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Te ee ee ee 
Phytogeographical notes on the Rocky Mountain region 
Ill. Formations in the alpine zone 
P, A. RyDBERG 
As the writer is no ecologist and has dealt very little with 
plant societies, he knows that this paper will scarcely stand muster 
before experts in that line. The notes are mostly taken dowa from 
memory and casual observations made while collecting with tax- 
onomy wholly in view. They must therefore be in many respects 
imperfect and in some cases faulty. As I have occasionally criti- 
cized ecologists and phytogeographers, even severely, for their 
work, I should expect criticism when I myself enter their field, 
but right here I wish to say that I not only expect, but rather wish, 
somebody to point out my errors or shortcomings, so that the 
truth may be had. My only excuse for writing on ‘‘ Formations” 
is that very little has been published in this line on the Rocky 
Mountain region, and in every case it has been only small local 
regions that have been treated. I know that Professor Clements 
has been working for years on the ecology of the Pikes Peak region 
and when his book is out, I expect to see an expert treatise on the 
subject; but uncil then let us amateurs scribble down and publish 
our notes, and probably they may be of some value to the pro- 
fessional ecologists, and, in the meantime, of general interest to 
the plant-lovers. 
Clements in his little article ‘‘Formation and Successioa 
Herbaria’’* has given the best list of plants, arranged according 
to regions, formations, and successions, ever published from the 
Rocky Mountain region. The value of this list is increased by 
the fact that he has distributed a collection of exsiccatae illustrat- 
ing it. Of course, his paper treats only of the region of Pikes 
Peak, Colorado. He assigns the following formations to the 
alpine region: 
Alpine meadow formation 
Alpine bog formation 
* University [Nebraska] Studies 4: 329-355. 1904. 
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