The foliage, which almost obscures the light of the brightest day, is composed of alder, lime, walnut and elm, of beech and Spanish chestnut, of ash and, on the higher slopes, of tall firs. Trees of holly, of azalea and of rhododendron supply an undergrowth which at this season is ablaze with bloom. In the autumn the pink, poisonous crocus (colchicum) springs from the rocks, of double the length and size of the ordinary flower. Fungus with crimson stools start from the silver lichen, which diffuses an unearthly light. Long streamers of grey-green lichen float on the lower branches, from which a profusion of creepers are festooned. Here and there the thicket opens to an expanse of lawn. The forest is fed by the clouds collected in this caldron of Nature; and from the month of May to that of October the windows of the monastery are seldom greeted by the rays of the sun (Fig. 175). The traveller to Erzerum who is in search of romantic scenery could not do better than follow this valley of Meiriman. It is the route which I selected upon our return from this second journey; but it is not practicable during the winter months. A steep ascent from the head of the glen leads to a country of grassy uplands, rising gradually to the pass of the Kazikly Dagh. This pass is the more easterly counterpart of the Zigana, but exceeds it in height by more than 1000 feet (8290 as against 6640 feet). The barrier on the north of the plain of Baiburt is crossed at the Kitowa Dagh by a pass of 8040 feet (as against the 6470 feet of the Vavuk Pass). Beyond the Kazikly Dagh there is a fair track which is used by caravans in summer; but between that point and Trebizond they pursue a shorter route. This approach to the plains of Armenia is almost in a direct line, avoiding the long detour by Gümüshkhaneh. The journey from the cloister of Sumelas to Baiburt may be performed in two days. [219]