NumberPer cent
of total
Perognathus californicus dispar410.0
Dipodomys agilis agilis410.0
Peromyscus californicus insignis2562.5
Neotoma fuscipes macrotis717.5

Heteromyids are evidently absent from the upper parts of the chaparral association, but cricetid rodents are common there beneath heavy clumps of lilac and in the talus beneath oaks and bay trees. The following list gives the mammals taken in the course of about 200 trap nights in the granite talus one half mile northwest of the mouth of Icehouse Canyon, at 5200 feet elevation.

Table 5.—Yield of 200 Trap-nights in the Upper Part of the Chaparral Association.

NumberPer cent
of total
Eutamias merriami merriami36.3
Peromyscus boylii rowleyi3879.2
Neotoma lepida intermedia24.2
Neotoma fuscipes macrotis510.4

The gray fox is the dominant carnivore of the chaparral association and forages widely in all habitats.

Yellow Pine Forest Association

Major Plants

Pinus ponderosa
P. lambertiana
Libocedrus decurrens
Abies concolor
Quercus Kelloggii
Ribes nevadense
Ribes Roezlii
Arctostaphylos sp.
Ceanothus cordulatus

The crest of the range, from the upper limit of the chaparral association at roughly 6000 feet to the limited areas of boreal flora above 8500 feet elevation, is covered by yellow pine forests. On the desert slope of the range the coniferous forests which extend down to about 6000 feet represent the best development of this association, while the coniferous forests on the coastal side of the drainage divide are often more or less diluted by chaparral elements. For example, yellow pines on the Pacific face of Blue Ridge at 7000 feet elevation often grow in association with scrub oak and mountain-mahogany.