T M E A M !•: R I C A N B OTA N I ST 51 



A copious shower or two alvMit this time will usher in 

 the vernal asj)ect which covers the nmnth of May. Moisture 

 rather tliau temperature determines thi> aspect. If rain falls 

 a host of perennial desert herbs come quickly into bloom upon 

 the sand hills and the gravelly slopes and j^^ulches of the bench- 

 land. Among the first to bloom are lungwort Mcrtcnsia lan- 

 ccokUa and Astragalus purshii. Shrubs Hke golden currant 

 {Ribcs aiirciiiii) and service-berry {Amelancliicr florida) 

 bloom at this season and add their fragrance to the color of the 

 lower forms. This aspect is the glory of the year for the l«nver 

 hills but the gulches higher up about Kimport peak are still 

 burdened witli deep accumulations of snow. However, if the 

 rain fails the flowers are fewer and less conspicuous, many 

 plants fail to l)loniii at all or are delayed far l)e\-ond their 

 usual season. Some will even blo(jm in autumn if rain f(jllows 

 an unusually dry spring. Always these early flow^ers mature 

 quickly and the above ground parts disappear before the true 

 summer flora of the higher hills api)ears. 



The month of June approximates the early aestival aspect. 

 It is the "high tide of the year" for the valley as a whole. 

 The snow banks upon the higher hills melt rapidly and every 

 little depression cradles a riii[)ling streamlet. Some of this 

 water finds its way into the creeks, filling them to overflowing 

 and their banks and meadows teem with life and color. Much 

 more of this water, however, sinks into the loose, gravelly soil 

 to reappear further down in springs or at least in available 

 moisture that nourishes groves of maple and dense, extensive 

 beds of flowers. Trees are in full leaf. Some flowers of 

 the vernal aspect persist in sheltered gulches and large numbers 

 of seedlings come into bloom. Purple mists of Pentstemon 

 drift away like smoke from the blaze of great patches of Hcl- 

 ianthella. Closer examination shows that these natural gar- 



