SKETCH OF THE FLOEl OF ALASKA. 



By J. T. RoTHRocK, M. D. 



A complete list of Alaskan plants with a detailed account of tlieir geographi- 

 cal distribution cannot yet bo expected. But a small portion of our newly 

 acquired possessions lias been at all explored by botanists ; indeed, if we except 

 Sitka and its immediate surroundings, we may say no part has been thoroughly 

 investigated. Future researches will not only add much to our knowledge of 

 the species known to exist there, but will largely increase that list. The strip 

 of land extending south from Mount St. Elias to tho Steekine river would well 

 repay exploration, either from a commercial or a scientific point of view. It is 

 almost a matter of certainty that tliis will be found to have a large number of 

 more southern species extending up into it- 

 It may not l)e amiss, in passing, to glance at the timber and prairie lands of 

 British Columbia ; l}'ing, as they now do, between our possessions, our interests 

 must be materially afiected by them. The forests of British Columbia west of 

 the Coast range, and perhaps as far north as tho Steekine river, are for the most 

 part made up of the following trees : 



Taking them in the order of Dr. Lyall, in his report on the botany of nortli- 

 westem North America, wo have first in size and commercial importance, Ahks 

 Douglasii, Liudl., (Douglas' spruce,) from 225 to 250 feet high, and often 12 or 

 13 feet in diameter. This tree has acquired already a great commercial value 

 in the lumbering trade of tho coast. It is said by Dr. Lyall to make good spars ; 

 it has a fine, clear ''grain," and is destined to become more important as the 

 resources of the country aro developed. Tho tall flagstafi" in the royal gardens 

 at Kew is made of a single trunk of this tree. It is also found more in the inte- 

 rior of the countr}^, in tho valleys of the Rocky mountains. 



Abies 3Ienziesii, Lindl., (Meuzies' spruce,) a somewhat smaller treo than the 

 last-mentioned, though still a titan. 



Abks Mcrtcnsiana, (Mortens' spruce,) from 125 to 200 feet high, and with a 

 beautifully straight trunk, which, as Dr. Lyall remarks, often grows 60 or 70 

 foet high before giving ofi' a branch. It is found as far north as latitude 57° on 

 tho shores of Norfolk sound. 



We will insert here Abies Canadensis, which is said to have been found by Mr. 

 Tolmie as far north as latitude 57°, on the shores of the Pacific, and by Mertens 

 in Sitka. This tree, though of large size, is very inferior as timber. The bark 

 may be turned to account in tanning. 



Pinus contorta is found throughout the valley of the Frazer on high grounds ,' 

 it grows from 25 to 50 feet high and a foot in diameter. On the upper Frazer 

 this tree is eminently social, and one often finds mile after mile of forest made 

 up exclusively of this tree. In the spring months the Indians are in the habit 

 of stripping otf the outer bark and scraping the newly-formed cambium fr'om the 

 trunk ; this is eaten either in the fresh state or dried and pressed into compact masses 



The present report on the botany of Alaska was prepared at the request of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, by Dr. J. T. Rothrock, professor of botany in tho Agricultural College of 

 Pennsylvania. The original material committed to his charge consisted principally of the 

 collections made by employes of the Western Union Telegraph Company, in their explora- 

 tions connected with the Russian overland telegraph expedition, Dr. Rothrock himself among 

 the number. 



JOSEPH HENRY, 

 Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 

 28 s 



