BEAL ON MICHIGAN FLORA. .. 15 



beauty, for. instead of being 'a straggling shrub, or low tree' (Graj')' 't 

 rises, often 50-00 feet, straight and syninictrical. All through this region 

 Pinus Strohus is the prevailing species and furnishes niost of the lumber, 

 but P. rcsinosa is frequent as far south as Clare county, and occurs spar- 

 ingly in the northern ]»art of Isabella county, which a])i)ears to be its 

 southern limit. 



"Such is the general character of the syjva down 1o about latitude 4'-\ . 

 but in the western part of the State, owing perhaps to moister climate, or 

 to favorable soil, hem.lock spruce is more abundant, and reaches much 

 farther south, nearly or quite to the Indiana line, and the same is true of 

 white i)ine. 



"The llora of the deep pine woods is interesting, though rather monot- 

 onous. Very little undergrowth is found, and their gloomy recesses 

 nourish only such plants as love thick shade. Here the club-mosses 

 {LycopodiuDts) lind a congenial home, and llourish luxuriantly, while 

 Clintonki borealis covers the ground. The great round-leaved orchid 

 {Eahcnaria orhiculata) , with its tall, greenish spike and twin leaves close 

 to the earth, is also frequent and striking. We shall also meet MitehcUa 

 repens, Maianthemiim Canadense, Trillium grandifforum, perhaps, and a 

 few ferns, particularly Asplenium Filix-fccmina and Phegoptcris Dryop- 

 teris. Other species occur, of course, but not so abundantl}'. In more 

 open places, and on ridges, we meet Rhus aromatica and Comptonia along 

 with wintergreen {Gaultheria) and trailing arbutus {Epigwa), and are 

 often fortunate enough to find the wax-white, fragrant flower of Monescs 

 iiniflora, or Polygala paucifoUa, hiding its shining leaves under a wealth 

 of showy pink blossoms. 



"The Iloral treasures of the pine region lie, however, in its swan)ps and 

 lake borders rather than in the deep woods. Therein grows Linncea 

 torealis in all its delicate beauty, carpeting the ground, and close at hand, 

 the odd, brown-purple tloAver of Cypripedium acaule and the small yellow 

 blossom of its water-loving relative C, parvifioriim. In such swamps, or 

 within a stone's throw of them, may be found many other plants of equal 

 interest, such as Medeola Virginica, Ledum Jatifolium. Andromeda Poli- 

 folia, Kalmia glauca, Lonicera ohlongifolia , Cardaiiruie pralcnsis, Ger- 

 ardia aspera, Mitclla nuda, Eriophorum vagiuatum, etc. On lake mar- 

 gins we shall find Lysimachia and the blue Pontcderia and more rarely, 

 Nescea and Eleocharis quadrangulata. The lake itself, most likely, will 

 be full of JS^ymphaea, Nuphar, TJtricularias, and a world of Potamoge- 

 tons and similar water weeds. Shrubby Vacciniuiiis line the bluffs, and 

 here and there gleam the white trunks of paper birches against the dark 

 background of pines. 



"In the thick-pine country, where the lumberman's ax has let in the 

 sunlight, new plants spring up freely. Here, Prunus Pcnnsylvauica and 

 poplars are frequent, and the blackberry is omnipresent. Aralla hispida 

 and Physalis lanceolata are also peculiar to such laud, and in August 

 Gnaphalium deciirrens may be seen whitening thousands of acres. 



"One seldom beholds a drearier sight than a dead and deserted 

 lumber region. The valuable trees were all felled years ago, and the lum- 

 berman moved on to fresh spoils, leaving behind an inextricably confused 

 mass of tree tops, broken logs, and uprooted trunks. Blackberr^^ canes 

 spring up everywhere, forming a tangled thicket, and a few scattering 

 poplars, birches, and cherries serve for arboreal life, above which tower 

 the dead pines, bleached in the weather and blackened by fire, destitute of 



