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PRIMROSE FAMILY 



4 or 5-parted. Corolla mostly 4-lobed. Berry scarcely *4 m - 

 across, blackish blue, with a bloom. — Mostly at 5000 to 8000 

 ft., not so common as in the Tahoe district. 



2. V. caespitdsum var. cuneifolium Nutt. Dwarf Bilberry. 

 Stems a few in. to 1 ft. high. Leaves broad above, somewhat 

 wedge-shaped, with rounded apex, mostly finely toothed, *4 

 to 1 in. long. Flowers solitary. Calyx-limb only slightly 

 lobed. Corollas mostly 5-lobed. Berry blue, with a bloom, 

 sweet. — Dark Hole and Crescent Lake to the summits; com- 

 mon in subalpine meadows. 



V. myrtillus var. microphyllum Hook., is a low plant which 

 may be known, if found, by its sharply angled green branches 

 and very small toothed leaves. V. ovalifolium Sm., has simi- 

 larly angled branches but it is a large shrub (4 to 8 ft.) with 

 leaves 1 or 2 in. long. It may occur at moderate altitudes. 



PRIMULACEAE. Primrose Family. 

 Herbs with simple undivided leaves. Flowers regular, the 

 parts usually in 5's. Stamens on tube or base of corolla 

 opposite the lobes. Ovary free from calyx (in ours), 1-celled, 

 with a single style, becoming a capsule. 

 Leaves all crowded near the base. 



Stamens short, included in the corolla-tube. 



Corolla y 2 in. long, open at throat 1. Primula. 



Corolla minute, narrowed at throat 2. Androsace. 



Stamens much exserted 3. Dodecatheon 



Leaves all in a terminal cluster 4. Trientalis. 



1. PRfMULA. Primrose. 

 1. P. suffrutescens Gray. Sierra Primrose. Leaves crowd- 

 ed on creeping stems, thick, narrowly 

 wedge-shaped, toothed at apex, 34 to \y 2 

 in. long. Flowers in a loose umbel ter- 

 minating a naked stalk 1 to 4 in. high. Cor- 

 olla Yi to 34 in. long, red-purple, the 5 

 spreading lobes deeply notched. 



The Sierra Primrose inhabits gravelly 

 mountain-tops and ridges, where its bright 

 flowers form pleasing groups, often in the 

 shelter of granite rocks. It grows on 

 Clouds Rest, Mt. Hoffmann, Mt. Dana, and 

 other high peaks. 



2. ANDROSACE. 

 1. A. septentrionalis var. subulifera Gray. A dwarf annual 



