British North American Plants. ie 
British CoLuMBIA FLORA. 
Excluding the sedges and grasses, there are over four 
hundred species of phenogamous plants in British Colum- 
bia, which are not known east of the Rocky Mountains. = 
* 
This number will be considerably increased along both the — 
northern and southern boundaries. The knowledge, how- 
ever, of this distribution, within the province, of these species 
is as yet limited, and at this stage it seems better not to 
draw conclusions too hastily. It may be said generally, 
that there are species which are well distributed over the 
province, except probably in the most northern sections, 
and these may be termed the Britisa CoLuMBIA GROUP. 
To those confined to the declivities, the valleys and foot- 
hills of the Rocky Mountains, and sometimes crossing to 
the Selkirks, reference has already been made under the 
term Rocky Mountain Group. Towards the Alaska bound- 
ary will yet be found further representatives, not only of 
the Alaska flora, but of the Asiatic flora as well. There 
may thus be, in time, sufficient material for an ALASKAN or 
an Astatic Group. At and towards the southern boundary 
of the province, are numbers of species familiar in Colorado, 
Nevada, California, Oregon, or Washington Territory, and 
whose range across the border into British Columbia is very 
circumscribed. These, as their centre of distribution is 
probably in or near Oregon, may be termed the OREGONIAN 
Group. Perhaps, however, the most remarkable, as well as 
the largest flora in British Columbia, is what may be fitly 
called the Western Coast Group. The greater rainfall, 
and the general proximity to the coast and to the numerous 
very deep inlets which indent the coast, are the influences 
which appear to more or less control the disposition of this 
flora, and to affect its range also in Washington Territory 
and Oregon west of the Sierras. 
Dr. G. M. Dawson has given considerable attention to the 
flora of British Columbia and particularly to the distribu- 
tion of the trees there, and what are here intended by the 
Western Coast and Oregonian Groups coincide in general 
terms with areas of his there. 
