74 EEYTHEA. 



inches in diameter and each branch wa3 laden. The spot chosen 

 for its home is most romantic. Near by lies the wreck of an old 

 cabin, its walls and roof upon the ground; a little stream full of 

 watercress, fed from a never-failing spring on the hill above, 

 trickles down into the creek at its feet; its nearest neighbor is one 

 of the noblest trees on the mountain, a giant specimen of Qucrcus 

 agrifolia with an immense moss-covered trunk and widely-spreading 

 branches. The spot is well worth a journey to see even without the 

 presence of its most beautiful object. Dr. Behr records this species 

 as formerly growing in San Francisco and as rare on Bolinas -Ridge 

 (Erythba iv., 170). According to his recollection a single tree 

 was seen in a branch of Cataract- Gulch, entering from the west, 

 south of an old dairy- ranch, at present uninhabited, but visible from 

 the trail leading from Rock- Spring to Larsen's. An exploration of 

 all the gulches near the old ranch, coupled with a report of my 

 exploration to Dr. Behr, convinces me, that the two trees are 

 identical and that probably this locality is the only one on the 

 mountain , where Cornus Nuttallii grows. However, as many 

 gulches on Mt. Tamalpais have never been explored, it may yet 

 be found by some botanist, who will penetrate the brush that clothes 

 the hillsides leading into these canons. It is interesting to note, 

 while writing of this species, that according to Dr. Behr,.the former 

 representatives in San Francisco never became trees. They grew 

 in some swampy or springy ground / situated about where the build- 

 ing of the California Academy of Sciences now stands. 



Astragalus Breweri Gray is quite common in the neighborhood of 

 Rock Spring on Mt. Tamalpais ; in bloom in April. 



V'itia Californica Greene, grows on the road between Fairfax 

 and Cataract Gulch. It is found under the trees in one or two 

 places. It differs somewhat in the shape of the leaflets from the 

 typical form of the Sierras ; but the difference seems scarcely suffi- 

 cient to constitute even a variety. The leaflets are rounded at base 

 instead of cuneate. 



Cheilanthes myriophylla was seen recently near the Boot-jack Trail 

 not far from Berg's Camp. 



