114 PAPERS ON ZOOLOGY OF MICHIGAN. 



Vegetation. 



The Whitefish Point region has a rich and varied vegetation. This 

 has been little interfered with on the lowland, but much of the upland 

 has been burned over, and the forests have been cut off, so that the plant 

 life retains little of its primitive character. One small area of several 

 acres near Vermilion still has a thick, untouched growth of large pines 

 (Piniis strohus and Pi'yius resinosa) and is an isolated relic of the great 

 pine forest that once covered this region as well as much of the rest of 

 northern Michigan. In other places, the upland has only small trees, 

 prominent among which are spruces (Picea sp.), jack pines {Pinus 

 Bariksiana), birches {Betula sp.), alders (Alnus sp.), aspens (Populus 

 tremuloides and Populus grandidentata) , red oaks {Quercus rubra), 

 maples {Acer sp.), all forming scattered growths or in a few places 

 small forests or coppices. Tall pines exist here and there over the burned 

 area, but their charred stubs are more numerous. Everywhere on this 

 upland, there is an undergrowth, composed chiefly of oak ferns {Phe- 

 gopterus dryopterus), blueberry {Vaccinium sp.), wintergreen (Gaul- 

 theria sp.), bearberrj^ {ArdostaphyJos uva-ursi), sarsaparilla {Aralia 

 sp.), trailing arli)utus (Epigaea repens), pearly everlasting {Anaphalis) 

 and a number of other plants including many grasses and sedges. 

 Reindeer moss (CJadonia sp.) and other lichens were abundant and 

 very generally distributed. 



The belt of lowland along Lake Superior, where marsh conditions are' 

 prevalent, has a vegetation very different from that of the upland just 

 described, l^ut the dry sand ridges have associations of plants very 

 similar to those of the upland. Both the upland and the sand ridges 

 support birches, aspens, alders, maples, red pines, and white pines as 

 their most noticeable trees; and blueberries, huckleberries, winter- 

 greens, and oak ferns form the chief undergrowth on the high ground 

 as well as on the low ground. There are some plants, however, that 

 while common on the sand ridges appear to be scarce or absent on the 

 upland. These are: Balsam fir, (A5/es'6aZ6umea), willows, {Salix sp.), 

 service berry, {Amalanchier canadensis), wild cherry, (Prunus sp.), 

 red osier dogwood, {Cornus stolonifera) , raspberry, {Rubus sp.), low 

 juniper, {Juniperus communis depressa), Labrador tea, (Ledum sp.), 

 bunch berry {Cornus canadensis), dogbane {Apocynum sp.), pigeon 

 berry, {Phytolacca decandra), beach pea {Lathyrus maritimus), skull 

 cap {Scutellaria sp.), rattle snake plantain {Epipactis sp.), St. John's 

 wort {Hypericum sp.), spotted touch-me-not {Impatiens biflora), squaw 

 berry {Vaccinium sp.), and sand cherry {Primus pumila). A number of 

 other common plants were not determined ; and there are many species 

 on these ridges represented by but a few individuals in each case. One 



