Author: Joseph Kaye Henry
Publisher:
Published: 2015-07-20
Total Pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9781331897576
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Excerpt from Flora of Southern British Columbia, and Vancouver Island: With Many References to Alaska, and Northern Species The aim of this book is to give a brief description of the flowering plants, the ferns and their allies found in Southern British Columbia. Introduced plants that show some tendency to become a permanent part of our Flora are included along with the native plants. These constitute, in general, the ever-increasing species known as weeds, which reach our limits along the railways or in ballast. Interesting examples of such are the Red-Fruited Dandelion, which is now establishing itself at the Coast, as the Common Dandelion did 30 or 40 years ago; and Hemp Nettle (Galeopsis Tetrakit) which appeared in New Westminster recently, shortly after the arrival of a colony of French-Canadians at the Fraser River Mills. To determine the plants of British Columbia is at present a task of considerable difficulty. No general herbarium has been established, and descriptions of plants are scattered through many books and scientific publications. To make these descriptions available for the amateur, rather than to attempt an authoritative survey of our flora, the materials for which, indeed, have not yet been assembled in British Columbia, is the general aim of the book. The region covered is mainly the Southern part of the province extending from Vancouver Island to the Rockies, with a rather indefinite northern limit, to about the Skeena. As, however, many northern plants have been described, and as southern plants extend far northwards in the Coast region, and Alaskan plants far southward in the mountains, it is hoped that the book will be found of very considerable service in the north. The botanical areas included may be arranged somewhat as follows: (1) The rather dry southern part of Vancouver Island with the Oak as its characteristic tree; (2) The Coast Forest Region, characterized by the Douglas Fir, the Sitka Spruce, the Broad-leaved Maple; (3) The Dry Interior, including the region of the Western Yellow Pine, shading into the more or less distinct treeless bunch-grass plains and hills; (4) The humid forest region of the interior, marked by the Western Larch, the Lodge Pole Pine, and farther north by the Black and the White Spruce; (5) The subalpine region where the Firs (A. amabilis and A. astocarpa), Engelmann's Spruce and the Black Hemlock (T. Mertensiana) flourish; (6) The Alpine or Arctic region above the tree line, the vegetation of which corresponds in part with that of the far north. While the aim of the writer has not been eclectic, he is far from confident that he has included all the plants in the region covered. Of some omissions he is quite aware and suspects that there are many others. The scarcity of herbarium material makes the descriptions in many cases less authoritative than is desirable; for, though there has been much collecting done in British Columbia, collectors have in general taken their material away with them. The collection of Mr. J. R. Anderson has been of considerable assistance. The kindness of Mr. Eli Wilson, B.A., and Mr. A. J. Hill, M.A., has helped me over many difficulties. Through the courtesy of Dr. C. F. Newcombe, I have had opportunities of examining several northern species. Mr. John Davidson, F.L.S., of the Government Botanical Office has enabled me to include descriptions of several plants not hitherto listed. Miss Alice Eastwood, Profs. Brainerd, Macbride, Nelson, Rowlee and Weigand have determined various specimens for me. Above all, I gratefully acknowledge the kindness of the Botanical Staff of the Geological Survey, Ottawa, extending back to the days twenty-one years ago when I first became acquainted with our so varied and attractive wild flowers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
