BULLETIN 



OF THE 



TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB. 



Vol. XVi.] New York, June 8, 1889. [No, 6. 



Notes on the Botany of Humboldt County, California. 



By E. R. Drew. 



Mr. 



The mountainous country occupying the northwestern part of 

 California is one of the many portions of our western country 

 concerning which our botanical knowledge is as yet very incom- 

 plete. The author was fortunate in being able to spend a few 



4 1* 



weeks during July and At 

 trip in that region. My companion 

 V. K. Chesnut, and our tramp extended from Eureka, on the 

 coast, through the central part of Humboldt County, to Hy-Am- 

 Pum Valley, which lies just over the eastern line, in Trinity 

 County. The country being very rough, with but little arable 

 land, is sparsely settled, and after leaving the coast, the pack- 

 mule is, with few exceptions, the only means of conveyance. It 

 is all that could be desired by the hunter and camper, and the 

 botanist is richly rewarded for the few difficulties which he must 

 overcome. Still the principal sources of knowledge regarding 

 the interior flora have been a few collections made by botanists 

 on rapid trips, similar to our own. To this stock of knowledge 

 we are glad to be able to add a small fragment. 



Beginning at the coast, the most striking feature is the red- 

 wood belt, extending ten to twenty miles inland at that point and 

 covered with dense forests consisting almost entirely of Sequoia 

 scmpervirens. The redwood seems to thrive only in the regions 

 visited by frequent fogs from the ocean, and this dampness, to- 

 gether with the shade and the rich soil, are conditions favorable 

 to tlic support of a rank undergrowth, which is remarkable for 



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