2l6 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL chap. 



species of which are common in our gardens, are 

 abundant, as are the penstemons and mimuhises, with 

 the brilliant castilleias belonging to the same family 

 (Scrophulariacese), whose crimson or scarlet bracts form 

 one of the greatest ornaments of the higher woods and 

 pastures. The elegant genus Phacelia is not uncommon, 

 though its chief development is in California, and the 

 moist valley bottoms are often blue with the well-known 

 flowers of the bulbous camassia. A curious genus of the 

 Polygonum family (Eriogonum) is abundant, and the 

 yellowish-white or rosy flowers of some of the species are 

 very pleasing. Handsome composites abound, especially 

 the genus Erigeron, with a number of peculiar forms, while 

 the beautiful butterfly-tulips of California (Calochortus) 

 here make their first appearance. Lupines also are 

 plentiful, though less so than further west, and the 

 beautiful American cowslips (Dodecatheon), sometimes 

 called "shooting-stars," are not unfrequent in boggy 

 meadows. 



But in addition to these more or less characteristic 

 American types, the botanist is at once struck by the 

 appearance of a number of European or even of British 

 plants^ and these not introduced weeds but forming an 

 essential part of the flora. This is proved by the fact 

 that the further we penetrate among the mountains and 

 the higher we ascend, the more numerous become these 

 familiar species or genera. Among the more abundant of 

 these plants are the common yd^rvoy^ {Achillea millefolium)^ 

 our blue hare-bell (Ccwi^oanula rohmdifolia), the bistort 

 (Poly 07mm histoii a), the common silver-weedof our roadsides 

 (Potentilla anserina), and the rarer shrubby cinquefoil (P. 

 fruticosa). In the sub-alpine and alpine districts these 

 plants of the old, world become more frequent and 

 occupy a larger space in the entire vegetation, and in order 

 to show the importance of this interesting feature of the 

 Rocky Mountain flora it may be well to give a brief account 

 of a week's exploration of the vicinity of Gray's Peak, one 

 of the highest mountains of Colorado. 



