PREFACE 



There are approximately 3,000 species of indigenous flower- 

 ing plants in that portion of the United States known as the 

 Rocky Mountain region. Many of these by reason of their 

 abundance, attractiveness, and conspicuous characters afford 

 material both suitable and available for use in the introduc- 

 tory courses in botany in high schools and colleges. 



In spite of the fact that botany to-day must take cognizance 

 of several new phases of the subject, it must still be admitted 

 that a certain amount of work in systematic botany offers a 

 point of contact with Nature that is of inestimable value. But 

 justice to the co-ordinate and equally important divisions of the 

 subject requires that systematic botany should take no more 

 than a co-ordinate place. 



For various reasons it has been found inexpedient in many 

 instances to attempt the use of the standard manuals. It is 

 hoped that this brief synoptical Key may meet the needs of 

 such courses, and that the beginner, discovering for himself 

 the names of a few of the common plants of his neighborhood, 

 may develop an interest in his flora that will later make him, 

 in some cases, a critical student of it. 



This booklet is not offered as- a substitute for a manual of 

 the region, but rather, as an introduction, which will prepare 

 the student for the better use of a manual. It seems best, there- 

 fore, to include only the commoner species, and especially those 

 that blossom during the spring and early summer. To select a 



