RED COMANDRA 



Comandra livida Richardson 



Red comandra belongs to the Sandalwood Family, which has few 

 representatives in this country, most of its members being shrubs and 

 trees of the tropics. It is parasitic on the roots of other plants, and it 

 withers immediately when gathered. The light green flowers are 

 small and inconspicuous, but the fruits, when they mature in mid- 

 summer, are of a vivid striking red. Two other comandras with 

 greenish or yellowish fruits are widely distributed in the United 

 States. 



This species of comandra has a wide range, occurring from the 

 mountains of Vermont to Labrador, and across Canada to British 

 Columbia and even Alaska. 



We gathered the plant near Glacier Lake on the headwaters of 

 the Saskatchewan River, fifty miles north of Lake Louise at an alti- 

 tude of 6,000 feet, where this sketch was made. 



plate 361 



