TREES AIs^D SHRUBS. 



588 



the winter and form an important food of the geese in their northern 

 migrations. The fruit is also keenly relished by the natives, 

 especially in spring, when it is at its best. 



On the Mackenzie. I noted the plant in flower at Fort Simpson on 

 May 16, 190-i, at Xahanni Eiver on June 4, at Fort Good Hope June 

 21, and at Fort McPherson July 6. 



The Tyrrell brothers in 1893 collected the plant as far north as 

 Dubawnt Lake, and J. W. Tyrrell took it on Artillery Lake in 1900. 



Oxycoccus oxycoccTis (Linn.) MacM. Small Cranberry. 



Though doubtless found farther south, this cranberry was not noted 

 south of the Simpson Islands, Great Slave Lake. It was common 

 thence northward, especially so about Great Bear Lake and at Fort 

 Xorman. 



The Tyrrell brothers collected it on Dal}^ Lake in 1893. 

 Vaccinium uliginosum Linn. Bog Blueberry. 



This widely distributed shrub is the commonest blueberr}^ through- 

 out the region north to the Arctic Sea. It is especially common from 

 Great Slave Lake northward along the canoe route, where it attains 

 a height of 2 or 3 feet. On the exposed shores of Great Bear Lake it 

 l)ecomes dwarfed, the plant being reduced to a few short woody stems, 

 which cling closely to the rocky ground and bear very little foliage, 

 L>ut which are loaded with fine fruit. It was ripe in August along 

 this route. 



It is abundant along the Mackenzie, and ascends the Xahanni 

 Mountains to timberline. Plants in flower were gathered by E. S. 

 Jones on Richards Island in late June, 1904. 



The Tyrrell brothers in 1893 took specimens as far north as Du- 

 bawnt Lake, and J. W. Tyrrell collected it on Artiller}^ Lake and 

 Hanbur}^ River in 1900. 



Vaccinium canadense Richardson. Low Blueberry. 



This is the common bltieberr}^ in the southern part of the region. 

 Specimens in flower were collected at Smith Landing on June 13, 

 1903. The plant occurs along the Athabaska, and is very abundant 

 on the sandy plains north of Edmonton, where the berries are gath- 

 ered in great quantities in early September. 



Viburnuin opultis Linn. Cranberry Tree. 



This shrub, whose Cree name has been corrupted into Pembina, a 

 common geographical name in the region, was not observed north of 

 the junction of the Athabaska and the Clearwater. South of this 

 point it is abundant, and its bunches of orange-red frttit are con- 

 spicuous on the Athabpska banks in August. The Crees frequently 

 make a sauce from its berries, which taste much like the common 

 cranberry. The fruit is fully ripe at the end of August. 



