Botanical Excursion to the Mountains of North Carolina. 41 



ing like the ruins of an old castle, near its southwestern extrem- 

 ity, the top of the Roa7i may be described as a vast meadow, 

 [about nine miles in length, with some interruptions, and with a 

 maximum elevation of six thousand and thirty eight feet,] with- 

 out a tree to obstruct the prospect ; where a person may gallop 

 his horse for a mile or two, with Carolina at his feet on one side, 

 and Tennessee on the other, and a green ocean of mountains 

 raised into tremendous billows immediately about him. It is the 

 pasture ground for the young horses of the whole country about 

 it during the summer. We found the strawberry here in the 

 greatest abundance and of the finest quality, in regard to both 

 size and flavor, on the 30th of July."* 



At sunrise we had fine weather and a most extensive view of 

 the surrounding country ; in one direction we could count from 

 eight to twelve successive ranges of mountains, and nearly all 

 the higher peaks of this whole region were distinctly visible. 

 Soon, however, we v>rere enveloped in a dense fog which con- 

 tinued for several hours, during which we traversed the south- 

 western summit, and made a list of the plants we saw. The 

 herbaceous plants of this bald and rounded summit are chiefly 

 Air a Jlexuosa, Juncus tenuis, Car ex intiimescens, festiicacea, 

 cBstivalis of Mr. Curtis, and a narrow-leaved variety of C. Penn- 

 sylvanica, the latter constituting the greater part of the grassy 

 herbage, Luzula campestris, Lilium Philadelphiciim and Can- 

 adense, which here only attain the height of four to eight inches, 

 Sisyrinchium anceps, Smilacina bifolia, Hahenaria (Platan- 

 thera) peramcejia, Veratrum viride, Helonias [ChamcBliriiim) 

 dioica, Osmunda Claytoniana, Linn. (O. interrupta, Michx.), 

 Athyrium asplenioides, Pedicularis Canadensis mostly with pur- 

 plish-brown flowers, now just in blossom, Traiitvetteria palmata, 

 Ranu7iculus repens, Thalictriim dioicum just in flower, Geum 

 radiatum in the greatest profusion, (it was here that Michaux 

 obtained this species,) Potentilla tridentata and Cajiadensis, 

 Fragaria Virginiana, the fruit just ripe and of the finest flavor, 

 JRubus villosus now in flower, Castilleja coccinea, Geranium 

 maculatum., Clematis Viorna about eight inches high, Sanicula 

 Marilandica, Zizia aurea, Heracleum lanatum, Hypericum 



*Prof. Mitchell of Chapel Hill University, in the Raleigh Register of Nov. 3d, 

 1835, and in the American Journal of Science and Jlrts,for January, 1839. 



Vol. xLii, No. 1.— Oct.-Dec. 1841. 6 



