182 American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



1. Mertens Cassiope, White Heather (Cassiope Mertensiana 

 (Bong.) G. Don). — Low, tufted evergreen shrub, 2 to 15 inches high, the 

 branches tending to be erect; leaves small, awl-shaped to lance-shaped, thick, 

 smooth, closely overlapping each other in 4 rows; flowers bell-shaped, white, 

 borne singly in the leaf-axils towards the ends of the branches on slender 

 nodding stems 1/2 to I inch long; fruits dry capsules; roundish, splitting into 

 4 or 5 sections to free the numerous tiny seeds. 



Mertens cassiope is a subalpine species found at and just below timberline, 

 sometimes covering large areas in alpine meadows. The species is of little 

 importance as a browse. The genus is named after Cassiope, the wife of 

 Cepheus, a fabulous king of Ethiopia. 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC, common, 5,000 to 6,000 feet: Mount Angeles; Constance 

 Ridge; Marmot Lake; Deer Lake; Boulder Creek, 5 miles above Olympic Hot Springs; 

 Hurricane Ridge. MOUNT RAINIER, common on open slopes, 4,500 to 6,000 feet: trail to 

 Reflection Lake; Paradise Park; Mazama Ridge; Finger Peak, near North boundary 

 of park. LASSEN: Lassen Peak; Bumpas Hell trail. YOSEMITE, occasional, 8,000 to 

 12,000 feet; upper Young Lake; Smedberg Lake; Mount Clark; Mount Lyell; Muir 

 Pass; Cloud's Rest; Dana Meadows; Tuolumne Meadows. KINGS CANYON, rare: 

 Ouzel Basin. SEQUOIA: Heather Lake, 9,000 feet. 



2. Starry Cassiope, Alaska White Heather (Cassiope Stelleriana 

 DC). — Low spreading shrubs forming dense mats several inches high; leaves 

 narrowly oblong to linear, thickish, densely crowded on the stems, spreading; 

 flowers bell-shaped, white, ^4 ^o % inch long, borne singly at the ends of the 

 branchlets, on short stems or almost unstalked; fruits dry capsules, roundish, 

 splitting into 5 sections. (Syn. Harrimanella Stelleriana (Pall.) Cov.) 



Occurrence. — MOUNT RAINIER, rare near the limit of trees: Paradise Valley, cliffs 

 cverlookmg Nisqually Glacier. 



Mountainheath (Pbyllodoce Salisb.). 



The mountainheaths are low alpine shrubs with many short branches and 

 small, thick, linear leaves crowded along the stems. The leaves resemble those 

 of black crowberry, Empetrum nigrum, hence the specific name, empetrifonnis, 

 for one of the species. The two red-flowered species are among the most 

 conspicuous spring and early summer flowers in the high country of the 

 parks of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific slope. The plants often form 

 extensive patches in moist open meadows or around lakes. 



Field Guide to the Species 



Flowers with corolla 5-lobed, the lobes much shorter than the tube; stamens not 

 exsertcd; found in Rocky Mountain and Northwest parks. 



Corolla bell-shaped, red; sepals mostly blunt-pointed 1. P. empetriformis. 



Corolla narrowly bell-shaped, light yellow to cream color; sepals usually nar- 

 rowly pointed ..2. P. glanduUflora. 



Flowers with corolla divided to middle into 5 lobes; stamens exserted from the 



corolla; found in California parks 3. P. Breiveri. 



1. Red Mountainheath (Pbyllodoce empetriformis (Sm.) Don.), 

 fig. 107. — Low, densely-branched, evergreen shrub 6 to 20 inches high; leaves 



