Closely allied to the chim-aphillas is the remarkable Sarcodes sanguima, or snow-plant of the SierraNevadas (Fig. 5). It is a low and fleshy plant, growing from three to twelve inches high, and entirely devoid of true leaves. It belongs to that strange group of the heath family which comprises the fleshy and parasitic plants, of which our Indian-pipe or corpse-plant is an example Few species are known in this sub-order, and they are all local or rare.

The snow-plant was first discovered by one of Fremont's expeditions in the valley of the Sacramento. It was described by Dr. John Torrey in 1854 in the sixth volume of Smithsonian Contributions, along with several other new genera which had been discovered by the Pathfinder.

Fig. 2. Cypripedium. (Indian Moccasin ; Lady Slipper).

Among these genera, Fremontia, Carpenteria and Spraguea are familiar to cultivators. The generic name of the snow-plant, Sarcodes, means "flesh-like." and the specific name, sanguitua, refers to the blood-red color of the entire plant. It derives its vernacular name of snow-plant from its habit of shooting up and blooming as soon as the snow melts away in spring. The plant occurs- only in the Sierra Nevadas of California, at an elevation of from 4,000 to 9,000 feet. There is only the one species known. L. H. B.