76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP [1884. 



CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECTED IN JULY, 1883, DURING AN EXCUE- 

 SION ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA. 



BY THOMAS MEEHAN. 



Few new plants have been discovered along the northern 

 Pacific coast, since its examination by the naturalists who accom- 

 panied the navigators and explorers of the earlier part of the 

 century ; and the results of their labors, as given in Rothrock's 

 Flora of Alaska^ the Geological Survey of Canada^ and other 

 lists, seem scarcely to warrant any addition to the botanical 

 literature of this part of the continent. The local histories of 

 these plants are, however, yet not well known ; and it seems to 

 me I may add a little to this knowledge b}^ some account of the 

 collection made during July, 1883, in a short trip on the " Idaho," 

 a mail steamer from Portland to Sitka, and trading at vari- 

 ous points along the coast at many Indian-fishing settlements. 



My object in the journey was simply to get a glance at this 

 interesting country, and the price demanded by the company for 

 my wife, son, and myself, $315, for first-class accommodations for 

 a month, not seeming unreasonable, we took the journey. The 

 only opportunity for collecting was during the few hours spent 

 in taking out and re-shipping stores at the stopping places ; and 

 the fact that in this short time and hurried gathering, I was able 

 to collect 275 species, indicates a greater richness of the flora 

 than I expected before starting on the journey. In a number of 

 places, also, the botanizing had to be done under an umbrella in 

 pouring rain, which wholly forbade entrance into the forests, and 

 led to an examination of the shore-lines alone. Rothrock's list 

 embraces but 590 species, including grasses and carices, which, 

 fearing I should not have time in my rapid journey, I seldom 

 touched. My impression is that when we shall have had better 

 opportunities of examining the interior of the territory, the list of 

 Alaskan plants will be still more largely increased. It is true mj'list 

 embraces the contiguous territory ; but probably all north of the 

 Columbia River — of the Straits of Fuca at least — may be regarded 

 as one geographical area up and down which plants may be 

 expected to travel. 



Since the publication of Rothrock's Catalogue, other collectors 

 have added to our kno^-ledge of localities, though their work has 



