6 MICHIGAN FLOKA. 



Marshes densely covered with tamarack are common in this part of the State, 

 and nourish in their thick shade such plants as Drosera rotundifoUa, tiarrace- 

 nia purpurea, Rhus venenata, Ribes rubrum, Chiogenes Mspidula, Salix Candida, 

 Smilacina trifolia, Pogonia ophioglossoides and Gdlopogon pulchellum. Arbor- 

 vita, red cedar and black spruce are comparatively rare. 



A similar tract of soil and timber occurs in the upper end of the Penin- 

 sula, north of a line drawn from Thunder Bay west to the head of Grand 

 Traverse Bay. This is commonly known as the "Traverse Region," and has 

 a flora much like that we have just described, with the exception that some of 

 the southern species disappear, and northern ones begin to take their place, 

 or if found growing further south, here first become frequent. 



The littoral flora of Little Traverse Bay is rich in interesting species, among 

 which may be mentioned a small form of Cakile Americana, Lathy rus mariti- 

 mus, Potentate, Anserina, Tanacetum Huronense, Artemisia Canadensis, Cnicus 

 Pitcheri, Juncus Balticus, Triticum violaceum, T. dasycarpum, a peculiar form 

 of Bromus ciliatus, Calamagrostis longifolia, C. arenaria, and Equisetum varie- 

 gatum. The flora of the low dunes at the head of the Bay comprises, among 

 others, the following species : Juniperus Sabina, \slt. proewnbens, Prunuspumila 

 and Cornus stolonif era, half buried in the drifting sand, Hypericum Kalmianum, 

 Salix glaucopJiylla, and varieties, Lilium Philadelphicum, etc. In a moist depres- 

 sion were found Arabis lyrata, Coreopsis lanceolata, Arctostapliylos Uva-ursi, 

 Primula farinosa, Lithospermum hirtum, Triglochin maritimum, var. eltaum, 

 Carex aurea, C. (Ederi, etc., etc. In thickets near the shore were found Abies 

 bahamea, Picea alba, Sheperdia Canadensis, and Rtibus Nutkanus. Deep for- 

 ests of hemlock and yellow birch (B. luted) mixed with a fine, tall growth of 

 striped maple (.4. Pennsylvanicum) are frequent, having underneath a tangled 

 growth of Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis, and under all a carpet of Lycopo- 

 dium annotinum. Alternating with these are sandy plains covered with a dense 

 growth of Vacciniums, yielding a great abundance of fruit. Sugar maples and 

 basswood are also abundant in this region, and reach an immense size. In 

 fact, finer groves of maple it would be difficult to find in any part of the State. 



The pine country proper lies between the two tracts we have described, and 

 embraces about 15,000 square miles. It is composed largely of sand hills and 

 plains, either scantily furnished with vegetation, or densely covered with pine 

 forest. Argillaceous tracts wooded with beech and maple also occur, like oases 

 in a desert ; and swamps abound, with the usual lowland timber. Forests 

 of hemlock spruce are frequent, and there are occasional ridges of oak. 

 Birch {B. lutea) also begins to be a common forest tree, and attains a large 

 size. The usual timber of the barrens is Jack Pine (P. Banksiand). Cli- 

 matic and other influences have combined to produce groves composed entirely 

 of this species of large size and of great beauty, for, instead of being "a strag- 

 gling shrub, or low tree" (Gray), it rises, often 50-GO feet, straight and sym- 

 metrical. All through this region Pinus strobus is the prevailing species and 

 furnishes most of the lumber, but P. resinosa is frequent as far south as Clare 

 county, and occurs sparingly in the northern part of Isabella county, which 

 appears to be its southern limit. 



Such is the general character of the sylva down to about latitude 43°, but in 

 the western part of the State, owing perhaps to moister climate, or to favor- 

 able soil, hemlock spruce is more abundant, and reaches much farther south, 

 nearly or quite to the Indiana line, and the same is true of white pine. 



Portions of the counties of Clare, Missaukee, and Roscommon represent an 

 undulating plateau, which is 700-800 feet above the level of the great lakes, 



