Vol. 3 No. 6 



TORREYA 



June, 1903 

 NOTES ON NEW MEXICO OAKS 



By T. D. A. Cockerell 



In Torreya, January, 1903, I recorded seven named forms of 

 Quercas from Las Vegas Hot Springs. The material obtained 

 agreed well with published accounts, and especially with the 

 excellent figures given by Dr. Rydberg in Bull. N. Y. Bot. 

 Gard., May, 1901. Whatever might be the value of these plants 

 as species, it was evident that there were " points of relative 

 stability" which were easily recognizable. On May 17, 1903, I 

 visited all these oaks again, returning to the exact bushes whence 

 I had my material of the year before. The new information thus 

 obtained, together with the results of various observations at 

 other times, lead me to some conclusions which seem worth 

 recording. 



The sides of Gallinas Canon at Las Vegas Hot Springs slope 

 towards the northeast and southwest. The slope facing south- 

 west is more exposed to the winds than the other, but it also 

 gets considerably more sun, and is dry and warm when the 

 ground on the other side is still frozen. Here one would expect 

 to see the oaks first leafing out, but the oak scrub on May 17 

 looked lifeless, without green, from a distance. On closer inspec- 

 tion some patches of green {JQ. Fendleri) were seen at the lower 

 levels, and it was observed that the other plants (Q- undulata, 

 Q. Rydbergiana and Q. grisea) were leafing out, but the early 

 leaves were inconspicuous because reddish. The opposite and 

 colder slope, very differently, was largely covered with light 

 green oak foliage, which proved to be Q. Gambclii and Q. nites- 



[Vol. 3, No. 5, of Torreya, comprising pages 67-82, was issued May 12, 

 I903-] 



83 



