164 Rhodora [JUNE 
distance from a base of supplies, make a thorough botanical explora- 
tion of tke whole mountain a labor of many years. We noticed how- 
ever with interest, on the one hand the presence of many plants not 
found on Washington (several being species new to Maine) and, on 
the other, the unaccountable absence of species common enough on 
that mountain. It is more than probable that most of these will turn 
up in time. Our work was confined to the alpine and sub-alpine 
region of the mountain and it is this region only that we consider. 
Perhaps the most notable plant peculiar to Katahdin is Saxifraga 
stellaris, L., var. comosa, Willd. This was found in Joseph Blake's and 
in Scribner's original stations, the latter in the interstices of great rocks 
north of the West Peak, the former in the notch between the Chim- 
ney and Pomola, where a few specimens only were collected by Mr. 
Fernald. 
On the eastern slope of the Saddle, Mr. Fernald collected an im- 
mature Æpilobium which appears to be with scarcely any doubt Æ. 
anagallidifolium, Lam. In the North Basin we collected an abun- 
dance of Comandra livida, both in flower and fruit. This has been 
found hitherto in New England only on Mt. Mansfield in Vermont and 
on Saddleback and Abraham in the Rangeley Lakes country. Sin- 
gularly enough a very dwarf Kalmia angustifolia, with flowers of the 
brightest hue, abounds there. On Washington we have never seen 
it, except on the foot-hills. We also found in the North Basin, 
Larix Americana, a few trees, absolutely prostrate, but spreading 
over ten or twelve feet scarcely six inches from the ground. /unip- 
erus communis, var. nana, Loud. (the first station in the eastern 
United States) and Eriophorum alpinum are on the ledges of the 
back wall This back wall, in fact, was especially rich in low- 
land plants, which owing to the dampness and southeastern ex- 
posure attain here a remarkable elevation. Many of these were 
found at 4000 to 4500 ft. altitude. We noticed among the members 
of this adventurous colony: Lycopodium clavatum, Osmunda Clayton- 
iana, Pteris aquilina, Carex leptalea, Carex communis, Carex flava, 
Danthonia spicata, Smilacina racemosa, Andromeda polifolia, Aster 
umbellatus, Aster Radula, Aster acuminatus, Diervilla trifida, Potentilla 
fruticosa, Prunus Pennsylvanica, Prunus Virginiana, and Viola 
Selkirkii, It seemed strange indeed to find these plants in company 
with Dapensia Lapponica, Bryanthus taxifolius, Arnica Chamissonis, 
and Epilobium Hornemanni. 
