440 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



The Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) is only locally com- 

 mon. It is in cultivation for its large white flowers. The 

 canes are imperfectly perennial, but are seldom more than four 

 to five feet high. The fruit is depressed hemispheric, composed 

 of numerous drupelets, red when ripe and of fair quality. 



Rubus Chamaemorus, the Cloudberry, known among the Rus- 

 sians as Maruski, is common all over the Muskeg. It is her- 

 baceous with creeping rootstock and erect branches. Each 

 branch has one or two leaves and often a white flower. The 

 fruit is the size of a large raspberry and consists of few but 

 large drupelets which are amber to red when ripe. The natives 

 are very fond of it and often gather it before it has thor- 

 oughly ripened. The quality is quite good. 



Rubus stellatus resembles R.' chamaemorus in habit, but pre- 

 fers better drained locations and is not so abundant. The 

 flower is pink. The red fruits are of good quality. 



Rubus pedatus is a delicate creeping vine with five-foliate 

 leaves found in abundance in forest and brushland. The fruit 

 consists of from one to six rather large, distinct, red drupelets. 

 While the quality is fair, it has but little value. 



The strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) though abundant in 

 many places in the coast region of Alaska seems to occur around 

 Sitka only as an escape from former cultivation. The fruit is 

 quite large for a wild berry, and of excellent flavor. 



The Crab apple {Mains diversifolia) (Plate XXVII) is a 

 shrub or small tree which bears round to oblong fruit varying 

 in size from that of a pea to three-fourths of an inch in length. 

 In quality it is pleasantly, though rather strongly acid, without 

 any trace of astringency. The fruit is used for making jelly 

 and it also has value for the plant breeder. 



The Vacciniacea3 are represented by not less than seven 

 species, every one of which has some value. 



Vaccinium ovalifolium, the earliest species to ripen, is very 

 abundant and produces a fruit which averages about three- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter, dark blue, with bloom and of 

 good quality. It begins to ripen in June and continues through 

 July. It is much used, especially for pies. 



Vaccinkim parvifolium (Plate XXVIII), the Huckleberry, 

 is also very abundant, and reaches its maximum development 



