YOSEMITE Rules and Regulations 1920

PLANTS OF THE PARK.

Over 900 species of flowering plants and ferns have been found in the park. A few of the most important ones are listed below. The plants are described in detail in "A Yosemite Flora," by H. M. and C. C. Hall.

TREES.

PINES.—These are easily recognized among the evergreen trees by having leaves in clusters of 2 to 5. Six kinds are common.

WHITE-BARK PINE—Leaves in 5's; bark white; found only about timber line.

WESTERN WHITE PINE.—Leaves in 5's, 1 to 3 inches long; cones 6 to 8 inches long; ranging from about 7,000 feet to timber line.

SUGAR PINE.—Leaves in 5's, 2 to 4 inches long; cones 13 to 18 inches long; at 4,000 to 7,000 feet.

WESTERN YELLOW PINE.—Leaves in 3's; cone scales with pricky tips; the most abundant tree.

DIGGER PINE.—Leaves in 3's; cone scales not prickly; a foothill species.

LODGEPOLE PINE.—Leaves in 2's; usually along streams, at middle altitudes.

DOUGLAS FIR—Leaves one-half to 1-1/2 inches long; cones 1-3/4 to 3 inches long, with toothed bracts projecting from between the scales; middle and low altitudes; the most important lumber tree of the Pacific coast.

ALPINE HEMLOCK.—Leaves one-fourth to 1 inch long; cones 1 to 1-1/4 inches long, drooping; about timber line.

FIRS are easily recognized by their smooth bark and by their cones which stand erect upon the branches; the cones fall apart at maturity. White fir grows at middle altitudes; cones 2 to 5 inches long; bark whitish. Red fir grows at 7,000 to 10,000 feet; cones 4 to 8 inches long; bark dull red-brown.

BIG-TREE (Sequoia gigantea).—Three groves occur in the park. The most massive of all trees. Mature trees are 900 to 1,500 years old, and some are estimated to have reached an age of 4,000 years.

INCENSE CEDAR.—Leaves scalelike, like those of cedar; cones about 1 inch long, with two spreading scales; bark brown, shreddy; at middle altitudes.

CALIFORNIA CEDAR.—Leaves scalelike; fruit a blue-blackberry; on rocky slopes and ridges.

CALIFORNIA NUTMEG.—Leaves 1 to 2 inches long, resembling those of fir, but green (not whitish) underneath; fruit shaped like a nutmeg, about 1-1/2 inches long, with thin pulp; along the Merced River between El Portal and the Cascades. One of the rarest trees; found only in California.

WILLOWS of several species occur along streams. Black cottonwood also grows near water; it has large pointed leaves and whitish bark. The aspen, with rounded slender-stalked leaves and smooth pale bark, grows on slopes at middle and higher altitudes.

WHITE ALDER.—Leaves 2 to 4 inches long and nearly as broad, toothed; fruit resembling a small cone; along streams up to 5,000 feet.

OAKS.—The maul oak is distinguished by its gray or whitish bark; leaves evergreen, golden beneath; in the yellow pine belt. Interior live oak, leaves not toothed; bark blackish; in the foothills. California black oak, leaves deeply toothed and lobed; bark black; in the yellow pine belt.

CALIFORNIA LAUREL—Recognized by the aromatic leaves, 3 to 5 inches long, their edges not toothed; at moderate altitudes, in canyons and on hillsides. A near relative of the true laurel of Europe.

BIG-LEAF MAPLE.—Found in moist places in the yellow pine belt.

WESTERN DOGWOOD.—A small tree with very large white "flowers," 3 to 5 inches in diameter; flowering in May; in low valleys.

SHRUBS AND HERBS.

Many kinds of shrubs occur, chief among them the following: Willows, California hazel, buckleberry oak, chinquapin (with burs like a chestnut), white clematis, spicebush (leaves aromatic; flowers dull red), syringa (flowers white, with 4 petals), currants, gooseberries, pink meadowsweet, ocean spray (flower small, white, in large clusters), serviceberry, thimble-berry (fruit red; flowers white), black raspberry, mountain mahogany (leaves 1/2 to 2 inches long, toothed; fruit with a long feathery tail), wild rose, choke-cherry, wild plum, poison ivy (a low shrub or a vine, the leaf composed of 3 large toothed leaflets), bladdernut (leaves with 3 toothed leaflets; fruit inflated and papery), mountain maple, coffeeberry (leaves 1 to 3 inches long, finely toothed, fruit a black 2-seeded berry), deerbrush (with clusters of fine white flowers, and with 3-veined leaves), silk tassel bush (leaves pale green, 1-1/2 to 2 inches long, not toothed; flowers in catkins; fruit a blackberry), western azalea (flowers white or pink, 1-1/2 to 3 inches long), pale laurel (flowers saucer-shaped, lilac-purple), purple heather, white heather, manzanita, yerba santa (leaves sticky, sweet-scented; flowers 1/2 inch long, white or pale blue), elderberry, snowberry, honeysuckle, rabbit-brush (flowers yellow, resembling those of goldenrod), sagebrush (leaves grayish, with 3 or 4 teeth at the upper end).

The herbaceous plants are very numerous, and it is impossible even to list them here. One of the most interesting is the snow plant, a fleshy bright-red plant which grows in carpets of pine needles in the yellow pine belt. It is closely related to the widely distributed Indian pipe. Some of the most common or conspicuous of the herbaceaus plants are the following: False hellebore (sometimes known as skunk cabbage; stems 3 to 6 feet high, with large ribbed leaves; flowers greenish, in large panicles), wild onions, lilies (resembling those of gardens; including the Washington lily, with white flowers, and the leopard lily, with orange-yellow purple-spotted flowers), mariposa lilies (with butterfly-like flowers, each with 3 large white, red, or yellow petals), blue camas (with a spike of flowers somewhat resembling those of a hyacinth), Solomon's-seal iris, lady's-slipper and several other kinds of orchids, wild ginger (with heart-shaped leaves and brown flowers), Sulphur-plant (flowers small, bright yellow, in umbrella-like clusters; leaves white woolly underneath), miner's lettuce (flowers white or pink; leaves 2 together, united at their bases around the stem), yellow pondlily, meadow-rue (leaves resemble those of maidenhair fern), buttercups, red columbine, larkspur, saxifarages, strawberries, lupines, covers, wild geranium, blue flax, violets, fireweed (tall plant with long spikes of purple-lilac flowers, each with 4 petals), evening-primrose (petals 4, bright yellow, fading pink), godetia (flowers deep purple, 1 to 2-1/2 inches broad, with 4 petals), cow parsnip (stem hollow, 4 to 6 feet high; flowers white, in broad flat clusters), shooting-star (leaves in a rosette at base of stem; flowers rose-pink, the 4 or 5 petals sharply recurved), gentians, milk weed, phlox, gilias (numerous kinds, with showy, trumpet-shaped, blue, red, white, or purple flowers), false forget-me-nots, pentstemons (with showy red, blue, or purple flowers resembling in shape those of foxglove), monkey flowers (yellow, red, or pink), Indian paint-brush, elephant-head (easily recognized by the resemblance of the flowers to elephants' heads), goldenrod, asters, daisies or fleabane (blue, purple, pink, or white), yarrow (with plume-like, strong-scented leaves and small heads of white flowers), arnicas (with yellow flowers resembling sunflowers; roots with the odor and flavor of arnica), thistles.