MISTMAIDEN 



Komanzpffia sitchensis Bongard 



Mistmaiden is a dainty alpine plant that is found at or above tree 

 line almost anywhere in the northern Rockies, if growth conditions 

 are favorable. It grows frequently in rock crevices, and delights in 

 moist spots where water from melting snow seeps through the earth 

 or drips from the rocks above. During the short growing season it is 

 able to endure the freezing temperatures that are frequent at night. 

 It is but rarely that the delicate stems and fragile flowers are injured 

 or destroyed. The first specimen that we found was carried to camp 

 and placed in water in a tin outside the tent. In the morning, to our 

 dismay the water was a solid block of ice, and we thought the beau- 

 tiful specimen was ruined ; but when the ice melted the plant was as 

 fresh as ever. 



This interesting member of the Waterleaf Family ranges from 

 Montana to northern California and Alaska. As its specific name, sit- 

 chensis, indicates, the plant was collected first at Sitka, Alaska. 



The specimen sketched grew near Lake O'Hara in the Canadian 

 Rockies, British Columbia, at an altitude of 6,600 feet. 



PLATE 98 



