﻿SHAW— THE SELKIRKS 



other species, are especially beautiful and interesting. Occasionally 

 one comes upon fields, several acres in extent, consisting apparently 

 of nothing but the swaying yellow bells of Erythronium. Some 

 of the smaller basins, where the snows have but recently melted, 

 are entirely filled with Ranunculus alpinus, which often blooms 

 under the shallow snow water. Of the principal species, Trollius, 

 Valeriana, and Erythronium are commonly found together; while 

 Lutkea, Ranunculus, and Caltha form another and quite distinct 

 association. As the slopes become drier, cushion plants of various 

 species may be associated with these plants. Of these the most 

 abundant are Silent acaulis, the two species of Dryas, the saxifrages, 

 the heathers, sedges, and grasses. 



On the mesophytic grasslands, Pulsatilla occidentalis is the 

 dominant plant. Large fields and gentle slopes covering hundreds 

 of square meters often bear Pulsatilla to the exclusion of all other 

 vegetation. Where this condition obtains, its chief cause is always 

 in evidence, namely, scores of burrows of the ground squirrels that 

 delight to line their homes with the plumed fruits of the Pulsatilla, 

 thus assuring the reproduction of the plant. When Pulsatilla 

 does not form a pure stand, it is most frequently associated with 

 several alpine grasses, Poa alpina, P. arctica, P. Cusickii, Phleum 

 alpinum, with Jimcoides parviflora, Carex festiva, and C. marcida; 

 and with Castilleia miniata and C. pallida (running into numerous 

 variations in color and form), Lupinus perennis, Valeriana sitchen- 

 sis, Erigeron jucundus, E. salsuginosus , Epilobium Hornemanni, E. 

 anagallidifolium; as well as with occasional clumps of heather 

 (Bryanthus and Cassiope) and of dwarf willows. These plants 

 commonly grow in remarkable luxuriance, and in August, when 

 most of them are in bloom, the brilliant colors of species of Castil- 

 leia, Erigeron, Epilobium, and Lupinus give to the alpine fields 

 a beauty not readily forgotten by anyone who has^ had the good 

 fortune to see it. 



On the gravel slopes and flats of the youngest terminal moraines 

 a great variety of physical conditions obtains. As to moisture, 

 the range is from wet areas where the glacial streams form pools or 

 bogs, to the sun-baked flats no longer reached by these streams. 

 Here the soil appears at the surface, there it is covered by gravel 



