250 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Vop XXIX, 1922 
banks of Merced river and a few more on the banks of the same 
stream a half mile above the village. A few small lodge pole 
pines ( Pinus Murray ana) are scattered through the yellow pine 
groves. There is but little variation in the elevation of the floor 
of ithe valley or in the character of the soil. In the more or less 
gravelly soil there are abundant and fine specimens of the Cali- 
fornia oak ( Quercus Kelloggii), a most graceful, beautiful tree 
with brdad, rounded top, whose leaves resemble those of our east- 
ern quercitron oak (Q. velutina). The acorn and cup also re- 
semble those of this eastern species, except that the acorns are 
larger. On the mountain slopes and often in rocky soil another 
species of oak commonly known as the golden cup or maul oak 
(Q. chrysolepis) occurs. It is an extremely variable oak; the 
leaves are ovate, entire or toothed, green above and yellowish 
beneath, sometimes covered with pubescence. These variations 
occur on the same tree and the same branch. This oak is com- 
mon on the slopes in the valley up to altitudes of 7,000 feet. A 
related species, Q. vaccinifolia, is sometimes called the Huckle- 
berry oak because of the resemblance of the leaves to those of the 
huckleberry. The species is common at higher altitudes in the 
Sierras. I found it in great quantities on Feather river near 
Gold Lake where it covered great stretches, forming a dense 
undergrowth. The acorn somewhat resembles that of the white 
Fig. 5. Gold Fake near Feather River Canyon on line Western Pacific Railroad. 
Podge pole pine, some white pine ( Pinus monticola). 
