Rocky Mountain Floristic Region
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The Rocky Mountain Floristic Region is a
Sierra Nevada in California. It consists of two provinces, the Vancouverian, which comprises the coastal part of the region for its entire length, including the Pacific Coast Ranges, and the Rocky Mountain, which includes the Rocky Mountains and associated ranges. There are no endemic
plant families in the region but many endemic genera and species.
Geography
The region spans from
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.
Flora
Although the Rocky Mountain Region has no
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.[1]
53°45′N 126°07′W / 53.75°N 126.12°W
References
- ^ Thorne, Robert F. Phytogeography of North America North of Mexico Archived 2004-03-17 at the Wayback Machine. Flora of North America, Vol. 1, Ch. 6.