RIVERBANK GENTIAN 



Gentiana affinis Grisebach 



The riverbank gentian prefers the flat borders of streams in the lower 

 valleys, where grasses and sedges find a combination of congenial soil 

 and moisture. The purple flowers, with white marking on the petals, 

 are elusive, since they are often hidden by neighboring plants. We found 

 them near a"lick"where twenty mountain sheep, ewes and lambs, were 

 enjoying the salty soil kept moist by the snow water from the rushing 

 river near by, which overflowed its banks each August afternoon. 



The riverbank gentian, placed by some botanists in the genus Dasy- 

 stephana, ranges from Colorado to California, and north to Saskatch- 

 ewan and British Columbia. 



The specimen sketched was collected in the valley of the Red Deer 

 River, three days by trail from Lake Louise Station on the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway, Alberta, at an altitude of 5,500 feet. 



PLATE 87 



