PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS I BOTANY. 



intertwined with one another. Nothofagus pumilio therefore differs in no 

 way as to habit from N. antarctica, the dwarfed growth of which at high 

 altitudes I have already described. 



At this height Nothofagus pumilio is accompanied by a very scanty 

 vegetation which is quite different from that of the steppe, all grasses ex- 

 cept Poafuegiana having disappeared. Large areas are entirely bare of 

 plants, and boisterous winds often make a clean sweep. Only on the lee- 

 ward (here the eastern) side of the thickets does the sand remain in patches, 

 and only here can the more delicate species hold their own in their severe 

 struggle for existence. On such a patch of sand I noticed the following 

 species, growing quite closely together when near the thicket, but elsewhere 

 scattered at rather wide intervals. 



Ribes cucullatum Hook, et Arn. 

 Pernettya mucronata (Linn, fil.) Gaud. 



leucocarpa DC. 

 Berberis empetrifolia Lam. 

 Empetrum rubrum Vahl. 

 Rubus geoides Sm. 

 Chiliotrichium diffusum (Forst). 

 Senecio chilensis Less. 



triodon Phil. 



Hypochceris arenaria Gaud. 

 Perezia pedicularicefolia Less. 



Perezia linearis Less. 

 Leuceria salina (Remy). 

 Accena pearcei Phil. 



leptacantha Phil. 

 Azorella lycopodioides Gaud. 

 Cerastium arvense L. 

 Thlaspi magellanicum Comm. 

 Armeria chilensis Boiss. var. magellanica Boiss. 

 Valeriana foncki Phil. 

 Luzula racemosa Desv. 

 Poafuegiana (Hook, fil.) Hack. 



Still higher up the vegetation is extremely poor and sparse. Up to 

 an altitude of 1300 meters I saw the few following species: 



Chiliotrichium diffusum (Forst.). 

 Nassauvia serpens d'Urv. 

 Senecio purpuratus Phil. 



chilensis Less. 

 Acana leptacantha Phil. 



Drab a magellanica Lam. 



Armeria chilensis Boiss. var. magellanica Boiss. 



Oxalis laciniata Cav. 



Luzula racemosa Desv. 



Poafuegiana (Hook, fil.) Hack. 



At an elevation of 1400 meters I found only one plant, a lichen, Neu- 

 ropogon trachycarpus Stirl. Above that height the slopes were entirely 

 denuded of vegetation. 



The flora of the Alpine region of the western Patagonian Cordillera is, 

 on the whole, still unknown. Omitting the Alpine and marine floras, the 

 western Patagonian vegetation, taken as a whole, may be said to consist 

 of only the three communities of plants which I have attempted in some 

 measure to describe. 



