Bailey &. Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 83 



Bright Angel trail; Kaibab trail at base of first switchbacks below Yaki Point; Kaibab 

 trail below North Rim; upper Bass Canyon. 



Fendlera (Fendlera Engelm. 8i Gray) 



Fendlera is a conspicuous shrub of the Southwest with showy white 

 flowers. The petals are narrowed abruptly into a stalk-hke base (or claw) 

 so that the open flower resembles a maltese cross. Several forms have been 

 described as occurring in the parks of the Southwest, but since the distin- 

 guishing characters are variable, no attempt has been made here to segregate 

 the different forms. Shrubs with leaves somewhat narrower than others and 

 curved (or falcate) have been designated as F. falcata Thorn.; those with 

 densely hairy leaves, whitish below, have been called F. tomentella Thorn.; 

 and shrubs with nearly smooth leaves or only scattered hairs on the lower 

 surface, the most common form, are called F. rupicola Gray. By some bot- 

 anists the two first-nam.ed species are considered varieties of the last. 



Fendlera {Fendlera rupicola Gray), fig. 31. — Erect, rigidly-branched 

 shrub 3 to 6 feet high; older bark gray and furrowed, the twigs smooth, 

 usually reddish or yellowish; leaves opposite, light dull green, 1/2 to U/^ inches 

 long, narrowly oblong, strongly 3-veined from the base; flowers showy, white, 

 about 1 inch across, borne in clusters of one to several; petals roundish at 

 the tips, with claw-like base; capsules narrowly egg-shaped, about 1/2 inch long, 

 splitting into 4 sections from the top. 



Occurrence. — MESA VERDE, common, 6,800 to 8,500 feet: park headquarters; north 

 boundary of the paik. GRAND CANYON, 4,500 to 7,000 feet. South Rim, occasional at 

 edge of rim. Canyon, abundant on both sides of the Colorado River: Kaibab trail 

 above Roaring Springs; Kaibab trail below South Rim; Bright Angel trail; Berry 

 t:ail ; Hermit trail. 



Yerba Desierto {Fcndlerella utahensis (Wats.) Hell.). — A spreading 

 shrub forming a dense low bush 4 to 12 inches high or sometimes nearly 3 

 feet high; old bark rough and strmgy, grayish, the younger smooth and whit- 

 ish; leaves light grayish-green, y^ to Y^ inch long, narrowly oblong; flowers 

 small, white, borne in flat-topped clusters about 1 to n/2 inches across; petals 

 5; capsules small, oblong, about 1/4 inch long, splitting from the top into 3 

 sections; seeds 3, one in each cell. (Syns. F. cymosa Greene, Whipplea 

 utahensis Wats.). 



Occurrence. — mesa verde. grand canyon, 4,500 to 8,800 feet. North Rim, com- 

 mon on rocky points at edge of rim: Bright Angel Point; Cape Royal; Point Sublime; 

 Point Imperial. South Rim, occasional at edge of rim: Grand View Point; east of 

 Yavapai Point. Canyon, common: Kaibab trail below both rims; Bright Angel trail 

 down as far as trail shelter about V/l miles above Indian Gardens. 



Cliffbush (Jamesia T. & G.) 



This beautiful shrub was named after Edwin James, a botanist on Long's 

 expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1820. It has also been called Edwinia 

 after the same man. Throughout most of tis range it is a widely branching 

 shrub, usually with reddish-brown branches and twigs. In the autumn the 



