ALPINE POINTVETCH 



Oxytropis podocarpa Gray 



Rocky slopes above timberline yield many of the most attractive 

 flowers, among .them the alpine pointvetch. This plant overcomes 

 the handicaps of its difficult environment by growing close to the 

 ground, its woody root holding it firmly to the soil that has col- 

 lected among the stones or in the crevices of rocky ledges. The gray- 

 green leaves form a fine background for the comparatively large 

 purple flowers, which also lie near the ground. 



Alpine pointvetch belongs to the Pea Family. It occurs from Col- 

 orado to Idaho, and northward to British Columbia and Alaska, also 

 in Labrador. 



The sketch was made from a specimen collected at Wonder Pass, 

 near Mount Assiniboine, fifty miles south of Banff, Alberta, Canada, 

 at an altitude of 8,000 feet. 



plate 2.82. 



