PLANTS FROM SOUTHEASTERN UTAH. 277 



of lofty bluffs and the head of numerous canons that 

 finally branched into the San Juan. The views were 

 grand on all sides. Far away on the other side of the 

 San Juan were huge sculptured masses of rock looking 

 like a fortified city of the Feudal Ages, with battlements 

 and towers; near at hand, the canons descended abruptly 

 from the very head to a depth of hundreds of feet, con- 

 stantly growing deeper towards the grand gorge of the 

 San Juan, which stretched unbroken on the south side 

 as if forming a bulwark against further erosion. These 

 canons formed a labyrinth, the division of land between 

 appearing like the skeleton of a former mesa. 



Evidences of upheaval were to be traced in the config- 

 uration of the strata on hills to the east. Examples of 

 oblique, undulating and horizontal strata were all to be 

 seen on this range of hills. It was impossible for me to 

 discover the nature of the rocks, but the different colored 

 strata indicated a variety of formations. 



The flora of Epsom Creek and its adjacent sandy 

 washes was peculiar and puzzling. Oxytenia acerosa, 

 like a tall luxuriant golden rod with canescent filiform 

 dissected leaves, grew most luxuriantly near the bitter 

 waters of the alkaline springs of Epsom Creek. It was 

 also seen along the McElmo and the San Juan near alka- 

 line water. The delightful odor like that of lilacs was 

 perceptible in the air for some distance around the plants 

 and added greatly to the attractiveness of this beautiful 

 alkali -loving plant. A few bushes of Forestiera Neo-Mex- 

 icana also grew around these springs. It was, however, in 

 the sandy washes beyond, that the peculiar Psoraleajuncea 

 and Grindelia stylosa were met with, in company with 

 Ephedra Torreyana, Poliomintha incana, and the tall, 

 widely spreading Frasera Utahensis. All these are per- 

 ennials, except the Frasera, a biennial, and formed 



