Norwich bulletin., 1921-06-22
IN THE DAYS NEWS
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Abudant snows on the higher levels of Yosemite National Park have yield ed a bumper crop of flowers this sea- son.
 Attention is called to this fact by the ] announcement that special provision 1 has been made for the protection of the lavish display from depredations of the thoughtless visitor.
 "Yosemite's topography, with thou sands of feet difference in altitude in places within hailing distance of each other makes it possible for the visit or to enjoy flowers of several seasons in a single visit" says a bulletin from the Washington, D. c. headquarters of the National Geographic Society.
 Leaving the rich San Joaquin Val ley at Mereed for the beautiful trip by train through the canyon of the Merced river, scared by the gold dig gings of '4s, the traveller turns his flor al calendar backward with each mile of climbing into the Sierra Nevada, passing rapidly from full summer to
 late spring at Fl Portal, where the of ficial gateway to Yosemite National
 Park is located. A few miles farther at the Gates of the Valley-that fam the left, Three Graces and Bridalveil
 Falls on the right, with vista of Yosemite Valley between-he finds spring in, full glory.
 And on the same day, visitors to Glacier Point, just upstairs from Yo- semitic Valley, on the rim of the gran ite wall enclosing the Valley and 32S5 feet higher, will be out skiing and to- 1 bogganing on four feet of snow. 1 By the time summer gets to Yose-
 mite Valley, it is springtime at Glacier 1 Point and when summer gets to the ] Point, the Sierra is enjoying the brief ! season passes there for both spring and summer and Yosemite Valley has
 progressed well towards autumn. Most interesting of all plants to the visitor is the snowplant-and no other 1 is so jealously guarded by the park authorities. When word of new stalk 1 is received, sign is dispatched hast | ity and erected near it-hands off i In its early stages the snowplant is i more like scarlet asparagus tip than 1 anything else. As it natures, leaves
 near the upper end unfold and reveal l bells much like those of a hyacinth l The name snowplant is misleading. ac- 1 cordlng to such high authority as jep-
 son, who says the plant has nothing
 to do with snow and that the name l probably originated because it appears early in spring and is likely to be | caught in late furry, which makes \ the richness of its coloring all the
 more conspicuous, causing the unin-
 formed to think that the plant pushed
 its way through the snow.
 1 Contrary to the common assump-
 tion, the snowplant is not a parsite.
 but lives on decaying vegetable mat ter asorbed through intricately laced
 white flores which serve the plant in place of roots.
 It is unique in that the food absorb
 ed is at once transmitted into scar
 let stalk and leaves, differing from \ other plants which are veritable chem
 ical laboratories demanding chlero-
 phyl to assist them in digesting their
 daily meal.
 There probably are more than 10OC
 different species of Towering plants
 shrubs and trees in Yosemite. Some of
 them, like the marsh buttercup, seem to bud beneath the snow and ther
 burst into bloom as soon as the icy ] covering melts. On the high levels o1 the park a thin patch of snow will dis. appear under the influence of a hot sun and the patient botanist in a few : hours can see the buttercups unfold : ing into full blossom. This undoubt- edly is due to environment, nature having taught the flowers of high alti. tudes to adapt themselves to the brie season of warmth.
 LHiCh CluSleES O. pink bells on the manzanita, wild lilac
 azaleas along the river banks, dogwooC [ lavender shooting stars, and many oth. l CTS appear inearly spring. In Jun, l comes the gorgeous Maripose lily,va
 rying in color from a white to a deer s red, and resembling cultivated tulip Then there is the Washington lily throwing it's large white blossoms higl j. above the ehaparral Lupines reacl c their prime in August-thePe are S,
 many different kinds in Yosemite tha r some of them never have been classi . fled. You can see them in acre lot t in the meadows, looking like miniatur e forests, topped by brilliant petals. Tn ' fireweed also grows in luxurianee. s Comparatively rare among tn - flowers of Yosemite, and as beauti = ful as any orchid, is mentzelia, 0 S blazing star, yellow petals, orange cen > ter, with a gringe of long stamens s giving it an exotic appearance. Curi l. osities among the parks flowers ar l, the yellow monkey flower and purpl
 elephant head, the former taking it