77/' Adirondack Region of New York. 411 



oni;i occurs not only here but on all the open summits of the higher 

 peaks, and is quite characteristic of the Lichen flora of these locali- 

 ties. It consists of smooth white hollow Bteme two to lour inches 

 high, pointed at the apex, rarely alight lv branched, and generally 

 about as thick as a goose quill. They grow on the ground among 

 mosses and other lichens, sometimes singly, sometimes in loose tufts 

 or clusters. They at once attract attention by their white color. 

 The plant was referred by Acharius to Cladonia -vermicular* s as 

 a variety under the name faurica, but it is regarded by our own 

 most excellent lichenologist, Prof. Tuckerman, as a variety of 

 Cladonia gracilis. It is scarcely distinguishable from sterile forms 

 of Cladonia gracilis v. eUmgata y as he justly observes, except by 

 its white color. I have never seen it fertile. 



Another noticeable lichen is Buellia geograpliica. It grows on 

 the exposed surface of dry rocks and sometimes even on pure quartz. 

 It is attractive by reason of its remarkable contrast of colors, its 

 bright yellow dots or areoles being thickly scattered over a jet black 

 background. 



A few plants worthy of notice occur near the top of the moun- 

 tain but do not reach its open summit. 



One is found on the boggy shore of Lake Tear, a beautiful but 

 diminutive sheet of water lying in the pass between Mounts Marcy 

 and Skylight at an altitude of about 4,300 feet. It isa small shrub, 

 scarcely more than a foot high. Its leaves are small, blunt, longer 

 than broad and placed opposite each other on the branches. The 

 flowers are yellow and open early in the season. The berries are 

 blue, and in this locality are ripe in August. The plant is called 

 the Mountain Fly-Honeysuckle, Lonicera aerulea. Its companions 

 are the Bog Bilberry, Narrow leaved Gentian, Bluets and other 

 plants which occur also on the summit. Pickering's Bluejoint was 

 here found to be affected by a fungus smut, Ustilago Sale i. 



Near the starting point of the slide is a station where the beauti- 

 ful clubmoss known as Ground Fir. I/ycopodium sabiiKsfolium^ is 

 found. It is extremely scarce in the Adirondack region, and care 

 should he taken by those finding it not to destroy or exhaust the 

 localities. Fortunately the trail now does not follow the slide and 

 there is leas danger than formerly that this lovely clubmoss will he 

 disturbed in its mountain retreat. 



Under the sheltering balsam trees between the camp near Lake 

 Tear and the open summit of the mountain, fine specimens of the 

 typical form of the Bristly Shield-fern, Aspidium 9pinulo8Wto\ 



