175 





























49.—Canotia holocantha, Torrey. 
An anomalous shrub, or small tree, 10 to 20 feet high, and entirely 
without leaves. It occurs on the dry plateaus of Arizona, and proba- 
bly in New Mexico. The wood is heavy and hard, but of little use except 
for fuel. 
| Deseription.—The branches are straight, spine-like, and peculiar for their smooth 
green bark with black scars. The seeds are borne in a solitary, erect, woody pod (1 
inch long) with thin, sharp point, at maturity splitting open at the top, thus forming 
10 bristle-pointed teeth; seed small, tlat, dark, with a thin wing attached to one end. 
60.—MouUNTAIN MAUOGANY. (Cercocarpus ledifolius, Nuttall.) 
A low tree or shrub, rarely more than 35 feet in height and 2 feet in 
diameter ; usually much smaller—10 to 20 feet. It generally grows on 
dry rocky slopes between 6,000 and 8,000 feet elevation, and is found — 
inthe mountain ranges of northern Idaho, western Montana and Wy- 
oming, Arizona, and New Mexico (it occurs also on the Pacific coast 
from Washington Territory to southern California). The wood is dark, 
exceedingly heavy and hard, but not strong. It furnishes the most 
-yaluable fuel of the Rocky Mountain region, and is extensively em- 
_ ployed in making charcoal. 
Description.--Leaves 4 to 1} inches long, narrow lance-shaped, sharp-pointed ; mar- 
gins entire, and commonly rolled back; thick, leathery, slightly resinous; smooth 
above, downy on the under surface; evergreen. Seed with a hairy tail 2 to 3 inches 
long. Usually a low and much-branched tree; crown dense. 
~51.—MounraAIN MAHOGANY. (Cercocarpus parvifolius, Nuttall.) 
Chiefly a shrub, but sometimes attaining a height of 20 to 30 feet, 
with a diameter of 6 to 12 inches. It generally occurs on dry gravelly 
soil at elevations between 6,000 and 8,600 feet, ranging through the 
Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, where it is 
said to reach its largest size (southern Arizona and southward ; also 
on coast of California and southward). Like the preceding species, it 
affords excellent fuel, aud where large enough is used considerably for 
this purpose. 
Description.—Leaves 4 to 14 (commonly 4 to ? inch) long, on short stems; mostly 
wedge-shaped at the base, rather coarsely toothed at the upper end, which is rounded 
or sharp-pointed; young leaves with silky hairs above, with age less prominent or 
— wanting; whitish on the under surface, with fine, dense wool; evergreen. Sced 
with a hairy tail 2 to 24 inches long, sometimes 34 to 4 inches. 
) 52.—WESTERN Mountain Asn. (Pyrus sambucifolia, Cham. and 
, Schlecht.) 
Chiefly a shrub 6 to 10 feet high, or occasionally a small tree 20 to 25 
eet, with a trunk sometimes 8 or 10 inches in diameter; usually con- 
fined to deep swamps and the banks of streams. In the Rocky Mount- 
ain region it extends from New Mexico to Colorado (westward to Calli- 
fornia, norch to British Columbia and northward ; eastward along the 
+ . 

