Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Part 1

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Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

By Stewardson Brown

Curator of Herbarium Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia

Illustrated with Water-Colour Drawings and Photographs By Mrs. Charles Schäffer

G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press 1907

COPYRIGHT, 1907 BY G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

OFFERED TO THE LOVERS OF ALPINE FLORÆ IN THE MEMORY OF DR. CHARLES SCHÄFFER OF PHILADELPHIA, WHO WAS AMONG THE PIONEER BOTANISTS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, AND WHO EARLY RECOGNISED THIS REGION AS A NEW AND INTERESTING FIELD FOR STUDY

PREFACE

The present volume, though prepared in manual form, is meant only as a guide to the rich and interesting flora of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks or those portions traversed by the Canadian Pacific Railway between Banff and Glacier. While many of the plants herein described are found throughout the entire region, yet the species characteristic of the two mountain ranges are vastly different. For the most part those of the Rockies might be characterised as plants adapted to the withstanding of severe conditions of drouth and cold, being mostly low and tufted, with small surfaces of leaf exposure, either thick and leathery or in many instances with an ample covering of protecting hairs; while those of the Selkirks, owing to the more humid atmospheric conditions, are essentially moisture-loving forms, with a luxuriant growth of stems and leaves; it is only where the conditions are similar in the two regions that we find the same or similar forms existing. Few of the more characteristic Rocky Mountain species extend west of the divide, while of those of the Selkirks, few extend east of it, except where there is a luxuriant forest growth, with the consequent retention of moisture, and then only at altitudes of from 2000 to 3000 feet greater.

Contrasting the plants of this region with those of the European Alps it is interesting to note, that while the species are for the most part vastly different, yet there is a certain close resemblance in the families and genera which are represented; the Anemones are here, but not in the scarlets and crimsons, running more to whites and purples, and so are the Buttercups, dwarf many of them, but with large, showy flowers; the Saxifrages and Drabas are innumerable as are the Vetches and also the Heaths, but the latter with fewer and very different species. Some plants, however, like the White Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala), the Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), the Moss Campion (Silene acaulis), the Mountain Cranberry (Vitis-idæa) and the Low Cranberry (Oxycoccus), the One-flowered Wintergreen (Moneses uniflora), the Forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris) and others are found on both sides of the Atlantic, yet we have no such array of Primroses or Gentians as our European brothers, though both genera are represented with us, while on the other hand they can boast of nothing comparable to our Indian Paint-Brush, found throughout the region on the river shores and bars during late June and early July and later through the summer in its innumerable forms and colours in the moist alpine meadows and slopes.

The ferns and their allies with the more striking of the trees and shrubs have been included in the present work, together with the majority of the herbaceous flowering plants, though some of the largely represented but less striking groups such as the Grasses, Sedges, and Willows have been entirely omitted, not seeming of sufficient general interest to warrant the space required for their intelligent treatment. The species are arranged in accordance with their scientific relationships, with keys to the genera and a general key to the families. Among the illustrations herein contained, many of the plants of the Northwest are figured for the first time.

Acknowledgment is here made to Messrs. David McNicoll, Robert Kerr, and other officials and employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company through whose courtesy was made possible the gathering of the data for the basis of this work.

S. B.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, October 28, 1907.

CONTENTS

PAGE PREFACE v GLOSSARY xxv GENERAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES xxxiii ADDER’S-TONGUE FAMILY 1 FERN FAMILY 3 HORSETAIL FAMILY 14 CLUB-MOSS FAMILY 18 SELAGINELLA FAMILY 22 PINE FAMILY 23 YEW FAMILY 34 ARUM FAMILY 35 BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY 36 LILY FAMILY 41 LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY FAMILY 45 IRIS FAMILY 52 ORCHID FAMILY 53 WILLOW FAMILY 68 BIRCH FAMILY 70 MISTLETOE FAMILY 72 SANDALWOOD FAMILY 73 BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 75 PURSLANE FAMILY 80 PINK FAMILY 81 CROWFOOT FAMILY 90 BARBERRY FAMILY 109 POPPY FAMILY 110 MUSTARD FAMILY 111 STONE-CROP FAMILY 125 GRASS-OF-PARNASSUS FAMILY 126 SAXIFRAGE FAMILY 128 GOOSEBERRY FAMILY 146 ROSE FAMILY 150 APPLE FAMILY 165 PLUM FAMILY 167 PEA FAMILY 168 FLAX FAMILY 182 CROWBERRY FAMILY 183 STAFF-TREE FAMILY 184 MAPLE FAMILY 185 ST. JOHN’S-WORT FAMILY 186 VIOLET FAMILY 187 OLEASTER FAMILY 191 EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY 193 GINSENG FAMILY 199 CELERY FAMILY 201 DOGWOOD FAMILY 205 WINTERGREEN FAMILY 207 HEATH FAMILY 211 HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY 220 PRIMROSE FAMILY 226 GENTIAN FAMILY 231 BUCKBEAN FAMILY 236 DOGBANE FAMILY 237 WATER-LEAF FAMILY 238 BORAGE FAMILY 240 MINT FAMILY 244 FIGWORT FAMILY 248 BUTTERWORT FAMILY 262 MADDER FAMILY 263 HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY 264 VALERIAN FAMILY 271 BELLFLOWER FAMILY 273 CHICORY FAMILY 275 THISTLE FAMILY 283 INDEX 323

ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATE FACING PAGE

Mimulus Lewisii Pursh. Red Monkey-Flower Frontispiece

1 Pinus albicaulis Engelm. White Pine 24 1 Pinus Murrayana Oreg. Com. Jack Pine 24

2 Larix Lyallii Parl. Lyall’s Larch 26 2 Thuja plicata Don. Giant Cedar 26

3 Abies lasiocarpa (Hook) Nutt. Balsam Fir 28 3 Pseudotsuga mucronata (Raf.) Sudw. Douglas Fir 28

4 Tsuga Mertensiana (Bong.) Carr. Mountain Hemlock 30 4 Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. Hemlock 30

5 Picea albertiana. S. Brown. Alberta Spruce 32 5 Picea albertiana. S. Brown. Alberta Spruce 32

6 Zygadenus elegans Pursh. Tall Zygadenus 38 6 Zygadenus gramineus Rydb. Zygadenus 38

7 Stenanthella occidentalis (A. Gray). Rydb. Stenanthium 40 7 Clintonia uniflora Kunth. Clintonia 40

Part 2

8 Tofieldia intermedia Rydb. False Asphodel 42 8 Vagnera stellata (L) Morong. Star-Flowered Solomon’s Seal 42

9 Erythronium grandiflorum. Pursh. Snow Lily 44

10 Lilium montanum A. Nels. Red Mountain-Lily 46 10 Kruhsea streptopoides (Ledeb) Kearney. Kruhsea 46

11 Cypripedium passerinum Rich. Small White Lady’s Slipper 54 11 Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper 54

12 Corallorhiza Corallorhiza (L). Karst. Coral-Root 56 12 Lyschiton kamtschatcense (L.) Schott. Western Skunk-Cabbage 56

13 Cytherea bulbosa (L.) House. Calypso 58 13 Orchis rotundifolia Pursh. Small Round-Leaved Orchid 58

14 Limnorchis dilatatiformis Rydb. Purplish-Green Bog-Orchid 62 14 Peramium Menziesii (Lindl.) Morong. Menzies’ Rattlesnake Plantain 62

15 Ophrys borealis (Morong). Northern Twayblade 64 15 Ophrys nephrophylla Rydb. Heart-Shaped Twayblade 64 15 Cœloglossum bracteatum (Willd) Parl. Long-Bracted Orchid 64 15 Limnorchis fragrans Rydb. Fragrant White Bog-Orchid 64 15 Lysiella obtusata (Pursh) Rydb. Small Northern Bog-Orchid 64

16 Comandra pallida DC. White Comandra 74 16 Eriogonum subalpinum Greene. Tall White Eriogonum 74

17 Claytonia lanceolata Pursh. Spring Beauty 80 17 Claytonia parvifolia Moc. Small-Leaved Spring Beauty 80

18 Silene acaulis L. Moss Campion 82 18 Lychnis apetala L. Nodding Lychnis 82

19 Alsine borealis (Bigel.) Britton. Northern Stitchwort 86 19 Mœhringia lateriflora (L.) Blunt-Leaved Sandwort 86 19 Arenaria capillaris nardifolia (Ledeb.) Regel. Rock Sandwort 86

20 Caltha leptosepala Hook. Caltha leptosepala 104 20 Trollius albiflorus (A. Gray) Rydb. Western Globe-Flower 104

21 Aquilegia brevistyla Hook. Small Blue Columbine 102

22 Aquilegia flavescens S. Wats. Yellow Columbine 106 22 Aquilegia formosa Fisch. Western Columbine 106

23 Delphinium Brownii Rydb. Mountain Larkspur 108 23 Anemone globosa Nutt. Wind-Flower 108

24 Anemone Drummondii S. Wats. Alpine Anemone 92 24 Anemone parviflora Michx. Northern Anemone 92

25 Pulsatilla hirsutissima (Pursh) Britton Pasque-Flower 94 25 Pulsatilla occidentalis (S. Wats.) Freyn. Western Anemone 94

26 Atragene columbiana Nutt. Purple Virgin’s-Bower 90

27 Ranunculus saxicola Rydb. Ranunculus saxicola 100 27 Ranunculus alpeophilus. A Nels. Ranunculus alpeophilus 100 27 Ranunculus Eschscholtzii Schl. Snow Buttercup 100

28 Ranunculus eremogenes Greene. Ditch Crowfoot 98 28 Ranunculus Purshii Richards. Pursh’s Buttercup 98 28 Ranunculus inamœnus Greene Ranunculus inamœnus 98

29 Thalictrum megacarpum Torr. Thalictrum megacarpum 96 29 Thalictrum occidentale A. Gray. Western Meadow Rue 96

30 Delphinium Menziesii DC. Blue Larkspur 110 30 Lithophragma parviflora (Hook.) Nutt. Lithophragma 110

31 Physaria didymocarpa (Hook.) A. Gray. Bladder-Pod 116 31 Smelowskia calycina (Desv.) C. A. Meyer. Smelowskia 116

32 Draba oligosperma Hook. Whitlow-Grass 112 32 Draba andina (Nutt.) A. Nels. Mountain Whitlow-Grass 112

33 Draba glacialis Adams Whitlow-Grass 114 33 Draba aurea Vahl. Golden Whitlow-Grass 114

34 Parnassia montanensis Rydb. & Fern. Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus 126 34 Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir. Swamp Gooseberry 126

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