Rocky Mountain Floristic Region: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
m Reverted edits by 12.149.210.113 to last version by Kbdankbot |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[Image:Wenatchee Mountain Checker-mallow.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Sidalcea oregana var. calva]]'']][[Image:North Fork Skykomish Trail 0211.jpg|thumb|right|Forest of [[Coast Douglas-fir|''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' subsp. ''menziesii'']] in [[Washington]]]][[Image:Darlingtonia californica ne1.JPG|thumb|right|''[[Darlingtonia californica]]'']] |
[[Image:Wenatchee Mountain Checker-mallow.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Sidalcea oregana var. calva]]'']][[Image:North Fork Skykomish Trail 0211.jpg|thumb|right|Forest of [[Coast Douglas-fir|''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' subsp. ''menziesii'']] in [[Washington]]]][[Image:Darlingtonia californica ne1.JPG|thumb|right|''[[Darlingtonia californica]]'']] |
||
The '''Rocky Mountain Region''' is a [[floristic region]] within the [[Holarctic Kingdom]] in western [[North America]] ([[Canada]] and the [[United States]]) delineated by [[Armen Takhtajan]] and [[Robert F. Thorne]]. |
The '''Rocky Mountain Region''' is a [[floristic region]] within the [[Holarctic Kingdom]] in western [[North America]] ([[Canada]] and the [[United States]]) delineated by [[Armen Takhtajan]] and [[Robert F. Thorne]]. |
||
Hi i like chese and people from the mountains |
|||
It spans from [[Kodiak Island]] of [[Alaska]] approximately to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] of [[California]], running between the shore of the [[Pacific Ocean]] on the west and the [[Great Plains]] on the east, along the [[Rocky Mountains]] and [[Pacific Coast Ranges]]. It is bordered by the Canadian Province of the [[Circumboreal Region]] in the north, by the North American Prairies Province of the [[North American Atlantic Region]] in the east and by the [[California Floristic Province|Californian Province]] of the [[Madrean Region]] in the south. The borders with the Canadian and Californian Provinces are vague. |
It spans from [[Kodiak Island]] of [[Alaska]] approximately to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] of [[California]], running between the shore of the [[Pacific Ocean]] on the west and the [[Great Plains]] on the east, along the [[Rocky Mountains]] and [[Pacific Coast Ranges]]. It is bordered by the Canadian Province of the [[Circumboreal Region]] in the north, by the North American Prairies Province of the [[North American Atlantic Region]] in the east and by the [[California Floristic Province|Californian Province]] of the [[Madrean Region]] in the south. The borders with the Canadian and Californian Provinces are vague. |
||
Revision as of 16:16, 14 January 2009
The Rocky Mountain Region is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in western North America (Canada and the United States) delineated by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne.
It spans from Kodiak Island of Alaska approximately to the San Francisco Bay Area and Sierra Nevada of California, running between the shore of the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Great Plains on the east, along the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast Ranges. It is bordered by the Canadian Province of the Circumboreal Region in the north, by the North American Prairies Province of the North American Atlantic Region in the east and by the Californian Province of the Madrean Region in the south. The borders with the Canadian and Californian Provinces are vague.
Although the Rocky Mountain Region has no endemic vascular plant families and only one endemic Marchantiophyta family (Gyrothyraceae), it has many endemic genera (such as Sidalcea, Luetkea, Whipplea, Vancouveria, Lithophragma, Tellima, Tolmiea, Luina) and numerous endemic species. The genera Arnica, Castilleja, Erigeron, and Lomatium have their major center of diversity here. The region possesses the greatest diversity of conifers in the New World. The remaining wildland of the province is covered mostly by temperate coniferous forests (such as Northern California coastal forests, Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests, Klamath-Siskiyou forests, British Columbia mainland coastal forests, Fraser Plateau and Basin complex, Northern Pacific coastal forests) dominated by Pinus ponderosa, Pinus contorta and Pseudotsuga menziesii, as well as the alpine tundra above timberline. The region is subdivided further into the Vancouverian Province and Rocky Mountain Province.
The Vancouverian Province comprises the coastal part of the region for its entire length, including the Pacific Coast Ranges. Such plant species and genera as Sequoia sempervirens, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Darlingtonia californica, Vancouveria and Whipplea are endemic to it. The boundary with the Californian Province is not well-defined.
The Rocky Mountain Province includes the Rocky Mountains and associated ranges. Due to more heavy glaciation during the Pleistocene, its flora, especially in the north, has a far lower degree of endemism than that of the Vancouverian Province. Much of it is shared with the Canadian Province and the Circumboreal Region in general.
Bibliography
- Thorne, Robert F. Phytogeography of North America North of Mexico. Flora of North America, Vol. 1, Ch. 6.