54 THE PLANT WORLD. 



in the bottom of the canyon. The trip to the river was made on 

 foot and in a leisurely manner. We left the rim earlv in the 

 morning, taking the well kept Bright Angel trail to the half-way 

 house, 3,000 feet below, and there we joined the party of Mr. 

 Godfrey Sykes of Flagstaff, and finished the descent on a rougher 

 and more precipitous trail which lies somewhat north of the one 

 commonly used by tourists. We reached the river's edge by six 

 o'clock and quenched our lively thirst with the brick-red water. 



After passing the following day and the succeeding night by 

 the Colorado, during which time a crossing was eft'ected, we 

 made the ascent to the rim in a manner quite as leisurely if not 

 as comfortably as when we went down. 



It has already been noted that many desert shrubs which 

 might be expected to grow in the lower part of the Grand Canyon 

 are absent there,* but despite this fact there are many very inter- 

 esting forms. Along the lower portions of the canyon, by the 

 Colorado River, are plants which are doubtless attracted to the 

 place because of the abundance of water. Notable among these 

 is a species of Baccharis. On the '' first bench," which is a 

 broad dipping plateau approximately half way between the rim 

 and the bottom of the canyon, there are large plantations of a 

 rosaceous shrub (Coleogyiie raiiwsissima), a species of Ephedra 

 and several species of cacti. Such are typical desert plants, and 

 they occur in dry situations. Along the streams on this bench 

 may be found quite different forms, among which are cat claw 

 (Acacia greggii) , cottonwood (Popiihis nioiiilifcra) and species 

 of willow. On the dry slopes above the first bench may be found 

 species of yucca and sotol (Dasylirioii). From the first bench, 

 or somewhat above, one meets the trees characteristic of much 

 higher altitudes, as well as those characteristic of the plateau 

 and of the canyon. These include the Douglas spruce (Psen- 

 dotsuga douglasii), found on San Francisco Mountain between 

 8,000 and 9,000 feet, the cedar and piiion (Jiuiipcnis and Piiiiis 

 edulis) of the plateau, and the fir {Abies concolor). 



This remarkable range in the flora at the Grand Canyon is 



* Desert Botanical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution, F. V. Coville 

 and D. T. MacDougal, Washington, 1903, p. 2^. 



