the Okanagan river, flowering a second time in October. Seen also on summit of range in July; 3 feet high.
Potentilla gracilis, Dougl. Abundant on the prairies mostly east of the range.
Epilobium paniculatum, Nutt. Common along streams; August; 4 feet high.
Oenothera albicaulis, Nutt. A single specimen found in flower along the Okanagan river, in October, on ground lately burnt over.
Mentzelia (Bartonia) laevicaulis, Torr. & Gray. Pound in flower on the plains from the Wenass river north, to the 49th°; August; 2 feet; yellow.
Galium rubioides, Linn. Common in damp soil, flowering in August.
Brickellia oblongifolia, Nutt. Common on branches of the Columbia; flowering August 20. Odor peculiar and not unpleasant.
Machaeranthera canescens, Gray, var. ( Dieteria divaricata. Nutt.) Common on gravelly shores of the Yakima, and other rivers; flowering in August.
Aster salsuginosus, Rich, var. Rare on banks of Yakima river. Flowering in September; a foot high; flowers purple.
A. multiflorus, Willd. Two varieties collected on the plains in October. Two feet high; flowers white.
Erigeron Douglassii, var ? eradiatum. Sandy pine forest on the table-land, east of Mount Adams; August. “As far as can be judged from the poor specimens, this accords pretty well with E. Douglassii , Torr & Gray, except that the heads are ray less. — Gray.
Solidago gigantea, Aiton. Common along streams on east side, growing 6 feet high.
Linosyris albicaulis, Torr. & Gray. Near Yakima and its branches, flowering in September, when this and a few other composite were the only plants showing signs of life ; 5 feet high and very ornamental.
L. viscidiflora, Hook. Found common along Snake river in November, but not seen northward. Accords with L. viscidiflora , except that the flowers in these specimens were not viscid. A large shrub much less beautiful than the last.
Grindelia discoidea, Nutt. Banks of the Columbia, near latitude 48°; flowering in Septem¬ ber a foot high. “Not the species so called by Hooker and Annot; which is G. anomala , DC. This specimen has heads as large as those of G. squarrosa, from which, except in the want of
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
53
rays, it is hardly distinguishable. Indeed, this and G. nana. Nutt, (wrongly joined to G. humilis, Hook. & Arn.) are probably to be referred to G. squarrosa.” — Gray.
Chrysopsis yillosa, Nutt. Yakima valley, August 15.
Xanthium strumarium, var. Canadense, Torr. & Gray. Yakima valley, August 20 ; common,
2 feet high.
Helianthus lenticularis, Dougl. Banks of Columbia, near latitude 48°; September 20. Common ; growing 6 feet high.
Gaillardia aristata, Pursh. Abundant on prairies from Yancouver eastward; June to October.
Helenium autumnale, Linn. Collected in flower on southern banks of the Columbia ; November, common.
Artemisia Canadensis, Michx. Common on the Upper Columbia and its branches ; collected in flower about September 1.
A. dracunculoides, Pursh. Noticed only on sandy hills near mouth of the Okanagan river; October 3, in flower.
A. tridentata, Nutt. A shrub 3 to 7 feet in height, with stems six inches in diameter at the base. Commonly called “Wild Sage,” but with more of the flavor of turpentine, combined with intense bitterness, which it imparts to the flesh of the “Sagefowl” feeding on its leaves, as well as to meat laid on it for a short time. Common on the sandy plains of the interior, commencing to flower in October.
A. trifida, Nutt. In general appearance and leaves much resembles the last, but is only 2 to 3 feet high, and not strongly scented. The top appears to be herbaceous. Seen only on the Okanagan river, in flower, October 3.
A. Douglasiana, Nutt. Common in the valley of the Yakima river. Herbaceous, 2-3 feet high, flowering August 20.
A. Ludoviciana, Nutt. In valleys near the Columbia. September 18.
A. frigida, Willd. Met with only on the upper part of the Okanagan river, near latitude 49°; in flowers October 9.
Arnica Chamissonis, Less. In flower on southern bank of the Columbia, near the Dalles, November 10.
Malacothrix crepoides, (n. sp. ;) “glabrous, sub caulescent; stems numerous from an appa¬ rently perennial root, slender, diffuse, (a span or more in length,) sparingly dichotomously paniculate, the slender naked branches or peduncles bearing single heads; leaves mostly radical, lanceolate, runcinate pinnatifid, tapering into a petiole, the few cauline sessile by a hastate or auriculate base, mostly small and bract-like ; involucre somewhat pubescent, of lanceolate, subulate scales, with a few setaceous calyculate bracts ; achenia somewhat contracted at both ends, strongly ribbed, the coroniform border obsolete ; bristles of the pappus consimilar and equally deciduous. Radical leaves thin, 3 or 4 inches long, including the short and margined petiole. Stems or scapes weak, sometimes sparsely hairy at the base, not much surpassing the leaves. Heads not larger than those of M. obtusa, Benth. Involucre three lines long. Flowers yellow. Achenia a line long, fusiform-oblong, being somewhat contracted at the base and apex, the terminal areola therefore smaller than the greatest diameter of the achenium. Pappus of very soft and fine bristles, which are barbellulate at the base and early deciduous, with no stronger and more persistent ones intermixed.” — Gray.
Collected near the Columbia river, about latitude 48°, in September.
54
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Mulgedium pulchellum, Nutt. In Yakima valley, flowering August 20 ; common.
Campanula linifolia, Lam. Collected near summit of Cascade range, but common in prairies from Yancouver eastward.
Pyrola dentata, Smith, var. Integra. On high wooded hills, east of Mount Adams ; August 12 ; in fruit. “This is just the Pyrola dentata figured by Hooker, only that the oblong obvo- vate leaves are entire, or, at most, with mere vestiges of a few teeth, in some cases.” — Gray.
Phelipcea COMOSA, Torr. & Gray, ined. Tahk prairie, ten miles from base of Mount Adams ; August 12. Corolla pale purple.
‘ ‘ This, the Orobanche comosa, Hook, is certainly a Plielipoea , and a close congener of P. Calif ornica and Ludoviciana ; but it invalidates the character of Aphyllon ( Anoplanthus , Endl.) as to the bracts, rendering it probable that this genus may be merged in Phelipcea, since some species of the latter have a nearly regular corolla. These specimens, as to the corolla, corre¬ spond better with Hooker’s character than with his figure ; indeed, the three lower lobes are not even emarginate. The notch of the upper lip varies in depth, as it does in the allied species. ’ ’ — Gray.
Pentstemon procerus, Dougl. Common along the banks of the Yakima and its branches ; flowering in August, purple ; a foot high.
P. Richarasonii, Dougl. On the higher parts of the Cascade range eastward ; August ; purple.
Mimulus luteus, Linn. Common along the banks of streams.
Mimulus moschatus, Dougl. Collected, August 9, on a branch of the Yakima river, but also found in damp, shady places on both sides of the mountains.
M. Primuloides, Benth. Found only, August 12, on the higher part of the Cascade range ; yellow.
Orthocarpus bracteosus, Benth. On the low prairie near the Yakima. August ; flower purple.
Castilleja miniata, Dougl. On the bank of the Columbia, about latitude 48°. Flowering a second time September 20.
Mentha borealis, Linn. Common on the Yakima and branches, as well as west of the Cascade range. August.
Stachys ciliata, Dougl. With the preceding and more common,
Phlox speciosa, Pursh. Collected in October on burned prairies, along the Okanagan, flowering a second time. Also found in flower near the Dalles, in November. Six inches high.
Collomia linearis, Nutt. Not uncommon on prairies of the Yakima in July, but mostly out of flower.
Gilia pulchella, Dougl. Common on eastern side of Cascade mountains^ but rarely found in flower after June.
G. inconspicua, Dougl. With the preceding, and also westward.
Polemonium pulcherrimum, Hook. Found only near the 49th degree, near banks of streams, in gravelly soil, a few plants having a second growth of flowers on them.
Apocynum Androsaehifolium, Linn. Common east of Cascade range, and also along the Columbia to Vancouver, more rarely.
Asclepias speciosa, Torr. Found flowering in Yakima valley in August. Plant 4 feet high, flowers yellowish white.
Abronia mellifera, Dougl. Collected in flower on the sandy desert south of the Columbia, neaF Walla- Walla, and noticed nowhere else. November 12; flowers white.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
55
Eriogonum niveum, Dougl. Found abundantly near the Columbia, about latitude 48°, growing in dry soil on hill sides, which looked as if covered with buckwheabin flower. A pretty species, a foot high ; flowers large, white. September 22.
E. microthecum, Nutt. Common in the Yakima valley, flowering in August. Flowers small, and very caducous ; not ornamental.
E. Heracleoides, Nutt. On the wet, stony shore of the Columbia, about latitude 48°. Second flowering ; stems two feet high, woody; flowers pale yellow, large. September 25.
E. nudum, Dougl. A common species on the higher slopes east of the mountains. Stems four feet high, naked ; leaves mostly radical and large, nearly all faded ; flowers white, with purple veins. August 12.
Euphorbia maculata, Linn. Collected, apparently indigenous, and of very large size, on the sandy desert south of the Columbia. November 8.
Spiranthes cernua, Richardson. Abundant on damp prairies on top of the Cascade range, and westward. August 10.
Calochortus elegans, Pursh. A single specimen only, found under pines on the top of the Cascades. August 8.
C. macrocarpus, Dougl. Common in flower in the pine forest east of Mount Adams, growing two feet high ; the flowers single, but very large, and rich purple. August 12.
PLANTS COLLECTED WEST OF THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS DURING 1854-’ 55.
Note. — S. or G. indicates that Dr. Suckley or Mr. Gibbs collected the plant or the informa¬ tion as to its range and uses. Twelve species, included in brackets, were collected only by Dr. Suckley at Fort Steilacoom.
Ranunculus aquatilis, Linn.; var. Jieterophyllus , T. & G., (T. ;) on mud prairie, near Steila¬ coom ; June 1, rare.
R. reptans, Linn., (G. ;) wet grounds near Puget Sound and coast.
R. OCCIDENTALIS, Nutt., (G. ;) dry prairies about Puget Sound, common; March 28 to June, 2 feet high.
R. recurvatus, Poir.; spring on Whidby’s I.; April 20, rare.
R. orthorhynchus, Hook.; wet grounds in shade, near Steilacoom.
[R. tenellus, ? Nutt., (G. :) Steilacoom, S.]
Aquilegia Canadensis, (Linn. ;) var. formosa , Fischer. Common everywhere on dry prairies to elevation of 4,000 feet; April to August. [Steilacoom, S.] “Root edible, ” G.
Delphinium menziesii, (DC.;) Whidby’s I.; April 20, 1 foot, rare; a large form, flowers deep blue.
D. azureum, (Mich.) Common in prairies near Columbia river and eastward.
Act^ia arguta, (Nutt.) Common in fir forests, Vancouver to Olympia ; 4 feet high. Flowers in May, white ; fruit ripe in July, both red and white on different plants.
Berberis aquipolium, (Pursh.) Abundant in fir forests and across Cascade mountains east¬ ward, not west of Coast mountains; flowers in March, fruit ripe in July; called “Oregon grape ;” eatable when cooked. Fort Steilacoom, (S.)
56
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
B. nervosa, (Pursh.) With the preceding, west of Cascade mountains, (only?) flowering at the same time ; the flowers only differing in their larger size. Both are similarly fragrant ; stems creeping beneath the surface, the ends only rising a few inches.
Achlys triphylla, (DC.) Vancouver to Olympia, in fir forests. Flowers May 1, common. “A decoction of the root used for pains in the breast.” (G.)
Nuphar advena, (Aiton.) Ponds on mountains and near coast, April.
Chryseis Californica, (Hkr. & Arnott.) Garden near Steilacoom. Introduced? Agrees nearer with this than G. Douglassii, which I did not meet with in the Territory. Flowers 3 inches wide, orange ; June.
Dielytra Formosa, DC., (G.) Common in rich grounds; Cascades to coast. April to July.
Corydalis Scouleri, Hkr., (C.) Rocky edges of brooks in mountain forests, 3 feet; June 15.
Nasturtium curvisiliqua, Nutt., (T.) Steilacoom ; common in wet grounds on prairie, 2 feet high ; June.
N. palustre, DC. Marshes along coast, common ; June.
Barbarea vulgaris, R. Br., (G.) Abundant in damp meadows, everywhere to coast; May.
Arabis hirsuta, Selys., (T. & G.) Common in dry prairies, Steilacoom and Shoal water bays ; May.
Cardamine angulata, Hkr., (C.) March 4 to May. Common in shady rich woods every¬ where.
C. hirsuta, Linn., vars. ft. & 7*., (G.) Abundant in wet grounds everywhere ; April.
C. oligosperma, Nutt., (T.) April ; Whidby’s I. Less common.
Dentaria tenella, Pursh. Whidby’s I., in damp woods ; April; tuberous, flowers purple.
Sisymbrium canescens, Nutt., (T.) Prairies, Whidby’s I.; April. Common, 2 feet high.
Sisymbrium deflexum, Harvey, (G.,) var? (not in FI. of N. A.) Sandy prairie at Shoal water bay, not common, June, 4 feet high ; May to July. “This seems to be a very luxuriant state of the species of Coulter’s California collections. Having been collected by Dr. Parry in California, it will be characterized in the botany of the Mexican boundary survey.” Gray.
Erisymum asperum, DC. (T.) Dry prairies near Steilacoom, not common ; June 1.
Draba nemoralis, Ehrh. var. ft., (T.) Prairies on Whidby’s island; March 20; common.
Capsella Bursa-pastoris, Moench., (T.) Prairies on Whidby’s island. Introduced?
Viola adunca, Smith, (G.) “Probably the same specifically as V. canina.” — Gray. Dry sandy prairies, Whidby’s island and coast ; blue ; March 5. (Steilacoom, S.)
V. Nuttallii, Pursh., (T.) Dry prairies, Whidby’s island ; March 20 ; common; yellow.
V. glabella, Nutt., (G.) Damp, shady woods, near coast ; 10 inches ; May 1 ; yellow.
Drosera rotundifolia, Linn. Sphagnous swamps, near mouth of Columbia river ; July.
Hypericum scouleri, Hooker. Common in praries everywhere ; June.
Paronychia ramosissima, (DC.,) (G.) Sandy prairie along coast at Shoalwater bay.
Spergularia rubira, Persoon, (G.) Sandy prairie along coast at Shoalwater bay ; May.
Honckenya peploides, Ehrh. var. oblongifolia, Torr. & Gr., (G.) Sandy salt marsh, with the preceding ; September.
Sagina procumbens, Linn., (G. ) With the two preceding; May.
Maehringia lateriflora, Linn., (T.) Dry prairie near Steilacoom; June.
(Arenaria tenella, Nutt., (G.) Steilacoom, S.)
(A. macrophylla, Hook. Steilacoom, S.)
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
57
Stellaria nitens, Nutt. (T.) Dry prairies; June; 6 inches; white.
Stellaria borealis, Bigelow, ( crispa . Cham . & Schlecht ,) (G.) Damp grounds near coast; March 1; common. (Steilacoom, S.)
Cerastium arvense, Linn. (T.) Dry prairies; everywhere common; May to August. — (S.)
SiLENE SCOULERI, Hkr. Prairie near Yancouver and on mountains; July; common.
Calandrinia Menziesii, Hkr. (T.) Wet ground prairies near Steilacoom; not common; May. Also a dwarf hirsute variety in dry sandy soil, Str. De Puca; April 5.
Claytonia Alsinoides, Sims. (G-.) Common in shady wet grounds; May. (Steilacoom, S.)
C. perfoliata, Donn. (G.) In similar situations.
(C. parviplora, Dough (G.) Steilacoom, S.)
C. parvifolia, Moeh. (G-.) On wet rocks, logs, &c., on coast; Shoalwater bay; July.
C. spathulata, Dough (Gr.) Sandy soil, among logs, &c., on coast; Shoalwater bay; June.
C. Chamissqnis, Esch. & Ledeb. ((7. aquatica , Nutt.,) (T.) Wet ground near Steilacoom; rare; May 20; creeping.
C. dichotoma, Nutt. Wet prairie, Whidby’s island; May 23; rare; two inches high.
Geranium Carolinianum, Linn. (T.) Abundant on prairies; June to December.
G. albiflorum, Hooker. Common in woods near Yancouver; June.
Impatiens fulva, Nutt. (T.) Mouth of Columbia river; July; seen nowhere else.
Oxalis oregona, Nutt. Shady woods along Columbia river, &c. ; June; common.
Malva borealis, Linn. (T.) (Not in PL of N. A.) A single specimen found at Johnson’s Point, Puget Sound; August 26; in flower; purple; six inches high; introduced. (?)
Sidalcea malvaeflqra, Gray. (G.) Along edges of brackish marshes, near coast; six feet high; flowers one and a half inch in breadth; an elegant plant. The specimens collected on Cascade mountains, in 1853, are only about one -third these dimensions; the S. oregona, Nutt., now merged in above.
Acermacrophyllum, Pursh. (G.) “White maple;” common in the forests, from Cascade mountains to coast; flowers May 15; leaves just expanding; forty to ninety feet high. (Steila¬ coom, S.)
A. circinatum, Pursh. (G.) “Yine maple.” Wet woods from mountains to coast: flower, reddish purple, April 20; leaves turn scarlet in autumn.
A. glabrum, Torr. (T.) Smooth maple. Found west of Cascade mountains, only on Whidby’ s island; rare; flowering March 27; male flowers only found ; greenish, in axillary fascicles, with very short pedicels; there only a shrub, but collected in 1853, east of the moun¬ tains, in fruit, growing thirty feet high.
Oreophila myrtifolia, Nutt. Rare in woods near Fort Steilacoom; flowering in May; strag¬ glers from the eastern mountains.
Frangula Purshiana, DC. (G.) Common on borders of forests ; called “bearwood;” berries eaten by bears, but not by the Indians. “Rhamnus purshianus, DC., Hkr., &c. A genuine Frangula. ’ ’ — Gray.
Ceanothus oregonus, Nutt. Common in thickets about Yancouver, &c. ; June.
C. thyrsiflorus, (?) Esch. (T.) Found by me only on gravelly banks near Steilacoom; differs from the California plant in size, (only four feet;) round branches and white flowers; May 15.
Yicia gigantea, Hooker. Common along coasts and at Steilacoom in sand, climbing for 20 feet over bushes, &c. ; May 10; seeds eatable.
Y. oregona, Nutt. (T.) “Small form.” A variety of V. americana , according to Dr. Gray. 8 t
58
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Lathyrus maritimus. Bigel. (G-.) Abundant on sandy prairies along sea-shore; April to July.
L. polyphyllits, Nutt. (T.) Abundant in fir forests from Columbia river north, presenting several varieties; June to July: purple.
L. VENOSUS, Muhl., var. (T.) Fir forests Vancouver to Steilacoom; June; common.
L. palustris, Linn. (G.,) vars. a. ft. Common everywhere in wet ground; May to October.
L. (?) villosus, Torr. (Expl. Exped. coll, ined.,) (T.) Dry, shady fir forest near Steilacoom; May 23; rare.
Orobus littoralis, Gray , Plate VI. Astrophia littoralis, Nutt. Sandy sea-shore near mouth of Columbia river at high water mark, common; flowers pale blue and white; seeds few, as large as small peas; collected in flower May 23. “Villous; canescent all over; stems numerous from creeping root stocks, decumbent or ascending; stipules almost as long as the leaf, ovate or oblong, obtuse, the upper semihastate; leaflets one to three pairs, and with a usually smaller or imperfect terminal one or a pair of such, linear spatulate; racemes, five to ten flowered, dense, on an elongated peduncle; legume oblong, villous. Astrophia littoralis, Nutt, in Torr. & Gray , FI. 1, p. 278. The specimens are in blossom, (while those of Nuttall were in fruit,) and the flowers are just those of Orobus, to which genus the plant undoubtedly belongs. The style accords with that of Orobus vei'nus, except, perhaps, the dilated and flattened portion extends further down; nor does the pod furnish any distinctive character.” — Gray.
Psoralea phYsodes, Dougl. (G.) Common on prairie near Steilacoom; June; whitish yellow, (S.) “Leaves used as a poultice.” — Gibbs.
Trifolium microcephalum, Pursh. (G.) Common on inland prairies; two feet high. (Steila¬ coom, S.)
T. fimbriatum, Lindl. var. (G.) Prairies of interior and dry parts of marshes near coast; June, flowers purple, very variable, 1 — 2 feet, (S.)
T. procumbens, Linn. (G.) Cultivated ground; probably introduced; June.
(Medicago sativa, Linn. (G.) Steilacoom, introduced, S.)
Melilotus parviflora, Desf. (G.) About houses, Shoalwater bay, introduced.
Hosackia bicolor, Dougl. (G.) Common on prairie near Steilacoom; June, in wet soil, flowers yellow and white.
H. decumbens, Benth. In dry soil with preceding; June, flowers yellow and red, (S.)
H. parviflora, Benth. (G.) On sandy prairie, Steilacoom and along the coast; June, flowers very small, red and yellow.
Lupinus micranthus, Dougl. (T. & G.) Common in gravelly soil under shade, on prairie near Steilacoom; May 20th, flowers blue, white, or pink on different plants, size and shape of leaves variable.
L. lepidus, Dougl. (G.) Open gravelly prairies about Puget Sound. About a foot high, in flower; June 10th, violet purple. The only fragrant species I found. — (S.)
L. polyphyllus, Lindl. (T.) Common in damp, rich woods near Steilacoom; June, often 5 feet high, the raceme 1^ foot long, color light or dark purple.
L. nootkatensis, Dougl. (G.) Sandy prairie along coast north of Columbia river; May 20th, flowers blue, with white keel. Differs from the description in wanting the 1 1 red and yellow veins,” and the leaflets are pubescent on both sides. Stems procumbent, spreading, 2 feet long. The only species I found along the coast. The L. littoralis , Dougl., somewhat resembles
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
59
this, but I met with none of which the roots were used by the Chenooks as food. They do dig in the same place the roots of an Abronia , which he may have mistaken for those of lupine . This species is said to grow on “rocky shores” which I have never examined.
L. laxiflorus, Dough (T.) Very abundant on dry prairies of the interior, forming shrubby¬ looking tufts two feet high, the whole plant with a grayish appearance. Flowers pale purple, blue, or white, in racemes 6 — 12 inches long; June 10th, Steilacoom, (S.)
L. flexuosus, Lindl. ? A more shrubby species, growing only in dry woods , and flowering a month earlier near Steilacoom. Flowers, larger, more ornamental, violet. Plant three feet high.
Cerasus mollis, Dough (G.) A common tree on the borders of woods, &c., 25 feet high. Bark and form of tree very similar to the cultivated cherry. Flowers, April 1st, large, fragrant. Fruit, black, bitter; as large as a pea; ripe in June.
O. demissa, Nutt. (T.) Banks of brooks near Steilacoom. White, June. Flowers large, many staminate only.
Nuttallia cerasiformis, T. & GL (G.) A common shrub in wet grounds, especially on the brackish marshes of the Chehalis above tide water, &c., 6 feet high; flowers in March. Whole plant with the odor of Stajoshylea trifolia. Berries black, bitter; ripe in July.
Spirea opulifolia, Linn. Not rare along brooks, &c. ; Steilacoom, May 15th.
S. Douglassii, Hkr. (G.) Abundant in wet grounds, on prairies, &c., throughout forest regions; July, 5 feet high. Besides the distinctions mentioned, I find the leaves only half as large as in S. tomentosa , and the small branches purplish, instead of rusty brown. Panicles smaller and denser.
S. Menziesii, Hooker. Bare on damp prairie near Steilacoom, near woods. Flowers, June 20th. Stem simple, two feet high only, ending in large panicles of pale rose colored flowers; leaves in this specimen much paler below than above, 1£ inch long and £ inch wide; flowers larger than in $. salieifolia, as found in New Jersey. Whole appearance intermediate between this and S. tomentosa .
S. Ariaefolia, Smith. A common shrub about Vancouver, but rare near Puget Sound; 12 feet high; June 15th, (Steilacoom, S.)
S. Aruncus, Linn. (G.) Abundant on exposed clay banks, along coast, and at Puget Sound; July 1st.
Geum macrophyllum, Willd. (G.) Common in wet shady grounds; May 15th.
Geum triflorum, Pursh. (T.) Bare, on Whidby’s island, (Penn’s cove,) April 12th. Flowers richer purple than common.
Potentilla Norvegica, Linn, “w ., carpels glabrous,” (T.) Bare on dry prairie near
Steilacoom, June 20th.
P. gracilis, Dough (G.) P. flabdliformis , Nutt. Abundant on dry prairies of the interior; Steilacoom, May 15th, (S.)
P. Anserina, Linn. (G.) Abundant in salt meadows along the coast; June to August. I never met with var [3, grandis.
Comarum palustre, Linn. (G.) In brackish marshes, Shoalwater bay; July 10th, not very common.
Fragaria Virginiana, Ehrh. According to Professor Gray both this and the next two species are found in Washington Territory. My specimens, from various parts of the Territory near the coast, present so many shades of variety that, without the fruit , I cannot decide on more than
GO
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
two species. On the interior prairies they begin to flower in February, and continue till July, the fruit ripening from May 1 to August. (On summit of Cascade mountains.)
F. yesca, Linn. (G.) Certainly grows on the prairies of the interior.
F. Chilensis, Ehrh. (G.) On sandy prairie along the coast. Flowers much larger than the others are, commonly; open in May. Fruit ripe in July , small, but I have not found it more “villous” than the other species; flavor the same. (Steilacoom.)
Rubus Nutkanus, Moc. (G.) Abundant in dry hilly woods, everywhere; May 1. Fruit ripe in July, dry and acid.
R. leucodermis, Dougl. Common in dry open grounds, burnt woods, &c. ; May. Fruit ripe in July, like the common “blackcap.” but larger and covered with a white bloom.
R. spectabilis, Pursh. (G.) In damp, shady places, especially along the coast. The bright purple flowers expand in February to April. Fruit ripe in July; very fine in good situations.
R. trivialis, Michx. Not common. Wet, shady woods near Olympia. Flowers in May; much resembles B. hispidus, Pursh. Fruit not seen. Differs from description, in its far northern locality, in its leaves, which are not coriaceous, and in being more villous. ‘ ‘ A form very like it occurs in Sonora.” — Thurber.
Rubus macropetalus, Dougl. (G.) Common on dry hills, forming prostrate branches, and resembling B. Canadensis , Linn. Fruit very good; June.
Rosa fraxinifolia, . Bork. (G.) Common in wet ground, everywhere; June 16; 6 feet.
Rosa gymnocarpa, Nutt. On borders of woods in dry soil, (Vancouver and Puget Sound.) Not rare; May 20. Flowers small, dark red, and inodorous.
Pyrus rivularis, Dougl. Oregon crab-apple. Wet grounds everywhere west of Cascade mountains; April, May. Fruit small, but good; ripe in July. Very useful for grafting on.
P. Americana, DC. Mountain ash. On higher parts of Cascade mountains; rare. Fruit collected in July, ripe, larger than common, and of a bright orange color.
Amelanchier Canadensis, Linn., var., y., Torr. & Gray. Abundant on borders of woods of the interior, but rare along the coast; May. Whole plant larger, and fruit much larger and finer than in New Jersey. “ Service berry,” (Steilacoom, S.)
Epilobium angustifolium, Linn. (G.) Exceedingly abundant, especially in the dead forests, where its bright flowers color the surface for miles together in July; flowers from June to October, purple. (Steilacoom, S.)
E. tetragonum, Linn. (G.) Not uncommon in large prairies near the coast; July.
E. coloratum, Muhl. Abundant in wet grounds everywhere; June to October.
E. minutum, Lindl. (G.) Rare on the dry prairies near Steilacoom in shade; June 10; flowers very small, pale purple; plant somewhat decumbent, branching from the base; leaves nearly linear; flowers much smaller than in E. paniculatum, which it seems to resemble much. — (S.)
E. paniculatum, Nutt. (G.) With E. coloratum , but less common; June to August. (E. luteum , said to be found there, I never met with.)
E. luteum, Pursh. ? (G.) Without flowers. (Steilacoom, S.)
(Enothera biennis, Linn. (T.) Very common on every prairie throughout the country. A very large flowered variety grows in meadows at the mouth of the Columbia, with low, spread¬ ing, slender branches, not more than a foot in length, in habit resembling (E. fruticosa.
CE. vinosa, Lindl. (G.) 0. Romanzovii? On the prairies near Vancouver and Steilacoom I collected two quite distinct purple species, growing in the same soil, and apparently holding
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
61
their characters well. The present grew two feet high, slender; leaves distinctly peduncled, lanceolate, linear, an inch long or more, alternate; capsule sub-pedunculate, as long as the leaves, very narrow; tube of the calyx half as long as the petals; flowers an inch in breadth, pale purple, not spotted . The other :
(E. quadrivulnera, (G.) Dough ( 0 . amcena ? 0. Lyndleyi? more branching and shorter; leaves sessile, oblong, lanceolate, half as long as in the preceding; capsule much thicker, shorter, closely sessile, pubescent; calyx half as long as the dark purple petals, which have a deep red spot at their base.
But vary much in size with soil, but seem always to be in company, and to show the same relative distinctions. Neither is found west of the Coast range. The color of the stigma, I think, varies with the time of expansion, and thus several species appear to have been made of these two. My specimens do not agree exactly with the descriptions of either of those they are referred to, but have some characters of the others quoted with them, (Steilacoom, S.)
(E. vinosa, Lindl. ? (G.) (Steilacoom, S.)
(E. lepida, Lindl, (G.) (Steilacoom, S.)
CiRCiEA alpena, Linn. Not rare in dark, damp woods about Puget Sound; July.
Megarrhiza Oregona, Torr. & Gray. (G.) Common in the western portions of the Territory. On the dry prairies about Puget Sound it forms bushy tufts, two feet high and four or more wide, being evidently somewhat stunted. Where the soil is richer, and in the shade, it climbs thirty or forty feet over trees, &c. , and has much larger leaves. Though nearly ripe, the fruit in July is as large as the fist, round, with three or four grooves and scattered, weak, soft prickles. The rind is about j of an inch thick, and the inside entirely filled by the large seeds; root sometimes large enough to fill a flour barrel, tough, white, and very bitter. It is said to have strong cathartic properties. That of the California plant has been used to make * ‘ Stoughton* s bitters !’ ’
Rises divaricatum, Dough (G.) The most abundant species throughout the forest region, growing on borders of woods, shores, &c. ; flowers in April; color deep purple, sometimes yellowish; fruit ripe in July, small, but good.
R. niveum ? Lindl. A species grows in the Coast mountains, about the head of the Chehalis, which may be this. I saw the unripe fruit in July, then as large as a musket ball, slightly crisped, and said to be excellent when ripe; plant shrubby, spiny; leaves small, trifid, and toothed. It is now cultivated by Mr. Durgin in his nursery, by Mr. Gibbs and others.
R. lacustre, Poir. Whidby’s island, in damp woods; rare; April 15; also in the higher parts of the mountains southward.
R. laxiflorum, Pursh. A common species in damp maple groves along the coast; flowers April 1; lurid purple, smell unpleasant; fruit nauseous, small.
R. bracteosum, Dough (G.) Dark woods, along streams, from Cascades to coast. Flowers yellowish green; fruit black, as large as a pea, unpleasant; April 1.
R. san guineum, Pursh, (G.) Abundant in open fir forests; March 15; very beautiful in flower; fruit small and tasteless, bluish. (Steilacoom, S.)
Sebum spathulifolium, Hook. (G.) On bare rocks about mouth of the Columbia; July; yellow. The S. Oregona I did not find there, but think I saw it on the top of the Cascade mountains, in August, 1853.
Saxifraga integrifolia, Hook. (G.) Prairies of middle region; March 20 to June; leaves
62
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
much thinner and more entire than in S, Virginiensis; scape fewer flowered and more racemose; flower smaller. (Steilacoom. S.)
Heuchera micrantha, Dougl. Common in moist woods; May; flowers white.
H. cylindrica, Dougl. (T.) Not very common in dark woods near Steilacoom; June 11; flowers greenish yellow; scape three feet high. (S.) “Leaves bruised and applied to boils by the Nisquallies.” (GL)
Tolmiea Menziesii, Torr. & Gray. Common in wet, shady woods, along rocky streams; June and July; flowers purple.
Tellima grandiflora, Dougl. (G.) Not rare on damp clay banks, &c., at Puget Sound and along the coast; May 1; flowers cream color , handsome, very similar in appearance to those of Silena stellata.
Lithophragma parviflora, Nutt. Abundant on prairies of Whidby’s island, &c. ; March 25.
Tiarella trifoliata, Linn. (G.) Common in dark, damp woods, especially near the coast; May to July.
Chrysosplenium glechomjefolium, Nutt. (G.) Rare, in wet woods about Shoalwater bay; June 4; yellowish green.
Philadelphus Gordonianus, Lindl. Very common in dry, open grounds about Vancouver; rare about Puget Sound; six feet high; July. As strongly scented as the garden “mock orange.” The distinctions of this and P. Lewisii seem obscure. “Leaves Used by the Indians instead of soap.” (G.)
Sanicula menziesii, Hook. & Ark. (T.) Prairies, common; April 20 to June; yellow, 1^ feet high.
S. bipinnatifida, Dougl. (T.) Rare on prairies at Penn’s Cove, Whitby’s island; April 20; purple flowers.
S. bipinnata, Hook. & Arn. var. (T.) Prairie near Steilacoom; June; flowers yellow, two feet high.
Edosmia Gairdneri, Hook. & Arn. (G.) Common on prairies near Puget Sound. (Steila¬ coom, “root eaten by the Nisqually Indians, and called S’ hah ’got,” S.)
Oenanthe sarmentosa, Nutt. (G.) Common in wet* grounds along coast; rarer at Steilacoom. July to September; flowers white.
Ligusticum Scoticum, Linn. (G.) Not rare along coast at Shoalwater bay; July. “Green stems peeled and eaten by the Indians.” (G.)
Conioselinum Pischeri, Weim. & Grab. (G.) Common in moist sandy prairies, both on coast and interior; July to September; flowers white. Plant with the odor of anise when in dry soil, but disagreeable in moist ground. (Steilacoom, S.)
Archangelica peregrina, Nutt. (G.) Wet alder groves at Shoalwater Bay; rare; 6 feet high; July to September. “Apparently not the same as the plant of the coast of New England, referred to this species, though nearly allied to it. Both exhibit a more or less manifest involucre. ’ ’ — Gray.
Cymopterus ? littoralis, (n. sp. :) ‘ ‘ Low, subcaulescent ; petioles elongate, dilated, and
sheathing at the base, above with the peduncles and rays tomentose-villous ; leaves coriaceous, deeply 3-lobed or more commonly trisected; the divisions roundish, callose -serrulate, often 3-lobed or 3-parted, densely tomentose beneath, glabrous and finely reticulated above, the veinlets impressed ; umbels shorter than the leaves ; leaflets of the involucre and involucel subulate, the latter equalling the glomerate (whitish) flowers ; calyx-teeth short and subulate ;
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
63
wings of the fruit equal, (broad and white.) On the sands of the sea-shore at Shoalwater bay, scarcely rising above the surface, where its leaves lay prostrate. These are dark green and glabrous, and nearly white below, drying up, but not deciduous ; flowers gray and white ; ripe fruit, white.” — Dr. Cooper. “Root thick, petioles stout, a span long. Leaflets and divisions of the leaf 1 or 2 inches long ; peduncle 1 to 2 inches long ; rays 10 to 12, half an inch to an inch in length ; umbellets capitate, many-flowered. The very little fruit gathered is imperfect, but accords with that of Cymopterus, (except that the vittas were not made out, ) but the foliage is widely different from that of any species before known.” — Gray.
Peucedanum leiocarpum, Nutt. (G.) Prairies generally ; on sandy sea-shore varies with leaves broader and shorter ; stem coarse, 1 to 2 feet ; June. 1 ‘ The green stems are peeled and eaten.” (G.)
P. fceniculaceum, Nutt. (T.) Prairies about Puget Sound; March 15 to June — ; common; flowering when two inches high to one foot. “Root boiled and eaten.” (G.)
Heracleum lanatum, Michx. (G.) Abundant on sandy prairies along coast; May.
Daucus pusillus, Mich. (G.) Rare on sandy prairie near mouth of Columbia; July. (Steilacoom, S.)
Glycosma occidentalis, Nutt. (T.) Common on rich prairies in shade ;. June to August.
Conium maculatum, Linn. “Large form of the northwest coast.” . (T.) Abundant every¬ where in wet grounds, the large variety mostly near the sea, 8 feet high ; June to October.
Echinopanax horridum, Smith, (G.) Common in springy woods, from the highest parts of the Cascade mountains to the coast; May 15. (Steilacoom, S.)
Cornus Drummondii, (G. A. Meyer,) C. sericea, var.? Torr. & Gray. Abounds along the edge of rivers, in sandy soils, down to tide-water. I think this is distinct from the following, though my specimens are too incomplete to decide from.
C. pubescens, Nutt. (T.) Not very common, in damp woods, Steilacoom; May 28 ; 15-20 feet high. Bark greenish , twigs dark purple, leaves from two to four inches long, one to two and a half wide, ovate, obtuse or mucronate, glabrous, petals white.
C. Nuttallii, Aud. (G.) Common in the fir forests, about as far north as Steilacoom ; May 1. Very similar to C. Florida, and about twice as large in all parts. Much more ornamental in flower.
C. Canadensis, Linn. Cascade mountains, 4, 000 feet to the mouth of Columbia ; May.
Linnea borealis, Gronovius, (G.) Common in the same situations as Cornus Canadensis ; June. (Steilacoom, S.)
Symphoricarpus racemosus, Mich. (G.) Common along river banks down to tide-water ; June. (Steilacoom, S.)
S. occidentalis, R. Br. (T.) With the preceding, but less common; June to August.
Lonicera occidentalis, Hook. Not uncommon about Puget Sound or borders of prairies. Resembles L. sempervirens in habit and growth, but the flowers are much less beautiful and smaller ; orange ; May 1 to June. Limbs of the corolla slightly unequal.
L. hispidula, Dougl. Not very common ; woods near mountains ; May- June. Flowers rose.
L. (Xylosteum) involucrata, (Rich.) Wet ground, Cascade mountains to coast, especially about brackish marshes ; April to July. Corolla bright yellow, bracts purple, becoming much larger and brighter as the fruit ripens. Berries united, dark rich purple. A variety collected xn flower, April 22, on Whidby’ s island, has all parts much smaller, the leaves ovate-lanceolate, flowers paler, and bracts green. The larger form seems rare near Puget Sound.
64
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Sambucus pubens, Mich. var. (S', racemosa, Hlcr.) (G-.) Common in the forests, growing 20 feet high ; April 20.
S. glauca, Nutt. Plains and prairies on both sides of Cascade mountains ; most common eastward. Not west of Coast range ; June 20 ; Steilacoom. Berries much more pleasant than those of G. Canadensis ; ripe in July ; blue.
Galium trifidum, Linn. (G.) Common in the thickets, &c. ; June.
G. triflorum, Mich. (G.) In similar places everywhere ; June.
(G. Aparine, Linn. (G.) Steilacoom, S.)
Valeriana capitata, Willd. Rare; on rocky banks of “ Stab-chess” river, near Olympia; May 1 ; 3 feet high ; flowers pink, fragrant.
Plectritis C0NGESTA, DC. (G.) Sandy soil along sea-shore and Straits of De Fuca ; common. Flowers pink; June and July. Sometimes 3 to 4 feet high, decumbent. (Steilacoom, S.)
Nardosmta palmata, Hooker, (G.) Common on the sloping clay banks bordering Shoalwater bay and Puget Sound ; March 15.
Aster Douglassii, (G.) This seems to be the only species of this numerous genus common west of the Cascade mountains, in this Territory. It grows in moist meadows, from two to five feet high ; the latter on the coast. This large variety has leaves 4 inches long and 1 broad, and, except in the want of “ canescent pubescence/ ’ seems to approach A. Menziesii, Lindl. Rays bright or dark purple ; July to September.
Erigeron speciosum, DC., var. /?. (T.) On dry prairies near Puget Sound. Rare ; July; 2 feet. Flowers pale purple.
(Erigeron Canadense, Linn. (G.) Steilacoom, S.)
Solid ago confertiflora, DC. (G.) Abundant on the sandy sea-shore prairies in dry soil; September ; not more than two feet high ; raceme very large and dense, 6 inches long. (Steilacoom, S.)
S. elongata, Nutt., var. (T.) Not abundant; in open spots, along Columbia river and sea¬ shore ; not seen near Steilacoom ; July ; 4 feet high.
Grindelia integrifolia, DC. Common on wet meadows near the sea; var. /?. near mouth of Columbia river ; July. (Steilacoom, S.)
Franseria Chamissonis, Lesson; /?. cunei/olia, Nutt. (G.) Common in sand hills near edge of salt water along coast ; July.
F. Bipinnatifida, , Nutt. (G.) In the same situations near mouth of Columbia. Common. Both form bushy, prostrate tufts in the sand. I observed no intermediate forms of the leaves.
Balsamorhiza deltoidea, Nutt. (T.) Common on moist prairies of the interior, nearly to top of Cascade range, not west of Coast mountains; July; near Puget Sound. “Root edible.” (G.)
Bidens cernua, Linn. (G.) Not common; in swampy salt marshes along sea-coast; September.
Bahia lanata, Nutt. (G.) Common on dry plains east of Coast range; June. (Steilacoom, S.)
Madia racemosa, Torr. & Gray, (G.) (Steilacoom, S.)
Achillea millefolium, Linn. (G.) Abundant everywhere in dry soil. (Steilacoom, S.)
Coinogyne carnosa, Lesson. (G.) Common on the edge of salt marshes among Salicornia, from which it is not easily distinguished when not in flower; July to September; flowers bright yellow.
Tanacetum Huronense, Nutt. (G.) Sandy soil along sea-shore and interior prairies; July.
Artemisia Douglasiana, Bess. (C.) On steep clay banks about Shoalwater bay; September.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
65
The only species of the genus I found west of the Cascade mountains; 5 feet high, very stout; ower leaves somewhat serrate-toothed on each side; scarcely trifid.
Gnaphalium decurrens, Ives. (G.) var. ? Californicum , DC. Common on sandy prairies along sea-shore; August; 2 feet.
G. luteo album, Linn. (G.) var.? SprengeUi , Hook. & Am. In similar situations along sea¬ shore; August and September; 1 foot.
G. palustre, Nutt. (G.) In wet sandy soil along sea-shore; not common; August.
G. purpureum, Linn., var.? ustulatum; Nutt. (T. & C.) Not common; in dry prairie near Puget Sound, and with the preceding along coast; July; 1 foot. “A remarkable white floccose variety. ’ ’ — Gray.
Antennaria margaritacea, R. Br. (G.) A very large leaved form, 4 feet high; along coast; not rare; September.
A. plantagifolia, Hooker. (T.) Dry prairies about Puget Sound; common; July.
Crocidium multicaule, Hooker. (T.) On grassy hill sides; Straits of De Fuca; April 1; flowering when only two inches high, and continuing until a foot high in June; Steilacoom; common.
Arnica amplexicaulis, Nutt. (G.) On rocky banks of streams among the coast mountains; July; 2 feet.
Cirsium undulatum, Spreng. (T.) “A smoothish form;” common in open dry grounds near Columbia river, &c. The only native species west of Cascade mountains; 3 feet high. “The root is eaten.” — Gibbs. Canada thistle.
Hieracium scouleri, Hook. (G.) Common in dry open grounds, burnt woods, &c. ; June; rays white; 2 feet high.
Macrorhynchus laciniatus, Torr. & G. (T.) and var. ft. Common on dry prairies about Puget Sound; June and July. Flowering; from 4 inches to 2 feet high. “ Root edible.” (G.)
M. heterophyllus, Nutt. (G.) (Steilacoom, S.)
M. Lessingii, Hook. (G.) Prairies along sea-shore; June.
Mulgedium leucopileum, DC. (G.) Common in dry open woods, &c. ; August.
Sonchus asper, Yieill. (G.) Common about cultivated ground. Introduced?
Campanula linifolia, Hkr. Prairies east of Coast range; common; June 10.
C. Scouleri, Hkr. (G.) In shade of fir forests; common; June 20; 2 feet. (Steilacoom, S.)
Specularia perfoliata, A. DC. (G.) Prairies; common; June. (Steilacoom, S.)
Heterocodon rariflorum, Nutt. (T.) Prairie near Steilacoom; rare; growing in cultivated grounds in spreading tufts a foot wide. Flowers either purple or white; June.
Githopsis specularioides, Nutt. (T.) (Trans, of Amer. Phil. Soc., new series, p. 225. With the preceding, and similar in growth, but smaller; June 20; purple.
Vaccinium macrocarpon, Aiton. (G.) Swamps near coast; abundant; June.
Y. parvifolium, Smith. (G.) Forests; common; flowers greenish purple; April; fruit red; July.
Y. caespitosum, Mich. Prairies of interior; abundant; April; 6 inches high.
Y. ovalifolium, Smith. Dark forests; not abundant; flowers greenish, March; fruit blue, sour; August.
Y. myrtilloides, Mich. Cascade mountains over 4,000 feet high; fruit good; ripe in August; brownish purple.
66
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Y. oyatum, Pursh. (G.) Forests; evergreen; flowers pink; February to May; fruit black, sweet; September to December.
Arbutus menziesii, Pursb. (G.) Gravelly shores and banks, in fir forests; April; white.
Arctostaphylos tomentosa, Pursh. Rare in fir forests; Yancouver to Cascade mountains; fruit unripe in July.
A. uva ursi, Linn. (C.) Abundant on sandy prairie, from sea-shore eastward; May.
Menziesia ferruginea, Smith. (G. Along coast; not abundant; 10 feet high; flowers in May; purplish.
M. empetriformis ? Gm. Seen on Cascade mountains, at 4,000 feet elevation, flowering in August; rare.
Gaultheria shallon, Pursh. (G.) Abounds west of Cascade range; flowers in May; fruit resembles the harvest apple in flavor.
Rhododendron maximum? Linn. Common only in woods on Whidby’s island, but said to extend along Cascade range southward. In dry gravelly soil 12 feet high. Flowers in April, (Port Townsend, S.)
Kalmia angustifolia, Linn. (G.) Common in sphagnous swamps; June. A variety approach¬ ing K. glauca , var. ovata.
Pyrola rotundifolia, var. bradeata, Linn. (G.) Woods; June; common. (Steilacoom, S.) “This with P. asarifolia, Mx. ; P. uliginosa, Torr.; P. ocddentcdis, B. Br., and P. pida, Hook., I take to be but one species.” — Gray.
P. elliptica, Nutt. In similar situations less common; June. “A poultice made of the leaves raises blisters.” (G.)
Moneses uniflora, Linn. (G.) Woods, on logs, &c., along coast; rare; June.
Chimaphila umbellata, Pursh., (G.) Dry woods; common; June. (Steilacoom, S.)
Pterospora andromedea, Nuttall. Woods; Steilacoom; June; Cascade mountains at 4,000 feet; in August; not common.
Monotropa uniflora, Linn. (G.) Forests; rare; July; near Chehalis river.
Plantago major, Linn. A very large variety in an opening of the forest; Chehalis river; July; apparently indigenous.
P. maritima, Linn. (G.) Sea-shore; common; June 20.
P. Patagonica, Jacq. (T.) var. Gnaphalioides. Prairie, head of Chehalis; July 4; rare.
Armeria vulgaris, Willd. (G.) Abundant on sandy prairie along coast, coloring large patches of a fine rose color when in flower; June; one foot high; rare; near Steilacoom.
Dodeoatheon meadia, Linn. (G.) (D. dentatum, Hkr.) Common on prairie; March; one foot high.
Trientalis Europea, Linn. (G.) (T. latifolia > Hkr.) Common in shady forests; April. (Steilacoom, S.)
Glaux maritima, Linn. (G.) Common on sea-beach; June.
Aphyllon uniflorum, T. and G. Prairie near Steilacoom; common; May 15.
Linaria Canadensis, Linn. (G.) Common on prairies everywhere; June. (S.)
Scrophularia nodosa, Linn. (G.) Common in damp ground along coast; June; a large variety.
Collinsia grandiflora, Dougl. (T.) Prairie near Steilacoom; April; common; one foot.
O. parviflora, Dougl. (T.) Gravelly shores of Puget Sound; March; blue. These two species seem to run together, both presenting several varieties.
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
67
Mtmulus luteus, Willd. (G-.) Wet banks and springs in forests; common; May to July.
M. moschatus, Dougl. (G.) Wet shady woods; common; May to July; one foot. (Steilacoom, G. S.)
M. floribundus, Dougl. (T.) Steilacoom, in wet ground; rare; June 20; one foot.
Synthyris reniformis, Benth. (G.) Prairies along Willopa river; March 18; flowers blue.
Veronica anagallis, Linn. (G.) Wet shady woods; common; June.
V. scutellata, Linn. (G.) Common in open marshes; June.
Castilleja pallida, Kunth. (T. and G.) Several varieties, and perhaps another species, abound on the prairies; April to June.
Orthocarpus tenuifolius, Benth. (G.) Sandy prairies along sea-beach; July; rare. (Stei¬ lacoom, S.)
0. hispidus, Dougl. ? (T.) Steilacoom; May; rare.
Mentha Canadensis, Linn. (G.) Common on wet prairies; June.
Monardella odoratissima, Benth. (G.) Coast prairies; June.
Brunella vulgaris, Linn. (G.) Common on prairies; June; a large form. (Steilacoom, S.) “Mixed with grease and applied to swellings by the Indians.” — G.
Scutellaria lateriflora, Linn. (T.) River bank; July; very large.
Micromeria Douglassii, Benth. (G.) In woods near Steilacoom; July; fragant. (S.)
Stachys palustris, Linn. Wet grounds; June; three feet high.
S. CILIATA, Dougl. (G.) var. “more hairy.” In similar situations, and more common; June.
Amsinkia lycopsoides, Lehm. (G.) Sandy sea-shores, &c. ; 2 feet; yellow. August to July. (Steilacoom, S.)
Myosotis verna, Nutt. (T.) (injlexa, Engl, stricta, Lin.) Dry prairie, Steilacoom; May 15, rare, 2 feet, blue.
Eritrichium fulvum, A. DC. (T.) Gravelly banks of brooks; Steilacoom; common. Flowers May 15, very fragrant; white but turns fulvous in drying.
E. chorisianum DC.? (T.) Dry prairies near Puget Sound; June; rare.
(E. Scouleri, A. DC. (G.) Steilacoom, S.)
Hydrophyllum macrophyllum, Nutt.? (T.) var. A variety with trifid leaves resembling H. canadense. Shady river banks; July,
H. capitatum, Benth. (G.) In similar situations; common. July; 2-3 feet; white. (Steila¬ coom, S.)
Phacelia circinata, Jacq. (G.) Abundant in dry openings of the forest; June.
Eutoca Menziesii, Benth. (G.) Prairies near Puget Sound, rare; June; 1 foot. (Steila¬ coom, S.)
Nemophila parviflora, Benth. (T.) Woods near Puget sound; June and July; rare.
Polemonium micranthum, Benth. (T.) Rich soil, prairie, Whitby’s I.; April 12; rare.
Collomia grandiflora, Dougl. (G.) Common on prairies of interior; June; 2 feet, (S.)
C. gracilis, Dougl. (T.) Common in the same situations as the last.
Gilia Achilllefolia, Benth. With the preceding; common; July.
G. micrantha, Steud. (T.) With the preceding; June, common, (S.)
G. tricolor, Benth. (G.) In cultivated ground on coast. Introduced?
Navarretia heterophylla, Benth. (T.) Prairie near Puget Sound; June; rare, (S.)
Calystegia soldanella, R. Br. (G.) On sandy sea-beach near salt water, common; June 20. Flower large, purple; plant prostrate.
(58
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Cuscuta umbrosa, Beurick. (G.) “ ex- Hooker. ” Common among Salicornia on sea-coast. September.
Solanum nigrum, Linn. (G.) A large form, growing chiefly around cultivated grounds Introduced ? July to December.
Fraxinus Oregonus, Nutt. Ash. River bank above tide-water; June.
Asarum Hookeri, Gray. (G.) A canadensis , var. Hook. Forests; not common; June. (Steila- coom, S.) “The specimens are not in flower, but it is no doubt a distinct species.” — Gray. Salicornia herbacea, Linn. (G.) Salt marshes; abundant.
Chenopodiuh album, Linn. (G.) Several varieties about cultivated grounds on sea-shore. Introduced? ' t
Blitum Rubrum, Linn. var. B. humile, Mov. (T.) Salt marsh at Shoal water bay; May. Branches decumbent, fleshy; 6 inches long.
Abronia arenaria, Menz. (G.) Sandy sea-shore nearest to water, spreading. Flowers in June and July; orange yellow, and with the odor of orange blossoms.
A. umbellata, Lamk. (C.) With preceding, a smaller plant; flowers pink, expanding in September; scentless.
Polygonum Paronychia, Cham. (G.) Common on dry sandy prairies along sea-coast; July; 2 feet; rose-colored.
P. PersIcaria, Linn. (G.) About cultivated grounds. Introduced? July.
P. tenue, Michx. (G.) Sea-shore prairies; June.
P. amphibium, var. aquaticum, Linn. (T.) In lakes about Puget Sound, common; June. Rumex Salicifolius, Weinm. (G.) About salt marshes, etc., common; June.
R. domesticus, Hartm. ex-Hook. (G.) Introduced ? not common. (Steilacoom, S.) “Leaves boiled and eaten by Indians.” — (G.)
R. persICarioIdes, Linn. (G.) Common about salt marshes. June; 1 foot.
R. acetosella, Linn. Becoming common in cultivated prairies. Introduced 20 years since at Nisqually farms, and is now spread for miles around, crowding out everything else in the poor gravelly soil. — (S.)
Shepherdia Canadensis, Nutt. Found only on banks near Straits of Fuca; flowering March 10, Quercus Garryana, Dougl. White Oak. The abundant and sole species of oak, in prairies. Flowers, May 25.
Corylus Americana, Walter. (C.) Hazel. An abundant shrub in the fir forests ; March. Myrica Californica? Cham. (G.) Not common in marshes along coast; leaves evergreen, inodorous; flowers and fruit not found.
Alnus Oregona, Nutt. (A. rubra? Bong.) Alder. Common near coast. See notes on trees. A. viridis, DC. (T.) A shrub 20 feet high, rare ; Steilacoom.
Salix brachystachys, Benth. Scouleriana, Barratt. (G.) Common along coast, Ac. ; Feb. 20, yellow, 25—30 feet high. Specimens of several other species were collected, but in the uncertain state of our knowledge of western willows, cannot be confidently named.
Populous tremuloides, Michx. Common on mountains and around lakes near Puget Sound. P. angustifolia, Torr. Abundant on river banks above tide-water. The specimens do not certainly identify the other species, but they are probably P. balsamifera, Linn., and P. monili/era, Ait.
Urtic a gracilis, Ait. (G.) Nettle. Abundant in wet woods ; July.
Pinus ponderosa, Dough Yellow pine. Prairies near Steilacoom, not common ; stunted.
BOTANY OF THE KOUTE.
69
P. contorta, Dougl.? Scrub pine. Damp sandy soil, sea-coast and interior. (Steilacoom S.)
Abies Canadensis, Michx. Hemlock. Damp forests, common ; April.
A. Douglassii, Sabine. “Red” and “Black Pir.” See notes on forest trees. March; yellow.
A grandis, Dougl. “Yellow Fir.” Young cone green and resinous.
A. taxifolia,? Lambert. “White Spruce.” Undoubtedly a distinct species.
A. menziesii, Lambert. “Black Spruce.” April ; flower and cones red.
Thuja gigantea, Nuttall. “Cedar.”
Taxus breyifolia, Nuttall. “ Yew.” (Oregona in plate.) April; yellow.
Symplocarpus Kamschaticus, Bong. (G-.) Wet grounds, in forest; sea-shore to 3,000 feet high on mountains. Flowers March 21. Spathe white. (Steilacoom, S.)
Typha latifolia, Linn. (G.) Common in wet grounds.
Sparganiuh ramosum, Smith (G.) Banks of streams, rare ; June.
Zostera marina, Linn. (G.) Common in bays, in shallow water or mud.
Ruppia maritima, Linn. (G.) With the preceding ; common.
Triglochin maritimum, Linn. (G.) About the edge of high water in mud, common.
Sagittaria sagittifolia, ? Linn. Tubers sent by Dr. Suckley from Steilacoom, said to be of this plant, are eaten by the Indians, under the name of “ Wappatoo.”
Calypso borealis, Salisb. (T.) Common in dark, damp fir forests, on Whidby’s island; April 5.
Platanthera leucostachys, Lindl. (G.) Common in moist prairie near Steilacoom ; June. Flowers white, 4 feet high. (S.)
P. hyperborea, Lindl. Steilacoom, not common ; June, 2 feet high.
Spiranthes cernua, Rich. (G.) Common in prairies everywhere ; July to October.
S. decipiens, Hook. (G.) (Steilacoom, S.)
Sisyrinchium anceps, Linn. (G.) Abundant in prairies.
S. grandiflorum, Dougl. (T.) Rare. Straits of Fuca, March 18, one specimen ; flower rich purple ; 1 foot high.
Trillium grandiflorum, Salisb. (G.) Forests in damp shade everywhere ; August 1.
T. ovatum, Pursh. (G.) (Steilacoom, S.) “ Root used as a poultice.” (G.)
Smilacina ragemosa, Desf. (T.) Common in wet woods; May. “The berries are sometimes eaten.” (G.)
S. bifolia, Ker. var. trifolia, (G.) Common in woods, mostly along coast; May 15.
Lilium canadense, Linn. (G.) Prairies of interior, June and July; 5 feet high. Flowers smaller, leaves broader than common. (Steilacoom, G.) “ Root edible.” (G.)
Erythronium grandiflorum, Pursh. Prairies of interior, March 18. Common.
Fritillaria lanceolata, Pursh. With preceding. Whidby’s island, April 18. “Root edible.” (G.)
Prqsartes menziesii, Hook. (G.) Spruce forests along coast; May. Common.
P. hooeerii, Torr. (T.) P. lanuginosa , /9. major , Hook. Prairie, Whidby’s island, in shade, rare; April 12.
Streptopus ampl-exifolius, DC. (G.) Common in spruce forests; May. (Steilacoom, S.)
Anticlea douglassii, Torr. (T.) (In Whipple's Bept . P. B. B. Vol. IV ) Prairie at Steilacoom; June. Rare.
A. Nuttallii, Torr. (T.) Prairie on Whitby’s island; April. Rare.
70
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
Veratrum eschscholtzii, Torr. V. viride, var. ‘I Woods near Vancouver, June; 6 feet. Flowers white.
Hesperoscordon hyacinthinum, Lindl. (T.) White. Prairies at Steilacoom; June. Common; 3 feet high. “Root edible.” (G-.)
Dichelostemma congestum, Kunth. (G-.) With the preceding. Common; June. 2 feet, purple. (S.) “Poison Camass;” Bah-kah of Nisquallies. (G.)
Brodiea grandiflora, Smith, (G.) Rare, on prairie near Puget Sound; June. Purple, (S.) “ Root edible.” (G.)
Camassia esculenta, Lindl. (T.) “Camass.” Common on prairies everywhere; March 15. Blue.
Luzula parviflora, Desvaux, (G.) Dry hills, common; 3 feet high.
L. campestris, var. Desv. (T.) Wet meadows, June; 1 foot high.
Juncus balticus, Willd. (G.)
J. bufonius, Linn. (G.) Together about salt marshes; July.
Eleocharis palustris, Mr.? (E. scabra, R. Brown.) “Without perigynous bristles.” (T.) Marshes.
Scirpus lacustris, Linn. (G.) Common in marshes along coast. “Tule.”
S. maritimus, Linn. (G.) With the preceding.
Eriophorum vaginatum, Linn. ( Ghamissonis, ? Meyer.) Rare in cranberry marshes.
Carex bromoides, Schkur. (G.) On dry hills along coast; not common.
C. scouleri, Torr. (G.) Common in wet grounds, April and May; 2 feet.
C. sitchensis, Bongard, (G.) Abundant in salt marshes, July; 3 feet.
C. macrocephala, Willd. (G.) Sandy prairies of sea-shore, common; May. 1 foot.
C. teretiuscula, Good. “ or very near it; spike shorter.” (T.)
Alopecurus geniculatus, Linn. (T.) Wet ground at Steilacoom; June. Introduced.?
A. aristulatus, ? Michx. “ between the two;” (T.) With the preceding.
Koeleria Cristata, Persoon, (T.) Dry prairies; June.
Poa borealis, Hook. (G.) Dry hills on coast; June.
P. annua, Linn. (T.) Prairies. Introduced.?
Hordeum pratense, Kunth. (G.) With preceding.
Aira elongata, Hook. (G.) Damp prairies and salt meadows, where it is the common grass. A. latifolia, Hook. (G.) With preceding, but less common.
Festuca myurus, Linn. (G.) Steilacoom. (S.)
Panicum. Uncertain species. (T.) Steilacoom.
Ceratochloa breviaristata, Hook. (T.) Dry prairie at Steilacoom; June. Common. Beratochloa grandiflora, Hook. (T.) Salt meadows; 3 feet high. Common.
Lolium temulentum, (T.) “Near L. multiflorum. ” Near summit of Cape Disappointment. Polypogon. “ New species. ?” (T.)
Elymus arenarius, Linn. (G.) Sandy sea-shore prairies, 6 feet; July. (Steilacoom, S.) Calamagrostis stricta, Nutt. (G.) With the last; 2 feet high; July.
Equisetum fluviatile, Linn. Damp woods, common. — (S.)
Pteris aquilina, Linn. (G.) Abundant on prairies everywhere. (Steilacoom, S.) Polypodium vulgare, Linn. (G.) var. occidentale. P. falcatum, Kellogg, inProc. Cal. Acad. Sciences. Among moss or wet rocks, and dead trunks.
Adiantum pedatum, Linn. (G.) Not rare; in shady, damp woods. (S.)
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE.
71
Aspidium spinulosum, Willd. u ex-Hooker.” (G-.) Woods; 4-6 feet high.
A. munitum, Kunth. (G.) Woods, common; forming dense tufts 3 or 4 feet high and wide.
Blechnuh boreale, Swartz. (G.) Spruce forest at coast, not rare; 2 feet high.
Marchantia polymorpha, ( Hepaticce, ) Linn. (Steilacoom, S.)
I have received the following letter from Mr. Samuel Ashmead, relative to two interesting marine plants, which were submitted to him for examination.
Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia , April 20, 1857.
Dear Sir: I received the two specimens of marine Algae from Washington Territory, and as they do not decompose in fresh water, I transferred them to new papers and marked the names thereon.
Phyllospora Menziesii, A g. This plant was first discovered by Mr. Menzies in the deep waters of Nootka Sound, where it sometimes grows to an enormous length. The specimen you send is much injured by transportation; hundreds of the marginal leaves were broken off. It is a fertile specimen having “ receptacles, ” which renders it very interesting. You will find it accurately described by Harvey in his Nereis Bor. Am. p. 62, vol. 3, or 5, Smithsonian Con¬ tributions to Knowledge. Collected in Puget Sound, by Dr. G. Suckley, U. S. A.
Callophyllis laciniata, Kutz. This plant is exceedingly rare on the American coast; the species is subject to considerable variety of form, but it is easily recognized under the micro¬ scope, by the peculiar internal structure of the frond. You will find it also described by Harvey, Nereis Bor. Am. p. 171, vol. 3, or 5, Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. Col¬ lected at Shoalwater bay, by Captain C. J. W. Russell.
As I had not before seen either of these species, I am much pleased to be able to add them to my collection.
Very truly, yours, &c,,
SAMUEL ASHMEAD.
Doctor Cooper.
.
’
*
.
■
-
INDEX TO BOTANICAL 11 E P 0 11 T
Abies _ _ _ ... -
Abronia _ - _
Aconitum _ ... _ _
Acer . . . .
Acerates...... . .
Achillea.. _ ...... ...
Achlys . ......
Actsea.. . . . ...
Actinella...... . . .
Aira . . .
Adiantum .... ...... ...
Alisma...... _ _
Allium.... _ .......
Alnus.... ...... ...... .
Alopecurus . . .
Ambrosia...... .... ....
Amelanchier .
Amorplia . . .
Ammannia . .
Ampelopsis...... .
Amsinckia... . .
Amphicarpsea . .
Andropogon .
Anemone .
Anoplon . . . . ...
Anoplanthus . .
Antennaria...... ......
Anticlea . . . . .
Aphyllon . .
Aplopappus.... ...... ..
Apocynum _
Aquilegia.... .... _ _
Aralia . . . . .
Arabis...... ...... .....
Arbutus.... _ _ .....
Archangelica .
Argemone . .
Armeria.... ...... .... .
Arctostaphylos . .
Arenaria . .
Arnica . . . . . .
Artemisia .
Arum . . . . .
Asarum _ ....... ...
Aspidium _ _ ...... ....
Asplenium ............
Asclepias . .
Aster . . . .
Astragalus.... . .
Atriplex..... .
10 1
Page.
69
. 54, 68
51 51,57 46
. 45, 65
56
. 40,56
45 71
. 49,71
48
48
69
70
44 60
42
43 41 67 41
49 40
45
45 45,65
70 45, 67
44
. 46, 54
40,55 44
. 40,56
66 62 40 67 66
57
. 53, 65
.45,53,65
48
. 46, 68
71
49
, 46,54
44,51,64 . 42,51
46
Page.
Bahia...... ............ ....... . . 65
Balsamorhiza . 65
Barbarea...... _ _ 56
Bear-wood . . . . . . 57
Berberis . . . ............. . . 56
Bidens . . . .. . . . .... 65
Blechnum _ 41
Blephilia . 46
Blitum . 64
Botrychium . 49
Bouteloua . 48
Brickellia _ 51
Broad-leaved trees . 27
Brodiea... _ _ _ 69
Brunella . . . ... _ _ _ 67
Callophyllis . 71
Calamagrostis . . . 48,71
Calandrinia. _ 57
Calochortus . . . . . . . . 48, 54
Calypso . 69
Calystegia _ _ _ 46,68
Camassia . . . 70
Campanula _ ... . . . . . . . 45, 54, 65
Capsella . 41,56
Carex. . 48,70
Cardamine.... . . 56
Cascade mountains . . 13
Castilleja . .....45,54,67
Ceanothus . . 41,57
Cerastium _ ........ _ _ _ _ _ _ 41,57
Cerasus _ 42,59
Ceratocbloa . 71
Chenopodium.... . . . 68
Charaaerhodos . 43
Chimaphila _ 66
Chryseis . 56
Chrysopsis . . . 44,53
Chrysosplenium.... . . . — . . 62
Circaea . - . 43,61
Cirsium . 45,65
Cistopteris..... — ... . — . . . . 49
Claytonia . - . . . 57
Clematis . . . - . 40
Cleome . . . . . . ......... — 41,51
Climate of western region . 32
Coinogyne . . . . - . . . 65
Collinsia . . . . . . . — ... . . 07
Collomia . . — . . — . . . 46, 54, 68
Comandra . . 47
Comarum.. . . . - . . 60
74
INDEX.
Coniferous trees . .
Conioselinum ...........
Conium. _ _ _
Cornus . . .
Corydalis . .
Cory lus.... . . .
Crataegus... _ _ _ ...
Crocidium...... ...... _
Cuscuta ................
Cymopterus . . .
Cynoglossum . .
Cypripedum . .
Dances. . . . .
.Delphinium . .
Dentaria...... .........
Desmodium . .
Dichelostemma .
Dielytra.... . .
Dodecatheon .
Draba . . . .
Drosera .
Echcacea . .
Echinocystis . .
Echinopanar.... ...... ...
Echinospermum .
Edosmia.i. .
Ellisia .
Eleocharis .
El odea . . . .
Elymus .... ... _ ... _ _
Endolepis .
Epilobium . .
Equisetum . .
Erigeron . .
Eriogonum .
Eriophorum _ _
Eri tricbium . .
Erodium . . .
Erysimum .
Erythronium .
Eupitorium _ _ _
Euphorbia _ .... _
Euphrosyns...... _ _ _ _
Eutoca . . .
Eurotia.... . . . .
Eestuca _ _ _
Forests of western region
Fragaria .
Frangula . . . .
Franseria .
Fraxinus . . . . .
Fresh waters .
Fritillaria . .
Gaillardia.... _ ......
Galium . . .
Gaultheria _
Gaura .
Geranium . .
Geum .
Gilia _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Page.
Githopsis . 66
Grindelia . . . . . . . . 44, 51, 64
Gleditscbia . 42
Glycirrbryza . 41
Great Plain of Columbia . 16
Glaux . 67
Glycosma ... . . 63
Gnapbalium . 65
Hedeoma . . . 46
Helenium . . 53
Helianthus . 44, 53
Heliopsis . . . 44
Heracleum . 63
Hesperoscordon _ _ _ ... _ 70
Heterocodon _ _ _ 66
Heuchera . 43,62
Hieracium . 65
Honckenya . . 56
Hordeum . 49,70
Hosackia . . . . . . . 42, 51, 58
Hydrophyllum . . 46, 67
Hymenopappus . 45
Hypericum..... _ 56
Impatiens.... _ _ _ _ _ _ 57
Iris . 48
Iva . 44
Juncus _ 48,70
Juniperus . 48
Kalmia . 66
Koeleria _ 48,70
Kuhnia . . . . . .... .... 44
Lathyrus . 41,51,58
Lepacbys _ 44
Lepidium . 41
Lespedeza . 42
Liatris . . 44
Ligusticum . 62
Lilium . . 48,69
Linaria . 67
Linnea . 63
Linum . . . 41
Linosyris.... . . 51
Lithospermum.. . 46
Litbopbragma _ _ 62
Lobelia - - - 45
Lolium . 71
Lonicera . 64
Lophantbus.... . 46
Lupinus _ _ _ _ _ ..42, 51, 58
Luzula...... . . 70
Ly copus . 45
Lygodesmia . . . 45
Lysimacbia . . . 45
Machaeranthera.... . . 51
Macrorhynchus . 65
Madia . 65
Malacothrix . 53
Malva _ _ _ 57
Malvastrum . 41,51
Maple . 57
Page.
24
62
63
. 44, 63
40,56
69
43
65
68
. 43, 63
46
48
63
.40,51,55
56
42
69
56
67
. 41,56
56
44
43
63
46
. ' 62
46
70
41
. 49,71
47
. 51,60
. 49,71
.44,51,64
54
70
67
51
. 40,56
70
44
. 47, 54
44
68
47
. 48,71
24
. 41,60
57
64
. 46,68
34
70
. 45,53
.44,51,64
66
43
.41,51,57
43,59
. 54,68
Marchantia....
Medicago _
Megarhiza. _
Menispermum .
Mentha .
Mentzelia .
Menziesia ..... Micromeria....
Mimulus .
Moehringia ...
Monarda .
Monardella....
Moneses...... ,
Monotropa ....
Morus .
Mulgedium....
Musenium .
Myri'ca . .
Nardosmia....
Nasturtium....
Navarretia ....
Negundo.... ..
Nemophila....
Nuttallia _
Nuphar _ _
Obione .
Oenanthe .
Oenothera _
Onosmodium . . .
Opuntia .
Oreophila . .
Orohus... _
Orthocarpus ... Osmorrhiza....
Oxalis _
Oxybaphus ....
Oxytropis .
Panicum ......
Pentalophus _
Pentstemon....
Petalostemon..
Peucedanum...
Phalaris _ _ _
Phelypcea _
Philadelphia...
Phlox.. _ ...
Phacelia . .
Phyllospora ...
Physalis _ _ _
Pilea .
Pinus...... ...
Plantago .
Platan thera.... Plectritis......
Poa . . .
Podophyllum..
Polemonium...
Polygala .
Polygonatum .. Polygonum....
|
Page. |
|
|
71 |
Polvpodium _ - _ _ |
|
58 |
Polypogon.. _ __ _ _ _ _ |
|
61 |
Populus _ |
|
40 |
' Potentilla _ _ _ _ _ |
|
45,54,67 |
Prairies of western region . . |
|
. 43,51 |
Prosartes . . . . _ |
|
66 |
|
|
67 |
Pteris _ _ _ _ |
|
54, 67 |
Pterospora .......... _ _ |
|
.. 41,57 |
Pulsatilla _ _ _ |
|
46 |
Pvrola _ _ _ _ |
|
67 |
Pyrus.... . . . . . |
|
66 |
Onerous _ _ |
|
66 |
Ranunculus _ _ _ _ ............. _ ........ |
|
47 |
Reboulea _ _ _ _ |
|
.45,54,65 |
Region west of mountains _ _ |
|
43 |
Rh am nns _ |
|
69 |
Rhododendron _ _ _ _ _ |
|
64 |
Rhus _ _ _ _ _ |
|
.40,51,56 |
Ribes . . . . . . . |
|
68 |
Rosa _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
|
41 |
Rubus _ _ _ _ _ |
|
68 |
Rumex _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
|
59 |
Ruppia.... . . . . |
|
56 |
Sagina ... _ ................................... |
|
47 |
Sagittaria _ _ _ _ |
|
62 |
Salicornia _ _ _ _ _ |
|
,.43,51,60 |
|