38 



FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 



together of the high and low altitude trees. This transition area is, 

 perhaps, the most interesting, because of the great variety of plants 

 and the infinite combinations found under different conditions of soil, 

 moisture, and light. 



The white and yellow deer-tongues, the arctic lupines, the valerians, 

 and the polemoniums are abundant in the lower part of this region 

 though not in the upper near 6,500 feet. Lupinus volcanicus is a 

 characteristic timber-line plant all around the mountain. It differs 





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Fig. 30. — White heather (Cassiope mertensiana) . 



Color of flower, white; height of plant, 6 to 10 inches; blooms July and August. 



Photograph by A. H. Barnes. 



from the plant in the lower meadows by its greater pubescence, 

 coarser and shorter stems. 



The white heather, Cassiope mertensiana (fig. 30), is one of the 

 most attractive plants in the heather group. It is known by its 

 bell-shaped, drooping flowers and rather short stems with small 

 imbricated leaves. The red heather, Phyllodoce empetriformis (figs. 

 31 and 32), which is much more robust, often grows with it. It 

 extends from 3,200 feet timber line. The yellow heather, Phyllodoce 



