Sierra Nevadan District. 615 
feet in vertical range completely encircling the mountain, beginning at an altitude 
of 5,000—5,500 feet and pushing up to 7,500 or 7,800 feet. It is the distinc- 
tive forest of Shasta, a forest of tall stately trees, dark somber and free 
from underbrush, though here and there Arctostaphylos nevadensis forms patches 
which breaks the monotony of the dark brown surface. Zvernia vulpina, a 
yellow lichen, drapes the lower branches of this tree, while the pendant masses 
of Alectoria Fremonti occur in the denser parts of the forest. Asa rule, the 
Shasta fır Adies shastensis (= A. magnifica var. shastensis) stops where Pinus 
albicaulis begin, but the fir at its upper limit is of full size except on the 
steep and relatively warm southwestern slopes, where dwarf specimens occur. 
The highest point at which this tree grows is at an altitude of 8,900 feet 
(2710 m). This type of forest is mainly pure, but in places, particularly on the 
east and northeast sides of Mount Shasta, Pinus monticola is scattered through 
it and in one place Pinus Mürrayana replaces Abies shastensis. 
The herbaceous associates?) of Shasta fir are: Aconitum columbianum, Allium validum, 
Arnica longifolia, Campanula Wilkinsoniana, Chimaphila Menziesii, C. umbellata, Corallorhiza Bige- 
lovii, ne Sonnei, Epilobium brevistylum, E. oregonense, E. spicatum (= angustifolium), 
entiana simplex, Habenaria leucosta = H. unalaschensis, Heracleum lanatum, Lilium parvum, 
Lupinus Ehmeri,. Madia Bolanderi, Pentstemon deustus, P. graci Pirola pallida, P. pieta, P. 
gr 
secunda, Senecio trigonophyllus, AH occidentalis and Viola blanda. As there is practically 
no undergrowth, shrubs form an insignificant part of the forest of this formation. The following, 
however, are present: Alnus sinuata, Arctostaphylos nev ie Ribes amietum, R. cereum, Sorbus 
sambucifolia and Vaccinium occidentale. 
“ Pinus albicaulis Belt. This belt extends from the belt of Adies shastensis 
to the fields of perpetual snow and timber line. It isan open belt of straggling, 
irregular trees whose whitened, twisted trunks show every evidence of their 
storm-beaten environment. Pinus albicaulis in the lower part of the belt often 
attains a height of 30 or 40 feet and a diameter of two feet. In the higher 
elevations it is restricted to the ridges, leaving the intervening basins and 
gulches bare. Finally the trunks become completely prostrate and the branches 
hug the ground extending upward on the hottest ridges to an extreme limit 
of 9,800 feet (2987 m). In places this tree is mixed with and occasionally is 
replaced by mountain hemlock, 7suga Pattoniana which never reaches as high, 
because more moisture loving, and it, therefore, reaches its altitudinal limit one 
thousand feet lower than Pinus albicaulis. The hemlock forest, where it is 
pure, is dark and somber and the lower limbs of the trees are draped with 
Alectoria Fremontü and Evernia vulpina. 
In moist spots partieularly along the borders of rivulets Bryanthus empetriformis forms beds 
with Eriogynia pectinata spreading a faint veil of green over the dark soil. In the drier parts 
Of the forest hardly a plant is seen except now and then a solitary specimen of Chimaphila 
Menziesii or Pirola picta. Juniperus nana occurs in this belt as do such woody plants as Ribes 
cereum and Vaccinium caespitosum. Some of the herbaceous plants accredited to this belt of 
Pinus albicaulis are: Castilleja affınis, Crepis intermedia, Cycladenia humilis, Epilobium Pringleanum, 
1) MERRIAM loc. cit. page 63. 
