80 SIBERIA. 



scantily walerod country lakes the cliaiiictcr of the sk-jipo poriion of tli- ,.|^,.,ii iimler 

 consideration. 



TIio forest ^Mowili ol' tlif siihiiioiiiitiiinoii^ and mountainous zones, from 2,000 to 7,500 

 feet in iiltitudc is not very viiricij. Among tlin fonilcrs upon tlif slopes of botli the Altai 

 and llic Tliian-Shan ocenrs a fine kind of fir, whifh Russian botanists have name<l picea 

 Schrenkiana Fisch., Imt wlii'h has proved to be the same as one of tlic Himalayan speeios 

 (abies Smithiana Bed.). iMiillier the; cliaracter of a tree is possessed by thr; kiml of juniper 

 {.JMiiiperiis pseudosabiiia Fisch.) more often adhering to the rocks, but at times rising in the 

 Joiiii of iliiek and lofiy but very crooked trees, as for example in the Buam defile. 



Of the deciduous species hcie occur the common birch (betula alba L.), the scented poplar 

 (populus suave(dens Fisch.), a low kind of maple (acer Semenovii Reg.) almost identical with 

 that fd" the Amour (acer ginnala), the common rowan (pyrus aucuparia L.) the wild apple 

 not iiiei Willi ill Siberia (pyrus mains) and tlu^ apricot (pruniis armeniaca L.) producing even 

 ill the wild state very good fruit. The shrubs are somewhat more varied. Among them there 

 aie common European species, as for example, sallow-thorn (rhamnus catharticus L.), a bramble 

 (rubus caesius L.), two wild roses (rosa pimpinellifolia D.C. and rosa cinamomea L.), the snow- 

 ball tree (viburnum opulus L.), honeysuckle (lonicera xylostcum and coerulea L.), species of 

 willow (salix nigricans Sm. and salix purpurea L.), and of the conifers, ephedra vulgaris Rich, 

 and juniporus sabina I;. There aio also Caucasian species, a cherry (prunus prostrata Lab.), 

 gatten tree (cotoneaster iiuniularia Fisch.), currant (ribes petraeum ^Yulf.), and one species 

 occurring in Finland and the extreme north of Russia and Siberia, bipophoea rhamnoides L. 

 The Siberian altaic species include, rosa alpina L., crateaegus sanguinea Pall., lonicera nii- 

 crophylla, W., lonicera liispidaL., salix sihirica Pall. But most interesting of all are a few local 

 forms, a traveller's joy (clematis soongorica Bge), berberry (berberis heteropodaSchr.), spindlc- 

 trce (evonymus Semenovii Reg.), a rose (rosa platyacantha Schr.). Of the herbaceous plants 

 of the cultivated mountainous zone 70 per cent belong to species also found in European 

 Russia. Of Asiatic species half occur in the Altai-Sayan upland or in the Siberian plain; 

 three species, dracocephalura heterophyllum Benth. and two rhubarbs (iheum Emodi Wall, 

 and rheum spiciforme Royl.) belong to the Himalayan flora and more then 50 species are pecul- 

 iar to the local flora. Especially among these are a few crow's foots (ranunculus soongoricus 

 Schr. and a(|uilegia lactiflora Kar.), astragals (astragalus leucocladus Bge. and oxytropis mer- 

 kensis Bge.), compositae (cousinia Semenovii Reg. and cousinia uncinuata Reg.), of the calyci- 

 floreae (pedicularis Semenovii Reg,, eremonstachys Sewertsovii, Herd,) and finally some beautiful 

 bulbous jdants, as heningia robusta Reg, It is remarkable iliat in this zone a few European 

 cultivated plants are met with growing wild, as for example rye (secale cereale L.) and 

 hemp (cannabis sativa L.),, 



Quite different is the character of the vegetation on the luxuriant meadows of the 

 Alpine zone, Plere there is no forest growth, only a few shrubs forcing their way in, reaching 

 here their highest limit. Among them especially remarkable are two strange forms of acacia 

 (caragana jubata Pall.) and a second species undescrlbed, which with their thickly clustered 

 foliage and hard woody stalks sticking upright and furnished with long needles, resemble the 

 tails of some large animals, such as the camel. Their dense pale grey leaves beautifully divided as 



