NO. 17 



SMITHSONIAN KXPLORATIONS, I916 



57 



During" the three weeks spent in Lee County, alxnit 700 specimens 

 of plants were collected, representing" some 500 species. Many of 

 them are plants of rare occurrence, and some represent notable 

 extensions of range, one, at least, being" an addition to the known 

 flora of the L'nited States. One of the lichens was determined by 

 Mr. G. K. Merrill as a new species, and some of the ]:)arasitic fungi 

 are of unusual interest. 



During" August and September Mr. Standley was detailed for 

 field-work in Xew Mexico. He spent four weeks at L'te Park, 

 Colfax CountN', a locality in the southern extension of the Sangre 



III.. 59. — Ute Park, N. Mex. Showing sandstone hillsides covered with 

 pinyon and cedar. 



de Cristo Range of Colorado, and only a few miles south of the 

 Colorado boundary. 



Ute Park lies at an altitude of about 7,500 feet U])on the Cimarron 

 River, one of the characteristic swift, clear streams of the Rockies. 

 The valley here is rather wide, with gently sloping" meadows on one 

 or both sides, although at some places the stream is shut in by cliffs 

 which rise ])recii)itously on both banks. Immediately along the 

 stream and its tributaries are groves of Cottonwood, with thickets 

 of alder, aspen, birch, hawthorn, and other shrubs. The stream is 

 inhabited by large numbers of beaver, whose dams are found every- 

 wdiere. In places fully half of the trees seemed to have been cut 

 down by these animals, to be used as food or in the construction of 

 their dams. 



