98 A Study of the Vegetation of 



open light, average major quadrats revealed as many as 200 tree 

 seedlings. Of these nearly four-fifths were white fir and tam- 

 arack, about equally distributed, while the rest were Douglas fir, 

 white and yellow pine. Many of these were 19-20 years old, with 

 a height-growth of 6-13 feet, the tamarack as usual in the lead. 

 In the moist ravines young cedars were abundant. The early his- 

 tory of this forest was probably the same as that of the St. Maries 

 region already described. 



In heavy burns in other parts of the region where big cedar, 

 spruce, white fir, and tamarack timber have been completely de- 

 stroyed, various species of shrubs, especially V actinium macro- 

 phyllum, Menziesia ferruginea, Salix scouleriana, and thickets of 

 Alnus, Rubus parviflorus, Ribes' lacustre, Rubus macro petahis, 

 and maple had sprung up and almost completely covered with 

 their dense growth the fire blackened tangle of fallen trees. How- 

 ever, they form a good protection for the tolerant cedar and 

 spruce, and while they may shade out other seedlings for a time, 

 still there are always openings, and especially in drier soil where 

 the less tolerant but also the less exacting fir and larch can get a 

 foothold. 



Without further details the general story of reforestation of 

 burns in the region is as f olows : Soon after the fire the ground 

 is more or less completely covered with cryptogamic vegetation of 

 which Funaria hygrometrica and Marchantia polymorpha are 

 dominant. Soon plants with wind-blown fruits appear. Of these 

 the following are most important: 



Epilobium spicatum Hieracium albiflorus 



Salix scouleriana Antennaria luzuloides 



Cirsium palousense Anaphalis margaritaceae occi- 

 Erigeron acris dentalis 



Certain grasses, as Bromus marginatus, and fire grass, Agrostis 

 hyemalis, may predominate for a time but later give way to other 

 herbaceous growths, especially of Epilobium (Fig. 44). After 

 one or more years, varying with the severity of the burn and 

 degree of exposure, tree seedlings begin to become established. 



98 



