308 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST.  [Vou. XXXIII. 
brush and other plants characteristic of the Nevada deserts, 
and the vegetation is thus intermediate to some extent between 
the desert flora of the Great Basin and the mountain flora of 
the Sierra Nevada. 
The higher altitudes show a more or less pronounced alpine 
flora, which was seen to best advantage when making the ascent 
of Mt. Tallac, whose summit is nearly 10,000 feet above sea 
level. At the wind-swept summit the characteristic alpine 
white pine (Pinus albicaults) at once attracted attention. The 
gnarled trunk, with smooth light-gray bark, and the twisted 
branches were beaten flat upon the ground in the more exposed 
situations. This well-marked species is one of the most strik- 
ing of the numerous Conifers of the Sierra. A little lower down 
a juniper — probably /. occidentalis — was noticed, a tree of per- 
haps 30 to 40 feet in height, with massive trunk and branches. 
In sheltered hollows near the summit, beds of arnica were bloom- 
ing, and among the flowers were swarms of bees and butterflies 
which had been attracted to these high altitudes. Of the flow- 
ers encountered on the way up, the most striking was a beauti- 
ful blue gentian, probably G. ca/ycosa. Other plants noted were 
Aconitum Fischeri, a tall blue larkspur (Delphinium scopulo- 
rum ?), and the heath-like Bryanthus breweri, the latter unfor- 
tunately past flower, but said to be one of the most beautiful 
alpine plants of the Sierra. 
The Washington lily is very abundant about Lake Tahoe, 
where it reaches its finest development. Specimens four or 
five feet high are common, and in favorable seasons it is said 
that specimens seven feet high, with twenty or thirty flowers 
on a stem, are sometimes found. The pretty little tiger lily 
(L. parvum) is not at all rare in moist ground, where the stems 
sometimes carry a dozen or more of their graceful bells. 
No attempt has been made in this hasty sketch to give a full 
list of the plants of the regions visited ; this is obviously im- 
practicable. Such have been selected for illustration as seemed 
to emphasize the peculiar characters of the districts, and such 
as would naturally attract the attention of the casual visitor. 
No region of equal area in our country offers such great 
range of conditions as does California, and, as naturally might 
