FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 23 



heavy thickets. Hulten described a new form (Alnus cHspa 

 laciniata) from Kodiak Island, and mentions Alnus incana as 

 occurring in the Katmai district. Shrubby salmonberry (Rubus 

 spectabilis) is found in suitable places along the Alaska Penin- 

 sula, and in the eastern Aleutians it is found as far as Unalaska 

 Island. 



Beyond Unalaska, the vegetation is of the low type ; the willows 

 are of the dwarf species, close to the ground, and we find no 

 appreciable high-shrub growth until at the very end, on Attu 

 Island. Attu Island possesses moderate shrubby and tall plants — 

 largely those with Siberian affinities. Hulten (1937a) states: 



In the westernmost Aleutians, on Attu I., are found fragments of a 

 high-grown vegetation similar to that growing in the upper subalpine 

 belt on the open spots between the Alnus shrubs in Kamtchatka and 

 along the Kamtchatka west coast. It is largely built up of Asiatic elements, 

 which occur only on the westernmost islands, such as Cirsium kamtschaticum, 

 Veratrum oxysepalum, Cacalia anriculata, Senecio palustris, and Sorbus 

 sambucifolia, but it also includes elements occurring all over our area, such 

 as Geranium erianthum, Streptopus amplexifolius, Calamagrostis Langsdorflii 

 and others. 



Some plant communities may be distinguished readily. Through- 

 out all the coastal areas of southwestern Alaska the sandy beaches 

 are bordered with a rank growth of wild rye. In the Aleutian 

 district, other members of the Elymus arenarius, or wild rye, 

 association are Senecio pseudoarnican, (a groundsel), Lathyrus 

 maritimus (beach pea), Honckenya peploides, and Mertensia 

 maritima (sea bluebell). Within this association we found the 

 low-to-ground Honckenya peploides generally pushing out near- 

 est the water. In many places the leafy, bulky Senecio pseu- 

 doamica formed vigorous patches that virtually left no room 

 for other plants. The Aleuts used the tall, coarse beach rye, 

 Elymus arenarius, for weaving the exquisite "Attu" baskets. 



Near the beach, but clinging to rocky sites, is Potentilla villosa, 

 a herbaceous cinquefoil, which is associated with other plants. It 

 is separate from the wild rye, or Elymus, association, though it 

 is close to the tide, because its habitat is rock, not sand. 



Behind this beach-line association, on a somewhat drier area 

 farther from the tide, was another zone of miscellaneous grasses, 

 with some other plants. Here, we noted a dense stand of Poa, 

 (blue grass), Calamagrostis (brown top), Bromus (brome), and 

 other grasses that we did not observe closely ; however, we noted 

 the demarcation between outer beach Elymus association and the 

 adjacent inner zone of other grasses. 



The dividing line was not always located by a given distance 



