34 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



1'LAXT COMMUNITIES OF THE WEST SIDE OF THE DIVIDE 



The same general conditions prevail- on the west side 

 of the divide, bnt the plant communities there are inter- 

 esting because of the presence of many species from the 

 Pacific coastal forests. Among the trees are the west- 

 ern hemlock, giant cedar, western larch, western white 

 pine, and white birch. Among shrubs and ground plants 

 are the yew, the devil's club, the mountain lover, and the 

 Oregon grape. Other plants found chiefly on the west- 

 ern slopes in Glacier Park are the nine-back, the Labra- 

 dor tea, the bunch-berry and the high-bush cranberry. 



The forests of the valley floors are very damp and the 

 heavy undergrowth resembles in luxuriance as well as 

 in species that of the forests of Washington and Oregon. 

 The trees are draped with the bearded lichen and there 

 is a profusion of fungous forms on the rich humus. 



In some of the ponds above the head of Lake McDonald 

 are sphagnum bogs which resemble those of the eastern 

 states and Canada. The characteristic feature of these 

 bogs is the floating mat of sphagnum which supports such 

 bog plants as sun-dew, swamp cinquefoil, and cottongrass 

 as well as the Bocky Mountain laurel, the orchid lacly's- 

 trcsses, the water hemlock, and several club mosses. 



