FLORA OF THE PACIFIC COAST 



state and is especially beautiful in summer and 

 autumn when thousands of miles of foothill slope 

 are suffused with the warm reddish-brown tints of 

 its fading bloom. This southern chaparral also in- 

 cludes the scrub oak (Quercus dumosa), many 

 species of Ceanothus, Arctostaphylos, and Artemisia, 

 as well as other elements. Of economic as well as 

 biologic interest are two shrubby species of Salvia, 

 S. apiana, the white sage, and S. mellifera, known as 

 black sage. Both of these are important bee plants 

 as is also an abundant shrubby Eriogonum (E. fasci- 

 culatum). The yellow-flowered tree poppy may be 

 seen at its best on the Santa Ynez Mountains back 

 of Santa Barbara. The Spanish bayonet (Yucca 

 whipplei) is of more general distribution, for it 

 grows on nearly all the lower mountains where its 

 creamy white panicles far overtop the surrounding 

 vegetation, giving to the landscape a unique and 

 pleasing aspect. (See PL XX.) 



The general appearance as well as the floral com- 

 position changes but slightly as we pass northward, 

 except that northerly slopes are given over to broad- 

 leaved shrubs and trees of the Transition zone. On 

 the south-facing slopes of Mount Tamalpais, in the 

 vicinity of San Francisco, the dominant shrubs are 

 the same as in the chaparral of southern California. 

 In addition to these one will encounter some species 

 and even a few genera not represented in the south. 

 An example of the remarkable ability of chaparral 

 to re-cover a burned area by means of stump- 

 sprouting may be studied on the south slopes of 

 Mount Tamalpais. In July, 1913, these were swept 

 by a fire which killed to the ground all shrubs over 

 a large area. The present condition is therefore the 

 result of growth since that time. 



In the more northerly Coast Ranges the chapar- 

 ral is confined to the poor soil of dry ridges which 

 occur here and there in the redwood belt and to the 

 arid districts beyond the immediate influence of 

 coast fogs. The San Joaquin and Sacramento val- 

 leys are completely encircled by a chaparral belt 

 which extends up to the forests of the Coast Ranges 

 and of the Sierra Nevada. Therefore any excursion 

 into the inner North Coast Ranges, or from the Great 

 Central Valley to any of the mountain resorts will 

 necessarily lead one through districts where chap- 

 arral may be studied to advantage. 



In northeastern California, Oregon, and Wash- 

 ington is encountered a more open formation, char- 

 acteristic of the Columbia and Great basins. Here 

 the shrubs are low and often pale or gray in color. 

 The most abundant species are the sagebrush 



151 



