Bailey &: Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 



183 



dark green, leathery, i^ to 1/2 inch 

 long, Hnear, with the edges rolled 

 under, crowded on the stems; flowers 

 small, bell-shaped, red, borne on slen- 

 der stems in clusters of several at the 

 ends of the branches; fruits small 

 globose capsules, splitting from the 

 top into 5 sections. 



Red mountainheath is one of the 

 most common and conspicuous of 

 the alpine shrubs, often covering 

 considerable areas in high mountain 

 meadows, particularly in the northern 

 parks. The plants are low, seldom 

 becoming more than 1 foot high and 

 during the spring and early summer 

 the clusters of red, heather-like flow- 

 ers furnish a bright and showy ground 

 cover in the "mountain parks." Para-, 

 dise Park at Mount Rainier is notable 

 for its luxuriant growth of red moun- 

 tainheath. 



Fig. 107. Red mountainheath (Phyl- 

 lodoce empetriformis) . 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC, common, 3,000 to 5,000 feet; Mount Angeles; Baldy Peak; 

 Constance Ridge; Marmot Lake; peak at junction of Elwha River and Godkin Creek; 

 Hurricane Ridge. MOUNT RAINIER, abundant, open slopes 5,000 to 8,000 feet: Para- 

 dise Valley; trail to Reflection Lake; Mazama Ridge. CRATER LAKE: reported from 

 Llao Rock. GLACIER, abundant in alpine meadows, 5,000 to 9,000 feet: Sperry Glacier; 

 Logan Pass; Hangmg Gardens; Granite Park; Swiftcurrent Pi'.ss; Iceberg Lake; 

 Grinnell Glacier; Cracker Lake; Razor Edge Mountain; Piegan Pass; Cut Bank 

 Pass; Indian Pass. YELLOWSTONE, occasional: upper Yellowstone Falls. GRAND TETON, 

 common at and above timberline, 9,000 to 10,000 feet: Kmnikmnick Lake; upper end 

 of Cascade Canyon; Amphitheatre Lake; head of Death Canyon. 



2. Cream Mountainheath (Phyllodoce glanduliflora (Hook.) Gov.). 

 — Low shrub, 4 to 12 feet high, the branches crowded, ascending; leaves I/4 

 to ^2 inch long, linear, with inrolled margins, thick and leathery, crowded 

 along the stems; flowers small, narrowly bell-shaped, light yellow to cream- 

 color, borne in few- to several-flowered clusters at the ends of the stems, the 

 flower stems sticky-glandular; capsules small, more or less globose. 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC, occasional: Mount Claywood near Hayden Pass; Mount 

 Duckabush. MOUNT RAINIER, occasional, 5,000 to 8,000 feet: Paradise Park; near 

 Pinnacle Glacier, Tatoosh Range. CRATER LAKE, occasional, 7,000 to 8,000 feet: the 

 Watchman; Llao Rock, inner slope near summit; Devil's Backbone; east slope of 

 Union Peak. GLACIER, occasional above timberline: Logan Pass; Sexton Glaciefr; 

 Piegan Pass; Preston Park; Gunsight Pass; Swiftcurrent Pass. YELLOWSTONE. 

 GRAND TETON: Cascade Canyon, 10,000 feet. 



3. Brewer Mountainheath {Phyllodoce Brewerl (Gray) Hel.). — 

 Low alpine shrub 1/3 to 1 foot high, with rigid branches; leaves narrow, i^ to 



