FLORA OF MICHIGAN. 17 



open places, and on ridges, we' meet Rhn,s aromatica and Comptonia along 

 with wintergreen (Gaultheria) and trailing arbutus (Epigcea), and are 

 often fortunate enough to find the wax-white, fragrant flower of Moneses 

 uniflora, or Poly gala paucifolia, hiding its shining leaves under a wealth 

 of showy pink blossoms. 



" The floral treasures of the pine region lie, however, in its swamps and 

 lake borders rather than in the deep woods. Therein grows Linncea 

 borealis in all its delicate beauty, carpeting the ground, and close at hand, 

 the odd, brown-purple flower of Cypripedium acaule and the small yellow 

 blossom of its water-loving relative C. parviflorum. In such swamps, or 

 within a stone's throw of them, may be found many other plants of equal 

 interest, such as Medeola Virginica, Ledum latifolium, Andromeda poli- 

 folia, Kalmia glauca, Lonicera oblongifolia, Cardamine pratensis, Ger- 

 ardia aspera, Miiella nuda,, Eriophorum vaginatum, etc. On lake mar- 

 gins we shall find Lysimachia and the blue Poniederia and more rarely, 

 Nescea and Eleocharis quadrangulata. The lake itself, most likely, will 

 be full of Nymphoea, Nuphar, Utrtcularias, and a world of Potamage- 

 fons and similar water weeds. Shrubby Vacciniums line the bluffs, and 

 here and there gleam the white trunks of paper birches against the dark 

 background of pines. 



" In the thick-pine country, where the lumberman's ax has let in the 

 sunlight, new plants spring up freely. Here, Prunus Pennsylvania and 

 poplars are frequent, and the blackberry is omnipresent. Aralia hispida 

 and Phy salis lanceolaia are also peculiar to such land, and in August 

 Gnaphalium decurrens may be seen whitening thousands of acres. 



" One seldom beholds a drearier sight than a dead and deserted 

 lumber region. The valuable trees were all felled years ago, and the lum- 

 berman moved on to fresh spoils, leaving behind an inextricably confused 

 mass of tree tops, broken logs, and uprooted trunks. Blackberry canes 

 spring up everywhere, forming a tangled thicket, and a few scattering 

 poplars, birches, and cherries serve for arboreal life, above which tower the 

 dead pines, bleached in the weather and blackened by fire, destitute of 

 limbs, and looking at a distance not unlike the masts of some great harbor. 

 Thousands of such acres, repellent alike to botanist and settler, can be seen 

 in any of our northern counties. 



"In certain districts considerable beech is found associated with the 

 pine. The soil of such tracts is usually of better quality, and can be 

 rendered productive without much labor. It may be noted that in such 

 cases the pine also grows thriftier and mak^s better lumber." 



TREES AND SHRUBS OF MICHIGAN COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE REST OF 



THE WORLD. 



Michigan is very rich in trees and shrubs. If we have counted correctly 

 there are 69 species of indigenous trees and three exotics which have 

 escaped from cultivation; 150 native shrubs, 5 exotics spread from cultiva- 

 tion. This gives us 220 indigenous woody plants and 8 exotics which have 

 become naturalized. 



To comprehend the relative importance of our trees and shrubs, let us 



glance at the forests of Great Britain. Great Britain and Ireland contain 



121,260 square miles of land, Michigan 60,000, a little less than one-half as 



much as Great Britain. She has one species of basswood not so good as 



ours; one maple not over twenty feet high; one cherry from ten to twenty 



