250 



interesting Flora of this steppe. Yet, at some hundred 

 feet above the present boundary of the growth of trees, 

 are seen their dead stems, and, on the ground, many 

 prostrate shrubs, such as Juniperus nana, (?) Betula nana, 

 several Willows, Mespilns uniflora, and Dryas octopetala. 

 Many of the herbaceous plants of the preceding region 

 occur also in this : but among those entirely confined 

 to it are the following : — Eriopho7'um Chamissonis (n. sp.), 

 Athamanta crinita (n. sp.), Claytonia aciitifolia, Gentiana al- 

 gida, nutans and rotata, Sibbaldia procumhens, Luzula spicata, 

 Oxyria reniformis, Arenaria [Helmio, aff.\ nardifolia and 

 another new species, Biebersteinia odora, Cerastium pauci- 

 Jlorum? Lychnis unifiora and tristis (n. sp.), Saxifraga cer- 

 nua, glandulosa {n. sp.), terektensis (n. sp.), and hieraciifolia, 

 Sedum elongatum (n. sp.), and quadrijidum, Thermopsis alpina, 

 Potentilla grandijhra and nivea, Papaver nudicaide. Ranun- 

 culus isopyroides, Thalictrum, alpinum, Gymnandra bicolor 

 (n. sp.), several species of Pedicularis, Draba carnosida 

 (n. sp.), hydrophila (n. sp.), and lactea ; Parrya exscapa 

 (n. sp.), Corydalis pauciflora, Phaca frigida, Trifolium grandi- 

 fiorum (n. sp.), Artemisia alpina, Cineraria [aurantiacce, off.), 

 and lyrata (n. sp.), Hieracium crocatum (n. sp.), some kinds 

 of Leontodon, Pyrethi-um pulchrum (n. sp.), Saussurea pygmcea. 

 Orchis viridis, and various Grasses and Sedges. Some plants 

 also grow in this district that are found at every elevation 

 throughout the country. Caltha palustris generally adorns 

 the margin of little alpine rivulets; Epilobium angustifolium 

 also is found in spots above the boundary of trees, quite 

 unaltered in its appearance ; Erythronium Dens Canis springs 

 up wherever the snow is just melted. 



The highest limit of trees, which I have estimated at 6,500 

 Parisian feet, is not, however, always the same. It 

 depends partly on the species of tree, partly on the aspect 

 of the declivity of the mountain. On the southern side of 

 the mountain, at the rise of the Tscharysch, I found the 

 last stem of Pinus Cembra at an elevation of 6,541 feet 

 above the sea. When I ascended the north side of the 

 Plateau des Korgon, I found the highest limit of the same 



