GEOGRAPHICAL BOTANY. 357 



tall in growth, resembling that of the poplar, and with 

 these woody plants the gregarious Spiraea Kamtschatika 

 (Schalameynik), a plant which throughout the summer 

 characterises Kamtschatka above all other countries, and 

 here repeats the Panax-form of the north-west of America 

 in a physiognomical point of view : " A plant of wonder- 

 fully rapid growth, which in a few weeks acquires a height 

 of more than 10 feet, whilst in the autumn it disappears 

 still more quickly, without leaving a trace, for a single 

 frosty night is sufficient to cut it off to the ground." 

 Above the large, crenate leaves, the stems display in 

 July their white bunches of flowers, which subsequently 

 acquire a gray tint. Single plants of a very tall Hera- 

 cleum (H. Panaces ?) grow among the Spiraeas, from the 

 juice of which the natives prepare sugar. The grass 

 covering these prairies attains an astonishing height ; at 

 first, indeed, it is overshadowed by shrubs of Cratcegus 

 and Salisc, with thick stems, which project here and there, 

 but these at a later period scarcely extend above the 

 rapidly developed culms of the grass. The same applies 

 to the herbaceous perennials, which are mixed in large 

 numbers with the Grasses, and of which the following 

 are mentioned : 2 Sanguisorbtf, Angelica, Epilobium an- 

 gmtifolium, Senecio cannabifolius, Cacalia hastata, 2 lilies 

 with large orange flowers (one with stems of the height 

 of a man, probably L. Kamtschatkense Lour.), and Fri- 

 tillaria Kamtsc/iatkensis, the latter under the name of 

 Sarannah. Of these, Senccio and Epilobium are the prin- 

 cipal ones which contribute to the physiognomy of the 

 land. The former, although as high as a man, is laden 

 with flowers, and frequently colours the surface of the 

 meadows of a pure yellow colour, whilst the latter pro- 

 duces a splendid red. The Sarannah, which is every- 

 where met with in short grass, yields in its tubers an 

 excellent article of food, which, although difficult to dig 

 up, often supplies the place of bread. 



Plate XVIII leads us to the Forest on the Upper 

 Kamtschatka river, which, lying in a valley running Ion- 



