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glance at the main plant formations on the mountain namely, 

 forest, shrub and meadow. 



There are two kinds of forests, deciduous and coniferous. The 

 former, as a rule, occupies the lower reaches of the mountain, 

 but may extend upward to an altitude of perhaps 5,800 feet. 

 The coniferous forest, the dominant trees being Frazer's balsam 

 and the black spruce, is found on the uppermost slopes only, 

 extending downward into the gulches or on the northern side 

 for a considerable distance. 



The rounded summits of Roan are mainly covered either with 

 shrubs or meadows. The shrub formation is composed of a low 



Fig. 1. Rhododendron Catawbiense growing with Dendrium buxifolium prostra- 

 tion. The illustration shows the rounded outlines characteristic of this rhododendron. 



alder, the rhododendron {R. Catawbiense) and the small heather 

 (Dendrium buxifolium prostratwii). The two former are the 

 dominant plants, and generally these are not mixed but occur in 

 separate areas. Between the alders and the forest the line is 

 sharply drawn. But between the rhododendrons and the forest 

 this is not the case and they may grow in the more open balsam 

 woods. While small plantations of rhododendron occur here and 

 there in the open throughout the upper reaches of the mountain, 

 the largest area exclusively occupied by it lies between Roan 

 High Knob and Roan High Bluff and comprises perhaps 80 

 acres. This is the formation which in June is so conspicuous 

 with its mass of flowers. 



