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Title: Field Book of Western Wild Flowers
Author: Margaret Armstrong, - To be updated
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Field Book of Western Wild Flowers" ***
[Transcriber's note:
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[Illustration: Orange Mariposa Tulip--Calochortus Kennedyi.]
FIELD BOOK OF
WESTERN
WILD FLOWERS
BY MARGARET ARMSTRONG
IN COLLABORATION WITH
J. J. THORNBER, A.M.
PROFESSOR OF BOTANY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF
ARIZONA, AND BOTANIST OF THE ARIZONA
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT
STATION AT TUCSON
[Illustration]
WITH FIVE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS IN BLACK
AND WHITE, AND FORTY-EIGHT PLATES IN COLOR
DRAWN FROM NATURE BY THE AUTHOR
[Illustration]
C. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
The Knickerbocker Press
NEW YORK AND LONDON
1915
COPYRIGHT, 1915
BY
MARGARET ARMSTRONG
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
PREFACE.
In this little book a very large number of the commoner wild flowers
growing in the United States, west of the Rocky Mountains, are pictured
and described. It is the first attempt to supply a popular field book
for the whole West. The field is vast, including within its limits all
sorts of climate and soil, producing thousands of flowers, infinite in
variety and wonderful in beauty, their environment often as different
as that of Heine's _Pine and Palm_. In such strange homes as the Grand
Canyon and the Petrified Forest of Arizona, or the deserts of Utah
and southern California, we find the oddest desert plants, forced to
curious expedients in order to sustain life amidst almost perpetual
heat and drought, but often displaying blossoms of such brilliance
and delicacy that they might well be envied by their more fortunate
sisters, flourishing beside shady waterfalls, in a "happy valley"
like Yosemite, or a splendid mountain garden, such as spreads in
many-colored parterres of bloom around the feet of Mt. Rainier. On the
wind-swept plains hundreds of flowers are to be found; many kinds of
hardy plants brighten the salty margins of the sea cliffs, or bloom
at the edge of the snow on rocky mountain peaks, while quantities of
humble, everyday flowers border our country roadsides or tint the hills
and meadows with lavish color.
The field included the States of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho,
Nevada, Utah, and Arizona and to designate this whole field the term
West is used in this book. The term Northwest designates Washington,
Oregon, northern Idaho, and northern California, and the term Southwest
covers southern California and Arizona. The flowers found only in
the Rocky Mountains are not included, and it may be noted here that
exceedingly few of the western flowers cross the Rockies and are found
in the East.
This is the only fully illustrated book of western flowers, except Miss
Parsons's charming book, which is for California only. The drawings
have all been made from life. Allowance must be made for differences in
appearance, owing to locality, and the text should be consulted for the
size, as, on so small a page, some of the plants must be drawn smaller
than others.
Almost all technical botanical terms have been translated into ordinary
English, as this book is intended primarily for the general public,
but as a large number of the plants given have never before been
illustrated, or even described, except in somewhat inaccessible or
technical publications, it is hoped that the scientist also may find
the contents both interesting and useful.
The nomenclature used, with few exceptions, is that of the American
Code. Where these names differ greatly from those in common usage the
latter are given as synonyms in brackets, making the book more useful
to all readers. The botanical names are marked with an accent. Two
accents are used, the grave (`) to indicate the long English sound of
the vowel, such as the "i" in "violet," and the acute (´) to show the
short sound, such as the "i" in "lily."
Professor J. J. Thornber, of the University of Arizona, is responsible
for the botanical accuracy of the text and his knowledge and patient
skill have made the book possible.
Thanks are due for most valuable assistance in the determination
of a very large number of specimens to Miss Alice Eastwood, of the
California Academy of Sciences. Also to Dr. W. L. Jepson of the
University of California; Professor A. O. Garrett, of Salt Lake City;
Professor A. R. Sweetser, of the University of Oregon; Mr. S. B.
Parish, of San Bernardino, Cal.; Mrs. Henshaw, of Vancouver, B. C.;
Dr. A. Davidson, of Los Angeles; and Mr. Marcus E. Jones, of Salt Lake
City. Also for advice and assistance to Dr. N. L. Britton, and Dr. H.
M. Richards of New York; to Dr. Livingston Farrand, of Colorado; Mr.
C. R. Orcutt, of San Diego; Mr. Carl Purdy, of Ukiah, Cal.; Professor
Flett, of Mt. Rainier National Park; Miss Winona Bailey, of Seattle;
Professor J. H. Paul, of Salt Lake City; and many other kind friends.
The arrangement is that originated by Mr. Schuyler Mathews, in his
_Field Book of American Wild Flowers_, which has been found very
popular in the East, but, in this book, most of the genera, as well as
the species, have been very briefly described.
MARGARET ARMSTRONG.
NEW YORK,
_January 1, 1915_.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE iii
LIST OF COLORED PLATES xi
TECHNICAL TERMS xiii
KEY TO FAMILIES xv
FAMILIES:
Water-plantain (_Alismaceae_) 2
Lily (_Liliaceae_) 4
Iris (_Iridaceae_) 66
Orchid (_Orchidaceae_) 72
Lizard-tail (_Saururaceae_) 80
Sandalwood (_Santalaceae_) 82
Birthwort (_Aristolochiaceae_) 84
Buckwheat (_Polygonaceae_) 86
Pigweed (_Chenopodiaceae_) 96
Four-o'clock (_Nyctaginaceae_) 100
Carpet-weed (_Aizoaceae_) 108
Pink (_Caryophyllaceae_) 112
Purslane (_Portulacaceae_) 120
Buttercup (_Ranunculaceae_) 126
Barberry (_Berberidaceae_) 152
Water Lily (_Nymphaeaceae_) 156
Strawberry Shrub (_Calycanthaceae_) 158
Poppy (_Papaveraceae_) 160
Bleeding Heart (_Fumariaceae_) 168
Mustard (_Cruciferae_) 174
Caper (_Capparidaceae_) 186
Orpine (_Crassulaceae_) 192
Saxifrage (_Saxifragaceae_) 196
Hydrangea (_Hydrangeaceae_) 206
Gooseberry (_Grossulariaceae_) 210
Apple (_Pomaceae_) 214
Plum (_Drupaceae_) 216
Rose (_Rosaceae_) 218
Pea (_Fabaceae_) 242
Senna (_Cassiaceae_) 264
Mimosa (_Mimosaceae_) 266
Krameria (_Krameriaceae_) 268
Caltrop (_Zygophyllaceae_) 268
Flax (_Linaceae_) 270
Wood-sorrel (_Oxalidaceae_) 272
Geranium (_Geraniaceae_) 274
Milkwort (_Polygalaceae_) 278
Meadow Foam (_Limnanthaceae_) 278
Buckeye (_Hippocastanaceae_) 280
Buckthorn (_Rhamnaceae_) 282
Mallow (_Malvaceae_) 284
St. John's-wort (_Hypericaceae_) 292
Fouquiera (_Fouquieriaceae_) 294
Violet (_Violaceae_) 296
Loasa (_Loasaceae_) 300
Rock-rose (_Cistaceae_) 304
Cactus (_Cactaceae_) 304
Evening Primrose (_Onagraceae_) 312
Parsley (_Umbelliferae_) 332
Dogwood (_Cornaceae_) 338
Heath (_Ericaceae_) 340
Wintergreen (_Pyrolaceae_) 354
Indian Pipe (_Monotropaceae_) 356
Primrose (_Primulaceae_) 362
Olive (_Oleaceae_) 366
Gentian (_Gentianaceae_) 368
Milkweed (_Asclepiadaceae_) 374
Dogbane (_Apocynaceae_) 378
Buck-bean (_Menyanthaceae_) 380
Morning-glory (_Convolvulaceae_) 380
Phlox (_Polemoniaceae_) 384
Waterleaf (_Hydrophyllaceae_) 402
Borage (_Boraginaceae_) 422
Verbena (_Verbenaceae_) 434
Mint (_Labiatae_) 434
Potato (_Solanaceae_) 458
Figwort (_Scrophulariaceae_) 466
Broom-rape (_Orobanchaceae_) 504
Madder (_Rubiaceae_) 506
Valerian (_Valerianaceae_) 508
Honeysuckle (_Caprifoliaceae_) 512
Gourd (_Cucurbitaceae_) 518
Bellflower (_Campanulaceae_) 520
Sunflower (_Compositae_) 522
Chicory (_Chicoriaceae_) 570
INDEX 581
COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS.
FACING PAGE
ORANGE MARIPOSA TULIP _Frontispiece_
WILD ONION 14
COVENA 16
INDIAN HYACINTH 24
DOGTOOTH VIOLET 28
BRONZE BELLS 38
BUTTERFLY TULIP 62
BUTTER BALLS 92
SAND-VERBENA 104
INDIAN PINK 116
FOOTHILLS LARKSPUR 128
LILAC CLEMATIS 150
CALIFORNIA POPPY 164
BUSH POPPY 166
WESTERN WALLFLOWER 176
CLIFF ROSE 226
BI-COLORED LUPINE 252
WILD SWEET PEA 254
PRIDE OF CALIFORNIA 256
HEDYSARUM PABULARE 260
DESERT SENNA 266
SPOTTED MALLOW 288
SALMON GLOBE MALLOW 290
HEDGEHOG CACTUS 306
OPUNTIA BASILARIS 308
PINCUSHION CACTUS 310
WHITE EVENING PRIMROSE 326
WESTERN AZALEA 342
SNOW-PLANT 358
SMALL SHOOTING STAR 366
CANCHALAGUA 370
SCARLET GILIA 392
LARGE PRICKLY GILIA 398
MOUNTAIN PHACELIA 404
PHACELIA GRANDIFLORA 408
BABY BLUE-EYES 412
RAMONA INCANA 438
THISTLE SAGE 450
PAINT BRUSH 472
PENTSTEMON CYANANTHUS 480
PENTSTEMON PARRYI 482
BUSH MONKEY FLOWER 490
PINK MONKEY FLOWER 492
WILD VALERIAN 510
ARIZONA THISTLE 524
EASTER DAISY 530
XYLORRHIZA TORTIFOLIA 544
CUT-LEAVED BALSAM-ROOT 558
TECHNICAL TERMS.
=Corolla.= The flower-cup composed of one or more divisions called
petals.
=Petal.= One of the divisions of the corolla.
=Calyx.= A flower-envelope, usually green, formed of several
divisions called sepals, protecting the bud.
=Sepal.= One of the divisions of the calyx.
=Anther.= The pollen-bearing organ, usually yellow.
=Filament.= The stalk-like support of the anther.
=Stamen.= Anther and filament combined.
=Ovary.= The seed-bearing organ.
=Ovary inferior.= With the flower-parts growing from above the
ovary.
=Ovary superior.= With the flower-parts growing from below the
ovary.
=Placenta.= That particular portion of the ovary wall to which the
ovules are attached.
=Ovule.= The body in the ovary which becomes a seed.
=Style.= The stalk-like projection proceeding from the ovary and
terminated by the stigma.
=Stigma.= The generally sticky and sometimes branching termination
of the pistil through which pollination takes place.
=Pistil.= Ovary, style, and stigma combined.
=Regular Flower.= Generally symmetrical and uniform in the number
of its parts.
=Perfect Flower.= A flower complete in all the common parts.
=Staminate.= With stamens and without pistils.
=Pistillate.= With pistils and without stamens.
=Polygamous.= Pistillate, staminate, and perfect flowers, on the
same or on different plants.
=Claw.= The narrow or stalk-like base of some petals.
=Pedicel.= The stalk of a flower in a cluster.
=Raceme.= A flower-cluster in which the flowers are borne along
the flower-stalk on pedicels of nearly equal length.
=Spike.= A flower-cluster in which the flowers have no pedicels
and are arranged more or less closely along the flower-stalk.
=Bracts.= Small scalelike formations.
=Involucre.= A circle of bracts below a flower-cluster.
=Stipule.= Small often leaflike formations, confined to the base
of the leaf.
=Capsule.= A dry seed-vessel, composed of more than one part and
splitting open.
=Akene.= A small dry one-seeded fruit, not splitting open.
A KEY TO THE FAMILIES.
PAGE
=A. Parts of the flower nearly always in threes;
leaves almost always parallel-veined.=
a. Ovary superior.
b. Leaves often arrow-shaped; pistils many, in a head.
_Alismaceae_ 2
b. Leaves not arrow-shaped; pistil one. _Liliaceae_ 4
a. Ovary inferior
b. Flowers regular; stamens three. _Iridaceae_ 66
b. Flowers irregular; stamens one or two. _Orchidaceae_ 72
=A. Parts of the flower mostly in fours or fives;
leaves mostly netted-veined.=
=B. Corolla absent; calyx mostly present, sometimes
showy.=
a. Ovary superior.
b. Pistils several to many, distinct. _Ranunculaceae_ 126
b. Pistil one, one to several-celled.
c. Flowers in long spikes with a white involucre
at base. _Saururaceae_ 80
c. Flowers not in long spikes.
d. Stipules if present sheathing the stem;
sepals three to six. _Polygonaceae_ 86
d. Stipules absent; sepals mostly five.
_Chenopodiaceae_ 96
a. Ovary inferior or appearing so by the closely fitting
calyx.
b. Ovary six-celled; stamens six to twelve.
_Aristolochiaceae_ 84
b. Ovary one-celled; stamens three to five.
c. Leaves opposite; flowers often showy.
_Nyctaginaceae_ 100
c. Leaves alternate; flowers not showy.
_Santalaceae_ 82
=B. Both corolla and calyx present.=
=C. Corolla of separate petals.=
=D. Ovary superior.=
a. Stamens more than ten in number.
b. Pistils several to many, separate or
united below.
c. Pistils separate and distinct.
d. Pistils enclosed in a hollow receptacle.
e. Leaves opposite; petals numerous.
_Calycanthaceae_ 158
e. Leaves alternate; petals mostly
five. _Rosaceae_ 218
d. Pistils not enclosed in a receptacle.
e. Stamens attached to the
calyx. _Rosaceae_ 218
e. Stamens not attached to the
calyx. _Ranunculaceae_ 126
c. Pistils united below into a lobed or
beaked ovary.
d. Water plants with floating leaves.
_Nymphaceae_ 156
d. Terrestrial or land plants.
e. Pistils forming a ring; filaments
united. _Malvaceae_ 284
e. Pistils not forming a ring.
f. Pistils inserted on a convex
receptacle; stamens attached
to the calyx. _Rosaceae_ 218
f. Receptacle not convex; stamens
not attached to the
calyx. _Papaveraceae_ 160
b. Pistil one, the styles and stigmas often
several.
c. Ovary one-celled.
d. Style and stigma one.
e. Fruit a drupe (stone-fruit.)
_Drupaceae_ 216
e. Fruit an akene tipped with a
tail. _Rosaceae_ 218
d. Styles or stigmas more than one.
e. Sepals falling as the flowers
expand.
f. Sepals two or three; fruit
a capsule. _Papaveraceae_ 160
f. Sepals four or six; fruit a
berry. _Ranunculaceae_ 126
e. Sepals persistent; low shrubs.
_Cistaceae_ 304
c. Ovary more than one-celled.
d. Water plants with floating leaves.
_Nymphaceae_ 156
d. Plants not growing in water.
e. Leaves with smooth margins
and with transparent dots.
_Hypericaceae_ 292
e. Leaves neither smooth-edged,
nor with transparent dots.
_Malvaceae_ 284
a. Stamens ten or fewer in number.
b. Stamens of the same number as the
petals and opposite them.
c. Ovary more than one-celled; calyx
four- to five-cleft. _Rhamnaceae_ 282
c. Ovary one-celled.
d. Anthers opening by uplifted
valves. _Berberidaceae_ 152
d. Anthers opening by longitudinal
slits. _Portulacaceae_ 120
b. Stamens not of the same number as the
petals, or if of the same number, alternate
with them.
c. Ovaries two or more, separate or
partly united.
d. Stamens united with each other
and with the large thick stigma.
_Asclepiadaceae_ 374
d. Stamens free from each other
and from the pistils.
e. Stamens inserted on the
receptacle.
f. Leaves and stems fleshy.
_Crassulaceae_ 192
f. Leaves and stems not
noticeably fleshy.
g. Lobes of ovary two to
five, with a common
style.
h. Ovary two- to three-lobed.
_Limnanthaceae_ 278
h. Ovary five-lobed.
_Geraniaceae_ 274
g. Ovaries with separate
styles. _Ranunculaceae_ 126
e. Stamens inserted on the
calyx.
f. Stamens twice as many as
the pistils. _Crassulaceae_ 192
f. Stamens not twice as many
as the pistils.
g. Stipules present. _Rosaceae_ 218
g. Stipules absent.
_Saxifragaceae_ 196
c. Ovary one, the styles and stigmas
one to several.
d. Ovary with one cell and one
placenta.
e. Corolla forming standard,
wings and keel; filaments
mostly united. _Fabaceae_ 242
e. Corolla not of standard, wings
and keel; filaments mostly
not united.
f. Stamens ten or five; fruit
smooth, slender. _Cassiaceae_ 264
f. Stamens three or four;
fruit spiny, globose.
_Krameriaceae_ 268
d. Ovary with one or more cells
and styles, and two or more
placentae and stigmas.
e. Ovary one-celled.
f. Corolla irregular; petals
and sepals five. _Violaceae_ 296
f. Corolla regular or nearly so.
g. Ovules attached at the
center or bottom of the
ovary. _Caryophyllaceae_ 112
g. Ovules attached on two
placentae.
h. Stamens equal; pod
on a stalk.
_Capparidaceae_ 186
h. Stamens unequal;
pod without a stalk.
_Cruciferae_ 174
e. Ovary more than one-celled.
f. Ovary three-celled; trees
with palmate leaves.
_Hippocastanaceae_ 280
f. Ovary more than three-celled.
g. Cells of ovary as many
as the sepals.
h. Anthers opening by
terminal pores; dwarf
evergreen shrubby
plants. _Pyrolaceae_ 354
h. Anthers opening by
longitudinal slits.
i. Ovules and seeds
one or two in each
cell.
j. Herbs with lobed
or cut leaves.
_Geraniaceae_ 274
j. Evergreen
shrubs with varnished
leaves.
_Zygophyllaceae_ 268
i. Ovules and seeds
several in each cell;
leaflets three.
_Oxalidaceae_ 272
g. Cells of ovary twice as
many as the sepals.
_Linaceae_ 270
=D. Ovary inferior or more or less so.=
a. Stamens more than ten in number.
b. Plant spiny; leaves absent or soon
deciduous. _Cactaceae_ 304
b. Plant not spiny; leaves persisting for
the season.
c. Leaves three-sided, fleshy. _Aizoaceae_ 108
c. Leaves neither three-sided nor
fleshy.
d. Herbs; leaves rough-hairy.
_Loasaceae_ 300
d. Shrubs or trees.
e. Leaves opposite; stipules
none. _Hydrangeaceae_ 206
e. Leaves alternate; stipules present.
_Pomaceae_ 214
a. Stamens ten or fewer in number.
b. Ovules and seeds more than one in
each cell.
c. Ovary one-celled; fruit a berry.
_Grossulariaceae_ 210
c. Ovary with two or more cells.
d. Stamens four or eight.
e. Shrubs; filaments two-forked
at the apex. _Hydrangeaceae_ 206
e. Herbs; filaments not two-forked
at the apex. _Onagraceae_ 312
d. Stamens five or ten; styles two or
three. _Saxifragaceae_ 196
b. Ovules and seeds only one in each cell.
c. Stamens mostly ten; ovary partly
inferior. _Hydrangeaceae_ 206
c. Stamens less than ten; ovary wholly
inferior.
d. Stamens five; fruit dry.
_Umbelliferae_ 332
d. Stamens four; fruit fleshy.
_Cornaceae_ 338
=C. Corolla with petals more or less united.=
=E. Ovary superior.=
a. Stamens more than five in number.
b. Ovary one-celled.
c. Placenta one.
d. Corolla very irregular; stamens
not protruding from the corolla.
_Fabaceae_ 242
d. Corolla nearly regular; stamens
protruding. _Mimosaceae_ 266
c. Placentae two; corolla irregular.
_Fumariaceae_ 168
b. Ovary two to several-celled.
c. Ovary two-celled; corolla irregular.
_Polygalaceae_ 278
c. Ovary three or more-celled; corolla
regular or nearly so.
d. Stamens not attached to the
corolla.
e. Style one; leaves simple.
_Ericaceae_ 340
e. Styles more than one.
f. Styles three; erect spiny
shrub. _Fouquieriaceae_ 294
f. Styles five; low herbs.
_Oxalidaceae_ 272
d. Stamens attached to the corolla,
plants without green foliage.
_Monotropaceae_ 356
a. Stamens five or fewer in number.
b. Corolla regular.
c. Stamens free from the corolla.
_Ericaceae_ 340
c. Stamens attached to the corolla.
d. Pistil one.
e. Stamens of the same number
as the corolla lobes and opposite
them. _Primulaceae_ 362
e. Stamens alternate with the
corolla lobes or fewer.
f. Ovary one- or two-celled.
g. Styles two or occasionally
one.
h. Capsule usually
many-seeded; sepals
united.
_Hydrophyllaceae_ 402
h. Capsule few-seeded;
sepals separate.
_Convolvulaceae_ 380
g. Styles one or none.
h. leaves opposite.
i. Trees with pinnate
leaves. _Oleaceae_ 366
i. Herbs with simple
smooth-edged
leaves.
_Gentianaceae_ 368
h. Leaves alternate.
i. Ovary one-celled;
leaves with three
leaflets.
_Menyanthaceae_ 380
i. Ovary two-celled;
leaves various.
_Solanaceae_ 458
f. Ovary three- or four-celled.
g. Style one; ovary three-celled.
_Polemoniaceae_ 384
g. Styles two; ovary four-celled.
_Boraginaceae_ 422
d. Pistils two.
e. Stamens and stigmas united;
flowers with hood-like appendages.
_Asclepiadaceae_ 374
e. Stamens and stigmas not
united; flowers without
hood-like appendages.
_Apocynaceae_ 378
b. Corolla more or less irregular.
c. Fruit a many-seeded capsule.
d. Ovary two-celled. _Scrophulariaceae_ 466
d. Ovary one-celled; plants without
green foliage. _Orobanchaceae_ 504
c. Fruit of two or four seed-like nutlets.
d. Ovary four-lobed; plants mostly
aromatic. _Labiatae_ 434
d. Ovary not lobed; plants rarely
aromatic. _Verbenaceae_ 434
=E. Ovary inferior.=
a. Stamens eight or ten; evergreen shrubs.
_Ericaceae_ 340
a. Stamens five or fewer in number.
b. Plants tendril-bearing. _Cucurbitaceae_ 518
b. Plants not tendril-bearing.
c. Stamens free, not united.
d. Leaves alternate; stamens free
from the corolla. _Campanulaceae_ 520
d. Leaves opposite or whorled; stamens
inserted on the corolla.
e. Stamens one to three.
_Valerianaceae_ 508
e. Stamens four to five.
f. Leaves opposite, never in
whorls nor with stipules.
_Caprifoliaceae_ 512
f. Leaves opposite and with
stipules, or in whorls and
without stipules. _Rubiaceae_ 506
c. Stamens united by their anthers.
d. Corollas all strap-shaped and perfect;
juice milky. _Cichoriaceae_ 570
d. Marginal corollas strap-shaped,
never perfect; disk corollas perfect;
juice not milky. _Compositae_ 522
FIELD BOOK OF WESTERN WILD FLOWERS
[Illustration]
WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY. _Alismaceae._
A rather small family, widely distributed, growing in fresh-water
swamps and streams. The leaves are all from the root, with long
sheathing leaf-stalks, and the flowers are regular and perfect, or with
only pistils or only stamens; the sepals three; the petals three; the
stamens six or more; the ovaries numerous, superior, developing into
dry, one-seeded nutlets.
There are a good many kinds of Sagittaria, with fibrous roots and milky
juice; the leaves are usually arrow-shaped; the lower flowers usually
pistillate and the upper ones usually staminate; the stamens are
numerous and the numerous ovaries are closely crowded and form roundish
heads. The name is from the Latin for "arrow," referring to the shape
of the leaves.
[Sidenote: =Arrowhead=
_Sagittària latifòlia_
=White
Summer
North America=]
An attractive and very decorative plant, with stout, smooth, hollow
flower-stems, from eight inches to four feet tall, with very handsome,
smooth, olive-green leaves and papery bracts. The flowers are about an
inch across, with delicately crumpled, white petals and yellow anthers,
forming a bright golden center, and the plants look very pretty
standing along the edges of ponds. The leaves are exceedingly variable
both in size and shape. This is found throughout North America. The
tubers are edible and hence the plant is often called Tule Potato, and
they are much eaten by the Chinese in California. The Indian name is
Wapato.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Arrowhead--Sagittaria latifolia.]
LILY FAMILY. _Liliaceae_.
A wonderfully beautiful family, large and widely distributed, mostly
perennial herbs, growing from bulbs or root-stocks, with perfect,
regular, symmetrical flowers and toothless leaves. The flower-cup
almost always has six divisions, the outer often called sepals and the
inner petals. The six stamens are opposite the divisions and sometimes
three of them are without anthers. The styles or stigmas are three and
the ovary is superior, developing into a three-celled capsule or berry,
containing few or many seeds.
There are several kinds of Anthericum, rather small, lily-like plants,
with grasslike leaves, springing from the base and surrounded by the
fibrous remnants of older leaves. The slender stems are leafless, or
have one, very small, dry leaf; the roots thick and fleshy-fibrous; the
flowers yellow, on pedicels jointed near the middle; the style long and
slender; the pod oblong, containing several flattened, angular seeds in
each cell. They are common in rocky soil, at altitudes of six thousand
to nine thousand feet, from western Texas to Arizona.
[Sidenote: =Amber Lily=
_Anthéricum Tórreyi_
=Yellow
Summer
Arizona=]
A beautiful little plant, with delicate flowers, unusual and pretty in
coloring. It grows from eight to fifteen inches tall and has a slender,
pale-green stem, springing from a clump of graceful, pale bluish-green,
grasslike leaves. The flowers are about three quarters of an inch long,
pale orange or corn-color, with a narrow stripe on each division; the
pistil green, with an orange stigma; the anthers yellow. The flowers
fade almost as soon as they bloom. This grows in open woods.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Amber Lily--Anthericum Torreyi.]
[Illustration]
There are several kinds of Zygadene, natives of North America and
Siberia. They mostly have coated bulbs, resembling onions, and white
or greenish flowers, in clusters, the leaves long, smooth, folded
lengthwise and springing mostly from the root. The flowers are perfect
or polygamous, the six divisions alike, with one or two, greenish,
glandular spots at the base of each; the styles three, distinct;
the fruit a three-lobed capsule, with several or many seeds in each
compartment. The name is from the Greek for "yoke" and "gland," because
some kinds have a couple of glands on each division of the flower.
[Sidenote: =Poison Sego=
_Zygadènus paniculàtus_
=Cream-white
Spring, summer
Utah, Nev., Idaho=]
A handsome, rather stout plant, about a foot tall, with bright
light-green, smooth, graceful leaves sheathing the stem, which has a
papery bract around its base. The flowers are in clusters varying in
shape, sometimes growing in a long, loose raceme and sometimes in a
closer, pointed cluster. The divisions of the rather small, cream-white
flowers have short claws, with a yellow gland and a stamen at the
base of each. The stamens are conspicuous, with swinging, yellow,
shield-shaped anthers, and are at first longer than the three styles,
which gradually lengthen and, together with the stamens, give a
delicate, feathery appearance to the whole flower cluster. This grows
on dry hillsides and in meadows. The bulb is very poisonous.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Poison Sego--Zygadenus paniculatus.]
[Sidenote: =Zygadene=
_Zygadènus élegans_
=White
Summer
U. S.=]
A handsome graceful plant, with one or more stiff stems, from six
inches to three feet tall, springing from a large clump of rather
stiff, bluish-green leaves, covered with a pale "bloom," and bearing
fine clusters of cream-white flowers, less than an inch across, their
divisions united below and adhering to the base of the ovary and each
with a sticky, bright-green, heart-shaped gland. This grows in moist
places in the mountains, across the continent.
[Sidenote: =Star Zygadene=
_Zygadènus Fremóntii_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]
Much like the last, but the foliage with less "bloom" and the flowers
handsomer and rather larger. Their divisions are free from the ovary,
only the inner divisions have claws, and the glands are greenish-yellow
and toothed. This grows among bushes, on hillsides and sea-cliffs along
the coast.
[Sidenote: =Death Camass=
_Zygadènus venenòsus_
=White
Spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
Not nearly so handsome as the two last, but a pretty plant, from one to
two feet tall, with dull-green leaves, folded lengthwise, with rough
edges. The cream-colored flowers are less than half an inch across,
striped with green on the outside, their divisions free from the ovary
and all with claws, with roundish, greenish-yellow glands, not toothed,
and with long stamens. This grows in meadows and the bulb is very
poisonous except to hogs, so it is often called Hog's Potato.
There are several kinds of Veratrum, natives of the north temperate
zone; tall, perennial herbs, with thick, short, poisonous rootstocks;
stems tall and leafy, more or less hairy; leaves broad, plaited, with
conspicuous veins; flowers more or less downy, polygamous, whitish or
greenish, in a cluster, their six, separate divisions colored alike,
adhering to the base of the ovary, without glands, or nearly so, and
without claws; stamens opposite the divisions, with heart-shaped
anthers; styles three; capsule three-lobed, with several flat,
broadly-winged seeds in each compartment. Veratrum is the ancient name
for Hellebore.
[Illustration: Zygadene--Z. elegans.
Death Camass--Zygadenus venenosus.]
[Sidenote: =False Hellebore=
_Veràtrum Califórnicum_
=Greenish-white
Spring
West=]
The leaves of this plant are its conspicuous feature. A few near
the top are long and narrow, but most of them are boat-shaped, with
heavy ribs, and from six to twelve inches long. They are bright
yellowish-green and, although somewhat coarse, the general effect is
distinctly handsome, as we see masses of them growing luxuriantly in
rich, moist meadows and marshes in the mountains. When they first come
up in the spring, the shoots are packed into green rosettes, in which
the leaves are intricately folded, but they soon grow to a height of
three to six feet. The flowers are beautiful, in fine contrast to
the coarse foliage. They measure about half an inch across and are
cream-white, streaked with green, and form a fine cluster about a foot
long. The flowers are far prettier and the plants handsomer than their
eastern relations and they flourish at an altitude of six to nine
thousand feet. The plants are supposed to be poisonous to cattle, but
in a recent bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the
State of Washington, it is reported as being a popular food with horses
and sheep, particularly the latter, which eat it greedily and without
ill effects.
There are several kinds of Hastingsia, perennials, with bulbs or
rootstocks; the stamens on the base of the perianth, with swinging
anthers; the ovary with a very short stalk and short style.
[Sidenote: =Reed-lily=
_Hastíngsia álba (Schoenolirion)_
=White
Summer
Oreg., Cal., Nev.=]
An attractive marsh plant, with a smooth, stiff, bluish stem, over
three feet tall, springing from a cluster of long, narrow, sword-like
leaves. The slightly sweet-scented flowers are white, about half an
inch across, forming a long, graceful, fuzzy wand of bloom, which has a
pretty silvery effect and looks interesting at a distance, but is not
very striking close by, as the flowers are too colorless. The seeds are
black and shiny.
[Illustration: False Hellebore--Veratrum Californicum.
Reed Lily--Hastingsia alba.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Amole Soap Plant=
_Chlorógalum pomeridiànum_
=Silvery-white
Summer
California=]
There are several kinds of Chlorogalum. This odd plant springs from
a big bulb, which is covered with coarse brown fiber and often shows
above the ground. The leaves are sometimes over two feet long, with
rippled margins, look like very coarse grass, and usually spread out
flat on the ground. The plants are conspicuous and look interesting
and we wonder what sort of flower is to come from them. Then some day
in late summer we find that a rather ugly, branching stalk, four or
five feet tall, has shot up from the center of the tuft of leaves.
The branches are covered with bluish-green buds, and we watch with
interest for the bloom, but we may easily miss it, for the flowers
are very short-lived and come out only for a little while in the
afternoons. In the lowlands the flowers are rather scattered and
straggling, but in Yosemite they are lovely, close by. Each flower
is an inch or more across and looks like an airy little lily, with
six spreading divisions, white, delicately veined with dull-blue, and
they are clustered along the branches, towards the top of the stalk,
and bloom in successive bunches, beginning at the bottom. When they
commence to bloom, the tips of the petals remain caught together until
the last minute, when suddenly they let go and spring apart and all
at once the dull stalk, like Aaron's rod, is adorned with several
delicate clusters of feathery silver flowers. The thread-like style is
slightly three-cleft at the tip and the capsule has one or two blackish
seeds in each cell. The bulbs form a lather in water and are used as
a substitute for soap by the Indians and Spanish-Californians, and as
food by the Pomo Indians, who cook them in great pits in the ground.
_Pomeridianum_ means "in the afternoon."
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Soap Plant--Chlorogalum pomeridianum.]
Wild Onions are easily recognized by their characteristic taste and
odor. They mostly have coated bulbs; their leaves are long and narrow,
from the base; the flower-stalk bears a roundish, bracted cluster of
rather small, white, pink, or magenta flowers, on slender pedicels,
their six divisions nearly alike and each with a stamen attached to its
base. The bracts enclose the buds, before blooming, in a case and the
capsule contains six, black, wrinkled seeds. There are numerous kinds,
very widely distributed, not easily distinguished, some resembling
Brodiaea, but the latter never smell of onion. _Allium_ is the Latin
for "garlic."
[Sidenote: =Pink Wild Onion=
_Állium acuminàtum_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
From four to ten inches high, with a few leaves. Before blooming, the
flower cluster is enveloped in two papery bracts, forming a beautiful
pink and white, iridescent case, the shape of a turnip, at the tip of
the stalk. Later these bracts split apart and disclose a cluster of
pretty flowers, usually very deep pink in color, the divisions each
with a darker line on the outside, the anthers pale-yellow. This is
very gay and attractive, often growing in patches on dry hillsides and
fields. The flowers last a long time in water, gradually becoming paler
in color and papery in texture. The bulb is marked with veins.
[Sidenote: =Wild Onion=
_Állium biscéptrum_
=Pink, white
Spring
Utah, Nev., Cal.=]
Six to ten inches tall, with two slightly thickish leaves, and usually
two slender flower stalks, each bearing a graceful cluster of starry,
white, pink or pinkish-purple flowers, each petal delicately striped
with pinkish-brown, the anthers pink, the ovary green, with three,
tiny, double crests. These flowers are exceedingly delicate and pretty,
growing among rocks in shady canyons. The bulb is usually red-coated.
The flower cluster of _Allium serràtum_ is much more compact than the
last and the pink flowers change to deep purplish-pink as they fade,
making a pretty, round, papery head, about an inch and a half across.
Common on low hills in California.
[Illustration: Wild Onion--Allium acuminatum.]
[Illustration: Wild Onions.
Allium bisceptrum.
Allium serratum.]
There are many kinds of Brodiaea, among the prettiest western flowers.
They have a small, solid bulb, coated with brownish fibers. The stem
bears a bracted, roundish head of flowers at the top, the pedicels
varying in length. Their leaves, all from the root, are grasslike and
soon wither and the flowers dry up, become papery, and remain on the
stalk, sometimes keeping form and color for some time. The stamens
are in two sets and are attached to the flower-tube, their filaments
often winged. Sometimes three of the stamens are without anthers and
their filaments are broadened, so that they look like small petals
alternating with the ordinary stamens.
[Sidenote: =Grass Nuts.
Blue Dicks.
Covena.=
_Brodiaèa capitàta_
=Blue, violet
Spring
California=]
All through the spring these lovely flowers grow abundantly all over
the hills and fields of California. The slender stalks vary from a few
inches to two feet tall. The flowers are usually purplish-blue, but
vary from deep-violet to white and are rather translucent in texture.
They measure over half an inch across and grow in a cluster of seven or
eight flowers, with several membranous, purplish bracts at the base.
There are six anthers. The three inner stamens are winged and form a
crown in the throat of the flower-tube. These Brodiaeas last a long
time in water and are great favorites everywhere. The little bulbs are
edible and give the name of Grass Nuts. There are several other names,
such as Cluster Lily and Hog-onion. The name Wild Hyacinth is poor,
as it does not resemble a hyacinth in character. _B. capitàta var.
pauciflòra_ of Arizona is similar, except that the bracts are white.
Covena is the Arizona name.
[Sidenote: =Ookow=
_Brodiaèa congésta_
=Blue, violet
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
Much like the last, except that only three of the stamens have anthers
and the stem is sometimes as much as five feet tall. This grows on open
hills in the Coast Ranges.
[Illustration: Covena--Brodiaea capitata var. pauciflora.]
[Illustration: Ookow--Brodiaea congesta.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Harvest Brodiaea=
_Brodiaèa grandiflòra (Hookera coronaria)_
=Blue
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
In early June, at the time of the hay harvest, these handsome flowers,
which look like clusters of little blue lilies, begin to appear among
the dried grass of the hillsides and in open places in the woods. They
vary in height from a few inches to over a foot and the number of
flowers in a cluster also varies very much. Sometimes there are as many
as ten of the beautiful blossoms, an inch or more long, with pedicels
unequal in length and from one to four inches long, in a large cluster
at the top of the stalk, with several, whitish, papery bracts at the
base of the cluster. The color of the flowers is usually a deep bright
blue shading to violet and the six divisions grow paler toward the
base and have a brown stripe on the outside; the buds are greenish,
striped with brown. The stamens are translucent white, three ordinary
stamens, with long erect anthers, alternating with three without
anthers, the latter tongue-shaped and petal-like. The leaves, which are
thickish and about the same length as the stalk, have withered away
before the flowers bloom. This plant very much resembles Ithuriel's
Spear, _Triteleia laxa_, but three of the stamens are without anthers
and the ovary is not on a long stalk. It is the commonest kind around
San Francisco. B. _minor_ is much the same, but a smaller plant with
fewer and smaller flowers. The three outer divisions are narrow, with
pointed tips, and the inner blunt and broad, and the sterile stamens
are notched and longer than the fertile ones. This grows on dry hills
and plains in middle and southern California.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Brodiaea minor.
Harvest Brodiaea--B. grandiflora.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Twining Brodiaea=
_Brodiaèa volùbilis._ (_Stropholirion Californicum_)
=Pink
Summer
California=]
This is a strange, rather grotesque-looking plant, with its slightly
roughish, leafless, reddish stem contorted into curious curves,
occasionally quite short but usually enormously long, sometimes as
much as eight feet, and twining awkwardly in a snake-like way around
and over the bushes in its neighborhood. There are sometimes a few
long narrow leaves lying on the ground, but when the flower blooms
they usually seem to have withered away. The flower-cluster is quite
compact, sometimes six inches across, comprising from eighteen to
twenty flowers, with several, large, pink, papery bracts. The flowers
are rather pretty, dull pink outside but paler inside, the buds are
deeper and more purplish pink, both of dry papery texture. The flowers
are over half an inch across, their tubes and buds are six-angled, and
they have three stamens with anthers and wings, alternating with three,
notched, petal-like stamens, without anthers. In the spring the stem
grows rapidly for several weeks and then the flower cluster begins to
come out at the tip. If the stem is broken off the flower comes out
just the same and the stem keeps on growing, even if it is brought into
the house. These curious plants are found in the foothills of the Coast
Ranges and the Sierra Nevada Mountains and may be seen in open sunny
places along the stage route from Yosemite to Wawona. In the woods
near Wawona I saw it twining around a very tall white larkspur and
the combination was exceedingly pretty. The capsule is egg-shaped and
pointed, the seeds black and angled.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Twining Brodiaea--Brodiaea volubilis.]
[Illustration]
There are four kinds of Bloomeria, all Californian, resembling
Brodiaea, but the stamens unlike. They have a fibrous-coated, solid
bulb, long narrow leaves, and a bracted cluster of many flowers, at
the top of a tall flower-stalk. The flowers are yellow, with six,
nearly equal, spreading divisions, the six stamens on the base of the
divisions, with slender filaments, which with a microscope are seen to
have a short, two-toothed, hairy appendage at base. These are united
and form a little cup surrounding the base of the stamens. The style is
club-shaped, with a three-lobed stigma. The roundish capsule, beaked
with the style, contains several, angular, wrinkled seeds in each cell.
[Sidenote: =Golden Stars=
_Bloomèria aùrea_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
California=]
In late spring the meadows around Pasadena and other places in the
Coast Range are bright with pretty clusters of Golden Stars. The plant
is from six to eighteen inches tall, springing from a small bulb,
covered with brown fibers, with a long, narrow, grasslike leaf, and a
large flower-cluster, sometimes comprising as many as fifty blossoms,
at the top of the stalk. The flowers, about an inch across, with
pedicels from one and a half to two inches long, are orange-yellow,
the spreading divisions each striped with two dark lines, and the
anthers are bright green. This looks very much like Golden Brodiaea,
but the latter has no cup at the base of the stamens. It grows in the
southern part of California and is abundant wherever it is found. _B.
Clevelandi_ is much the same, but the flowers are striped with green
and the numerous buds are green, so that it is less golden and the
general effect is not so good. It has numerous narrow leaves.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Golden Stars--Bloomeria aurea.]
Triteleias resemble Brodiaeas, but they have six, swinging anthers and
the ovary has a stalk.
[Sidenote: =Indian Hyacinth=
_Triteleìa grandiflòra (Brodiaea Douglasii)_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Northwest and Utah=]
Though the general appearance of the plant is very different, the
individual flowers of this beautiful plant very much resemble the bells
of a Hyacinth, for they have the same waxy, semi-translucent texture.
The bluish-green leaves, folded lengthwise and withering before the
flower, are sometimes a foot long and the flower-stalk often reaches a
height of two feet and bends beneath the weight of its lovely crown of
blossoms. The cluster has four papery bracts at the base and is from
three to four inches across, comprising about a dozen flowers, each
nearly an inch long. They are pale-violet, with a bright-blue mid-vein
on each division, the general effect being blue, with a white pistil
and six stamens in two rows, all with blue anthers and the outer ones
with broad, white filaments. It is wonderful to find these lovely and
exotic-looking flowers, delicately scented, gleaming in the shadow of
a dusky oak thicket or a deep canyon. They last a long time in water,
becoming papery as they wither.
[Sidenote: =White Brodiaea=
_Triteleìa hyacinthìna (Brodiaea lactea)_
=White
Spring
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
From one to two feet high, with very pretty flowers, about half an inch
long, delicately striped with green on the outside, with six equal
stamens, their filaments broad, triangular and slightly united at
base, with yellow or purple anthers, and a green pistil. The leaf is
grasslike, but thickish, and as long as the flower-stalk. These flowers
are quite common and last a long time in water.
[Sidenote: =Ithuriel's Spear=
_Triteleìa láxa (Brodiaea)_
=Blue, purple
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
Very much like Harvest Brodiaea but rather taller, with more flowers in
the cluster, and less waxy in texture, varying in color from blue to
violet and occasionally white. This is common on hillsides and in adobe
fields. The rather fanciful name was suggested by the spear carried by
Milton's angel Ithuriel.
[Illustration: Indian Hyacinth--Triteleia grandiflora.]
[Illustration: White Brodiaea--Triteleia hyacinthina.
Ithuriel's Spear--Triteleia laxa.]
There are one or two kinds of Brevoortia.
[Sidenote: =Fire-cracker Flower=
_Brevoòrtia Ida-Màia (Brodiaea coccinea)_
=Red and green
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A handsome plant, most extraordinary both in form and color. The stem
is from one to three feet tall, with a few grasslike leaves, and bears
a large cluster of six to thirteen flowers, one or two inches long,
hanging on slender, reddish pedicels. They have bright-crimson tubes
and apple-green lobes, sometimes turned back, showing the tips of the
three pale-yellow anthers. There are also three stamens without anthers
and broadened so that they look like three white or yellowish petals.
The buds are also crimson, tipped with green, and the whole color
scheme is wonderfully brilliant and striking. This grows in mountain
canyons and on wooded hillsides, blooming in late spring.
* * * * *
There are several kinds of Muilla, much like Brodiaea and very much
like Allium, but with no onion taste or smell.
[Sidenote: =Muilla=
_Muílla marítima_
=White
Spring
Cal., Nev.=]
A slender little plant, sometimes rather pretty, from three to nine
inches tall, with sweet-scented flowers, about three-eighths of an inch
or less across, white or greenish, striped with green outside, with
six, bluish, swinging anthers. This grows in alkaline fields, on sea
cliffs and mesas.
* * * * *
There are a good many kinds of Erythronium, all but one from North
America, and, East and West, they are among our prettiest flowers. They
have deep, membranous-coated, solid bulbs; a pair of netted-veined,
unequal leaves, sometimes mottled with brown; flowers without bracts,
large, nodding and bell-shaped, with usually six divisions, all
colored alike, the tips turning back, each with a nectar-groove, and
each with two or four little scales at base, or only the three inner
divisions with scales; stamens on the receptacle, anthers not swinging;
style more or less three-lobed; capsule more or less oblong and
three-angled. The younger plants are often flowerless, with only one
broad leaf, with a long leaf-stalk. The name is from a Greek word
meaning "red," though these flowers are mostly yellow. The common name,
Dog-tooth Violet, is old, and suggested by the little, white, toothlike
offshoot often found on the bulb, but of course they are not in the
least like Violets. In California they are often called Chamise Lily,
and sometimes Adam and Eve, because the plant often bears a large and a
small flower at the same time. Mr. Burroughs would like to call it Fawn
Lily, on account of the mottled leaves of some kinds, which slightly
suggest the ears of a fawn. Adder's-tongue, probably suggested by the
long forked pistil, is also an old and usual name.
[Illustration: Muilla maritima.
Fire-cracker Flower--Brevoortia Ida-Maia.]
[Sidenote: =Avalanche Lily
Dog-tooth Violet=
_Erythrònium montànum_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
An exquisite kind, peculiarly graceful in form, with from one to nine,
pure-white flowers, nearly three inches across, each petal prettily
ornamented at the base with some orange-colored markings, arranged in
a symmetrical scalloped pattern. The anthers are orange-yellow, the
pistil white, the buds are pinkish and the leaves are very bright green
and not mottled. This is very common around Mt. Rainier.
[Sidenote: =Glacier Lily
Dog-tooth Violet=
_Erythrònium parviflòrum_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest=]
A lovely flower, much like _E. grandiflorum_, but the anthers are white
or pale yellow. Around Mt. Rainier these beautiful plants often grow in
large patches at the edge of the snow, alongside of the Avalanche Lily,
_E. montanum_, but the two kinds do not seem to mingle.
[Sidenote: =Easter Bells
Dog-tooth Violet=
_Erythrònium grandiflòrum_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Northwest and Utah=]
One of the loveliest of a charming group, growing in rich northern
woods. The delicately-scented flowers, from one to six on a stalk, are
about two inches across, clear yellow shading to white at the base,
with purplish-red anthers, turning brown. A patch of these flowers
bordering the edge of a glacier, as if planted in a garden-bed,
is a sight never to be forgotten. Pushing their bright leaves right
through the snow they gayly swing their golden censers in the face
of winter and seem the very incarnation of spring. There are several
similar kinds. In the Utah canyons these flowers in early spring are a
wonderful sight, covering the wooded slopes with sheets of gold, and
they seem to me to be the largest and handsomest of their clan, growing
at an altitude of six thousand to eleven thousand five hundred feet,
and blooming from March to July according to height. Easter Bells is a
Utah name.
[Illustration: Dogtooth Viole--Erythronium grandiflorum.]
[Illustration: Avalanche Lily--Erythronium montanum.
Glacier Lily--E. parviflorum.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Desert Lily=
_Hesperocállis undulàta_
=White
Spring
Cal., Ariz.=]
This is the only one of its kind, a wonderfully beautiful desert
plant, much like an Easter Lily. The stout, pale, bluish stem, from
six inches to two feet tall, has a delicate "bloom" and springs from a
graceful cluster of narrow leaves, which are a foot and a half long,
spreading widely, but not lying quite flat on the ground. They are
pale bluish-green, with a narrow, crinkled, white border and folded
lengthwise. The buds are bluish and the lovely flowers are about three
inches long and pure-white, delicately striped with pale-green and
blue on the outside, with yellow anthers and a white stigma, and with
a papery bract at the base of each pedicel. The flowers are slightly
fragrant and become papery and curiously transparent as they wither.
In dry seasons these plants do not bloom at all, but the slightest
moisture will cause them to send up a stout stem and crown it with
exquisite blossoms, which look extraordinarily out of place on the
arid desert sand around Yuma and Ft. Mohave. The bulb is eaten by the
Indians.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Desert Lily--Hesperocallis undulata.]
[Illustration]
Lilies, the "lords of gardens," are perhaps the most beautiful
and popular flowers everywhere and there are some wonderful ones
in the West. They have tall, smooth, leafy stems, springing from
scaly bulbs; large showy flowers, solitary or in terminal clusters;
smooth, netted-veined leaves, often in whorls, and leaflike bracts.
The flower-cup is funnel-formed, or bell-shaped, and has six, equal,
spreading divisions, with a honey-bearing groove at the base of
each; the stamens, with long anthers, swinging from the tips of long
filaments; a long pistil, with a three-lobed stigma and the capsule
oblong, with two rows of flat seeds in each of its cells. There are no
true Lilies in Utah.
[Sidenote: =Small Tiger Lily=
_Lílium párvum_
=Orange-red
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
These tall plants carry a brilliant crown of small lilies, glowing like
jewels in the dark moist woods they love. The stem is from one and a
half to six feet high, covered with a slight down that rubs off, and
springs from a small bulb with short, thick scales. The long, pointed,
rich-green leaves are in whorls of five or six below, more scattered
towards the top of the stalk. The flowers are rather more than an inch
long, yellow at the base of the petals, shading through orange to
vermilion at the tips and dotted with crimson in the throat. Usually
there are six or seven in a cluster, but they have been found with many
more in favorable situations and single plants in Yosemite have been
seen with as many as thirty blossoms. The capsule is roundish and less
than an inch long. These little Lilies are among the most attractive of
their kind and grow somewhat freely in the high Sierras to an altitude
of seven thousand feet and as far north as Oregon.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Small Tiger Lily--Lilium parvum.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Washington Lily
Shasta Lily=
_Lílium Washingtoniànum_
=White
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
In the Sierras, at an altitude of from three to over seven thousand
feet, and as far north as the Columbia River, we may be fortunate
enough to find this glorious Lily, growing in the forest in moderate
shade and protected by the chaparral. It is not rare but nowhere
very abundant. I shall never forget finding a group of three or
four, growing near a huge fallen tree, in the woods at Wawona near
Yosemite, where it is very fine. Their raiment is even more "white
and glistering" than the cultivated Easter Lilies. The smooth, stout,
purplish stem is from two to five feet high, adorned all the way up
with successive whorls of handsome dark-green leaves, three or four
inches long, thin in texture, with rippling margins, and shining as
if they had been varnished. There are from two to twenty blossoms of
shining white, each one from three to four inches long and as much
across. The petals are cleft to the base, spreading wide apart when the
flower is fully open, sometimes finely dotted with purple, and becoming
purplish in fading. The anthers are yellow and the pistil green, and
the bulb is large, with thin scales. The scent is delicious, having a
whiff of spicy carnation added to the usual lily fragrance. This is
never found in the Coast Range and is the only pure white American
Lily. Shasta Lily is a variety with a small bulb. _L. Párryi_, the
Lemon Lily, of southern California and Arizona, is similar in the form
of its flowers, which are large and clear yellow, dotted lightly with
deeper yellow. It grows in shady, moist spots in cool canyons and is
very beautiful.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Washington Lily--Lilium Washingtonianum.]
[Sidenote: =Leopard Lily=
_Lílium pardalìnum_
=Orange
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
A magnificent plant, from three to six feet tall, with bright-green
leaves, thin in texture, smooth but not shiny, and mostly in whorls.
The stem is crowned by a splendid cluster of flowers, usually about
half a dozen together, but sometimes as many as thirty on one stalk.
They measure three or four inches across and are pale-orange outside
and deep-orange inside, spotted with maroon, often blotched with
orange-yellow in the throat and tipped with scarlet. The anthers are
purplish, changing to reddish-brown, and the pistil is bright-green.
These plants often grow in large companies, in moist spots in the
mountains, and are unrivaled in decorative beauty and brilliancy of
coloring.
[Sidenote: =Tiger Lily=
_Lílium Columbiànum_
=Orange
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]
A good deal like the last, but not so large. The petals are more turned
back and they are orange-color all over, dotted with dark-red, and the
anthers are pale orange-color, ripening to golden-brown. This is common
in the Hood River Valley.
[Sidenote: =Ruby Lily
Chaparral Lily=
_Lílium rubéscens_
=White, pink
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A glorious plant, from two to five feet tall, with leaves mostly in
whorls, with rippled edges. The stem bears a magnificent cluster of
blossoms, most wonderful in coloring, for the buds and young flowers
are white, dotted with purple inside, with yellow anthers and a
pale-green pistil, but they gradually change to pink, and deepen to
ruby-purple as they fade, and the anthers and pistil also darken in
color. The effect of the whole cluster is therefore white at the top,
shading through pink to almost crimson below. The flowers are even more
deliciously fragrant than the Washington Lily, which they resemble,
except that they are not quite so large as the latter and stand more
erect and the petals are not so spreading. This usually grows among
chaparral in the Coast Ranges.
[Illustration: Tiger Lily--Lilium Columbianum.
Leopard Lily--Lilium pardalinum.]
There are many kinds of Fritillaria, natives of the north temperate
zone. In the East there are only cultivated ones, such as the familiar
Crown Imperial, but we have a number growing wild in the West. They
have bulbs with round, thick scales, developing into bulblets and
sometimes resembling grains of rice. The flowers are bell-shaped,
and nodding, with separate and nearly equal divisions, each with
a nectar-spot at its base. They resemble Lilies, but the style is
three-cleft, the honey-gland is a shallow pit and the flowers are
smaller. The capsule is roundish and six-angled, containing numerous
flat seeds. It is conspicuous and perhaps suggested the Latin name,
meaning "dice-box."
[Sidenote: =Bronze Bells
Brown Fritillary=
_Fritillària atropurpùrea_
=Brown
Spring, summer
West=]
This plant is beautiful and decorative, and yet there is something
weird about it. The flowers, an inch or more across, grow four or
five in a cluster, on a smooth stalk about a foot tall, the long,
narrow leaves scattered or in whorls. The bells, nodding on slender
flower-stalks, are very unusual in coloring. They are greenish-yellow,
streaked and spotted with maroon, and the long curling tips of the
three-pronged pistil project like the forked tongue of an adder, so
that somehow we feel that, in a previous existence, beautiful as it
is now, it may have been a toad or some reptile. When we found this
flower growing in the Grand Canyon, halfway down Bright Angel trail,
it seemed entirely suitable to the mysterious spirit of the place. The
general effect is bronze-color and the attractive name of Bronze Bells,
or Mission Bells, is very appropriate. It has a small bulb of numerous,
roundish scales. The pistils are often rudimentary.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Fritillary=
_Fritillària pùdica_
=Yellow
Spring
West, except Ariz.=]
A pretty little flower, a favorite with children, growing on grassy
plains, with a smooth stem about six inches tall, and smooth, somewhat
thickish, alternate or whorled leaves. The nodding flowers, about an
inch long, are usually single, but sometimes as many as six on a stalk,
various shades of yellow and orange, tinged with crimson and fading
to dull-red. The smooth bulb is pure white, and made up of a number
of rounded, thickish scales not resembling grains of rice, so the
name Rice Root is not appropriate and the local Utah names, Crocus,
Snowdrop, and Buttercup are absurd.
[Illustration: Bronze Bells--Fritillaria atropurpurea.]
[Illustration: Yellow Fritillary--Fritillaria pudica.]
There are several kinds of Yucca, natives of North and Central America;
large plants, with dagger-like leaves, usually with long, thread-like
fibers along the margins; flowers with bracts, nodding in a terminal
cluster, somewhat bell-shaped, with six, thickish, white divisions;
stamens short, with thickened filaments and small anthers; ovary with
three united stigmas; capsule containing many, flat, black seeds. The
flowers are pollinated by a little white moth, which lays its eggs in
the ovary, but previously gathers pollen from many flowers and pushes
it against the stigma after the eggs have been laid.
[Sidenote: =Our Lord's Candle
Spanish Bayonet=
_Yúcca Whípplei_
=White
Spring, summer
Cal., Ariz.=]
A noble plant, with no trunk, but sending up a magnificent shaft
of flowers, from five to fifteen feet tall, springing from a huge,
symmetrical bunch of dagger-like, bluish-green leaves. The cluster is
composed of hundreds of waxy, cream-colored blossoms, sometimes tinged
with purple, two inches across, crowded so closely together along the
upper part of the stalk that the effect is a great, solid mass of
bloom, three feet long. The white filaments are swollen, tipped with
pale-yellow anthers; the pistil cream-color, with green stigmas. The
large, white bracts are stiff and coarse, something like parchment,
folded back so that the pinkish stalk is ornamented with a series
of white triangles, symmetrically arranged. A hillside covered with
hundreds of these magnificent spires of bloom, towering above the
chaparral, is a wonderful sight. After they have blossomed, the tall,
white stalks remain standing for some time, so that the hills look as
if they had been planted with numbers of white wands.
The genus Cleistoyucca resembles Yucca, but the divisions of the flower
are very thick and there is no style.
[Sidenote: =Joshua Tree
Tree Yucca=
_Cleistoyúcca arboréscens (Yucca)_
=Greenish-white
Spring, summer
Cal., Ariz., Utah=]
A tree, grotesque and forbidding in aspect, but with a weird sort of
beauty, looming black against the pale desert landscape, with a great,
thick, rough trunk, fifteen to thirty feet high, and a few thick,
contorted branches, stretching out like a giant's arms and pointing
ominously across the sandy waste. The branches are thatched with
the shaggy husks of dead leaves and from their tips they thrust out
a great bunch of dagger-like leaves and a big, ponderous cluster of
pallid, greenish flowers or heavy, yellowish fruits. The coarse flowers
are about two inches across, with a clammy smell like toadstools, and
the bracts are dead white. This grows in the Mohave Desert and is at
its best around Hesperia, where one may see the most fantastic forest
that it is possible to imagine. Elsewhere it is smaller and more
like other Yuccas in shape. It was called Joshua Tree by the early
settlers, it is said because they fancied that its branches pointed
towards the Promised Land. The fruits are relished by the Indians, who
utilize the fibers from the leaves for weaving baskets, ropes, hats,
horse-blankets, etc., and make a pulp from the stems, used for soap.
[Illustration: Our Lord's Candle--Yucca Whipplei.
[very small part of cluster]]
[Illustration]
* * * * *
There are several kinds of Trillium, of North America and Asia; with
tuberous root-stocks; three, netted-veined leaves, in a whorl at the
top of the stem; a single flower with three, green sepals, three
petals, six, short stamens, and three styles; capsule berry-like and
reddish, containing many seeds. The Latin name means "triple."
[Sidenote: =Wake-robin
Birthroot=
_Tríllium ovàtum_
=White
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
A charming plant, about a foot tall, with a single beautiful blossom,
set off to perfection by its large, rich green leaves. The flower is
two or three inches across, with lovely white petals, which gradually
change to deep pink. It is a pleasure to find a company of these
attractive plants in the heart of the forest, where their pure blossoms
gleam in the cool shade along some mountain brook. They resemble the
eastern Large-flowered Trillium and grow in the Coast Ranges.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Wake-robin--Trillium ovatum.]
There are three kinds of Xerophyllum.
[Sidenote: =Squaw-grass
Bear Grass=
_Xerophýllum tènax_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
This is a magnificent plant, from two to six feet high, with a very
stout, leafy stem, springing from a very large tuft of wiry, grass-like
leaves, which spread out gracefully like a fountain. They are from one
to two and a half feet long, dark-green on the upper side and pale-gray
on the under, with rough edges. The imposing flower cluster is borne
at the top of the stalk and is about a foot long, broad at the base
and tapering to a blunt point, and composed of hundreds of fragrant,
cream-white flowers, each about half an inch across, with slender,
white pedicels, and so closely crowded together that the effect is
very solid, yet made feathery by the long stamens. It is a fine sight
to come across a company of these noble plants in a mountain meadow,
rearing their great shafts of bloom far above their neighbors. They are
very handsome around Mt. Rainier. They are said to blossom only once in
five or seven years and then to die. The leaves are used by Indians in
making their finest baskets. Unfortunately the size of this book does
not admit of an illustration.
* * * * *
There are two kinds of Maianthemum, an eastern one and the following,
which also grows in Europe and Asia.
[Sidenote: =Wild Lily-of-the-valley=
_Maiánthemum bifòlium_
=White
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
This is a very attractive, woodland plant, from four to fourteen inches
tall, with handsome, glossy, rich green leaves, and a rather stout
stem, bearing a pretty cluster, two or three inches long, of many,
small, waxy-white flowers, with four divisions. They have four stamens,
with thread-like filaments and small, yellowish anthers, the stigma
has two lobes and the berry is red. This grows in rich soil in the
mountains and is much handsomer than its eastern relation and strongly
sweet-scented. The Latin name means "blooming in May."
[Illustration: Wild Lily-of-the-valley--Maianthemum bifolium.]
There are several kinds of Streptopus, much like Disporum, but the
pedicels of the flowers are twisted or bent.
[Sidenote: =White Twisted Stalk=
_Stréptopus amplexifòlius_
=Whitish
Spring, summer
U. S. except Southwest=]
This is a fine plant, two or three feet tall, with a smooth, branching,
bending stem and handsome leaves, thin in texture, with strongly
marked veins and pale with whitish "bloom" on the under side. The
greenish-white flowers are about half an inch long and hang on very
slender, crooked pedicels, from under the leaves, and the oval berries
are red and contain many seeds. This grows in moist soil, in cold
mountain woods, up to an altitude of ten thousand feet and across the
continent. The Greek name means "twisted stalk."
[Sidenote: =Pink Twisted Stalk=
_Stréptopus ròseus_
=Pink
Spring, summer
U. S. except Southwest=]
A smaller plant, from one to two and a half feet tall, with a slightly
hairy stem, ornamented with pretty leaves, green on both sides and
hairy along the edges, and hung with pretty, little, dull purplish-pink
flowers, more or less streaked with deeper color and less than half an
inch long. This grows in the same sort of places as the last and is
also found across the continent.
* * * * *
There are two kinds of Stenanthella; smooth herbs, with bulbs and small
nodding flowers, in bracted clusters, the divisions of the perianth
separate, without glands or distinct claws; the short stamens inserted
at the base of the divisions; the styles three; the capsule with three
beaks and containing oblong, winged seeds.
[Sidenote: =Stenanthella=
_Stenanthélla occidentàlis_
=Brownish
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
This is a graceful plant, from ten to twenty inches tall, with long,
rather narrow leaves and a slender stem, terminating in a long spray of
about ten, rather pretty, little brownish-green or purplish flowers,
each less than half an inch long. This grows in shady places.
[Illustration: White Twisted Stalk--Streptopus amplexifolius.
Pink Twisted Stalk--Streptopus roseus.
Stenanthella occidentalis.]
There are several kinds of Camassia, one eastern; herbs with onion-like
bulbs, long, narrow leaves and thin, dry bracts. The flowers are blue
of various shades, with six, separate, somewhat spreading divisions,
each with a stamen on its base, the anthers swinging, the style
threadlike, with a three-cleft tip; the capsule three-lobed, with
several seeds in each compartment. Varieties of Camassia have long been
cultivated in European gardens. The name is derived from Quamash, the
Indian name for these plants.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =Camass, Quamash=
_Camássia quámash_
=Blue
Summer
Northwest and Utah=]
Looking across the vivid green of wet meadows and marshes, the deep
blue patches of this flower are often conspicuous and beautiful. They
grow from one to over two feet high, taller than the grasslike leaves,
forming a loose cluster, with papery bracts. The flowers are from an
inch and a half to over two inches across, the six divisions spreading
out into a star. The buds are tinged with turquoise-blue and striped
with purple, giving a fine iridescent effect, and the flowers, which
fade very quickly, are often exceedingly handsome, varying in color
from dark-blue to white, but usually deep, bright purplish-blue, with
a green ovary, a long purple style and yellow anthers, with purple
filaments. They are larger and handsomer in northern California than in
Yosemite. Grizzly bears are fond of the bulbs and the Indians of the
Northwest prized them as a delicacy, indeed the Nez Percé war in Idaho
was caused by encroachments on a territory where they were abundant.
They were cooked elaborately in pits, care being taken to avoid the
poisonous bulbs of the Death Camass, which resemble them. The Indians
also boil the bulbs in water and make good molasses from them, which
they use on festive occasions. This is sometimes called Wild Hyacinth,
but the name is poor, as it does not resemble a hyacinth in character.
[Illustration: Camass--Camassia quamash.]
There are six kinds of Clintonia, of North America and Asia; with
creeping rootstocks and a few, broad root-leaves; flowers without
bracts, their divisions separate, equal or nearly so, each with a
stamen at its base; style with two or three, inconspicuous lobes; fruit
a berry. These plants were named in honor of De Witt Clinton, Governor
of New York, a naturalist, interested in botany, so Thoreau need not
have been so annoyed at their having been given this name.
[Sidenote: =Red Clintonia=
_Clintònia Andrewsiàna_
=Red, pink
Spring, summer
Oreg., Cal.=]
A magnificent plant, one or two feet high, with five or six,
exceedingly handsome, glossy, rich green leaves, very conspicuous and
sometimes a foot long, and a tall, slightly downy flower-stalk, usually
with a few flowers scattered along it, and crowned with a large,
roundish cluster of beautiful flowers. They are about three-quarters of
an inch long, very rich in color, a deep shade of warm reddish-pink, or
crimson, not common in flowers. The form of the cluster varies a good
deal; sometimes the flowers are not mostly at the top, but clustered
quite thickly along all the upper part of the stalk. The large,
deep-blue berries are very handsome and, altogether, this is one of
our most conspicuous and attractive woodland plants, especially when
growing in the deep shade of redwood forests.
[Sidenote: =Queen-cup White Clintonia=
_Clintònia uniflòra_
=White
Spring
Northwest=]
In rich moist soil, in shady woods, we find this lovely flower,
with a white chalice and heart of pale gold, surrounded by two
or three, beautiful, large, glossy leaves, resembling those of
Lily-of-the-valley, and fairly carpeting the ground in favorable
situations. The slender flower-stalk is hairy, six to ten inches
tall, and usually bears a single flower, an inch or more across, with
pure-white petals that soon drop off. The fruit is a handsome blue
berry.
[Illustration: C. uniflora.
Red Clintonia--C. Andrewsiana.]
There are a good many kinds of Vagnera, natives of America and Asia,
with a single stem, scaly below and leafy above; the leaves alternate,
with short leaf-stalks or none; the flowers small, the divisions equal
and spreading, white or greenish, in a cluster; the berry round,
usually with one or two seeds.
[Sidenote: =False Solomon's Seal.
Wild Spikenard=
_Vágnera amplexicàulis (Smilacina)_
=White
Spring
West=]
It is a pity that all flowers cannot have really individual names.
"False" is especially unattractive and "Solomon's Seal" is confusing,
as the flowers are not alike, but this is the old name used all over
the world, so it will have to stand, though unworthy of this pleasing
plant. It is from one to three feet high, with large, light-green
leaves, usually slightly downy on the under side. The flower-cluster
is sweet-scented and composed of numerous, very small, cream-white
flowers, the conspicuous parts of which are the stamens, white and
larger than the petals, giving a feathery appearance to the whole
cluster. The fruit is a light-red berry, very finely sprinkled with
dark-red dots. This fine tall plant is very decorative and is common in
rich moist woods. The name was given in honor of Wagner.
[Sidenote: =Star-flowered Solomon's Seal=
_Vágnera sessilifòlia (Smilacina)_
=White
Spring
West=]
A gracefully bending plant, from one to two feet high, springing from a
slender root-stock. The bright light-green leaves, without leaf-stalks
and clasping at base, have a slight "bloom" like some lily leaves and
are handsome and conspicuous, but not at all coarse, and are usually
very smooth, but sometimes minutely downy. The small, delicate,
cream-white flowers, on a very slender, angled flower-stalk, grow in a
loose cluster and the berries are reddish-purple or nearly black. This
charming plant sometimes forms large patches in moist, rich soil in
shady places and its pretty foliage is often very noticeable beside the
railroad tracks in Utah.
[Illustration: Star-flowered Solomon's Seal--V. sessilifolia.
False Solomon's Seal--Vagnera amplexicaulis.]
[Illustration]
Fairy Bells are graceful plants, growing in rich, moist, mountain
woods, with smoothish, or slightly hairy, branching stems, leafy above
and with scaly bracts below, springing from slender root-stocks; leaves
netted-veined, alternate, without leaf-stalks, smooth and thin in
texture and often clasping the stem; rather small, bell-shaped flowers,
hanging from under the leaves, with six stamens and a slender style,
with one or three stigmas; the fruit a yellow or red berry. _Disporum_
is from the Greek meaning "double-seed," as in some kinds there are two
seeds in each cell of the ovary.
[Sidenote: =Fairy Bells
Drops of Gold=
_Dísporum trachycàrpum (Prosartes)_
=Yellowish-white
Spring, summer
West=]
A very attractive mountain plant, growing near streams. It is from
nine to twenty-four inches tall, with an angled stem, pale green above
and reddish below. The delicate flowers, about half an inch long,
with a three-lobed green stigma and yellow anthers, grow singly or in
clusters of two or three, nodding shyly under the pretty leaves, which
are dull above and very shiny on the under side, with oddly crumpled
edges and set obliquely on the stem. The berry when unripe is orange
color and suggested the name Drops of Gold, but becomes bright red
when it matures in June. _D. Hookeri_ is similar, but the style is not
three-lobed and the leaves are slightly rough to the touch and are not
so thin or crumpled. They spread out so flat that they make a green
roof over the flowers, completely screening them from the passer-by.
This grows in shady woods, but not near streams.
[Illustration: Fairy Bells--Disporum trachycarpum.
Drops of Gold--Disporum Hookeri.]
Perhaps the most characteristic western flowers are the members of
the genus Calochortus. They grow freely all through the West, as far
north as British America, and down into Mexico, but they never get
east of Nebraska, so these gay and graceful flowers may be considered
the peculiar property of the West. Calochortus means "beautiful grass"
and the leaves are usually grasslike, the stems slender and the
flowers bright in color, decorative and interesting in form. They have
three sepals, often greenish, and three large, colored petals, with
a honey-gland, usually covered with hairs, at the base of each. They
are allied to true Tulips, so the popular name is suitable, and they
fall into three groups: Globe Tulips, with nodding, globular flowers,
and nodding capsules; Star Tulips, with erect, star-like flowers and
nodding capsules; and Mariposa Tulips, with large, somewhat cup-shaped
flowers and erect capsules. Mariposa means "butterfly" in Spanish
and is appropriate, for the brilliant hairy spots on the petals are
wonderfully like the markings of a butterfly's wing and the airy
blossoms seem to have but just alighted on the tips of their slender
stalks. They usually grow on dry open hillsides and their leaves
have often withered away before the flowers bloom. The various forms
run into each other, so that it is impossible to determine all the
different species. They have solid bulbs, some of which are edible,
considered a delicacy by the Indians and called Noonas.
[Sidenote: =Golden Lily Bell
Yellow Globe Tulip=
_Calochórtus amàbilis_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A charming plant, with pale bluish-green foliage, with a beautiful
"bloom," which sets off the clear-yellow blossoms to perfection. There
are from two to twenty flowers on each stem and the petals are smooth,
except for a neat, stiff fringe of hairs along the margins and the
matted hairs on the glands, which are often reddish. These lovely
flowers, common in northern California, are peculiarly fresh in color
and when growing among the grass in the shade of oak trees they have
the springlike charm of Daffodils in English woods.
[Illustration: Yellow Globe Tulip--Calochortus amabilis.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Satin-bell.
White Globe Tulip=
_Calochórtus álbus_
=White
Spring
California=]
Beautiful and popular flowers, with a great deal of individuality and
quite Japanese in the decorative arrangement of the graceful stems and
glossy, rich green foliage. The narrow root-leaf is over a foot long
and spreads on the ground and other smaller leaves are disposed along
the bending stem, which is from one to two feet tall and hung with
pretty light-green buds and beautiful drooping blossoms, over an inch
long, pearly white, sometimes tinged with lilac, with a satiny sheen
and delicate yet crisp in texture. The papery sepals are greenish-white
and the petals are sometimes tinged with purple at the base and are
prettily fringed with hairs along the edges and often cross their tips
in a very engaging way. They are covered inside with long, silky, white
or yellow hairs and the glands are crescent-shaped, with close, short,
sticky, white or yellow hairs, and form pale-green humps on the outside
of the petals; the anthers are cream-color and the pistil whitish. The
capsule is one or two inches long, with a short beak and brown seeds.
These plants grow on shady banks in the Coast Ranges and have several
pretty common names, such as Lantern of the Fairies and Alabaster
Tulip, as well as the misleading name Hairbell, which causes this
flower to be confused with the Harebell or Campanula.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Satin Bell--Calochortus albus.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =White Star Tulip=
_Calochórtus nùdus_
=White
Summer
California=]
This is a delicate and charming little flower, growing best in meadowy
places in the woods of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at moderate
altitudes, sometimes to a height of over seven thousand feet. The
single, ribbonlike leaf is much taller than the flower-stalk, which
is only a few inches high and bears several pretty flowers, measuring
over an inch across, with pale-green sepals and three pure-white
or pale-lilac, fan-shaped petals, with a little notch in the edge,
almost without hairs and marked with a lilac crescent at the base; the
honey-gland is divided crosswise by a toothed scale and the anthers are
light blue. The nodding capsule is pointed at both ends.
[Sidenote: =White Pussy's Ears=
_Calochórtus Maweànus_
=White, gray
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A charming little plant, with lovely little flowers, about an inch
across, with white or pale-lilac sepals and white petals, hairy all
over inside, often lilac at the base, the crescent-shaped gland covered
with violet hairs and the anthers and pistil lilac. Usually the general
effect is of a most delicate shade of gray and the little blossoms do
not droop, but look straight up at one from among the grass. This is
common in northern California.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Pussy's Ears.
Yellow Star Tulip.=
_Calochórtus Bénthami_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
Much like the last in character, from three to seven inches tall, with
bluish-green, stiffish leaves and a few quaintly pretty flowers. They
are about an inch across, clear light-yellow, with smooth sepals and
the petals thickly covered with yellow hairs and sometimes brown at the
base. This is common in the Sierra foothills.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Star Tulip--Calochortus nudus.
Pussy's Ears--C. Maweanus.]
[Sidenote: =Butterfly Tulip
Mariposa Tulip=
_Calochórtus lùteus var. oculàtus_
=Many colors
Spring, summer
California=]
The commonest kind in northern California, found in both the Sierra
Nevada and Coast Mountains, and one of the most beautiful of all the
Mariposas. The broad petals, each about an inch and a half long, are
usually white, lilac, or yellowish, with an "eye" like that on a
peacock's feather, giving the name _oculatus_. Occasionally they are
deep rose-color, as in the colored picture, though this is not typical,
and have a vivid blotch of shaded maroon and crimson and an orange spot
on each petal, with some maroon-colored hairs at the base. The sepals
are striped with pink and maroon and twist into spirals as they fade;
the pistil and the blunt anthers are mauve; the honey-gland narrowly
crescent-shaped; the leaves pale-green and the delicate stem over a
foot tall. This Mariposa is extremely variable and seems sometimes to
merge into _C. venústus_, a similar kind, and gorgeous varieties of
both may be seen along the Yosemite road on the down grade to Wawona.
There are many similar Mariposas, but the casual flower-lover who
finds any of these beautiful flowers will probably be satisfied to
know that they are Butterfly Tulips, without going into the technical
peculiarities which differentiate them.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Mariposa Tulip=
_Calochórtus lùteus var. citrìnus_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A fine robust plant, about a foot tall, with a stout stem, light,
bright green leaves, and exceedingly handsome flowers, over two inches
across. The sepals are yellowish, with a black spot and streaks of
brown, and the petals are deep lemon-yellow, each with a rich maroon
spot near the center and a hairy, brown, crescent-shaped gland below,
often flecked with maroon at the margins and base, with cream-colored
anthers and a yellowish pistil. This is very much like a Tulip in
character and looks very gay and cheerful growing in green fields. The
typical _C. luteus_ is similar, but smaller and duller in color.
[Illustration: Butterfly Tulip--Calochortus luteus. var. oculatu.]
[Illustration: Yellow Mariposa Tulip--Calochortus luteus var.
citrinus.]
[Sidenote: =Orange Mariposa Tulip=
_Calochórtus Kénnedyi_
=Orange-red
Spring
Cal., Ariz.=]
A wonderful flower, exceedingly brilliant and unusual in color, not
quite like anything else in nature. The stout, firm stem is from
two inches to over a foot tall and the leaves are dark-green, with
a delicate bluish "bloom." The flowers are about two inches across,
with pale-green sepals, bordered with pale-pink and orange inside,
and beautiful petals, thick in texture and easily bruised, delicate
peach-color outside and bright orange-vermilion within, each petal
ornamented with a purplish gland, covered with matted hairs and crossed
with a band of long vermilion hairs. When the stems are very short
the flaming flowers look like Crocuses, sprouting out of the barren
desert soil, but when they are tall they have the gorgeous effect of
Tulips. These plants grow in the Mohave Desert, but are rather rare in
California. They are very abundant in the foothills and on the mountain
slopes of Arizona, giving a beautiful orange-red color to the landscape
for miles in spring, there being literally thousands in a small area.
[Sidenote: =Sego Lily
Mariposa Tulip=
_Calochórtus Nuttállii_
=White, pale lilac
Early summer
Ariz., Cal., Utah=]
These pretty flowers are about two inches across, their white petals
tinged with yellowish-green or lilac, and often delicately fluted at
the edges, often with hairy spots inside the petals at their base,
the whole flower very variable in coloring. These Mariposas grow all
through the Southwest. In the Grand Canyon they begin to come out early
in May, among the dry grasses halfway down the Bright Angel trail,
and are a lovely shade of clear lilac. The slender stem, about a foot
tall, often bears a small bulb near the base. It is called Sego Lily
(pronounced Sègo) in Utah and is the "State flower." Its bulbs formed
a substantial part of the food of the early Mormon pioneers when they
crossed the desert and the flower is therefore held in great esteem in
Utah.
[Illustration: Sego Lily--Calochortus Nuttallii.]
IRIS FAMILY. _Iridaceae._
A large family, widely distributed and found throughout our continent.
Perennial herbs, with bracts; the leaves long, narrow, toothless, and
sheathing; the flowers showy, perfect and regular, twisted in the bud,
not falling off in withering, of three and six parts; the three stamens
on the base of the sepals, their anthers turning outward; the single
style with three branches; the ovary inferior, becoming a three-celled,
usually three-angled, many-seeded capsule. This family is noticeably
distinguished from the Lily family by the inferior ovary, and from the
Amaryllis family by the three stamens.
There are many kinds of Iris. To the casual observer the flowers appear
to have nine petals of different sizes, but in reality there are three
sepals, three petals, and three petal-like branches of the style. The
three outer divisions, or sepals, are large and spread or turn down;
the three inner divisions, or petals, are usually narrower and are
erect; the style branches arch over and under each is a stamen. The
sepals and petals have claws, which are united below and form a tube;
the capsule is large and contains many, flat, black seeds, in one or
two rows in each cell; the large rootstock is usually fleshy. Iris is
from the Greek for "rainbow," in allusion to the variegated tints, and
Flower-de-luce from the French "fleur-de-lis," or "lily-flower." Many
odd and beautiful kinds are cultivated from the Old World. Orris-root
is made from the roots of a Florentine species.
[Sidenote: =Western Blue Flag=
_Ìris Missouriénsis_
=Violet, blue
Spring, summer
West, except Wash, and Oreg.=]
A very handsome and decorative plant, growing in large clumps,
in damp situations, from stout, creeping rootstocks. The stiff,
sword-shaped leaves, mostly shorter than the stems, are smooth and
light bluish-green and the stout stems, from one to two feet high,
bear usually two, pale-violet flowers, about three inches long,
emerging from thin, papery bracts. The sepals are white, or pale blue,
delicately veined with violet, with a yellow-veined rib down the
middle, the petals are pale blue or pale violet, veined with purple,
and the buds are yellowish, veined with brown. This grows in profusion
in the Yosemite meadows, at the foot of El Capitan, and is delicately
beautiful, but would be more effective if the coloring were a little
stronger.
[Illustration: Western Blue Flag-Iris Missouriensis.]
[Sidenote: =Douglas Iris=
_Ìris Douglasiàna_
=Purple, lilac, cream
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A beautiful kind, very common in the Coast Ranges. It grows in
patches, or singly, and has rather dark green leaves, longer than the
flower-stalks, and lovely flowers, which vary exceedingly in color.
Near the coast they are usually bluish-purple, but in mountain woods
they run from violet and mauve to pink, yellow, and white. They are
often striped with white and yellow, delicately veined with purple,
and measure three or four inches across. In the redwood forests, in
northern California, they are peculiarly large and beautiful, their
delicate tints of cream and straw-color, tinged with mauve and marked
with reddish-purple, and wonderfully set off by their dark forest
background. This kind often blooms throughout the rainy season, but
chiefly in early spring.
[Sidenote: =Hartweg's Iris=
_Ìris Hartwégi_
=Yellow and violet
Summer
California=]
This odd and pretty little Iris grows in half-dry, open forests, in
the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The many flower-stems, from six to twelve
inches tall, are overtopped by some of the long, narrow leaves and the
flowers are from one and a half to two inches long, either yellow,
veined with violet, or pale-violet, veined with purple. The two color
forms often grow together and attract much attention from tourists.
They look very pretty, springing from a carpet of fallen pine-needles,
in the forests along the Wawona road near Yosemite.
[Sidenote: =Ground Iris=
_Ìris macrosìphon_
=Blue, purple
Spring, winter
California=]
A beautiful kind, forming low clumps of many, very narrow leaves, from
five to twenty inches long and much taller than the flower-stalks. The
handsome flowers are over three inches across, bright purplish-blue,
the sepals veined with darker color and marked with a white
stripe. This is common on grassy hills near the coast and farther
inland becomes taller and paler in color. The flowers are slightly
sweet-scented and begin to bloom in January. The Hupa Indians used the
leaves for making twine and rope for their nets and snares. There are
many other beautiful western Irises.
[Illustration: Iris Douglasiana.]
There are numerous kinds of Sisyrinchium, attractive little plants,
all American, many from South America; with fibrous roots; grasslike
leaves; slender, flat stems, sometimes branching; papery and green
bracts and pretty flowers, that soon wither, on very slender pedicels,
the six spreading divisions all alike; the filaments of the stamens
united; the style branches slender, the capsule roundish, containing
round seeds.
[Sidenote: =Blue-Eyed Grass=
_Sisyrínchium béllum_
=Blue Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
The deep blue stars of this pretty plant are a beautiful feature of the
fields near Santa Barbara, and in other parts of California, in summer;
in fact they are so plentiful in some places that they are a menace
to the farmers. They grow in clumps, about a foot tall, among the
grass. The stems are somewhat branching, the leaves are shorter than
the stem, and the bracts are about an inch long, green and sheathing.
There are about seven flowers on each stem, in a loose cluster, each
about an inch across and handsomer than their relations in the East.
They vary in tint from bright blue to purple, with a yellow "eye," and
their divisions are prettily notched at the tips, with a little prong.
The anthers are arrow-shaped, the style short, with three very small
stigmas, and the small, oddly-shaped, little capsule is dark-brown when
ripe, and perhaps suggested one of the common names, Nigger-babies. It
is called Azulea and Villela by Spanish-Californians.
[Sidenote: =Golden-Eyed Grass=
_Sisyrínchium Califórnicum_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
This is very much like Blue-eyed Grass, but the flowers are bright
yellow, the stems are about a foot tall, broadly winged and not
branching, and the leaves are somewhat broader. The pretty flowers are
nearly an inch across and there are from three to seven in a cluster.
The filaments are united at the base only, the style is cleft to
below the middle, and the small capsule is rather oblong. This grows
in swampy places near the ocean. _S. Arizònicum_ has yellow flowers
and branching stems and grows in Arizona. _S. Élmeri_ also has yellow
flowers, with purple lines, and is found in wet places in the Sierras.
When pressed and dried the yellow-flowered Sisyrinchiums stain the
paper reddish-purple.
[Illustration: Blue-eyed Grass--Sisyrinchium bellum.]
ORCHID FAMILY. _Orchidaceae._
A very large family, most abundant in the tropics; curious plants, with
oddly beautiful flowers. Perhaps because they are also rather rare they
seem to have a peculiar fascination for the public; in fact almost any
strangely-shaped flower is apt to be dubbed an orchid by the passer-by.
They are perennial herbs, with various kinds of roots, some of them
parasitic, usually with alternate, toothless leaves, the lower ones
sheathing the stem. In some kinds the leaves have dwindled to scales.
The flowers are perfect, irregular, with six divisions; the three
sepals are alike and colored like petals; two of the three petals are
alike, but the central one differs in size and shape and is called the
lip. This is conspicuously colored, often spurred, and contains nectar
for the attraction of "long-tongued" insects, on which these plants
depend mostly for cross-pollination. The mechanism for this purpose is
curious and interesting. The stigma is usually a broad sticky surface
and its style is united with the filaments and forms, in front of the
lip, a column which is usually capped by a single two-celled anther,
containing two clusters of pollen, one in each cell. Each cluster
consists of a few waxy grains, held together by cobweb-like threads,
which run together and terminate in a sticky disk. These disks adhere
to the insects, which push in to get the nectar, and are transported to
the gummy stigma of another flower. The inferior ovary develops into a
three-valved capsule, containing numerous minute seeds. Orchis is the
ancient Greek name.
There is only one kind of Cephalanthera in North America; with creeping
rootstocks; flowers in terminal spikes, with bracts; sepals and petals
nearly equal; petals somewhat united and hooded; lip more or less
pouched.
[Sidenote: =Phantom Orchis=
_Cephalanthèra Austínae_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
In dense mountain forests these strange plants shimmer like pallid
ghosts among the dark trees. They are pure translucent white
throughout, stem and all, and the leaves have shrunk to white sheaths,
an inch or two long. The stems are one to two feet tall and bear spikes
of numerous flowers, each over half an inch long, with the lip shorter
than the sepals and petals, which are alike. They are beautiful
and yet not quite pleasing, for we feel instinctively that there is
something unnatural about them and, indeed, the strange absence of
any green coloring matter in their make-up indicates that they are
incapable of making their own food from the elements and draw their
nourishment from decaying vegetation, or are parasitic on other plants.
They range northward from Yosemite but are nowhere very abundant. I
found several growing near the trail from Little Yosemite Valley to
Cloud's Rest and a good many in the woods near the foot of Mt. Shasta,
where they seem to be quite common.
[Illustration: Phantom Orchis--Cephalanthera Austinae.]
There are several kinds of Serapias, widely distributed; tall, stout
herbs, with creeping rootstocks and leafy stems; the leaves plaited
lengthwise and clasping at base; the flowers with leafy bracts, in
terminal racemes. The flowers have no spur; the sepals and petals
are separate and nearly equal; the lip broad, free, concave below,
constricted near the middle.
[Sidenote: =Stream Orchis Chatter-box=
_Seràpias gigantèa (Epipactis)_
=Reddish and greenish-yellow
Summer
West, etc.=]
A handsome plant, decorative and curious in form and unusual in
coloring. It is from one to four feet tall, with a stout, leafy stem
bearing three to ten flowers and smoothish leaves, with prominent
veins. The sepals are reddish or greenish-yellow and the petals
pinkish, veined with maroon. The lip is pouched at the base, with
a winged margin and a pendulous tip, which swings freely as if on
a hinge, so that it quivers when the plant is shaken. Although the
flowers are very handsome this curious tremulous motion, which makes
them seem almost alive, gives them a quaint likeness to an old woman in
a sunbonnet, with a hooked nose and chattering jaw. They have a slight
scent and the plant is quite common along streams and in wet places,
in the West and in Colorado and Texas. Some botanists think it is
identical with a variety which grows in the Himalaya Mountains. It was
named for the Egyptian deity, Serapis.
[Illustration: Stream Orchis--Serapias gigantea.]
There are several kinds of Corallorrhiza, widely distributed in
the north temperate zone and growing in dense woods; pinkish or
straw-colored plants, more or less parasitic, with large roots
resembling branches of coral; the leaves all reduced to sheathing,
papery scales; the flowers in terminal racemes, without bracts, on
short pedicels, which turn down in fruit, mostly with a short spur, the
sepals and petals about equal, the upper ones curving in.
[Sidenote: =Coral-root=
_Corallorrhìza multiflòra_
=Reddish-yellow
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal., Utah=]
The curious knobby rootstock, shaped like a bit of coral, gives the
name to this strange and rather unwholesome looking plant. From living
on decayed vegetation it has lost its green leaves, and has only a
few papery sheaths in their place, and the thick, translucent stem is
pale and smooth, from one to two feet tall, pink at the base, shading
to golden-brown towards the top. The flowers, less than half an inch
across, are usually yellow, with reddish-brown tips, and the white,
three-lobed lip is spotted with purple. The buds are yellow and brown
and the whole color effect is very pretty, as if the plant were trying
to match the russet tints of the floor of the forest. The flowers vary
from several to many and grow in a long cluster, hanging down when
their seeds begin to ripen. This is widely distributed, growing also in
the East, but nowhere common.
[Sidenote: =Coral-root=
_Corallorrhìza Bigelòwii_
=Reddish-yellow
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal., Utah=]
This is a similar plant, but handsomer, with much larger flowers,
duller in coloring and striped not spotted. Instead of a spur the base
of the sepals is swollen over the ovary, which develops gradually into
an oblong fruit to which the flower still clings, so that the older
flowers, on the lower part of the stalk, give an odd effect of having
long, swollen necks. The seeds are small and numerous. There are other
kinds, similar in general effect.
[Illustration: Flowers of C. Bigelowii.
Coral-root--Corallorrhiza multiflora.]
There are numerous kinds of Limnorchis; the lower leaves clasping or
sheathing the stem; the flowers mostly in spikes or racemes; sepals
nearly equal, petals mostly smaller than the sepals; lip spreading
or drooping, not toothed or lobed, with a spur. The Latin name means
"marsh-dweller."
[Sidenote: =Sierra Rein Orchis=
_Limnórchis leucostàchys_ (_Habenaria_)
=White
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
Often in some favorable corner of a marsh, near the woods, we may see
a dozen of these lovely plants, their robust leafy stalks sometimes as
much as four feet tall, rearing their delicate spires of bloom above
the lush grass. The long narrow leaves are bright-green and smooth
and the numerous, small, delicate blossoms, sprinkled thickly along
the stem, are pure white, each with a very long spur like a little
tail, each with a green bract at the base of its little pedicel, and
deliciously fragrant. There are several similar kinds, mostly with
green flowers; this is the handsomest and least rare.
There are many kinds of Cypripedium, with large, broad leaves and one
or several, large, drooping flowers, with two fertile anthers, with
short filaments, one on each side of the column below the stigma, and a
conspicuous, petal-like, sterile anther, arching over the stigma. They
are easily known by the curious lip, which is a large inflated sac,
suggesting both the common names, Lady's Slipper and Indian Moccasin,
and the Greek, meaning "foot of Venus."
[Sidenote: =Mountain Lady's Slipper=
_Cypripèdium montànum_
=Brown and white
Summer
Northwest=]
Beautiful and decorative, with a stout, hairy stem, one to two feet
tall and a few handsome flowers, rich and harmonious though not
brilliant in coloring, with a lip about an inch long, dull-white,
veined with purple, and brownish or purplish sepals and petals, very
long, narrow, and twisted. This grows in mountain woods and is found
around Yosemite. There is a picture in Miss Parsons's _Wild Flowers of
California_. _C. Califórnicum_ is similar, but with more flowers, the
sepals and petals greenish-yellow, the lip pinkish. _C. parviflòrum_
has a yellow lip and purplish sepals and grows in northern woods,
across the continent. None of these plants is common.
[Illustration: Sierra Rein Orchis--Limnorchis leucostachys.]
[Illustration]
LIZARD-TAIL. _Saururaceae._
A small family; ours are perennial astringent herbs, with alternate,
toothless leaves, with leaf-stalks; flowers perfect, with bracts, in
a dense, terminal spike, without calyx or corolla; stamens generally
three or six; ovary with one to five stigmas; fruit a capsule or berry.
There are two kinds of Anemopsis.
[Sidenote: =Yerba Mansa=
_Anemópsis Califórnica_
=White
Spring
Cal., Ariz.=]
This plant bears several, large, cream-white flowers, which at the
first glance appear to have from five to eight petals and a long,
projecting knob in the center, but what appears to be a corolla is in
reality an involucre, about an inch and a half across, and surrounding
the base of a long, conical spike of numerous, small, greenish flowers.
These are half-sunk in the fleshy substance of the spike and have
no sepals or petals, but each has a small, white bract at its base,
so that the spike appears to be covered with scales symmetrically
arranged. The flower has from six to eight stamens on the base of
the ovary and from three to four stigmas. The ovaries, which are
superior, form small pods, opening at the top when ripe, so that in
the end the spike is neatly pitted with holes. The rather thick,
hollow, reddish stems are from six inches to two feet tall, covered
with hair, and the smooth, light-green leaves, from two to ten inches
long, are mostly from the root, with leaf-stalks which broaden at the
base and partly sheathe the stem. The creeping rootstocks are peppery
and acrid, used medicinally, and considered exceedingly valuable by
Spanish-Californians. These pretty, odd-looking plants grow in alkaline
or salty swamps in the south. The name is from the Greek meaning
"anemone" and "appearance," but the flowers do not look very much like
Anemones.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Yerba mansa--Anemopsis Californica.]
[Illustration]
SANDALWOOD FAMILY. _Santalaceae._
This is a very small family in this country, for they prefer the
tropics, and in those regions some are trees. Ours are usually
parasitic on the roots of their neighbors. They have toothless,
mostly alternate leaves, mostly without leaf-stalks or stipules, and
small flowers, with a four- or five-lobed calyx and no corolla. The
four or five stamens are opposite the calyx lobes, at the edge of a
fleshy disk, and the ovary is one-celled and inferior, with one style,
developing into a one-seeded fruit.
There are four kinds of Comandra, one of them European; smooth,
perennial herbs, with alternate leaves, and flowers in clusters,
without bracts. The calyx is more or less bell-shaped, usually with
five lobes, its tube lined with a disk, the stamens inserted at base of
the lobes and the anthers attached to the lobes by tufts of hairs.
[Sidenote: =Pale Comandra=
_Comándra pállida_
=Flesh-color, greenish, purplish
Spring, summer
Northwest, Nev., Utah, Ariz.=]
This is a rather pretty plant, growing from a few inches to about a
foot tall, branching and rather woody below, with pale-green, smooth,
slightly thickish, rather stiff leaves, which are reduced to pinkish
scales on the lower stem. The flowers are small, usually flesh-color,
thickish in texture, with slender pedicels, and form terminal, rather
flat-topped clusters. The fruit, which is about the size of a small
pea, is crowned by the remains of the calyx, like a rose-hip. This is
common on dry plains and hillsides and is noticeable because of its
pale and somewhat peculiar coloring.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Pale Comandra--C. pallida.]
[Illustration]
BIRTHWORT FAMILY. _Aristolochiaceae_
A rather small family, chiefly of warm countries, but widely
distributed; herbs or shrubs; the leaves alternate or from the root,
with leaf-stalks, more or less heart-shaped, without stipules; the
flowers perfect, mostly large, symmetrical or irregular in form, with
or without a corolla; the calyx with three or six lobes, or irregular;
the stamens six to many, inserted on the pistil; the ovary wholly or
partly inferior; the fruit a mostly six-celled capsule, containing many
seeds.
There are several kinds of Asarum.
[Sidenote: =Wild Ginger=
_Ásarum Hartwégi_
=Brown
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
The handsome leaves of this perennial are its conspicuous feature.
They have long, hairy leaf-stalks and are heart-shaped and toothless,
from three to five inches broad, dark rich green, prettily veined and
often also beautifully mottled with white, smooth on the upper surface
and hairy on the under. We notice them immediately in the damp, dark
woods they live in, but unless we look carefully we miss the single,
large, strange, purplish-brown flower, the color of dead leaves, which
nestles close to the ground as if trying to hide itself. This has
twelve stamens, with stout filaments, and six styles, united at the
base. There are no petals, but the hairy calyx has three lobes, which
are sometimes an inch and a half long, and have long points like tails.
The seed-vessel is roundish, crowned by the withered calyx and stamens.
The rootstock cannot be used as a substitute for ginger, but smells and
tastes very aromatic and pungent. This resembles the Wild Ginger of the
East, but is handsomer.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Wild Ginger--Asarum Hartwegi.]
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY. _Polygonaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, mostly herbs or low shrubs, with
toothless leaves, often with stipules sheathing the swollen joints of
the stem. The small flowers have no petals, the calyx usually resembles
a corolla and has from three to six divisions. There are from four to
nine stamens and a superior, mostly triangular, ovary, with two or
three styles or stigmas, becoming a dry, one-seeded fruit, generally
brown or black. The kind from which flour is made is cultivated
from northern Asia, and the name Buckwheat, from the German, means
"beech-wheat," because the grain resembles minute beech-nuts. There are
several common "weeds" belonging to this family, such as Dock, Sorrel,
and Smartweed.
Chorizanthes are low herbs, with branching stems, without stipules, the
leaves forming a rosette at the base and withering early. The small
flowers have six sepals and are clustered in small heads, usually one
flower in each papery involucre, which has from two to six teeth,
with bristles at the tips; stamens usually nine, on the base of the
perianth; styles three, with round-top stigmas.
[Sidenote: =Turkish Rugging=
_Chorizánthe fimbriàta_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
An odd, dry-looking plant, making pretty patches of purplish color on
dry mesas. The stiff, roughish, purplish stem is a few inches tall,
springing from a few dull-green or reddish root-leaves, branching
abruptly and widely towards the top and bearing many small flowers. The
involucres are deep-red or purple, with very prickly teeth, the sepals
bright-pink, prettily fringed with white and striped with deeper color,
and the filaments are long and threadlike, with purple anthers. The
flowers are exceedingly pretty when closely examined, though too small
to be very effective, but the plant as a whole is conspicuous both in
color and form. _C. staticoìdes_ is similar, but the sepals are not
fringed.
[Illustration: Turkish Rugging--Chorizanthe fimbriata.]
[Illustration]
There are many kinds of Rumex, or Dock, coarse herbs, with leafy,
branching, grooved stems, sheathed with conspicuous, papery stipules,
strong tap-roots and acid or bitter juice. The large leaves are
alternate, with smooth or wavy edges; the flowers small, greenish or
reddish, on jointed pedicels, in branching clusters; the stamens six;
the styles three, the stigmas shield-shaped, with a tuft of hairs at
the tip. The six divisions of the flower are in two sets, the three
outer small and green, the inner ones larger, colored and becoming
veiny and larger in fruit, forming valves or wings, (often with a grain
on the back of one or all of them,) which closely cover the three-sided
fruit. These wings make the fruits of Docks more conspicuous than the
flower. The Latin name comes from a word meaning "to suck," because the
Romans sucked the leaves to allay thirst.
[Sidenote: =Sand Dock=
_Rùmex venòsus_
=Greenish
Spring, summer
West=]
In favorable situations this is a very handsome member of a rather
plain genus, about a foot tall, with a smooth, stout reddish stem and
smooth, pale, blue-green leaves, that feel like thin rubber, with a
prominent mid-vein front and back. The small inconspicuous flowers
develop into clusters of showy valves or wings, wonderfully odd and
beautiful in coloring, resembling Begonia flowers. At first these wings
are pale green, but they gradually brighten until they are all shades
of salmon, rose-color, and red, fading to brown, and forming lovely
combinations of vivid color, particularly against the arid background
of the sand hills they frequent, and they last a long time in water and
are exceedingly decorative. If these wings, which are nearly an inch
across, are pulled apart, a three-sided akene, like a little nut, will
be found inside them.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Sand Dock--Rumex venosus.]
[Illustration]
There are many kinds of Eriogonum, herbs or shrubs, natives of America,
mostly western, growing in dry places, very numerous and difficult to
distinguish. The leaves, without sheaths or stipules, are often covered
with white down and usually grow in a spreading cluster at the base of
the stem. The numerous small flowers, on very slender little pedicels,
have six sepals, thin in texture and usually colored, and form clusters
of various shapes, which emerge from more or less bell-shaped or
top-shaped involucres, with six teeth. There are nine stamens, with
threadlike filaments, often hairy, and a three-parted style with
round-top stigmas. The name is from the Greek meaning "wooly knees," in
allusion to the wooly joints of the stem.
[Sidenote: =Bottle-plant=
_Eriógonum inflàtum_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
This is a most extraordinary looking plant, with queer inflated,
hollow stalks, about two feet high, swelling larger towards the top,
and the branches, which are also swollen, sticking out awkwardly in
all directions and bearing a few minute, yellow flowers. The stalks,
which are pale bluish-green, suggest some strange sort of reed, but the
dark-green leaves, growing in a rosette at the base, are something like
the leaves of cultivated violets and seem entirely out of keeping with
the rest of the plant. This grows on the plateau in the Grand Canyon
and in similar places.
[Sidenote: =Swollen-stalk=
_Eriógonum elàtum_
=White, pink
Summer
Northwest=]
This is about a foot and a half tall and the stem is swollen, but not
so much so as the last, and the flowers are more conspicuous, forming
rather flat-topped clusters, about three-quarters of an inch across.
The tiny flowers are cream-white or pinkish, the buds are deep-pink,
and the stamens are long, with tiny, pinkish anthers. The leaves are
dull-green on the upper side and pale with close down on the under and
grow in a cluster at the base.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Swollen-stalk--E. elatum.
Bottle-plant--Eriogonum inflatum.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Butter Balls, Snow Balls=
_Eriógonum orthocàulon_
=Yellow, white
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
These are attractive plants, with pretty odd little balls of flowers,
and are very conspicuous on dry, rocky mesas. They have a number of
slender, pale, downy stems, about ten inches tall, springing from a
close clump of small, dull-green leaves, pale with down on both sides
and the smaller ones almost white, and bearing at the tip a dense
flower-cluster, about an inch and a half across, which is very fuzzy
and pretty. The little flowers have cream-color, downy involucres, the
outer sepals are broader than the inner, and the pedicels, stamens,
and pistil are all the same color as the sepals, either very bright
sulphur-yellow or cream-white, but not mixed on the same plant, and
sometimes tinged with red. These flowers are very popular with children
in Idaho and they make necklaces of the fuzzy balls, something like
"daisy chains."
[Sidenote: _Eriógonum compósitum_
=White, yellow
Summer
Northwest=]
This is a big handsome plant, with a thick, smooth stem, one or two
feet tall and woody at base, and with thickish leaves, slightly downy,
dark green in color on the upper side and white with close down on
the under. The flowers form feathery, cream-white or yellow clusters,
often more than six inches across, with red buds, and are beautiful and
conspicuous on bare mountainsides, smelling of honey.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Butter Balls--Eriogonum orthocaulon.]
[Illustration: Eriogonum compositum.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Buckwheat Bush, Flat-top=
_Eriógonum fasciculàtum_
=White
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
In favorable situations this is an attractive shrub, from two to four
feet high, with shreddy, reddish bark and long, straight branches,
standing stiffly up and crowded with small, thickish, stiffish
leaves, dark olive-green on the upper side and pale with down on the
under, with rolled-back margins. The flowers are about three-eighths
of an inch across, dull-white or pinkish, with pink buds, forming
large, feathery, flat-topped clusters, on long, stiff, bare, reddish
flower-stalks, standing up stiffly all over the bush. This is a very
valuable bee-plant and grows on mesas and mountain slopes.
[Sidenote: =Sulphur Flower=
_Eriógonum Bàkeri_
=Yellow,
Summer
Ariz., Utah, New Mex., Col., Wyo.=]
This plant is quite pretty and conspicuous, as the flowers are bright
in color and a peculiar shade of sulphur yellow. The stem is downy and
often reddish, about a foot tall, with two or three branches at the
top, each bearing a cluster of numerous small sweet-scented flowers
with pretty stamens. The gray-green leaves grow mostly in a rosette on
the ground and are covered with close white down on the under side.
Their soft tints tone in well with the bright color of the flowers and
the pale sandy soil in which they grow. _E. flàvum_ is similar and
widely distributed. _E. incànum_ is the same color but much smaller,
often tinged with red, the gray leaves forming a dense velvety mat,
and it grows at high altitudes, in sandy spots on rocks, and is found
around the Yosemite Valley. The alpine form is very small. There are
several other kinds of Sulphur Flower.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Sulphur Flower--E. Bakeri.
Buckwheat Bush--Eriogonum fasciculatum.]
[Sidenote: =Wild Buckwheat=
_Eriógonum racemòsum_
=Pink, white
Summer
Ariz., Utah=]
A pretty desert variety of Wild Buckwheat. The pale downy stem is from
one to two feet tall, rather stout, with two or three erect branches
at the top, and the leaves are all from the base, gray-green in color
and covered with close white down on the under side. The small white
and pink flowers are clustered along the branches in small heads, with
reddish involucres, forming a spike about three inches long. The whole
effect of the plant is curiously pale, but quite pretty. It grows
plentifully on the rim of the Grand Canyon.
There are many kinds of Polygonum, East and West, many of them
insignificant, some aquatic, some woody at base, with alternate leaves,
and sheathing stipules; the sepals four or five; the stamens five to
nine; the style with two or three branches and round-top stigmas.
The name is from the Greek, meaning "many knees," in allusion to the
swollen joints of some kinds.
[Sidenote: =Knot-weed
Alpine Smartweed=
_Polýgonum bistortoìdes_
=White
Summer
West=]
This is about two feet tall, very pretty and rather conspicuous, and
the general effect of the smooth stem and sheathing, green leaves is
somewhat grasslike. The flowers, which are small and cream-white, with
pretty stamens and pinkish bracts, grow in close, roundish, pointed
heads, an inch or two long, at the tips of the stalks. The buds are
pink and the heads in which the flowers have not yet come out look as
if they were made of pink beads. This is an attractive plant, growing
among the tall grasses in mountain meadows, and smells deliciously of
honey.
PIGWEED FAMILY. _Chenopodiaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, growing usually in salty or
alkaline soil; herbs or shrubs, generally succulent and salty or
bitter, often covered with white scurf or meal, without stipules;
leaves thick, usually alternate, sometimes none; flowers perfect or
imperfect, small, greenish, without petals; calyx with two to five
sepals, rarely with only one, pistillate flowers sometimes with no
calyx; stamens as many as the sepals, or fewer, and opposite them;
ovary mostly superior with one to three styles or stigmas; fruit small,
dry, with one seed, sometimes with a bladder-like covering. Spinach
and Beets belong to this family; many are "weeds," such as Lamb's
Quarters.
[Illustration: Wild Buckwheat--Eriogonum racemosum.
Alpine Smartweed--Polygonum bistortoides.]
There are two kinds of Grayia, named after Asa Gray; low shrubs; the
stamens and pistils in separate flowers, on the same or on different
plants.
[Sidenote: =Hop Sage=
_Gràyia spinòsa_ (_G. polygaloides_)
=Greenish, with red bracts
Spring
Calif., Nev., Utah, Ariz.=]
An odd and beautiful desert shrub, about three feet high, very dense
in form, with interlacing, angular, gray branches, spiny and crowded
with small, alternate, toothless leaves, pale-green and thickish, but
not stiff. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, but the pistillate
ones are enveloped in conspicuous bracts, which enlarge and become
papery in fruit, something like those of Docks, and often change from
yellowish-green to all sorts of beautiful, bright, warm tints of pink,
or to magenta, and the branches become loaded with beautifully shaded
bunches of these curious seed-vessels, giving a strange, crowded look
to the shrub, which in favorable situations, such as the Mohave Desert,
makes splendid masses of color, especially when contrasted with the
pale gray of Sage-brush.
There is only one kind of Cycloloma; leaves alternate, smooth or downy,
irregularly toothed; flowers perfect or pistillate, with five sepals,
five stamens, and two or three styles; fruit winged horizontally.
[Sidenote: =Tumbleweed=
_Cyclolòma atriplicifòlium_
=Purple or green
Summer
West of Mississippi River=]
Very curious round plants, six to twenty inches high, usually purple
all over, sometimes green and rarely white, giving a brilliant effect
in the fall to the sandy wastes they inhabit. They are a mass of
interlacing branches, with hardly any leaves, except at the base, and
very small flowers. When their seeds are ripe, and they are dry and
brittle, the wind easily uproots them and starts them careening across
the plain, their seeds flying out by the way. They turn over and over
and leap along, as if they were alive, bringing up at last against
a wire fence, or some such obstacle, where perhaps a traveler sees
them from the train and wonders at the extraordinary-looking, dry,
round bunches. There are other Tumble-weeds, such as Tumbling Mustard,
_Sisymbrium allissimum_, and _Amaránthus álbus_, not of this family.
[Illustration: Hop Sage--Grayia polygaloides.]
FOUR-O'CLOCK FAMILY. _Nyctaginaceae._
A rather large family, widely distributed, most abundant in America.
Ours are herbs, often succulent, with no stipules; stems often
fragile, swollen at the joints; leaves opposite, usually toothless,
often unequal; flowers perfect, with no petals, but the calyx colored
like a corolla, with four or five lobes or teeth, and more or less
funnel-shaped; one or several flowers in a cluster with an involucre;
stamens three to five, with slender filaments; style one, with a
round-top stigma; the green base of the calyx drawn down around the
ovary, making it appear inferior, and hardening into a nutlike fruit;
seeds sometimes winged.
Quamoclidions have the odd habit of opening in the afternoon, hence
the common name, Four-o'clock. The flowers usually have five stamens,
and are grouped several together in a cluster, which emerges from an
involucre so much resembling a calyx that it is often mistaken for one.
The effect is of the flowers having clubbed together and made one calyx
do for the lot. The fruit is hard, smooth, and roundish.
[Sidenote: =Four-o'clock=
_Quamoclídion multiflòrum._ (_Mirabilis_)
=Pink, purple
Spring
Southwest and Col.=]
The leaves of this low, stout, and spreading perennial are an inch or
two long, light bluish-green, somewhat heart-shaped, rather rough and
coarse, and the stems are often hairy and sticky. The foliage contrasts
strikingly in color with the gaudy pink or magenta flowers, an inch
across and slightly sweet-scented, the shape of Morning-glories and
resembling them, as they have the same stripes of deeper color. The
long stamens droop to one side, the pistil is long and purple and the
bell-shaped involucre contains about six flowers. These plants are
conspicuous and quite handsome. They grow on the plateau in the Grand
Canyon.
There are several kinds of Hesperonia, much like Quamoclidion, but
the bell-shaped involucre contains only one flower, which is also
bell-shaped, usually with five separate stamens. The fruit is roundish,
not angled or ribbed, usually smooth.
[Illustration: Four o'clock--Quamoclidion multiflorum.]
[Sidenote: =California Four-o'clock=
_Hesperònia Califórnica_ (_Mirabilis_)
=Magenta, pink
Spring, summer
California=]
This is very common in southern California and forms quite large, low
clumps of rather yellowish green, sticky and hairy foliage, sprinkled
with numbers of bright little flowers, opening in the afternoon. The
base is woody and the weak, hairy stems are supported on bushes, as if
climbing over them. The leaves are rather thick, about an inch long,
and the flowers are open bell-shaped, about three-quarters of an inch
across, usually magenta, but often pink of various shades, sometimes
quite pale in tint with long stamens drooping to one side, and the
involucre is often purplish and very hairy and sticky. The effect at a
distance is gay and attractive, though the plant is not quite so pretty
close by.
[Sidenote: _Hesperònia glutinòsa var. grácilis_
=White, pinkish
Spring
Arizona=]
This has a straggling, hairy, sticky stem, over a foot long, and
thickish, dull-green leaves, hairy and sticky. The flowers are about
half an inch long, white or tinged with pink, and are rather delicate
and pretty, though the plant is not especially attractive. It blooms at
night, the flowers gradually closing with the morning sun. This variety
is common in the southern part of the state, in mountain canyons, and
_Hesperonia glutinosa_ is common in the north.
There are several kinds of Abronia, all American, with branching,
usually sticky-hairy stems, thick, toothless leaves, with leaf-stalks,
in pairs and one of each pair somewhat larger than the other. The
flowers are more or less salver-form, with five lobes, a threadlike
style, and from three to five, unequal stamens, on the tube of the
perianth and not protruding from it. They are numerous and in clusters,
with involucres, on long flower-stalks, from the angles of the leaves.
The fruit is winged. The name is from the Greek meaning graceful, but
most of these plants are rather awkward in their manner of growth.
[Illustration: Hesperonia glutinosa var. gracilis.
California Four o'clock--H. Californica.]
[Sidenote: =Sand Puffs=
_Abrònia sálsa_
=White
Spring, summer, Autumn
Utah=]
This plant is, as a whole, so delicately tinted and so decorative in
form, that it is most attractive, particularly against the sandy soil
where it grows, deserving the Greek name more than some of its slightly
awkward sisters. It is about fourteen inches tall, with a stoutish,
rather straggling, prostrate stem, which is pale, pinkish, sticky and
fuzzy. The leaves have long leaf-stalks and are pale bluish-green,
leathery and smooth, but fuzzy on the mid-vein of the under side, and
the flowers are numerous, rather small, in handsome roundish clusters,
which are about two inches across, with a papery, pinkish or yellowish
involucre, of about five, separate, rounded bracts. The calyx is
corolla-like and salver-form, with a long, yellowish or greenish tube
and five lobes, prettily crinkled at the edges. The seed-vessel is very
curious, resembling a round, yellowish sponge, with hooks sticking out
of it, and the flowers are deliciously sweet-scented. This is sometimes
called Snowball.
[Sidenote: =Pink Sand-Verbena=
_Abrònia villòsa_
=Pinkish-lilac
Summer
Ariz., Cal., Utah=]
The coloring of this plant, one of the prettiest of its kind, is
striking and unusual, and makes it very conspicuous, growing in the
sand near the sea or in the desert. The thickish leaves are light
bluish-green and the thick stem, which straggles rather awkwardly
over the ground, is a peculiar shade of pink and sticky and hairy,
as are also the involucres. The small delicate flowers are an odd
tint of pinkish-lilac, light but vivid, in striking contrast to the
coloring of stems and foliage, and form very pretty clusters, with an
involucre of five to fifteen papery bracts. They are very fragrant
and look much like garden Verbenas, so the name is not so unhappy
as some. _A. umbellàta_ has slender stems and almost smooth leaves,
sometimes with wavy margins, about an inch long, narrowed at base to a
slender leaf-stalk, and deep-pink flowers. It is common all along the
California coast and blooms in the summer and autumn. _A. marítima_
is found from Santa Barbara to San Diego and is a very stout, coarse,
sticky plant, with small, deep-magenta flowers.
[Illustration: Sand Verbena--Abronia villosa.]
[Illustration: Sand Puffs--Abronia salsa.]
[Sidenote: =Yellow Sand-Verbena=
_Abrònia latifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
Pretty at a distance, but rather coarse close by, a straggling plant,
with long, thick, rubbery stems, lying on the ground, thickish leaves,
and small yellow flowers, slightly fragrant and forming pretty clusters
about an inch and a half across, with five bracts. This is common along
the seashore, blooming more or less all through the year. It has a
long, thick root, which is eaten by the Indians.
There are a good many kinds of Allionia, one Asiatic, the rest
American. The bell-shaped flowers have unequal stamens, usually three,
on the receptacle. The peculiar, five-lobed involucre, which becomes
large and papery after flowering, contains from three to five flowers.
The fruit is ribbed and often hairy. The shape of the involucre
probably suggested the common name Umbrella-wort.
[Sidenote: =Narrow-leaved Umbrella-wort=
_Alliònia lineàris_
=Purple, pink, white
Summer
Utah, Ariz., etc.=]
A pretty plant, one to four feet tall, with a slender stem and long,
narrow, bluish-green leaves, with somewhat wavy margins, and almost
no leaf-stalks. The flowers are fragile and pretty, of various shades
of pink, the shape of small Morning-glories, half an inch across,
the stamens and style protruding. There are from three to five in a
cluster, in a purple and green involucre. This involucre is curious,
for before the flowers come out it is closed around a bunch of buds,
looking as if it were itself a pretty five-angled bud, and one would
not suspect that there were other little buds inside it. When the
flowers bloom and drop, which they do very soon, this involucre unfolds
and expands until it becomes an exceedingly thin, papery, five-lobed
disk, three-quarters of an inch across, veined with purple, very pretty
and delicate, looking like an odd little flower without a heart. The
smooth stem forks towards the top and the branches, which are slightly
hairy, bear numerous clusters of involucres with flowers inside them.
This grows in dry soil, is widely distributed and found as far east as
Illinois.
[Illustration: Involucre of Allionia linearis.
Yellow Sand Verbena--Abronia latifolia.]
[Illustration]
CARPET-WEED FAMILY. _Aizoaceae._
Not a very large family, mostly natives of warm regions. Ours are
branching herbs, lying mostly on the ground; leaves mostly opposite or
in whorls; flowers perfect; sepals four or five; petals numerous, small
or none; stamens few or many, usually on the calyx; ovary sometimes
superior; fruit a capsule. In this country most of this family are dull
little plants, with inconspicuous flowers.
There are many kinds of Mesembryanthemum, mostly African; ours are
smooth, very succulent perennials; without stipules; leaves opposite;
calyx-lobes unequal and leaf-like; petals long, narrow and very
numerous, inserted with the innumerable stamens on the calyx-tube;
ovary with ten or twelve styles, becoming a sort of berry, containing
many minute seeds, and opening at the top in rainy weather. The
terribly long name is from the Greek, meaning "noonday flower."
[Sidenote: =Ice-plant=
_Mesembryánthemum crystállinum_
=White, pinkish
Spring
California=]
One of the queerest looking plants that it is possible to imagine,
the stout stems and large flat leaves thickly encrusted with millions
of small translucent beads, resembling glass or ice and giving a
glistening effect to the whole plant. They cluster especially thickly
along the wavy margins and under sides of the leaves, and on the
calyxes, and feel quite hard to the touch, but when they are crushed
underfoot they exude a watery juice, which is said to be alkaline and
injurious to shoe-leather. The stems and leaves are light bright-green,
the tips and margins tinged with bright pinkish-red, especially on dry
mesas, where this plant sometimes covers the ground for long distances
with flat rosettes, forming a thick, red carpet, beautiful in color.
In shadier, damper places, such as the crevices in the sea-cliffs at
La Jolla, it becomes quite a large, tall plant, scarcely tinged with
red and very glistening. The flowers are about an inch across, with
a greenish center, surrounded by numerous, small, yellowish anthers
and a single row of many, white or flesh-colored petals, suggesting
the tentacles of a sea-anemone. In fact the whole plant is curiously
suggestive of some low form of animal life. It is very troublesome to
farmers in the south near the sea, and also flourishes in the Mohave
Desert, in France and the Canary Islands.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Ice-plant--Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.]
[Sidenote: =Sea Fig, Fig-marigold=
_Mesembryánthemum aequilateràle_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
A very strange and conspicuous plant, often clothing sandy slopes
with a curious mantel of trailing, fleshy stems and foliage thickly
sprinkled with thousands of gaudy flowers. The stems are stout and
flattish, several feet long; the leaves three-sided, with flat faces,
tipped with a small reddish point; the calyx-lobes three-sided like
the leaves. The stems, leaves, and the calyx-lobes are all pale
bluish-green with a "bloom" and exceedingly succulent, the watery
juice running out in large drops when the plant is broken. The twigs
seem to be fitted into a sort of socket, from which they come out very
easily, so that the plant comes apart almost at a touch. The fragrant
flowers are two or three inches across, bright but crude in color, the
numerous, purplish-pink petals resembling the rays of a composite and
encircling a fuzzy ring of innumerable stamens, with white, threadlike
filaments and small, straw-colored anthers, around a dark-green
center, composed of the top of the calyx and the six to ten styles
of the ovary. This accommodating plant is very useful and ornamental
in hot, sandy places, where not much else will grow, and may be seen
hanging its long stems over the sea-cliffs all along the coast, from
Patagonia to Marin County in California. It also grows in Africa and is
extensively cultivated. The fruit is edible, with pulp and tiny seeds
something like a fig.
[Illustration: Sea Fig--Mesembryanthemum aequilaterale.]
PINK FAMILY. _Caryophyllaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in the northern
hemisphere, including both the handsome Pinks and the insignificant
Chickweeds. They are herbs, with regular, mostly perfect flowers, with
four or five sepals; usually with four or five petals, sometimes with
none; stamens as many, or twice as many, as the petals; ovary superior,
one-celled; styles two to five in number; fruit a capsule, containing
several or many, kidney-shaped seeds, opening by valves, or by teeth,
at the top; leaves opposite, toothless; stems usually swollen at the
joints. The name Pink comes from the petals of some kinds being cut
into points, or "pinked."
There are numerous kinds of Arenaria, widely distributed, difficult to
distinguish, with small, white flowers with five petals, usually not
notched, ten stamens and usually three styles; leaves usually long and
narrow, often stiff and growing in tufts; capsule roundish, splitting
into usually three valves, each with two parts. These plants often grow
in dry, sandy places, some at very high altitudes, some by the sea,
hence the Latin name meaning "sandy," and the common one, Sandwort.
[Sidenote: =Fendler's Sandwort=
_Arenària Féndleri_
=White
Summer
Utah, Ariz., etc.=]
This has pretty little white flowers, about half an inch across, and
is variable. Sometimes the stem is roughish, only three or four inches
tall, springing from a tuft of small leaves, stiff and almost prickly.
Sometimes the stem is smooth, six or eight inches tall, and the
leaves resemble rather fine, stiff grass. This grows on dry hills and
mountains, up to thirteen thousand feet, from Nebraska and Wyoming to
Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
There are many kinds of Silene, widely distributed, more or less sticky
plants, hence the common name, Catchfly; flowers mostly rather large;
calyx inflated or tubular, with five teeth; petals five, with long
claws, which often have scales at the top, forming a "crown"; stamens
ten; styles usually three; capsule opening by three or six teeth at the
tip; seeds numerous.
[Illustration: Sandwort--Arenaria Fendleri.]
[Sidenote: =Moss Campion.
Cushion Pink=
_Silène acàulis_
=Purple
Summer
Alpine regions=]
An attractive little dwarf, living only in the high mountains. It has
a long tap-root and many spreading stems, crowded with tiny, stiff,
pointed, dark-green leaves, forming close tufts, from six to twenty
inches across, resembling cushions of harsh moss and spangled all over
with pretty little flowers. They are less than half an inch across with
a bell-shaped calyx and five bright pinkish-purple petals, occasionally
white, with a "crown" of small scales. We find this brave little plant
crouching on bleak mountain tops, blossoming gayly at the edge of the
snows that never melt, in arctic alpine regions across the world, up to
a height of thirteen thousand feet. It is variable. There is a picture
in Mrs. Henshaw's _Mountain Wild Flowers of Canada_.
[Sidenote: =Windmill Pink=
_Silène Ánglica_ (_S. Gallica_)
=White
Spring
Northwest, etc.=]
A rather inconspicuous "weed" from Europe, common in fields and along
roadsides, with a slender, hairy stem, about a foot tall, and hairy
leaves. The small flowers grow in a one-sided cluster and have a
purplish calyx, sticky and hairy, and white or pinkish petals, with
a small "crown," each petal twisted to one side like the sails of a
windmill. This is widely distributed in nearly all warm temperate
regions.
[Sidenote: =Indian Pink=
_Silène Califórnica_
=Red
Summer
Northwest=]
From six inches to over a foot tall, with a thick, perennial tap-root,
one to two feet long, and branching, half-erect stems, both leaves
and stems covered with fine down, the dull-green foliage contrasting
well in color with the vivid vermilion of the gorgeous flowers. They
are more than an inch across, the petals usually slashed into two
broad lobes, flanked by two narrower, shorter points at the sides, the
"crown" conspicuous. The flowers are even more brilliant in color than
_S. laciniata_ and are startlingly beautiful, glowing like coals of
fire on the brown forest floor, in the open mountain woods they usually
frequent. It is widely distributed in the Coast Ranges and Sierra
Nevada Mountains, but nowhere very common. _S. Hookeri_ has beautiful
large pink flowers, often more than two inches across, sometimes white,
and grows on shady hillsides in the Northwest, except in Idaho.
[Illustration: Windmill Pink--Silene Anglica.
Indian Pink--Silene Californica.]
[Sidenote: =Indian Pink=
_Silène laciniàta_
=Red
Summer
California=]
This has handsome conspicuous flowers, clear vermilion or
pinkish-scarlet in color, about an inch and a half across, with the
five petals prettily slashed at the ends into four long divisions. Each
petal has two little crests, which form a pretty "crown" in the throat
of the corolla. The roughish, slender stems, from one to over two feet
high, have several branches, the flowers growing two or three at the
ends. The leaves are long, narrow, and rather rough and the whole plant
is hairy and sticky. This is common around Pasadena and other places in
southern California and is beautiful on Point Loma, where the brilliant
flowers gleam among the underbrush like bits of flame. _S. laciniàta
var. Gréggii_ is common in Arizona and New Mexico.
[Sidenote: _Silène Lyalli_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
Rather pretty, with a slender stem about a foot tall, smooth,
bluish-green leaves, and flowers about three-quarters of an inch
across; the calyx much inflated, yellowish-white and papery, with
brownish veins, and the petals cream-color, with two lobes and a
"crown."
There are a few kinds of Vaccaria, of Europe and Asia, smooth annuals,
with clasping leaves and red or pink flowers in terminal clusters;
calyx five-angled and inflated in fruit, five-toothed, without bracts;
petals longer than the calyx, without appendages; stamens ten; styles
two. Both the Latin and common names allude to the value of some kinds
for fodder.
[Sidenote: =Cow-herb=
_Vaccària vaccària_ (_Saponaria_)
=Pink
Summer
Across the continent=]
Quite pretty, with a leafy, branching stem, from one to three feet
tall, bluish-green leaves, and flowers less than an inch long, with a
ribbed, yellowish-green calyx, with reddish teeth, and the petals a
very pretty and unusual shade of deep, warm reddish-pink, veined with
deeper color. This is a European "weed," common in waste places and
cultivated fields.
[Illustration: Indian Pink--Silene laciniata.]
[Illustration: Cow-herb--Vaccaria vaccaria.
Silene Lyalli.]
There are many kinds of Alsine, widely distributed, low herbs, liking
moist ground and shady places, with small, starry white flowers; with
four or five sepals; four or five petals, deeply two-lobed or none;
three to ten stamens and three to five styles; capsule roundish or
oblong, rather shorter than that of Cerastium, splitting to below the
middle, with twice as many valves as there are styles and many seeds.
Many of these plants are weeds. They are often called Stitchwort. The
Greek name means "grove," the home of some kinds.
[Sidenote: =Tall Chickweed=
_Alsìne lóngipes._ (_Stellaria_)
=White
Summer
Northwest, Nev., Utah, etc.=]
An attractive little plant, with smooth stems, from six to fifteen
inches tall, and pretty little flowers, less than half an inch across,
growing singly, or in loose clusters, with white petals which are
deeply two-lobed, so that they appear to be ten. The capsule is almost
black when ripe. This is common in moist and grassy places in Yosemite
and when growing in the shade is taller and more slender than in the
open. It reaches an altitude of ten thousand feet and is found in the
East and in Asia.
There are many kinds of Cerastium, abundant in the temperate zone,
resembling Alsine, but usually downy and therefore called Mouse-ear
Chickweeds. The flowers are white, usually with five sepals, five
petals notched at the tips or with two lobes, ten or five stamens and
five stigmas. The cylindrical capsule, often curved, splits at the top
into ten teeth.
[Sidenote: =Field Chickweed=
_Cerástium arvénse_
=White
Spring, summer
U. S.=]
On the ledges moistened by the mist and spray that blow from the
Yosemite waterfalls, among the glistening, wet grasses, these pretty
little white flowers are quite conspicuous. They smell pleasantly of
honey, measure about half an inch across, and have more or less downy
stems, from five to ten inches tall. This is the prettiest Cerastium,
though not so "mousy" as some, and grows in dry as well as moist
situations.
[Illustration: Field Chickweed--Cerastium arvense.
Tall Chickweed--Alsine longipes.]
[Illustration]
PURSLANE FAMILY. _Portulacaceae._
A rather small family, mostly American; herbs, usually with thick,
succulent leaves and stems, with flowers opening only in sunlight. They
usually have only two sepals, but the petals number from two to five
or more; the stamens are sometimes numerous, but when they are of the
same number as the petals they are opposite them; the one-celled ovary
is superior, becoming a many-seeded capsule. Pusley, or Purslane, is
one of the commonest garden weeds; everybody knows how difficult it
is to keep the spreading rosettes out of gravel walks, and we are all
familiar with the gaudy, ephemeral flowers of the cultivated Portulaca.
The Purslane-tree, or Spek-boom, of South Africa is often the principal
food of elephants and its foliage gives the characteristic coloring to
the landscape.
There are several kinds of Montia, closely related to Claytonia,
mostly natives of North America, rather succulent plants, very smooth
and often with a "bloom." The flowers are white or pinkish, with two
sepals; the five petals, equal or somewhat unequal, separate or more
or less united at base; the stamens five or three; the style branches
three; the capsule with three valves and one to three, shiny, black
seeds, which when ripe are shot out of the capsule by the elastic
closing of the valves.
[Sidenote: =Miner's Lettuce=
_Móntia parviflòra_
=White
Spring, summer
West, except Ariz.=]
The Indians gather these pretty succulent little plants for salad and
indeed the tender, bright-green leaves look as if they would taste very
nice. They grow in a loose bunch, with several stems, a few inches to a
foot high. The root-leaves have long leaf-stalks and vary very much in
size and shape, the earliest being long and narrow, like little green
tongues, but the later ones oval, round and kidney-shaped, and they
vary also in tint, in dry places being sometimes a dull yellowish-pink.
The stem-leaves are quite odd, for a single pair have united around
the stem and become a circular or somewhat two-lobed disk, one or two
inches broad, the stalk piercing right through its center. This leaf
forms a pretty, shallow saucer, with a small, loose cluster of tiny
flowers, on slender flower-stalks, springing from the middle. This is
common everywhere in orchards or vineyards, and in shady places in
the foothills and canyons, and has long been cultivated in England
for salad. It is also called Indian Lettuce and Squaw Cabbage. _M.
perfoliàta_ is similar.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Miner's Lettuce--Montia parviflora.]
[Sidenote: =Spring Beauty=
_Móntia parvifòlia_
=White and pink
Spring
Northwest=]
This charming little flower resembles the Spring Beauty of the East,
_Claytonia Virginica_, and blooms in late spring, among the ferns and
wet grasses near the Yosemite waterfalls and in similar places. The
white flowers, about three-quarters of an inch across, are often tinged
with pink and the five stamens are violet. The tender stems, about
eight inches tall, are weak and almost trailing and the pale-green
leaves are smooth, the lower ones slightly thick and succulent, with
little bulblets in the axils, which drop off in drying; the capsule
mostly has only one seed.
There are several kinds of Claytonia, resembling Montia.
[Sidenote: =Spring Beauty=
_Claytònia lanceolàta_
=Pink and white
Spring
Northwest, Cal., Nev., and Utah=]
A pretty little plant, three or four inches high, with a juicy, reddish
stem and thickish, bluish-green, juicy leaves, the root-leaf narrow,
the two stem-leaves broader. The flowers, over half an inch across, are
white, tinged and delicately veined with pink, with a little yellow at
the base of the petals; the pistil and stamens pink; the two sepals
yellowish-green. This grows on moist mountain slopes, up to an altitude
of nine thousand feet, sometimes at the edge of the snow, is pretty and
delicate and also resembles the eastern Spring Beauty.
[Illustration: Spring Beauties
Claytonia lanceolata.
Montia parvifolia.]
[Illustration]
There are only one or two kinds of Spraguea, natives of North America;
low herbs, not very succulent, with fleshy roots; the leaves alternate,
or from the root; the small flowers in coiled clusters; the two sepals
and the four petals all papery; the stamens one, two, or three in
number; the style long, with two stigmas; the capsule roundish, with
two valves, containing few or many, shining, black seeds.
[Sidenote: =Pussy-paws=
_Spràguea umbellàta_ (_Calyptridium_)
=Pink
Summer, autumn
Northwest=]
Sandy spots in the mountains are often brightened by lovely patches of
the soft pink blooms of this attractive and odd-looking little plant.
Near Wawona, on the Glacier Point trail, I saw at least half an acre
of sand carpeted with beautiful rose-color. In moderate altitudes the
plants are about ten inches tall, but they get dwarfish as they climb
and on the mountain-tops they are only an inch or so high, with close
mats of small leaves. They have strong tap-roots and the leaves are
dull gray-green, rather thick and stiff but hardly succulent, and grow
mostly in rosettes at the base, those on the stem having shrunk to mere
bracts, with several, smooth, reddish stalks springing from among them.
Each stem bears a close, roundish head, two or three inches across,
consisting of many tightly-coiled tufts of shaded pink, each composed
of innumerable, small, pink flowers, the papery, pink and white sepals
and bracts being the most conspicuous part. They overlap each other and
have daintily ruffled edges. The three stamens are long and protruding
and the style long and threadlike. The flower-clusters are like soft
pink cushions, so the pretty little name of Pussy-paws is appropriate,
both to form and coloring. Chipmunks are very fond of the small, black
seeds.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Pussy-paws--Spraguea umbellata.]
BUTTERCUP FAMILY. _Ranunculaceae._
The members of this large and handsome family vary so much in
appearance that it is difficult for the amateur to realize that
they are nearly related. In fact they have no very distinctive
characteristics. They are all herbs, except Clematis, which is shrubby,
and all have bitter juice, which is never milky or colored, numerous
stamens and usually several pistils, which are superior and one-celled,
bearing a single style, and all the parts of the flower are separate
from each other and inserted on the receptacle. The flowers are often
of eccentric forms, with spurs or hoods; sometimes they dispense with
petals altogether and instead have colored sepals which resemble
petals. The leaves are of all sorts and shapes, usually more or less
lobed and cut, but have no stipules and often their bases clasp the
stem. The fruit is an akene, pod, or berry. Many of our most beautiful
and popular garden flowers are included in this family, which is large
and distributed throughout the world, but not abundant in the tropics.
There are numerous kinds of Ranunculus, mostly perennials, with fibrous
roots, growing in temperate and cold regions. Ours have yellow or white
flowers, with three to five sepals and from three to fifteen petals,
each of the petals with a nectar-gland at its base; the numerous
pistils developing into a roundish or oblong head of akenes. The leaves
are variously cut and lobed, the stem leaves alternate. Some sorts grow
in the water and some have creeping stems. Some kinds of Ranunculus are
liable to be confused with some sorts of Cinquefoils, but the calyx of
a Buttercup has no bractlets, as has that of a Cinquefoil. The Latin
name means "little frog," as these plants like marshes.
[Sidenote: =Common Western Buttercup=
_Ranúnculus Califórnicus_
=Yellow
Winter, spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
The commonest kind are attractive, often coloring the fields for miles
with bright gold, but the flowers are not so pretty as some common
eastern kinds. The stems are branching and more or less hairy, nine
inches to a foot and a half tall, with dark-green leaves, smooth, hairy
or velvety, and velvety, hairy buds. The flowers are about an inch
across, with from nine to sixteen, bright-yellow, shiny petals and
pale-green sepals, turned closely back. The akenes have hooked beaks.
This runs into many scarcely distinguishable varieties.
[Illustration: Common Western Buttercup--Ranunculus Californicus.]
Few flowers are more beautiful and interesting in color and
construction than Larkspurs. We are all familiar with their tall spires
of oddly-shaped blossoms, growing in gardens, and we find them even
more charming in their natural surroundings, glowing like sapphires on
desert sands, or adorning mountain woods with patches of vivid color.
There are many kinds; ours are perennials, with palmately-divided
leaves and usually blue or white flowers, very irregular in form, with
five sepals, resembling petals, the upper one prolonged into a spur at
the back, and usually four petals, two of which are small and inside
the calyx-spur, the larger two partly covering the pistils and the
numerous stamens. The pistils, from one to five, become many-seeded
pods. Some Larkspurs are poisonous to cattle. The Latin name is from
a fancied resemblance of the flower to the dolphin of decorative art.
Spanish Californians call it Espuela del caballero, Cavalier's spur.
[Sidenote: =Blue Larkspur=
_Delphínium scapòsum_
=Blue
Summer
Ariz., New Mex.=]
Though sometimes rather small, this is extremely pretty. In the Grand
Canyon, on the plateau, it is about a foot tall, with rather leathery,
brownish-green leaves, mostly from the root, and from five to twelve
flowers in a cluster. They measure nearly an inch across and are
brilliant and iridescent in coloring, as except for two small whitish
petals, they are the deepest, brightest blue, exquisitely tinted with
violet, with brown anthers. At Tucson, among the rocks above the Desert
Laboratory, it grows to over a foot in height, with a cluster over six
inches long and light dull-green leaves, slightly stiff and thick, with
long leaf-stalks, the lobes tipped with a bristle, forming a handsome
clump. This grows on dry plains and rocky hillsides, up to seven
thousand feet. The picture is from a Grand Canyon plant.
[Sidenote: =Larkspur=
_Delphínium Hánseni_
=White, pinkish
Summer
California=]
If the flowers were a little less pale in color this would be a
gorgeous plant, for it sometimes grows nearly four feet high. The
branching stem springs from a cluster of thick, tapering roots, each
branch terminating in a long, crowded cluster of twenty or thirty
flowers, opalescent in tint, either white, with a bluish or
greenish spot on the tip of each sepal, or very pale pink, with a
purplish or bluish spot. The dull, yellowish-green leaves are rather
thickish and downy, the pods erect. This grows in dryish places, at
moderate altitudes, and freely around Yosemite.
[Illustration: Foothills Larkspur--Delphinium scaposum.]
[Illustration: Larkspur--Delphinium Hanseni.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Blue Larkspur=
_Delphínium bícolor_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Northwest and Utah=]
A splendid flower when at its best, from six inches to a foot and a
half tall, with a smooth stem, reddish below, and smooth, bright-green
leaves, pale on the under side, round in general outline, the lower
ones with long, reddish leaf-stalks sheathing the stem, the roots thick
but not tuberous. The beautiful flowers are sometimes an inch and a
half across, on long, rather spreading pedicels, few or many, in a
long loose cluster, the buds slightly downy. The general effect of the
flowers is deep bright-blue, but when we examine them more closely we
find that the slightly woolly spurs are purplish, the blue sepals have
on the back protuberances, which are pinkish on the front and greenish
on the back, the two, small, upper petals are white, delicately striped
with purple, and the lower ones, which are fuzzy with tufts of white
down and two-cleft, are deep pinkish-purple; sometimes the whole flower
is much paler in color. The anthers are large and green at first,
becoming small and yellow, their threadlike filaments curling. This
grows on dry hills. _D. Párryi_, of California, is about two feet tall,
similar in coloring, but even handsomer, with a cluster nearly a foot
long, closely crowded with beautiful flowers, each an inch and a half
across. The lower leaves are slashed nearly to the center, into seven
divisions, each with three, long, narrow lobes.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Blue Larkspur--Delphinium bicolor.]
[Sidenote: =Sacramento Larkspur=
_Delphínium variegàtum_
=Purple
Spring, summer
California=]
Very handsome, over a foot tall, the upper stem downy, the lower more
or less hairy and the leaves more or less velvety. The flowers are an
inch or more long and rather few, with long pedicels, forming a loose
cluster. They are downy on the outside, all bright-purple, except the
two upper petals, which are white tipped with purple, the lower petals
edged and tipped with hairs, the spur stoutish and wrinkled. These
flowers, though described as blue, seem to me to have more true purple
than most Larkspurs. They probably vary a good deal in color. This
grows in the Coast Ranges and the Sacramento Valley. There are many
similar blue Larkspurs.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Larkspur, Christmas-horns=
_Delphínium nudicaùle_
=Red
Spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
Scarlet seems an odd color for a Larkspur, but there are two red ones
in the West. This is an exceedingly airy, graceful plant and suggests
a Columbine more than a Larkspur. The stem is slender and branching,
from one to over two feet tall, with a "bloom"; the leaves thickish,
smooth, dark rich green on the upper side and pale on the under. The
flowers are far apart, from two to twelve, on long pedicels, forming a
very loose, open cluster. Each flower is about an inch long; the sepals
scarlet shading to yellow, the spur tipped with deeper red, the petals
yellow tipped with crimson, not woolly, the two upper notched and much
larger than the two lower ones, which are small and slashed into two
points, the edges of both sepals and petals more or less hairy; the
buds pale yellowish-green, tinged with pink and red. These charming
flowers have an elfin look all their own, as they swing their little
pointed red caps in the light shade of cool canyons along the mountain
streams they love. In southern California we find _D. cardinàle_, a
handsomer plant, sometimes six feet tall, its flowers larger and deeper
red and forming a larger, closer cluster.
[Illustration: Scarlet Larkspur--Delphinium nudicaule.]
The picturesque Columbine gets its melodious name from the Latin for
"dove," because the spurs suggest a circle of pretty little pigeons,
and this common name is less far-fetched than the Latin one, Aquilegia,
which comes from a fancied resemblance of the spurs to an eagle's
claws. These plants are well known and easily recognized by the
peculiar shape of the flowers. Everything about them is decorative
and beautiful, the foliage is pretty and the flowers large, brightly
colored, and conspicuous. They are all perennials, with branching stems
and compound leaves; the flowers usually nodding, with five sepals all
alike and resembling petals, and five petals, also all alike, with
conspicuous, hollow spurs. The stamens, the inner ones without anthers,
are numerous and the five pistils develop into a head of five, erect,
many-seeded pods. There is honey in the spurs, which can be reached
only by "long-tongued" insects or humming birds, which thus assist in
cross-pollination, and bees obviate the difficulty of having short
tongues by ingeniously cutting holes in the spurs. There are a good
many beautiful kinds, both East and West.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Columbine=
_Aquilègia truncàta_
=Red and yellow
Spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
This charming plant grows from one to over three feet high, is
branching and smooth, and has pretty light-green leaves and nodding
flowers, which are over an inch and a half across. The outside of the
corolla is pale-scarlet, veined and tipped with yellow, the inside is
yellow and the spurs are erect and three quarters of an inch long.
The flower resembles the Scarlet Columbine of the East, but the plant
is taller, with fewer flowers. It is common in moist, rich woods in
Yosemite and the Coast Ranges, from the foothills well up to the alpine
zone.
[Sidenote: =White Columbine=
_Aquilègia leptocèra_
=White
Summer
Northwest and Utah=]
An exceedingly beautiful flower, a white sister of the large Blue
Columbine, which is the "State flower" of Colorado, and sometimes
sufficiently tinged with blue to show the relationship. It is a rather
slender plant, usually with several stems, from one to two feet
tall, the foliage rather bluish-green, the flowers large and usually
pure-white, and is found in the mountains.
[Illustration: Scarlet Columbine--Aquilegia truncata.]
[Illustration]
Monkshoods have almost as much charm as their cousins Columbine and
Larkspur, with a quaintness and individuality all their own. There
are a good many kinds; mountain plants, growing in temperate regions,
with rather weak stems and leaves much like those of Larkspur. The
blue and white blossoms have a "hood," which gives these plants their
very appropriate name. This is formed by the upper and larger one
of the five, petal-like sepals arching over and forming a hood, or
helmet, under which the two small petals, with spurs and claws, are
hidden; sometimes there are three or more petals below, which are
minute and resemble stamens. The real stamens are numerous and ripen
before the pistils, thus ensuring cross-pollination, and the fruit
consists of a head, of from three to five, many-seeded pods. The thick
or turnip-shaped root is used medicinally and is virulently poisonous,
so these plants are sometimes called Wolfsbane. Aconite is the ancient
Greek name and other common names are Blue-weed and Friar's-cap.
[Sidenote: =Monkshood=
_Aconìtum Columbiànum_
=Blue and white
Summer
West=]
This handsome perennial, from two to six feet tall, grows near streams,
in mountain meadows or open woods. The flowers measure from half
an inch to over an inch long and are mostly bright-blue and white,
tinged with violet, but shade from almost white to deep-blue, veined
with purple. They are paler inside and grow on slender pedicels, in
a long loose cluster, on a somewhat bending stem. The two, small,
hammer-shaped petals are nearly concealed under the hood. The leaves
are alternate, the lower ones with long leaf-stalks, and deeply cleft
into three or five, toothed or lobed, divisions. This reaches an
altitude of twelve thousand feet.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Monkshood--Aconitum Columbianum.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Wild Peony=
_Paeònia Bròwnii_
=Dark-red
Winter, spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
There are two kinds of Peony. This is a robust and very decorative
perennial, rich and unusual in coloring, the fine foliage setting off
the dark flowers to perfection. The roots are woody, the stems smooth,
from eight inches to a foot and a half tall, and the leaves are smooth,
rich green, but not shiny. The nodding flowers are an inch and a half
across, with five or six greenish-purple sepals, five or six petals,
rich deep-red, tinged and streaked with yellow and maroon; dull-yellow
stamens and green pistils. The whole flower is quite thick and leathery
in texture and rather coarse, sometimes so dark that it is almost
black. The flowers are often fragrant, but the plant has a disagreeable
smell, something like Skunk-cabbage, when crushed. The large seed-pods,
usually five, are thick, leathery and smooth, with several seeds and
are a very conspicuous feature, the stems drooping as they ripen and
the pods resting on the ground in big bunches. The whole plant is
rather succulent and the foliage and stems are more or less tinged with
red and have a "bloom," especially on the sepals. This grows in all
sorts of places, in the hot plains of the south and at the edge of the
snow, in northern, mountain canyons. In the south it blooms in January
and is sometimes called Christmas-rose. The root is used medicinally by
the Spanish-Californians and by the Indians, "to give their horses long
wind." These plants were named in honor of Paion, the physician of the
gods.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Wild Peony--Paeonia Brownii.]
[Illustration]
There are only a few kinds of Actaea, tall perennials, with large,
alternate, thrice-compound leaves and small, white flowers, in short,
terminal clusters. The sepals number about four and resemble petals;
the petals are from four to ten, or sometimes none, with claws; the
stamens are numerous, with conspicuous white filaments; the one pistil
has a broad, somewhat two-lobed, stigma, and the fruit is a large,
showy, red or white, somewhat poisonous berry, containing many, smooth,
flat seeds.
[Sidenote: =Baneberry=
_Actaèa argùta_
=White
Spring, summer
West, except Ariz.=]
This is a fine plant, from one to two feet tall, with a stoutish,
smooth, branching stem and handsome leaves, prettily cut, with pointed
teeth, thin and soft in texture, with conspicuous veins. The sepals and
petals of the small cream-white flowers are less conspicuous than the
numerous white stamens, which give a very feathery appearance to the
flower-cluster, which is one or two inches long and speckled with the
dark tips of the pistils. The sepals and petals drop off early and the
stamens lengthen, so that the cluster becomes very airy and delicate.
The general effect of the plant, which grows near shady mountain
streams, is striking and graceful. It grows also in the East and is
sometimes slightly sweet-scented, but often has an unpleasant smell.
The handsome, poisonous berries are oval or round, red or white, with a
polished surface, and contain many seeds. This reaches an altitude of
ten thousand feet. A very similar kind, _A. viridiflòra_, grows in the
mountains of Arizona.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Baneberry--Actaea arguta.]
[Sidenote: =Globe-flower=
_Tróllius láxus_
=White
Spring
U. S.=]
This is our only kind of Trollius. It is an exceedingly beautiful
flower, particularly when found growing in the snow, or near the edge
of a field of melting ice, in high mountains and along the margins of
glaciers. The handsome, toothed leaves are palmately-lobed or divided,
the lower ones with long leaf-stalks, rich green and glossy and setting
off the flowers, which grow singly at the tips of smooth, rather
weak stems, from one to two feet tall, and measure about an inch and
a half across. The sepals, from five to seven in number, are large,
cream-white, slightly greenish outside, and are the conspicuous part
of the flower, for the petals are very small and yellow, so that they
resemble stamens. From fifteen to twenty-five of these little petals,
in a row, surround the numerous, real stamens and form a beautiful
golden center. The fruit is a head, measuring an inch across, composed
of eight to fifteen small pods, with beaks, containing many, smooth,
oblong seeds. This plant looks very much like an Anemone but it has
these small yellow petals and Anemones have none, and the center is
larger and brighter yellow and the foliage coarser.
There are three kinds of Trautvetteria, two American and one Asiatic.
[Sidenote: =False Bugbane=
_Trautvettèria grándis_
=White
Summer
West=]
A handsome plant, with a smooth, pale-green stem, from two to three
feet tall, and fine large leaves, prettily cut, smooth and rather
bright green, the lower ones sometimes eight inches across. The white
flower clusters are large, very pretty, airy and feathery, consisting
of numerous small flowers, with small petal-like sepals, usually four,
and no petals, the numerous stamens, with white filaments, being the
conspicuous part and forming a little pompon. The akenes are numerous,
inflated and four-angled, and form a head. It is a pity that this
attractive plant has such a horrid name. It grows in moist woods at Mt.
Rainier and in similar places.
[Illustration: False Bugbane--Trautvetteria grandis.]
Anemones grow in temperate and cold regions everywhere. They have no
petals, but their sepals, numbering from four to twenty, resemble
petals. The stem-leaves are in whorls, forming a kind of involucre
below the flower. There are many kinds; some have nearly smooth,
pointed akenes, some densely woolly ones, and in some the akenes have
feathery tails. The name, pronounced anemòne in Latin and in English
anémone, is appropriate to the fragile kinds, such as the eastern Wood
Anemone, for it means "flower shaken by the wind."
[Sidenote: =Canyon Anemone=
_Anemòne sphenophýlla_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]
An attractive plant, eight inches to a foot tall, with pretty flowers
and foliage. The flowers are white, tinged with pink, less than an inch
across, often downy outside, and the head of fruit is oblong, sleek,
and silky downy. This grows on dry, rocky slopes in the Grand Canyon,
above the plateau. Around Tucson the flowers are less pretty, but the
foliage handsomer.
[Sidenote: =Three-leaved Anemone=
_Anemòne deltoìdea_
=White
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Col.=]
Delicate, pale flowers, conspicuous in dark mountain woods, with
slightly downy, purplish stems, from eight to ten inches tall,
and pretty leaves, thin in texture, the involucre-leaves without
leaf-stalks, rather light-green, dull on the upper side, paler and
shiny on the under. The pretty flowers are an inch and a half to over
two inches across, with five, pure-white sepals, usually two of them
larger and longer than the others, and a light bright-yellow center.
This is abundant at Mt. Rainier. _A. quinquefòlia var. Gràyi_, of
the Coast Ranges, is similar, the flower often tinged with blue, the
involucre-leaves with leaf-stalks.
[Sidenote: =Northern Anemone=
_Anemòne parviflòra_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A pretty little plant, with a rather hairy, reddish stem, from four
to twelve inches tall, glossy, dark-green leaves, paler and downy on
the under side, and flowers about half an inch across, cream-white,
tinged with purple or blue on the outside; the akenes very woolly. This
reaches an altitude of ten thousand five hundred feet, growing in the
East and in Asia and is the smallest of the mountain Anemones.
[Illustration: Northern Anemone--A. parviflora.
Three-leaved Anemone--A. deltoidea.
Canyon Anemone--A. sphenophylla.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Western Anemone=
_Anemòne occidentàlis_
=White
Spring
Northwest=]
These beautiful mountain flowers bloom in early spring, sometimes
poking their pretty faces right through a hole melted in a snow-bank,
and the brave little things are quite thickly covered with silky wool
all over, as if to keep themselves warm. The flowers, which often bloom
before the leaves expand, are about two inches across, with five to
eight, cream-white sepals, tinged with blue and hairy on the outside,
and are much less delicate looking than most Anemones. The stout stems
are very woolly, from six to eighteen inches tall, and the leaves are
beautiful, cut into numerous, very fine divisions, exceedingly feathery
and pretty. The akenes have long, feathery tails and form very large,
silky, fluffy heads, which are very handsome and conspicuous.
There are a good many kinds of Caltha, succulent marsh plants, of
temperate and arctic regions; the leaves undivided, mostly from the
base and more or less heart-shaped; the flowers with large, petal-like
sepals and no petals. This is the Latin name of the Marigold.
[Sidenote: =White Marsh Marigold=
_Cáltha leptosépala_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A pretty little mountain, marsh plant with a smooth, stout, purplish
stem from four to eight inches tall, and smooth, light-green leaves,
often veined with purple on the under side. The flowers are an inch and
a quarter across, with eight or ten, cream-white sepals, tinged with
blue on the outside, and pretty golden centers of numerous stamens.
This blooms at the edge of the retreating snow and reaches an altitude
of twelve thousand feet. _C. palústris_, the Yellow Marsh Marigold,
found in the Northwest and common in the East, has beautiful yellow
flowers, resembling large Buttercups.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Western Anemone--Anemone occidentalis.
White Marsh Marigold--Caltha leptosepala.]
[Illustration]
There are many varieties of Clematis, or Virgin's Bower, familiar to
us all, both East and West, and general favorites, widely distributed
and flourishing in temperate regions; perennials, woody below, which
is unusual in this family. Usually they are beautiful trailing vines,
which climb over bushes and rocks, holding on by their twisting,
curling leaf-stalks. The flowers have no petals, or only very small
ones, but their sepals, usually four, resemble petals; the stamens are
numerous. The numerous pistils form a round bunch of akenes, their
styles developing into long feathery tails, and these gray, plumy heads
are very conspicuous and ornamental, when the flowers are gone. The
leaves are opposite, which is unusual in this family, with slender
leaf-stalks, and are usually compound. Some plants have only staminate
flowers and some only pistillate ones, and the appearance is quite
different, the flowers with stamens being handsomer.
[Sidenote: =Virgin's Bower, Pipe-stem=
_Clématis lasiántha_
=White, pale-yellow
Spring
California=]
Near the summit of Mt. Lowe, and in similar places, we find this
beautiful vine clambering over the rocks. The flowers measure an inch
and a quarter to over two inches across and they vary in tint from
almost pure white to a lovely soft shade of pale-yellow, the handsome
clusters forming a beautiful contrast to the dark-green foliage. The
stamens and pistils are on different plants. The flowers, leaves, and
stems are all more or less velvety and the akenes have tails an inch
long, forming a head, about two inches across. The flowers are often so
numerous as to make conspicuous masses of pale color on canyon sides,
in the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada Mountains.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Virgin's Bower--Clematis lasiantha.]
There are a few kinds of Atragene, resembling Clematis.
[Sidenote: =Purple Clematis=
_Atrágene occidentàlis (Clematis)_
=Violet, blue
Summer
West=]
This is peculiarly attractive, as the flowers are large and beautiful
and the foliage very pretty. The leaves are divided into three, pointed
leaflets, which are thin in texture, light bright-green and prettily
cut or lobed, and the trailing or climbing stems are almost smooth,
slender and purplish above and woody below. The flowers, which are
not in clusters, measure from two to three inches across, with four,
sometimes five, violet or blue sepals, spreading widely as the flower
grows older, and the outer stamens are broad and resemble small petals.
The flowers are followed by handsome feathery heads, which are large
and silky. This pretty vine is found in the Grand Canyon, not far below
the Rim, and in many mountain places. The foliage varies somewhat in
different climates.
There are many kinds of Thalictrum, not easily distinguished, widely
distributed, a few in the Andes, India, and Africa; perennials, with
tall stems, from a short rootstock, and handsome, compound leaves; the
flowers perfect or imperfect, many, small, in clusters, with four to
seven sepals and no petals; the akenes tipped with the long styles and
forming a head. Some of these plants have a disagreeable smell. They
grow in moist places, both East and West.
[Sidenote: =Meadow Rue=
_Thalíctrum Féndleri_
=Greenish-white
Summer
West=]
Though its flowers are small and colorless, this plant is conspicuous
for delicacy and grace. The leaves of tender green suggest the fronds
of Maidenhair Fern and are almost as beautiful, while the flowers
are odd and pretty. A shower of numerous, pale-yellow stamens, with
purplish, threadlike filaments, falls from the center of four,
greenish-white sepals and forms a charming little tassel. These tassels
hang on the ends of very slender pedicels, in loose clusters. The
smooth stems are from one to three feet tall and the smooth leaves are
thin in texture, thrice-compound, with many, rounded leaflets, the
lower leaves with long leaf-stalks. This Meadow Rue has its pistils and
stamens on different plants, the flowers with tassels of stamens being
prettier and more conspicuous than the small, green, pistillate ones.
The variety _Wrìghtii_ is common in Arizona.
[Illustration: Lilac Clematis--Atragene occidentalis.]
[Illustration: Meadow Rue--Thalictrum Fendleri.]
BARBERRY FAMILY. _Berberidaceae._
Not a large family, widely distributed; shrubs or herbs; leaves
alternate or from the root; flowers perfect; sepals and petals few,
many, or none, generally in several overlapping rows; stamens on the
receptacle, usually as many as the petals and opposite them; pistil
one, with a short style, or none; fruit a berry or capsule.
There are several kinds of Vancouveria, perennial herbs with slender,
creeping rootstocks; named after Vancouver the explorer.
[Sidenote: =Inside-out Flower, Barrenwort=
_Vancouvèria parviflòra_
=White, lilac
Spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
A charming woodland plant, its airy flower cluster, which has much the
effect of an Alum-root, in beautiful contrast to the crisp, evergreen
foliage. The large leaves are all from the root, with wiry, purplish
leaf-stalks and beautifully-shaped leaflets, each an inch or more
broad, pale on the under side, the older leaves dark, rich green,
leathery and very glossy and the younger ones bright apple-green and
thinner in texture. They form a handsome cluster, varying a good deal
in size, and the general effect suggests some very crisp and sturdy
sort of Maidenhair Fern. The stem is from one to two feet tall, wiry,
purplish, and hairy, and bears a very loose cluster of tiny, drooping,
white or lilac-tinged flowers. The six, white sepals resemble petals;
the six, white petals are smaller than the sepals, lined with yellow,
and there are six to nine bracts, resembling sepals, and six stamens.
The minute buds are purplish and the little flowers are exceedingly
pretty and odd, when we examine them closely, for the sepals turn back
so abruptly from the tiny petals, and from the projecting cluster of
stamens, that the name Inside-out Flower is appropriate. The fruit is a
kind of capsule with many seeds. This grows in shady woods, especially
among redwoods, up to seven thousand feet. _V. hexándra_ has thinner
leaflets, not evergreen, and the leaflets of _V. chrysántha_ have white
margins.
[Illustration: Inside-out Flower--Vancouveria parviflora.]
[Illustration]
There are many kinds of Barberry, widely distributed; shrubs, with
yellow wood; the leaves often spiny and the flowers yellow; the sepals
six to nine, with bracts and resembling petals; the petals six, in
two overlapping rows, each with two glands at the base; the stamens
six, with anthers that open by little valves like trap-doors, hinged
at the top, sensitive and, when they are touched, closing around the
shield-shaped stigma; the fruit a berry, with one or few seeds.
[Sidenote: =Oregon Grape, Trailing Barberry=
_Bérberis rèpens_
=Yellow
Spring
Cal., Ariz., Utah, Nev.=]
This does not look much like the common cultivated kinds of Barberry,
for it grows close to the ground in a straggling bunch. In favorable
situations it is a handsome and conspicuous plant. The leaves, with
from three to seven leaflets, are stiff, prickly, and evergreen like
Holly, and the yellow flowers are in clusters at the ends of the stems,
with opposite bracts. The six sepals, petals, and stamens are all
opposite, that is, with a petal in front of each sepal and a stamen in
front of each petal. In Arizona the flowers are rather small and the
clusters short, but in Utah they are far handsomer, rich golden-yellow
and sweet-scented, forming clusters two inches long. The fruit is
a handsome blue berry with a "bloom," the color of wild grapes,
contrasting well with the foliage when it turns red in the autumn,
and delicious jelly is made from them. _B. aquifòlium_, of Oregon and
Washington, is similar, with much more beautiful, very shining leaves.
_B. Féndleri_, of the Southwest, is from three to six feet high, the
branches smooth and shiny as if varnished, the leaves with smooth edges
or spiny teeth, and the flowers in numerous drooping clusters. The
calyx has conspicuous, red bracts and the berry is red.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Oregon Grape--Berberis repens.]
[Sidenote: =Sweet-after-Death=
_Áchlys triphýlla_
=White
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
The only kind, an attractive perennial, popular on account of its
sweet-smelling foliage, which, however, is not fragrant until the
leaves are dried. It has a very slender rootstock and only one large
leaf, with a very long, slender leaf-stalk and three, oddly-shaped
leaflets, from two to six inches across, bright-green, smooth and thin
in texture, but not glossy. The single, very slender flower-stalk, from
one to two feet tall, bears a crowded spike of many, tiny, scentless,
white flowers, without either calyx or corolla, but consisting of a
cluster of stamens, with long, threadlike filaments, the outer ones
broader, and a pistil with a broad stigma and no style. The effect
of the cluster is feathery and pretty and the broad leaf is very
conspicuous, on account of its size and shape. The crescent-shaped
fruit contains one seed, is at first fleshy, but becomes dry and
leathery. This grows in the woods in the Coast Ranges, from near
sea-level up to seven thousand feet. It is also called Vanilla Leaf and
Deer-foot.
WATER LILY FAMILY. _Nymphaeaceae_.
A small family, widely distributed in fresh-water lakes and streams;
aquatic, perennial herbs, with thick, horizontal rootstocks, or with
tubers, large, floating, or erect leaves, and large, solitary flowers,
with long flower-stalks; sepals three to twelve; petals three to many;
stamens six to numerous; ovary superior, stigmas distinct or united
into a disk. We have no white Water Lilies in the West.
[Sidenote: =Indian Pond Lily, Spatter-dock=
_Nymphaèa polysépala (Nuphar)_
=Yellow
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash., Col., Wyo.=]
Like the eastern Spatter-dock, this is a coarse, but rather handsome
and decorative plant. The leathery leaves are shaped like a rounded
heart and sometimes a foot long. The cup-shaped calyx, two to four
inches across, is the conspicuous part of the flower, consisting of
seven to twelve, thickish sepals, yellow and petal-like, the outer
greenish. There are twelve to eighteen petals, half an inch long,
resembling stamens. The real stamens have dark-red anthers, but yellow
pollen, and both petals and stamens are densely crowded around the
ovary. The round fruit has a narrow neck, concave top, and many seeds.
In quiet mountain ponds we find these yellow flowers, on stout stems
standing up out of the water, the lily-pads floating idly on its
surface. Indians grind the seeds into meal for porridge, or else roast
them and eat them like popcorn.
[Illustration: Sweet-after-Death--Achlys triphylla.]
STRAWBERRY SHRUB FAMILY. _Calycanthaceae_.
A very small family, of only two genera, one North American, one
Japanese; aromatic shrubs, with opposite, toothless leaves, with short
leaf-stalks, without stipules; flowers large, solitary, at the ends
of leafy branches; sepals, petals, and stamens, indefinite in number,
in many, overlapping series, passing one into the other, so that one
cannot tell which is which, and all borne on the receptacle, which is
hollow, resembling a rose-hip, almost enclosing the numerous pistils;
stamens short, the inner ones without anthers; receptacle becoming a
large, leathery, oblong or pear-shaped fruit, containing few or many,
smooth, shining akenes.
There are three kinds of Calycanthus in this country, two of them
eastern; flowers purple or red, stamens inserted in several rows.
[Sidenote: =Strawberry Shrub=
_Calycánthus occidentàlis_
=Red
Summer
California=]
This resembles the familiar shrub of old-fashioned gardens and the
flowers have the same pleasant and elusive aroma, something like
strawberries, much more spicy when crushed. The shrub is four to ten
feet high, with rather coarse, harsh foliage and large, handsome
flowers, two or three inches across, warm maroon in color, shading
to brown and purple, with yellow stamens. This is handsome and
conspicuous, because of the uncommon and rich coloring of its flowers,
and grows along watercourses in the canyons of the foothills and is
most common in northern California. It has many other names, such as
Sweet Shrub, Carolina Allspice, Wineflowers, etc.
[Illustration: Strawberry Shrub--Calycanthus occidentalis.]
POPPY FAMILY. _Papaveraceae_.
A rather large family, widely distributed, most abundant in the north
temperate zone; herbs, rarely shrubs, with milky, mostly yellow juice
and narcotic or acrid properties; the leaves mostly alternate, without
stipules; the parts of the flower usually all separate and distinct,
borne on a top-shaped receptacle. There are usually two sepals, which
fall off when the blossom opens, and usually four petals, overlapping
and crumpled in the bud; the stamens are usually numerous and
conspicuous, with thread-like filaments; the superior ovary becomes a
many-seeded capsule.
There are only two kinds of Romneya, much alike, smooth, stout,
perennial herbs, several feet high, with colorless sap, the leaves
alternate and more or less divided; three sepals, each with a broad
wing on the back; six, large, white petals; many stamens; the ovary
covered with bristles. These plants are nowhere common, but are found
from Santa Barbara south, and in lower California sometimes grow in
great profusion. They are extensively cultivated and much admired
abroad.
[Sidenote: =Matilija Poppy, Giant Poppy=
_Romnèya trichocàlyx_
=White
Summer
California=]
This is often considered the handsomest flower in the West and it
would be hard to find anything more beautiful and striking than
its magnificent blossoms. The plant has somewhat the effect of a
Peony-bush, sometimes, in cultivation, as much as five feet high,
with many smooth stems and handsome, smooth, light-green foliage, the
leaves cut and lobed, those near the top with a few prickles. The
splendid flowers are enormous, from five to nine inches across, with
diaphanous, white petals, crinkled like crêpe tissue-paper, and bright
golden centers, composed of hundreds of yellow stamens surrounding a
greenish-white pistil. The blossoms remain open for several days. The
hard, round buds are covered with short, brown hairs. This is the true
Matilija Poppy, (pronounced Matíliha,) as it is the kind that grows in
the canyon of that name, but the tremendous floods of 1914 drowned most
of these beautiful plants in that locality. _R_. _Còulteri_ is similar,
but the buds are smooth and the stems more robust.
[Illustration: Matilija Poppy--Romneya trichocalyx.]
There are several kinds of Argemone, natives of the warmer parts of
America, with bitter, yellow juice, spiny-toothed leaves and large,
conspicuous flowers, the buds erect; sepals two or three, with odd
little horns; petals twice as many as the sepals; stamens numerous;
style very short, with a radiate stigma; capsule prickly, oblong,
opening at the top, containing numerous seeds.
[Sidenote: =Thistle Poppy, Milk Thistle=
_Argemòne híspida_
=White
Summer
Southwest=]
The prickly, bluish-green foliage of this decorative and handsome plant
is thistle-like both in form and color. The leafy, branching stems,
two or three feet high, are covered with dense, white or yellowish
prickles and bear several lovely flowers, over three inches across,
with delicately crumpled, white petals and beautiful golden centers,
composed of numerous yellow stamens, both stem and leaves having a
bluish "bloom." The three prickly green sepals each have a spine-like
beak and form a queer-looking, three-horned bud; the pistil has a
purplish, cap-shaped stigma, with six lobes, and the prickly ovary
becomes a very prickly capsule. This grows in dry places and looks very
beautiful and striking when we find its fragile flowers waving in the
wind against a background of hot desert sand. It varies a good deal in
prickliness and in the form both of plant and flower. When there is
only one large flower in bloom, surrounded by a circle of prickly buds,
it suggests a fairy princess, guarded by a retinue of fierce warriors.
The flowers are often quite broad and flat, and then are sometimes
given the prosaic name of Fried-eggs.
There are many kinds of Papaver; with milky juice, leaves lobed or cut,
nodding flower buds, showy regular flowers, with two or three sepals
and four to six petals. The stigmas are united to form a disk with rays
and the fruit is a round or oblong capsule, opening near the top. Both
the Latin and common name, Poppy, are ancient. Opium is made from _P.
somníferum_ of the Mediterranean.
[Illustration: Thistle Poppy--Argemone hispida.]
[Sidenote: =Wind Poppy=
_Papàver heterophýllum_
=Red
Spring
California=]
A slender, graceful plant, one or two feet tall, with smooth,
branching, purplish stems, smooth leaves, variously cut and lobed,
and charming flowers, gay yet delicate. They are about an inch and a
half across, usually with four, scarlet petals, each with a spot of
maroon at the base, and a bright-green pistil and maroon filaments with
pale-yellow anthers. The buds and seed-pods are smooth. This varies a
good deal, smells strong of opium when picked, and its flowers glow
like jewels among the underbrush on open hillsides, but fall to pieces
when gathered.
There are a good many kinds of Eschscholtzia, with bitter, watery
juice; leaves alternate, cut into many fine divisions; buds erect;
flowers yellow; receptacle cuplike, often with a rim; the two sepals
united to form a pointed cap, which is pushed off by the four petals as
they expand; stamens numerous, with short filaments and long anthers;
style very short, usually with four stigmas; pod long, narrow and
ribbed, containing many seeds. These plants were collected at San
Francisco in 1816 by von Chamisso, a German poet and naturalist, and
named in honor of his friend Eschscholtz, a botanist.
[Sidenote: =California Poppy=
_Eschschóltzia Califórnica_
=Yellow
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
Probably the most celebrated western flower and deservedly popular. It
varies a great deal in general form and coloring, but is usually a fine
plant, over a foot tall, with stems and leaves a beautiful shade of
light bluish-green, and the flowers two or three inches across, usually
bright-yellow, shading to orange at the base, but sometimes almost
cream-color. They open in sunlight and when blooming in quantities are
a beautiful sight, covering the hillsides with a cloth of gold. In
southern Arizona a similar kind often borders the dry beds of streams
with bright color, with much the same value in the landscape as the
Marsh Marigolds along New England streams. It is the State flower of
California and has many poetic Spanish names, such as Torosa, Amapola,
and Dormidera, besides Copa de Oro, meaning "Cup of gold."
[Illustration: California Poppy--Eschscholtzia Californica.]
[Illustration: Wind Poppy--Papaver heterophyllum.]
There are several kinds of Dendromecon, smooth shrubs, with alternate,
toothless, leathery leaves and yellow flowers, with two sepals and four
petals; stamens numerous, with short filaments; ovary with a short
style and two, oblong stigmas. The name is from the Greek for "tree"
and "poppy."
[Sidenote: =Tree Poppy=
_Dendromécon rígida_
=Yellow
All seasons
California=]
This is not a true Poppy, but the flowers are sufficiently like to be
quite surprising when we find them growing on what appears to be a
small willow tree! It is a handsome and decorative shrub, both in form
and color, two to eight feet high, with pale woody stems, the main
stem with shreddy bark, and light bluish-green foliage, the leaves
something like those of willow, but quite stiff and leathery, with a
little pointed tip, the short leaf-stalks twisted so as to bring the
leaf into a vertical position. Sprinkled all over the bush are numbers
of beautiful, clear golden-yellow flowers, one to three inches across,
with orange-colored anthers and a pale-yellow pistil. This grows on
dry, sunny hillsides, at middle altitudes, and is common in southern
California, but is particularly fine near Santa Barbara. The flowers
have a slight smell like cucumber and may be found in bloom at all
seasons of the year. The ribbed seed-pod is long and narrow.
There is only one kind of Platystemon, with stem leaves opposite or
in whorls; sepals three, soon falling; petals six; stamens many, with
broad, flat filaments. The numerous pistils are at first partly united,
forming a compound ovary; when ripe they separate into knotted pods,
which break apart between the seeds. The name means "broad stamens."
[Sidenote: =Cream-cups=
_Platystèmon Califórnicus_
=Cream-color
Spring
Cal., Oreg., Ariz.=]
Pretty graceful plants, their creamy blossoms often whitening the
spring meadows. The slender hairy stems are about a foot tall, the
leaves and the nodding buds light-green and hairy, and the pretty
flowers, about an inch across, are delicate cream-color, the petals
often stained with bright-yellow, either at the tip or base, or both,
with pretty creamy centers. This is common in the foothills, plains,
and valleys.
[Illustration: Bush Poppy--Dendromecon rigida.]
[Illustration: Cream-cups--Platystemon Californicus.]
BLEEDING HEART FAMILY. _Fumariaceae._
A small family, widely distributed; very smooth, tender, perennial
herbs, with watery juice; alternate, compound leaves, finely cut, lobed
and fringed into many divisions, and irregular, perfect flowers, of
peculiar shape, with two, scale-like sepals, and four petals, the inner
pair narrower than the outer and united by their tips over the stamens
and style. The six stamens are in two, equal sets, the filaments of
each set somewhat united, the middle anther of each set with two cells,
the others with only one. The superior ovary develops into a long, dry,
one-celled capsule, containing shiny, black seeds. This family has been
united to the Poppies by Bentham and Hooker, because the plan of the
flowers is similar, though their appearance is unlike.
There are several kinds of Bicuculla, natives of North America and
Asia; perennials, with beautiful foliage and decorative flowers, of
the curious and intricate shape we are familiar with in old-fashioned
gardens. The pedicels have two bracts; the corolla is heart-shaped at
base; the outer pair of petals are oblong and concave, with spreading
tips and spurred or pouched at base, the inner pair are narrow and
clawed, with crests or wings on the back; the style is slender, with a
two-lobed stigma, each lobe with two crests. The creeping rootstock is
surrounded by a bulb-like cluster of fleshy grains. These plants are
often called Dutchman's Breeches, from the shape of the flower, which,
of course, also gives the pretty name Bleeding Heart. Bicuculla is from
the Latin, meaning "double-hooded."
[Sidenote: =Bleeding Heart=
_Bicucúlla formòsa (Dicentra)_
=Pink
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
This is a very beautiful and interesting plant, about two feet tall,
with delicate pale-green leaves, beautifully cut and lobed, all from
the root, with very long leaf-stalks, and a few, graceful sprays of
purplish-pink flowers, each about three-quarters of an inch long.
This has a fleshy, spreading rootstock and grows in shady spots, in
rich, moist woods, at moderate altitudes, but is not very common. It
is found in the Yosemite Valley. _B. uniflòra_ is a diminutive alpine
plant, from one to three inches high, usually with only one white or
flesh-colored flower, about half an inch long, which is often hidden
among dead leaves. This grows in rich soil on mountain sides in the
Wasatch and Teton Mountains and in the Sierra Nevada, and is found in
the Yosemite Valley and on Mt. Lyall, at a height of ten thousand five
hundred feet. This is called Squirrel Corn and Steer's Head.
[Illustration: Bleeding Heart--Bicuculla formosa.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Golden Eardrops=
_Bicucúlla chrysántha (Dicentra)_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
The general appearance of this handsome plant is striking and Japanese
in effect, and the coloring of the feathery, pale-green foliage and
the golden-yellow flowers is exceedingly odd and beautiful. The large,
finely-cut leaves are sometimes a foot long, and resemble delicate
ferns, and the smooth, stout, rather coarse flower-stems bear a few
pretty flowers, which are a soft shade of yellow, about three-quarters
of an inch long, the usual Bleeding Heart shape, but not drooping,
and with a strong narcotic odor, much like that of poppies. This is
sometimes as much as four feet high and grows in sunny places on dry
ridges in the Coast Ranges, but is nowhere common.
There are many kinds of Capnoides, natives of the north temperate zone
and Africa. They have oddly-shaped flowers, something like Bleeding
Heart, but with only one spur, at the back on the upper side, instead
of two. The name is from the Greek, meaning "smokelike," in allusion to
the odor of some kinds.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Golden Eardrops--Bicuculla chrysantha.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Golden Corydal=
_Capnoìdes aùreum_ (_Corydalis_)
=Yellow
Spring
West=]
This has hollow, branching and spreading stems, from six to fourteen
inches tall, with very pretty, delicate, pale-green foliage and
bright-yellow flowers, each about half an inch long, on slender
pedicels, in a loose cluster. The spurs give them a quaint and pert
effect. The style stays on the tip of the long curved capsule, which
looks like a bean-pod, drooping or sticking out at an awkward angle
from the stem. This is especially fine in some of the mountain valleys
in Utah, making beautiful clumps of foliage; it is widely distributed
and is also found in the East. In the West it is sometimes called
Dutchman's Breeches and confused with that plant, but rather absurdly
so, for the Dutchman could have only one leg!
[Sidenote: =Pink Corydalis=
_Capnoìdes Scoúleri_ (_Corydalis_)
=Pink
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]
A very beautiful and decorative plant, two or three feet tall, with
large, exceedingly graceful leaves, vivid yet delicate in color and
thin in texture, beautifully cut and lobed. The flowers are about
an inch long, pale-pink shaded with deeper color, each with a long,
cylindrical spur, and form pretty clusters, which show up very
effectively against the tender green of the large clumps of delicate
foliage, which are conspicuously beautiful. This grows in rich soil, in
mountain woods, and is charming in the forests in Mt. Rainier National
Park.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Golden Corydal--C. aureum.
Pink Corydalis--Capnoides Scouleri.]
MUSTARD FAMILY. _Cruciferae._
A large family, widely distributed. Both the English and Latin names
are appropriate, for the watery juice of these plants is pungent, like
mustard, and the flowers spread out their four petals in the form of a
cross. They are herbs, the leaves alternate or from the root, usually
with no leaf-stalks. The flowers have four petals, with claws; four
sepals, the two outer ones narrow, apt to drop off; six stamens, two
of them short. The ovary is superior, usually with a single style
and stigma, and usually develops into a pod, divided in two by a
transparent partition, which remains after the pod has opened from
below; in some kinds the pod remains closed. The flowers generally grow
in clusters and though they are often small they produce honey and so
are frequented by bees and flies. The family is easily recognized by
the four petals and in most species by two stamens being shorter than
the others, but the flowers are so much alike that the various kinds
have to be determined by examining the fruit. Radish and Horse-radish,
Mustard and Water-cress all belong to this family, as well as many
familiar garden flowers, such as Sweet Alyssum, Candytuft, Rockets, and
Stocks, and many are common weeds, such as Peppergrass and Shepherd's
Purse.
There are several kinds of Dentaria, smooth perennials, with rather
large white or pink flowers and tuberous rootstocks.
[Sidenote: =Milk Maids, Pepper-root=
_Dentària Califórnica_
=White, pink
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A charming plant, with a purplish stem, from six inches to two feet
tall, and pretty leaves, varying in shape, those from the root being
roundish in outline, or with three leaflets, but the stem-leaves with
three or five leaflets. The flowers are about three-quarters of an
inch across, with pure-white or pale-pink petals. This is one of the
loveliest of the early spring flowers in the Coast Ranges and usually
found in damp spots, both in woods and open places, often whitening the
meadows with its blossoms.
[Illustration: Milk Maids--Dentaria Californica.]
There are a good many kinds of Thelypodium, natives of North America,
all western or southwestern; mostly smooth plants, the leaves usually
with leaf-stalks, the flowers in clusters; stamens long, conspicuous,
with very narrow, arrow-shaped anthers; pods long, cylindrical or
four-sided, often twisted, sometimes on a slender stalk; seeds oblong,
flattish, in one row in each cell.
[Sidenote: _Thelypòdium torulòsum_
=Lilac
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
This has small flowers, but often grows in such quantities on the flats
near Salt Lake that it tints the fields with purple. The purplish
stem is from twelve to fifteen inches tall and the leaves are light
bluish-green and very smooth, the root-leaves with long leaf-stalks,
and the stem-leaves arrow-shaped and clasping at base. The flowers
are about half an inch across, with a purplish-tinged calyx and pale
pinkish-lilac petals, and form flat-topped clusters. The pods are
spreading and rather knobby. This usually grows on dry hills, reaching
an altitude of over nine thousand feet, as far east as Wyoming.
There are many kinds of Arabis, widely distributed, with small, white
or purplish flowers.
[Sidenote: =Fendler's Arabis=
_Árabis Féndleri_
=Magenta
Spring
Arizona=]
This is a rather pretty plant, a foot or more tall, with more or less
hairy stems and leaves and pretty clusters of magenta flowers, each
about a quarter of an inch across. It grows on the rim of the Grand
Canyon.
There are many kinds of Erysimum, most abundant in Europe and Asia.
They are usually biennial or perennial, more or less downy; mostly with
yellow flowers; the pods long, narrow and squarish or flattish, rarely
round, with numerous seeds, in one row. In Europe these plants often
grow in the crannies of old walls, hence the common name.
[Sidenote: =Western Wallflower=
_Erýsimum ásperum_
=Orange, lemon-yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
The vivid glowing orange of these handsome flowers is exceedingly
effective among the dark tree-trunks of the mountain forests where they
often grow. They are widely distributed as far east as Ohio. The stout,
purplish stems are from one to two feet tall and the long, narrow
leaves, often toothed, are apt to be purplish on the under side, and
both stem and leaves are rather rough. The fragrant flowers, each
about three-quarters of an inch across, form a handsome cluster, about
three inches across. The calyx is yellow, the pistil green, and the
anthers brown. The conspicuous, four-sided pods are spreading or erect,
from one to five inches long, with a stout beak. In the high mountains
the orange-color gives way to the variety _perénne_, with lemon-colored
flowers, perhaps commoner than the orange, not so tall, and wonderfully
handsome in the Wasatch Mountains, around Mt. Rainier and similar
places, and widely distributed. The Cream-colored Wallflower, _E.
capitàtum_, blooms early, growing near the coast; the flowers large,
handsome, but not sweet-scented.
[Illustration: Western Wall-flower--Erysimum asperum.]
[Illustration: Thelypodium torulosum.
Arabis Fendleri.]
There are a good many kinds of Thlaspi, of temperate and arctic
regions: smooth low plants, mostly mountain; root-leaves forming a
rosette; stem-leaves more or less arrow-shaped and clasping; flowers
rather small, white or purplish; sepals blunt; style slender, sometimes
none, with a small stigma; pod flat, roundish, wedge-shaped, or
heart-shaped, with crests or wings.
[Sidenote: =Wild Candytuft, Pennycress=
_Thláspi glaùcum_
=White
Spring, summer, autumn
Northwest and Utah=]
A rather pretty little plant, with several flower-stalks, springing
from rosettes of leaves, dull-green, somewhat purplish and thickish,
smooth and obscurely toothed, all more or less covered with a "bloom";
the flowers small, slightly fragrant, forming clusters less than an
inch across, the white petals longer than the thin, greenish sepals.
This grows on moist, mountain slopes. _T. alpéstre_, of the Northwest,
is similar, but without "bloom."
There are only a few kinds of Dithyrea, grayish, hairy plants,
resembling Biscutella of the Mediterranean, with yellowish or whitish
flowers.
[Sidenote: _Dithýrea Wislizéni_
=White
Summer
Ariz., New Mex., Tex., Okla., Ark.=]
A little desert plant, from six to twelve inches tall, with branching
stems; pale, yellowish-green, downy leaves, about an inch long,
with wavy or toothed margins; small white flowers and funny little
seed-pods, sticking out at right-angles from the stem. This grows at an
altitude of three to four thousand feet and is found in the Petrified
Forest.
There are many kinds of Streptanthus, difficult to distinguish,
smooth plants, often with a "bloom"; stems branching; leaves often
clasping at base, the lower ones usually more toothed or lobed than the
upper. The flowers are very peculiar in shape, not like most Mustards,
but suggesting the shape of a Bleeding Heart flower; the sepals usually
colored like the petals, two or all of them bulging at base, so that
the calyx is broad below and contracted above; the corolla regular or
irregular, the petals purple or white, with claws and narrow, wavy or
crisp borders; the stamens four long and two short, or in three unequal
pairs, the longest pair often united below; the pods long, narrow,
flattish or cylindrical, on a broad receptacle; the seeds flat and more
or less winged. These plants are called Jewel-flower, but the name does
not seem particularly appropriate.
[Illustration: Dithyrea Wislizeni.
Wild Candytuft--Thlaspi glaucum.]
[Sidenote: =Shield-leaf=
_Streptánthus tortuòsus_
=Yellowish, purplish
Summer
California=]
Nothing about this odd-looking plant is pretty and it almost seems as
if it were trying to make up by eccentricity for its lack of beauty.
It is common in dry, sandy places in the mountains and our attention
is first attracted to the tall, branching stalks, because they are
strung with such queer-looking leaves. In summer the upper ones are
bright-yellow or dull-purple and they clasp the stem and curve over,
so that they look like small brass shields, pierced by the stem. There
are three or four of these curving leaves, very smooth and shiny, and
several more below, which are flatter and dark-green, and the stem,
from six inches to three feet high, is oddly twisted and leans to one
side. The small flowers are yellowish or mauve, veined with purple,
less than half an inch long and peculiar in shape. The contrast in
color between the flowers and leaves is very odd and very ugly, but as
if this were not enough, later in the season the curious thing hangs
itself with ridiculously long, slender pods, like great hooks, and
looks queerer and more disheveled than ever.
[Sidenote: =Arizona Streptanthus=
_Streptánthus Arizònicus_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]
Prettier and not so queer-looking as the last. The leaves are
arrow-shaped, clasping at base, rather leathery, bluish-green,
with a "bloom" and tinged with purple on the backs, the lower ones
toothed, and the pods are about two inches long, flat and tinged with
purple. The flowers are half an inch long, pearly-white, the petals
yellowish, veined with purple, and are quite pretty. This grows in dry
places.
[Illustration: Arizona Streptanthus--Streptanthus Arizonicus.
Shield-leaf--S. tortuosus.]
There are only a few kinds of Stanleya, all western; tall, stout,
smooth perennials, or biennials, with a "bloom"; flowers large, mostly
yellow, without bracts, in long, terminal, clusters; sepals long,
narrow; petals long, narrow, with long claws; stamens six, very nearly
equal; ovary on a short stalk, with a short style or none; pods long,
narrow and flattish, with long stalks; seeds numerous. Named for Lord
Edward Stanley, President of the Linnaean Society.
[Sidenote: =Golden Prince's Plume=
_Stánleya pinnatífida_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest and New Mex.=]
The pretty common name of this tall, handsome plant was given by
Helen Hunt Jackson and the long, feathery wand of numerous blossoms
is beautiful and suggests a plume. On the other hand, the straggling
flowers have such long, narrow, curling petals, the threadlike
filaments look so much like curling antennae and the long, thin pods
stick out so awkwardly, like insects' legs, from among the flowers
on the lower part of the stalk, that we find the general effect is
rather weird and spidery. In fact the plant I drew had a large yellow
spider, precisely the color of the flowers, half-concealed among them.
The stem is from two to five feet high; the leaves are smooth, pale
bluish-green, the lower ones with leaflets and a leaf-stalk, and the
flowers are bright-yellow, or cream-color, about an inch across. This
grows usually in dampish spots, in arid regions. The picture is of one
I found in Indian Garden Canyon, a branch of the Grand Canyon.
[Sidenote: _Dryopétalon runcinàtum_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]
The only kind, a fine plant, well worth cultivation; smooth and
branching, about two feet tall, with handsome, bluish-green leaves,
with a "bloom," the root-leaves with long, purplish leaf-stalks and
sometimes nine inches long; the flowers half an inch across, with
a lilac-tinged calyx and white petals, prettily toothed, forming a
pretty, rather flat-topped cluster. The pods are very slender, nearly
straight, one or two inches long. This grows among rocks, in protected
situations, and is not common. Only a few, separate flowers are given
in the picture, as the plant I found, near the Desert Laboratory at
Tucson, was almost out of bloom.
[Illustration: Dryopetalon runcinatum.
Golden Prince's Plume--Stanleya pinnatifida.]
There are a good many kinds of Lesquerella, all American; low plants,
more or less hairy or scurfy; flowers mostly yellow, in clusters;
petals without claws; pods roundish, more or less inflated, and giving
the common name, Bladder-pod, also used for _Isomeris arborea_.
[Sidenote: =White Bladder-pod=
_Lesquerélla purpùrea_
=White, pink
Spring
Arizona=]
Pretty little plants, often growing in quantities among rocks in
mountain canyons. The slender stems are from a few inches to over a
foot tall, springing from a cluster of root-leaves, varying a good deal
in shape, dull-green and harsh to the touch. The flowers are half an
inch or more across, with white petals, often tinged with pink, with
a little yellow in the throat, and form a pretty, rather flat-topped
cluster.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Bladder-pod=
_Lesquerélla Arizònica_
=Yellow
Summer
Arizona=]
In desert places, such as the terrible sandy wastes of the Petrified
Forest, where it seems a miracle that anything should grow, we find
the close, pale, gray-green tufts of this little plant, crowned with
racemes of small bright-yellow flowers. The small, thickish leaves are
long, narrow and white with close down, the stems, about three inches
high, branch at the root and the little pods are tipped with a style
of about their own length. _L. Gordóni_, of Arizona, also has clusters
of little yellow flowers, often covering sandy hillsides with bright
color; the leaves slightly stiff and rough, the pods much inflated. It
resembles _L. purpurea_ in general form and size.
There are many kinds of Brassica, coarse "weeds" in this country. This
is the ancient Latin name for Cabbage, which belongs to this genus, as
well as Cauliflower, Turnip, and Brussels Sprouts.
[Sidenote: =Black Mustard=
_Brássica nìgra_
=Yellow
Summer
U. S.=]
A European "weed," common everywhere. In California it grows to
an enormous height, sometimes twelve feet, and when in bloom is
a beautiful feature of the landscape, covering the fields with a
shimmering sheet of pale gold. The leaves are dark-green, smooth or
with a few hairs, all with leaf-stalks, the lower leaves large and
jagged, cut into leaflets, the upper leaves mostly toothless. The
fragrant flowers form long clusters, each flower about three-quarters
of an inch across; the small, cylindrical pods stand erect, close to
the branching stem. A valuable, antiseptic oil is made from the black,
pungent seeds, exported from California by the ton.
[Illustration: White Bladder-pod--Lesquerella purpurea.]
CAPER FAMILY. _Capparidaceae._
The flowers of this family are much like the Mustards, but the stamens
are all of equal length and are often more than six; the leaves are
alternate and consist of three or several leaflets, with stalks, and
the plant usually tastes bitter and disagreeable instead of pungent.
There is no partition in the pods, which are on long, threadlike
stalks; the ovary is superior and the seeds are kidney-shaped. Many
flowers have only a rudimentary pistil and never produce fruit. The
Caper, of which we eat the pickled flower-buds for a relish, is a shrub
which grows in the Levant. The family is quite large and flourishes in
warm regions.
There are several kinds of Cleomella, resembling Cleome, except that
the pods are different.
[Sidenote: =Cleomella=
_Cleomélla lóngipes_
=Yellow
Spring
Nev., Cal., Oreg.=]
This is a handsome, rather odd-looking plant, with a stout, smooth,
yellowish or purplish stem, sometimes branching and over a foot tall.
The leaves are bright light-green, smooth, toothless and slightly
thickish, and the three leaflets are sometimes each tipped with a hair,
and have a tuft of small hairs at the base of the leaf-stalk, in place
of a stipule. The flowers are about half an inch across, and are a
beautiful warm shade of golden-yellow, the long stamens being of the
same color and giving a very pretty feathery appearance to the large
cluster. The pods are queer-looking little things and stick straight
out from the stem. This has a slightly unpleasant smell, but looks very
gay and pretty in the fields and along the edges of the mesas around
Reno.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Cleomella--C. longipes.]
[Illustration]
There are many kinds of Cleome; ours are branching herbs, with
palmately-divided leaves; the flowers with four sepals, four petals,
and six stamens. The ovary has a stalk with a gland at its base and
becomes a long pod, with a long stalk and many seeds.
[Sidenote: =Bee-plant=
_Cleòme serrulàta_
=Pinkish-lilac, white
Summer
Southwest, etc.=]
In Arizona this exceedingly handsome plant often covers the dry beds
of rivers with acres of beautiful color. The smooth, branching stem
is sometimes as much as eight feet high. The upper leaves are long
and narrow and the lower are larger and usually have three leaflets,
but all are bluish-green and peculiarly soft and smooth to the
touch. The buds are purple and the delicate flowers, with threadlike
flower-stalks, grow in a handsome, feathery cluster, sometimes a foot
long, with numerous bracts. They have four, pinkish-lilac or white
petals and six exceedingly long, threadlike stamens with minute,
curling, green anthers. The lilac pistil is also very long and before
the flower drops off begins to develop into a small, flat, green pod.
These gradually lengthen, until the stem is ornamented with many
hooklike pods, with slender stalks, hanging all along it. Many of the
flowers do not produce fruit. The foliage when it is crushed gives off
a rank, unpleasant smell, which is responsible for the local name of
Skunk-weed. This is widely distributed and is found in the central and
northern part of the United States, as well as in the Southwest.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Bee-plant--Cleome serrulata.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Yellow Cleome=
_Cleòme platycàrpa_
=Yellow
Spring
Nevada=]
An odd-looking plant, with very pretty, feathery flower-clusters.
The hairy stem is over a foot tall and the leaves are bright
yellowish-green and mostly smooth on the upper side, with hairy margins
and hairy on the under side. The flowers are a warm shade of bright
golden-yellow and form a handsome, rather flat-topped cluster, with
long stamens, and the oblong pods are an inch long or less, flat
and much broader than those of the last. The flowers are slightly
sweet-scented and the whole plant exudes a faint unpleasant odor.
This is conspicuous on the dreary mesas around Reno, often growing
with _Cleomella longipes_, which it very much resembles in general
appearance, except for the pods, which are quite different.
There is only one kind of Isomeris.
[Sidenote: =Bladderpod=
_Isómeris arbòrea_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
This is a shrub about three feet high, which is attractive except for
its unpleasant smell. The leaves are smooth, toothless, stiffish and
thickish, and bluish-green, with a small bristle at the tip, and mostly
with three leaflets. The pretty flowers are nearly an inch across and
warm yellow in color, not very bright but pretty in tone, with six very
long, yellow stamens, and form a short, oblong cluster. The ovary has
such a long stalk, even in the flower, that it gives an odd appearance
and it develops into a very curious and conspicuous, drooping pod, an
inch and a half long, much inflated and resembling a very fat pea-pod,
on a long stalk, with two rows of seeds like little peas inside it,
which taste very bitter. This is quite common on southern mesas. The
name Bladderpod is also used for Lesquerella, which belongs to the
Mustard Family.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Bladderpod--Isomeris arborea.]
ORPINE FAMILY. _Crassulaceae._
A rather large family, widely distributed; odd-looking, mostly very
succulent herbs, with smooth, fleshy leaves and stems, without
stipules; flowers in clusters; sepals, petals, pistils, and stamens,
all of the same number, usually four or five, sometimes the stamens
twice as many; ovary superior; receptacle with honey-bearing scales,
one behind each pistil; pistils separate, developing into small dry
pods, containing few or many, minute seeds. Some of these plants look
like tiny cabbages and we are all familiar with their tight little
rosettes in the formal garden-beds of hotels and railway stations,
where they are so stiff and unattractive that we hardly recognize them
when we find them looking exceedingly pretty in their natural homes.
The Latin name means "thick."
There are many kinds of Sedum, no one kind very widely distributed;
fleshy herbs; leaves usually alternate; flowers star-like, often in
one-sided clusters; stamens and pistils sometimes in different flowers
on different plants; sepals and petals four or five; stamens eight or
ten, on the calyx, the alternate ones usually attached to the petals;
styles usually short. The Latin name means "to sit," because these
plants squat on the ground, and Stonecrop is from their fondness for
rocks.
[Sidenote: =Douglas Stonecrop=
_Sèdum Douglásii_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
This makes beautiful golden patches, on dry slopes or more or less open
hilltops, usually among limestone rocks. The reddish stems are from
six to ten inches tall, the leaves are rather long and narrow, thick
but flat, forming pretty pale-green rosettes, more or less tinged with
pink and yellow, and the pretty starry flowers are three-quarters of an
inch across, bright-yellow, with greenish centers, the stamens giving a
feathery appearance.
[Sidenote: =Yosemite Stonecrop=
_Sèdum Yosemiténse_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
On moss-covered rocks, moistened by the glistening spray blowing from
the Yosemite waterfalls, we find these beautiful plants, covering the
stones with a brilliant, many-colored carpet. The flowers are stars of
brightest gold, about half an inch across and delicately scented, and
form flat-topped clusters, three or four inches across. The upper
part of the stalk, which is about six inches tall, and the upper leaves
are delicate bluish-green, but both stem and leaves shade to vivid
scarlet at the base. Spreading out on the ground from the base of the
stem in all directions are numerous little runners, each bearing at the
end a small rosette of thick, blue-green leaves, forming a beautiful
contrast to the vivid color of flowers and stems. The leaves and
runners are very brittle and break off at a touch.
[Illustration: Douglas Stone-crop--S. Douglasii
Yosemite Stonecrop--Sedum Yosemitense.]
There are several kinds of Dudleya; perennials, very thick and fleshy;
root-leaves in a conspicuous rosette, stem-leaves mostly bract-like,
usually with a broad, clasping base; flowers mostly yellow or reddish;
calyx conspicuous, with five lobes; petals united at base; stamens ten.
Most of these plants grow in the South, often on rocks, in such shallow
soil, that they would die in dry weather, except that the juicy leaves
retain their moisture for a long time and nourish the plant. They
resemble Sedum in appearance, but as the petals are more or less united
the flowers are not starlike. The Indians make poultices out of the
leaves.
[Sidenote: =Hen-and-Chickens=
_Dúdleya Nevadénsis (Cotyledon)_
=Orange-red
Summer
California=]
The succulent, reddish flower-stalks of this handsome plant bear
large, loose, rather flat-topped clusters of orange-red flowers,
on coiling branches, and are about a foot tall, with scaly bracts,
springing from a large handsome rosette on the ground of very thick,
pale-green leaves, often tinged with pink. Other smaller rosettes form
a circle around it, hence its nice little common name. _D. pulverulénta
(Echeveria)_ is beautiful but weird-looking. It has red flowers, and
the rosette, resembling a small Century-plant, is covered all over with
a white powder which, among ordinary herbage, gives an exceedingly
striking and ghostlike effect. This plant is sometimes a foot and a
half across, with as many as eight, tall stalks, and is found from San
Diego to Santa Barbara.
[Illustration: Hen-and-Chickens--Dudleya Nevadensis.]
SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. _Saxifragaceae._
A large family, almost all herbs, living usually in temperate regions.
They have no very peculiar characteristics and resemble the Rose
Family, but sometimes their leaves are opposite, usually they have no
stipules and have fewer stamens than Roses, not more than twice as many
as the sepals, and usually the pistils, from two to five in number,
with distinct styles, are united to form a compound ovary, which is
superior or partly inferior; sepals usually five; petals four, five, or
rarely none, alternate with the sepals; petals and stamens borne on the
calyx; fruit a dry pod or berry, containing numerous seeds. The Latin
name means "rock breaker," as many grow among rocks.
There are several kinds of Parnassia, of north temperate and arctic
regions; smooth perennials; leaves toothless, almost all from the
root; flowers single; sepals five; petals five, each with a cluster of
sterile filaments, tipped with glands, at the base; fertile stamens
five, alternate with the petals; ovary superior, or partly inferior,
with a very short style, or none, usually with four stigmas; fruit a
capsule, containing numerous winged seeds. These plants were called
Grass of Parnassus by Dioscorides, but are not grasslike. They resemble
the other members of this family so little that they have been made
into a separate family by some botanists.
[Sidenote: =Grass of Parnassus=
_Parnássia fimbriàta_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A charming plant, with several slender stems, about a foot tall,
springing from a large cluster of handsome, very smooth, glossy leaves.
The flowers are about an inch across and have cream-white petals,
delicately veined with green and prettily fringed towards the base, and
pale yellow anthers. At the base of each petal there is a queer little
stiff cluster of sterile filaments, like a tiny green hand. This grows
on banks of streams and in moist places, reaching an altitude of eleven
thousand feet. _P. Californica_ is similar, but the petals not fringed.
There are several kinds of Leptasea, perennials, with alternate, thick
or stiffish leaves; flowers white or yellow, single or in terminal
clusters; sepals five; petals five, with claws or claw-like bases;
stamens ten; ovary mostly superior.
[Illustration: Grass of Parnassus--Parnassia fimbriata.]
[Sidenote: =Dotted Saxifrage=
_Leptàsea austromontàna. (Saxifraga bronchialis)_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
Pretty little plants, about six inches tall, forming matted clumps of
stiff, rather dark green foliage, the twigs crowded with leathery,
toothless leaves, bristly along the edges and tipped with a little
stiff point. The pretty flowers are about half an inch across, their
white petals dotted with dark red or purple towards the tips, sometimes
dotted with yellow near the center, with yellow anthers and a pale
green ovary, partly inferior. These little plants sometimes cover rocky
slopes for long distances with their leafy mats and are common in the
mountains at moderate altitudes.
There are several kinds of Muscaria, perennial, matted herbs; leaves
alternate, usually three-lobed, mostly from the root; flowers white,
single, or a few in terminal clusters; sepals five; petals five,
without claws; stamens ten; ovary about one-half inferior.
[Sidenote: =Tufted Saxifrage=
_Muscària caespitòsa (Saxifraga)_
=White
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
Pretty little plants, from two to six inches tall, with small leaves,
with from three to five lobes or teeth, forming matted patches of
pretty foliage, from which spring many slender, slightly hairy
flower-stems, with a few bracts or leaves, and bearing one or more
pretty flowers, less than half an inch across, with white petals,
yellow anthers, and a greenish-yellow ovary. This grows in rocky
crevices in the mountains, across the continent, also in arctic and
alpine Europe and Siberia.
There are a good many kinds of Lithophragma, perennials, bearing
bulblets on their slender rootstocks and sometimes also on the stems;
leaves more or less divided, mostly from the root; stipules small;
flowers few, in a loose, terminal cluster; sepals five; petals five,
white or pink, with claws; stamens ten, short; ovary superior or partly
inferior, with three short styles.
[Sidenote: =Woodland Star=
_Lithophrágma heterophýlla_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]
A little woodland plant, delicate and pretty, with a slender, hairy
stem, from nine inches to two feet tall, springing from a pretty
cluster of hairy leaves, variable in shape, but usually with three or
five lobes. The starry flowers are three-quarters of an inch across,
with white petals, prettily slashed. This is sometimes called Star of
Bethlehem, but that name belongs to an Ornithogalum, grown in gardens.
[Illustration: Dotted Saxifrage--Leptasea austromontana.
Tufted Saxifrage--Muscaria caespitosa.
Woodland Star--Lithophragma heterophylla.]
[Sidenote: =Youth-on-age=
_Leptáxis Menzièsii. (Tolmiea)_
=Purplish
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
The only kind, a perennial, over a foot tall, with a hairy stem
bearing a graceful wand of small flowers, springing from a cluster
of root-leaves, bright green and thin in texture, but roughish and
sparsely hairy. The flowers are about a third of an inch long, the
calyx, which is the conspicuous part, dark-purple or pinkish-red and
slightly irregular, with three large and two small sepals, and the
petals of the same color, but so narrow that they look like long
curling filaments. The three stamens are opposite the three upper
sepals, the ovary is superior and the capsule has two long beaks.
Young plants often spring from the base of the leaf, where it joins
the leaf-stalk, and this habit gives the common name. This grows in
mountain woods and is attractive, for though the flowers are dull in
color they are unusual in form and the leaves are pretty.
There are a good many kinds of Heuchera, North American, difficult to
distinguish; perennials, with stout rootstocks; leaves mostly from the
root; flowers small, in clusters; calyx-tube bell-shaped, with five
lobes; petals small, sometimes lacking, on the throat of the calyx,
with claws; stamens five, inserted with the petals; ovary partly
inferior, with two slender styles, becoming two beaks on the capsule.
[Sidenote: =Alumroot=
_Heuchèra micrántha_
=Pink and white
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
These feathery sprays are so airy and delicate that they might almost
be made of mingled mist and moonshine, blown from the waterfalls they
love to haunt, but are not so fragile as they look, for the clusters of
tiny pink and white flowers last a long time in water. The stem is very
slender, rather hairy, from one to three feet tall, springing from a
cluster of roundish leaves, prettily lobed and scalloped, bright green,
with some white hairs on the backs and on the long leaf-stems, often
with red veins. The handsome leaves and lovely feathery spires are
conspicuous, decorative and quite common, among mossy rocks in dark,
rich mountain woods, up to six thousand feet.
[Illustration: Alumroot--Heuchera micrantha.
Youth-on-age--Leptaxis Menziesii.]
[Sidenote: =Alumroot=
_Heuchèra rubéscens_
=Pink and white
Summer
Southwest, Utah, Nev.=]
This is not so tall and the leaves, with blunt teeth and sometimes
slightly lobed, are smaller. In Utah they are dark green and shining
on the upper side, smooth or slightly downy, with a bristle at the
tip of each lobe, often reddish on the under side, and in Yosemite
quite rough, with hairs on the edges and veins. The flowers are about
a quarter of an inch across, the calyx deep-pink, with blunt, green
teeth, the petals long, narrow and white, the general effect of the
flower being pink. The clusters are not nearly so airy as those of
_H. micrantha_ and in the high Sierras the stems are shorter and the
clusters still more compact. This was first found on one of the islands
in Great Salt Lake. There are other similar kinds, some with greenish
flowers.
There are several kinds of Micranthes, perennials, sometimes with
bulblets at the base of the stem; leaves thickish, from the root;
flowers white, in terminal clusters; petals five, mostly without claws;
stamens ten; ovary slightly inferior.
[Sidenote: =Tall Swamp Saxifrage=
_Micránthes Oregàna (Saxifraga)_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
This is conspicuous on account of its height, with a stout, stiff,
leafless, hairy flower-stalk, three feet or more tall, springing from a
loose rosette of smooth, thickish, bright-green leaves, not standing up
stiffly but spreading, sometimes nearly a foot long, paler on the under
side and obscurely toothed at the ends, with some minute hairs along
the lower margins. The flowers are small, with cream-white petals,
orange-red anthers and a green ovary, and form a long branching cluster
towards the top of the stalk. This grows in swamps in the mountains.
[Sidenote: =Saxifrage=
_Micránthes rhomboídea (Saxifraga)_
=White
Spring, summer
Southwest, Idaho, Utah, Col.=]
A little alpine plant, growing in moist soil, or on mossy rocks. The
sticky-hairy flower-stem is from two to twelve inches tall, springing
from a cluster of dull-green root-leaves, toothless, or toothed towards
the ends, slightly thickish and very slightly downy and the flowers are
small, and form a compact cluster.
[Illustration: Saxifrage--Micranthes rhomboidea.
Tall Swamp Sáxifrage--M. Oregana.]
[Sidenote: =Modesty=
_Whípplea modésta_
=White
Spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
The only kind, a pretty little under-shrub, with many woody stems,
spreading and trailing on the ground, the branches clothed with more
or less hairy leaves, with three veins, and bearing clusters of very
small flowers, with a pleasant honey-like fragrance. They usually have
ten stamens, the ovary is partially inferior, with from three to five
styles; sepals whitish; petals white, becoming greenish. The low masses
of green foliage, spotted with white flower clusters, are a pretty
feature of the Coast Range forests and thickets, especially among
redwoods.
There are several kinds of Mitella, perennials, of North America and
Asia.
[Sidenote: =Bishop's Cap, Mitrewort=
_Mitélla ovális_
=White
Summer
Northwest and Utah=]
An inconspicuous little plant, of mountain woods, with pretty leaves
and tiny flowers. The slender, hairy, leafless stem, about ten inches
tall, springs from a cluster of root-leaves, smooth on the upper side,
except for a few bristly hairs, with bristly hairs on the under veins
and on the long, slender leaf-stalks. The flowers grow in a graceful,
one-sided spray and have a five-lobed, green calyx, five minute petals,
five stamens with short filaments, and a roundish ovary, almost wholly
inferior. The petals have pretty little bits of feathery fringe between
them, which make the little flowers look like tiny snow crystals in
shape, when we examine them closely.
There are several kinds of Spatularia, perennials, sometimes with
bulblets; leaves from the root, mostly toothed; flowers white, in open
clusters; sepals five; petals all clawed, the three upper differing
from the two lower; ovary chiefly superior.
[Sidenote: _Spatulària Brunoniàna
(Saxifraga Nutkana) (Saxifraga Bongardi)_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A beautiful plant, with such slender stems and branches that, at a
distance, the little white flowers look like specks of foam. The
hairy, reddish stems, from a few inches to over a foot tall and
very branching, spring from clusters of thickish, stiffish, hairy
root-leaves and bear dozens of flowers, about three-eighths of an inch
across, with white petals, spotted with yellow or red at the base and
slightly irregular, the three upper petals being narrower than the two
lower. The anthers are orange; ovary white or pinkish; calyxes and buds
purplish-red. This grows among rocks in mountains.
[Illustration: Spatularia Brunoniana (small part of cluster).
Modesty--Whipplea modesta.
Bishop's Cap--Mitella ovalis.]
HYDRANGEA FAMILY. _Hydrangeaceae._
Shrubs or trees, with opposite leaves and no stipules. The flowers are
in clusters and usually perfect, but sometimes those at the margins of
the clusters are without pistils or stamens and larger than those in
the middle; the calyx usually with four to ten sepals, and in sterile
flowers often conspicuously enlarged; the petals four to ten; the
stamens eight to many; the ovary wholly or partly inferior; the styles
separate or united, sometimes lacking; the fruit a capsule. Many very
ornamental garden shrubs, such as Deutzia and Hydrangea, are included
in this family.
There are several kinds of Fendlera, natives of North America; shrubs,
with white or pink flowers, with four sepals and four petals, the
latter with claws. The eight stamens have two-forked filaments and the
ovary is partly inferior, with four styles.
[Sidenote: _Féndlera rupícola_
=White, pink
Spring
Ariz., Utah, Nev.=]
Among the many beautiful plants to be found in the Grand Canyon one of
the most conspicuous is the Fendlera. It is a tall, handsome shrub,
growing along the upper part of Bright Angel trail, and in May it is
covered with charming white blossoms. These flowers measure an inch
across, and have cream-white or pale pink petals, narrowing to a claw
at the base, and purplish sepals, and they grow in clusters of three
or four, mixed with pink buds, on the ends of short branches. The
small oblong leaves have three nerves and the wood is tough and gray,
with deeply furrowed bark. Though their scent is rather unpleasant,
the flowers are lovely and look just like some novel variety of
fruit-blossom, but this resemblance is deceptive for they produce
nothing but dry pods.
There are a good many kinds of Philadelphus, natives of North America,
Asia, and Europe; shrubs, with large, white or cream-colored
flowers; the calyx top-shaped, with four or five lobes; the petals
four or five; the stamens twenty to forty, inserted on a disk; the
ovary inferior, with three to five styles; the capsule top-shaped,
containing many oblong seeds. These plants were named in honor of King
Ptolemy Philadelphus. They are often called Mock-Orange, because the
flowers often resemble orange-blossoms. The commonest name, Syringa, is
confusing, because that is the generic name of the Lilac.
[Illustration: Fendlera rupicola.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Syringa=
_Philadélphus Califórnicus_
=White
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
In June and July, in the high Sierras, up to an altitude of four
thousand feet, this lovely shrub forms fragrant thickets of bloom. It
looks very much like the familiar garden Syringa and the smell is just
as delicious. The bush is from four to twelve feet high, with smooth,
pale, woody stems, dark-green leaves, sometimes slightly toothed,
very smooth and shiny, and pretty flowers, in clusters at the ends of
the branches. They are each about an inch across, with four or five,
cream-white petals, rolled in the bud, and a golden center, composed of
numerous, bright-yellow stamens.
[Sidenote: =Small Syringa=
_Philadélphus microphýllus_
=White
Summer
Ariz., Cal., New Mex.=]
A small shrub, not nearly so handsome as the last, from two to three
feet high, with slender, pale-gray, woody stems, branching very
abruptly. The small leaves are smooth and very bright green on the
upper side, but the under side is very pale and covered with close
white down. The flowers are much smaller than the garden Syringa, with
white petals and numerous yellow stamens, the calyx reddish outside and
downy within, and have a delicious smell, like lemon-blossoms. This
pretty little shrub may be found growing in small shady canyons, in
northern Arizona and elsewhere in the Southwest.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Small Syringa--P. microphyllus.
Syringa Philadelphus Californicus.]
GOOSEBERRY FAMILY. _Grossulariaceae._
A small family, shrubs, with alternate, palmately-lobed leaves, often
sticky or resinous; the flowers almost always in clusters; the pedicels
with a bract at the base and usually with two bractlets halfway up;
petals five, or rarely four, usually smaller than the calyx-lobes;
stamens of the same number as the petals and alternate with them; ovary
inferior, with two styles, more or less united; fruit a berry, crowned
with the withered remains of the flower.
There are several kinds of Grossularia, or Gooseberry; shrubs,
sometimes with trailing branches, almost always spiny; flowers with
bracts; ovary often spiny.
[Sidenote: =Wild Gooseberry=
_Grossulària Roèzli (Ribes)_
=Maroon and white
Spring
California=]
This is a stout shrub, one to four feet high, with thick, short, rigid
little branches, the knobby joints more or less spiny. The roundish
leaves, less than an inch across, are lobed and scalloped, rather dull
green and slightly downy, and the flowers are about half an inch long,
with maroon-colored sepals and white petals, the base of the calyx-tube
downy. The purple berry is half an inch in diameter and covered with
stout prickles. This Gooseberry is common at moderate altitudes. The
drooping, red and white flowers resemble tiny Fuchsias, both in color
and form. _G. Menzièsii_, the Canyon Gooseberry, also has pretty
fuchsia-like flowers and grows in the Coast Ranges of California and
Oregon, blooming in the winter.
[Sidenote: =Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry=
_Grossulària speciòsa_
=Red
Spring
California=]
In spite of its name, the flowers of this handsome shrub do not look
as much like Fuchsias as the two last. The stems are armed with long
thorns and the leaves are thick, dark green, and glossy. The flowers
have four sepals, four petals, and four stamens and are about an inch
long and beautiful bright-red in color. The berry is dry and very
prickly. This is common in the southern part of California.
[Illustration: Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry--G. speciosa.
Wild Gooseberry--Grossularia Roezli.]
There are many kinds of Ribes, or Currant, of temperate regions;
shrubs, almost always smooth; flowers sometimes blooming before the
leaves, with five petals, smaller than the five calyx-lobes, which
are often colored; stamens five; ovary inferior, fruit a smooth,
many-seeded berry. In general the low shrubs, with their pretty
foliage, may be recognized by their resemblance to cultivated kinds.
Ribes is the ancient Arabic name.
[Sidenote: =Black Currant=
_Rìbes Hudsoniànum_
=White
Spring, summer
Utah, Wash., Idaho, etc.=]
Except that its foliage has a strong disagreeable smell, this is an
attractive shrub, three to six feet high, with pale gray, woody stems,
without thorns, and smooth, bright green leaves, five-lobed and thin in
texture, paler on the under side, with resinous dots and broad, papery
stipules, in clusters, with reddish bracts at the base. The flowers
form close, erect clusters, less than two inches long, springing from
the same bud as the leaves; the calyx, which is the conspicuous part,
cream-white, greenish in the center; the petals very small and white.
The berry is smooth or hairy, round and black, without "bloom," and
possibly edible, but so bad-smelling as to be avoided. This grows
beside mountain streams and is found as far north as British Columbia.
[Sidenote: =Sierra Currant=
_Rìbes Nevadénse_
=Pink
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash., Nev.=]
A thrifty, mountain bush, from three to six feet high, the upper stems
pale gray and the lower ones reddish; the leaves thin and smooth,
prettily scalloped and lobed, often with a few white hairs at the base
of the leaf-stalks. The flowers are fragrant and pink, over half an
inch long, and form a close cluster, of eight or more. The berry is
black, with a white "bloom," and tastes sweet and insipid. This reaches
an altitude of eight thousand feet. _Rìbes glutinòsum_ is called
Incense-shrub, because of its strong fragrance. It is a large handsome
shrub, sometimes fifteen feet high, with beautiful drooping clusters of
gay pink flowers. The leaves are sticky when they first come out and
the berry is blue, with a dense "bloom," bristly, dry and bitter, or
insipid. This blooms in winter or early spring and is common in canyons
near the coast.
[Illustration: Sierra Currant--Ribes Nevadense.
Black Currant--R. Hudsonianum.]
[Sidenote: =Golden, Missouri or Buffalo Currant=
_Rìbes àureum_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
A very handsome bush, from five to twelve feet high, with pretty
foliage and smooth, pinkish-gray, woody stems. The bright green leaves,
with three or five lobes, are thin in texture, with a few hairs on
the leaf-stalks, fresh and glossy-looking, and setting off the bright
clusters of clear yellow flowers, of which the calyx, half an inch
across, with a long greenish-yellow tube, is the conspicuous part. The
small petals are sometimes yellow, but often bright red and the fruit
is smooth, yellow, red, or black, and edible. This is deliciously
fragrant and spicy, very handsome and attractive, growing beside brooks
and in moist canyons, where sometimes, in masses, it has at a distance
the effect of Forsythia, but purer in color. It grows as far east as
Missouri and is often cultivated.
APPLE FAMILY. _Pomaceae._
A rather large family, widely distributed, including many attractive
trees and shrubs, such as Mountain Ash and Hawthorn, as well as Pears
and Apples, with pretty blossoms and conspicuous, often edible fruits;
leaves alternate; stipules small; flowers regular, perfect, single or
in clusters; calyx usually five-toothed or five-lobed; petals mostly
five, usually with claws; stamens numerous, or rarely few, separate,
with small anthers; ovary inferior and compound; styles one to five.
The calyx-tube gradually thickens and becomes a "pome," or apple-like
fruit, in which the core is the ovary.
There are several kinds of Amelanchier, of the north temperate zone;
shrubs or trees, with thornless branches and white flowers, usually
in clusters; calyx-tube bell-shaped, with five narrow sepals; petals
five; stamens numerous, on the throat of the calyx; styles two to five
in number, united and hairy at base; ovary wholly or partly inferior;
fruit small and berry-like. The name is from the French for the Medlar.
These shrubs are called Shadbush in the East, because they bloom just
when the shad are beginning to run in the rivers.
[Illustration: Golden Currant--Ribes aureum.]
[Sidenote: =Service-berry, June-berry=
_Amelánchier alnifòlia_
=White
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
A pretty shrub with woody, branching stems, reddish twigs and smooth,
bright green leaves, sometimes downy on the under side, toothed
only at the ends. The flowers, less than an inch across, have long,
narrow, straggling petals, and are so mixed with leaves, and crowded
so irregularly on the branches, that the effect is rather ragged. The
roundish, pulpy, black fruit is liked by the Indians, but though sweet
is insipid. When thickets of this shrub are in bloom on mountainsides
the effect is very pretty, especially in Utah, where the shrubs are
more compact and the flowers less straggling than in Yosemite, giving
at a distance much the effect of Hawthorn. It grows as far east as
Nebraska and in British Columbia.
PLUM FAMILY. _Drupaceae._
A rather small family, widely distributed, trees or shrubs, the
bark exuding gum, the foliage, bark, and seeds bitter, containing
prussic acid; leaves alternate, toothed, with leaf-stalks; stipules
small; flowers mostly perfect, regular, single or in clusters; calyx
five-lobed, dropping off after flowering; petals five, inserted on the
calyx; stamens numerous, inserted with the petals; pistil one in our
genera; ovary superior, developing into a stone-fruit.
There are many kinds of Prunus, including Cherry as well as Plum, with
white or pink flowers and usually edible fruits. Prunus is the ancient
Latin name for plum.
[Sidenote: =Holly-leaved Cherry, Islay=
_Prùnus ilicifòlia_
=White
Summer
California=]
Mountain slopes near Santa Barbara are beautiful in June with the
creamy flowers of this very ornamental evergreen shrub, from five
to twenty-five feet high, with shiny, leathery, dark green leaves,
with prickly edges, looking much like Holly. The small flowers form
close but feathery clusters, from one to three inches long, and smell
pleasantly of honey. The sweetish fruit, not particularly good to eat,
is a dark red cherry, about half an inch in diameter. In dry places
these shrubs are small, but in favorable situations, such as the old
mission gardens, where they have been growing for perhaps a hundred
years, they develop into small trees.
[Illustration: Islay--Prunus ilicifolia.
Service-berry--Amelanchier alnifolia.]
ROSE FAMILY. _Rosaceae_.
A large and important family, widely distributed and including some
of our loveliest flowers and most delicious fruits; herbs, shrubs,
or trees; generally with stipules and usually with alternate leaves;
the flowers rich in pollen and honey and usually perfect. The calyx
usually five-lobed, often with bracts, with a disk adhering to its
base; the petals of the same number as the calyx-lobes, separate or
none; the stamens usually numerous, separate, with small anthers; the
ovary superior, or partly inferior; the pistils few or many, separate
or adhering to the calyx, sometimes, as in the true Rose, enclosed and
concealed in a hollow receptacle; the fruit of various kinds and shapes.
There are several kinds of Opulaster, branching shrubs, with clusters
of white flowers and grayish or reddish, shreddy bark.
[Sidenote: =Ninebark=
_Opuláster malvàceus_ (_Physocarpus_)
=White
Summer
Northwest, Utah, Ariz.=]
This is a handsome bush, from three to six feet high, with pretty,
almost smooth, bright green leaves, with large stipules. The flowers
are sweet-smelling, about half an inch across, with cream-white petals,
and form very beautiful and conspicuous rounded clusters, about three
inches across, the long stamens giving a very feathery appearance. At
a distance this shrub has the effect of Hawthorn in the landscape. It
grows on mountainsides in rich soil.
[Sidenote: =Apache Plume=
_Fallùgia paradóxa_
=White
Spring
Ariz., New Mex.=]
There are two kinds of Fallugia. This is usually a low undershrub,
but in the Grand Canyon, on the plateau, it is a fine bush, four or
five feet high, with pale woody, branching stems; the small, somewhat
downy, evergreen leaves, resembling those of the Cliff Rose, but the
flowers larger. They are white, two inches across, like a Wild Rose
in shape, with beautiful golden centers, and grow on long, slender,
downy flower-stalks, at the ends of the branches. Individually, they
are handsomer than the flowers of the Cliff Rose, but not nearly so
effective, as the bloom is much more scattered. The calyx-tube is downy
inside and the five sepals alternate with five, small, long, narrow
bractlets. The hairy pistils are on a small conical receptacle,
surrounded by a triple row of very numerous stamens on the margin of
the calyx-tube.
[Illustration: Ninebark--Opulaster malvaceus.]
Wild Roses are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere and are
too familiar to need much description. There are numerous kinds;
some are climbing, all are prickly and thorny, with handsome, often
fragrant, flowers and compound leaves, with toothed edges. The numerous
yellow stamens are on the thick margin of a silky disk, which nearly
closes the mouth of the calyx. The numerous pistils develop into
akenes, or small, dry, one-seeded fruits. These look like seeds and we
find them inside the calyx-tube, which in ripening enlarges and becomes
round or urn-shaped. These swollen calyx-tubes are the "hips," which
turn scarlet and add so much to the beauty of the rose-bush when the
flowers are gone. Rosa is the ancient Latin name.
[Sidenote: =Fendler's Rose=
_Ròsa Féndleri_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Idaho, Utah, Ariz.=]
This is a very handsome thrifty bush, about four feet high, with
smooth, or slightly downy, bright green leaves, and thorny stems, with
slightly curved thorns. The flowers are more or less fragrant and about
two inches across, with bright pink petals, which gradually become
paler as they fade, and pretty crimson-tipped buds. This has smooth
"hips" and is a beautiful and conspicuous kind, growing in valleys and
along streams, up to an altitude of nine thousand feet. It is widely
distributed and variable, probably including several forms.
[Sidenote: =California Wild Rose=
_Ròsa Califórnica_
=Pink
Spring, summer, autumn
Cal., Oreg.=]
A large bush, three to six feet high, with erect, branching stems,
armed with a few, stout thorns, which turn back. The leaves are more
or less downy, especially on the under side, with from three to seven
leaflets, and the flowers usually form a cluster of few or many and are
each from one to nearly two inches across, with pale pink petals. They
are lovely flowers, with a delicious fragrance, and are common at low
and moderate altitudes in California, usually growing near streams.
[Illustration: Rosa Fendleri.
California Wild Rose--R. Californíca.]
[Sidenote: =Redwood Rose=
_Ròsa gymnocàrpa_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
A charming kind, delicate both in foliage and flower, usually growing
in shady, mountain woods. The slender bush is from one to three
feet high, with dark brown stems, armed with some straight, slender
thorns, and light green leaves, usually with quite a number of neat
little leaflets, smooth and thin in texture. The flowers are an inch
or less across, usually single, with light yellow centers and bright
pink petals, very clean and fresh in tone, usually deeper towards the
margins. The sepals are not leafy at the tips, the flower-stalks, and
sometimes the leaf-stalks also, are covered with small, dark, sticky
hairs and the buds are tipped with carmine. Neither leaves nor flowers
are fragrant.
[Sidenote: =Mountain Misery=
_Chamaebàtia foliolòsa_
=White
Summer
California=]
This is the only kind. In open places, in the Sierra forests, the
ground is often carpeted for acres with the feathery foliage of this
charming shrub, sprinkled all over with pretty white flowers. Mountain
Misery does not at first seem an appropriate name for so attractive a
plant, but when we walk through the low, green thickets we find not
only that the tangled branches catch our feet but that the whole plant
is covered with a strong-smelling, resinous substance, which comes off
on our clothes in a most disagreeable manner. On a warm day the forest
is filled with the peculiar, medicinal fragrance and when, later in
the season, we unpack our camping outfit we are apt to be puzzled by
the smell of "Pond's Extract" which our clothes exhale. The shrub is
usually less than two feet high, with downy, evergreen foliage, the
numerous small leaflets so minutely subdivided and scalloped that
they have the appearance of soft ferns. The flowers resemble large
strawberry-blossoms, and have a top-shaped, five-lobed calyx, many
yellow stamens and one pistil, becoming a large, leathery akene. The
smell and foliage attract attention and the shrub has many names, such
as Bear-mat and Kittikit, or Kit-kit-dizze, so-called by the Indians.
Bears do not eat it, so the name Bear-clover is poor, and Tarweed
belongs to another plant. It is used medicinally.
[Illustration: Redwood Rose--Rosa gymnocarpa.
Mountain Misery--Chamaebatia foliolosa.]
This is the only kind of Stellariopsis; perennial herbs; the leaves
with many, minute, crowded, overlapping leaflets; the flowers white,
in open clusters; bractlets, sepals, and petals five; stamens fifteen;
pistil one, surrounded by bristles.
[Sidenote: =Pussy-tails=
_Stellariópsis santolinoìdes_ (_Ivesia_)
=White
Summer
California=]
The leaves of this odd little plant look like catkins, or the sleek,
gray tails of some little animal. They are cylindrical in form, three
or four inches long, composed of many minute leaflets, crowded closely
around a long, central stem. These little leaflets, hardly more than
green scales, are smothered with soft, white down, which gives the
whole "tail" a silky, silvery-gray appearance. From the midst of a
bunch of these curious leaves, which are mostly from the root, spring
several very slender stems, widely branching above, from six to twelve
inches tall, and at the ends of the branches are airy clusters of
pretty little flowers, like tiny strawberry-blossoms. These little
plants grow in sandy soil, at high altitudes, and are plentiful on the
gravelly "domes" around Yosemite.
There are a good many kinds of Horkelia; perennial herbs, with compound
leaves, usually with many leaflets, and flowers in clusters; calyx
cup-shaped, or saucer-shaped, with five teeth and five bractlets;
stamens ten; pistils two or many, with long slender styles, and borne
on a receptacle like that of Potentilla, which these plants resemble,
though the flowers are usually smaller, in closer clusters.
[Sidenote: _Horkèlia fúsca_
=White
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Nev.=]
A rather attractive plant, for the foliage is pretty, though the
flowers are not very conspicuous. The rather stout, roughish stem,
often purplish, is from one to two feet tall and the leaves are rather
dark green, slightly sticky and sometimes downy. The flowers are about
half an inch across, with white petals, tinged with pink, and are well
set off by the dark reddish or purplish calyxes and buds, but the
petals are too far apart, and there are not enough flowers out at one
time, for the effect to be good. This varies a good deal in hairiness
and there are several varieties. It is common in Yosemite.
[Illustration: Pussy-tails--Stellariopsis santolinoides.
Horkelia fusca.]
There are several kinds of Cowania.
[Sidenote: =Cliff Rose=
_Cowània Stansburiàna_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
Altitude and soil make a great difference in the beauty of this shrub.
On the rocky rim of the Grand Canyon it is from four to eight feet
high, picturesquely gnarled and twisted, but stunted looking, the
gray bark hanging off the crooked branches and thick, distorted trunk
in untidy shreds, the flowers pale, scanty, and but faintly scented.
Halfway down Bright Angel trail it is a glorious thing, full of color
and fragrance, about twelve feet high, luxuriant and healthy-looking.
The small, leathery, evergreen leaves, crowded in bunches along the
branches, are glossy and rich in color, setting off the light yellow
flowers, with golden centers, which form long wands of bloom. The
upper branches are clustered closely their whole length with blossoms,
and when the wind sways the flowering branches to and fro they exhale
an exquisite fragrance like orange flowers. The bloom is at its best
in the Canyon in May, but there are still some lingering flowers in
August. The calyx is top-shaped, with the petals and the two rows of
numerous stamens on the throat of the tube. The pistils, from five to
twelve, are densely woolly. The akenes have pale, silky-hairy tails,
two inches or more in length, suggesting gone-to-seed Clematis. For
some occult reason this shrub is called Quinine Bush at the Grand
Canyon.
There are two kinds of Aruncus, resembling Spiraea; with small white
flowers, the stamens and pistils in separate flowers on different
plants. Aruncus is a word used by Pliny to designate a goat's beard.
[Sidenote: =Goat's Beard=
_Arúncus sylvéster_ (_Spiraea aruncus_)
=White
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
A pretty plant, from three to seven feet high, with somewhat branching
stems and smooth leaves, thin in texture. The minute, cream-white
flowers are crowded closely along the many sprays which make up the
very loose cluster, which is about a foot long, the effect of the
whole being exceedingly airy and graceful and in fine contrast to the
handsome foliage. This grows in mountain woods, across the continent
and in Europe and Asia.
[Illustration: Cliff Rose--Cowania Stansburiana.]
[Illustration: Goat's Beard--Aruncus sylvester.]
There are only a few kinds of Adenostoma, evergreen shrubs, with small,
narrow, resinous leaves and clusters of small, white flowers.
[Sidenote: =Chamise, Greasewood=
_Adenóstoma fasciculàtum_
=White
Spring
California=]
This is a very attractive shrub, from two to ten feet high, with long,
slender branches, clothed with close bunches of leaves and bearing
large clusters of tiny flowers, something like Spiraea. They have a
feathery, creamy appearance, owing to the pale yellow stamens, and the
olive-green foliage sets them off to perfection, the effect of the
whole being very graceful, as the slender, flower-tipped branches sway
to and fro in the wind. This is the most abundant and characteristic
shrub of the higher Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada Mountains and
sometimes covers miles of mountain slopes, looking a good deal like
heather when it is not in bloom. When the chaparral is composed
entirely of this shrub it is called chamisal. _A. sparsifòlium_ of
southern California, has scattered leaves and larger flowers. It is
very fragrant and used medicinally by Spanish Californians and Indians,
who call it Yerba del Pasmo, or "convulsion herb."
There are many kinds of Spiraea, natives of the north temperate zone;
shrubs, without stipules and with clusters of white or pink flowers.
[Sidenote: =Flat-top Meadowsweet=
_Spiraèa corymbòsa_
=White
Spring, summer
Northwest, etc.=]
This is an attractive plant, from one to three feet tall, with slender,
reddish-brown stems, with but few branches, and smooth, bright green
leaves, paler on the under side. The small flowers are cream-white,
with pinkish buds, and form very pretty, feathery, flat-topped
clusters, about three inches across. This is found on banks and rocky
places, in the mountains, and grows also in the East.
[Sidenote: =Pyramid Bush=
_Spiraèa pyramidàta_ (_S. betulaefolia in part_)
=Pink, white
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
An attractive plant, but not so pretty as the last. It is about the
same height, but more branching, with dark bluish-green leaves,
somewhat pale on the under side. The flowers are white or pale pink,
with deep pink buds, and form long clusters, not so feathery as the
last, because the stamens are not so long. This grows in the mountains.
[Illustration: Chamise--Adenostoma fasciculatum.
Flat-top Meadow-sweet--Spiraea corymbosa.
Pyramid Bush--S. pyramidata.]
[Sidenote: =Hardhack, Steeple-bush=
_Spiraèa Doúglasii_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
A handsome shrub, from three to five feet high, with rather coarse
leaves, smooth, but with a dull surface, and pale with close down on
the under side, and bearing many beautiful, compact spires of small,
pink flowers, warm in tone and deeper in color towards the center, with
numerous, long, pink stamens, which give a very feathery appearance.
The flowers are slightly sweet-smelling and bloom first at the top
of the cluster, so that the effect of the whole spire, which is six
or eight inches long, is light pink and fuzzy at the top, deepening
below to the raspberry-pink of the buds. This grows along the edges of
meadows and near brooks.
There are two kinds of Chamaebatiaria, both western; low shrubs; the
flowers with five sepals, five petals, and about sixty stamens; the
pistils five, more or less united.
[Sidenote: =Fern-bush=
_Chamaebatiària millefòlium_ (_Spiraea_)
=White
Summer
Arizona=]
A pretty and unusual-looking shrub, about three feet high, with
reddish stems and shreddy bark, the downy leaves, pale yellowish-green
in color, arranged at intervals along the branches in soft feathery
bunches. The flowers are like small strawberry blossoms, slightly
fragrant, and form pretty clusters. This grows on rocks, along the rim
of the Grand Canyon, clinging to the edge and overhanging the depths.
There is only one kind of Coleogyne.
[Sidenote: _Coleógyne ramosíssima_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
The plateau in the Grand Canyon is covered for miles with this low
shrub, which gives the landscape its characteristic pale desert
coloring. The flowers, over half an inch across, with one or two
pairs of three-lobed bracts at base, grow singly at the tips of the
twigs and, unlike most of this family, have no petals and only four,
spreading sepals, bright yellow inside, two of them pointed and the
alternate two more round in shape. The ovary is enclosed in a yellow,
hollow, urn-shaped receptacle, surrounded by numerous stamens inserted
on its base, the yellow anthers with threadlike filaments. The very
small, narrow, toothless leaves are evergreen, leathery and stiff,
opposite, grayish in color and imperceptibly downy, clustered in small
separate bunches along the rigid twigs, which are set almost at right
angles to the reddish-gray branches and rather swollen at the joints.
The whole shrub is from two feet to four feet high, stiff, almost
thorny, and rather forbidding in appearance, but the odd little flowers
are pretty.
[Illustration: Coleogyne--ramosissima.
Hardhack--Spiraea Douglasii.
Fern-bush--Chamaebatiaria millefolium.]
There are several kinds of Argentina, differing from Potentilla in the
leaflets and the style.
[Sidenote: =Silver-weed=
_Argentìna Anserìna_ (_Potentilla_)
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
North America, etc.=]
This forms large straggling clumps of many, pale, downy stems, lying
on the ground and rooting at the joints, like strawberry runners, with
handsome foliage and pretty flowers. The leaves are rich green on the
upper side and covered with silky white down on the under, giving a
silvery appearance, and the flowers are an inch or more across, bright
yellow, with centers of the same shade, and have long flower-stalks,
sometimes as much as a foot tall. This is common and conspicuous in wet
meadows and also grows in Europe and Asia.
There are only a few kinds of Dryas, shrubby plants, living in cold and
arctic regions. The Latin name means "wood-nymph."
[Sidenote: =Alpine Avens=
_Drýas octopétala_
=White
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
This is a charming little plant, from two to five inches tall, forming
low, matted clumps of many branching stems, lying on the ground and
woody at the base, and many stiffish leaves, with prominent veins,
dark green and smooth on the upper side and white with close down on
the under, their dark tones setting off the pure-white flowers, which
have downy flower-stalks and are about an inch across, with about
eight petals, a golden center and the calyx covered with sticky hairs.
The seed-vessels are large and feathery. This grows in alpine places,
across the continent, reaching an altitude of fourteen thousand feet,
and in Europe and Asia.
[Illustration: Silver-weed--Argentina Anserina.
Alpine Avens--Dryas octopetala.]
There are many kinds of Cinquefoils, mostly natives of the north
temperate zone, usually herbs, with compound leaves and yellow, white
or purple flowers, always with pedicels; the flat or cup-shaped calyx,
with five, main teeth, alternating with five, tooth-like bractlets;
petals five, broad, often notched; stamens numerous, with threadlike
filaments and small anthers, near the base of the calyx-cup; pistils
numerous, on the conical, hairy receptacle, which does not become
fleshy or juicy, each pistil maturing into a dry, seed-like akene.
Potentilla means "powerful," as some sorts are medicinal. They often
resemble Buttercups, but never have shiny petals, and Buttercups do not
have bractlets between the calyx-lobes.
[Sidenote: =Arctic Cinquefoil=
_Potentílla emarginàta_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest=]
A dear little plant, forming low tufts, two or three inches high, with
thin, brownish stipules, bright green leaves, more or less hairy, and
bright yellow flowers, deeper in color towards the center and about
half an inch across. This grows in high northern mountains across the
continent and in Siberia.
[Sidenote: =Silky Cinquefoil=
_Potentílla pectinisécta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Ariz., Wyo.=]
The foliage of this plant is a lovely shade of silvery gray, which
suits the yellow flowers. It has several stoutish, reddish, stems, a
foot to a foot and a half tall, springing from clumps of leaves, with
long leaf-stalks and five to seven leaflets. The bright-yellow flowers
are each three-quarters of an inch across and the whole plant is
conspicuously covered with long, thick, white, silky down, particularly
on the under side of the leaves.
[Sidenote: =Shrubby Cinquefoil=
_Dasíphora fruticòsa_ (_Potentilla_)
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
This is the only kind of Dasiphora, a pretty shrub, very branching
and leafy, one to four feet high, dotted all over with charming
flowers. The bark is shreddy and the gray-green leaves are covered
with silky down, with rolled back margins, and paler on the under
side. The flowers, single or in clusters, are over an inch across,
with clear yellow petals and deeper yellow anthers. This is common in
the mountains, across the continent, up to an altitude of ten thousand
feet, and is a troublesome weed in northern New England. It is also
found in Europe and Asia.
[Illustration: Arctic Cinquefoil--P. emarginata.
Shrubby Cinquefoil--Dasiphora fruticosa.
Silky Cinquefoil--Potentilla pectinisecta.]
There are several kinds of Sericotheca, much like Spiraea, except the
fruits.
[Sidenote: =Ocean Spray=
_Sericothèca discolor (Spiraea) (Holodiscus)_
=White
Summer
Northwest and Southwest=]
A handsome conspicuous shrub, from three to eight feet high, without
stipules, with roughish, dull-green leaves, toothed or lobed, but not
with leaflets, and pale and woolly on the under side. The tiny flowers
form beautiful, plumy, branching clusters, eight inches or more in
length and almost as much across, cream-white and fuzzy, drooping and
turning brownish as the flowers fade. This is common in the mountains.
There are numerous kinds of Rubus, in temperate regions, with white,
pink, or purple flowers, and red, black, or yellowish "berries." The
fruit is not really a berry, but a collection of many, tiny, round
stone-fruits, crowded on a pulpy, conical receptacle. That of the
Raspberry has a "bloom," and falls off the receptacle when ripe,
but the Blackberry has shining, black fruit, which clings to the
receptacle. Rubus, meaning "red," is the ancient Latin name for the
bramble. Raspberries were cultivated by the Romans in the fourth
century.
[Sidenote: =Salmon-berry=
_Rùbus spectàbilis_
=Red
Summer
Northwest=]
A handsome bush, not at all trailing, from three to nine feet high,
with dark-brown, prickly stems, fine foliage and flowers, and
conspicuously beautiful fruit. The leaves are nearly smooth, with three
leaflets, and the flowers, about two inches across, are a brilliant
shade of deep pink, not purplish in tone, with yellow centers, and
grow singly, or two or three together. The fruit is a firm, smooth
raspberry, over an inch long, bright orange-color, more or less tinted
with red, with a rather pleasant but insipid taste and not very sweet.
This grows in woods. It is rather confusing that this should be called
Salmon-berry in the West, for in the East that is the common name of
_Rubus parviflorus_.
[Sidenote: =Common Blackberry=
_Rùbus vitifòlius_
=White
Spring, summer
California, etc.=]
An evergreen bush, a few feet high and more or less erect; or the
prickly stems trailing on the ground, or climbing over other shrubs,
and sometimes eighteen feet long. The leaves are downy, or almost
smooth, usually rather coarse in texture, and all but a few of the
upper ones have from three to seven leaflets. The flowers are about
an inch across and the petals vary a good deal, being sometimes broad
and sometimes rather long and narrow. This is common from southern
California to British Columbia.
[Illustration: Salmon-berry--R. spectabilis.
Common Blackberry--Rubus vitifolius.]
[Sidenote: =Thimble-berry=
_Rùbus parviflòrus_
=White
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
In shady mountain woods we find this attractive plant, which is
called Salmon-berry farther east. It also resembles the eastern
Thimble-berry, but its flowers are prettier, for they are white instead
of purplish-pink. It has several branching stems, from two to six feet
high, the lower ones woody, with shreddy bark and the upper stems
pale green, slightly rough and hairy, but with no thorns. The large
maple-like leaves are thin in texture, but almost velvety, with hairs
on the veins of the under side and on the leaf-stalks, and are bright
green, with three or four, toothed lobes. The flowers are occasionally
pinkish and measure about two inches across, and grow, a few together,
at the ends of long flower-stalks. The petals are slightly crumpled and
there are usually five of them, but both sepals and petals vary a good
deal in number; the green sepals are velvety, pale inside and tipped
with tails, and the pale yellow center is composed of a roundish disk,
covered with pistils and surrounded by a fringe of numerous yellow
stamens. The fruit is a flattish, red raspberry, disappointing to the
taste, for it is mostly seeds. This is found as far east as Michigan.
[Sidenote: =Creeping Raspberry=
_Rùbus pedàtus_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A charming little vine, without prickles, the stems from one to three
feet long and rooting at the joints, trailing over rocks and moss and
creeping along the ground, ornamented with pretty leaves, with from
three to five leaflets, and sprinkled with white flowers, half an inch
or more across, and often also with juicy, red raspberries. This grows
in rich soil, in mountain woods.
[Illustration: Thimble-berry--Rubus parviflorus.
Creeping Raspberry--R. pedatus.]
There are a good many kinds of Strawberry, natives of the north
temperate zone and the Andes. They are perennials, with running stems,
rooting at the joints; the flowers white, or rarely pink, with slender,
often drooping pedicels, forming loose clusters; the flower-stalks
springing from tufts of root-leaves, which have three, toothed leaflets
and a pair of sheathing stipules at the base of the long leaf-stalk;
the sepals five, alternating with sepal-like bractlets; the petals
five, with short claws and not notched; the stamens numerous, with
slender filaments; the receptacle roundish or cone-shaped, becoming
enlarged, red and juicy, in fruit, bearing minute, dry akenes,
scattered over its surface, or set in pits. Fragum is the Latin name
for strawberry, meaning "fragrant."
[Sidenote: =Wood Strawberry=
_Fragària bracteàta_
=White
Spring, summer
West=]
A slender little plant, growing in light shade, in rich soil, along
streams, in rocky woods and producing runners very freely. The stipules
are papery and reddish, the thin, dull-green leaves are slightly
silky on the upper side, when young, and the leaflets are sharply and
coarsely toothed, somewhat wedge-shaped, broad at the tips, the two
side ones uneven at base. There is usually a little bract, halfway up,
on both the flower-stalk and the leaf-stalk. The flowers are nearly an
inch across, with fuzzy, bright yellow centers, and the fruit is light
red, with a good flavor, somewhat cone-shaped, the akenes scattered
over its smooth, shining, even surface and but slightly attached to it.
[Sidenote: =Sand Strawberry=
_Fragària Chiloénsis_
=White
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
A charming plant, a few inches tall, with thick, glossy, dark green
leaves, paler and hairy on the under side, and pure-white flowers, with
bright yellow centers. They are about an inch across and are well set
off by the masses of dark foliage. This has large, delicious berries
and grows abundantly on beaches and sand dunes near the sea, from San
Francisco to Alaska. It is often cultivated.
[Illustration: Sand Strawberry--Fragaria Chiloensis.]
PEA FAMILY. _Fabaceae_.
A very large family, including many important plants, such as
Clover, Alfalfa, Peas, and Beans; herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees,
distinguished principally by the flower and fruit, resembling the
butterfly-like corolla and simple pod of the common Pea; leaves
alternate, usually compound, with leaflets and stipules; calyx
five-toothed or five-cleft; petals five. The upper petal, or
"standard," large, covering the others in the bud, the two at the sides
standing out like "wings," the two lower ones united by their edges
to form a "keel," enclosing the stamens, usually ten, and the single
pistil with a curved style; the ovary superior.
There are numerous kinds of Anisolotus, widely distributed, common,
difficult to distinguish; mostly herbs, some slightly shrubby; leaves
with two or many, toothless leaflets; calyx-teeth nearly equal;
petals with claws, free from the stamens, wings adhering to the keel,
incurved, blunt or beaked; stamens joined by their filaments, in
two sets of one and nine, anthers all alike; style incurved; pods
two-valved, often compressed between the seeds, never inflated.
These plants have several common names, such as Bird-foot, Trefoil,
Cat's-clover, etc., and are called Crowtoes by Milton.
[Sidenote: =Pretty Bird-foot=
_Anisolòtus formosíssimus (Lotus) (Hosackia)_
=Pink and yellow
Spring
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
A gay and charming kind, with smooth stems, spreading on the ground,
light green leaves, with five or more leaflets, and flowers about half
an inch long, with a golden-yellow standard, pink or magenta wings and
wine-colored keel, forming a flattish cluster, the contrasting colors
giving a vivid effect. This grows in damp places along the sea-coast.
[Sidenote: =Bird-foot=
_Anisolòtus argyraèus (Lotus) (Hosackia)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A shrubby, branching plant, a foot and a half high, forming a pretty
clump, two or three feet across, with downy, gray-green stems and
foliage, sprinkled with clover-like heads of yellow flowers. The
leaflets are slightly thickish, covered with silky down, the twigs
and young leaves silvery-white. The small flowers are a soft shade of
warm-yellow, and the buds form neat, fuzzy, silvery balls. This grows
on dry hillsides in the Catalina Islands.
[Illustration: Pretty Bird-foot--A. formosissimus.
Bird-foot--Anisolotus argyraeus.]
[Sidenote: _Anisolòtus strigòsus (Lotus) (Hosackia)_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
California=]
This is only a few inches high, with slender, slightly downy stems,
branching and spreading, and bright green leaves, with seven or more,
small, narrow leaflets, slightly thickish, with some minute, bristly
hairs. The few flowers are about a quarter of an inch long, mostly
single, bright yellow, tinged with red, fading to orange, and have a
sort of miniature prettiness. This grows in the south.
[Sidenote: =Bird-foot=
_Anisolòtus decúmbens (Lotus) (Hosackia)_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest=]
An attractive little perennial, forming low clumps, harmonious in
coloring, of pale gray-green, downy foliage, sprinkled with small
clusters of charming little flowers, each less than half an inch long,
various shades of yellow, and arranged in a circle. The pods are hairy
and it grows on sunny, sandy slopes.
[Sidenote: =Deer-weed=
_Anisolòtus glàber (Lotus) (Hosackia)_
=Yellow and orange
All seasons
California=]
Though the flowers are small and the foliage scanty, the shaded effect
of mingled yellow and orange of these plants is rather pretty, as we
see them by the wayside. The many, long, smooth, reed-like stems grow
from two to five feet high, branching from the root, somewhat woody
below, loosely spreading, or sometimes half lying on the ground. The
leaves are almost smooth, very small and far apart, with from three to
six, oblong leaflets, and the flowers, from a quarter to half an inch
long, are clustered in close little bunches along the stem, forming
long wands, tipped with green buds, and shading downward through the
bright yellow of the larger buds to the orange of the open flowers
and the dull red of the faded ones. The pod is incurved, tipped with
the long style. This is common and widely distributed, a perennial,
but said to live only two or three years. In the south it often makes
symmetrical little bushes, pleasing in appearance. It is a valuable
bee-plant. _A. Wrìghtii_ of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, is
quite leafy, with erect stems and branches, bushy and woody at base,
the small leaflets from three to five in number. The flowers, without
pedicles, are much like the last, but over half an inch long, yellow
becoming reddish, with a blunt keel, and scattered all over the plant.
[Illustration: Bird-foot--A. decumbens.
Deer-weed--Anisolotus glaber.
A. strigosus.]
There are several kinds of Thermopsis, of North America and Asia;
stout, perennial herbs, with woody rootstocks; leaflets three;
stipules conspicuous, leaf-like; flowers large, yellow, with short,
bracted flower-stalks; calyx bell-shaped, five-cleft; standard broad,
in the western species, shorter than the oblong wings, keel nearly
straight, blunt, the same length as the wings; stamens ten, separate,
curving in; style slightly curving in, stigma small; pod flat, long
or oblong, straight or curved, with a very short stalk and several
seeds. Thermopsis, sometimes called False Lupine, is distinguished from
Lupinus by its stamens, which are separate, instead of united into a
sheath. The Greek name means "lupine-like."
[Sidenote: =Golden Pea Buck-bean=
_Thermópsis montànà_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Northwest, Utah, Ariz.=]
A very handsome, thrifty-looking plant, about two feet high, the
smooth, bright green foliage contrasting finely with the clusters of
clear yellow flowers, each about three-quarters of an inch long. The
erect, straight pods, two or three inches long, are silky and also the
calyxes and buds. This thrives in the mountains, up to an altitude of
nine thousand feet, in somewhat moist spots, and its fresh coloring
is most attractive. The foliage seems to me to be especially handsome
in northern Arizona, but these plants are also beautiful in the Utah
canyons. The flowers are scentless and last a long time in water. _T.
Califórnica_ has silvery, silky foliage and is common in California, in
damp ground in the hills.
There are many kinds of Parosela, of western North America, Mexico,
and the Andes, no one sort common; generally shrubs; leaves almost
always compound; leaflets odd in number, small, toothless, with minute
stipules, often with glandular dots; flowers small, in terminal
clusters; calyx with nearly equal, long, occasionally feathery teeth;
corolla with wings and keel longer than the standard, their claws
adhering to the lower part of the stamen-tube, but the claw of the
small, heart-shaped standard free; stamens nine or ten, filaments
united, anthers alike; ovary with a short stalk, or none, style
awl-shaped; pod small, membranous, included in the calyx, usually with
one seed. _P. spinòsa_, the Smoke Tree, or Ghost Tree, of western
Arizona, is almost leafless, with grayish or whitish branches.
[Illustration: Golden Pea--Thermopsis montana.]
[Sidenote: _Parosèla Califórnica (Dalea)_
=Blue
Spring
California=]
This little spiny desert shrub grows two or three feet high and is
conspicuous on account of the odd contrast in color between its
foliage and flowers. The woody stems and branches are very pale in
color and the very small leaflets, so narrow and stiff that they look
like evergreen needles, are covered with pale down and have glandular
dots. All over this colorless foliage are sprinkled small spikes of
indigo-blue flowers, so dark in color that the effect, against a
background of desert sand, is of pale gray, speckled with black. It has
a pleasant smell like balsam.
[Sidenote: _Parosèla Émoryi (Dalea)_
=Magenta
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
A low, desert shrub, with slender, abruptly branching stems and
small, soft, thickish leaves, usually with three leaflets, obscurely
toothed, the stems and leaves all thickly covered with white down. The
flower-clusters are about three-quarters of an inch across, like a
small clover-head, the woolly calyxes giving a yellowish-gray effect
to the whole cluster, which is ornamented with a circle of tiny purple
flowers. The effect of these specks of dark color on the pale bush is
odd; the plant smells like balsam and grows in sandy soil.
[Sidenote: =Chaparral Pea=
_Xylothérmia montàna (Pickeringia)_
=Crimson
Spring, summer
California=]
This is the only kind, an evergreen shrub, flourishing on dry hills
in the Coast Ranges, with tough, crooked branches and stout spines,
forming chaparral so dense that it is impossible to penetrate. It grows
from three to eight feet high, the gnarled, knotty, black branches
terminating in long spines, which are often clothed with small leaves
nearly to the end, the leaves with one to three, small leaflets and
without stipules. The bush is often covered with quantities of pretty,
bright, deep purplish-pink flowers, three-quarters of an inch long,
forming a fine mass of color. The calyx has four, short, broad teeth;
the petals are equal, the standard roundish, with the sides turned back
and a paler spot at base, the wings oblong, the keel straight; the
filaments of the ten stamens not united; the pod is two inches long,
flat, straight, sickle-shaped when young. This very rarely produces
fruit. Stevenson was probably describing this shrub when he wrote,
"Even the low thorny chaparral was thick with pea-like blossoms."
[Illustration: Parosela Californica.
Chaparral Pea--Xylothermia montana.
Parosela Emoryi.]
There are so many western kinds of Lupinus that it is hopeless for
the amateur to distinguish them; herbs, sometimes shrubs; leaves
palmately-compound, stipules adhering to the base of the leaf-stalk,
leaflets, more than three in number, usually closing at mid-day;
flowers showy, in terminal racemes; calyx deeply toothed, two-lipped;
standard broad, the edges rolling back, wings lightly adhering above,
enclosing the incurved, pointed keel, sometimes beaked; style incurved,
stigma bearded; stamens united by their filaments, alternate anthers
shorter; pod two-valved, leathery, flat, oblong; seeds two to twelve.
Lupines always have palmately-divided leaves, and are never trailing,
twining, or tendril-bearing and thus may be superficially distinguished
from Vetches and Peas, and from Thermopsis, by the united stamens.
[Sidenote: =River Lupine=
_Lupìnus rivulàris_
=Blue and white and purple
Summer
Northwest=]
A stately perennial, about three feet high, with stout, branching
reddish, slightly downy stems, bearing several tall spires of flowers.
The handsome leaves are bright green, smooth on the upper side,
slightly downy, but not silvery, on the under, with from seven to
thirteen leaflets, and the flower-cluster is very erect and compact,
eight or ten inches long, beautifully shaded in color, from the pale,
silky buds at the tip, to the blue and purple of the open flowers,
which are about five-eighths of an inch long, with a lilac standard,
tipped with purple. The upper flowers have white wings, veined with
blue, and a green calyx, with reddish teeth, and the lower flowers have
bright blue wings, veined with purple, and a reddish-purple calyx. This
grows in wet places.
[Sidenote: =Tree Lupine=
_Lupìnus arbòreus_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A conspicuous shrub, four to eight feet high, with a thick trunk,
gnarled and twisted below, with purplish, downy branches, silvery twigs
and dull bluish-green leaves, downy on the under side, with about nine
leaflets. The fine flower clusters are sometimes a foot long, composed
of beautiful canary-yellow flowers, deliciously sweet-scented. This is
easily recognized by its size and fragrance and is common in sandy soil
near the sea, where it has been found very useful, as its very long
roots keep the sand dunes from shifting.
[Illustration: River Lupine--Lupinus rivularis.]
[Sidenote: =Parti-colored Lupine=
_Lupìnus Stìversii_
=Pink and yellow
Summer
California=]
One of the prettiest and most conspicuous kinds, for its coloring
is unusual, with branching, downy, leafy stems, about a foot high,
thickish leaflets, pale bluish-green in color and rather hairy, and
fragrant flowers, over half an inch long, with rose-colored wings and a
yellow standard, changing to orange in fading. The combination of pink,
orange, and yellow is very striking. This grows in warm, dry spots
in Yosemite, and other places in the Sierras and Coast Ranges. _L.
citrìnus_, of similar situations, has all yellow flowers.
[Sidenote: =Quaker Bonnets=
_Lupìnus laxiflòrus_
=Blue
Spring, summer
West=]
A handsome perennial, forming fine clumps on dry, gravelly hillsides,
with several, slender, rather downy stems, from one to two feet tall,
the leaflets six to nine in number, rather bluish-green, downy on the
upper side, paler and silkier on the under. The younger leaves and
calyxes are silvery with down, the flower buds form long, pretty,
silvery clusters, resembling ears of wheat in form, and the flowers are
in handsome loose racemes, from five to six inches long, of various
shades of blue, mostly bright and somewhat purplish, the standard
with a little white at its base and the keel purplish. The pod is
covered with silky hairs and contains from three to five seeds. This
is very common in Utah, handsome and conspicuous, and when growing in
quantities, among Balsam-roots, Forget-me-nots, and Wild Geraniums,
makes a combination unequaled in any flower-garden.
[Sidenote: =Milk-white Lupine=
_Lupìnus lactèus_
=White
Spring
California=]
A handsome plant, with a very stout, branching stem and soft,
bluish-green leaves, with silky hairs on the edges and under sides,
forming a fine clump of foliage, from which the flower-stalks stand up
very stiff and straight. The cluster is most symmetrical in form and
the flowers, which are nearly three-quarters of an inch long, are a
beautiful, pearly white, tinged with yellow at the base of the standard
and with creamy buds. The lower lobe of the calyx is large and very
dark green, the stems have a pale, satiny surface, sprinkled with hairs
and the leaflets are ten or eleven in number. This grows in the grass
along the roadsides and is common around San Bernardino.
[Illustration: Bi-colored Lupine--Lupinus Stiversii.]
[Illustration: Milk-white Lupine--Lupinus lacteus.
Quaker Bonnets--L. laxiflorus.]
There are numerous kinds of Lathyrus, widely distributed and difficult
to distinguish. In technical character and habit they very much
resemble Vetches, but sometimes have no tendrils and the flowers are
larger, the leaflets are broader, and the style is flattened and hairy,
not only at the tip, but also along the upper side. The leaflets are
equal in number, the leaf-stalk usually terminating in a branching
tendril; the flowers are in clusters; the calyx with five teeth, the
upper commonly shorter; the style flattened and usually twisted; the
pod flat or cylindrical, with no partitions between the seeds. Lathyrus
is the old Greek name of the Pea.
[Sidenote: =Narrow-leaved Sweet Pea=
_Láthyrus graminifòlius_
=Pink and violet
Spring
Arizona=]
This has flowers resembling the cultivated Sweet Pea, but the whole
effect is more airy and graceful. It is a loosely-trailing vine, with
slender, angled stems, long, narrow leaflets, eight in number, and
three-cleft tendrils. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch
long, brightly yet delicately tinted with shaded pink and violet, and
are so lightly poised on the long slender stalks that they look like a
row of butterflies about to take flight. This grows on the plateau in
the Grand Canyon and all through Arizona in the mountains.
[Sidenote: =Utah Sweet Pea=
_Láthyrus Utahénsis_
=Lilac
Spring, summer
Utah, Col.=]
A smooth, trailing perennial, very graceful, with beautifully tinted
flowers and bright green foliage. The stipules are large, broad and
leafy, and the leaflets are usually ten in number, veined and thin in
texture, one or two inches long, with tendrils. The flowers are nearly
an inch long, from four to eight in a cluster, on a long flower-stalk;
the standard pinkish-lilac, delicately veined with purple, the wings
pale lilac and the keel cream-color. The flowers, as they fade,
although keeping their form, gradually change in color to all shades
of blue, turquoise, and sea-green, finally becoming buff, so that
the effect of the whole cluster is iridescent and very lovely. This
grows on mountain slopes, often in oak-thickets, clambering over the
bushes to a height of several feet and clinging to everything with its
tendrils.
[Illustration: Wild Sweet Pea--Lathyrus graminifolius.]
[Illustration: Utah Sweet Pea--Lathyrus Utahensis.]
[Sidenote: =Pride of California=
_Láthyrus spléndens_
=Crimson
Spring
California=]
This has such glorious flowers, so superb in color and form, that it
is by far the handsomest of its kind and not to be mistaken for any
other. The stout, smooth, stems are dark green, the stipules small,
and the leaves are smooth, slightly thickish and stiffish, rather dark
bluish-green, with about ten leaflets. The flowers are over two inches
long, from the tip of the standard to the end of the keel, and form a
massive cluster of eight or ten blossoms, hanging on drooping pedicels
and shading in color from the pale-salmon of the buds to the brilliant
rose, carmine, and wine-color of the open flowers, the older flowers
being very dark and rich. Only a small part of the flower-cluster is
given in the picture. These plants, which are found around San Diego
and farther south, clamber over the neighboring bushes to a height of
several feet and adorn them with wonderful color, giving an effect of
tropical splendor.
There are innumerable kinds of Astragalus; most abundant in Asia,
usually perennial herbs, sometimes woody; leaves usually with numerous
leaflets, flowers narrow, in spikes, with long flower-stalks; calyx
tube-shaped, with nearly equal teeth; petals usually narrow, with
slender claws, standard erect and somewhat oblong, wings oblong, keel
with blunt tip, about the same length as the wings; stamens ten, in two
sets of nine and one; pods numerous, more or less two-celled, often
inflated, so the wind can distribute the small seeds, therefore these
plants are often called Rattleweed. Another name is Milk Vetch and many
kinds are called Loco-weed, from the word "loco," or crazy, because
they are poisonous to horses and cattle. I was told by a cow-boy in
Arizona that "horses eat this because it tastes sweet, but it gives
them water on the brain and they die, unless the skull is split with an
axe and the water is let out!"
[Sidenote: _Astrágalus Menzièsii_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]
A decorative plant, its pale flowers contrasting well with the dark
foliage, with stout, branching stems, from two to three feet tall,
hairy above, and many leaflets, dark-green on the upper side, hairy and
paler on the under. The flowers are half an inch or more long, with
a pale, yellowish-green, downy calyx and cream-white corolla, and form
a fine cluster, from four to ten inches long. The egg-shaped pods are
much inflated and almost papery, an inch or more long. This grows on
sea-cliffs and in sandy soil near the coast.
[Illustration: Pride of California--Lathyrus splendens.]
[Illustration: Astragalus Menziesii.]
[Sidenote: =Pink Lady-fingers, Sheep-pod=
_Astrágalus Utahénsis_
=Pink
Spring, summer, autumn
Utah, Nev.=]
A pretty plant, unusual in coloring, the short stems spreading on
the ground and springing from a short, perennial root; the foliage
all very pale bluish-gray, covered with silvery down, the thickish
leaflets from eleven to seventeen in number, the younger leaves and
flower buds almost white. The flowers are about an inch long, in
loose clusters, with flower-stalks from three to four inches long;
the calyx long, pinkish-gray and downy, the standard pale pink, the
wings deeper purplish-pink, the keel yellowish-pink. The pod is short,
leathery, woolly, and stemless. This grows in dry, gravelly soil
and in favorable situations makes low, circular clumps of foliage,
suggesting the old-fashioned crochet lamp-mats that we used to see in
New England farmhouses, for the pale leaves are symmetrically arranged
in neat clusters and ornamented at intervals with pink flowers. Unlike,
however, the worsted ornament, its coloring is delicately harmonious
and beautiful.
[Sidenote: _Astrágalus nothóxys_
=Purple
Spring
Arizona=]
A very slender plant, with trailing stems, one or two feet long, the
leaflets odd in number and downy on the under side. The flowers are
about half an inch long, with a whitish, downy calyx and a bright
purple corolla, shading to white at the base. This grows in mountain
canyons and looks a good deal like a Vetch, except that it has no
tendrils.
[Sidenote: =Rattle-weed, Loco-weed=
_Astrágalus pomonénsis_
=White
Spring
California=]
This is a straggling plant, a foot and a half tall, smooth all over,
with stout stems and many bluish-green leaflets. The flowers are over
half an inch long, with a very pale calyx and yellowish-white corolla,
forming a rather pretty cluster, about three inches long. The pods are
each over an inch long and much inflated, forming a large bunch, odd
and very conspicuous in appearance.
[Illustration: A. nothoxys.
Pods of Rattle-weed--A. pomonensis.
Pink Lady-fingers--Astragalus Utahensis.]
[Sidenote: =Loco-weed=
_Astrágalus MacDoùgali_
=White,
lilac
Spring
Arizona=]
An attractive plant, about a foot high, with straggling, reddish stems
and delicate foliage. The flowers are over half an inch long, with a
hairy calyx and pale lilac and white corolla, and form pretty clusters
about two inches long.
There are many kinds of Hedysarum, some from Africa and only a few
in this country; perennial herbs, sometimes shrubby; the leaflets
toothless, odd in number; the flowers in handsome racemes, with
bracts, on stalks from the angles of the stem; the calyx with five,
nearly equal teeth; the standard rather large, round, or inverted
heart-shaped, narrow at base, the wings oblong, shorter than the
standard; the keel blunt, nearly straight, longer than the wings; the
stamens in two sets of nine and one, not adhering to the corolla;
the pod long, flat, and oddly jointed into several, strongly-veined,
one-seeded, roundish divisions, which separate when ripe. The name is
from the Greek, meaning "sweet-broom."
[Sidenote: _Hedýsarum pabulàre_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Utah=]
A very handsome and decorative plant, with large brilliant
flower-clusters, contrasting well with the foliage and making spots of
vivid color on dry plains and hillsides. It has many stems, springing
from a rootstock, which are from eight to fifteen inches long,
yellowish-green, ridged, and covered with inconspicuous down, the
leaflets are light bluish-green, thickish, nine to seventeen in number,
and the bracts are thin and dry. The flowers are about three-quarters
of an inch long, with a pinkish-green and downy calyx, and the corolla
all bright deep pink, fading to blue, with a veined standard. The
pod has from three to five divisions. This flourishes at rather high
altitudes, up to seven thousand feet, and is conspicuously beautiful
near the entrance to Ogden Canyon in Utah.
There are a great many kinds of Trifolium, or Clover, difficult to
distinguish; low herbs; leaves usually with three leaflets, usually
toothed; stipules adhering to the leaf-stalks; flowers in heads or
spikes; stamens usually in two sets of nine and one; pods small, mostly
enclosed in the calyx, usually with one to six seeds.
[Illustration: Hedysarum pabulare.]
[Illustration: Loco-weed--Astragalus MacDougali.]
[Sidenote: =Clover=
_Trifòlium tridentàtum_
=Purple
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
This is very common from the coast to the Sierra foothills, but there
are many named varieties. It is smooth all over and grows from eight
inches to two feet high, with spreading stems and narrow leaflets,
which are toothless, or have teeth and bristles on the edges. The
pinkish-purple flowers form a broad head, over an inch across, with an
involucre.
[Sidenote: =Sour Clover=
_Trifòlium fucàtum_
=Cream-color
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
This has queer-looking flowers and is conspicuous on that account. The
branching stems are a foot or more tall, the stipules are large, with
papery margins, and the leaves are bright green, with a paler spot near
the middle of each of the leaflets, which are toothed, or sometimes
only bristly on the edges, and the flowers form a head about an inch
and a quarter across, with a broad involucre. The calyx is very small
and the corolla is cream-color, becoming much inflated and changing to
deep pink as the flower withers. The effect of the cluster is curiously
puffy and odd in color. This grows rankly in low alkaline and brackish
places.
There are many kinds of Psoralea, widely distributed; ours are
perennial herbs, without tendrils, the leaves with three or five
leaflets, with glandular dots on them and usually bad-smelling. The
flowers are white or purplish, and the pod is short, with only one seed.
[Sidenote: =Native California Tea=
_Psoràlea physòdes_
=White
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
This is a rather pleasing plant, for the foliage is pretty, though the
flowers are too dull in color to be effective. It is almost smooth
all over, a foot or more tall, with several spreading stems and rich
green leaves, thin in texture and giving out a rather pleasant aromatic
smell when crushed. The flowers are less than half an inch long, with a
somewhat hairy calyx, covered with dots and becoming inflated in fruit,
and a yellowish-white corolla, more or less tinged with purple. This is
common in the woods of the Coast Ranges. The foliage was used as tea by
the early settlers.
[Illustration: Sour Clover--Trifolium fucatum.
Clover--T. tridentatum.
Native California Tea--Psoralea physodes.]
There are many kinds of Cytisus, natives of Europe, Asia, and Africa,
named for Cythrus, one of the Cyclades, where the first species was
found.
[Sidenote: =Scotch Broom=
_Cýtisus scopàrius_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc., except Ariz.=]
A handsome branching shrub, about five feet high, with almost smooth or
quite hairy leaves, with three, toothless leaflets, and fine clusters
of flowers, each an inch or more long, with a yellow two-lipped calyx
and a golden-yellow corolla, deeper in color at the base of the
standard and at the tips of the wings; the stamens ten, in one set; the
style curved in. The pod is flat, smooth on the sides, but hairy along
the edges, one or two inches long and curling when ripe. This is said
to have been brought to California by Cornish miners.
SENNA FAMILY. _Cassiaceae._
A large family, most of them tropical; trees, shrubs, and herbs, with
flowers more or less irregular in form, but not like the flowers of the
true Pea, though sometimes resembling them; calyx usually with five
sepals; corolla with five petals, overlapping in the bud, the petal
which corresponds to the standard folded within the two side petals,
instead of covering them, as in the Pea flower; stamens, ten, or fewer,
in number, usually not united; ovar superior; fruit a pod, mostly
splitting into two halves, containing one to many seeds. To this family
belong the handsome Red-bud, or Judas Tree, of our woodlands, both
East and West; the spiny Honey-locust; the Kentucky Coffee-tree, with
its fine foliage, of the central and eastern states; the interesting
Palo Verde, with greatly reduced leaves, of the Southwest, and the
fine Bird-of-paradise flowers, of the tropics and Mexico, one or two
of which are just beginning to grow wild in southern Arizona and
California.
There are many kinds of Cassia, abundant in tropical America; herbs,
shrubs, or trees; leaflets even in number; flowers usually yellow;
calyx-teeth nearly equal; corolla almost regular, with five, nearly
equal, spreading petals, with claws; stamens usually ten, sometimes
five, often unequal, some of the anthers often imperfect, or lacking;
pod flat or cylindrical, often curved, sometimes with partitions
between the numerous seeds.
[Illustration: Scotch Broom--Cytisus scoparius.]
[Sidenote: =Desert Senna, Golden Cassia=
_Cássia armàta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
The peculiar orange-yellow of these handsome flowers at once
attracts our attention, for their tint is quite different from the
greenish-yellow, which is so much more common. They grow in the desert,
forming big clumps, two feet high and two or three feet across, but
have almost no foliage. The numerous, smooth stems are very pale
in color, often bluish or gray, with a few dark-green leaves, with
six, very small, stiff leaflets, and bearing clusters of numerous,
sweet-smelling flowers, almost regular and about three-quarters of an
inch across, with a downy calyx and the small, flat pod also downy.
MIMOSA FAMILY. _Mimosaceae._
A large family, most of them tropical; herbs, shrubs, or trees; leaves
alternate, generally compound, usually with two or three leaflets;
flowers small, regular and perfect, in clusters; calyx with three to
six lobes or teeth; petals of the same number, separate, or more or
less united, neither sepals nor petals overlapping in the bud; stamens
as many as the petals, or twice as many, or numerous, separate or
united; ovary superior; fruit a pod.
There are several kinds of Calliandra, low shrubs or herbs.
[Sidenote: =Fairy Dusters=
_Calliándra eriophýlla_
=Pink
Spring
Arizona=]
An odd little shrub, pretty and very Japanese in character, about a
foot tall, with a few, pale-gray, spreading branches and very scanty
foliage. The small leaves are cut into many tiny leaflets and look
like those of a Mimosa, the buds are deep pink and the flowers are in
clusters towards the ends of the branches and slightly sweet-scented.
They are very queer-looking, but exceedingly pretty, for the purplish
calyx and corolla are so small that the flower appears to be merely a
tuft of many stamens, about an inch long, with threadlike filaments,
white at base and shading to bright pink at the tips. The pistil is
also long and pink, so the whole effect is a bunch of pink fuzz, airy
in form and delicately shaded in color. These little shrubs sometimes
bloom when they are only a few inches high, looking very quaint,
like dwarf plants in a toy garden, and are among the earliest spring
flowers.
[Illustration: Desert Senna--Cassia armata.]
[Illustration: Fairy Dusters--Calliandra eriophylla.]
KRAMERIA FAMILY. _Krameriaceae._
A small family, distributed from the southern United States to Chili;
hairy herbs or low shrubs, without stipules; leaves alternate; two
bracts on the flower-stalk; flowers purplish, irregular, perfect;
sepals four or five, usually large, the outer one commonly wider than
the others; petals usually five, smaller than the sepals, the three
upper ones with long claws, often united by their claws, sometimes the
middle one of the three lacking, the two lower ones reduced to mere
fleshy glands and not resembling petals; stamens three or four, united
at least at base; ovary superior, with a slender style; fruit spiny,
seed one.
[Sidenote: =Crimson-beak=
_Kramèria Gràyi_
=Purplish-pink
Spring
Arizona=]
A desert shrub, with a pleasant smell like balsam, two to four feet
high, with gray, woody stems, abruptly branching, armed with long,
brown and gray thorns, and clothed with very small, silvery-gray
leaves, downy and thickish. The flowers are curious in shape and color,
with five, large, purplish-pink sepals and five, small petals, the two
lower ones minute and reduced to glands. The pistil is dark red, the
three stamens have green filaments and red anthers, the ovary is downy
and prickly, and the downy buds are pale pink.
CALTROP FAMILY. _Zygophyllaceae._
Not a large family, widely distributed in warm and tropical regions;
ours are herbs or shrubs, with opposite or alternate, compound leaves,
with stipules and toothless leaflets; flowers complete, usually with
five sepals and five petals, and usually twice the number of stamens,
with swinging anthers, alternate stamens sometimes longer, filaments
often with a small scale near the middle; ovary superior, usually
surrounded at the base by a disk; style one, with a five- to ten-lobed
stigma; fruit dry.
There are several kinds of Covillea.
[Sidenote: =Creosote-bush, Hediondilla=
_Covíllea glutinòsa (Larrea Mexicana)_
=Yellow
All seasons
Southwest=]
A graceful, evergreen shrub, common in arid regions and a
characteristic feature of the desert landscape, filling the air with
its very strong, peculiar odor. It is from three to ten feet high,
with many little branches, with blackish knots at the joints, clothed
with sticky, dull yellowish-green foliage, the thickish, resinous
leaflets very small, in pairs, with almost no leaf-stalk, and uneven at
base. The pretty flowers are nearly an inch across, with bright yellow
petals, with claws, and silky, greenish-yellow sepals which soon drop
off. The filaments are broadened below into wings and have a scale on
the inner side. The ovary is covered with pale, silky hairs, so that
the older flowers have a silky tuft in the center, and becomes a round,
densely hairy fruit, with a short stalk, tipped with the slender style.
These little white, silky balls of down are very conspicuous and, as
they are mingled with yellow flowers, the bush has an odd and pretty
effect of being spotted all over with yellow and white.
[Illustration: Creosote-bush--Covillea glutinosa.
Crimson-beak--Krameria Grayi.]
FLAX FAMILY. _Linaceae._
A small family, widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions.
Ours are smooth herbs, with loosely clustered, complete flowers, having
five sepals; five petals, alternating with the sepals; five stamens,
alternating with the petals, with swinging anthers and filaments united
at the base; ovary superior; fruit a capsule, containing eight or ten,
oily seeds.
There are many kinds of Flax, sometimes shrubby at base; with tough
fibers in the bark; leaves without stipules, sometimes with glands at
base in place of real stipules; flowers mostly blue or yellow. There
are numerous, small-flowered, annual kinds, difficult to distinguish
and usually somewhat local. _L. usitatíssimum_, an annual, with deep
blue flowers, is the variety which, from time immemorial, has furnished
the world with linen from its fiber and oil from its seeds. Linum is
the ancient Latin name.
[Sidenote: =Blue Flax=
_Lìnum Lewísii_
=Blue
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
An attractive plant, from one to two feet tall, with several, erect
stems, springing from a woody, perennial root, with numerous, small,
narrow, bluish-green leaves and loose clusters of pretty flowers, each
about an inch across. The petals, delicately veined with blue, vary in
tint from sky-blue to almost white, with a little yellow at the base.
This is common and widely distributed, from Manitoba to Texas and
westward, but the fiber is not strong enough to be used commercially.
[Illustration: Blue Flax--Linum Lewisii.]
WOOD-SORREL FAMILY. _Oxalidaceae._
Not a large family, mostly tropical. Ours are low herbs, with sour
juice, often with rootstocks or scaly bulbs; leaves with three or
several leaflets; flowers perfect; sepals five, often unequal; petals
five, stamens ten to fifteen; ovary superior, five-celled, the five
styles usually separate; fruit a capsule, containing several or many
seeds. By some botanists this is merged in the Geranium Family.
There are many kinds of Oxalis. The Greek name means "sour," in
allusion to the sour taste of these plants, which contain oxalic acid.
The leaves are alternate, at nightfall the leaflets droop and fold
together; the stamens are ten, five long and five short, all with
anthers, with filaments broadened and united at base.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Wood-sorrel=
_Óxalis corniculàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
Southwest=]
A pretty little plant, a few inches tall, more or less downy all over,
with very slender, reddish, branching stems and light green leaves,
about an inch across and thin in texture. The flowers are over half an
inch across, with clear yellow petals, often tinged with pale red on
the outside, yellow anthers and a green pistil. The capsules are long
and downy.
[Sidenote: =Redwood Sorrel=
_Óxalis Oregàna_
=White, pink
Spring
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
One of the most attractive of our woodland plants. The succulent,
hairy, reddish flower-stalks, about six inches tall, with two small
bracts near the top, spring from a clump of root-leaves. The larger
leaves are three inches across, with long leaf-stalks, pale and hairy
on the under side, rich green on the upper, each leaflet marked with an
irregular blotch of pale green. The younger leaves are lighter green
than the older ones and in the bud are neatly folded together, the
middle leaflet inside the other two. The leaflets fold back, when it is
either too hot or too cold to suit the plant. The delicate flowers are
about an inch and a half across, white, pale pink, or rose-color, often
veined with deeper color and with a spot of yellow at the base of each
petal, and well set off by the foliage, which makes patches of rich and
variegated green in dense forest shade.
[Illustration: Yellow Wood-sorrel--Oxalis corniculata.
Redwood Sorrel--O. Oregana.]
GERANIUM FAMILY. _Geraniaceae._
Not a large family, herbs, of temperate regions; leaves lobed or
compound, usually with stipules; flowers perfect; sepals and petals
usually five and stamens five or ten; ovary superior; fruit a capsule.
There are many kinds of Geranium; stems with swollen joints; stipules
papery; five glands on the receptacle, alternating with the petals;
stamens ten, five long and five short, filaments united at base; ovary
with a beak formed by the five-cleft style, and becoming a capsule,
which splits open elastically, the style-divisions becoming tails
on the seeds. The Greek name means "crane," in allusion to the long
beak of the capsule, and these plants are often called Crane's-bill.
Cultivated Geraniums are Pelargoniums, from South Africa.
[Sidenote: =Wild Geranium=
_Gerànium incìsum_
=Pink
Spring, summer
West=]
In the Sierra woods, and along Yosemite roadsides, in summer we see
the purplish-pink blossoms and nodding buds of this attractive plant,
resembling the Wild Geranium of the East, growing from thick, perennial
roots, with hairy, branching stems, from one to two feet high. The
hairy leaves, with three or five, toothed lobes, are fragrant like
cultivated geraniums; the flowers, over an inch across, are hairy
inside, the petals veined with magenta. They are occasionally white
and the plants vary in size and hairiness. _G. furcàtum_, of the Grand
Canyon, has magenta petals, which turn back more.
[Sidenote: =Wild Geranium=
_Gerànium Fremóntii_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Southwest, and Utah, Ida., Col., New Mex.=]
This has similar flowers, but is a finer plant, forming large,
thrifty-looking clumps, one or two feet across, of slightly thickish
leaves, dark green on the upper side and paler, with prominent veins,
on the under, the root-leaves with about seven, main divisions, the
stem-leaves three- to five-cleft, each clump of leaves with several
tall, slightly downy flower-stalks springing from it. The calyxes and
buds are downy and the flowers bright pink or rose-purple, delicately
veined. This grows in somewhat moist ground, at the edges of fields and
woody roadsides and on mountain slopes, and is perhaps the handsomest
of its clan.
[Illustration: Geranium incisum.
Wild Geranium--Fremontii.]
[Sidenote:= Long-stalked Crane's-bill=
_Gerànium columbìnum_
=Purple
Spring, summer
California, etc.=]
A slender plant, about a foot tall, with pinkish, hairy stems and
pretty leaves, thin in texture, with a dull surface; the seed-vessels
erect, with bristly beaks. The flowers grow in pairs and are less than
half an inch across, with hairy calyxes and notched, purple or magenta
petals. This is naturalized from Europe, and common in the East and
grows along roadsides, at the edges of fields and woods.
There are many kinds of Erodium, three native in the Southwest and
several more introduced, weeds in the Old World and important forage
plants in the West; leaves often unequal, with one stipule on one
side and two on the other. They resemble Geranium, flower and fruit
being nearly the same, but only five of the stamens have anthers, the
alternate ones being scale-like, without anthers; styles hairy inside.
The Greek name means "heron," in allusion to the long beak of the
capsule.
[Sidenote: =Red-stem Filaree=
_Eròdium cicutàrium_
=Pink
All seasons
West, etc.=]
Though not native, this is the commonest kind, in the interior and
semi-arid regions, and most valued for forage. When young it forms
rosettes close to the ground, but grows taller and more straggling. The
stems are often reddish; the leaves somewhat hairy; the flowers small,
in clusters of four to eight, with four bracts at the base; the petals
purplish-pink, with darker veins, and hairy at the base, the two upper
petals slightly smaller; the sepals tipped with one or two bristles.
The ovary is beaked by the united styles, the beak, when the seeds
ripen, separating into five, long tails, which twist spirally when
dry and untwist when moistened. This is common west of the Rockies,
blooming more or less all the year round, varying in size in different
soils. Filaree is a corruption of the Spanish Alfilerilla, from
"alfiler," a "pin." Other names are Pinkets, Pinclover, Storksbill, and
Clocks, so-called by children because they amuse themselves by watching
the tails twist about like the hands of a clock. White-stem Filaree,
_E. moschàtum_, common in rich soil, has larger, coarser leaves and a
faint scent.
[Illustration: Long-stalked Crane's-bill--Geranium columbinum.
Red-stem Filaree--Erodium cicutarium.]
MILKWORT FAMILY. _Polygalaceae._
Not a very large family, widely distributed; ours are herbs, sometimes
shrubby, with no stipules; flowers perfect, irregular, resembling those
of the Pea Family, but not like them in structure; sepals five, the two
at the sides large and colored, like "wings," the upper sepal forming a
"keel"; petals three, more or less united into a tube; stamens usually
eight and united; ovary superior, two-celled, with a broad, curved
stigma.
There are many kinds of Polygala.
[Sidenote: =California Milkwort=
_Polýgala Califórnica_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A rather attractive little plant, three to eight inches tall, with
smooth leaves and many slender, smooth, woody, stems, springing from
slender rootstocks. The purplish-pink flowers become deeper in color
as they fade and are quaint in form, over half an inch long, with pink
"wings" and yellowish "keel," the petals downy inside and the middle
one curving over to form a hood, in which the stamens and style are
concealed. This plant has the odd habit of bearing another sort of
flower near the root, maturing most of the seed, but without petals,
and grows on dry, shady hillsides in the Coast Ranges.
MEADOW FOAM FAMILY. _Limnanthaceae._
A very small family, all North American, included in the Geranium
Family by some botanists; smooth herbs, of wet places, with bitter
juice; leaves alternate, lobed and cut, without stipules; flowers
perfect; sepals and petals two to five; stamens twice as many as the
petals; ovary superior, the five lobes becoming five nutlets; style one.
There are several kinds of Floerkea; sepals and petals three to five;
five, small glands on the receptacle, alternating with the sepals;
style two- to five-cleft.
[Sidenote: =Meadow Foam=
_Floérkea Douglásii (Limnanthes)_
=White, yellow
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A charming plant, often covering the meadows with drifts of creamy
bloom. The stems are smooth, succulent, brittle and branching, from six
to twelve inches tall; the delicate flowers over an inch across, the
petals hairy at base, sometimes pinkish, but usually white and yellow.
[Illustration: Meadow Foam--Floerkea Douglasii.
California Milk-wort--Polygala Californica.]
BUCKEYE FAMILY. _Hippocastanaceae._
A small family, widely distributed; trees or shrubs, with opposite,
compound leaves, no stipules and terminal clusters of irregular
flowers, some perfect and some with only pistils or only stamens; the
calyx tubular or bell-shaped, with five, unequal lobes or teeth; the
petals four or five, unequal, with claws; the stamens five to eight,
with long filaments; the ovary superior, with no stalk, three-celled,
with a slender style; the capsule leathery, roundish or slightly
three-lobed, smooth or spiny, with one to three, large, polished seeds.
There are a good many kinds of Aesculus, or Horse Chestnut, natives of
America and Asia; the leaves palmately compound, with toothed leaflets;
the flowers of two sorts, the fertile ones few in number, near the top
of the cluster, with long, thick styles, and the sterile flowers with
short styles.
[Sidenote: =California Buckeye=
_Aésculus Califórnica_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]
One of our handsomest western shrubs, usually from ten to fifteen feet
tall, with gray bark, and dark bluish-green foliage, the leaflets from
five to seven in number, glossy on the upper side, pale and dull on the
under, and firm in texture. The flowers have a rather heavy scent and
are about an inch across, with four or five, slightly irregular, white
petals, which become pink in fading, a pinkish ovary and long stamens
with curling, white filaments, unequal in length, with buff anthers.
They are crowded in a magnificent, pyramidal cluster, about a foot
long, which has a pinkish-red, downy stem, and the buds are also downy
and pinkish, so that the color effect is warm-pink above, merging into
cream-white below, the whole made feathery by the long stamens. The
shrub has a rounded top of rich green foliage, symmetrically ornamented
with spires of bloom, standing up quite stiffly all over it. The large,
leathery pod contains a big, golden-brown nut, supposed to be poisonous
to cattle. The leaves fall off very early in the season, leaving the
pods hanging on the bare branches. This is at its best in the mountain
valleys of middle California, sometimes becoming a good-sized tree.
[Illustration: California Buckeye--Aesculus Californica.]
BUCKTHORN FAMILY. _Rhamnaceae._
A large family; shrubs, or small trees, of temperate and warm regions,
some with bitter, astringent properties, often thorny; leaves mostly
alternate; stipules minute; flowers often in showy clusters, small,
regular; calyx-lobes and stamens four or five; petals usually four or
five, sometimes lacking, with claws. The short calyx-tube is lined
with a fleshy disk and on this are borne the petals and the stamens,
alternate with the sepals and opposite the petals, with swinging
anthers. In some cases, some of the flowers have only pistils or only
stamens. The ovary superior or partly inferior; the fruit a berry or
capsule.
There are many kinds of Ceanothus, largely western; flowers small, blue
or white, in clusters; calyx bell-shaped, five-lobed, with a colored,
petal-like border; petals five, the tips arching to form a tiny hood,
with long claws; stamens five, long, protruding, with threadlike
filaments; ovary partly inferior; style three-cleft; capsule splitting
open elastically so as to scatter the three, hard nutlets. The flowers
make a soapy lather when rubbed in water, hence the name Soap-bush, and
the kinds with rigid branches are called Buckbrush. Red-root is another
name. Mountain Lilac is the commonest name, but misleading. Lilacs
belong to another family.
[Sidenote: =Squaw Carpets, Mahala Mats=
_Ceanòthus prostràtus_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
This decorative shrub is common in the Sierras and carpets the forest
floor with a rich green, leafy mat, sprinkled with small, feathery
clusters of blue flowers. The trailing stems are clothed with leathery
leaves, opposite and very glossy, and the little flowers are deep
purplish-blue, with yellow stamens, and slightly scented. These plants
are equally attractive late in the season when the flowers are replaced
by scarlet seed-vessels, with three horns.
[Sidenote: =Snow Brush, Mountain Lilac=
_Ceanòthus velùtinus_
=White
West, except Ariz.=]
A fine shrub, two to twelve feet high, with stout trunk and branches,
easily recognized by its leaves, which are rich green, thick and
resinous, shiny as if varnished on the upper side and sometimes rich
chocolate-brown in color, but pale on the under side, with three,
conspicuous nerves. The small, sweet-scented flowers are crowded
in compact, creamy clusters, sometimes four or five inches long,
very handsome, but not so delicate as Deer-brush. This is common on
hillsides and in the mountains, up to seven thousand feet.
[Illustration: Snow Brush--C. velutinus.
Squaw-Carpets--Ceanothus prostratus.]
[Sidenote: =Deer-brush, Mountain Lilac=
_Ceanòthus integérrimus_
=White, blue
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash., Ariz.=]
A graceful shrub, or small tree, six to fifteen feet tall, the slender
trunk and branches covered with dull yellowish-green bark and the
bright green foliage setting off the feathery flower clusters, two
to six inches long, scattered lightly over the bush and composed of
innumerable, tiny, sweet-scented blossoms. The leaves are alternate,
half an inch to three inches long, toothless, thin in texture,
very slightly downy or smooth, with three veins, and the flowers
cream-white, occasionally blue or pink, with conspicuous stamens, which
give the plume-like sprays a delicate foamy effect against the dark
forest background. This shrub is a beautiful sight when in flower and
sometimes covers the mountainsides with drifts of snowy bloom, filling
the air with delicate perfume. It is quite variable and sometimes has
dark shiny leaves and small compact clusters of flowers. It is often
called White Tea-tree, because the bark is used medicinally.
[Sidenote: =Blue Mountain Lilac=
_Ceanòthus parvifòlius_
=Blue
Summer
California=]
An attractive mountain shrub, growing in Yosemite, and elsewhere in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains at similar altitudes, low and spreading, about
three feet high, with smooth, pale green branches and small, smooth,
toothless leaves, dark green and shining on the upper side, pale on
the under. The oblong clusters of minute blue flowers are slightly
sweet-scented and about two inches long.
MALLOW FAMILY. _Malvaceae._
A large family, widely distributed; mostly herbs, with mucilaginous
juice and tough, fibrous bark; leaves alternate, mostly
palmately-veined and lobed, with stipules; flowers regular, perfect, or
the stamens and pistils on different plants; sepals five, often with
an outer row of bracts below, resembling another calyx; petals five,
their bases or claws united with each other and with the base of the
stamen-tube; stamens numerous, united by their filaments into a column,
forming a tube enclosing the pistils; fruit a capsule, breaking when
ripe into several one-seeded parts, or splitting down the back of the
valves, allowing the seeds to escape. The little fruits are commonly
called "cheeses." True Mallows are introduced "weeds" in this country.
[Illustration: Deer Brush--Ceanothus integerrimus.
Blue Mountain Lilac--C. parvifolius.]
[Sidenote: =Arizona Wild Cotton=
_Thurbéria thespesioìdes (Ingenhouzia triloba)_
=White
Summer
Arizona=]
The only kind, a fine shrub, from four to eight feet high, with smooth
leaves, most of them with three lobes, and handsome cream-white
flowers, tinged with pink on the outside and measuring two inches
across. This grows in the mountains of southern Arizona and is
beautiful under cultivation, often growing to a height of six or eight
feet in a season.
There are a number of kinds of Sidalcea, difficult to distinguish;
perennials; leaves round in general outline, variously cut and lobed;
flowers showy, in terminal clusters; calyx with no outer bracts, or
with only one; stamen-column double; stigmas threadlike, distinguishing
them from Malvastrum and Sidalcea.
[Sidenote: =Rose Mallow=
_Sidálcea Califórnica_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
This has velvety leaves, those from the root much less deeply lobed
than the others, and a slender, slightly hairy stalk, one to two feet
tall, leaning to one side and bearing a loose raceme of rose-pink
flowers, with petals about an inch long. Only one or two flowers are
open at a time, but they are very pretty and conspicuous in open woods
and along the edges of fields, around Santa Barbara, in May.
[Sidenote: =Oregon Mallow=
_Sidálcea Oregàna_
=Pink
Summer, autumn
Northwest=]
A pretty plant, with one or more smooth, pale, branching stems, about
two feet tall, and dark green leaves, with conspicuous veins. The buds
are downy and the flowers are about three-quarters of an inch across,
with pale pink petals, prettily veined, shading to white at the center.
The anthers are white and the pistil, when the stigmas have expanded,
is prettily tipped with a tiny crimson brush.
[Illustration: Oregon Mallow--Sidalcea Oregana.
Rose Mallow--S. Californica.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Checker-bloom=
_Sidálcea malvaeflòra_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
A pretty perennial, with several leaning, hairy stems, one or two feet
tall, and dark green leaves. Some plants have perfect flowers, an inch
or more across, often very pale pink, and others have only rudimentary
stamens and smaller flowers, usually deep pink in color, but the plant
is very variable. This is common near the coast. It is sometimes called
Wild Hollyhock.
[Sidenote: =Mallow=
_Sidálcea Neo-Mexicàna_
=Pink
Summer
Ariz., Utah, New Mex., Col., Wyo.=]
This is from one to three feet tall, with smooth, rather dark green
leaves and very pretty, pale purplish-pink flowers with pale-yellow
anthers and pinkish pistil. This grows in the mountains.
There are many kinds of Malvastrum, natives of America and Africa;
perennial herbs or shrubs; the calyx often with three outer bracts; the
stamen-column bearing anthers at the top; the stigmas with round heads.
The name is from the Greek, meaning "star-mallow."
[Sidenote: =Spotted Mallow=
_Malvástrum rotundifòlium_
=Pink
Spring
Southwest=]
A very pretty desert plant, from six to eight inches tall, the coloring
of the flowers, stems, and leaves vivid and oddly contrasting, for
the stems are bright red and hairy, and the leaves stiff, hairy, and
bronze-green in color, while the lovely globe-shaped flowers, which are
over an inch across, are delicately shaded from lilac to rose outside
and paler inside, with conspicuous round blotches of orange-vermilion
at the base of each petal within. The calyx and buds are very hairy,
the petals each have a twist to one side, and the mauve stamens form a
pretty cluster in the center. These flowers last a long time in water,
closing at night and opening again in the morning.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Spotted Mallow--Malvastrum rotundifolium.]
[Illustration: Checker-bloom--S. malvaeflora.
Mallow--Sidalcea Neo-Mexicana.]
[Sidenote: =False Mallow=
_Malvástrum Thúrberi_
=Pink
Spring, summer
California=]
A handsome shrub, from five to ten feet high, woody below, with long,
slender, wandlike branches and thick, very downy, light bluish-green
leaves. The pretty lilac-pink flowers are from one to nearly two inches
across and pleasantly scented, and the foliage is soft and pretty in
appearance, though rather harsh to the touch, its pale tones blending
harmoniously with the delicate blossoms. This is common in southern
California.
There are several kinds of Lavatera, mostly from the Old World.
[Sidenote: =Tree Mallow=
_Lavàtera assurgentiflòra_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
This was planted in the mission gardens by the Fathers and is now
common around San Francisco. It is a branching shrub, from six to
fifteen feet high, with a twisted, gray trunk and large handsome
leaves, light green and very soft and smooth to the touch, paler and
downier on the under side. The flowers are handsome and conspicuous,
two or three inches across, with bright pink petals, warm and rich in
tone, beautifully striped with maroon and shading to yellowish-white
towards the center, with a purple pistil and grayish anthers. The
flowers and seed-vessels hang on curved pedicels, like pipe-stems,
giving a rather odd effect. The leaves and twigs are very mucilaginous.
There are many kinds of Sphaeralcea, much like Malvastrum, except that
they have two or three ovules, instead of one, in each cavity of the
ovary. The name is from the Greek, meaning "globe-mallow," in allusion
to the usually roundish fruit.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Mallow=
_Sphaerálcea pedàta_
=Red
Spring
Southwest=]
These graceful wands of brilliant bloom are very common in spring in
Arizona. The flowers are over an inch across, vivid yet delicate in
color, shading from luminous scarlet to clear pale-orange. The buds are
tipped with deeper red and the foliage is rather pale green, somewhat
hairy and downy. The stems are from one to two feet tall and bend
slightly to one side, swaying to and fro in the wind and displaying
their flaming blossoms to great advantage.
[Illustration: Salmon Globe Mallow--Sphaeralcea pedata.]
[Illustration: Tree Mallow--Lavatera assurgentiflora.
False Mallow--Malvastrum Thurberi.]
ST. JOHN'S-WORT FAMILY. _Hypericaceae._
Not a large family, mostly natives of temperate and warm regions.
Ours are herbs, sometimes shrubby, without stipules, with opposite,
toothless leaves, with clear or black dots; the flowers regular and
complete, all the parts borne on the receptacle; the sepals and petals
usually five; the stamens usually numerous, sometimes grouped in three
to five clusters; the ovary superior; the fruit a capsule.
There are many kinds of Hypericum, widely distributed; the leaves
without leaf-stalks, the flowers yellow, with three to six styles. This
is the ancient Greek name. These plants bloom in June, about St. John's
Day, and so tradition gives them magic properties, appropriate to the
Eve of that day, when fairies and witches are abroad, and they are
commonly called St. John's-wort.
[Sidenote: =St. John's-wort=
_Hypéricum concínnum_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
This has very pretty flowers and grows from three to eighteen inches
tall, with smooth stems, branching and woody at base, and smooth,
rather bluish-green leaves, usually folded, not clasping at base,
usually with only a few dots. The flowers are an inch or more across,
with bright golden petals, with some black dots, and numerous stamens
in three bunches, forming large, fuzzy, golden centers. This grows on
dry hills and is supposed to be poisonous to sheep.
[Sidenote: =St. John's-wort=
_Hypéricum formòsum var. Scoúleri_
=Yellow
Summer
West=]
A pretty plant, from six inches to three feet tall, with a stiff stem,
often branching towards the top, and rather dull green leaves, blunt,
oblong and clasping at base, about an inch long, thin in texture, with
black dots on the margins. The flowers are from half an inch to an inch
across, with bright yellow petals, dotted with black, and are very
pretty, but not so handsome as the last. This grows in moist places,
chiefly in the mountains, and is common in Yosemite.
[Sidenote: =Creeping St. John's-wort=
_Hypéricum anagalloìdes_
=Orange
Summer
Northwest=]
An attractive little plant, only a few inches tall, with many weak,
slender, branching stems, spreading on the ground and rooting at the
joints, and small, smooth, light yellowish-green leaves, often tinged
with red. It grows in wet places and forms close mats of foliage,
sprinkled with light-orange or salmon-colored flowers, a quarter of an
inch or more across, with fifteen to twenty, yellow stamens. The effect
is something like Anagallis, Scarlet Pimpernel, hence the name. This is
common in Yosemite and similar places, up to nine thousand feet.
[Illustration: H. concinnum.
St. John's-wort--Hypericum formosum var. Scouleri.
Creeping St. John's-wort--H. anagalloides.]
FOUQUIERA FAMILY. _Fouquieriaceae._
A very small family, with one genus and only a few species; natives
of the Southwest and Mexico; the flowers are brilliant red, in
terminal clusters; the sepals five, not united; the petals five,
united into a tube, the lobes somewhat spreading; the stamens ten to
fifteen, protruding, inserted under the pistil; the ovary imperfectly
three-celled; the styles three, long, somewhat united; the seeds three
to six, oblong, flattened, surrounded by a membranous wing or long,
white hairs. These plants are very puzzling, but interesting, and as
they are not nearly related they have at various times been classified
with other families.
[Sidenote: =Flaming Sword, Ocotillo, Candle Flower=
_Fouquièra spléndens_
=Red
Spring
Ariz., Cal., New Mex.=]
A magnificent desert shrub, when in full bloom, but strangely
forbidding in aspect in spite of its beauty. Its many stiff stems, from
six to twenty feet tall, entirely without branches, stand up stiffly
from the root, like a bunch of wands, and are armed their whole length
with terrible thorns, which in the spring are masked with beautiful
foliage, like little apple leaves. From the tip of each wand springs a
glorious cluster, from six to ten inches long, composed of hundreds of
scarlet flowers, each about an inch long, and crowded closely together,
suggesting a flame and waving to and fro in the wind with a startling
effect against the pale desert sand. When the flowers and leaves are
gone, the clumps of dry, thorny sticks look quite dead and it is hard
to believe that they were so splendid early in the season. They make an
impenetrable fence and are much used by the Indians for hedges.
[Illustration: Flaming Sword--Fouquiera splendens.]
VIOLET FAMILY. _Violaceae._
A rather large family, widely distributed, but we have only three
genera, the principal one being Viola, which is the ancient Latin name,
used by Virgil.
There are many kinds of Viola, widely distributed, blooming in spring,
but often flowering again in the autumn; low, perennial herbs, with
stipules; leaves alternate, or from the root; flowers complete,
irregular, nodding, nectar-yielding, usually single; sepals five,
with small ear-shaped projections at the base; petals five, slightly
bearded within, so as to afford a foothold for bees, the lowest petal
larger and with a spur at the back; stamens five, short, with broadened
filaments and anthers opening inward, so as to cover the pistil all
but the end of the style, the two lower anthers with spurs at the
base, which project into the spur of the petal; ovary superior and
one-celled; style club-shaped, with a one-sided stigma. The flowers
are often of two kinds, the earlier ones with long flower-stalks, with
petals and showy, but not producing seed; the later ones with short
stalks, with small or no petals, but fertile, often cleistogamous, that
is, fertilized in the bud. The capsule splits open and as the three
valves dry they fold firmly together lengthwise and force out the seeds.
[Sidenote: =Pine Violet=
_Vìola lobàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A pretty plant, growing in the woods, with leafy stems, from four to
fourteen inches high, with leafy stipules and smooth, rather light
green leaves, deeply lobed, so that they look unlike most Violet
leaves. The flowers are more or less clustered, an inch or more across,
with bright yellow petals, veined with purple inside, tinged with
purplish-brown outside, the two side petals with a little hairy patch
at the base inside.
[Sidenote: =Western Heartsease=
_Vìola ocellàta_
=White and yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A shy little woodland plant, from five to twelve inches tall, with
creeping rootstocks and small, dry stipules. The flowers are an inch
or less across, the two upper petals white, tinged with reddish-purple
on the outside, and the other petals white or yellow, with a splash of
purple on each of the two side petals and the lower one veined with
purple. This grows in shady woods.
[Illustration: Western Heartsease--Viola ocellata.
Pine Violet--V. lobata.]
[Sidenote: =Yellow Mountain Violet=
_Vìola venòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
Northwest and Utah=]
An attractive kind, usually about three inches tall, with almost
smooth leaves, often with purplish veins, with blunt tips and margins
obscurely or coarsely toothed, or almost toothless, and with long
leafstalks. The flowers are usually less than half an inch long, with
clear yellow petals, more or less tinged with purple on the outside,
the lower petal usually with several, purplish-black veins, the two
side petals with one or two veins. This has no scent, the capsule is
roundish and hairy, and the cleistogamous flowers are abundant. It
grows on dry mountainsides and is very variable both as to flower and
foliage and much smaller at great altitudes, the whole plant being not
more than an inch high. The drawing is of a Utah plant.
[Sidenote: =Canada Violet=
_Vìola Canadénsis_
=Pale-violet, white
Spring, summer
West, etc., except Cal.=]
This is quite tall, the slender, rather weak stems being sometimes
over a foot high, with smooth leaves, often with some hairs on the
veins of the under side. The flowers, over half an inch across, with
a short petal-spur, are almost white, delicately veined with purple,
yellow in the throat and tinged with violet or purple on the outside.
Occasionally they are pure-white all over and sometimes sweet-scented.
The capsule is oval and smooth. This is common in eastern mountain
woods, and to eastern eyes looked far from home when we found it in
Walnut Canyon in Arizona.
[Sidenote: =Pale Mountain Violet=
_Vìola adúnca var. glàbra_
=Pale-blue
Spring, summer
Utah=]
This is small and low, about three inches high, with leafy stems,
forming a clump of small, smooth, more or less toothed leaves, with
blunt tips, dark green on the upper side and paler on the under, with
two, quite large, fringed bracts at the bases of the leaf-stalks, and
two, small, fringed bracts on the flower-stems, half an inch below
the flower. The flowers are scentless, measure less than half an inch
across, and are pale-blue or almost white, with veins of dark blue on
the lower petal and tufts of white, fuzzy hairs inside, at the base of
the side petals, the spur purplish. This grows in mountain canyons, at
a height of five thousand to nine thousand feet, and is very small at
great altitudes.
[Illustration: Yellow Mountain Violet--V. venosa.
Canada Violet--Viola Canadensis.
Pale Mountain Violet--V. adunca var. glabra.]
[Sidenote: =Blue violet=
_Vìola adúnca var. lóngipes_
=Blue, purple
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A pretty plant, two to four inches high, with slightly hairy leaves
and flowers nearly an inch long, with bright purplish-blue or violet
petals, more or less veined with purple, the side petals hairy at base
inside. This grows near the coast.
[Sidenote: =Johnny Jump-up, Yellow Pansy=
_Vìola pedunculàta_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
Charming flowers, often growing in quantities on open hillsides. The
leafy stems are from two to six inches high, the leaves rather dark
green and the scentless flowers, about an inch across, have bright
golden petals, with some purple lines at the base of the three lower
ones, the spur and upper petals tinged with brownish-purple on the
outside, the two side petals hairy at base inside, and the stigma
hairy. The Spanish-Californian name is Gallito. There is no technical
difference between Pansies and Violets.
LOASA FAMILY. _Loasaceae._
Not a very large family, all but one natives of America; herbs, armed
with hooked, stinging or sticky hairs; without stipules; the flowers
perfect, with five sepals and five to ten petals; the stamens numerous,
with threadlike filaments, the outer ones sometimes petal-like,
inserted with the petals on the throat of the calyx and usually
arranged in clusters opposite the petals; the ovary inferior, with a
threadlike style; the capsule crowned with the calyx-lobes.
There are many kinds of Mentzelia, all western, often with white
shining stems and alternate leaves; the calyx cylindrical or
top-shaped, with five lobes; the petals five or ten; the styles three,
somewhat united. The barbed hairs which clothe the stems and leaves
make the plant stick to whatever it touches, probably helping to
distribute the seeds, hence the common name Stick-leaf.
[Sidenote: =Blazing Star=
_Mentzèlia laevicàulis_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West, except Wash. and Ariz.=]
A stout, branching biennial, two to over three feet tall, with shining
white stems, almost smooth, long, rather narrow, wavy-toothed leaves
and enormous flowers, in clusters of two or three at the ends of the
branches and opening only in bright sunlight. They are from three
to five inches across, with five, broad, light yellow petals and
quantities of very long stamens, making a beautiful center. Five of
the stamens have broadened filaments, resembling narrow petals, the
style is three-cleft, and the capsule is oblong, containing many flat,
winged seeds. These plants usually grow in dry stream-beds and are not
rare, but through various accidents I have never been able to secure a
drawing of either this or the next.
[Illustration: Blue Violet--V. adunca var. longipes.
Johnny Jump-up--Viola pedunculata.]
[Sidenote: =Evening Star=
_Mentzèlia Líndleyi_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
A more slender plant than the last, with magnificent flowers, two and
a half inches across, which open in the evening and remain open during
the following morning. They have five, broad petals, with pointed tips,
bright golden-yellow, colored with vermilion at the base, and handsome
yellow centers. The filaments are very slender, some of the outer ones
slightly broadened at base, and the style is not cleft. This grows in
the mountains. There is a drawing of it in Miss Parsons's _Wild Flowers
of California_. It is called Buena Mujer, or Good Woman, by the Spanish
Californians, because the leaves stick so tightly to one.
[Sidenote: _Mentzèlia multiflòra_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, Utah, etc.=]
An odd-looking plant, with very pale, straggling stems and thickish
leaves, a pretty shade of pale green, all exceedingly disagreeable to
touch. The buds are tipped with salmon-color and the flowers are an
inch and a half to two inches across, with a long green calyx-tube with
buff lobes, ten petals, bright yellow inside and pale buff outside, and
pretty, fuzzy, yellow centers. They open in the evening, about five
o'clock, and the plant would be pretty, in spite of its harsh foliage,
if more of the flowers were out at one time. This is common along
roadsides in the Southwest and in New Mexico and Colorado.
[Sidenote: _Mentzèlia gracilénta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
This has several pale greenish or pinkish stems, from a few inches to
a foot and a half tall, which look smooth but are very harsh to the
touch, springing from a cluster of stiff, harsh, dull-green leaves,
variously lobed or toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch across, with
glossy, bright yellow petals and beautiful, fuzzy, yellow centers, and
are very delicate and pretty.
[Illustration: Mentzelia multiflora.
M. gracilenta.]
ROCK-ROSE FAMILY. _Cistaceae._
A rather large family, mostly of the Mediterranean region; herbs or
low shrubs; flowers regular, perfect, all the parts borne on the
receptacle; sepals five, the two outer ones smaller and bract-like,
or lacking; petals three to five; stamens many; ovary superior,
one-celled, with a single style, or none; fruit a capsule, with several
or many seeds.
There are many kinds of Helianthemum, widely distributed, perennials;
leaves alternate, undivided, toothless; flowers yellow and, in most
North American species, of two sorts; the earlier ones with large,
yellow petals, very numerous stamens and a many-seeded pod; the later
ones, small, clustered, with small petals or none, three to ten
stamens, and small, few-seeded pods.
[Sidenote: =Rock-rose=
_Heliánthemum scopàrium_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A pretty plant, with many, slender stems and narrow, yellowish-green
leaves, forming clumps from one to two feet high. The flowers are half
an inch to three-quarters of an inch across, the buds and calyxes
reddish and the petals clear yellow, the pistil greenish, with a
three-lobed stigma. In favorable situations, such as Point Loma, this
makes attractive little bushes, neat yet feathery, suggesting large
clumps of grass, sprinkled thickly with flowers.
CACTUS FAMILY. _Cactaceae._
A large family, nearly all natives of America and of dry or desert
places, with strange characteristics, which make them easily recognized
as a whole, but many of the individuals have not yet been studied or
described; fleshy plants, with thick stems, often flattened, ridged
or covered with knobs, mostly without leaves, usually with spines,
which generally protrude from cushions of small bristles; the flowers
perfect, regular, showy, and mostly single; sepals, petals, and stamens
all numerous; ovary inferior, with a long style and several stigmas;
fruit usually a pulpy berry, containing many seeds.
There are many kinds of Echinocactus, round or oval plants, mostly
ribbed, with bunches of spines of several kinds, arranged in straight
or spiral rows; the fruits scaly, though spineless.
[Illustration: Rock-rose--Helianthemum scoparium.]
[Sidenote: =Barrel Cactus, Bisnaga=
_Echinocáctus Wislizèni_
=Yellow, reddish
Summer
Southwest=]
A common and useful kind, the shape and often the size of a barrel,
covered with spines. The Indians cut off the top of the plant and pound
the pulp with a stick into a soft mass, which they squeeze with their
hands, extracting a large amount of watery juice, which is wholesome
and not unpalatable and has often saved lives in the desert. Indians
use the spines for fish-hooks, hence a common name, Fishhook Cactus,
and the celebrated cactus candy is made from it. The flowers are large.
There are many kinds of Echinocereus, oblong or cylindrical, spiny
plants, generally a few inches tall, usually growing in clumps; stems
ridged, or with spiny ribs; fruits spiny.
[Sidenote: =Hedgehog Cactus=
_Echinocèreus Polyacánthus_
=Red
Spring
Ariz., New Mex. Tex.=]
This forms a clump of several stems, each about the shape and size of a
cucumber, and armed with bunches of long, stiff spines. The flowers are
two or three inches long, with deep red petals, dull pink anthers, and
a bright green pistil. This grows in the Grand Canyon.
There are many kinds of Opuntia, with jointed stems, cylindrical or
flattened, armed with bristles, usually with spines. The fruits and
fleshy joints are good for fodder, if the spines are removed, and hence
there has been much inquiry into the economic value of these plants. It
has been found that the spiny species are the most valuable for fodder,
under extremely arid conditions, as the spines can be burned off, while
the unarmed forms are subject to the attacks of so many animals that a
crop cannot be secured without the protection of fences. The spines are
removed either by singeing the growing plant with a torch, or the upper
parts are cut off and thrown into a fire, or sometimes the plants are
made into fodder by being chopped up, spines and all, in a machine. The
Prickly Pears in Sicily and the Orient came from America.
[Sidenote: _Opúntia acanthocàrpa_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
From three to six feet tall, resembling Cholla, with long, cylindrical
joints and whitish spines. The pretty flowers are about two inches
long, with orange-yellow petals and an ivory-white pistil. The
fruits are spiny and become dry when ripe. This grows in the desert
around Needles.
[Illustration: Hedgehog Cactus--Echinocereus polyacanthus.]
[Illustration: Opuntia acanthocarpa.]
[Sidenote: =Cholla=
_Opúntia fúlgida_
=Red
Spring, summer
Arizona=]
A horrible shrub, or dwarf tree, four to six feet high, with a thick
trunk and several, spreading, contorted branches, with cylindrical
joints, twisting in awkward ways. The trunk and larger limbs are
brownish-gray, starred with dead, dry spines, but the twigs are pale
bluish-green, covered thickly with stars of pale-yellowish spines,
each an inch or so long, with a barbed tip. From the numerous magenta
flowers strange, yellowish, cup-shaped fruits develop, seeming to
spring one out of the other in a haphazard way, hanging in long
chains, awkward but rather ornamental, and remaining on the plants for
several years without change, except that they grow slightly larger.
The distant effect of this plant is a pale, fuzzy mass, attractive in
color, giving no hint of its treacherous character--more like a wild
beast than a plant! The joints suggest a very ferocious chestnut-burr
and break off at a touch, thrusting their spines deeply into the flesh
of the unwary passer-by, so that the Indian story, that this plant
flings its darts at wayfarers from a distance, might almost as well be
true, and the barbs making the extraction difficult and painful. The
ground under the plants is strewn with fallen joints, which take root
and propagate themselves. Small animals pile these around their holes
for defense, several kinds of birds build in the thorny branches and
are safe from enemies, and the fruits, being spineless and succulent,
are valuable for fodder, so the Cholla is not entirely malevolent. The
name is pronounced _Choya_. There are many similar kinds, some with
very handsome rose-like flowers, others with bright scarlet fruits.
They are curious and interesting inhabitants of the desert.
[Sidenote: =Prickly Pear=
_Opúntia basilàris_
=Pink
Spring
Arizona=]
Low plants, with no main stem, with spreading, flattened branches, the
joints of which are flat disks, resembling fleshy, bluish-green leaves.
These disks are half an inch to an inch thick and six inches long, more
or less heart-shaped, sprouting one out of the other, at unexpected
angles. The beautiful flower is about three inches across, like a
tissue-paper rose, pale or very deep pink, with a whitish pistil,
yellow anthers, and crimson filaments. The joints have a strong fishy
smell, when cut, and are dotted with tufts of small, brown bristles,
exceedingly unpleasant to get in one's fingers. This is rare and grows
at the Grand Canyon. Prickly pears usually have yellow flowers and long
spines.
[Illustration: Opuntia basilaris.]
[Illustration: Cholla (fruit).
Opuntia fulgida.]
[Sidenote: =Common Prickly Pear=
_Opúntia_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
There are fifty or more common kinds of Prickly Pear, many of them as
yet undescribed and little known. They have flattened joints and yellow
flowers, like the one illustrated, which is typical, often measuring
three or four inches across, the petals variously tinted outside with
salmon, rose, and brown.
There are many kinds of Cactus, round, cylindrical, or oval plants,
covered with knobs, bearing clusters of spines, those of some species
having hooked tips. They may be known by their smooth fruits, without
scales or spines.
[Sidenote: =Pincushion Cactus=
_Cáctus Gràhami (Mamillaria)_
=Pink
Spring
Arizona=]
A quaint little plant, often no bigger than a billiard ball, with long,
blackish, hooklike spines, projecting from stars of smaller spines.
The flowers are pink and the berries are smooth, fleshy fingers of
brightest scarlet, edible, pretty and odd. Sometimes we see one of
these prickly little balls peeping from under a rock and again we find
them growing in a colony, looking much like a pile of sea-urchins. This
grows in the Grand Canyon, and there are similar kinds in southern
California.
There are many kinds of Cereus, with cylindrical or oval stems, from a
few inches to forty feet tall, not jointed, with ribs or rows of knobs,
running lengthwise, and clusters of spines.
[Sidenote: =Column Cactus, Sahuaro=
_Cèreus gigantèus_
=White
Spring, summer
Arizona=]
These tree-like plants are wonderfully dignified and solemn in aspect,
with none of the grotesque or ferocious effect so common among their
relations. They grow in numbers on the mountain slopes around Tucson
and are easily recognized by their size and very upright form, rearing
their thick, cylindrical branches straight up in the air, to a height
of thirty or forty feet. They are smooth and light green, armed
with rows of spines in stars along the ridges, and ornamented
during May and June with handsome, large, whitish, wax-like flowers,
very perfect in form, opening in the daytime, blooming most abundantly
on the sunny side of the plant and remaining open but a short time.
Woodpeckers often make holes for nests in the branches, which are used
afterwards by a little native owl, the smallest kind in the world, and
by honey-bees, and these holes often lead to decay and to the ultimate
death of the tree. The fruits, with crimson flesh and black seeds,
are valued by the Papago Indians for food, and mature in enormous
quantities in midsummer, but birds eat up many of the seeds and of the
millions reaching the ground only a very few germinate and develop into
odd, little round plants, a few inches high, often eaten by some animal
before they become sufficiently prickly for protection.
[Illustration: Pincushion Cactus--Cactus Grahami.]
[Illustration: Common Prickly Pear--Opuntia.]
EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. _Onagraceae._
A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in America; herbs,
with no stipules; flowers usually perfect, their parts usually in
fours; calyx-tube attached to the usually four-celled, inferior ovary
and usually prolonged beyond it; stamens four or eight, inserted with
the petals, on the throat of the calyx-tube, or on a disk; style single
with a four-lobed or round-headed stigma; fruit usually a four-celled
capsule, containing small seeds or a nut. The flowers are generally
showy and many are cultivated.
[Sidenote: _Eulòbus Califórnicus_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
This is the only kind of Eulobus. It would be a pretty plant, if more
flowers were out at one time and if they did not close so soon. The
smooth, hollow, loosely-branching stem is from one to three feet tall,
with a "bloom," the leaves are smooth, rather light dull-green, and
the buds are erect. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch
across, with a very short calyx-tube, light-yellow petals, fading to
reddish-pink, eight stamens, four of them smaller and shorter, and the
light-green stigma with a round top. The slender pods are three inches
long, smooth, cylindrical, and turning stiffly down, with many seeds.
This grows in mountain canyons.
[Illustration: Eulobus Californicus.]
There are a few kinds of Chamaenerion; perennials, often woody at base;
leaves alternate; flowers in clusters, perfect, slightly irregular,
white or purplish; petals four; stamens eight; style threadlike, with a
four-cleft stigma; capsule long, four-sided, containing numerous seeds,
tipped with a tuft of hairs. The calyx-tube is not prolonged beyond the
ovary, which chiefly distinguishes this genus from Epilobium.
[Sidenote: =Fire-weed, Great Willow-herb=
_Chamaenèrion angustifòlium (Epilobium)_
=Purple, pink
Summer
Across the continent=]
A striking and decorative perennial, from two to six feet tall,
with alternate leaves, pale on the under side, the veins making a
scalloped border near the margin, the upper leaves and stems sometimes
slightly downy, and the drooping buds deep reddish-pink or purple.
The flowers form a fine cluster, with small bracts, each flower an
inch or more across, the sepals often pink or purple and the petals
bright purplish-pink; the stamens drooping, with purplish anthers; the
style hairy at base, the capsule two or three inches long. This is
very common, both East and West, reaching an altitude of ten thousand
feet, and often growing in such quantities in the mountains as to cover
large tracts with bright color. The seeds are furnished with tufts of
white, silky hairs, making the plant very conspicuous when gone to
seed, covering it with untidy bunches of pale down and giving a strange
shaggy effect. It often flourishes in places that have been burned
over, hence the name Fire-weed, and Willow-herb is from the leaves and
the silky down on the seeds, suggestive of willows.
[Sidenote: =Water Willow-herb=
_Chamaenèrion latifòlium (Epilobium)_
=Magenta
Summer
Northwest=]
This grows in wet places; the flowers are larger and handsomer than
the last, but it is not so tall. The stems are stout, reddish, and
branching, from six to eighteen inches high, both stem and leaves with
a "bloom," and the leaves are thickish, bluish-green on the upper side
and paler yellowish-green on the under, sometimes toothed, with no
veined border. The buds are deep-red and the flowers form a handsomer
cluster, shorter than the last, with leafy bracts, each flower from one
to over two inches across, with reddish-pink sepals, deep-red outside,
and magenta petals veined with deeper color, sometimes notched, one
petal longer than the others; the anthers purplish; the pistil drooping
and purplish, with a smooth style. This plant is also covered with
tufts of white down when gone to seed. The contrasting purples and reds
of the flowers give a very vivid effect, set off by the bluish-green
foliage, especially when growing among the gray rocks of moraines,
watered by icy glacier streams. It reaches an altitude of ten thousand
feet, growing in the East and in Europe and Asia.
[Illustration: Water Willow-herb--Chamaenerion latifolium.
Fire-weed--C. angustifolium.]
There are many kinds of Epilobium, differing from Chamaenerion chiefly
in the calyx-tube, which is prolonged beyond the ovary.
[Sidenote: =Willow Herb=
_Epilòbium Franciscànum_
=Pink
Spring
Northwest=]
A perennial, not especially pretty, with a stout, reddish stem, from
one to three feet tall, slightly downy above, and dull green leaves,
mostly smooth and the lower ones opposite. The flowers are less than
half an inch across, with bright or pale, purplish-pink petals, deeply
notched and not spreading. This grows in wet spots around San Francisco.
There are several kinds of Gayophytum; differing from Epilobium in the
capsule and seeds, and easily distinguished from them by the hairy
buds; leaves alternate, long, narrow, and toothless; flowers small;
petals four, white or pink, with very short claws; stamens, with
swinging anthers, eight, four shorter and usually sterile; capsule
club-shaped. The species are difficult to distinguish, because of the
smallness of the flowers.
[Sidenote: _Gayophýtum eriospérmum_
=White
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A delicate little plant, with smooth, purplish stems, exceedingly
slender branches, dull green leaves, and pretty little flowers, an
eighth of an inch to half an inch across, white, with a little yellow
in the center, fading to pink. This grows in sandy soil, at rather high
altitudes, in Yosemite.
[Illustration: Willow-herb--Epilobium Franciscanum.
Gayophytum eriospermum.]
There are numerous kinds of Godetia, variable and difficult to
distinguish, not yet fully understood by botanists, all western and
mostly Californian, with narrow, alternate leaves and handsome flowers,
which close at night. They have four petals and resemble Onagra, but
the flowers are never yellow and the anthers are not swinging, but
fixed to the tips of the filaments by their bases; also resembling
Clarkia, but the petals are without claws. The calyx is often colored,
tube more or less funnel-form, lobes turned back, or more or less
united and turned to one side; stamens eight, unequal, the shorter ones
opposite the petals; style threadlike; stigma with four, short lobes;
capsule four-sided, or cylindrical, mostly ribbed, rather leathery,
splitting open, with four valves, containing many seeds. These plants
bloom in late spring, hence the pretty name, Farewell-to-Spring.
[Sidenote: =Farewell-to-Spring=
_Godètia defléxa_
=Pink
Summer
California=]
A branching plant, woody at base, two feet high, with smooth stems;
smooth, toothed leaves; nodding buds and large handsome flowers. The
petals are pale-pink, about an inch long, the pistil pink, and at a
distance the effect of the flower is much like a Mallow. As is usual
with Godetias, the sepals are stuck together and stand out at one side,
giving the flower a quaint effect of having thrown back a little hood
in order to look about. This grows in light shade.
[Sidenote: =Farewell-to-Spring=
_Godètia quadrivúlnera_
=Pink, lilac
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
This is common in the foothills of the Sierras and Coast Ranges and
has a slender stem, about a foot tall, with more or less downy leaves,
sometimes slightly toothed, and a few very pretty flowers, about an
inch and a half across, with bright lilac-pink petals, usually splashed
with carmine. This red spot gives a vivid effect and the delicate
flowers look exceedingly gay and charming, as they sway in the wind
among tall grasses on open hillsides.
[Sidenote: _Godètia Góddardii var. capitàta_
=Pink
Spring, summer
California=]
From one to two feet tall, with a rather stout, more or less branching
stem and soft, rather downy, dull green leaves. The flowers are about
an inch across, with purplish-pink petals, often stained with crimson
at the tips. This is found on dry hills in the Coast Ranges.
[Illustration: G. Goddardii var. capitata.
Godetia quadrivulnera.
Farewell-to-Spring--G. deflexa.]
[Sidenote: _Godètia vimínea_
=Purplish-pink
Summer
Northwest=]
A handsome plant, with nearly smooth, slender, reddish stems, a few
inches to two feet tall, and smooth, pale-green, toothless, narrow
leaves, mostly without leaf-stalks. The buds are erect and the flowers
form a long, loose cluster, with bright purplish-pink petals, half
an inch to over an inch long, with a large, magenta blotch near the
center, or at the tip, and yellowish at base; the stamens and pistil
all purple; the calyx-lobes not caught together, but turned primly
back. This forms fine patches of bright color in rather meadowy
places in Yosemite and elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
_G. Dudleyàna_ is pretty and slender, with drooping buds and light
lilac-pink flowers, the petals paler at base, with darker dots, the
calyx-lobes caught together and turned to one side, and also makes
beautiful patches of color on sunny slopes around Yosemite.
There are several kinds of Clarkia, resembling Godetia, but the petals
have claws. The stems are brittle; the leaves mostly alternate, with
short, slender leaf-stalks; the buds nodding; the flowers in terminal
clusters, with four petals, never yellow, and four sepals, turned back;
the stamens eight, those opposite the petals often rudimentary; the
stigma four-lobed; the capsule long, leathery, erect, more or less
four-angled, with many seeds. Named in honor of Captain Clarke, of the
Lewis and Clarke expedition, the first to cross the Rocky Mountains to
the Pacific, in 1806.
[Sidenote: =Clarkia=
_Clàrkia élegans_
=Pink
Spring, summer
California=]
A conspicuous plant, on account of the oddly contrasting colors of
the flowers, and very variable both in size and smoothness. It grows
from six inches to six feet high; the stems more or less branching;
the leaves sometimes toothed and often reddish; the buds and calyxes
often woolly. The flowers are very gay; the sepals being dark red or
purple, the petals, with long, slender claws, bright pink and the
anthers scarlet! The stamens, four long and four short, have a hairy,
reddish scale at the base of each filament, the anthers of the shorter
stamens often white, and the capsule is usually curved, with no stalk,
nearly an inch long, often hairy. When the foliage is red, as it often
is, the various combinations of red in the flowers and leaves are
quite startling. This is common in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada
and Coast Ranges and is often rather shabby looking, but in favorable
situations is very handsome.
[Illustration: Godetia viminea.
Clarkia elegans.]
[Sidenote: =Clarkia=
_Clàrkia rhomboídea_
=Purple
Spring, summer
Northwest, Nev., Utah=]
Pretty and delicate and not nearly so conspicuous as the last, with a
slender, smooth, branching stem, one to three feet tall, with smooth
leaves, mostly alternate, nodding buds, and a few pretty flowers, about
three-quarters of an inch across. The sepals are reddish-yellow; the
petals pinkish-purple, often dotted with purple at base, with a short,
broad, toothed claw; the stigma magenta; the filaments purple, with
a whitish, hairy scale at the base of each; the anthers grayish, all
perfect; the capsule four-angled, slightly curved, about an inch long.
This grows in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges and
is widely distributed in Yosemite, but nowhere very abundant.
[Sidenote: =Pink Fairies=
_Clàrkia pulchélla_
=Pink
Summer
Northwest=]
Odd and exceedingly charming flowers, with very slender, very slightly
downy, purplish, branching stems, from six inches to a foot tall, and
smooth leaves. The flowers are fantastic in form, the airiest and most
fairy-like blossoms that can well be imagined, over two inches across,
their delicate petals with long, toothed claws and three lobes, bright
rose-pink, shading to a deeper tint at the base, the calyx slightly
downy and reddish. Four of the stamens are perfect and four are
rudimentary; the anthers are reddish; the pistil white; the capsule an
inch long, eight-angled, with a spreading stalk. It is a pretty sight
to see these gay flowers dancing in the wind on open mountain slopes.
_C. concínna (Eucharidium)_, of the Coast Ranges, is similar, equally
beautiful and even more brilliant in coloring; the flowers sometimes in
such quantities as to make patches of bright pink color, very effective
when growing among yellow Sedums, Scarlet Larkspurs, and scarlet Indian
Pinks, in shady mountain canyons.
[Illustration: Clarkia rhomboidea.
Pink Fairies--C. pulchella.]
[Illustration]
There are several kinds of Sphaerostigma; leaves alternate; flowers
yellow, white or pink, turning green or reddish; stamens eight, with
oblong, swinging anthers; style threadlike, with a round-top stigma;
capsule four-celled, usually long and narrow, four-angled, often
twisted, with no stalk.
[Sidenote: =Evening Primrose=
_Sphaerostígma bistórta (Oenothera)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A common kind, very variable in its manner of growth, being tall and
erect in moist, shady places and spreading flat on the ground in dry,
sunny spots. The leaves are dull green, more or less downy and more or
less toothed, and the flowers are three-quarters of an inch across,
clear yellow, usually with a speck, or blotch, of reddish-brown at
the base of each petal; the stamens and pistil also yellow; the pods
reddish and very much twisted. Gravelly washes are often thickly
sprinkled with these gay and charming flowers.
[Sidenote: _Sphaerostígma Veitchiànum (Oenothera)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
Much like the last, but the flowers are only a little over a quarter of
an inch across. The pods are dark red and shiny, with a few hairs.
[Sidenote: =Beach Primrose=
_Sphaerostígma viridéscens (Oenothera cheiranthifolia
var. suffruticosa)_
=Yellow
All seasons
California=]
A beautiful seashore plant, forming large, low clumps of reclining
stems and pale gray, downy foliage, the twigs and younger leaves
silvery-white. The flowers are about an inch and a quarter across,
clear yellow, often with two, dark red dots at the base of each petal;
the stamens and pistil also yellow of the same shade; the pods pinkish,
downy, and much twisted. The flat masses of pale foliage, strewn with
golden disks, are exceedingly effective, growing in drifting sand hills
along the coast, from San Francisco south.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: S. Veitchianum.
Beach Primrose--Sphaerostigma viridescens.
Evening Primrose--S. bistorta.]
[Sidenote: _Sphaerostígma tortuòsa. (Oenothera)_
=White
Spring
Nevada=]
A queer little, stunted-looking, desert plant, with almost no stem, but
with several branches, spreading flat on the ground, stiff, smooth and
purplish, with crowded clusters of flowers, leaves, and pods, mostly
at the ends, the whole forming flat clumps, from six to ten inches
across. The leaves are smooth, slightly thickish, pale bluish-green and
toothless; the buds are erect, and the flowers are over a quarter of an
inch across, white, with yellow anthers and a green stigma. The pods
are very much twisted and form odd little snarly bunches.
There are only a few kinds of Chylisma; the flowers in terminal
clusters; the calyx with a more or less funnel-form tube and four
lobes; the petals four, not notched; the stamens eight, unequal; the
stigma with a round top, the capsule long, membranous, with a stalk.
[Sidenote: =Chylisma=
_Chylísma scapoìdea var. clavaefórmis (Oenothera)_
=White
Spring
Ariz., Utah=]
A charming desert plant, from a few inches to a foot tall, with one
or more, pinkish, smooth, rather leafy stems, springing from a pretty
clump of smooth, bluish-green leaves. The delicate flowers are about
three-quarters of an inch across and form a graceful cluster of several
or many blossoms. The petals are white or yellow, often tinted with
pink, with some specks of maroon at the base, and the sepals are
pinkish-yellow; the stamens pale yellow; the stigma green; the pods
erect.
There are several kinds of Pachylophus; perennials, stemless or nearly
so; leaves from the root; calyx downy, with a long tube; petals white
or pink; stamens eight, with threadlike filaments, the alternate ones
longer; style threadlike; stigma four-cleft; capsule woody.
[Sidenote: =White Evening Primrose=
_Pachýlophus marginàtus (Oenothera)_
=White
Summer
Ariz., Utah, Nev., Col.=]
This has a few large flowers, three inches or more across, with
pure-white diaphanous petals, fading to pink, and pink calyx-lobes.
The buds are erect, hairy and pink, and the flowers spring from a
cluster of long, downy root-leaves, narrowing to slender leaf-stalks,
with hairs on the veins and on the toothed and jagged margins, and
have almost no flower-stalk, but the hairy calyx-tube is so long,
sometimes as much as seven inches, that it looks like a stalk. The root
is thick and woody and the capsule is egg-shaped and ribbed, with no
stem. There is a patch of these wonderful flowers in the Grand Canyon
on Bright Angel trail, halfway between the rim and the plateau, where
in a shaded spot beside a great rock the pure blossoms seem to shed a
moonlight radiance. They are equally beautiful on the dry plains of
Utah, where they grow in quantities.
[Illustration: White Evening Primrose--Pachylophus marginatus.]
[Illustration: Chylisma scapoidea var. clavaeformis.
Sphaerostigma tortuosa.]
There are several kinds of Anogra, resembling Onagra, but with white
or pink flowers and the seeds differently arranged; the stems often
clothed with papery bark; the buds drooping. The name is an anagram of
Onagra.
[Sidenote: =Prairie Evening Primrose=
_Anogra albicàulis. (Oenothera)_
=White
Spring, summer
Southwest, etc.=]
A conspicuous kind, often growing in large patches, with whitish,
downy, branching stems, from a few inches to a foot tall, often with
shreddy bark, and downy, pale bluish-green leaves, more or less
toothed. The drooping, downy buds are tinted with reddish-pink and the
lovely flowers are from one and a half to three inches across, with
pure white petals, tinted with yellow at base, changing to pink after
pollination and fading to crimson. The stamens have cobwebby threads,
white filaments, and yellow anthers, the pistil is green and the curved
capsule is downy or hairy. The whole color scheme, of pale sea-green
foliage, reddish buds, and white, rose-color, and crimson flowers, is
delicate, harmonious, and effective. This grows in sandy places, and on
the prairies from Dakota to Mexico.
[Sidenote: =Cut-leaved Evening Primrose=
_Anogra coronopifòlia (Oenothera)_
=White
Summer, autumn
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]
A pretty plant, with an erect, leafy stem, six inches to two feet
tall, springing from running rootstocks, and pale green, more or less
downy, leaves, finely cut into numerous, small, narrow lobes, so that
they look like rather dry little ferns. The delicate flowers are the
usual Evening Primrose shape, about an inch across, in the axils of
the leaves, with pure white petals, greenish at the base and turning
pink in fading, and a calyx-tube two inches long, with turned-back,
pinkish-green lobes. The anthers are brown, the pistil green, the
throat of the corolla is closed by a fringe of white hairs, the buds
are drooping and the capsule is oblong and hairy. This is common on
prairies and plains, from Nebraska to Utah, and south to New Mexico,
reaching an altitude of nine thousand feet.
[Illustration: Prairie Evening Primrose--Anogra albicaulis.]
There are several kinds of Onagra, differing from Anogra in having
yellow flowers and in the arrangement of the seeds; with stems;
leaves alternate, with wavy or toothed margins; buds erect; flowers
night-blooming, in terminal clusters; calyx-tube long; petals four;
stamens eight, equal in length; stigma four-cleft; capsule four-angled,
more or less tapering.
[Sidenote: =Evening Primrose=
_Ónagra Hóokeri (Oenothera)_
=Yellow
Summer
West=]
A fine biennial, with stout, leafy stems, from three to six feet
high, bearing splendid flowers, over three inches across, with clear
yellow petals, fading to pink, and reddish calyx-lobes. The leaves,
stems, and buds all downy and the buds erect. The stigma has four,
slender lobes, forming a little cross, and the yellow pollen is loosely
connected by cobwebby threads, clinging to visiting insects, and is
thus carried from flower to flower; the capsule is an inch long. This
is much handsomer than the common Evening Primrose, _O. biénnis_, and
especially fine in Yosemite. As the mountain shadows begin to slant
across the Valley the blossoms commence to open, until the meadows are
thickly strewn with "patens of bright gold." They stay open all night,
withering with the noonday sun.
There are several kinds of Lavauxia; low, usually stemless; leaves
mostly from the root; calyx-tube slender; petals four; stamens eight,
the alternate ones longer; ovary short, stigma four-cleft; capsule
stout, four-angled or winged.
[Sidenote: =Sun-cups=
_Lavaùxia primivèris (Oenothera)_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
An attractive little plant, in the desert, with no stem, the flowers
with long, slender calyx-tubes, resembling stems, springing from a
clump of rather downy root-leaves. The buds are hairy and the flowers
are about an inch across, light yellow, with pale yellow stamens and
stigma. This plant varies a good deal in size, bearing one or several
flowers, and the margins of the leaves almost toothless or irregularly
slashed. It superficially resembles _Taráxia ovàta_, the Sun-cups so
common on the southwestern coast, for the flowers have the same little
fresh, sunny faces, but the latter has a round-topped stigma.
[Illustration: Evening Primrose--Onagra Hookeri.
Sun-cups--Lavauxia primiveris.]
PARSLEY FAMILY. _Umbelliferae._
A large family, widely distributed, not abundant in the tropics;
usually strong-smelling herbs, remarkable for their aromatic oil,
mostly with hollow, grooved stems; leaves alternate, compound,
generally deeply cut, leaf-stalks often broadened at base; flowers
very small, usually in broad, flat-topped clusters, generally with
bracts; calyx usually a five-toothed rim around the top of the ovary;
petals five, small, usually with tips curled in, inserted on a disk,
which crowns the ovary and surrounds the base of the styles; stamens
five, with threadlike filaments and swinging anthers, also on the
disk; ovary two-celled, inferior, with two threadlike styles; fruit
two, dry, seedlike bodies, when ripe separating from each other, and
usually suspended from the summit of a slender axis, each body marked
with ribs, usually with oil-tubes between the ribs. The examination
of these oil-tubes in mature fruits, with a microscope, is necessary
to determine most of the genera and species, so description of genera
is omitted here, and botanists have added to the difficulties of the
amateur by giving almost every genus more than one name. The flowers
are much alike, yet the leaves often differ very much in the same
genus. Many kinds are poisonous, although others, such as Parsley,
Carrot, and Parsnip, are valuable food plants.
[Sidenote: _Peucédanum Euryptèra_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A fine robust plant, a foot or more tall, with stout, purplish stems
and smooth, crisp leaves, the lower ones with three leaflets, the
upper with five, and the teeth tipped with bristles. The flowers are
greenish-yellow and the main cluster measures four or five inches
across, with no bracts at base, but the small clusters have bracts.
The flowers are ugly, but the foliage is handsome and the seed vessels
richly tinted with wine-color, making the plant decorative and
conspicuous on the sea cliffs of southern California.
[Sidenote: =Turkey Peas=
_Orogènia linearifòlia_
=White
Spring
Northwest and Utah=]
A quaint little plant, only about three inches high, with a tuberous
root, spreading, slanting stems, and smooth leaves, all from the root,
with three, long, narrow leaflets; a reddish, stiff, papery scale
sheathing the stem at base. The minute, white flowers form a cluster
less than an inch across, without bracts, with a stout, ridged
flower-stalk and composed of from two to ten smaller clusters, with
small bracts; the anthers red. This grows in rich moist soil, in shady
valleys, on mountain ridges; in the Wasatch Mountains, sometimes on the
edge of the snow.
[Illustration: Turkey Peas--Orogenia linearifolia.
(fruit) Peucedanum Euryptera.]
[Sidenote: _Pterýxia Califórnica (Cymópterus)_
=Yellow
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
Over a foot tall, with very pretty, dark green foliage and rather ugly,
dull yellow flowers, in flat-topped clusters, three inches across. The
leaves are in a cluster at the root, with long leaf-stalks sheathing
at base, very finely cut and toothed, with stiffish points; the main
flower-cluster without bracts, but the smaller clusters with narrow
bracts.
[Sidenote: =Whisk-broom Parsley=
_Cogswéllia platycàrpa (Peucedanum simplex)_
=Yellow
Spring
Northwest and Utah=]
An odd-looking plant, for the foliage looks like pieces of a
whisk-broom stuck in the ground. It is six to fourteen inches tall,
with a thickish root and minute, sulphur-yellow flowers, forming a
flat-topped cluster, about two inches across, without bracts, and
composed of three to fifteen smaller clusters, with small bracts;
usually only the outermost flowers of both the large and small
clusters are fertile. The stem and leaves are stiff and sage-green,
the root-leaves with broad leaf-stems, reddish and papery at base,
sheathing the stem, and all the leaves cut into narrow divisions, not
much thicker than pine needles, folded together so that they appear to
be cylindrical. This grows on dry gravelly hills, at an altitude of
from six to eight thousand feet.
[Sidenote: _Leptotaènia multífida (Ferula)_
=Yellowish-green
Spring, summer
Northwest, Nev., Utah, New Mex.=]
A fine, stout plant, about two feet tall, with a thick, spindle-shaped
root and dark, rich-green, feathery foliage; the large leaves, over
a foot long, appearing smooth but really imperceptibly downy, finely
cut and lobed, with long, stout leaf-stalks; the small flowers,
yellowish-green or bronze-color, in flat-topped clusters, two or three
inches across, with few or no bracts, with tall, stout flower-stalks,
and composed of about eighteen, small clusters, forming round knobs,
with many bracts, on slender pedicels of various lengths. This grows in
rich soil and is conspicuous on account of its size and foliage.
[Illustration: Pteryxia Californica.
Whisk-broom Parsley--Cogswellia platycarpa.]
[Sidenote: _Velaèa argùta_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
This has a stout, brownish stem, about eight inches tall, and fine,
conspicuous foliage, mostly in a clump at the base, the leaves
rich-green and very glossy, stiff and crisp in texture, though not
thick, with bristle-tipped teeth. The rather ugly little flowers are
greenish-yellow and the main cluster has no bracts. This grows in
canyons in southern California.
[Sidenote: =Purple Sanicle, Nigger-babies=
_Sanícula bipinnatífida_
=Purplish
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
This has branching, purplish stems, from six inches to three feet tall,
and handsome foliage. The flowers are maroon-color and are crowded
into balls, less than half an inch across, forming a loose, irregular
cluster, with leafy bracts at the base. The effect of the dark flowers
and fine foliage is rather attractive and it is common on grassy slopes
in the hills.
[Sidenote: _Eulòphus Bolánderi_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
This has a smooth, stiff stem, one to two feet tall, the leaves cut
into long, narrow divisions, and the flowers very small, cream-white or
pinkish, forming a flat-topped cluster, about two inches across, with
narrow, pale bracts. This is quite pretty and common in Yosemite.
[Sidenote: =Indian Parsnip=
_Aulospérmum lóngipes (Cymopterus)_
=Yellow
Spring
Utah, Col., Wyo.=]
Decorative in form and color and unusual looking, with smooth, pale
bluish-green foliage, with a "bloom," the leaves prettily cut and
lobed, with pinkish leafstalks, forming, when young, a large rosette,
close to the ground, but the stem gradually lengthens until the cluster
of leaves, after the flowers are gone, finds itself on the summit of
a long stem, sheathed at base. The minute, bright yellow flowers form
flat-topped clusters, with flower-stems two or three inches tall, not
hollow, the main cluster about an inch across, usually without bracts,
and composed of five to ten smaller clusters, with bracts. When the
plant is young the general effect of the flat, pale gray rosette of
fern-like leaves, spotted with the contrasting yellow of the flowers,
is pretty and striking. Sometimes a few of the flowers are purple. This
has a thick root and grows on dry sunny hills, in gravelly soil.
[Illustration: Velaea arguta.
Eulophus Bolanderi.
Purple Sanicle--Sanicula bipinnatifida.]
DOGWOOD FAMILY. _Cornaceae._
Not a very large family, most abundant in the northern hemisphere,
mostly trees or shrubs. They have simple, mostly toothless leaves,
without stipules, usually opposite or in whorls. The flowers are in
round or flat-topped clusters and have four or five sepals and petals
and four to many stamens. The inferior ovary becomes a stone-fruit that
looks like a berry. Cornus is from the Greek for "horn," in allusion to
the toughness of the wood.
There are many kinds of Cornus, some natives of Mexico and Peru, with
small, white, greenish or purple flowers, in clusters, which often have
an involucre of large, white bracts.
[Sidenote: =Pacific Dogwood=
_Córnus Nuttállii_
=White
Spring, summer
Oreg., Wash., Cal.=]
A handsome shrub or small tree, from ten to thirty feet high and
growing in rich woods, often near streams. The flower clusters are
composed of numerous, small, greenish flowers, forming a large,
protruding knob, which is surrounded by large, white, petal-like
bracts, usually six in number, giving the effect of a single handsome
flower, measuring from three to six inches across. It resembles the
Flowering Dogwood of the East, but as the flowers have six instead of
four "petals," the tips of which in Yosemite are neither puckered nor
stained with pink, they look different to eastern eyes and the general
appearance, though equally fine, is less picturesque, probably because
the shrub is rather larger and less straggling, the flowers bigger and
more symmetrical, and the leaves brighter green. The effect of the
flat masses of creamy white bloom among the darker forest trees is
magnificent, and in Washington and Oregon the leaves turn to brilliant
red in the autumn. The fruit is a cluster of bright red berries. The
wood is exceedingly hard and is used in cabinet-making. There is a
tradition that when Dogwood blooms corn should be planted.
[Illustration: Pacific Dogwood--Cornus Nuttallii.]
[Sidenote: =Red-osier Dogwood=
_Córnus stolonífera var. ripària_
=White
Spring, summer, autumn
Utah, Ariz., New Mex., Col.=]
A handsome shrub, five to eight feet high, with smooth, dark red
branches and bright red twigs. The leaves are thin in texture, smooth
and rich-green on the upper side, paler on the under, and the small,
cream-white flowers, with long, yellow stamens, form handsome,
flat-topped clusters, about two inches across, smelling pleasantly of
honey; the berries are dull white. This is common.
[Sidenote: =Bunchberry=
_Córnus Canadénsis_
=White
Summer
West, except Ariz.=]
A charming little plant, about six inches high, growing in moist, cool
woods and common in the East. The slender stem, with one or two pairs
of small leaves, springs from creeping, woody shoots and is crowned
by a circle of larger leaves, six, or rarely four, in number, smooth
and bright green, setting off a pretty white blossom, with a slender
flower-stalk. This looks like a single flower, measuring about an
inch across, but it is really composed of a number of tiny, greenish
flowers, forming a cluster in the center, and surrounded by four white
bracts, which look like large petals. The flowers are succeeded by a
bunch of red berries, insipid in flavor, but vivid scarlet in hue.
HEATH FAMILY. _Ericaceae._
A large and interesting family, of very wide geographic distribution,
in temperate and cold regions; herbs, shrubs, or trees; the leaves
undivided, without stipules; the flowers mostly perfect; the calyx with
four or five divisions; the corolla usually regular, with four or five,
usually united, petals; the stamens inserted under the pistil, usually
as many, or twice as many, as the petals; the ovary usually superior,
with one style; the fruit a capsule, berry, or stone-fruit, usually
with many small seeds.
There are many kinds of Gaultheria, mostly of the Andes; ours are
evergreen shrubs, with alternate, aromatic leaves and nodding flowers;
the calyx five-cleft; the corolla more or less urn-shaped, with five
teeth; the stamens ten; the fruit a berry, composed of the fleshy calyx
surrounding the ovary and containing many seeds. The Wintergreen, or
Checkerberry, used for flavoring, belongs to this genus.
[Illustration: Bunch-berry--C. Canadensis.
Red-osier Dogwood--Cornus stolonifera var. riparia.]
[Sidenote: =Western Wintergreen=
_Gaulthèria ovatifòlia_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A pretty little shrub, growing in mountain woods, a few inches high,
with woody stems, spreading on the ground, and glossy foliage, almost
hiding the flowers. The twigs are fuzzy and the leaves are dark
rich-green, the small flowers white and the berries red.
[Sidenote: =Salal, Shallon=
_Gaulthèria Shállon_
=White, pink
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
An attractive little shrub, usually from one to three feet high, with
handsome foliage. The leaves are finely toothed, dark olive-green,
leathery and rather glossy, pale on the under side, and the waxy
flowers hang gracefully on a stiffly bending flower-stem, which is
sticky and hairy and often bright red, with large, scaly, red bracts
at the base of the pedicels and smaller bracts halfway up. The flowers
are nearly half an inch long, with a yellowish calyx, covered with
reddish hairs, and a white corolla, tipped with pink, or all pink; the
filaments hairy, with orange anthers. There is often so much bright
pinkish-red about the flower-stems and bracts that the effect, with the
waxy flowers and dark foliage, is very pretty. This plant often grows
in great quantities, thickly covering the floor of the redwood forests.
It is called Salál by the Oregon Indians, who value the black, aromatic
berries as an important article of food.
There are many kinds of Azalea, of North America and Asia, mostly tall,
branching shrubs; leaves alternate, thin, deciduous; flowers large, in
terminal clusters, developing from cone-like, scaly buds; calyx small,
five-parted; corolla funnel-form, five-lobed or somewhat two-lipped;
stamens five, rarely ten, protruding, usually drooping; style long,
slender, drooping; capsule more or less oblong.
[Sidenote: =Western Azalea=
_Azàlea occidentàlis (Rhododendron)_
=White
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
One of the most beautiful western shrubs, from two to ten feet high,
loosely branching, with splendid clusters of flowers and rich-green
leaves, almost smooth, from one to four inches long, with a small,
sharp tip and clustered at the ends of the twigs. The corolla is from
one and a half to three inches long, slightly irregular, white with a
broad stripe of warm-yellow on the upper petal and often all the petals
striped with pink. The western woodland streams are bordered with
these wonderful blossoms, leaning over the water and filling the air
with their delicious fragrance.
[Illustration: Western Azalea--Azalea occidentalis.]
[Illustration: Salal--G. Shallon.
Western Wintergreen--Gaultheria ovatifolia.]
There are many kinds of Rhododendron, most abundant in Asia, resembling
Azalea, but with evergreen, leathery leaves. The name is from the
Greek, meaning "rose-tree."
[Sidenote: =California Rose Bay=
_Rhododéndron Califórnicum_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
A magnificent shrub, the handsomest in the West, from three to fifteen
feet high, with a grayish trunk and fine, evergreen foliage. The leaves
are from three to ten inches long, rich-green and leathery, smooth but
not shiny, paler on the under side, spreading out around the large
flower-clusters, so as to set them off to great advantage, and the
flowers are over two inches across, scentless, with small, pale sepals
and pink corollas, almost white at the base and shading to deep pink at
the edges, which are prettily ruffled. The upper petal is freckled with
golden-brown, or greenish spots and arrow-shaped markings, the pistil
is crimson and the stamens, with pale pink filaments and pale yellow
anthers, curve in, like little serpents' heads. The coloring of the
flower clusters, mixed with the crimson-tipped buds, is a combination
of delicate and brilliant tints and in such places as the redwood
forests, along the Noyo River in California, where the shrub develops
into a small tree, the huge clusters, glowing high above us among the
dark forest trees, are a wonderful sight. This is the "State flower" of
Washington.
There are a good many kinds of Arctostaphylos, mostly western;
evergreen shrubs, with very crooked branches; smooth, dark red or brown
bark; alternate leaves, and usually nodding, white or pink flowers,
with bracted pedicels, in terminal clusters, the parts usually in
fives; the corolla urn-shaped; the stamens usually ten, not protruding,
the filaments hairy; the ovary raised on a disk on the receptacle;
the fruit berry-like, several nutlets surrounded by soft pulp. The
leaves, by a twisting of their stalks, assume a vertical position on
the branches, a habit which enables many plants of dry regions to avoid
unnecessary evaporation. These shrubs are often very abundant and with
Chaparral Pea, Buck Brush, Scrub Oak, etc., form the extensive brush
thickets known as chaparral, so characteristic of the western mountain
scenery. The Greek name means "bear-berry," as bears are fond of the
berries, and Manzanita is from the Spanish for "little apple," as the
fruits often resemble tiny apples. They are dry but pleasantly acid
and are popular with Indians, bears, and chipmunks, and jelly can be
made from them. The largest Manzanita tree known is one in Napa County,
California, thirty-five feet high and as large across.
[Illustration: California Rose Bay--Rhododendron Californicum.]
[Sidenote: =Green Manzanita=
_Arctostáphylos pátula_
=Pink
Winter, spring
California=]
A decorative shrub, from four to six feet high, with spreading
branches. The leaves are from one to two inches long, smooth, pale
green, and leathery and the flowers are waxy, a quarter of an inch
or more long, crowded in pretty, roundish clusters, of various
shades of pink. The very smooth trunk and branches are picturesquely
gnarled and twisted and, in fine contrast to the pale foliage, are
rich mahogany-color, with here and there openings in the outer bark,
showing the gray, under layer, as if the branches had been dipped in
hot chocolate, which had melted off in some places. The berry is about
a quarter of an inch across, smooth and fleshy. This forms most of
the chaparral on the slopes around the Yosemite Valley, ranging from
over four thousand to nine thousand feet in altitude, and is widely
distributed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
[Sidenote: =Manzanita=
_Arctostáphylos bícolor_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
A handsome shrub, three or four feet high, with rich-green leaves,
very glossy on the upper side and covered with close white down on the
under. The waxy flowers are a lovely shade of pink and the pretty fruit
is about the size of a pea, like a tiny greenish-yellow apple, with a
brownish-red cheek. This grows in the South near the coast.
[Sidenote: =Kinnikinic. Red Bearberry=
_Arctostáphylos Ùva-Úrsi_
=White
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
An attractive little shrub, with many trailing branches, creeping
over the ground and often covering the rocks with a beautiful mat
of evergreen foliage. The leaves are small, toothless, shining and
leathery and the little white or pinkish, bell-shaped flowers hang
in pretty little clusters and are succeeded by smooth, round, red
berries. This is common in the mountains, across the continent,
reaching an altitude of ten thousand feet. The Indians use it
medicinally and in the curing of animal skins. There is a picture of
this in Schuyler Mathews' _Field Book_.
[Illustration: Manzanita--A. bicolor.
Green Manzanita--Arctostaphylos patula.]
There are a great many kinds of Vaccinium, widely distributed;
branching shrubs, with alternate leaves and small flowers, usually in
clusters; the ovary inferior, the fruit a many-seeded berry, crowned
with the remains of the calyx-teeth. This is the classic Latin name.
These plants include Blueberry, Huckleberry, and Bilberry.
[Sidenote: =California Huckleberry=
_Vaccínium ovàtum_
=White, pink
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
An attractive shrub, from four to eight feet high, with beautiful,
glossy, evergreen foliage, which is very ornamental and much used in
household decoration. The older leaves are rich dark green, contrasting
finely with the younger, apple-green leaves and, in the spring, with
the charming little red ones, with which the twigs are tipped. They are
leathery in texture and very neatly arranged along the branches, which
are ornamented with pretty clusters of waxy, white or pink flowers, a
quarter of an inch long, or with purple berries, without a "bloom,"
which are edible and make excellent preserves. This grows on hills near
the coast, especially among the redwoods.
There is one kind of Azaleastrum; resembling Rhododendron, but with
deciduous leaves; and resembling Azalea, but the flowers developing
from lateral instead of terminal buds, the corolla with five, regular
lobes, and the stamens shorter.
[Sidenote: =Small Azalea=
_Azaleástrum albiflòrum (Rhododendron)_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
An attractive shrub, from two to six feet high and loosely branching,
with grayish-brown bark and rich-green leaves, glossy, but not
stiff or leathery. The flowers are about an inch across, with a
sticky, aromatic, pale green calyx and waxy-white corolla, the style
and stamens pale yellow or white. They have no scent and are not
so handsome as the last, but are very beautiful, growing in high
mountains, often close to the snow line.
[Illustration: Small Azalea--Azaleastrum albiflorum.
California Huckleberry--Vaccinium ovatum.]
There are several kinds of Kalmia, almost all of eastern North America,
the flowers alike in form.
[Sidenote: =Swamp Laurel=
_Kálmia microphýlla (K. glauca var. microphylla)_
=Pink
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
A very pretty little evergreen shrub, from a few inches to over a
foot high, with glossy, leathery, rich-green leaves, whitish on the
under side, with the margins rolled back. The flowers are single or
in clusters, each about half an inch across, with five sepals and a
bright purplish-pink, saucer-shaped corolla, with five lobes, which
is prettily symmetrical and intricate in form. There are ten little
pouches below the border and in these the tips of the ten anthers are
caught, so that the filaments curve over from the center, and at the
touch of a visiting insect they spring out of the pouches and dust the
visitor's back with pollen, which is carried to another flower. The
little, pointed buds, angled and deep in color, are also pretty and
the capsule is roundish, with many small seeds. This grows in northern
swamps, across the continent.
There are several kinds of Menziesia, some Japanese; branching shrubs,
with alternate, deciduous, toothless leaves, and small, nodding
flowers, in clusters, developing from scaly buds, their parts almost
always in fours; stamens eight, not protruding; capsule more or less
egg-shaped.
[Sidenote: =Fool's Huckleberry=
_Menzièsia urcelolària (M. ferruginea)_
=Yellowish, reddish
Summer
Northwest=]
A rather attractive little bush, from two to six feet high, with light
brown bark, hairy twigs and slightly hairy leaves, with hairy margins.
The flowers are less than half an inch long, with a hairy calyx and
dull cream-colored corolla, tinged with dull-pink or red, and hang
prettily in a circle, on drooping pedicels, which become erect as the
capsules ripen. When crushed, the stems and foliage have a strong
skunk-like smell.
There are only a few kinds of Ledum, all much alike.
[Sidenote: =Woolly Labrador Tea=
_Lèdum Groenlándicum_
=White
Spring, summer
Northwest, etc.=]
A loosely-branching, evergreen shrub, from one to four feet high. The
bark is reddish and the twigs are covered with reddish wool, the color
of iron rust, and the leathery, dark green leaves, which are alternate,
with rolled-back margins, are also covered with reddish wool on the
under side. The flowers are a good deal less than half an inch across,
with five, very small sepals; five, spreading, white petals; a green
ovary, and from five to seven, long, conspicuous stamens, giving
a feathery appearance to the pretty flower-clusters, which before
blooming are enclosed in large, scaly buds. Both foliage and flowers
are aromatic. This is found across the continent, as far south as
Pennsylvania, and in Greenland. _L. glandulòsum_ is similar, but not
woolly. These plants grow in swamps and damp places and are considered
poisonous.
[Illustration: Fool's Huckleberry--Menziesia urcelolaria.
Swamp Laurel--Kalmia microphylla.
Woolly Labrador Tea--Ledum Groenlandicum.]
There are only a few kinds of Phyllodoce, of arctic and alpine regions;
low shrubs, with small, leathery, evergreen leaves; flowers nodding,
with bracts, in terminal clusters; calyx usually with five divisions;
corolla more or less bell-shaped, usually five-lobed; stamens usually
ten; stigma with a round top, or four to six lobes; capsule roundish:
often called Heather, but we have no native Heather.
[Sidenote: =Red Heather=
_Phyllódoce Bréweri (Bryanthus)_
=Pink
Summer
Northwest=]
A charming little shrub, from six to ten inches tall, with gay flowers
and dark yellowish-green leaves, standing out stiffly from the stem,
like the bristles of a bottle-brush. The flowers are sweet-scented,
nearly half an inch across, with reddish calyxes and pedicels and
bright pink, saucer-shaped corollas, with from seven to ten, long,
purple stamens, a purple pistil and crimson buds. This makes heathery
patches on high mountain slopes, up to twelve thousand feet in the
Sierra Nevadas.
[Sidenote: =Red Heather=
_Phyllódoce empetrifórmis (Bryanthus)_
=Pink
Summer
Northwest=]
Much like the last, but the nodding flowers are smaller and not quite
so pretty, with bell-shaped corollas and the stamens not protruding. It
forms beautiful patches of bright purplish-pink color on mountainsides,
up to eleven thousand feet, farther north than the last.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Heather=
_Phyllódoce glanduliflòra (Bryanthus)_
=Yellowish
Summer
Northwest=]
This makes heather-like patches on rocks and has many rough, woody
stems, crowded with yellowish-green leaves, shorter and broader than
those of Red Heather. The drooping flowers are about three-eighths
of an inch long, with a hairy, greenish-yellow calyx and yellowish
corolla, something between cream and pale-lemon in color. At a
distance the effect of the flowers is much more yellow than close by,
but they are not so pretty as either the red or white heathers.
[Illustration: Red Heather--P. Breweri.
Red Heather--P. empetriformis
Yellow Heather--Phyllodoce glanduliflora.]
There are several kinds of Cassiope, named for the mother of Andromeda,
resembling Heather; the sepals four or five, without bracts at the
base; the corolla bell-shaped, with four or five lobes; differing from
Phyllodoce in capsule, form of corolla and filaments.
[Sidenote: =White Heather=
_Cassìope Mertensiàna_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
This makes thick patches of many woody stems, a few inches high, the
twigs thickly clothed with odd-looking, small, dark green leaves,
overlapping like scales and ridged on the back. The single flowers
are white and waxy, resembling the bells of Lily-of-the-valley, often
with red calyxes and pedicels, and are pretty and delicate, set off by
the stiff, dark foliage. This grows in the highest mountains, at an
altitude of ten thousand feet and above.
WINTERGREEN FAMILY. _Pyrolaceae._
A small family, natives of the northern hemisphere; low, generally
evergreen, perennials, with branched rootstocks; leaves with
leaf-stalks; flowers perfect, nearly regular, white or pink; calyx with
four or five lobes; corolla with four or five lobes, or five petals;
stamens twice as many as the divisions of the corolla; ovary superior,
stigma more or less five-lobed; fruit a capsule, with many minute seeds.
[Sidenote: =Single Beauty=
_Monèses uniflòra_
=White
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
The only kind, much like Chimaphila, a charming little perennial, with
a single flower-stalk, from two to six inches tall, springing from a
cluster of glossy, bright green leaves, with toothed edges, and bearing
a single, lovely sweet-scented blossom, about three-quarters of an
inch across, with usually five sepals and five, spreading, waxy-white
petals; the long, straight style, with a five-lobed stigma, projecting
from the ovary, which forms a green hump in the center of the flower,
surrounded by eight or ten stamens. This little flower modestly turns
its face down to the ground and we have to pick it to find how very
pretty it is. It grows in wet, northern mountain woods, across the
continent.
[Illustration: Single Beauty--Moneses uniflora.
White Heather--Cassiope Mertensiana.]
There are a good many kinds of Pyrola; leaves mostly from the root;
flowers usually nodding, in clusters, with bracted flower-stalks;
sepals and petals five; stamens ten; capsule roundish, five-lobed,
cobwebby on the edges. These plants are often called Shinleaf, because
English peasants used the leaves for plasters. Pyrola is from the Latin
for "pear," because of the resemblance of the leaves of some kinds.
The aromatic Wintergreen, or Checker-berry, used for flavoring, is a
Gaultheria, of the Heath Family.
[Sidenote: =Pyrola=
_Pýrola bracteàta_
=Pink
Summer
California=]
One of our most attractive woodland plants, from six to twenty inches
tall, with handsome, glossy, rather leathery, slightly scalloped
leaves. The buds are deep reddish-pink and the flowers are half an inch
across, pink or pale pink, and waxy, with deep pink stamens and a green
pistil, with a conspicuous style, curving down and the tip turning up.
The pretty color and odd shape of these flowers give them a character
all their own and they are sweet-scented. This is found in Yosemite and
in other cool, shady, moist places, and there are several similar kinds.
There are several kinds of Chimaphila, of North America and Asia, with
reclining stems and erect, leafy branches.
[Sidenote: =Pipsissewa=
_Chimáphìla Menzièsii_
=White
Summer
Northwest and California=]
A very attractive little evergreen plant, three to six inches high,
with dark green, glossy, leathery, toothed, leaves, sometimes mottled
with white, and one to three, pretty flowers, about three-quarters of
an inch across, with yellowish sepals and waxy-white or pinkish petals,
more or less turned back. The ovary forms a green hump in the center
and has a broad, flat, sticky stigma, with five scallops, and the ten
anthers are pale yellow or purplish. This has a delicious fragrance,
like Lily-of-the-valley, and grows in pine woods in the Sierra Nevada
and Coast Ranges. Chimaphila is a Greek name, meaning "winter-loving."
INDIAN PIPE FAMILY. _Monotropaceae._
A small family, mostly North American; saprophytes, (plants growing
on decaying vegetable matter,) without leaves; flowers perfect; calyx
two- to six-parted; corolla united or not, with three to six lobes or
petals, occasionally lacking; stamens six to twelve; ovary superior;
fruit a capsule.
[Illustration: Pipsissewa--Chimaphila Menziesii.
Pyrola--P. bracteata.]
[Sidenote: =Snow-plant=
_Sarcòdes sanguínea_
=Red
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Nev.=]
The only kind, a strange plant, widely celebrated for its peculiar
beauty. The name is misleading, for the splendid creatures push their
way, not through the snow, but through the dark forest carpet of
pine-needles, soon after the snow has melted. The fleshy stems are from
six inches to over a foot tall, the leaves reduced to red scales, and
the bell-shaped flowers, with five lobes, are crowded towards the upper
half of the stem and mingled with long, graceful, curling, red bracts.
The plants are shaded with red all over, from flesh color, to rose,
carmine, and blood-red, and are translucent in texture, so that when
a shaft of sunlight strikes them they glow with wonderful brilliance,
almost as if lighted from within. They sometimes grow as many as
fifteen together, and are found in the Sierras, up to nine thousand
feet. They are pointed out to tourists by Yosemite stage drivers, but
the government forbids their being picked, for fear of extermination.
[Sidenote: =Indian Pipe=
_Monótropa uniflòra_
=White
Summer
West, etc.=]
The only American kind, an odd plant, all translucent white, beautiful
but unnatural, glimmering in the dark heart of the forest like a pallid
ghost, mournfully changing to gray and black as it fades. The stem
is about six inches tall, springing from a mass of fibrous roots and
bearing a single flower, beautiful but scentless, about three-quarters
of an inch long, with two to four sepals, five or six petals, and ten
or twelve stamens, with pale yellow anthers. Sometimes the whole plant
is tinged with pink. This grows in rich moist woods, almost throughout
temperate and warm North America, in Japan and India, and is also
called Ghost-flower and Corpse-plant.
[Sidenote: =Pine-sap=
_Hypópitys Hypópitys (Monotropa)_
=Flesh-color
Summer
West, etc.=]
There are two kinds of Hypopitys. This is much like the last, but not
so pallid, with several stout stems, about eight inches tall, bearing
a long one-sided cluster of flowers, sometimes slightly fragrant, each
about half an inch long. The whole plant is waxy, flesh-color or
yellowish, tinged with red or pink, and though interesting is not
so delicately pretty as Indian Pipe. It seems to be a stouter plant
around Mt. Rainier than in the East and grows in thick woods, across
the continent and in Europe and Asia. _H. sanguínea_ is a new kind,
recently discovered in the Arizona mountains; six to twelve inches
tall, growing in dense shade at high altitudes, and brilliant red
throughout.
[Illustration: Snow Plant--Sarcodes sanguine.]
[Illustration: Indian Pipe--Monotropa uniflora.
Pine Sap--Hypopitys Hypopitys.]
[Sidenote: =Pine-drops=
_Pteróspora Andromedèa_
=White
Summer
Across the continent=]
The only kind, found only in North America, a strange plant, harmonious
in color, with a fleshy, brownish or reddish stem, from one to four
feet tall, with yellowish bracts and covered with sticky hairs,
springing from a mass of matted, fibrous, astringent roots. The flowers
are a quarter of an inch long, with pink pedicels, brownish bracts,
a brownish-pink calyx, with five lobes, and an ivory-white corolla,
with five teeth; the stamens ten, net protruding; the style short,
with a five-lobed stigma; the capsule roundish, five-lobed, with many
winged seeds. We often find dead insects stuck to the stem. In winter,
the dry, dark red stalks, ornamented with pretty seed-vessels, are
attractive in the woods. This usually grows among pine trees, across
the continent, but nowhere common. The Greek name means "wing-seeded."
It is also called Giant Bird's-nest and Albany Beech-drops. _Allótropa
virgàta_, of the Northwest, is similar, but smaller, with five,
roundish sepals and no corolla.
[Sidenote:= Flowering-fungus=
_Pleuricóspora fimbriolàta_
=Flesh-color
Summer
California=]
There are two kinds of Pleuricospora; this is from three to eight
inches tall, with flowers half an inch long, deliciously fragrant,
with four or five, scale-like, fringed sepals, four or five, separate,
fringed petals, resembling the sepals, and eight or ten stamens. The
ovary is egg shaped, one-celled, with a thick style and flattish
stigma, and the fruit is a watery berry. If the waxy, flesh-colored
flowers were set off by proper green leaves they would be exceedingly
pretty, but they are crowded on a fleshy stem, of the same color as
themselves, mixed with fringed bracts, with brownish scales instead
of leaves, and have an unnatural appearance. I found thirty of these
curious plants, growing in a little company, pushing their way up
through the mold and pine-needles, in the Wawona woods.
[Illustration: Flowering-fungus--Pleuricospora fimbriolata.
Pine drops--Pterospora Andromedea.]
PRIMROSE FAMILY. _Primulaceae._
A rather large family, widely distributed; herbs; leaves undivided;
flowers perfect, regular, parts usually in fives, corolla mostly with
united petals, stamens on the base or tube of the corolla, opposite its
lobes, sometimes with some extra, sterile filaments; ovary one-celled,
mostly superior, with one style and round-headed stigma; fruit a
capsule, with one or many seeds.
There are several kinds of Anagallis, not native in this country.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Pimpernel
Poor-man's Weather-glass=
_Anagállis arvénsis_
=Red
Summer
West, etc.=]
A little weed, common in gardens and waste places, with smooth,
four-sided, stems, branching and half trailing on the ground, smooth,
toothless, bright green leaves and charming little flowers, a quarter
of an inch or more across, with a five-lobed calyx and wheel-shaped,
five-lobed corolla, usually bright orange-red and darker in the center,
rarely white; the stamens five, with hairy filaments; the capsule
smooth and roundish, containing many minute seeds. The flowers and
leaves are usually in pairs, the seed-vessels on the tips of slender
stems, curving around and toward each other, as if the plant were
stretching out its little hands, and opening its little blossoms only
in bright weather and closing them at night. The Greek name means
"amusing." The plant was used medicinally by the ancients.
There are three kinds of Trientalis, much alike, perennials, with
tuberous roots. The Latin name means "one third of a foot," the height
of these plants.
[Sidenote: =Star-flower=
_Trientàlis latifòlia_
=White, pink
Spring, summer
Northwest, Cal., Nev.=]
A little woodland plant, with a slender stem, from three to six inches
tall, bearing at the top a circle of from four to six, smooth, bright
green leaves and one or two, threadlike flower-stalks, each tipped
with a delicate flower. The corolla is about half an inch across,
wheel-shaped, with no tube and usually with six, white or pinkish
petals, sometimes deep pink, or flecked with lilac outside. The ovary
makes a purplish dot in the center, surrounded by curling, yellow
anthers, with threadlike filaments united at base. The capsule contains
a few, rather large, white seeds. We often find these dainty little
plants growing in companies, their starry blossoms glimmering in the
shade, prettily set off by their neat circle of leaves.
[Illustration: Star-flower--Trientalis latifolia.
Scarlet Pimpernel--Anagallis arvensis.]
There are a good many kinds of Dodecatheon, of North America and Asia;
perennials, with root-leaves; flowers in bracted, terminal clusters;
calyx with four or five lobes, turned back in flower but erect in
fruit; corolla with four or five, long lobes, turned strongly back over
the short tube and thick throat; stamens of the same number as the
lobes, the anthers pointing straight forward, inserted on the throat
of the corolla, filaments short, flat and united, or lacking; style
long; capsule containing many seeds. The Greek name, meaning "twelve
gods," seems far-fetched, but Linnaeus fancied the cluster of flowers
resembled a little assembly of divinities. Common names are Prairie
Pointers, Mosquito-bills, Wild Cyclamen, and American Cowslip, the
latter poor, because misleading.
[Sidenote: =Large Shooting-star=
_Dodecàtheon Jéffreyi_
=Pink
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A very decorative plant, with a smooth, stout, reddish stem, five to
eighteen inches tall, very slightly hairy towards the top, springing
from a cluster of root-leaves, five to eighteen inches long, smooth,
sometimes slightly toothed, and bearing a cluster of from five to
fifteen beautiful flowers. The corolla is usually an inch or more long,
usually with four petals, purplish-pink, paler at the base, with a
yellow and maroon ring and maroon "bill." This has a faint, oddly sweet
scent and grows in wet, mountain meadows. I found a very beautiful
white form at Lost Lake, in Yosemite, more delicate, with lighter green
foliage and pure white corollas, ringed with yellow and maroon.
[Sidenote: =Shooting-star=
_Dodecàtheon Clèvelandi_
=White
Spring
California=]
Not so handsome as the last, but very attractive, with a slightly
roughish stem, twelve to sixteen inches tall, bearing a fine crown
of flowers and springing from a cluster of smooth, slightly thickish
leaves, paler on the under side, with a few teeth. The sepals are
slightly downy and the corollas are about three-quarters of an inch
long, with pure-white petals, sometimes lilac-tinged, yellow at base,
with a ring of maroon scallops and a dark purple "bill." The flowers
are deliciously fragrant, like Clove Pinks. This grows in the south.
[Illustration: Large Shooting Star--Dodecatheon Jeffreyi.
D. Clevelandi.]
[Sidenote: =Small Shooting-star=
_Dodecàtheon pauciflòrum_
=Pink
Spring, summer
West=]
A charming little plant, growing in wet, rich mountain meadows, with a
smooth reddish stem, about eight inches tall, bearing a bracted cluster
of several delicate flowers, and springing from a loose clump of smooth
leaves. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch long, with
bright purplish-pink petals, with a ring of crimson, a ring of yellow
and a wavy line of red, where they begin to turn back; the stamens with
united filaments and long purplish-brown anthers; the pistil white.
OLIVE FAMILY. _Oleaceae._
A rather large family, widely distributed, including Olive, Lilac, and
Privet; trees and shrubs; leaves mostly opposite; without stipules;
flowers perfect or imperfect, with two to four divisions, calyx
usually small or lacking, corolla with separate or united petals,
sometimes lacking; stamens two or four, on the corolla, ovary superior,
two-celled, with a short style or none; fruit a capsule, berry,
stone-fruit, or wing-fruit.
There are many kinds of Fraxinus, almost all trees.
[Sidenote: =Flowering Ash, Fringe-bush=
_Fráxinus macropétala_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]
An odd and beautiful shrub, growing on Bright Angel trail, in the Grand
Canyon, about as large as a lilac bush, with smooth, bright-green
leaves, some of the leaflets obscurely toothed, and drooping plumes of
fragrant white flowers. The calyx is very small, and the four petals
are so long and narrow that the effect of the cluster is of a bunch of
white fringe. The fruit is a flat winged-seed.
[Illustration: Small Shooting Star--Dodecatheon pauciflorum.]
[Illustration: Flowering Ash--Fraxinus macropetala.]
GENTIAN FAMILY. _Gentianaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in temperate regions;
smooth herbs, with colorless, bitter juice; leaves toothless, usually
opposite, without leaf-stalks or stipules; flowers regular; calyx four
to twelve-toothed; corolla with united lobes, twisted or overlapping
in the bud, of the same number as the calyx-teeth; stamens inserted
on the tube or throat of the corolla, as many as its lobes, alternate
with them; ovary superior, mostly one-celled, with a single style or
none, and one or two stigmas; fruit a capsule, mostly with two valves,
containing many seeds. These plants were named for King Gentius of
Illyria, said to have discovered their medicinal value.
There are several kinds of Frasera, North American, all but one
western; herbs, with thick, bitter, woody roots; leaves opposite or in
whorls; flowers numerous; corolla wheel-shaped, with four divisions,
each with one or two fringed glands and sometimes also a fringed crown
at base; stamens on the base of the corolla, with oblong, swinging
anthers, the filaments often united at base; ovary egg-shaped, tapering
to a slender style, with a small, more or less two-lobed, stigma;
capsule leathery, egg-shaped, with flattish seeds.
[Sidenote: =Columbo, Deer's Tongue=
_Fràsera speciòsa_
=Greenish-white
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
A handsome plant, though rather coarse, from two to six feet tall, with
a pale glossy stem, very stout, sometimes over two inches across at the
base, and very smooth, pale green leaves, in whorls of four and six,
the lower ones sometimes a foot long. The flowers are mixed with the
leaves all along the upper part of the stem, but mostly crowded at the
top in a pyramidal cluster about six inches long, and are each nearly
an inch and a half across, with a greenish or bluish-white corolla,
the lobes bordered with violet and dotted with purple, and on each
lobe two glands covered by a fringed flap, resembling a small petal,
these fringes forming a sort of cross on the corolla. The four stamens
stand stiffly out between the corolla-lobes and the general effect
of the flower is so symmetrical that it suggests an architectural or
ecclesiastical ornament. Though the flowers are not bright, this plant
is decorative on account of its luxuriant size and pale foliage, and
if Mr. Burbank could make the flowers clear white or purple it would be
magnificent. It grows in the western mountains, as far east as Dakota
and New Mexico. The finest I ever saw were on an open slope, in a high
pass in the Wasatch Mountains, where they reared their pale spires
proudly far above the surrounding herbage.
[Illustration: Columbo--Frasera speciosa.]
[Sidenote: =Small Columbo=
_Fràsera nitìda_
=Bluish-white
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
Quite a pretty plant, too colorless to be effective at a distance, but
not coarse, with a smooth, pale stem, over a foot tall, and smooth,
dull, bluish-green leaves, slightly stiffish, prettily bordered with
white, mostly in a clump near the base. The flowers are about half an
inch across, shaped like the last; with bluish-white petals, specked
with dull-purple, with a green line on the outside, with one green
gland near the center, fringed all around; large whitish anthers,
becoming pinkish, and a white pistil.
There are a good many kinds of Erythraea, widely distributed, usually
with red or pink flowers; calyx with five or four, narrow lobes, or
divisions; corolla salver-form, with five or four lobes; anthers
twisting spirally after shedding their pollen; stigmas two, oblong or
fan-shaped. The Greek name means "red" and the common name, Centaury,
from the Latin, meaning "a hundred gold pieces," alludes to the
supposedly valuable medicinal properties of these plants.
[Sidenote: =Canchalagua, California Centaury=
_Erythraèa venústa (Centaurium)_
=Pink
Spring, summer
California=]
From three to twelve inches tall, with apple-green leaves, mostly on
the stems, smooth and thin in texture, and flowers an inch or more
across, a very vivid shade of purplish-pink, with a yellow or white
"eye," bright yellow anthers and green pistil. These are attractive,
because they look so gay and cheerful, but the color is a little
crude. The flowers are not so large in Yosemite as they are in some
places, such as Point Loma, but are very numerous and cover large
patches with brilliant color. These plants are called Canchalagua by
Spanish-Californians, who use them medicinally.
[Illustration: Canchalagua--Erythraea venusta.]
[Illustration: Small Columbo--Frasera nitida.]
[Sidenote: =Tall Centaury=
_Erythraèa exaltàta (E. Douglasii) (Centaurium)_
=Pink
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
This has a slender, leafy stem, from a few inches to over a foot tall,
and flowers not so large as the last, but pretty and gay, about half
an inch across, bright pink with a distinct white "eye." This grows in
sandy soil, as far east as Wyoming.
There are many kinds of Gentiana, of northern regions and the Andes;
calyx tubular, usually with five teeth; corolla variously shaped with
from four to seven lobes, often fringed, or with folds between the
teeth; style short or lacking; stigma two-lipped.
[Sidenote: =Northern Gentian=
_Gentiàna acùta_
=Purple
Summer
West, etc.=]
A pretty plant, with leafy, often branching stems, from six to twenty
inches tall, and numerous flowers, with stiff pedicels and leafy
bracts, forming several small clusters along the upper part of the
stem. They are each about half an inch long, various shades of purple
or blue, sometimes white, and easily recognized by the little crown of
white fringe in the throat of the rather tubular, five-lobed corolla.
These plants have very small roots, so that it is difficult to pick
them without pulling them up, and as they are annuals they are easily
exterminated. They are common in northern mountains, in moist places
across the continent, and in Europe and Asia.
[Sidenote: =Gentian=
_Gentiàna propínqua_
=Purple
Summer
Northwest=]
This has smooth, thin leaves and pretty flowers, three-quarters of an
inch long, with lilac or purple corollas, satiny in texture, with four
lobes, pointed at the tips and more or less fringed. This grows in high
mountains.
[Sidenote: =Blue Gentian=
_Gentiàna calycòsa_
=Blue
Autumn
Northwest=]
A handsome perennial, with leafy stems, from five to fifteen inches
tall, bearing one or several, fine flowers at the top. They are an inch
and a half long, with a bright blue corolla, dotted with green, with
plaited folds and small teeth between the five lobes. This has been
found in Yosemite, but is more common at Lake Tahoe. There are many
other handsome large Blue Gentians in the West. _G. lùtea_, with yellow
flowers, is the German kind from which the well-known drug, gentian, is
made.
[Illustration: Tall Centaury--Erythraea exaltata.
Northern Gentian--Gentiana acuta.
Gentian--G. propinqua.]
MILKWEED FAMILY. _Asclepiadaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in warm regions; ours
are perennial herbs, usually with milky juice and tough fibrous inner
bark; leaves generally large, toothless, without stipules; flowers
peculiar in shape, in roundish clusters; calyx with a short tube or
none and five lobes; corolla five-lobed; stamens five, on the base of
the corolla, with short, stout filaments, anthers more or less united
around the disk-like stigma, which covers and unites the two short
styles of the superior ovary. The two parts of the ovary develop into
two conspicuous pods, opening at the side, containing numerous flattish
seeds, arranged along a thick, central axis, usually each with a tuft
of silky down to waft it about.
There are many kinds of Asclepias, with oddly-shaped flowers,
interesting and decorative in form; calyx rather small, the pointed
sepals turned back; corolla with its petals turned entirely back,
so as to cover the sepals and expose the peculiar-looking central
arrangements of the flower, called the "crown." In the middle is
the large, flat, shield-shaped, five-lobed or five-angled stigma,
surrounded by the anthers, which are more or less united to each other
and to the stigma, encircled by five, odd, little honey-bearing hoods,
the same color as the petals, each with a horn, either enclosed within
it or projecting from it, the whole collection of stigma, anthers, and
hoods, forming the "crown." The pods are thick and pointed. Named for
Æsculapius, as some of these plants are medicinal. Indians used to make
twine from the fibrous bark of some kinds.
[Sidenote: =Showy Milkweed=
_Asclèpias speciòsa_
=Pink
Spring, summer
West=]
A handsome plant, decorative in form and harmonious in coloring, with a
stout stem, from one to four feet tall, and light bluish-green leaves,
usually covered with white down. The flowers are sweet-scented, with
woolly pedicels, purplish-pink petals, and waxy, white "hoods," the
buds yellowish-pink. The cluster, about three inches across, sometimes
comprises as many as fifty flowers and is very beautiful in tone, being
a mass of delicately blended, warm, soft tints of pink, cream, and
purple. This grows in canyon bottoms and along streams.
[Illustration: Showy Milkweed--Asclepias speciosa.]
[Sidenote: =Pale Milkweed=
_Asclèpias eròsa_
=Greenish-white
Spring
California=]
This is three feet or more tall, fine-looking, though too pale, with
a stout, smooth, gray-green stem and gray-green leaves, mottled with
white and very stiff, the under side white-woolly, and flower-clusters
two and a half inches across, composed of numerous greenish-white
flowers, each half an inch long, their stalks covered with white wool.
[Sidenote: =Desert Milkweed=
_Asclèpias vestìta var. Mohavénsis_
=Yellow and pink
Spring
California=]
A foot and a half tall, with very fragrant flowers, and very woolly all
over, especially the upper leaves, stems and buds, which are thick with
long white wool. The buds are pinkish-purple and the flowers have dull
pink petals and cream-colored hoods, becoming yellow, and form clusters
over two inches across. This grows in the Mohave Desert and the effect
is harmonious, but not so handsome as the last.
The genus Gomphocarpus is distinguished from Asclepias by the absence
of horns or crests in the hoods.
[Sidenote: =Purple Milkweed=
_Gomphocàrpus cordifòlius (Asclepias)_
=Purple and yellow
Summer
Oreg., Cal.=]
A handsome plant, smooth all over and more or less tinged with purple,
with a stout, purple stem, from one and a half to three feet tall, with
rubbery, dull, light bluish-green leaves. The flowers are scentless,
with purplish sepals, maroon or purple petals, and yellowish or pinkish
hoods, and form a very loose graceful cluster, over three inches
across, dark in color and contrasting well with the foliage. This is
common in Yosemite and elsewhere in California, at moderate altitudes.
The genus Asclepiodora, of the southern part of North America,
resembles Asclepias, but the flowers are larger, the petals not turned
back, the hoods flatter, with crests instead of horns; leaves mainly
alternate; corolla wheel-shaped; petals spreading; hoods oblong, blunt,
spreading and curving upward, crested inside; five tiny appendages
alternating with the anthers and forming an inner crown around the
stigma. The name is from the Greek, meaning the gift of Æsculapius.
[Illustration: Pale Milkweed--Asclepias erosa.
Purple Milkweed--Gomphocarpus cordifolius.]
[Sidenote: =Spider Milkweed=
_Asclepiodòra decúmbens_
=Green and maroon
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
A striking plant, though dull in color, from one to one and a half feet
tall, with a rough, rather slanting stem, dull green, roughish, rather
leathery leaves, and clusters of slightly sweet-scented, queer-looking
flowers, each over half an inch across, with greenish-yellow petals,
the hoods white inside and maroon outside, their tips curved in, a
green stigma and brown anthers. The effect is a dull-yellow rosette,
striped with maroon, curiously symmetrical and stiff in form,
suggesting an heraldic "Tudor rose." The pods, three or four inches
long, stand up stiffly, on pedicels curved like hooks. This grows on
dry hillsides and is widely distributed.
DOGBANE FAMILY. _Apocynaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, chiefly tropical; ours are
perennial herbs, with milky, bitter juice; leaves toothless, usually
opposite, without stipules; flowers perfect, parts in fives; corolla
united; stamens on the corolla, as many as its lobes, alternate with
them, ovary superior, in two parts, united by a single or two-parted
style, developing into two pods; seeds often tufted with hairs. The
Greek name alludes to the superstition that these plants are poisonous
to dogs.
There are many kinds of Apocynum, with branching stems, tough fibrous
bark, and small, white or pink flowers, in clusters; calyx with pointed
teeth, its tube adhering to the ovaries by means of a thickish,
five-lobed disk; corolla bell-shaped, five-lobed, with five, small,
triangular appendages, inside the tube, opposite the lobes; stamens
with short, broad filaments and arrow-shaped anthers, slightly adhering
to the blunt, obscurely two-lobed stigma; pod slender, cylindrical;
seeds numerous, small, feathery.
[Sidenote: =Spreading Dogbane, Honey-bloom=
_Apócynum androsaemifòlium_
=White, pink
Summer
West, etc.=]
An attractive plant, from one to four feet high, with many, smooth,
widely spreading branches, purplish on one side, and smooth leaves,
rather dark green above, pale underneath, with yellowish veins. The
little flowers are white, tinged with pink, often striped with pink
inside, mainly in loose clusters at the ends of the branches, and
though not conspicuous are delicate and pretty. The pods are from two
to seven inches long. This is widely scattered in fields and open
woods, occurring in a variety of forms, and common in the East.
[Illustration: Dog-bane--Apocynum androsaemifolium.
Spider Milkweed--Asclepiodora decumbens.]
BUCK-BEAN FAMILY. _Menyanthaceae._
A small family, widely distributed; perennial herbs, with creeping
rootstocks, growing in water or marshes; the leaves smooth, alternate,
or from the root; the flowers perfect, regular, in clusters; the calyx
five-lobed; the corolla more or less funnel-form with five lobes or
teeth; the stamens five, on the corolla and alternate with its lobes;
the ovary superior, or partly so, with one cell; the fruit usually an
oval capsule, with a few flattish, smooth seeds.
[Sidenote: =Buck-bean=
_Menyánthes trifoliàta_
=White
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
This is the only kind, a handsome plant, eight or ten inches tall,
with a stout, yellowish-green stem and rich green leaves, with long,
sheathing leaf-stalks and three leaflets, with toothless or somewhat
scalloped edges. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a
white corolla, tinged with pink or lilac, the spreading lobes covered
with white hairs, with black and yellow, swinging anthers and a green
pistil, with a two-lipped stigma. There are from ten to twenty flowers
in each cluster and the effect is charming, suggesting a bunch of
little fringed lilies. This grows in northern bogs across the continent
and also in Europe and Asia. It used to be found around San Francisco,
but is now extinct.
MORNING-GLORY FAMILY. _Convolvulaceae._
A large family, most abundant in the tropics; ours are herbs, usually
with twining or trailing stems; the leaves alternate, or mere scales,
without stipules; the flowers perfect, with five sepals; the corolla
with united petals, more or less funnel-form and more or less
five-lobed, folded lengthwise and twisted in the bud; the stamens five,
on the base of the corolla; the ovary superior, with from one to three
styles; the fruit usually a capsule, with from one to four large seeds.
[Illustration: Buck-bean--Menyanthes trifoliata.]
There are a great many kinds of Convolvulus, widely distributed; ours
are mostly twining or prostrate perennials; the flowers large, with a
slender style and two stigmas; the fruit a capsule, usually with two
large seeds. The name is from the Latin, meaning "to entwine." These
plants are often called Bindweed.
[Sidenote: =Field Morning-glory=
_Convólvulus arvénsis_
=White, pinkish
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
This is a troublesome weed, introduced from Europe, with very deep
roots and pretty flowers. The leaves are dull green and look roughish,
though they are smooth or nearly so, and the flowers are about an inch
across, white inside, striped with pink and tinged with yellow at the
base, and pink outside, striped with duller, deeper color. The stamens
and pistil are white and the buds purplish-pink. The flower stalks
usually have a pair of bracts near the middle.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Morning-glory=
_Convólvulus occidentàlis_
=Cream-color
Summer
Northwest=]
An attractive plant, with pretty foliage and large, pale flowers, the
stems trailing on the ground and climbing over low bushes. The leaves
are smooth and dark bluish-green and the flowers are about two inches
and a half across, very pale yellow, almost cream-color, with stripes
of slightly deeper yellow, tinged with pink. The anthers and the pistil
are pale yellow and the flower-stalks have two bracts just beneath the
calyx.
There are many kinds of Cuscuta, or Dodder, widely distributed and
difficult to distinguish; leafless parasites, without green coloring,
with twining, threadlike stems and inconspicuous flowers, in clusters.
The seed germinates in the soil and produces a twining stem, which
attaches itself to a neighbor by means of suckers. These plants are
easily recognized, for they look like tangled bunches of coarse thread,
and are often very conspicuous on account of their coloring, sometimes
making fine masses of bright orange-color, beautiful in tone, though
the plants are very unattractive. They have other names, such as
Love-vine and Strangle-weed.
[Illustration: Field Morning-glory--C. arvensis.
Yellow Morning-glory--Convolvulus occidentalis.]
PHLOX FAMILY. _Polemoniaceae._
Not a large family, most abundant in western North America, a few
in Europe and Asia; sometimes slightly woody; the leaves without
stipules; the flowers generally regular; the calyx with five united
sepals; the corolla with five united petals, rolled up in the bud and
often remaining more or less twisted to one side in the flowers; the
stamens with slender filaments, with swinging anthers, often unequally
inserted, on the tube or throat of the corolla and alternate with its
lobes; the ovary superior, with a slender style and three-lobed stigma,
but in immature flowers the three branches are folded together so that
the style appears to have no lobes; the pod with three compartments,
containing few or many seeds, which are sometimes winged and sometimes
mucilaginous.
There are a good many kinds of Polemonium, growing in cool places,
usually perennials; the leaves alternate, with leaflets, not toothed;
the calyx not ribbed or angled, bell-shaped; the corolla more or
less bell-shaped; the stamens equally inserted, but often of unequal
lengths; the seeds mucilaginous when wet. This is the Greek name, used
by Dioscorides.
[Sidenote: =Jacob's Ladder=
_Polemònium occidentàle (P. coeruleum)_
=Blue
Summer
Northwest=]
A graceful plant, with attractive and unusual-looking foliage. The
juicy stem and tender, bright green leaves are smooth or hairy and the
pretty flowers are nearly three-quarters of an inch across, bright
rather purplish blue, paler inside and delicately veined with blue,
with a yellow "eye." The stamens are protruding, with white anthers,
and the pistil is long and protruding, even in quite small buds.
This is variable and grows in damp places in the mountains, across
the continent and also in the Old World. The common name comes from
the shape of the leaf and it is also called Greek Valerian. Another
handsome sort is _P. carnèum_, with flowers varying in color from
salmon to purple, growing in the mountains of California and Oregon,
but rather rare.
[Illustration: Jacob's Ladder--Polemonium occidentale.]
There are many kinds of Linanthus; low, slender annuals, with opposite,
palmately-divided leaves and thus differing from Gilia, the divisions
narrow or threadlike, looking almost like whorls in some kinds, or
rarely toothless, occasionally some of the upper leaves alternate; the
flowers scattered, or in terminal, roundish clusters; the calyx-tube
thin and dry between the ribs or angles, the teeth equal; the corolla
more or less wheel-shaped, funnel-form, or salver-form; the stamens
equally inserted on the corolla; the seeds few or many, developing
mucilage when moistened. The Greek name means "flax flower."
[Sidenote: _Linánthus Párryae (Gilia)_
=White
Spring
California=]
A queer little plant, only about two inches high, with almost no
stem, very small, stiff leaves, and several large, pretty flowers,
with cream-white corollas, about an inch across, with five crests in
the throat, and the tube tinged with purple on the outside. They are
exceedingly fragile and diaphanous in texture and form little white
tufts, which look very odd and attractive, sprinkled over the sand in
the Mohave Desert.
[Sidenote: _Linánthus brevicùlus (Gilia)_
=Pink, violet
Spring
California=]
This has slender, purplish, rather hairy stems, from six to eight
inches tall, stiff, dull green, hairy leaves, tipped with bristles,
and flowers over half an inch across, with sticky, hairy calyxes. The
slender corolla-tubes are half an inch long, with delicate rose-pink
or violet petals, white anthers, and a whitish pistil. This looks very
pretty growing on the bare sand of the Mohave Desert.
[Sidenote: _Linánthus androsàceus (Gilia)_
=Lilac, pink, or white
Spring, summer
California=]
This is very pretty, with a stiff, slender, hairy, branching stem,
from three inches to a foot tall, with stiffish, dull green leaves,
apparently in whorls and cut into very narrow divisions, with bristles
or hairs along the margins. The flowers are over half an inch across,
with a long threadlike tube, and are usually bright lilac but
sometimes pink or white, with a yellow, white, or almost black "eye,"
orange-colored anthers and a long, yellow pistil. The flower-cluster is
mixed with many bracts and the stems often branch very symmetrically,
with clusters at the tips. This is common on dry hillsides, growing in
the grass, and often makes bright patches of color. There are several
named varieties.
[Illustration: L. androsaceus.
L. Parryae.
Linanthus breviculus.]
[Sidenote: =Evening Snow=
_Linánthus dichótomus (Gilia)_
=White
Spring
California=]
Exceedingly pretty flowers, with very slender, brown stems, often
branching, from two to twelve inches tall, and a few, rather
inconspicuous, dull green leaves. The flowers are an inch or more
across, with a salver-form corolla, with a long slender tube, white and
beautifully sheeny in texture, bordered with dull pink on the outside,
showing where the petals overlapped in the bud; the stamens and pistil
not showing in the throat. They have a strong and unpleasant odor, but
the effect of the airy flowers is beautiful, especially in the desert,
as they sway to and fro in the wind on their slender stalks. They
open only in the evening, but stay open all night and keep on opening
and closing for several days, getting larger as they grow older. This
is common on open slopes and hills, but is variable and not easily
distinguished from similar species.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Gilia=
_Linánthus àureus (Gilia)_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
A charming little desert plant, about three inches tall, with a very
slender, usually smooth, widely branching stem and small, pale green
leaves, apparently in whorls and cut into very narrow divisions, quite
stiff and tipped with a bristle. The flowers are about half an inch
across, bright yellow, with an orange-colored "eye" and tube, orange
anthers and a yellow pistil, and they look exceedingly gay and pretty
on the pale sand of the desert.
[Sidenote: _Linánthus parviflòrus (Gilia)_
=White, pink, lilac
Spring
California=]
A very pretty little plant, slightly hairy, with a slender stem, from
three to ten inches tall, and clusters of small, stiff, dark green
leaves. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch across, with
long, threadlike, yellow tubes, sometimes an inch and a half long,
and white, pink, or lilac petals, with an orange or white "eye" and
often brownish on the outside, with yellow anthers and a conspicuously
long, yellow pistil. This is common throughout California, growing in
open ground on hills and sea-cliffs. _L. parviflorus var. aciculàris_
is similar, but smaller. The flowers are similar, but often have so
little white about them that they are yellow in general effect, and are
sometimes specked with crimson at the base of the petals. They grow in
sandy places in southern California.
[Illustration: Evening Snow--L. dichotomus.
Yellow Gilia--L. aureus.
Linanthus parviflorus.]
[Sidenote: =Ground Pink, Fringed Gilia=
_Linánthus dianthiflòrus (Gilia)_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
Charming little flowers, exceedingly delicate and gay. The stem is
usually only a few inches tall, the leaves are very narrow, and the
flowers are three-quarters of an inch across, with bright pink petals,
prettily toothed at the tips, shading to white and yellow in the center
and often with a purple ring in the throat. This is common in southern
California and often grows in quantities, sprinkling the ground with
its bright little flowers.
[Sidenote: _Linánthus liniflòrus (Gilia)_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]
This is a few inches tall, with purplish stems, which are so very
slender and wiry that they look hardly thicker than hairs and the
flowers seem to be hovering in the air, giving an exceedingly pretty
and delicate effect. The leaves are stiff and dark green and the
flowers are half an inch or more across, with a yellowish tube and
white petals, delicately veined with blue, with a pale yellow pistil
and orange anthers. This grows on the dry tops of mesas, in southern
California.
There are many kinds of Phlox, natives of North America and Asia,
usually perennials, the leaves toothless, mostly opposite, at least
the lower ones; the calyx five-ribbed; the corolla salver-form; the
stamens inserted very unequally in the tube and not protruding; the
seeds not mucilaginous. The salver-form corolla and the seeds not being
mucilaginous distinguishes Phlox from Gilia. The name is from the
Greek, meaning "flame."
[Sidenote: =Alpine Phlox=
_Phlóx Douglásii_
=White, lilac
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
A charming little plant, with woody stems a few inches tall and partly
creeping along the ground, densely crowded with numerous needle-like
leaves, forming dull green, cushion-like mats, sometimes over a
foot across and suggesting some sort of prickly moss. These prickly
cushions are sprinkled thickly all over with pretty lilac flowers and
the effect is most attractive. The flowers vary in tint from white to
pink and purple and are nearly three-quarters of an inch across and
slightly sweet-scented. The tube is longer than the hairy calyx, and
the petals fold back in fading. This grows on gravelly slopes and
summits around Yosemite and in the Northwest, from the Rocky Mountains
to Nebraska, and its patches of pale color are often conspicuous in
dry rocky places, or in open forests, at an altitude of three to seven
thousand feet.
[Illustration: Linanthus liniflorus.
Alpine Phlox--Phlox Douglasii.
Ground Pink--Linanthus dianthiflorus.]
[Sidenote: =Wild Sweet William=
_Phlóx longifòlia_
=Pink
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
Very attractive common flowers, with many stems, three to eight inches
high, from a woody base. The leaves are smooth or somewhat downy,
stiffish, pale gray-green and rather harsh, and the flowers are over
three-quarters of an inch across, clear pink, of various shades from
deep-pink to white, with an angled calyx. Only two yellow stamens show
in the throat and the style is long and slender. This grows on hills
and in valleys, as far east as Colorado, and its pretty flowers are
very gay and charming, particularly when growing in large clumps in
fields or beside the road. _P. Stánsburyi_, common on the plateau in
the Grand Canyon, blooming in May, is similar, but has sticky hairs on
the calyx.
There are many kinds of Gilia, variable and not easily distinguished;
the leaves nearly always alternate and thus differing from Linanthus;
the corolla funnel-form, tubular, or bell-shaped, but, unlike Phlox,
rarely salver-form and the seeds are usually mucilaginous when wet.
These plants were named for Gil, a Spanish botanist.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Gilia, Skyrocket=
_Gília aggregàta_
=Red
Spring, summer, autumn
Southwest, Utah, etc.=]
A brilliant biennial or perennial plant, varying in general form and
color. In Utah it is somewhat coarse and usually has a single, leafy,
roughish, rather sticky stem, from one to two feet tall, purplish
towards the top, and thickish, somewhat sticky leaves, deeply lobed
and cut, in a cluster at the root and alternate along the stem, dull
bluish-green in color, smooth on the under side, with more or less
sparse woolly down on the upper side, as if partially rubbed off. The
flowers have no pedicels, or very short ones, and form small clusters
in the angles of the leaves along the upper part of the stem, but are
mainly at the top, in a large, handsome, somewhat flat-topped, loose
cluster. They are each more than half an inch across, with a corolla of
clear scarlet, the lobes shading at base to white, finely streaked
with crimson and prettily fringed at the tips. The stamens are equally
or unequally inserted in the corolla throat, the buds are prettily
twisted and fringed at the tips and usually have a dark purplish
calyx. Sometimes the flowers are all scattered along the stalk, making
a wand of bloom. This grows on mountain sides and sometimes has a
very disagreeable smell, hence the local name of Polecat Plant. In
Yosemite it is much more delicate in character, with several, smooth
or downy, reddish, leafy stems, from one to four feet high, from a
branched base, bearing very graceful clusters of flowers, the petals
of various shades of scarlet, pink, and crimson, often streaked with
white, or yellowish dotted with red, their long points curled back.
Often the buds are scarlet and the flowers pink, giving a very vivid
effect. The protruding stamens are inserted in the notches between the
lobes of the corolla, with red or pink filaments and yellow or purple
anthers. This has the look of a hothouse flower and is very beautiful
and striking when growing in masses in high mountain woods. This has
several common names which are very misleading, such as Wild Cypress
and Wild Honeysuckle. There are several named varieties. It grows in
the Southwest and also from British Columbia to New Mexico.
[Illustration: Scarlet Gilia--G. aggregata.]
[Illustration: P. longifolia.
Wild Sweet William--Phlox Stansburyi.]
[Sidenote: =Bird's Eyes=
_Gília trìcolor_
=White and purple and yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A beautiful kind, with rather hairy, branching stems, from six inches
to over a foot tall, and dull green, rather hairy leaves, prettily cut
into long narrow lobes. The flowers are in clusters, sweet-scented
and beautifully marked, with corollas a half-inch or more in length,
open funnel-shaped, with a yellow tube marked by a white border, and
two dark purple spots in the throat below each of the blue or whitish
corolla-lobes, forming an "eye." The calyx lobes often have purple
margins, the anthers are bright blue, with lilac filaments, and the
pistil is lilac. This is common on low hills in western California.
[Sidenote: =Blue Desert Gilia=
_Gília rigídula_
=Blue
Summer
Arizona=]
A strange little desert plant, stunted-looking but with brilliant
flowers, forming low, prickly clumps of stiff, dry, dull green,
needle-like foliage, suggesting cushions of harsh moss, with numerous
woody stems, two or three inches high, and numbers of pretty flowers,
half an inch across, deep bright blue, with a little yellow in the
center; the stamens, with bright yellow anthers, projecting from the
throat. This bravely opens its bright blue eyes in the desert wastes of
the Petrified Forest.
[Illustration: Blue Desert Gilia--G. rigidula.
Bird's Eye--Gilia tricolor.]
[Sidenote: =Downy Gilia=
_Gília floccòsa_
=Blue
Spring
Southwest=]
A little desert plant, about three inches tall, more or less downy all
over, the upper leaves and buds covered with soft white down and the
lower leaves dark green and stiff, tipped with a bristle. The tiny
flowers have a blue corolla, varying from sky-blue to almost white,
with a yellow throat and white stamens, and although they are too small
to be conspicuous, the effect of the bits of blue on the desert sand is
exceedingly pretty.
[Sidenote: =Small Prickly Gilia=
_Gília púngens_
=White
Summer
California=]
This resembles Alpine Phlox in general effect, but the corolla is
funnel-form instead of salver-form, for the lobes do not spread
so abruptly. The many stems are woody below, a few inches high,
and crowded with leaves, which are dull green, stiff, and cut into
needle-like divisions, which look like single leaves, about half an
inch long. The flowers are pretty and fragrant, half an inch across,
white or pale pink, often with purplish streaks on the outside, with
rounded lobes, the edge of each overlapping the next, and yellow
anthers, not projecting from the throat of the corolla. This forms
loose mats on rocky ledges, at high altitudes.
[Sidenote: _Gília multicàulis_
=Lilac
Spring
California=]
A rather pretty little plant, about eight inches tall, with several
slender, slightly hairy stems and leaves cut into very narrow
divisions. The little flowers are pale lilac, quite delicate and
pretty, though not conspicuous, and form clusters at the tips of the
branches. This sometimes grows in quantities in the hills of southern
California and is variable.
[Illustration: Downy Gilia--G. floccosa.
G. multicaulis.
Small Prickly Gilia--G. pungens.]
[Sidenote: =Large Prickly Gilia=
_Gília Califórnica_
=Pink
Summer
California=]
An unusual-looking, conspicuous, shrubby plant, suggesting some kind
of small prickly pine or cedar, with lovely flowers. It forms large
straggling clumps, about two feet high, with many woody stems and
rich-green foliage, the leaves cut into small, spreading, needle-like
lobes, and ornamented with numbers of brilliant flowers. They are an
inch or more across, with bright pink petals and a white "eye," and are
most delicate in texture, with a satiny sheen and smelling sweet like
violets. This grows on hills and is very beautiful on Mt. Lowe.
[Sidenote: _Gília achillaefòlia_
=Blue, white
Spring, summer
California=]
This varies a good deal in color and beauty. The stems are smooth and
slender, from one to two feet tall, and the leaves are alternate,
smooth or downy, delicately cut into many fine divisions. The numerous
small flowers are funnel-form, with projecting stamens, and form a
close round head, which is an inch or more across, without bracts. The
calyx is more or less woolly, with sharp triangular teeth, the tips
turned back. Usually the flowers are blue of some shade, deep or pale,
sometimes forming patches of color in the fields, but the prettiest I
have seen grew in the woods near Santa Barbara, the individual flowers
larger than usual and pure white, with bright blue anthers. It is
common in Yosemite, but rather dull bluish-white and not pretty.
[Sidenote: _Gília capitàta_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Northwest and California=]
Very much like the last, but the flowers are smaller and form a
smaller, more compact head. The corollas are blue, with narrow petals,
varying in tint from purplish-blue to pale lilac, the calyx not
woolly, and the cluster is about an inch across, the stamens giving it
a fuzzy appearance. The leaves are smooth or slightly downy and the
seed-vessels form pretty pale green heads. This is common and sometimes
grows in such quantities as to be very effective.
[Sidenote: _Gília multiflòra_
=Blue
Summer
Ariz., New Mex.=]
The general effect of this plant is inconspicuous, though the flowers
are quite pretty close by. The roughish woody stem is only a few inches
tall and then branches abruptly into several long sprays, clothed
with many very small, narrow, pointed, thickish, dull green leaves
and ornamented towards the end with small clusters of flowers, which
are lilac or blue, marked with purple lines, less than half an inch
across, with five irregular lobes and blue anthers. This grows at the
Grand Canyon and in dry open places in the mountains.
[Illustration: Large Prickly Gilia--Gilia Californica.]
[Illustration: G. capitata.
Gilia achillaefolia.]
There are several kinds of Collomia, almost all annuals; leaves
alternate, usually toothless; flowers in clusters; differing from Gilia
and Linanthus in the calyx, which increases in size as it grows older;
corolla tube-shaped, funnel-form, or salver-form, with spreading lobes;
stamens unequally inserted on the corolla-tube, with unequal filaments;
seeds usually mucilaginous.
[Sidenote: _Collòmia grandiflòra (Gilia)_
=Buff
Summer
Cal., Utah, Wash.=]
Very pretty flowers, which attract attention because of their unusual
coloring. The leafy stem is from one to two feet tall and slightly
downy and the leaves are generally toothless, smooth, and rather dark
green. The flowers form a roundish terminal cluster, which is about
two inches across, surrounded by broad bracts, which are sticky to
the touch. The corolla is funnel-form, about an inch long, various
shades of buff or salmon-color, and as the downy buds are yellow, the
newly-opened flowers buff, and the older ones pinkish or cream-white,
the combinations of color are odd and effective. This is quite common
in Yosemite, in warm situations, and much cultivated in Germany. It is
sometimes called Wild Bouvardia, but this is a poor name, as it is that
of a plant belonging to an entirely different family.
[Sidenote: _Collòmia lineàris (Gilia)_
=Pink
Summer
West=]
From six inches to over a foot tall, with a rather stout, very leafy
stem, more or less branching, and alternate leaves, smooth, toothless,
and rather dark green, the upper stems and buds hairy and sticky.
The flowers have no pedicels and narrow funnel-form or salver-form
corollas, bright pink, about a quarter of an inch across, and are
crowded in roundish clusters, at the tips of the leafy branches, the
larger clusters toward the top. Though the tiny flowers are bright and
pretty this is not an effective plant. It grows in dry, open, sandy
places and the foliage has a rather disagreeable smell when crushed.
[Illustration: Collomia grandiflora.
C. linearis.]
WATERLEAF FAMILY. _Hydrophyllaceae._
Herbs or shrubs, mostly natives of western North America; often hairy;
with no stipules; the leaves mainly alternate or from the root; the
flowers chiefly blue or white, often in coiled clusters; the calyx
with five united sepals; the corolla with five united petals; the
stamens five, on the base of the corolla and alternate with its
lobes, with threadlike filaments and usually with swinging anthers;
the ovary superior, the styles two or two-cleft; the fruit a capsule,
containing few or many seeds. The leaves were formerly supposed to have
water-cavities in them, hence the misleading name. Some of this family
resemble some of the Borages, but the stamens are long, the styles are
two, at least above, and the ovary has not the four conspicuous lobes
of the latter family.
There are many kinds of Phacelia, hairy plants, with no appendages
between the sepals; resembling Hydrophyllum, except that the petals
overlap in the bud, instead of being rolled up, and the seeds are
different. The name is from the Greek, meaning "cluster."
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia lóngipes_
=Purple
Spring
California=]
This has pretty and rather unusual looking foliage, for the leaves
are a peculiar shade of bluish-green, with purplish margins. They
are somewhat sticky, soft and velvety, and although hairy are not
disagreeable to touch. The hairy, purplish stems grow from a few inches
to a foot tall and the pretty flowers are lilac or purple, with yellow
anthers, and measure three-quarters of an inch across. This grows on
sunny, sandy mountain slopes.
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia glechomaefòlia_
=Lilac, white
Summer
Ariz., Utah, Cal.=]
A low plant, partly creeping, with weak, brittle, sticky stems and
soft, slightly thickish, very dull yellowish-green leaves, sticky and
often dingy with dust. The flowers are usually violet, but sometimes
pure white, about three-eighths of an inch across, with yellow stamens,
and are rather pretty. I found this little plant growing under a huge
red rock in the Grand Canyon, on apparently perfectly dry, bare soil.
It has an aromatic and slightly unpleasant smell and is rare.
[Illustration: Phacelia longipes.
Phacelia glechomaefolia.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia serícea_
=Purple
Summer
Northwest, Nev., Utah=]
A mountain plant, which in favorable situations is exceedingly handsome
and conspicuous, about a foot tall, but sometimes more, with downy,
leafy stems, and handsome, silky-downy foliage, cut into many narrow
divisions. The bell-shaped flowers are three-eighths of an inch across,
rich purple, with very long, purple filaments and yellow anthers, and
are crowded in magnificent clusters, sometimes eight inches long and
very feathery. The corolla dries up and remains on the fruit. This has
a disagreeable smell and grows at very high altitudes, where it is
unusual to find such large showy flowers. In dry unfavorable situations
it is often small and pale in color.
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia Párryi_
=Purple
Spring
California=]
This has very handsome flowers, but the plant is too straggling. The
branching, reddish stems are very hairy and rather sticky, from one to
nearly two feet tall, with dull green, hairy leaves, which are harsh
but not disagreeable to touch, and the flowers are over three-quarters
of an inch across, with a very hairy calyx and a bright purple corolla,
with a cream-colored spot, the shape of a horseshoe, at the base of
each petal. The filaments are purple and hairy, with cream-colored
anthers and the style is white, tipped with purple. This sometimes
grows in such quantities as to give a very brilliant color effect and
is found from Los Angeles to San Diego.
[Sidenote: =Vervenia=
_Phacèlia dístans_
=Violet
Spring
Southwest=]
This is from eight inches to two feet high, with hairy, soft, dull
green leaves and hairy stems, which are usually branching and
spreading. The flowers are less than half an inch across, with a very
hairy, sticky calyx, a violet corolla, varying in tint from dull
white to bright blue, fading to purple, and purple filaments with
whitish anthers. This grows in dry places and is common, often forming
large clumps covered with flowers which are quite effective in color,
though the plants are too straggling and hairy to be very attractive
close by. _P. ramosíssima_ is similar but coarser, the flowers are
larger, and the plant is exceedingly hairy, the calyxes being covered
with conspicuous, long, white hairs, and the whole plant unpleasant to
touch.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Mountain Phacelia--Phacelia sericea.]
[Illustration: Vervenia. P. distans.
Phacelia Parryi.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia Fremóntii_
=Purple
Spring
Southwest and Utah=]
A charming little desert plant, four or five inches high, with one or
more, purplish, branching stems, springing from a pretty cluster of
thickish, dull green root-leaves. The flowers are half an inch across,
with sticky, hairy calyxes and buds and bright purple corollas, with
bright yellow throats, from which the stamens do not protrude. These
little flowers look very gay and pretty against the desert sand.
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia lineàris_
=Purple
Spring, summer
Northwest and Utah=]
This is a delicate and pretty plant, in spite of its hairy foliage,
from six inches to a foot high, with a hairy stem, purplish and
somewhat branching, and alternate leaves, which are sometimes
deeply cleft, usually have no leaf-stalks and are hairy and light
yellowish-green in color. The flowers are pretty, grouped in rather
long clusters, and are each about half an inch across, with a hairy
calyx and a corolla delicately tinted with various shades of clear
lilac and blue, shading to white in the center, with long narrow
appendages in the throat between the stamens, which are long and
conspicuous, giving a feathery appearance to the cluster. The anthers
are dark purple and mature before the stigma, and the buds are pink and
white. This grows on dry hillsides, often under sage-brush.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Phacelia linearis.
Phacelia Fremontii.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Phacelia=
_Phacèlia grandiflòra_
=Lilac
Summer
California=]
A very handsome kind, though rather coarse, and hairy and sticky all
over, but with lovely, delicate flowers. The stems are from one to
three feet tall and the dark green leaves are velvety on the upper side
and hairy on the under. The flowers often measure two inches across,
with a lilac or mauve corolla, shading to white in the center, flecked
and streaked with brown, blue, or purple, and the stamens have purple
filaments and pale yellow anthers. This plant is unpleasantly sticky,
with a viscid fluid which stains everything with which it comes in
contact, is poisonous to some people, and is found from Santa Barbara
to San Diego.
[Sidenote: _Phacèlia víscida var. albiflòra_
=White
Spring
California=]
This is a white variety, with pretty, delicate white flowers. _Phacelia
viscida_ is very much like _P. grandiflora_, and has about the same
range, but is not so large a plant, usually about a foot tall, with
smaller flowers, about an inch across. The corollas are blue, with
purple or white centers.
[Sidenote: =Wild Canterbury-bell=
_Phacèlia Whitlàvia_
=Purple
Summer
California=]
Charming flowers, though the foliage is rather too hairy. The stout,
reddish stems are hairy, brittle, and loosely branching, about a foot
tall, and the leaves dull green and hairy. The handsome flowers are in
graceful nodding clusters, with a bell-shaped corolla, about an inch
long, a rich shade of bluish-purple, the long conspicuous stamens and
pistils giving an airy look to the blossoms. The filaments are purple
and the anthers almost white and, as in other Phacelias, when the
corolla drops off the long forked style remains sticking out of the
calyx like a thread. This grows in light shade in rich moist soil in
the hills.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Phacelia grandiflora.]
[Illustration: Wild Canterbury-bell--P. Whitlavia.
Phacelia viscida var. albiflora.]
[Sidenote: =Alpine Phacelia=
_Phacèlia alpìna_
=Lilac
Summer
Utah, Nev., etc.=]
This just misses being a very pretty plant, for the leaves are
attractive, but the flowers are too small and too dull in color for
the general effect to be good. The stems are about ten inches tall,
purplish and downy, and the leaves are dull green and rather downy,
with conspicuous veins. The buds are hairy and the flowers are lilac
and crowded in coiled clusters, to which the long stamens give a very
feathery appearance. This is found in the mountains, as far east as
Montana and Colorado, and reaches an altitude of over twelve thousand
feet.
[Sidenote: =Wild Heliotrope=
_Phacèlia crenulàta_
=Lilac
Spring
Arizona=]
This is a fine plant, from six to eighteen inches tall, with purplish
stems and handsome coarse foliage, all rough, hairy, and very sticky.
The flowers are lilac, with purple stamens and pistil, and the general
effect is that of a large coarse Heliotrope. The flowers have a
pleasant scent, but the foliage has a strong and disagreeable smell,
and it grows on the plateau in the Grand Canyon.
[Sidenote: =Arizona Phacelia=
_Phacèlia Arizònica_
=White, mauve
Spring
Arizona=]
A little desert plant, not very pretty, with several hairy
flower-stalks, from three to six inches tall, springing from a rosette
of soft thickish leaves, slightly hairy, dull green in color, and
something the shape of the leaves of _P. Fremontii_, but the lobes
not nearly so small. The flowers are in tightly coiled clusters; the
corolla a little more than a quarter of an inch across, dull white,
with a pinkish line on each lobe and lilac anthers, the general effect
being mauve.
There are a good many kinds of Nemophila, natives of North America,
mostly Californian, slender, fragile herbs, with alternate or opposite
leaves, more or less divided, and usually large, single flowers, with
rather long flower-stalks. The calyx has an appendage, resembling
an extra little sepal, between each of the five sepals, which makes
these plants easy to recognize, and the corolla is wheel-shaped or
bell-shaped, usually with ten, small appendages within, at the base,
and the petals are rolled up in the bud; the stamens are short; the
styles partly united. The name is from the Greek, meaning "grove
lover," because these plants like the shade.
[Illustration: Alpine Phacelia--P. alpina.
Wild Heliotrope--Phacelia crenulata.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Baby Blue-eyes, Mariana=
_Nemóphila insígnis_
=Blue and white
Spring
California=]
These are exceedingly charming little plants, with slender, weak, hairy
stems, varying a good deal in height, but usually low and spreading,
and pretty, light green, soft, hairy foliage, sprinkled with many
lovely flowers, an inch or more across, with hairy calyxes and sky-blue
corollas, which are clear white in the center and more or less specked
with brown, with ten hairy scales in the throat. The blue of their
bright little faces is always wonderfully brilliant, but they are
variable and are usually deeper in color and rather smaller in the
South. This is one of the commonest kinds of Nemophila in California
and it is a general favorite. It is called Mariana by the Spanish
Californians.
[Sidenote: =Baby Blue-eyes=
_Nemóphila intermèdia_
=Blue and white
Summer
California=]
This is much like the last, but it is a taller and more slender plant,
usually about ten inches high. The lovely delicate flowers are less
than an inch across, with light blue corollas, usually shading to white
at the center and delicately veined with blue, or speckled with purple
dots. This grows among the underbrush.
[Sidenote: =Spotted Nemophila=
_Nemóphila maculàta_
=White and purple
Summer
California=]
These are charming flowers, their corollas oddly and prettily marked.
The weak, hairy stems, from three to twelve inches long, are usually
spreading and the leaves are opposite, hairy, and light green. The
flowers are about an inch across, with hairy calyxes and white
corollas, which are prettily dotted with purple and usually have a
distinct indigo spot at the tip of each petal, which gives an unusual
effect. The filaments are lilac and the anthers and pistil are whitish.
This is common in meadows around Yosemite and in other places in the
Sierras at moderate altitudes.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Baby Blue-eyes--Nemophila intermedia.]
[Illustration: Spotted Nemophila--N. maculata.
Baby Blue-eyes--Nemophila insignis.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Climbing Nemophila=
_Nemóphila aurìta_
=Purple
Summer
California=]
This is a straggling plant, with pretty delicate flowers, which suggest
some sort of Nightshade. The stems are pale, square, juicy and very
brittle, from one to three feet long, and the leaves are bright green
and most of them are alternate, with leafstalks which are winged and
clasping at base. The backs of the leaves, and the stems and calyxes,
are covered with hooked bristles, which enable the plant to climb over
its neighbors and give it the feeling of Bed-straw to the touch. The
flowers are nearly an inch across, with purple corollas, shading to
white in the center and paler outside, with purple scales in the throat
and purple stamens. This is rather coarser than most Nemophilas and
grows in light shade on hillsides.
There are several kinds of Conanthus, low hairy herbs, with alternate,
toothless leaves. The calyx and corolla are without appendages; the
stamens are not protruding, and are unequal in length and unequally
inserted in the tube of the corolla; the style is two-lobed and the
capsule is roundish and contains from ten to twenty, smooth seeds.
[Sidenote: =Conanthus=
_Conánthus aretioìdes_
=Pink
Spring
Idaho, Nev., Ariz.=]
This is a pretty little desert plant, spreading its branches flat on
the ground and bearing tufts of grayish-green, very hairy foliage and a
number of charming little flowers, which are three-eighths of an inch
across, with very hairy calyxes and bright purplish-pink corollas, with
a white and yellow "eye" and a long, slender, yellow tube, which is
slightly hairy on the outside. The styles and anthers are of various
lengths in different plants. These gay little flowers look very pretty
on the dreary mesas around Reno and suggest some sort of Gilia.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Conanthus aretioides.
Climbing Nemophila--N. aurita.]
There are only two kinds of Romanzoffia.
[Sidenote: =Romanzoffia=
_Romanzóffia sitchénsis_
=White
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
This is a charming little perennial plant, which forms beautiful clumps
of delicate foliage and flowers, suggesting some sort of Saxifrage.
The many, smooth, slender, pale green stems, from four to nine inches
tall, spring from slender, threadlike rootstocks, bearing tubers, and
the leaves are mostly from the root, smooth, bright green, and prettily
scalloped, with long leaf-stalks. The flowers are in loose clusters
and are each half an inch or more long, with a white corolla, which is
without appendages inside and is exceedingly beautiful in texture, with
yellow stamens, unequally inserted, and a long, threadlike style, with
a small stigma. These little plants grow in moist, shady spots among
the rocks, as far north as Alaska and often reach very high altitudes,
where it is a delight to find their pearly flowers and lovely foliage
in some crevice in the cliffs watered by a glacier stream. These plants
are found as far north as Alaska and were named in honor of Count
Romanzoff, who sent the Kotzebue expedition to Alaska.
There are several kinds of Emmenanthe, much like Phacelia, but the
stamens not protruding, and the corolla bell-shaped, cream-color or
yellow, becoming papery in withering and not falling off, hence the
Greek name, meaning "lasting flower."
[Sidenote: =Emmenanthe=
_Emmenánthe lùtea_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Idaho, Nev., etc.=]
A low plant, with many, downy branches, spreading almost flat on the
ground, and small, thickish leaves, light dull green, and slightly
downy. The flowers are rather more than a quarter of an inch across,
with hairy calyxes, and bright yellow corollas, hairy outside, with
ten little appendages inside, and grow in coiled clusters. The little
flowers are gay and pretty and look bright and cheerful on the desert
sands where they live. This is found as far east as Oregon.
[Illustration: Emmenanthe lutea.
Romanzoffia sitchensis.]
[Sidenote: =Whispering Bells=
_Emmenánthe penduliflòra_
=Yellowish
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
Pretty plants, from eight to fourteen inches tall, with branching,
hairy stems and light green, soft, downy leaves. The flowers are less
than half an inch long, with pale yellow corollas, and are at first
erect, but gradually droop until they hang gracefully on their very
slender pedicels. They become dry and papery as they wither, but keep
their form, and when the wind shakes their slender stems they respond
with a faint rustling sound. This grows in dry places and is common in
the South. In Arizona it grows only in protected canyons.
There are several kinds of Hydrophyllum, perennial or biennial herbs,
with fleshy running rootstocks and large, more or less divided leaves,
mostly alternate. The corolla is bell-shaped, with a honey-gland at
the base of each of the petals, which are rolled up in the bud. The
filaments are hairy, the style two-cleft above, both stamens and style
are generally long and protruding, and the ovary is one-celled and
hairy, containing from one to four seeds.
[Sidenote: =Cat's Breeches, Waterleaf=
_Hydrophýllum capitàtum_
=Lilac
Spring
Northwest, Utah=]
This is a pretty plant, from six to twelve inches high, with a rather
weak stem and conspicuous leaves, which are alternate, pale green,
soft and downy, or hairy, with five or seven divisions, prettily lobed
and cut, with rather prominent veins, and long, succulent, pinkish
leafstalks, sheathing the stem. The flowers are rather small, with
short pedicels, and a number are crowded together in roundish clusters,
about an inch across, with almost no flower-stalk. The calyx is covered
with white hairs, the corolla is lilac or white, somewhat hairy on the
outside, and the stamens and style are long and conspicuous, sticking
out like cats' whiskers and giving a pretty feathery appearance to the
whole cluster, which becomes in fruit a conspicuous, very fuzzy, round
head, covered with bristly white hairs, making the children's quaint
common name for this plant quite appropriate. It grows in rich soil,
in mountain woods, and is one of the earliest spring flowers. It is
sometimes called Bear's Cabbage, but this name is far fetched, both as
regards bears and cabbages!
[Illustration: Cat's Breeches--Hydrophyllum capitatum.
Whispering Bells--Emmenanthe penduliflora.]
There are several kinds of Eriodictyon, shrubs, with alternate,
toothed, leathery, evergreen leaves, which are netted-veined, generally
green and smooth on the upper side and whitish and downy on the under,
with leaf-stalks; the flowers in coiled clusters; the corolla more or
less funnel-form or salver-form, without appendages in the tube; the
stamens and the two distinct styles not protruding; the capsule small,
with few seeds. The name is from the Greek for "wool" and "net," in
allusion to the netted wool on the under surface of the leaves.
[Sidenote: =Yerba Santa, Mountain Balm=
_Eriodíctyon Califórnicum_
=White, lilac
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
A branching shrub, from two to six feet high, with thickish leaves,
with toothed or wavy margins, from two to six inches long, dark and
shiny on the upper side, pale with close down and netted-veined on
the underside. The flowers are not especially pretty, about half an
inch long, with white, lilac, or purple corollas, and are slightly
sweet scented. The leaves are strongly and pleasantly aromatic when
they are crushed and were used medicinally by the Indians, hence the
Spanish name, meaning "holy herb." Cough-syrup is made from them and
also substitutes for tobacco and hops. This grows on dry hills and is
very variable, being sometimes a handsome shrub. There are intermediate
forms between this and the next, _E. tomentosum_, which are difficult
to distinguish.
[Sidenote: =Woolly Yerba Santa=
_Eriodíctyon tomentòsum_
=Lilac
Spring
California=]
A large leafy shrub, about five feet high and much handsomer than the
last, with velvety, light green branches and very velvety, purplish
twigs. The beautiful leaves are veined like chestnut leaves and made of
the thickest, softest, sea-green or gray velvet, like a mullein leaf in
texture, but much smoother and softer. The flowers are three-quarters
of an inch long, with a pale pinkish-lilac corolla, shading to
purple and white, downy on the outside, and form quite handsome
clusters, mixed with pretty gray velvet buds, the lilac of the flowers
harmonizing well with the gray foliage. This grows in quantities on
Point Loma, and other places along the coast, from San Diego to Santa
Barbara. There are several similar varieties.
[Illustration: Woolly Yerba Santa--E. tomentosum.
Yerba Santa--Eriodíctyon Californicum.]
BORAGE FAMILY. _Boraginaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, chiefly rough-hairy herbs, without
stipules; usually with alternate, toothless leaves; flowers usually in
coiled, one-sided clusters; calyx usually with five sepals; corolla
usually symmetrical, with five united petals, often with crests or
appendages in the throat; stamens five, inserted in the tube of the
corolla, alternate with its lobes; ovary superior, with a single,
sometimes two-cleft, style, and usually deeply four-lobed, like that
of the Mint Family, forming in fruit four seed-like nutlets. Mature
fruit is necessary to distinguish the different kinds. These plants
superficially resemble some of the Waterleaf Family, but the four lobes
of the ovary are conspicuous.
There are many kinds of Lappula, chiefly of the north-temperate zone;
leaves narrow; corolla blue or white, salver-form or funnel-form, with
a very short tube, the throat closed by five short scales, the stamens,
with short filaments, hidden in the tube; ovary deeply four-lobed;
style short; nutlets armed with barbed prickles, forming burs, giving
the common name, Stickseed, and the Latin name, derived from "bur."
Some of them resemble Forget-me-nots, but are not true Myosotis.
[Sidenote: =White Forget-me-not=
_Láppula subdecúmbens_
=White
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
Though the foliage is harsh, this plant is so graceful and has such
pretty flowers that it is most attractive. It is from ten to eighteen
inches tall, with several yellowish, hairy stems, springing from a
perennial root and a cluster of root-leaves, the stem-leaves more or
less clasping at base, all bluish-green, covered with pale hairs, with
prominent veins on the back and sparse bristles along the edges. The
flowers form handsome, large, loose clusters and the hairy buds are
tightly coiled. The calyx is hairy, with blunt lobes, and the corolla,
about half an inch across, is pure white, or tinged with blue, often
marked with blue, with two ridges on the base of each petal, and the
throat closed by five yellow crests, surrounded by a ring of fuzzy
white down. This grows on dry plains and hillsides, sometimes making
large clumps.
[Illustration: White Forget-me-not--Lappula subdecumbens.]
[Sidenote: =Wild Forget-me-not=
_Láppula velùtina_
=Blue
Summer
California=]
Beautiful flowers, resembling true Forget-me-nots, but larger, with
velvety, often reddish stems, from one to two feet tall, velvety
leaves, and flowers in handsome, loose, somewhat coiling clusters. The
corolla is about half an inch across, sky-blue, the most brilliant blue
of any flower in Yosemite, with five, white, heart-shaped crests in the
throat; the buds pink. This is rather common in the Sierra Nevada at
moderate altitudes. _L. nervòsa_, of high altitudes, is similar, but
with smaller flowers, the leaves rough-hairy, but green. This has very
prickly nutlets, which stick in the wool of sheep and are dreaded by
shepherds. _L. floribúnda_, also growing in the mountains of California
and Oregon, has similar, small, blue flowers, sometimes pink, and
hairy, gray foliage. _L. Califórnica_, of the northern Sierra Nevada
mountains, has small white flowers.
There are many kinds of Lithospermum, chiefly of the northern
hemisphere; with reddish, woody roots, hairy leaves, without
leaf-stalks, and flowers crowded in clusters, mixed with leaves and
leafy bracts; corolla funnel-form or salver-form, the throat often
hairy or crested; stamens with short filaments, not protruding from the
throat of the corolla; ovary four-lobed, with a slender style, stigma
with a round head or two lobes; nutlets usually white and smooth. The
Greek name means "stony seed." Puccoon is the Indian name, and these
plants are also called Gromwell, and sometimes Indian Dye-stuff,
because the Indians made dye from the roots, which yield a beautiful
delicate purple color.
[Sidenote: =Hairy Puccoon=
_Lithospérmum pilòsum_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Northwest, Utah, etc.=]
A rather pretty plant, about a foot tall, with several, stout,
yellowish-green stems, covered with white hairs and very leafy,
springing from a thick perennial root. The leaves are bluish-gray green
and downy, harsh on the under side, and the flowers are numerous and
pleasantly scented, with a very hairy calyx and a salver-form corolla,
about three-eighths of an inch across, silky outside, the throat downy
inside, but without crests. The flowers are yellow, an unusual shade
of pale corn-color, and harmonize with the pale foliage, but are not
conspicuous, and the flower cluster is so crowded with leaves and leafy
bracts that it is not effective. This grows in dry fields, as far east
as Nebraska, and sometimes makes pretty little bushes, over two feet
across.
[Illustration: Hairy Puccoon--Lithospermum pilosum.
Wild Forget-me-not--Lappula velutina.]
[Sidenote: =Pretty Puccoon=
_Lithospérmum angustifòlium_
=Yellow
Spring
West, etc.=]
These are pretty flowers, but have a disagreeable smell. They are
perennials, with a deep root and hairy or downy, branching stems, from
six inches to two feet high, and hairy or downy leaves, which are
rather grayish green. The flowers are in terminal leafy clusters and
are of two sorts. The corollas of the earlier ones are very pretty,
clear bright yellow, sometimes nearly an inch and a half long, with
toothed lobes, which are charmingly ruffled at the edges, and with
crests in the throat, but the later flowers are small, pale, and
inconspicuous. This grows in dry places, especially on the prairies,
and is very widely distributed in the western and west central states.
[Sidenote: =Gromwell=
_Lithospérmum multiflòrum_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]
This has a rough, hairy stem, about a foot tall, and dull green, rough,
hairy leaves, with bristles along the edges. The yellow flowers are
half an inch long and form rather pretty coiled clusters. This grows in
open woods at the Grand Canyon, and is found as far east as New Mexico
and Colorado.
There are a good many kinds of Amsinckia, natives of the western
part of our country and of Mexico and South America. They are rather
difficult to distinguish, rough, hairy or bristly, annual herbs,
the bristles usually from a raised base, and with yellow flowers,
in curved, rather showy, clusters. The corolla is more or less
salver-form, without crests, but with folds; the stamens and pistil not
protruding, the stigma two-lobed. In order to insure cross pollination
by insects, in some kinds the flowers are of two types, as concerns the
insertion of the stamens on the corolla and the length of the style.
Several of these plants are valuable in Arizona for early spring stock
feed, and the leaves of young plants are eaten by the Pima Indians for
greens and salads.
[Illustration: Pretty Puccoon--Lithospermum angustifolium.
Gromwell--L. multiflorum.]
[Sidenote: =Saccato Gordo, Fiddle-neck, Buckthorn Weed=
_Amsínckia inlermèdia_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West=]
This has bright flowers, but the foliage is dreadfully harsh. The stem
is from one to three feet tall, often widely branching, with white
bristles scattered over it, and the leaves are dull green and bristly.
The flowers are pretty, about half an inch long, with narrow sepals
and bright orange corollas, with five bright red spots between the
lobes. The nutlets are roughened with short, hard points. These plants
are very common and sometimes form rank thickets in fields and waste
places. They are very abundant in southern Arizona and are valued as a
grazing plant for stock and are therefore known as Saccato Gordo, which
means "fat grass."
There are many kinds of Cryptanthe, most of them western and difficult
to distinguish. They are slender, hairy plants, with small flowers,
which are usually white, in coiled clusters; the calyx bristly; the
corolla funnel-form, usually with five crests closing the throat; the
nutlets never wrinkled. These plants resemble white Forget-me-nots and
are sometimes so called. The Greek name means "hidden flower," perhaps
because of the minute flowers of some kinds.
[Sidenote: =Nievitas=
_Cryptánthe intermèdia_
=White
Spring
Cal., Ariz.=]
A rather attractive little plant, but inconspicuous except when it
grows in patches, when it powders the fields with white, like a
light fall of snow, and suggests the pretty Spanish name, which is a
diminutive of "nieve," or snow. The slender, roughish stem is about ten
inches tall, the light green leaves are hairy, with fine bristles along
the edges, and the pretty little flowers are white, about a quarter
of an inch across, with yellow crests in the throat. Popcorn Flower,
_Plagiobòthrys nothofúlvus_, of the Northwest, is also called Nievitas,
as it often whitens the ground with its small, fragrant, white flowers,
which are very much like the last.
[Illustration: Nievitas--Cryptanthe intermedia.
Saccato Gordo--Amsinckia intermedia.]
There are a good many kinds of Mertensia, natives of the northern
hemisphere. They are handsome perennials, never very hairy and
sometimes perfectly smooth all over, with leafy stems and broad
leaves, sometimes dotted, the lower ones with leaf-stalks. The pretty,
nodding flowers are in clusters and have a purple, blue, or white
corolla, often turning pink, more or less trumpet-shaped, the lobes
not spreading much, the throat open, with or without crests; the ovary
deeply four-lobed, with a threadlike style and one stigma; the nutlets
wrinkled. These plants are all commonly called Lungwort.
[Sidenote: =Languid Lady, Lungwort=
_Merténsia Sibírica_
=Blue
Summer
Northwest=]
A very attractive and graceful mountain plant, with pretty flowers and
fine foliage. The stems are hollow and usually smooth, from one to five
feet tall, and the leaves are rather thin and soft in texture, usually
smooth, with a "bloom." The flowers are in handsome loose clusters,
most of them drooping, and have a corolla over half an inch long, which
is a beautiful shade of bright light blue, often tinged with pink,
with white crests in the throat, and the style is long and protruding.
The buds are bright pink, contrasting well with the blue flowers.
This grows near streams, in the higher mountains. It is often called
Mountain Bluebell, but that name belongs to Campanula and is therefore
misleading. (This has recently been "separated" into several species.)
[Sidenote: =Lungwort=
_Merténsia brevístyla_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Utah, Col., Wyo.=]
This is an attractive plant and looks a good deal like a Forget-me-not.
It grows from four to ten inches tall and has dull bluish-green leaves,
which are downy on the upper side and smooth on the under, and graceful
clusters of pretty little flowers. The buds are pinkish-purple and the
flowers are small, with hairy calyxes and brilliant sky-blue corollas,
the stamens and style not protruding. This grows in mountain canyons,
up to an altitude of seven thousand feet.
[Illustration: Mertensia--M. brevistyla.
Languid Lady--Mertensia Sibirica.]
There are many kinds of Heliotrope, widely distributed in temperate
and tropical regions; ours have small, white or blue flowers, in
coiled spikes; the corolla salver-form or funnel-form, without crests
or hairs; the stamens not protruding, the filaments short or none,
the anthers sometimes joined by their pointed tips; the ovary not
four-lobed, but sometimes grooved, with a short style, the stigma
cone-shaped or round.
[Sidenote: =Sea-side Heliotrope, Chinese Pusley=
_Heliotròpium Curassávicum_
=White
Summer, autumn
Cal., Oreg., etc.=]
This is not a pretty plant and is rather insignificant because of
its dull coloring. It forms low, branching, straggling clumps, with
thickish stems and leaves, which are succulent and perfectly smooth,
with a "bloom," and the flowers are small, the corolla white or pale
lilac, with a yellow "eye" which changes to purple, forming crowded
coiled spikes, mostly in pairs, without bracts. The fruit consists of
four nutlets. This is widely distributed, in moist, salty or alkaline
places, growing also in the East and in South America and the Old World.
There are several kinds of Oreocarya, natives of western North America
and Mexico, coarse, hairy, perennial or biennial herbs, with thick
woody roots; the leaves narrow, alternate or from the root; the flowers
small, mostly white, in clusters, with a funnel-form or salver-form
corolla, usually with crests and folds in the throat; the stamens
not protruding; the style usually short. The name is from the Greek,
meaning "mountain-nut," which does not seem very appropriate.
[Sidenote: =Oreocarya=
_Oreocàrya multicàulis_
=White
Spring
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]
A rather pretty plant, about six inches tall, not rough and harsh like
most kinds of Oreocarya, for the pale grayish-green stem and leaves
are covered with white down. The flowers are quite pretty, about
three-eighths of an inch across, with white corollas, with yellow
crests in the throat. This is found as far east as southern Colorado
and New Mexico. _O. setosíssima_ is quite tall, growing in the Grand
Canyon, and has a large cluster of small white flowers and is harsh and
hairy all over, covered with such long stiff white hairs as to make it
conspicuous and very unpleasant to touch.
[Illustration: Chinese Pusley--Heliotropium Curassavicum.
Oreocarya multicaulis.]
VERBENA FAMILY. _Verbenaceae._
A large family, widely distributed; herbs and shrubs; leaves opposite,
or in whorls; flowers perfect, in clusters; calyx with four or five
lobes or teeth; corolla with four or five united lobes, almost regular
or two-lipped; stamens on the corolla, usually four, in two sets; ovary
superior, with one style and one or two stigmas, when ripe separating
into from two to four, one-seeded nutlets.
There are many kinds of Verbena, chiefly American; perennials; calyx
tubular, with five teeth; corolla usually salver-form, with five lobes,
usually slightly two-lipped; stigmas with two lobes, only the larger
lobe fertile; fruit four nutlets. This is the Latin name of some sacred
plant.
[Sidenote: =Wild Verbena=
_Verbèna Arizònica_
=Lilac
Spring
Arizona=]
This is very much like a garden Verbena, an attractive little plant,
from four to six inches tall, with hairy stems and prettily shaped
leaves, dull green, soft and hairy. The gay little flowers are about
half an inch across, with a bright pinkish-lilac corolla, with a white
or yellowish "eye," and a sticky-hairy calyx, and form a charming
flat-topped cluster. This grows among the rocks, above the Desert
Laboratory at Tucson and in similar places.
[Sidenote: =Common Vervain=
_Verbèna prostràta_
=Lilac
Spring, summer, autumn
California=]
A loosely-branching plant, from one to two feet tall, with dull green,
hairy stems, dull green, soft, hairy leaves, and very small flowers in
a long spike, too few open at one time to be effective. The corolla
is lilac or bluish, often with a magenta tube and magenta "eye." This
grows in dry open hill country.
MINT FAMILY. _Labiatae._
A very large family, with distinctive characteristics; widely
distributed. Ours are herbs or low shrubs, generally aromatic, with
usually square and hollow stems; leaves opposite, with no stipules;
flowers perfect, irregular, in clusters, usually with bracts; calyx
usually five-toothed, frequently two-lipped; corolla more or less
two-lipped, upper lip usually with two lobes, lower lip with three;
stamens usually four, in pairs, on the corolla-tube, alternate with
its lobes; ovary superior, with four lobes, separating when ripe into
four, small, smooth, one-seeded nutlets, surrounding the base of the
two-lobed style, like the four nutlets of the Borage Family, but the
flowers of the latter are regular. These plants are used medicinally
and include many herbs used for seasoning, such as Sage, Thyme, etc.
[Illustration: Wild Verbena--V. Arizonica.
Common Vervain--Verbena prostrata.]
There are a few kinds of Micromeria; trailing perennials; flowers
small; calyx tubular, with five teeth; corolla two-lipped, with a
straight tube; stamens four, all with anthers, not protruding. The
Greek name means "small."
[Sidenote: =Yerba Buena, Tea-vine=
_Micromèria Chamissónis (M. Douglasii)_
=Lilac, white
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
An attractive little plant, resembling the little eastern
Gill-over-the-ground, with slender trailing stems, slightly downy
foliage, and lilac or whitish flowers, about a quarter of an inch long.
The calyx and corolla are hairy on the outside; the corolla has an
erect upper lip, sometimes notched, and a spreading, three-lobed lower
lip, and the stamens are four, the lower pair shorter. This is common
in shady places near the coast. It has a pleasant aromatic fragrance
and was used medicinally by California Indians, so it was called
"good herb" by the Mission Fathers, and is still used as a tea by
Spanish-Californians, who call it Yerba Buena del Campo, "field herb,"
distinguishing it from Yerba Buena del Poso, "herb of the well," the
garden mint.
There are several kinds of Monardella, fragrant herbs, all western,
chiefly Californian; leaves mostly toothless; flowers small, in
terminal heads, on long flower-stalks, with bracts, which are often
colored; calyx tubular, with five, nearly equal teeth; corolla with
erect upper lip, two-cleft, lower lip with three, nearly equal lobes;
stamens four, protruding, sometimes the lower pair longer.
[Sidenote: =Western Pennyroyal, Mustang Mint=
_Monardélla lanceolàta_
=Lilac
Summer
California=]
An attractive plant, pretty in color and form, with purplish, often
branching stems, from six inches to over two feet high, smooth leaves,
and small bright pinkish-lilac flowers, crowded in terminal heads,
about an inch across, with purplish bracts. The outer ring of flowers
blooms first and surrounds a knob of small green buds, so that the
effect of the whole flower-head slightly suggests a thistle. This has a
strong, pleasant smell like Pennyroyal and is abundant in Yosemite, and
elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
[Illustration: Yerba Buena--Micromeria Chamissonis.
Mustang Mint--Monardella lanceolata.]
There are several kinds of Ramona, abundant in southern California;
shrubby plants, with wrinkled leaves and flowers like those of Salvia,
except for differences in the filaments; stamens two. They are very
important honey-plants, commonly called Sage, and by some botanists
considered to be a species of Salvia.
[Sidenote: =Desert Ramona=
_Ramòna incàna (Audibertia)_
=Blue
Spring
Southwest=]
A low desert shrub, from two to three feet high, varying very much in
color. On the plateau in the Grand Canyon it is delicate and unusual in
coloring, with pale gray, woody stems and branches and small, stiffish,
gray-green, toothless leaves, covered with white down. The small
flowers are bright blue, projecting from close whorls of variously
tinted bracts, and have long stamens, protruding from the corolla-tube,
with blue filaments and yellow anthers, and a blue style. The bracts
are sometimes lilac, sometimes pale blue, or cream-color, but always
form delicate pastelle shades, peculiar yet harmonizing in tone with
the vivid blue of the flowers and with the pale foliage. This is
strongly aromatic when crushed. In the Mohave Desert it is exceedingly
handsome, but the coloring is often less peculiar, as the foliage is
not quite so pale as in other places, such as the Grand Canyon, and
the flowers vary from blue to lilac or white. It blooms in spring and
when its clumps of purple are contrasted with some of the yellow desert
flowers, clustered about the feet of the dark Joshua Trees which grow
around Hesperia, the effect is very fine.
[Sidenote: =Humming-bird Sage=
_Ramòna grandiflòra (Audibertia)_
=Red
Spring
California=]
This is a handsome and very decorative plant, though rather coarse and
sticky, with a stout, bronze-colored stem, which is woody at base,
from two to three feet tall, and velvety, wrinkled leaves, from three
to eight inches long, with scalloped edges and white with down on the
under side. The flowers are an inch and a half long, with crimson
corollas of various fine shades, which project from the crowded whorls
of broad, bronze or purplish bracts, arranged in tiers along the
stem. Sometimes there are as many as nine of these clusters and the
effect of the whole is dark and very rich, especially in shady places.
This is common in the hills, from San Francisco south. Humming-birds
are supposed to be its only visitors.
[Illustration: Ramona incana.]
[Illustration: Humming-bird Sage--Ramona grandiflora.]
[Sidenote: =White Ball Sage=
_Ramòna nívea (Audibertia)_
=Lilac
Spring
California=]
A very conspicuous, shrubby plant, much handsomer than Black Sage, from
three to six feet high, with many, downy, stout, leafy stems, woody
below, forming enormous clumps of pale foliage. The leaves are covered
with pale down and are a delicate shade of sage-green and feel like
soft thick velvet, and the mauve or lilac flowers, about three-quarters
of an inch long, are arranged in a series of very round, compact balls
along the stiff stalks. This is a honey-plant and smells strong of
sage, and is common in the South, giving a beautiful effect of mingled
mauve and gray.
[Sidenote: =White Sage=
_Ramòna polystàchya (Audibertia), (Salvia apiana)_
=White, lilac
Spring
California=]
Not so handsome as the last, but a very conspicuous plant, on account
of its size and the pale tint of its foliage, though the flowers are
too dull in color to be striking. It is shrubby and has a number of
stems, which form a loose clump from three to six feet high, with
rather leathery, resinous leaves, all but the upper ones with scalloped
edges, and the whole plant is covered with fine white down, so that
the general effect is pale gray, blending with the white or pale lilac
flowers and purplish buds. The flowers are about half an inch long and
are very queer in form, for the only conspicuous part is the lower lip,
which is very broad with a ruffled edge and is turned straight up and
backward, so as to conceal almost all the rest of the flower. The long
jointed stamens, which are borne on the lower lip, stand out awkwardly
like horns and from one side of the flower's face a long white pistil
sticks out, with something the effect of a very long cigar hanging
out of the corner of its mouth! All these eccentric arrangements are
apparently for the purpose of securing cross-pollination from the bees,
which frequent these flowers by the thousand, as this is a famous
bee-plant and the white honey made from it is peculiarly delicious. It
grows abundantly in valleys and on hillsides, from Santa Barbara to San
Diego, and has a very strong disagreeable smell.
[Illustration: White Ball Sage--Ramona nivea.
White Sage--R. polystachya.]
[Sidenote: =Black Sage, Ball Sage=
_Ramòna stachyoìdes (Audibertia)_
=Lilac, white
Spring
California=]
A conspicuous shrubby plant, from three to six feet high, with stiffish
leaves, which are downy on the under side, wrinkled on the upper, and
grayish-green and downy when young, but become smoother and dark green
as they grow older. The flowers are pale lilac or white, half an inch
long, and the calyx-lobes and bracts are tipped with bristles. The
compact flower clusters, usually about five in number and rather small,
are arranged in tiers on long slender stalks, which stand up stiffly
all over the bush. This is common on southern hillsides, often forming
dense thickets for long distances, smells strong of sage and is an
important bee-plant.
There are several kinds of Hyptis, very abundant in South America and
Mexico, but only a few reaching the southwestern border of our country;
the calyx with five almost equal teeth; the corolla short, the lower
lip sac-shaped and abruptly turned back, the other four lobes nearly
equal and flat; the stamens four, included in the sac of the lower lobe.
[Sidenote: =Hyptis=
_Hýptis Émoryi_
=Purple
Spring
Arizona=]
A shrub, from three to five feet high, with very pale, roundish, woody
stems and branches and small, very pale gray leaves, thickish and soft,
covered with white woolly down. The little fragrant, bluish-purple
flowers, with white woolly calyxes, are crowded in close clusters about
an inch long. Only a few flowers are out at one time and they are too
small to be pretty, but the effect of the shrub as a whole is rather
conspicuous and attractive, on account of its delicate coloring, the
lilac of the flower-clusters harmonizing with the gray foliage, which
gives out a very strong smell of sage when crushed. This grows among
the rocks above the Desert Laboratory at Tucson and in similar places,
blooming in early spring and much visited by bees.
[Illustration: Black Sage--Ramona stachyoides.
Hyptis--Emoryi.]
[Sidenote: =Self-heal=
_Prunélla vulgàris_
=Purple
Spring, summer, autumn
Across the continent=]
There are several kinds of Prunella, widely distributed, but this is
the only one common in this country and is probably not native. It is
abundant in dampish places, in the far West often staying green all
winter, a perennial, sometimes hairy, from two inches to over a foot
high. The leaves, often obscurely toothed, have leaf-stalks and the
small flowers are crowded in a series of whorls, with purplish bracts
and forming a spike or head. The calyx is two-lipped, with five teeth
and often purplish, and the corolla is purple, pink, or occasionally
white, with an arched upper lip, a spreading, three-lobed lower lip,
and four stamens, under the upper lip of the corolla, the lower pair
longer. This is usually not pretty, but in favorable situations in the
West is often handsome, with brighter-colored, larger flowers. The
name, often spelled Brunella, is said to be derived from an old German
word for an affection of the throat, which this plant was supposed to
cure. There is a picture in Mr. Mathews' _Field Book_.
There are many kinds of Stachys, widely distributed; herbs, often
hairy, with a disagreeable smell; the calyx with five, nearly equal
teeth; the corolla with a narrow tube, the upper lip erect, the lower
lip spreading and three-lobed, the middle lobe longest; the stamens
four, in pairs, usually under the upper lip of the corolla.
[Sidenote: =Hedge Nettle=
_Stàchys ciliàta_
=Magenta
Spring, summer
Northwest=]
This is a handsome plant, with a stout, rough, hairy stem, over two
feet tall, and very bright green leaves, which are thin in texture
but velvety. The flowers are in whorls, making a large cluster, and
have a purplish calyx, smooth or with a few stiff hairs, and a corolla
about an inch long, deep pink or magenta, sometimes spotted with white
inside. Though the flowers are rather crude in color, they contrast
finely with the bright green foliage. _S. coccínea_ is a very handsome
kind, with a tubular scarlet corolla, and grows in the mountain canyons
of Arizona.
[Illustration: Hedge Nettle Stachys ciliata.]
[Sidenote: =Common Hedge Nettle=
_Stàchys bullàta_
=Pink, purple
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
This is common and varies in appearance, being often a coarse-looking
weed, but sometimes the flowers are pretty. The rough, hairy stem is
about a foot tall, the wrinkled leaves are soft and more or less hairy,
and the flowers are about half an inch long, usually pale purplish-pink
or purple, streaked and specked with deeper color, but are sometimes
bright pink and then the long clusters are quite effective, growing in
the road-side hedges. The plant is aromatic when crushed.
There are many kinds of Scutellaria, widely distributed; bitter herbs,
some shrubby, with blue or lilac flowers; the calyx with two lips, the
upper one with a protuberance on its back; the corolla smooth inside,
the upper lip arched, sometimes notched, the lower lip more or less
three-lobed; the stamens four, under the lip, all with anthers, the
upper pair hairy. The curious helmet-shaped calyx, in which the seeds
are generally enclosed at maturity, suggests the common names, Skullcap
and Helmet-flower.
[Sidenote: =Skullcap=
_Scutellària angustifòlia_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
A pleasing plant, from six inches to over a foot tall, not aromatic,
with almost smooth leaves, most of them toothless. The flowers are
pretty, though not striking, in pairs from the angles of the leaves,
with a purplish-blue corolla, nearly an inch long, with a white tube,
the lower lip woolly inside. The calyx is curiously shaped and after
the flower drops off resembles a tiny green bonnet. When these little
calyxes are pinched from the sides they open their mouths and show
the seeds inside. This is quite common throughout the Sierras. _S.
antirrhinoìdes_ is similar, growing in Utah and the Northwest. _S.
Califórnica_ has cream-white flowers, less than an inch long, the
lower lip hairy inside, and downy leaves, narrow at base, the lower
leaves purplish on the under side and more or less toothed, the upper
ones toothless. It grows in open woods in the Coast Ranges and Sierra
Nevada mountains. _S. tuberòsa_ is from three to five inches high,
with tuberous rootstocks; the leaves more or less oval, downy, thin in
texture, with a few teeth, the lower ones purplish on the under side,
with long leaf-stalks, the flowers dark blue, about three-quarters of
an inch long, each pair, instead of standing out at opposite sides of
the stem, generally turn sociably together, first to one side and then
to the other. This blooms in spring and grows in the Coast Ranges of
California and Oregon.
[Illustration: Common Hedge Nettle--Stachys bullata.
Skullcap--Scutellaria angustifolia.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Bladder-bush=
_Salazària Mexicàna_
=Blue and white
Spring
Southwest=]
This is the only kind, a very curious spiny desert shrub, about three
feet high, varying a great deal in general appearance in different
situations. The stems and foliage are gray-green and imperceptibly
downy and the flowers are over three-quarters of an inch long, with
a corolla which is hairy outside and has a lilac and white upper lip
and a dark blue lower one. The calyxes become inflated and form very
curious papery globes, over half an inch in diameter, very pale in
color, tinged with yellow, pink, or lilac, and extremely conspicuous.
In the desert around Needles, in California, the general form of the
shrub is very loose and straggling, with slender twisting branches and
small, pale gray-green leaves, both flowers and leaves very scanty and
far apart, so that the bunches of bladder-like pods are exceedingly
conspicuous. In the Mohave Desert it becomes a remarkably dense shrub,
a mass of dry-looking, criss-cross, tangled branches, spiky twigs,
and dull green leaves, speckled all over with the dark blue and white
flowers and the twigs crowded with pods. Sometimes the flowers are
magenta instead of blue, but are all alike on one bush. The stems are
not square, as in most Mints. The drawing is of a plant at Needles.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Bladder-bush--Salazaria Mexicana.]
There are only a few kinds of Sphacele.
[Sidenote: =Pitcher Sage, Wood-balm=
_Sphácele calycìna_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]
This is a rather handsome shrubby plant, from two to five feet high,
woody at base, with many stout, leafy, woolly or hairy stems, and
rather coarse leaves, hairy, more or less wrinkled and toothed,
and rather dark green. The flowers are over an inch long, in pairs
along the upper stem, something the shape of a Monkey-flower, with a
five-toothed calyx and a corolla with four, short, spreading lobes and
the fifth lobe much longer and erect, the tube broad and dull-white,
with a hairy ring at the base inside, the lobes tinged with pink or
purple; the stamens four, one pair shorter. After the flowers have
faded the large, pale green, inflated calyxes, veined with dull purple,
become conspicuous. If the flowers were brighter in color this would
be very handsome. It is strongly but rather pleasantly aromatic and
grows on dry hills in southern California. The name is from the Greek,
meaning "sage," as these plants have sage-like foliage and smell, but
the flowers are quite different.
There are several kinds of Salvia, widely distributed, herbs or shrubs;
flowers usually in whorls, with bracts; upper lip of the corolla erect,
seldom two-lobed, lower lip spreading and three-lobed; resembling
Ramona, except that the two stamens have filaments which are apparently
two-forked, one fork bearing an anther cell and the other only the mere
rudiment of an anther; the smooth nutlets are mucilaginous when wet.
The Latin name means "to save," as some kinds are medicinal.
[Sidenote: =Thistle Sage, Persian Prince=
_Sálvia carduàcea_
=Lilac
Spring, summer
California=]
A fantastically beautiful and decorative plant, very individual in
character. The stout purplish stem, a foot or two tall and covered with
white wool, springs from a rosette of thistle-like leaves of palest
green, so thickly covered with cushions of white wool that they appear
to be inflated, their teeth tipped with brown spines. The stem bears
a series of flower-clusters, resembling large, round, pale balls of
wool, pierced here and there by long prickles and encircled by lovely
flowers, so etherial that they appear almost to hover in the air. They
are each about an inch long, the corolla clear bright lilac with
an erect upper lip with two lobes, their fringed tips crossed one over
the other, and the lower lip with small side lobes and a very large,
fan-shaped, middle lobe, which is delicately fringed with white. The
pistil is purple and the anthers are bright orange, which gives a
piquant touch to the whole color scheme of pale green and lilac. There
are several tiers of these soft yet prickly balls, which suggest the
pale green turbans of an eastern potentate, wreathed with flowers. The
buds poke their little noses through the wool, in a most fascinating
way, like babies coming out of a woolly blanket, and fresh buds keep on
coming through and expanding as the faded blossoms fall, so that these
flowers last longer in water than we would expect from their fragile
appearance. The plants when they are crushed give out a rather heavy
smell of sage, with a dash of lemon verbena. They grow on the dry open
plains of the South.
[Illustration: Thistle Sage--Salvia carduacea.]
[Illustration: Pitcher Sage--Sphacele calycina.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Chia=
_Sálvia columbàriae_
=Blue
Spring
Southwest=]
This is an odd-looking plant, but is often quite handsome. The stout
purplish stem, from six inches to over two feet tall, springs from a
cluster of rough, very dull green leaves, sometimes so wrinkled as to
look like the back of a toad, and bears a series of round, button-like
heads, consisting of numerous, purple, bristly bracts, ornamented with
small, very bright blue flowers. Though the flowers are small, the
contrast between their vivid coloring and the purple or wine-colored
bracts is very effective. The seeds have been for centuries an
important food product among the aborigines and this plant in ancient
Mexico was cultivated as regularly as corn, the meal being extremely
nourishing and resembling linseed meal. The Mission Fathers used it for
poultices and it is still in demand among the Spanish-Californians.
This grows on dry hillsides and smells of sage.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Chia--Salvia columbariae.]
There are several kinds of Trichostema, all North American; herbs,
sometimes shrubby; leaves toothless, or with wavy margins; flowers in
clusters; calyx usually with five unequal lobes; corolla with a long
slender tube and five oblong lobes nearly alike, forming in bud a
roundish ball, enclosing the coiled stamens; stamens four, the upper
pair longer, with very long, blue or purple filaments, conspicuously
protruding from the corolla, suggesting both the Greek name, meaning
"hair-like stamens," and the common name, Blue-curls.
[Sidenote: =Romero, Woolly Blue-curls=
_Trichostèma lanàtum_
=Blue
Summer, autumn
California=]
This is shrubby and usually has many stems, from two to four feet high,
with stiffish leaves, dark green on the upper side, paler and woolly
on the under, the margins rolled back, and beautiful flower-clusters,
which are sometimes a foot long. The bright blue corolla is nearly
an inch long, with a border shaped like a violet, the smaller buds
are pink, and the purple stamens and style are two inches long and
very conspicuous. The calyxes, stems, and buds are all covered with
fuzzy, pink wool, forming a most unusual and beautiful color scheme,
giving a changeable almost iridescent effect of mauve and pink, in
remarkable contrast to the brilliant blue of the flowers. This grows
on rocky hills in southern California, is pleasantly aromatic and
used medicinally by Spanish-Californians. _T. lanceolàtum_ is called
Camphor Weed, because of its strong odor, like camphor but exceedingly
unpleasant. It grows on dry plains and low hills in the Northwest and
is an important bee-plant, blooming in summer and autumn, and is also
called Vinegar Weed.
There are a few kinds of Agastache, all North American, perennial
herbs, mostly tall and coarse; leaves toothed, with leaf-stalks;
flowers small, in a terminal spike, with bracts; calyx bell-shaped,
with five teeth and slightly two-lipped; corolla with a two-lobed,
erect, upper lip, the lower lip spreading and three-lobed, the middle
lobe broader and scalloped; stamens four, all with anthers, the upper
pair longer; nutlets smooth. The Greek name means "many spikes."
[Illustration: Romero--Trichostema lanatum.]
[Sidenote: =Giant Hyssop=
_Agástache urticifòlia (Lophanthus)_
=Pink
Summer
West, etc.=]
A handsome plant, from three to five feet high, with stout, branching
stems, usually smooth, sometimes hairy, and smoothish, dark green
leaves. The small flowers have a green calyx, with mauve teeth, a
white or pale violet corolla, and long, protruding stamens, with lilac
anthers. They are crowded in spikes, from two to six inches long, and
the whole effect is rather bright purplish-pink, feathery and pretty.
This has a strong aromatic smell and grows along the edges of meadows
and is abundant in Yosemite at moderate altitudes, but in other places
reaches an altitude of over eight thousand feet and is found as far
east as Colorado. _A. pallidiflòra_, with greenish-white calyxes and
white corollas, too dull in color to be pretty, grows in the Grand
Canyon and in New Mexico and Colorado.
There are several kinds of Monarda, all North American; aromatic herbs;
leaves toothed; flowers crowded in heads, usually with bracts, which
are sometimes colored; calyx tubular, with five teeth, often hairy
inside; corolla more or less hairy outside, two-lipped, upper lip erect
or arched, sometimes notched, lower lip spreading and three-lobed, the
middle lobe larger; stamens two, with swinging anthers, sometimes also
two rudimentary stamens; nutlets smooth. These plants are called Balm,
Bergamot, and Horse-mint.
[Sidenote: =Horse-mint=
_Monàrda pectinàta (M. citriodora in part)_
=Pink
Summer
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]
This is handsome when growing in masses, though the flowers are not
sufficiently positive in color. It grows from one to three feet high,
with a stout, roughish stem, sometimes branching, and leaves which are
thin and soft in texture, with a dull surface, but not rough, and more
or less toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch long and project from
crowded heads of conspicuous purplish bracts, tipped with bristles. The
calyx is very hairy inside, the lobes tipped with long bristles, and
the corolla is pale pink, lilac, or almost white, not spotted, with a
very wide open, yawning mouth, the stamens and the curling tips of the
pistil protruding from under the upper lip. This grows on dry plains,
especially in sandy soil, as far east as Colorado and Texas, reaching
an altitude of six thousand feet, and is strongly aromatic when crushed.
[Illustration: Giant Hyssop--Agastache urticifolia.
Horse-mint--Monarda pectinata.]
POTATO FAMILY. _Solanaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in the tropics.
Ours are herbs, shrubs, or vines; leaves alternate, without stipules;
flowers perfect, usually regular, in clusters; calyx and corolla
usually with five united lobes; stamens on the throat of the corolla,
as many as its lobes and alternate with them; ovary superior,
two-celled, with a slender style; fruit a berry or capsule, with many
seeds. Many important plants, such as Tobacco, Belladonna, Tomato,
Egg-plant, Red-pepper, and Potato, belong to this family. Many have a
strong odor.
There are several kinds of Datura, widely distributed; ours are chiefly
weeds, coarse, tall, branching herbs, with rank odor and narcotic
properties; leaves large, toothed or lobed, with leaf-stalks; flowers
large, single, erect, with short stalks, in the forks of the stems;
calyx with a long tube and five teeth, the lower part remaining in
the form of a collar or rim around the base of the capsule; corolla
funnel-form, with a plaited border and broad lobes with pointed tips;
stamens with very long, threadlike filaments, but not protruding; style
threadlike, with a two-lipped stigma; fruit a large, roundish, usually
prickly capsule, giving these plants the common name, Thorn-Apple.
Datura is the Hindoo name.
[Sidenote: =Tolguacha, Large-flowered Datura=
_Datùra meteloìdes_
=White
Spring, summer
Southwest, Nev., Utah=]
A handsome and exceedingly conspicuous plant, forming a large clump of
rather coarse, dark foliage, adorned with many magnificent flowers. The
stout, velvety stems are bronze-color, from two to four feet high, the
leaves are dark green, velvety on the under side, and the flowers are
sometimes ten inches long, white, tinged with lilac outside, drooping
like wet tissue-paper in the heat of the afternoon, and with sweet
though heavy scent. I remember seeing a grave in the desert, marked
by a wooden cross and separated from a vast waste of sand by clumps
of these great white flowers. It grows in valley lands, reaching
an altitude of six thousand feet. It is used as a narcotic by the
Indians and resembles _D. stramònium_, Jimson-weed, from Asia, common
in the East and found also in the West, but it is far handsomer. _D.
suaveòlens_, Floriponda or Angels' Trumpets, is a large shrub, with
very large, pendulous, creamy flowers, and is often cultivated in the
old mission gardens in California. The flowers are very fragrant at
night.
[Illustration: Tolguacha--Datura meteloides.]
There are many kinds of Physalis, most of them American, difficult to
distinguish; herbs, often slightly woody below; flowers whitish or
yellowish; corolla more or less bell-shaped, with a plaited border;
style slender, somewhat bent, with a minutely two-cleft stigma. In
fruit the calyx becomes large and inflated, papery, angled and ribbed,
wholly enclosing the pulpy berry, which contains numerous, flat,
kidney-shaped seeds. The name is from the Greek, meaning "bladder," and
refers to the inflated calyx, and the common names, Ground-cherry and
Strawberry-tomato, are suggested by the fruit, which is juicy, often
red or yellow, and in some kinds is edible.
[Sidenote: =Ground-cherry=
_Phýsalis crassifòlia_
=Yellow
Southwest=]
A pretty, delicate, desert plant, from six to eight inches high, with
branching stems and light green leaves. It is sprinkled with pretty
cream-yellow flowers, which are not spotted or dark in the center,
with yellow anthers, and is hung with odd little green globes, each
about three-quarters of an inch long, which are the inflated calyxes
containing the berries.
[Sidenote: =Bladder-cherry=
_Phsýalis Féndleri_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., Utah=]
A straggling perennial plant, about a foot high, with widely-branching,
roughish stems, springing from a deep tuberous root. The leaves are
dull green, roughish, rather coarse in texture, but not large, mostly
less than an inch long, coarsely and irregularly toothed, and the
flowers are the shape of a shallow Morning-glory, half an inch across,
pale dull-yellow, marked with brown inside, with yellow anthers. This
does not bear its berries close to the ground, as do many of its
relations, and is not pretty. It grows in dry places, reaching an
altitude of eight thousand feet.
[Illustration: Ground-cherry--Physalis crassifolia.]
There are a great many kinds of Solanum, abundant in tropical America;
herbs or shrubs, sometimes climbing; often downy; calyx wheel-shaped,
with five teeth or lobes, corolla wheel-shaped, the border plaited,
with five angles or lobes and a very short tube; anthers sometimes
grouped to form a cone, filaments short; fruit a berry, either enclosed
in the calyx or with the calyx remaining on its base. This is the Latin
name of the Nightshade, meaning "quieting."
[Sidenote: =Purple Nightshade=
_Solànum Xánti_
=Purple
Spring, summer
California=]
This is much handsomer than most of the eastern Nightshades, hairy and
sticky, with several spreading stems, from one to three feet high,
springing from a perennial root, with thin, roughish leaves, more or
less toothed. In favorable situations the flowers are beautiful, each
about an inch across, and form handsome loose clusters. The corolla
is saucer-shaped, bright purple, with a ring of green spots in the
center, bordered with white and surrounding the bright yellow cone
formed by the anthers. The berry is pale green or purple, the size of a
small cherry. This is sometimes sweet-scented and is very fine on Mt.
Lowe and elsewhere in southern California, but is paler and smaller
in Yosemite. Blue Witch, _S. umbellíferum_, is very similar, more
woody below, with deep green stems, shorter branches, smaller, thicker
leaves, and a dull white or purplish berry. It grows in the foothills
of the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada Mountains and flowers chiefly in
summer, but more or less all through the year.
[Sidenote: =Nightshade=
_Solànum Douglásii_
=White
Spring, summer
Southwest=]
A branching plant, about two feet high and across, with roughish stems
and thin, smooth or slightly hairy, dark green leaves, toothless, or
the margins more or less coarsely toothed. The flowers are white,
tinged with lilac, with a purplish ring surrounding the yellow cone
formed by the anthers. In southern California the flowers are nearly
half an inch across, but smaller elsewhere. The berries are black. This
is common throughout California near the coast. _S. nìgrum_, the common
Nightshade, is a weed in almost all countries, common in waste places
and in cultivated soil, and has small white flowers and black berries,
about as large as peas and said to be poisonous.
[Illustration: Purple Nightshade--Solanum Xanti.]
There are many kinds of Nicotiana, or Tobacco, chiefly American;
acrid, narcotic herbs or shrubs, usually sticky-hairy; leaves large,
toothless; corolla funnel-form or salver-form, with a long tube and
spreading border, plaited in the bud; stamens with threadlike filaments
and broad anthers, not protruding; capsule smooth, containing numerous
small seeds. The name is in honor of Nicot, diplomat and author of the
first French dictionary, who sent some of these plants to Catherine de'
Medici from Portugal in 1560.
[Sidenote: =San Juan Tree, Tree Tobacco=
_Nicotiàna glaùca_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A very slender, loosely-branching evergreen shrub, from six to fifteen
feet high, with graceful, swaying branches and smooth, thick leaves,
with a "bloom," the lower leaves eight inches long. The flowers are
nearly two inches long, greenish at first and then becoming a rather
pretty shade of warm dull-yellow, and hang in graceful clusters from
the ends of the branches. The calyx is unequally five-toothed, the tube
of the corolla downy on the outside; the anthers whitish; the ovary
on a yellowish disk, with a long style and two-lobed stigma, and the
capsule oblong, half an inch long. This was introduced into California
from South America about fifty years ago and is now common in waste
places and cultivated valleys.
There are many kinds of Lycium, shrubs or woody vines, named for the
country Lycia.
[Sidenote: =Desert Matrimony=
_Lycium Còoperi_
=White
Spring
Southwest=]
An odd-looking desert shrub, everything about it so closely crowded
as to give a queer bunchy and clumsy effect. It is three or four feet
high, with thick, dark gray, gnarled, woody branches, crowded with
tufts of small, dull, light green leaves, which are thickish, stiffish,
obscurely downy and toothless, and mingled with close little bunches
of flowers. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a large,
yellowish, hairy calyx, with five lobes, a white corolla, which is
slightly hairy outside, with five lobes and a narrow, greenish tube,
and pale yellow anthers, not protruding. They are rather pretty near
by, but the appearance of the whole shrub is too pale to be effective.
The familiar Matrimony Vine of old-fashioned gardens belongs to this
genus.
[Illustration: San Juan Tree--Nicotiana glauca.
Desert Matrimony--Lycium Cooperi.]
FIGWORT FAMILY. _Scrophulariaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, most of them natives of temperate
regions; chiefly herbs, with bitter juice, sometimes narcotic and
poisonous; without stipules; the flowers usually irregular; the calyx
usually with four or five divisions, sometimes split on the lower or
upper side, or on both sides; the corolla with united petals, nearly
regular or two-lipped, two of the lobes forming the upper lip, which is
sometimes beaklike, and three lobes forming the lower lip; the stamens
on the corolla and alternate with its lobes, two or four in number,
two long and two short, and sometimes also a fifth stamen which often
has no anther, the anthers two-celled; the ovary superior, usually
two-celled, the style slender, the stigma sometimes forked; the fruit
a pod, splitting from the top into two parts and usually containing
many seeds. This is a curious and interesting family, its members very
dissimilar in appearance, having expressed their individuality in many
striking and even fantastic forms.
There are several kinds of Maurandia, perennial herbs, climbing by
their slender twisted leaf-stalks and occasionally also by their
flower-stalks; the leaves triangular-heartshaped or halberd-shaped,
only the lower ones opposite; the flowers showy, purple, pink, or
white; the corolla with two lines or plaits, instead of a palate, which
are usually bearded.
[Sidenote: =Snap-dragon Vine=
_Maurándia antirrhìniflora_ (_Antirrhinum maurandioides_)
=Purple or pink and yellow
Spring
Ariz., New Mex.=]
This is a beautiful trailing or climbing vine, smooth all over, with
charming foliage and twining stems, much like those of a Morning-glory,
springing from a thickened, perennial root. The pretty flowers are
over an inch long, with a purple or raspberry-pink corolla, with
bright yellow blotches on the lower lip, forming an odd and striking
combination of color. This blooms all through the spring and summer and
may be found growing in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, near the river,
where its delicate prettiness is in strange contrast to the dark and
forbidding rocks over which it clambers and clothes with a mantle of
tender green.
[Illustration: Snap-dragon Vine--Maurandia antirrhiniflora.]
There are many kinds of Antirrhinum, natives of Europe, Asia, and
western North America; herbs; the lower leaves often opposite, and the
upper ones alternate; the sepals five; the corolla two-lipped, swollen
at the base on the lower side, but with no spur, the palate nearly
closing the throat; the stamens four. The name is from the Greek,
meaning "nose-like," because the shape of the flowers suggests the
snout of an animal.
[Sidenote: =Sticky Snap-dragon=
_Antirrhìnum glandulòsum_
=Pink, purple
Spring
California=]
This is a conspicuous perennial, handsome though rather coarse, hairy
and sticky all over, with stout leafy stems, from two to five feet
tall, with branches but no tendrils, and soft, rather dark green
leaves. The flowers are half an inch long, the corolla pink with a
yellow palate, and they are crowded in fine, long, one-sided clusters.
This is common in the South and looks a good deal like some of the
cultivated kinds; when its flowers are pinched from the sides they open
their mouths in the same funny way.
[Sidenote: =White Snap-dragon=
_Antirrhìnum Coulteriànum_
=White and lilac
Spring
California=]
This has tendril-like pedicels, which curl around nearby plants, but
the stem is stout and erect, over two feet tall, smooth below and hairy
above, with smooth, dark green leaves, and bears a long, crowded,
one-sided cluster of pink buds and pretty white flowers. They are each
about half an inch long, with hairy calyxes, and the corollas are
prettily tinged with lilac or pink, but are too pale in color, though
the general effect of the plant is rather striking. The anthers are
bright yellow. This grows in the South. _A. vírga_ is a smooth plant,
from two and a half to five feet tall, with many wand-like stems,
springing from a perennial base, and reddish-purple flowers, about half
an inch long, forming a long, rather one-sided cluster. This grows in
the chaparral, on ridges of the Coast Ranges, blooming in June, but is
not common.
[Illustration: White Snap-dragon--A. Coulterianum.
Sticky Snap-dragon--Antirrhinum glandulosum.]
[Sidenote: =Trailing Snap-dragon=
_Antirrhìnum stríctum_
=Blue
Spring
California=]
This is an odd-looking plant, from one to two feet tall, which seems
unable to decide whether or not it is a vine, for the pedicels of the
flowers are exceedingly slender and twist like tendrils and by their
means the plant clings to its neighbors and raises its weak stems
from the ground, or, if it finds no support, it stands almost erect
and waves its tendrils aimlessly in the air. It is smooth all over,
with dark green leaves and pretty, bright purplish-blue flowers, about
half an inch long, with a pale, hairy palate, which almost closes the
throat. This grows in the South, near the sea. _A. vàgans_ is similar
and is common farther north in California, growing on dry open wooded
hills or in canyons of the Coast Ranges, blooming in summer and autumn.
There are many kinds of Castilleja, almost always perennials, usually
parasitic on the roots of other plants, usually handsome and striking,
the conspicuous feature being the large leafy bracts, colored like
flowers, which adorn the upper part of the stem. They usually have
several stems, springing from woody roots; leaves alternate, without
leaf-stalks, green below and gradually merging above into colored
bracts; flowers crowded in terminal clusters, mixed with bracts; calyx
tubular, flattened, more or less cleft in front or behind, or on both
sides, the lobes sometimes two-toothed, colored like the bracts,
enclosing the tube of the corolla; corolla less conspicuous and duller
in color than the calyx, tubular, two-lipped, the lower lip short and
very small, not inflated, with three small teeth, the upper lip long
and beaklike, enclosing the four stamens and single threadlike style;
stigma cap-shaped or two-lobed; anther-sacs unequally attached to the
filament, one by its middle and the other hanging by its tip; capsule
egg-shaped or oblong, splitting open, containing many seeds. These
gaudy plants are well named Indian Paint Brush, for the flower-cluster
and leaf-tips look as if they had been dipped in color. Red Feather is
also good but Painted Cup is rather poor, as there is nothing cup-like
about the flower. They were named for Castillejo, a Spanish botanist.
[Illustration: Trailing Snap-dragon--Antirrhinum strictum.]
[Sidenote: =Paint Brush=
_Castillèja miniàta_
=Red
Summer
Northwest=]
This is a very handsome kind, from two to four feet tall, with a smooth
stem, and smooth leaves, which are not crinkled, toothed, or lobed,
and with more or less hairy bracts, which are beautifully tinted with
many shades of pink, red, and purple. This is a magnificent plant,
especially when we find it growing along irrigation ditches, among
blue Lupines, yellow Mimulus and other bright flowers, where the
combinations of color are quite wonderful, and it is the handsomest and
commonest sort around Yosemite, where it grows in meadows and moist
places, from the foothills nearly up to timber-line.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Paint Brush=
_Castillèja pinetòrum_
=Red and yellow
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
This is not quite so large or handsome as the last, but gives much the
effect of a brush dipped in red paint, for the yellowish bracts are
beautifully tipped with scarlet and the flowers are also bright red.
The rough stem is a foot or more tall, the roughish dark green leaves
are not toothed or lobed, but have crinkled edges, and the bracts
usually have three lobes. These plants grow in the mountains and often
make bright patches of color in the landscape.
[Sidenote: =Paint Brush=
_Castillèja angustifòlia_
=Red
Spring, summer
Utah., Nev.=]
This is very variable, and is usually about a foot high, with several
hairy stems, springing from a long yellow root. The leaves are slightly
rough, but not coarse, with fine white hairs along the margins, and
light gray-green in color, the lowest ones not lobed, a few of the
upper ones with two lobes, but most of the leaves, and the bracts,
slashed into three lobes. The calyx is covered with white hairs, and
the upper lip of the corolla is bright green. The whole plant is most
beautiful and harmonious in color, not coarse like many Castillejas,
and the upper part is clothed with innumerable delicate yet vivid tints
of salmon, rose, and deep pink, shading to scarlet and crimson, forming
a charming contrast to the quiet tones of the lower foliage. This grows
in gravelly soil, on dry plains and hillsides, and the clumps of bloom
are very striking among the sage-brush.
[Illustration: Indian Paint Brush--Castilleja miniata.]
[Illustration: Scarlet Paint Brush--Castilleja pinetorum.]
There are a good many kinds of Stemodia, widely distributed, only two
in the United States; the corolla blue or purplish and two-lipped; the
stamens four, not protruding.
[Sidenote: =Stemodia=
_Stemòdia durantifòlia_
=Blue
Spring
Southwest, etc.=]
This is a rather pretty plant, which is quite effective when growing in
quantities. The stem is hairy and sticky, from a foot to a foot and a
half tall, with hairy leaves, which have a few sharp teeth. The flowers
are three-eighths of an inch long, with sticky-hairy calyxes and bright
purplish-blue corollas, white and hairy in the throat. This has a
slightly unpleasant, aromatic smell and grows in moist spots, often in
mountain canyons near streams, as far east as Texas and also in the
tropics.
There are many kinds of Linaria, most abundant in the Old World; herbs;
the upper leaves alternate, the lower opposite, usually toothless;
the corolla like Antirrhinum, but with a spur; the stamens four, not
protruding.
[Sidenote: =Toad Flax=
_Linària Canadénsis_
=Blue, lilac
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
A slender plant, from six to eighteen inches tall and smooth all over,
with branching stems, dark green leaves, and pretty little flowers,
delicately scented, from a quarter to half an inch long, with bright
purplish-blue or pale lilac corollas, veined with purple. This is found
in dry soil across the continent and sometimes grows in such quantities
around San Diego as to form blue patches in the landscape.
There are many kinds of Veronica; ours are rather low herbs, though
some are trees in the tropics, widely distributed, living in meadows
and moist places; flowers small, usually blue or white, never yellow;
calyx with four divisions, rarely five; corolla wheel-shaped, with a
very short tube and four, rarely five, lobes, the lower one narrower
than the others; stamens two, sticking out at each side of the base
of the upper lobe; anthers blunt, with slender filaments; ovary
two-celled, with a slender style and round-top stigma; capsule more or
less flattened, two-lobed or heart-shaped, splitting open, containing
few or many seeds. They were named in honor of St. Veronica.
[Illustration: Toad Flax--Linaria Canadensis.
Stemodia--S. durantifolia.]
[Sidenote: =Hairy Speedwell=
_Verónica Tournefórtii_
=Blue
Spring, summer, autumn
Utah, Cal., etc.=]
This is one of the most attractive of the little Speedwells, for its
flowers are bright and quite large. The stems are branching, hairy
and purplish, some short and erect, others long and trailing, and the
leaves are alternate above and opposite below, dull yellowish-green,
hairy and rather soft, with scalloped edges. The flowers grow singly,
on slender flower-stalks over an inch long, springing from the angles
of the upper leaves, and the corolla is three-eighths of an inch
across, the upper lobe deep brilliant blue, veined with dark blue, the
side lobes similar in color but not so bright, the lower lobe almost
white, without blue veins, and each lobe with a little pale yellow
at its base. The stamens and pistil are white, the anthers becoming
brown and the style bent to one side, and the capsule is somewhat
heart-shaped, containing several cup-shaped seeds. This forms patches
along roadsides and in fields, the soft foliage dotted with the quaint
bright blue flowers, opening a few at a time in bright sunlight and
closing at night. This is a native of Europe and Asia and is found
across the continent.
[Sidenote: =American Brooklime=
_Verónica Americàna_
=Blue
Summer
Across the continent=]
In shallow water, or in very wet meadows, we find these little flowers.
They are smooth perennials, with straggling, branching, purplish
stems, more or less creeping, and rooting from the lower joints,
from one to three feet long. The yellowish-green leaves usually have
short leaf-stalks and are often toothed and the very small, pale blue
flowers, with white centers and veined with purple, grow in loose
spreading clusters.
[Sidenote: =Alpine Speedwell=
_Verónica Wormskjòldii_
=Blue
Summer
Northwest, Ariz., etc.=]
A pretty little plant, with smooth, stiffish, toothless leaves and deep
bright blue flowers, with a little white at the base of the petals and
veined with purple. This is found in damp spots in the mountains, up to
twelve thousand feet, in northern places across the continent, and as
far south as Arizona.
[Illustration: Hairy Speedwell--V. Tournefortii.
Alpine Speedwell--V. Wormskjoldii.
American Brooklime--Veronica Americana.]
There are a great many kinds of Pentstemon and some of our handsomest
and most conspicuous western flowers are included among them. They are
natives of North America, chiefly herbs, sometimes branching below; the
leaves usually opposite, the upper ones without leaf-stalks and more or
less clasping; the flowers showy, in long clusters; the calyx with five
lobes; the corolla two-lipped, with a more or less swollen tube, the
upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-cleft and spreading; the stamens
four, in pairs, and also a fifth stamen, which is merely a filament
without any anther, but is conspicuous and often hairy; the style
threadlike, with a round-top stigma; the pod usually pointed; the seeds
numerous. The common name, Beard-tongue, is in allusion to the usually
hairy tip of the sterile filament. Pentstemon is from the Greek meaning
five stamens. This name is often mispronounced; the accent should be on
the second syllable and long.
[Sidenote: =Large Beard-tongue=
_Pentstèmon glandulòsus_
=Lilac, purple
Summer
Oreg., Wash., Idaho=]
An exceedingly handsome plant, a foot and a half tall, with a stout
reddish stem, rather downy and sticky, and dark green leaves, rather
shiny and stiff, and downy on the under side. The flowers are an inch
and a half long, so large that they look like Fox-glove, and are
beautifully shaded from pale lilac to deep reddish-purple, with purple
filaments and white anthers and pistil. The calyx is reddish, sticky
and downy, and the outside of the corolla glistens with sticky fuzz.
This grows in the mountains.
[Sidenote: =Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon Rattáni var. mìnor_
=Blue
Summer
Utah, Oreg., Cal.=]
This forms pretty clumps of bright color, with several stems about
eight inches tall, smooth below, and smooth dark green leaves. The
flowers are less than half an inch long, with a downy calyx and bright
purplish-blue corolla, with a purplish throat. This grows in mountain
canyons.
[Illustration: Penstemon--P. Rattani var. minor.
Large Beard-tongue--P. glandulosus.]
[Sidenote: =Blue Pentstemon, Beard-tongue=
_Pentstèmon cyanánthus_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Utah, Ariz., Wyo.=]
This is perhaps the most beautiful of all the Pentstemons, with several
smooth, stoutish, pale green, leafy stems, from one to two feet tall
and smooth, pale bluish-green leaves, with more or less "bloom,"
toothless and thickish, the upper ones somewhat clasping. The flowers
are not hairy or sticky, and are over an inch long, forming a handsome
cluster about eight inches long. The sepals are narrow and pointed, the
corolla is tinted with various beautiful shades of blue and purple,
often with a white throat and blue lobes, or with a pink throat and
deep blue lobes, the sterile filament has a thickened, more or less
hairy, yellow tip, and the pale yellow anthers are more or less hairy.
This plant is beautiful in every way, for the foliage is fine in form
and color and the flowers are brilliantly variegated, yet harmonious
and graceful. This grows on hillsides and in mountain valleys, at
rather high altitudes, and used to be common and conspicuous on the
"benches" around the Salt Lake Valley, but it is gradually being
exterminated by sheep. It thrives and improves when transplanted into
gardens. _P. acuminàtus_ is similar, but the cluster is looser and the
flowers often pink and purple. It forms fine patches of color at the
Grand Canyon.
[Sidenote: =Honeysuckle Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon cordifòlius_
=Red
Summer
California=]
A handsome shrub, with much the general appearance of a Honeysuckle,
woody below, with long slender branches and pretty heart-shaped leaves.
The flowers are often in pairs and are each an inch and a half long,
with bright scarlet corollas, conspicuously two-lipped, the stamens
protruding, and form large clusters towards the ends of the branches.
This grows in light shade in the woods and trails its long branches and
garlands of bright flowers over the neighboring shrubs and trees.
[Sidenote: =Pride-of-the-mountain=
_Pentstèmon Newbérryi_
=Pink, lilac
Summer
California=]
A beautiful little shrub, making splendid patches of vivid color
on high bare rocks in the mountains, where it is very conspicuous,
hanging over the edges of inaccessible ledges. The stems are woody
below and very branching, about a foot high, and the leaves are usually
toothed, smooth, stiffish, and thickish. The flowers are an inch
and a quarter long, with a rather sticky calyx and bright carmine-pink
corolla, moderately two-lipped, with a patch of white hairs on the
lower lip; the stamens protruding, with conspicuous, white, woolly
anthers, and the style remaining on the tip of the capsule like a long
purple thread. This is slightly sweet-scented and is common around
Yosemite. The alpine form is less than four inches high, with larger,
lilac flowers and toothless leaves.
[Illustration: Penstemon cyananthus.]
[Illustration: Honeysuckle Penstemon--P. cordifolius.
Pride-of-the-mountain--Penstemon Newberryi.]
[Sidenote: =Bushy Beard-tongue=
_Pentstèmon antirrhinoìdes_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
This is a rather pretty shrub, about four feet high, with pale woody
branches, purplish twigs, and many, small, rich green leaves. The
flowers have a glossy, bright green calyx and a yellow corolla, which
is three-quarters of an inch long, streaked with dull-red outside and
slightly hairy, the sterile stamen hairy and yellow.
[Sidenote: =Variable Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon confértus_
=Yellow, blue, purple
Summer
Northwest and Cal.=]
This has a smooth stem and smooth, toothless leaves, but is very
variable both in form and color, for the typical plant, from Oregon
and the Rocky Mountains, has yellow flowers, but in Yosemite the
variety _caerùleo-purpùreus_ always has blue or purple flowers, but
the plants vary in general appearance. In good soil, such as the floor
of the Valley, the stem is sometimes two feet tall and the flowers are
about half an inch long, grouped in whorls along the stem, but at high
altitudes the plant shrinks to a few inches in height.
[Sidenote: =Cardinal Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon Párryi_
=Scarlet
Spring
Arizona=]
These wands of flaming scarlet are conspicuous along the trails in
the Grand Canyon and are exceedingly beautiful, very graceful in form
and vivid in color. The smooth, purplish, somewhat leafy stems, from
one and a half to two feet tall, spring from a clump of rather small
leaves, which are toothless, smooth, and rather light green in color.
The flowers are three-quarters of an inch long, the corolla with five
rounded lobes and very slightly two-lipped, and look something like
Scarlet Bugler, but are smaller and more delicate, and are sometimes
mistaken for Cardinal Flowers by people from the East.
[Illustration: Penstemon Parryi.]
[Illustration: Bushy Beard-tongue--P. antirrhinoides.
Variable Penstemon--P. confertus. var. caeruleo-purpureus.
P. confertus.]
[Sidenote: =Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon Wrìghtii_
=Pink, purple
Spring
Arizona=]
This is very much like the last in every way, except the color of
its flowers. The leaves are smooth and thickish, bluish-green, with
a "bloom," the lower ones with a few irregular, blunt teeth, or with
wavy margins, and the flowers, which are the same shape and size as
the last, are deep, bright pink, with a magenta line on each lobe and
some white hairs on the lower lip. The filaments are purple, with
whitish anthers, and the fifth stamen resembles a tiny brush, with
yellow bristles on the upper side and pointing into the throat. The
whole effect of the graceful flower-cluster is bright, beautiful, and
conspicuous, growing among the rocks, on hillsides and in canyons.
[Sidenote: =Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon laètus_
=Blue, purple
Summer
California=]
This is very beautiful and varied in color and is the commonest kind in
Yosemite, from one to two feet high, with roughish, toothless leaves
and several slender, erect, somewhat hairy branches, ending in long
loose clusters of flowers. The corollas are an inch long, and vary from
deep bright blue through all shades of violet to deep pink, with two
white ridges in the throat, and with two white anthers visible and two
purple ones hidden in the throat. The flowers' faces have a quaint,
wide-awake expression. This grows on dry rocky slopes and is often
mistaken for _P. heterophýllus_, which is rather common in open places
in the Coast Ranges. _P. linarioìdes_, blooming in late summer at the
Grand Canyon, is somewhat similar, but the flowers are smaller and more
delicate, and the leaves are smooth, small, and narrow.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Bugler=
_Pentstèmon Èatoni_
=Red
Spring
Ariz., Utah=]
Very beautiful, from two to three feet high; with purplish stems,
smooth leaves, and flowers an inch long, with a bright scarlet,
funnel-shaped corolla, not much two-lipped, the stamens not protruding.
These graceful wands of vivid color are conspicuous in the Grand
Canyon. _P. centranthifòlius_, common in California, is similar, the
corolla less two-lipped, and has very smooth, thickish leaves. _P.
Bridgésii_, found in Yosemite, is similar, but the corolla is decidedly
two-lipped.
[Illustration: Penstemon--P. laetus.
Scarlet Bugler--P. Eatoni.]
[Sidenote: =Yawning Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon breviflòrus_
=Flesh-color
Summer
California=]
A bushy plant, from two to five feet high, with many smooth, slender
branches, terminating in long loose clusters of flowers. The leaves
are smooth, rather dark green, the lower ones sharply toothed, and the
flowers are three-quarters of an inch long; the corolla flesh-color,
tipped with pink, with some purple lines on the lower lip, and some
fine white hairs on the upper; the buds yellow, tipped with dark red.
These flowers are too dull in color to be effective, but they are
sweet-smelling and have ridiculous faces with widely yawning mouths.
This is quite common in Yosemite, forming large clumps on open rocky
slopes. Indians use the tough stems for making baskets.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon Tórreyi_
=Red
Summer
Arizona=]
Exceedingly handsome, with smooth, pale green stems, two feet or more
tall, and smooth, rather bluish-green leaves, with slightly rippled
edges. The corolla is an inch and a quarter long, vivid scarlet, paler
inside, strongly two-lipped, with long, conspicuous stamens, with pale
yellow anthers, the style remaining on the tip of the capsule like a
long purple thread. This makes splendid clumps of gorgeous color and is
common on the rim of the Grand Canyon.
There are a number of kinds of Collinsia, natives of North America,
with the leaves opposite or in whorls; the flowers single or in whorls;
the calyx five-cleft; the corolla irregular, with a short tube and
two-lipped; the upper lip two-cleft and more or less erect, the lower
lip larger and three-lobed, the side lobes spreading or drooping, the
middle lobe keel-like and folded together and enclosing the two pairs
of stamens and the threadlike style, which has a small round-top or
two-lobed stigma. The fifth stamen is represented by a minute gland
on the upper side of the corolla tube near the base. The form of the
flowers somewhat suggests those of the Pea Family. If we pull the lower
lip apart we find the odd little crevice in which the stamens are
concealed.
[Illustration: Scarlet Penstemon--P. Torreyi.
Yawning Penstemon--P. breviflorus.]
[Sidenote: =Chinese Houses=
_Collínsia bícolor_
=Purple and white
Spring, summer
California=]
These are charming plants, from six inches to a foot and a half tall,
with very delicately made flowers. The leaves are smooth or downy and
more or less toothed, with rough edges, and the flowers are arranged in
a series of one-sided clusters along the upper part of the stem, which
is more or less branching. The corollas are about three-quarters of an
inch long and vary in color, being sometimes all white. In the shady
woods around Santa Barbara they often have a white upper lip, which is
tipped with lilac and specked with crimson, and a lilac lower lip, and
here they are much more delicate in appearance than on the sea-cliffs
at La Jolla, where they grow in quantities among the bushes and are
exceedingly showy. In the latter neighborhood the flowers are nearly
an inch long and the upper lip is almost all white and marked with a
crescent of crimson specks above a magenta base, and the lower lip is
almost all magenta, with a white stripe at the center, the contrast
between the magenta and white being very striking and almost too crude.
The arrangement of the flowers is somewhat suggestive of the many
stories of a Chinese pagoda and the plant is common.
[Sidenote: =Blue-lips=
_Collínsia multiflòra_
=Lilac, blue, and pink
Summer
Northwest=]
A very attractive little plant, smooth all over, about six inches tall,
with toothless, light green leaves and pretty flowers, each over half
an inch long. The upper petals are pinkish-lilac, the lower petals
a peculiar shade of bright blue, and the tube is pink; the contrast
between the blue and pink giving an odd and pretty effect. This grows
in the woods around Mt. Shasta.
There are many kinds of Scrophularia, most of them natives of Europe.
They are rank perennial herbs, usually with opposite leaves; the
corolla with no spur and with five lobes, all erect except the lowest
one, which is small and turned back; the stamens five, four of them
with anthers and the fifth reduced to a scale under the upper lip.
These plants are supposed to be a remedy for scrofula.
[Illustration: Blue-lips--C. multiflora.
Chinese Houses--Collinsia bicolor.]
[Sidenote: =California Bee-plant=
_Scrophulària Califórnica_
=Red, green
Spring, summer
Northwest, Cal.=]
This is a coarse plant, smooth, or rather sticky and hairy, with
several stout, square stems, and forming a large clump, from two to six
feet high. The little flowers have a quaint appearance, but are usually
only about a quarter of an inch long, with brownish-red or greenish
corollas, which are neither pretty nor conspicuous, but the variety
_floribúnda_, of southern California, has flowers which are nearly half
an inch long, with rich red corollas, handsome and brilliant in effect.
These plants yield a great deal of honey and are common and widely
distributed.
There are several kinds of Diplacus, much resembling Mimulus, except
that they are shrubs, with evergreen leaves.
[Sidenote: =Sticky Monkey-flower, Bush Monkey-flower=
_Diplácus longiflòrus (Mimulus)_
=Salmon-color (varying from pale yellow to red)
Spring, summer
California=]
When in full bloom, this is a handsome and very conspicuous shrub,
for the flowers are numerous and unusual in coloring, being usually a
peculiar shade of salmon-color, which at a distance gives the effect in
the landscape of some sort of exotic rhododendron. It is from two to
six feet high, with very dark green, sticky, usually toothless leaves,
with their margins rolled back, dark sticky buds and large flowers,
which are sometimes three inches long, the corolla varying in color
from almost white to scarlet, with a white stigma. They bloom more or
less all the year round and there are several similar, named varieties.
[Sidenote: =Bush Monkey-flower=
_Diplácus puníceus (Mimulus)_
=Red
Spring, summer, autumn
California=]
This is much like the last, and is often very handsome. In the crevices
of the sea-cliffs at La Jolla it makes tangled thickets of woody stems
and dark green foliage, ornamented with many scarlet or rich deep-red
flowers, with a velvety surface like that of a pansy and with orange
ribs in the throat. This is common throughout California.
[Illustration: Bush Monkey-flower--Diplacus longiflorus.]
[Illustration: California Bee-plant--Scrophularia Californica var.
floribunda.]
There are many kinds of Mimulus, or Monkey-flower, usually growing in
moist places, with erect or slanting, juicy stems; leaves opposite,
usually toothed; flowers generally handsome, on flower-stalks from
the axils of the leaves; calyx covering the tube of the corolla,
bell-shaped, five-angled and five-toothed, upper tooth usually larger;
corolla two-lipped, the upper lip with two lobes, erect or turned back,
the lower with three, rounded, spreading lobes, the tube not swollen
at base and with a pair of ridges within on the lower side; stamens
four, in pairs, not inclosed in the upper lip, their two anther-cells
spreading apart, no rudiment of a fifth stamen; style threadlike,
stigma with two, flat, spreading tips. When an insect alights it
touches the stigma, which immediately folds its tips together, thus
exposing the anthers, so that the insect becomes dusted with pollen.
This can be observed by touching the stigma with a pencil. The odd
little grinning face of these flowers suggested both the common name
and the Greek, derived from "ape."
[Sidenote: =Monkey-flower=
_Mímulus brévipes_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A very handsome plant, from one to two feet high, rather hairy and
sticky all over, with dark green leaves, usually toothless, and large,
clear bright yellow flowers, an inch and a half long, with a pair of
ridges in the throat and a pale green stigma. This grows on hillsides,
the rich green foliage and bronze-colored buds contrasting finely with
the bright flowers. The leaves are quite unlike those of the Common
Yellow Monkey-flower.
[Sidenote: =Pink Monkey-flower= _Mímulus Lewísii_ =Pink Spring,
summer West, etc.=]
A graceful mountain perennial, growing near streams, from two to three
feet tall, with bright green, toothed leaves, thin in texture, more or
less hairy, without leafstalks; the stems and buds slightly sticky.
The lovely flowers are nearly two inches long, the corolla varying
from pale pink to rose-red, with two, hairy, yellow ridges in the
throat, the stamens not protruding from the tube. This pink kind takes
the place in the high mountains of the Scarlet Monkey-flower of lower
altitudes and is found as far east as Colorado.
[Illustration: Pink Monkey-flower--Mimulus Lewisii.]
[Illustration: Monkey-flower--Mimulus brevipes.]
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Monkey-flower=
_Mímulus cardinàlis_
=Red
Spring, summer
Southwest. Oreg.=]
An exceedingly handsome kind, sometimes nearly five feet high, much
like the last, but with vivid scarlet corollas, decidedly two-lipped,
the upper lip erect and the lower lobes turned back, the stamens
protruding from the tube. I first saw these gorgeous flowers glowing
like bits of flame among the ferns and grasses that bordered a
beautiful spring in a cave in the Grand Canyon, where icy water fell on
them drop by drop through a crevice in the rocky roof far above them
and kept them glistening with moisture. This is often cultivated in
gardens.
[Sidenote: =Little Yellow Monkey-flower=
_Mímulus primuloìdes_
=Yellow
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
A charming little plant, from three to six inches tall, with pretty
delicate flowers, from half an inch to an inch long, the corolla-lobes
all alike, bright yellow, often dotted with crimson, growing singly on
the tips of very slender flower-stalks, springing from a cluster of
bright yellowish-green leaves, usually toothed, smooth, or sometimes
hairy. This grows in moist mountain meadows.
[Sidenote: =Little Pink Monkey-flower=
_Mímulus Tórreyi_
=Pink
Summer
California=]
A delicate little plant, from three inches to a foot high, rather
hairy and sticky, with very slender branching stems, yellowish-green,
toothless leaves, and bright flowers, about three-quarters of an inch
long, with almost no flower-stalks; the corolla-lobes pink, veined
with purple, the tube crimson, with two yellow ridges in the throat. A
patch of these little flowers scattered over a sandy slope in Yosemite,
sometimes growing with a tiny blue and white Lupine that likes the
same sort of place, is an exceedingly pretty sight. It grows in the
mountains, preferring moderate altitudes, becoming lower and deeper in
color in higher places.
[Sidenote: =Desert Monkey-flower=
_Mímulus Fremóntii_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
A charming little plant, something like the last but prettier, three or
four inches tall, with very slender, stiff, purplish, branching stems
and smooth, thickish, light green leaves, purplish on the under side.
The flowers are nearly an inch across, with a hairy calyx and bright
purplish-pink corolla, streaked with magenta, with yellow ridges on the
lower lip and plaits inside the throat. They look exceedingly pretty on
the pale sand of the Mojave Desert.
[Illustration: Desert Monkey-flower--M. Fremontii.
Little Pink Monkey-flower--M. Torreyi.
Little Yellow Monkey-flower--Mimulus primuloides.]
[Sidenote: =Common Yellow Monkey-flower=
_Mímulus Langsdórfii_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Southwest, Utah, etc.=]
There are several varieties of this common and attractive plant, some
tall and robust, others very short. The stems are smooth, not sticky,
thickish and pale, sometimes branching, about a foot tall, and the
leaves are from one to three inches long, smooth, or slightly downy,
especially on the under side of the upper leaves, and usually bright
green, the veins prominent on the back, the upper leaves without
leaf-stalks and more or less clasping, the lower ones with leaf-stalks
varying in length. The flowers are from three-quarters of an inch to
two inches long, clear bright yellow, the throat nearly closed and
hairy, usually with some dark red dots between the hairy ridges on the
lower lip. This grows in wet places in the mountains and in canyons,
is widely distributed in the West, and has now strayed as far east as
Connecticut.
[Sidenote: =Musk-plant=
_Mímulus moschàtus_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
This plant is more or less hairy and seems to be wet all over with
slimy dew and smells of musk. When the stems are cut and put in water
a slimy sort of mucilage drips from them. It is about ten inches tall,
with rather pretty yellow flowers, barely an inch long, with some hairs
and reddish specks in the throat. This is widely distributed, in wet
places, from Ontario westward.
There are numerous kinds of Orthocarpus, many of them Californian,
difficult to distinguish. Like Castilleja, their upper leaves often
pass into colored bracts and the calyx is colored, but the corolla is
not similar, for the upper lip is small and the three-lobed lower lip
is swollen and conspicuous; calyx short, four-cleft; stamens four, two
of them short, enclosed in the upper lip; style long, with a round-top
stigma; leaves without leaf-stalks, usually alternate, often cut into
three to five narrow divisions; fruit an oblong capsule with many
seeds. Perhaps it is called Owl's-clover because, in some kinds, the
flowers look like the faces of owls.
[Illustration: Musk-plant--M. moschatus.
Common Yellow Monkey-flower--Mimulus Langsdorfii.]
[Sidenote: =Yellow Pelican Flower=
_Orthocàrpus faucibarbàtus_
=Yellow, whitish
Spring
California=]
One of the handsomest of its kind, a fine thrifty plant, but not at
all coarse, and much prettier and more effective than the next. The
branching stem is about a foot tall, and the leaves are very light,
bright yellowish-green, and thin in texture. The flowers are about
an inch long, with very clear bright yellow "pouches" and greenish
"beaks" tipped with white. They have a curiously solid appearance,
as if carved out of yellow wax, and are very pleasing and fresh in
color, harmonizing well with the light green bracts, which give a very
feathery effect to the top of the cluster. Like most of its relations,
the flowers are more effective when we look down on them, growing among
the grass, than when they are picked and we see them in profile. The
corollas are sometimes pinkish-white. This is common in the valleys of
the Coast Ranges.
[Sidenote: =Johnny-tuck=
_Orthocàrpus eriánthus_
=Yellow
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
From five to ten inches tall, with a slender, downy, purplish stem,
often branching, dull green, downy leaves and purplish-tipped bracts.
The sulphur-yellow flowers are usually an inch long, with a magenta
"beak" and a very slender, white tube. They are pretty and very common
on plains.
[Sidenote: =Pink Johnny-tuck, Pink Popcorn Flower=
_Orthocàrpus eriánthus var. rosèus_
=Pink
Spring
California=]
A delicate little plant, from five to ten inches tall, with a slender,
downy, reddish stem, hairy, dull green leaves and bracts, and very
pretty little flowers, nearly an inch long; the corollas varying from
almost white to bright pink, but all the same shade on one plant, with
a little yellow at the center and a maroon-colored "beak." They are
deliciously sweet-scented, like violets, and grow in dry places. The
variety _versícolor_, Popcorn Beauty, has fragrant white flowers.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Owl's Clover=
_Orthocàrpus lùteus_
=Yellow
Summer
West, etc.=]
This often makes patches of bright color. It is from six to twelve
inches tall, with stiff, slender, hairy stems, hairy leaves, and
pretty bright yellow flowers, nearly half an inch long. This grows in
dry sunny places as far east as Colorado, reaching an altitude of ten
thousand feet.
[Illustration: Johnny-Tuck--Orthocarpus erianthus.
Yellow Pelican Flower--O. faucibarbatus.]
[Sidenote: =Escobita, Owl's Clover=
_Orthocàrpus densiflòrus_
=Purplish-pink
Spring
California=]
The Spanish name, which means "little broom," is very appropriate
for this pretty plant. The stiff, downy stem is from five to fifteen
inches tall and the downy leaves are light green and become tipped
with purplish-pink as they mount up the stalk. The flowers are
about three-quarters of an inch long and have a white lower lip,
which is tipped with yellow and has a crimson dot on each lobe, and
the straight, erect "beak" is crimson. The cluster is crowded with
purplish-pink and white bracts and though the flowers themselves are
not conspicuous the effect is feathery and very pretty, especially
when the plants grow in such quantities as to color a whole field
with soft pink, or when mixed with beautifully contrasting patches
of blue Lupine. This is common along the coast. _O. purpuráscens_,
common in the Northwest and Southwest, is similar, but it has a hairy
"beak," hooked at the tip, and the general effect is handsomer and much
brighter in color, but less feathery.
[Sidenote: =Owl's Clover=
_Orthocàrpus purpureo-álbus_
=Pink and White
Summer
Ariz., Utah, New Mex.=]
An interesting annual plant, quite pretty, about a foot high, the
stem sometimes branching and the branches suggesting those of a
candelabrum, clothed with soft, finely divided, dull green leaves
and ending in spikes of green bracts and pretty little flowers,
three-quarters of an inch long. The calyx is green, the upper lip of
the corolla is purplish-pink and the lower lip is swollen, three-lobed
and cream-white, turning pink in fading. This grows in dry places at
altitudes of from six to eight thousand feet. Only one of the branches
is given in the picture.
[Sidenote: =Owl's Clover=
_Orthocàrpus exsértus_
=White and pink
Spring, summer
California=]
A pretty little plant, from six to eight inches high, with hairy leaves
cut into narrow divisions and passing into pinkish-lilac bracts towards
the top of the stalk, which are mixed with pink and white flowers, each
about an inch long, so that the effect of the whole is a spike of pink
and white. The lower lip of the corolla is white and the upper lip is
pink, with a furry tip. This grows in fields. _O. attenuàtus_, common
in fields in the Northwest, is a slender inconspicuous kind, about
nine inches tall, with soft, thin, dull green leaves, most of them not
lobed, and pale green bracts, often tipped with white. The corollas are
dull white, the lower lip dotted with purple or yellow, and the whole
effect of the cluster is feathery, very slender, and pale in color.
[Illustration: Owl's-clover--O. purpureo-albus.
Escobita--Orthocarpus densiflorus.
Owl's-clover--O. exsertus.]
There are a good many kinds of Pedicularis, usually with finely-cut
leaves and spikes of queerly-shaped flowers, usually yellow, sometimes
red or white; the corolla conspicuously two-lipped, the upper lip
hood-like, long and narrow, the lower lip three-lobed; the stamens
four, two of them short, in the upper lip; the capsule flattened or
compressed, beaked, splitting open, and containing many seeds. These
plants are supposed to cause lice in sheep that feed on them, so they
have the ugly name of Lousewort, both in English and Latin.
[Sidenote: =Indian Warrior=
_Pediculàris densiflòra_
=Crimson
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A robust and very decorative plant, with rich coloring. The stout,
purplish stems are slightly hairy, from nine inches to nearly two
feet tall, and spring from a graceful cluster of large leaves, which
are crisp in texture and smooth or slightly downy, rich green and
often tinged with bronze. The flowers are an inch or more long, with
purplish, hairy calyxes and crimson corollas, and form a very handsome
though rather coarse-looking cluster, mixed with purplish bracts,
and finely shaded in color, from the carmine buds at the top to the
wine-color of the faded flowers at the base. This grows on wooded
hillsides and in deep shade. The flowers are sometimes white.
[Sidenote: =Duck-bill=
_Pediculàris ornithorhýncha_
=Pink
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]
This is an odd-looking plant, about six inches tall, with a stout,
purplish stem, woolly at the top, springing from a pretty cluster of
smooth, bright green leaves. The flowers are about three-quarters of
an inch long, with purplish, woolly calyxes and bright pink corollas,
which are veined and tipped with deeper color, with purplish bracts.
They are very eccentric in shape and the upper lip has a ludicrous
resemblance to the head of a duck. This grows in the mountains.
[Illustration: Duck-bill--P. ornithorhynca.
Indian Warrior--Pedicularis densiflora.]
[Sidenote: =Alpine Betony=
_Pediculàris centranthèra_
=Magenta and white
Spring
Utah, Ariz., New Mex.=]
This grows in dry rocky soil at high altitudes, forming a low clump
of pretty bronze-colored leaves, cut into many small crinkled lobes,
and giving the effect of stiff little ferns, with a short spike of
oddly pretty flowers, each over an inch long, with a purplish, hairy
calyx and a corolla with a white tube and magenta lips, the anthers
projecting like sharp little teeth from under the arching upper lip.
_P. semibarbàta_, growing in dry woods in Yosemite, forms a rosette of
crinkled bronze foliage, with short spikes of yellow flowers.
[Sidenote: =Elephants' Heads, Butterfly-tongue=
_Pediculàris Groenlándica_
=Pink
Summer
West, etc.=]
A handsome plant, with quaint flowers. The smooth, slender, purplish
stem is a foot or more tall, with a few alternate leaves, and springs
from a cluster of smooth, fern-like foliage, much like that of _P.
ornithorhyncha_, often tinged with bronze, and bears a long, crowded
spike of many flowers. They are slightly fragrant, about three-quarters
of an inch long, with purplish calyxes and deep pink or reddish
corollas, which look absurdly like little elephants' heads. This grows
in the mountains, across the continent.
BROOM-RAPE FAMILY. _Orobanchaceae._
A rather small family, resembling Scrophulariaceae, widely distributed;
parasitic herbs, without green foliage, with alternate scales instead
of leaves; flowers perfect, irregular; calyx five-cleft, or split on
one or both sides; corolla two-lipped; stamens four, in pairs, with
slender filaments, on the corolla-tube (sometimes also the rudiment of
a fifth stamen); ovary superior, style slender, stigma disk-like, with
two or four lobes; fruit a capsule.
There are several kinds of Thalesia.
[Sidenote: =One-flowered Cancer-root=
_Thalèsia uniflòra (Orobanche)_
=Purplish
Spring, summer
Northwest, Utah, etc.=]
A queer little thing, but pretty and delicate, with a very short stem,
mostly underground, bearing one or more slender, slightly hairy, dull
yellow, scaly flower-stems from three to eight inches tall, each with a
single flower, less than an inch long, with a dull yellow, hairy calyx,
and a hairy, lilac corolla, tinged with dull yellow and veined with
purple, with two yellow ridges in the throat. This is not common and is
found across the continent.
[Illustration: Alpine Betony--Pedicularis centranthera.
Elephants' Heads--P. Groenlandica.
One-flowered Cancer-root--Thalesia uniflora.]
MADDER FAMILY. _Rubiaceae._
A large family, widely distributed, chiefly tropical. Ours are herbs,
or shrubs; leaves opposite or in whorls; flowers regular, usually
perfect; calyx with four teeth or none; corolla with four or five
united lobes, often hairy inside; stamens on the corolla, as many as
its lobes and alternate with them; ovary inferior, with one or two
styles; fruit a capsule, berry, or stone-fruit. Coffee, Quinine, and
Madder, used for dye, belong to this family. I am told that the latter
plant is escaping around Salt Lake and is well established there. The
Latin name means "red."
There are many kinds of Houstonia, North American, usually growing
in tufts, leaves opposite; flowers small; calyx four-lobed; corolla
funnel-form or salver-form, four-lobed; style slender, with two
long stigmas; fruit a capsule. Sometimes the flowers are perfect,
but usually they are of two kinds, one kind with high anthers and
short pistil, the other kind with long pistil and anthers inside the
corolla-tube; visiting insects carry pollen from the high anthers of
the one to the high stigmas of the other, and from the low anthers to
the low stigmas, thus ensuring cross-pollination.
[Sidenote: =Desert Innocence=
_Houstònia rùbra_
=Pink and white
Summer
Arizona=]
A pretty little desert plant, about two inches high, forming close
tufts of sage-green foliage, like harsh moss, with stiff needle-like
leaves and woody stems, sprinkled with charming little pink and white
flowers. The corolla is three-eighths of an inch across, with a long
slender tube, the stamens lilac, and the odd little nodding capsules
have two round lobes. This grows in the dreadful sandy wastes of the
Petrified Forest.
[Sidenote: =Kelloggia=
_Kellóggia galioìdes_
=Spring, summer
White, pink, yellowish
West, etc.=]
The only kind, a slender little plant, from six inches to a foot tall,
usually with smooth leaves, with small stipules. The tiny flowers are
white, pink, or greenish-yellow, with a bristly calyx, and the corolla
usually has four petals, but sometimes five or three; the stigmas two.
The fruit is covered with hooked bristles. This grows in mountain
woods, as far east as Wyoming.
[Illustration: Kelloggia galioides.
Desert Innocence--Houstonia rubra.]
There are many kinds of Galium, widely distributed; sometimes shrubs;
stems square; leaves in whorls, without stipules; flowers small,
usually perfect, in clusters; calyx usually with no border; corolla
wheel-shaped, four-lobed; stamens four, short; ovary two-lobed; styles
two, short, with round-top stigmas; fruit dry or fleshy, consisting
of two similar, rounded parts, each with one seed. The common name,
Bed-straw, comes from a tradition that the manger of the Infant Christ
was filled with these plants. Other names are Goose-grass and Cleavers.
[Sidenote: =Northern Bed-straw=
_Gàlium boreàle_
=White
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
A rather attractive, smooth, perennial, with a stout, leafy stem,
sometimes branching, and the leaves in fours, with three veins, the
margins sometimes rough and hairy. The small flowers are white and so
numerous as to be quite pretty. The fruit is small, at first bristly,
but smooth when ripe. This grows in northern mountains across the
continent, also in Europe and Asia, up to ten thousand feet.
VALERIAN FAMILY. _Valerianaceae._
Not a large family, widely distributed, most abundant in the northern
hemisphere; herbs, with opposite leaves and no stipules; flowers
usually perfect, rather small, in clusters; the calyx sometimes
lacking, or small, but often becoming conspicuous in fruit; corolla
somewhat irregular, tube sometimes swollen or spurred at base, lobes
united and spreading, usually five; stamens one to four, with slender
filaments, on the corolla, alternate with its lobes; ovary inferior,
with one to three cells, only one containing an ovule, the others
empty; style slender; fruit dry, not splitting open, containing one
seed.
There are many kinds of Valerianella, much alike, distinguished
principally by their fruits.
[Sidenote: =Corn-salad=
_Valerianélla macrosèra (Plectritis)_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Northwest, Cal.=]
This has a juicy stem, from a few inches to over a foot tall, springing
from a clump of smooth, very bright green leaves, and bearing most of
the flowers at the top, in a small close cluster, with narrow purplish
bracts. They are tiny, with a slightly irregular corolla, light pink,
with two tiny crimson dots on each side of the lowest lobe, three
dark brown anthers, and a calyx without a border. This is rather
pretty, growing in long grass in damp places, but the flowers are too
small to be effective.
[Illustration: Corn-salad--Valerianella macrosera.
Northern Bedstraw--Galium boreale.]
There are many kinds of Valerian, rather tall perennials, chiefly of
cool regions and some in the Andes. They are more or less bad-smelling
plants, especially the root; the leaves mostly from the base and the
small flowers in terminal clusters, some of them perfect, some with
stamens and pistils on separate plants, some with the two sorts mixed;
the calyx with from five to fifteen bristle-like teeth, curled up and
inconspicuous in flower, but spread out and feathery in fruit; the
corolla white or pink, more or less funnel-form, with five nearly
equal lobes; the stamens three; the style sometimes with three minute
lobes. The name is from the Latin, meaning "strong," in allusion to the
medicinal properties.
[Sidenote: =Wild Valerian=
_Valeriàna sitchénsis_
=White, pinkish
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]
A very handsome and attractive plant, much like the kind that is
cultivated in gardens. It grows from one to three feet tall, from a
creeping rootstock, with smooth, juicy, hollow stems and handsome
bright green foliage. The leaves are smooth and the leaflets of the
stem-leaves are coarsely toothed. The flowers are white or pinkish,
with pink buds, and are crowded in fine large, rather flat-topped
clusters. The stamens are long and give a pretty feathery appearance
to the cluster. The flowers are strongly sweet-scented, but the roots
usually have a horrible smell when they are broken. _V. sylvática_
looks much the same, but the leaves are mostly toothless, and it is
widely distributed in the United States, both East and West, also
growing in Asia. Both are woodland plants, liking rich moist soil.
[Sidenote: =Arizona Valerian=
_Valeriàna Arizònica_
=Pink
Spring
Arizona=]
An attractive plant, from three to nine inches tall, with smooth hollow
stems, smooth leaves, and pretty clusters of flowers, but not nearly so
large as the last. They are purplish-pink and slightly sweet-scented.
This grows in crevices in the rocks in moist places.
[Illustration: White Valerian--Valeriana sitchensis.]
[Illustration: Arizona Valerian--Valeriana Arizonica.]
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY. _Caprifoliaceae._
Not a large family, mostly of the northern hemisphere; herbs,
shrubs, shrubby vines or trees; leaves opposite, usually without
stipules; flowers perfect, regular or irregular; calyx with three to
five divisions; corolla usually with five united lobes, sometimes
two-lipped; stamens on the corolla tube, usually as many as its lobes
and alternate with them; ovary inferior, with one style; fruit a berry,
stone-fruit, or capsule.
There are many kinds of Lonicera, shrubs, or twining woody vines;
leaves usually without teeth or lobes, the upper ones sometimes united
around the stem; flowers usually irregular; calyx with five, minute
teeth; corolla more or less funnel-shaped, often two-lipped, four lobes
forming the upper lip and one lobe the under, tube often swollen at
base; stamens five; style with a cap-like stigma; fruit berrylike.
[Sidenote: =Orange Honeysuckle=
_Lonicèra ciliòsa_
=Orange and scarlet
Summer
Northwest=]
A climbing or trailing shrub, with brilliant flowers, set off by bright
green leaves, thin in texture, with pale "bloom" on the under side and
usually hairy margins, the lower ones with short leaf-stalks, the upper
usually united and forming a disk. The flowers are scentless, about an
inch and a quarter long, with smooth, trumpet-shaped corollas, bright
orange at base, shading to scarlet above, with a bright green stigma
and crimson or brownish anthers. This lives in the woods and sometimes
climbs to the tops of quite tall trees, ornamenting them with its
splendid clusters of flowers and sprinkling the forest floor with its
fallen blossoms in a shower of scarlet and gold.
[Sidenote: =Black Twinberry=
_Lonicèra involucràta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West=]
A bush, from three to seven feet high, with thick, woody, pale gray
stems and bright green leaves, glossy and thin in texture, or rather
coarse and hairy, with fine hairs along the margins. The flower-stalks
each bear a pair of flowers, without scent, emerging from an involucre
of two bracts. The corolla is rather hairy and sticky, half an inch or
more long, a pretty shade of warm dull yellow, sometimes tinged with
red outside, with five, short, nearly equal lobes, the tube swollen at
base. The involucre becomes dark red, its lobes turn back and display
a pair of berries, disagreeable to the taste, as large as peas, nearly
black, the whole affair striking in color and form. This grows in
moist mountain woods and seems to have smoother, glossier foliage, and
smaller flowers, in Utah than elsewhere.
[Illustration: Orange Honeysuckle--L. ciliosa.
Black Twinberry--Lonicera involucrata.]
[Sidenote: =Pink Honeysuckle=
_Lonicèra hispídula_
=Pink
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]
Rather pretty, with a woody trunk and hairy twigs, climbing over shrubs
and trees, sometimes to a height of twenty feet. The leaves are pale on
the under side, the upper ones usually united around the stem, and the
flowers are about three-quarters of an inch long, with pink corollas
and long stamens, and form long clusters, which are pretty but not
effective, though the translucent, orange-red berries are handsome and
conspicuous. This varies very much, especially in hairiness and color
of the foliage, and is quite common in canyons and along streams in the
Coast Ranges. The Yellow Honeysuckle, _L. Califórnica_, is similar, but
with smooth branches and leaves and pale yellow flowers; growing in
Oregon and northern California.
There are two kinds of Linnaea.
[Sidenote: =Twin-flower=
_Linnaèa boreàlis var. Americàna_
=Pink
Summer
Northwest, Utah, etc.=]
One of the loveliest of woodland plants; the long, woody stems trail
over the ground and send up straight, slender branches, a few inches
tall, clothed with leathery, evergreen leaves, bright green and glossy,
and terminating in a slender, slightly hairy flower-stalk, which bears
a pair of little nodding flowers, about half an inch long, hanging
on very slender pedicels, with two bracts. The corollas are regular,
with five lobes, delicate pink, veined with deeper color and paler
at the margins, with a white pistil and four, white stamens, not
protruding. The fruit is roundish and dry, with one seed. This often
carpets the forest floor with its glossy foliage, ornamenting the moss
with its fairy-like blossoms, which perfume the air with a fragrance
like Heliotrope. It is found in cold, mountain woods, up to thirteen
thousand feet, across the continent and also in Europe and Asia, and
was named after Linnaeus because it was a favorite of his.
[Illustration: Pink Honeysuckle--Lonicera hispidula.
Twin-flower--Linnaea borealis var. Americana.]
There are several kinds of Symphoricarpos, of North America and
Mexico; low, branching shrubs, with small leaves, scaly leaf-buds,
and small, pink or white flowers, with two bracts, in clusters; the
calyx roundish, with four or five teeth; the corolla regular, more or
less bell-shaped, with four or five lobes; the fruit a roundish, white
or red berry, containing two bony seeds. We often find Snowberries
cultivated in old-fashioned gardens.
[Sidenote: =Snowberry=
_Symphoricàrpos racemòsus_
=Pink
Spring, summer
U. S.=]
An attractive shrub, about four feet high, with slender branches and
yellowish twigs. The pretty leaves are mostly smooth, rich green, but
not glossy, paler and sometimes downy on the under side, thin, but
rather crisp in texture, usually with a few shallow scallops along
the margins. The flowers are about a quarter of an inch long, with
bell-shaped corollas, purplish-pink outside, white and woolly in the
inside, the stamens and style not protruding. The berry is large and
pure-white, with white, almost tasteless pulp, which is said to be
slightly poisonous. This is very common in California, in the hill
country, and is found across the continent.
[Sidenote: =Snowberry=
_Symphoricàrpos longiflòrus_
=White
Summer
Arizona=]
A straggling shrub, from two to three feet high, with small, slightly
velvety, rather pale green leaves, white on the under side, sometimes
set edgewise on the stem. The flowers are about half an inch long, with
a slender, white, salver-form corolla, with widely separating lobes and
very smooth inside, the anthers partially protruding from the throat,
and the pretty berries are waxy-white. This grows at the Grand Canyon.
[Sidenote: =Snowberry=
_Symphoricàrpos oreóphilus_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Idaho, Utah, Ariz.=]
A branching shrub, not especially pretty, about three feet high, with
shreddy bark, pinkish twigs, and light, bluish-green, toothless leaves,
usually smooth. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a tubular
corolla, with short lobes, flesh-color, tinged with purplish-pink, the
stamens and style not protruding and the buds purplish-pink. This grows
in the mountains, up to eight or ten thousand feet.
[Illustration: S. oreophilus.
S. longiflorus.
Snowberry--Symphoricarpos racemosus.]
GOURD FAMILY. _Cucurbitaceae._
A large family, chiefly of the tropics, climbing or trailing,
herbaceous vines, usually with tendrils, rather juicy, with no
stipules; leaves alternate, with leaf-stalks, usually lobed or cut;
flowers some staminate and some pistillate; calyx bell-shaped or
tubular, usually five-lobed; petals mostly united, usually five, on the
calyx; stamens generally three, with short filaments, often united;
ovary inferior; fruit fleshy, often with a hard rind, usually with flat
seeds.
There are many kinds of Micrampelis, natives of America.
[Sidenote: =Chilicothe, Wild Cucumber=
_Micrámpelis fabàcea (Echinocystis)_
=White
Summer
California=]
A graceful, decorative vine, with many tendrils and spreading to a
great distance, sometimes as much as thirty feet, partly climbing over
bushes and partly on the ground, springing from an enormous bitter root
as large as a man's body, the leaves slightly rough. The pretty little
flowers are half an inch across, the calyx with small teeth or with
none and the corolla cream-white, with from five to seven lobes; the
staminate flowers in loose clusters and the pistillate ones single. The
fruit is peculiar and conspicuous, a big green ball, very prickly and
measuring two inches across. The Indians used to make hair-oil out of
the seeds. This is also called Big-root and Man-in-the-ground.
There are several kinds of Cucurbita, natives of America, Asia, and
Africa. This is the Latin name for the Gourd.
[Sidenote: =Calabazilla, Gourd=
_Cucúrbita foetidíssima_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, etc.=]
This is a near relation of the common Pumpkin and Squash and resembles
them. It is an exceedingly coarse, but very decorative vine, with
bristly stems, trailing on the ground and sometimes twenty-five feet
long. The leaves are about eight inches long, bluish-gray, thick and
velvety, covered with bristles and exceedingly unpleasant to touch but
handsome in appearance. The gaudy flowers measure five or six inches
across, with a bristly calyx and bell-shaped, orange-yellow corolla.
The root is enormous, sometimes six feet long, the fruit is a smooth,
yellow gourd, and the whole plant has a horrible smell. This is found
in dry soil, from Nebraska west, and is common in southern California.
[Illustration: Chilicothe--Micrampelis fabacea.]
BELLFLOWER FAMILY. _Campanulaceae._
A large family, widely distributed. Ours are small herbs, with bitter
milky juice; leaves alternate, without stipules; flowers perfect,
usually with five sepals; corolla with five united lobes; stamens five;
ovary inferior, style long, sometimes hairy, with two to five stigmas,
which do not expand until some time after the flower opens.
There are a great many kinds of Campanula; ours are chiefly perennials,
with more or less bell-shaped corollas; the capsule tipped with the
remains of the calyx and opening at the sides by minute holes. The name
is from the Latin, meaning "little bell."
[Sidenote: =Harebell, Blue Bells of Scotland=
_Campánula rotundifòlia_
=Violet
Summer
West, etc.=]
This is the well-known kind, sung by the poets, and found across our
continent and in Europe and Asia, reaching an altitude of twelve
thousand feet. A charming, graceful little plant, with slender stems,
from six inches to two feet tall, springing from a cluster of dull
green, roundish or heart-shaped leaves, which usually wither away
before the flowers bloom; the stem-leaves long and narrow. The flowers
hang on threadlike pedicels, usually in a loose cluster, and are less
than an inch long, violet or blue and paler at the base, with a long
white pistil and pale yellow or lilac anthers. Neither the plants nor
the flowers are nearly so fragile as they look, for the stems are wiry
and the flowers are slightly papery in texture. This plant is variable
and may include more than one kind. It seems hardly necessary to remark
that it is not to be confused with _Calochortus albus_, which is
unfortunately sometimes called Hairbell and is entirely different, but
I have several times been asked whether they were the same.
[Sidenote: =Bellflower=
_Campánula Scoúleri_
=White, lilac
Summer
Northwest, Cal.=]
A pretty little plant, with smooth, slender stems, from six to eight
inches tall, and smooth, toothed leaves. The flowers are in a loose
cluster and are more the shape of little Lilies than of Blue Bells,
white tinged with lilac, or pale blue, with yellow anthers and a
long pistil with three pink stigmas. The California Harebell, _C.
prenanthoìdes_, has blue flowers, similar in shape.
[Illustration: Bell-flower--Campanula Scouleri.
Harebell--C. rotundifolia.]
SUNFLOWER FAMILY. _Compositae._
The youngest and largest plant family, comprising about seven hundred
and fifty genera and ten thousand species, highly specialized for
insect pollination, easily recognized as a whole, but many of its
members difficult to distinguish. Some tropical kinds are trees; ours
are usually herbs, sometimes shrubs, without stipules; the leaves
opposite, alternate or from the root; the flowers all small and crowded
in heads, on the enlarged top of the flower-stalk, which is called
the "receptacle," and surrounded by a common involucre of separate
bracts, few or many, arranged in one or more rows; the receptacle also
sometimes having scale-like or bristle-like bracts among the flowers,
its surface smooth, or variously pitted and honey-combed. The flowers
are sometimes perfect, or with only pistils, or only stamens, or with
stamens and pistils on different plants, or all kinds mixed. The
calyx-tube is sometimes a mere ring, or its margin consists of hairs,
bristles or scales, called the "pappus." The corollas are chiefly of
two sorts; they are tubular and usually have five lobes or teeth, but
often the flowers around the margin of the head are strap-shaped, that
is, the border of the corolla is expanded into what is called a "ray."
For instance, the yellow center, or "disk," of a Daisy is composed
of a crowded mass of tiny tube-shaped flowers, which is surrounded
by a circle of white, strap-shaped flowers, or rays, which look like
petals. A Thistle, on the other hand, has no rays and the head is
made up of tube-shaped flowers only. Stamens usually five, on the
corolla-tube, alternate with its lobes, anthers usually united into a
tube surrounding the style, which has two branches in fertile flowers,
but usually undivided in sterile flowers; ovary inferior, one-celled,
maturing into an akene, often tipped with hairs from the pappus to
waft it about, or with hooks or barbs to catch in fur of animals.
(Descriptions of genera have been omitted as too technical.)
There are many kinds of Carduus (Cnicus) (Cirsium), widely distributed;
with tubular flowers only.
[Sidenote: =Thistle=
_Càrduus Còulteri_
=Pink, crimson
Spring, summer
California=]
A strikingly handsome, branching plant, from three to seven feet high,
with light green leaves, very decorative in form, more or less downy
on the upper side and pale with down on the under. The flower-heads,
about two inches long, have bright lilac-pink or crimson flowers and
more or less woolly involucres. This grows in the hills and mountains
of the Coast Ranges.
[Illustration: Thistle--Carduus Coulteri.]
[Sidenote: =Arizona Thistle=
_Càrduus Arizònicus_
=Pink
Summer
Arizona=]
A very striking and decorative plant, both in form and color, from two
to six feet tall, with a pale, branching, leafy stem, covered with
close, white down, springing from a cluster of large root-leaves. The
leaves are gray-green, covered with white down, and show great beauty
of design, being sharply and symmetrically lobed and toothed, the
margins armed with long yellow prickles. The flower-heads are an inch
and a half long, with beautiful carmine and pale-pink flowers, all with
no tinge of purple, the vivid spots of color giving a very brilliant
effect in contrast with the pale foliage. This grows in the Grand
Canyon and is conspicuous along the Berry trail, a little way below the
rim.
[Sidenote: =Thistle=
_Càrduus candadíssimus_
=Pink, crimson
Summer
California=]
A very handsome and decorative plant, about three feet tall, with
spreading stems, covered with white down, and dull-green leaves, pale
with down on the under side and often covered with white down all over.
The handsome flower-heads are two inches or more long and have deep
pink or crimson flowers and very woolly involucres.
[Sidenote: =California Thistle=
_Càrduus Califórnicus_
=White
Spring
California=]
A branching plant, from two to six feet tall, very leafy below,
with very dark bluish-green leaves, with more or less woolly down
on the upper side and pale with matted down on the under side. The
flower-heads are nearly three inches across, with cream-white or rarely
purple flowers, and the bracts are caught together with silky, cobwebby
down. This is common in the Sierra Nevada.
[Sidenote: =Western Thistle=
_Càrduus occidentàlis_
=Red, purple
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
A stout plant, two or three feet high, with large prickly leaves, and
more or less covered all over with cottony wool. The flower-head is
about two inches long, and nearly as wide, and is a ball of white,
cobwebby wool, pierced all over with brown spines, and tipped with
wine-colored flowers. This is common on sandy hills, near the coast,
from San Francisco south. Yellow-spined Thistle, _C. ochrocéntrus_,
found in Nevada and Arizona and as far east as Colorado, has purple
flowers and leaves deeply slashed and armed with long yellow spines.
This grows at the Grand Canyon.
[Illustration: Arizona Thistle--Carduus Arizonicus.]
[Illustration: Thistles.
Carduus Californicus.
C. candadissimus.]
There are a good many kinds of Anaphalis, natives of the north
temperate zone, but only one in North America.
[Sidenote: =Pearly Everlasting=
_Anáphalis margaritàcea_
=White
Summer
U. S., etc.=]
This is the prettiest of the Everlastings, from one to three feet
tall, with a leafy stem, covered with white wool, and alternate,
toothless leaves, which are rather long and narrow, gray-green and more
or less woolly on the upper side, pale and woolly on the under. The
flower-heads are numerous, forming close, roundish clusters. The heads
are without rays, but the tiny, yellow, tubular flowers are surrounded
by many small, white, papery bracts, resembling petals, making the
involucre the conspicuous feature and forming a pretty little, round,
white head. This is common in dry places, East and West, and found in
Asia. There is a picture in Mathews' _Field Book_. Rosy Everlasting,
_Antennària ròsea_, has the same general appearance, but the bracts are
pink, giving a pretty pink tint to the flower-cluster, and is found
in the Northwest at high altitudes. Another kind of Everlasting is
_Gnaphàlium microcéphalum_, Cudweed, a mountain plant of the Northwest
and California, with similar foliage, but with larger, looser clusters
of cream-white flowers, conspicuous at a distance, though not pretty
close by. There is a picture of a similar species in Mathews' _Field
Book_.
There are several kinds of Encelia.
[Sidenote: =Encelia=
_Encèlia eriocéphala_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A handsome, desert plant, with rough, purplish stems, a foot and a
half tall, dull-green, hairy leaves, and flowers over an inch across,
in loose clusters, with bright golden-yellow rays, yellow centers, and
woolly involucres. This makes fine conspicuous clumps of bright color
on the pale desert sand.
[Sidenote: =Golden Hills, Brittle-bush=
_Encèlia farinòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
A conspicuous shrubby plant, from two to four feet high, with many
stout, branching stems, grayish, downy twigs, and large clumps
of downy, gray-green leaves, from which spring the long, slender
flower-stalks, bearing loose clusters of handsome flowers. They are
each over an inch and a quarter across, with bright yellow rays and
orange centers and are well set off by the rather pale foliage. This
grows on hillsides among the rocks and gives a golden hue which may be
seen at a distance of seven or eight miles.
[Illustration: Golden Hills--Encelia farinosa.
Encelia frutescens.]
[Sidenote: =California Encelia=
_Encèlia Califórnica_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A handsome conspicuous shrub, two feet or more high, gray and downy
when young but becoming smoother and greener, with downy, reddish
twigs, dark green leaves, and numerous flowers, on long flower-stalks.
They are two or three inches across, with three-toothed, bright yellow
rays and very dark maroon or brown centers, specked with yellow, and
velvety or hairy involucres. This grows on sea-cliffs, where it makes
very effective masses of color, in fine contrast to the blue of the sea
below and the sky above.
[Sidenote: _Encèlia frutéscens_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A rather straggling shrub, about two feet high, with whitish, woody
stems, pale reddish twigs, and bright green leaves, which are roughened
with minute prickles on the margins and under sides, but look quite
shiny. The flower-heads are over half an inch long, in western Arizona
usually without any rays, and are not especially pretty, like a starved
Sunflower whose rays have shrivelled away in the dry heat of the
desert, but the effect of the foliage, which suggests little apple
leaves, is decidedly attractive in the arid sandy places it frequents.
There are many kinds of Helianthus, natives of the New World.
[Sidenote: =Common Sunflower=
_Heliánthus ánnuus_
=Yellow
Summer
West, etc.=]
A handsome kind, with a rough stem, from two to ten feet tall,
roughish leaves, more or less toothed, the upper alternate, the lower
opposite, and a flower-head from two to four inches across, with
bright golden-yellow, toothless rays, a maroon center, and a very dark
green involucre, with stiff, overlapping bracts. This is larger in
cultivation and is a very useful plant, for its flowers yield honey and
a yellow dye, its seeds oil and food, the leaves are good for fodder,
and the stalks for textile fiber. It is common nearly everywhere along
roadsides, as far east as Missouri, and is found as a stray in the
East.
[Illustration: California Encelia--E. Californica.
Encelia frutescens.
Common Sunflower--Helianthus annuus.]
[Sidenote: =Sunflower=
_Heliánthus fasciculàris_
=Yellow
Spring
Nev., Ariz., etc.=]
A handsome kind, forming a clump from two to four feet high, with
several leafy, rough stems and harsh, rather shiny leaves. The fine
flowers measure four inches across, with bright yellow rays, deeper
yellow centers, and bronze, rough, rather resinous involucres. This is
common around Reno and grows in dry mountain valleys as far east as
Colorado.
[Sidenote: =Hairy Golden Aster=
_Chrysópsis villòsa_
=Yellow
Summer
Arizona, etc.=]
A striking plant, quite handsome, with a hairy, pale, leafy stem,
from six inches to two feet tall, and gray-green, rather velvety
leaves, generally toothless. The flowers are an inch or more across,
with bright golden-yellow rays and centers of the same shade, growing
singly, or in a more or less crowded cluster at the top of the stalk.
This is common in open ground and dry hills, up to an altitude of ten
thousand feet, as far east as Alabama, and there are many varieties.
The Greek name means "golden aspect."
[Sidenote: =Velvet-rosette=
_Psathyròtes ánnua_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A curious and pretty little desert plant, that looks as if it were
trying to protect itself from cold rather than heat, as its pretty
foliage and stems seem all made of silvery, gray velvet, forming
a symmetrical rosette, dotted with the small, rayless, yellow
flower-heads, like fuzzy buttons. The rosette is decorative in form,
about a foot across, spreading flat and close to the ground, and is
conspicuous on the bare sand of the desert. Only one of the branches is
given in the picture.
[Sidenote: =Easter Daisy, Ground Daisy=
_Townséndia exscàpa_
=Pink
Spring
Ariz., New Mex. to Saskatchewan=]
This is a charming and quaint little plant, with close, downy rosettes
of small, gray-green leaves and two or three, pretty, daisy-like
flowers, all crowded together close to the ground. The flowers are over
an inch across, with numerous, pale-pink rays, deeper pink on the under
side, and a bright yellow center, and when they bloom in early spring,
on bare rocky soil, they are exceedingly attractive.
There are a great many kinds of Erigeron, widely distributed, most
abundant in the New World, easily confused with Asters, but usually
with numerous and finer rays, so that the effect is more delicate.
[Illustration: Easter Daisy--Townsendia exscapa.]
[Illustration: Velvet-rosette--Psathyrotes annua.
Hairy Golden Aster--Chrysopsis villosa.
Sunflower--Helianthus fascicularis.]
[Sidenote: =Fleabane=
_Erígeron Bréweri_
=Purple
Summer
California=]
This is rather pretty, with slender, brittle, downy stems, from six to
eighteen inches tall, and small, narrow, rough, dull green leaves. The
flowers grow singly, at the ends of short leafy branches, and are each
less than an inch across, with rather few violet or pinkish-purple rays
and a yellow center. This is common around Yosemite and looks a good
deal like an Aster.
[Sidenote: =Whip-lash Fleabane=
_Erígeron flagellàris_
=White, pink
Summer
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]
A rather odd-looking plant, with numerous, very slender, weak,
branching stems, trailing on the ground, and very small, toothless,
grayish-green, downy leaves, forming a rather dense, low bush, about
two and a half feet across, the long sprays interlacing and dotted
here and there with pretty little flowers, with numerous fine, white,
pink-tipped rays and a yellow center. The sprays often take root at
the tip. This grows in the Grand Canyon, and is found as far east as
Colorado.
[Sidenote: =Rayless Fleabane=
_Erígeron concínnus var. aphanáctis_
=Yellow
Spring
Utah, Nev., Cal. etc.=]
A rather attractive little plant, forming small clumps, about five
inches high, with several very hairy stems and light dull green, very
hairy leaves. The many flower-heads are less than half an inch across,
deep yellow, without rays. This grows on dry plains and mesas, as far
east as Colorado, and has a rather starved appearance.
[Sidenote: =Spreading Fleabane=
_Erígeron divérgens_
=Violet
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
A dear little common plant, from six to fifteen inches high, with
several slender, branching, hairy stems, and soft, hairy, gray-green
leaves, the upper ones small and narrow, without leaf-stalks and the
lower ones sometimes with two or three lobes and with leaf-stalks. The
flower-heads, several or many, on slender flower-stalks, measure nearly
an inch across in spring, but are smaller in summer, and have numerous
very narrow rays, white towards the center, shading to bright violet
or pink at the tips, with a bright yellow center. This often grows in
quantities on dry plains and mountain-sides, as far east as Texas, and
is quite charming, the tufts of foliage, dotted with pretty delicate
little flowers, not touching each other, but sprinkled over a large
space, recalling the little flowers in early Italian pictures. _E.
pùmilis_, of the Northwest and Utah, is much the same, with white rays.
[Illustration: Spreading Fleabane--E. divergens.
E Breweri.
Whip-lash Fleabane--Erigeron flagellaris.
Rayless Fleabane--E. concinnus var. aphanactis.]
[Sidenote: =Large Mountain Fleabane=
_Erígeron salsuginòsus_
=Lilac
Summer
West, etc.=]
A large, handsome kind, abundant in the higher mountains and growing in
moist places, as far east as Colorado. The stems are downy and leafy,
from one to two feet tall, the leaves are smooth or slightly hairy,
with bristle-like points, and the flowers are an inch and a half or
more across, with bright yellow centers and clear bright lilac rays,
not very narrow.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Fleabane=
_Erígeron àureus (Aplopappus Brandegei)_
=Yellow
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]
A little alpine plant, about three inches tall, with downy stems,
thickish, gray-green leaves, covered with close white down and forming
a mat of foliage on the rocks at high altitudes. The flowers are rather
more than half an inch across, with a woolly involucre, dark yellow
center, and deep yellow rays, an unusual color among Fleabanes.
[Sidenote: =Seaside Daisy, Beach Aster=
_Erígeron glàucus_
=Violet, pink
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
Very cheerful, sturdy-looking flowers, with stout, hairy stems, four
to ten inches tall, and stiffish, slightly hairy leaves, rather pale
in color. The handsome flowers are an inch and a half across, with
numerous violet, lilac, or pink rays and rather dark yellow centers.
This grows near the sea and is common on cliffs and sandy shores, where
it makes beautiful spots of bright color.
[Sidenote: =Skevish, Philadelphia Fleabane=
_Erígeron Philadélphicus_
=Pink, mauve
Spring, summer
U. S.=]
A pretty perennial, from one to three feet tall, usually soft and
hairy, the slender stems usually branching above and most of the leaves
toothed. The flowers usually form a loose cluster at the top, the buds
drooping, and the heads are from half an inch to an inch across, with
yellow centers and a very feathery fringe of pink or pinkish rays.
This grows in fields and woods. There is a picture in Mathews' _Field
Book_. _E. Còulteri_, the large White Mountain Daisy, is a beautiful
kind, from six to twenty inches tall, with bright green leaves, often
toothed, sometimes downy, and the flowers usually single, an inch and
a half across, usually with pure white rays. This grows in Yosemite
meadows and similar mountain places, in Utah, California, and Colorado.
_E. compósitus_ is a little Alpine plant, forming dense leafy mats,
easily recognized by the broad tips of the leaves being cut into lobes,
usually three. The flowers are an inch or more across, with violet or
white rays. This grows on the granite peaks around Yosemite, and in
other Alpine regions, as far east as Colorado.
[Illustration: Yellow Fleabane--E. aureus.
Seaside Daisy--Erigeron glaucus.
Large Mountain Fleabane--E. salsuginosus.]
[Sidenote: =Ptilonella=
_Ptilonélla scàbra (Blepharipappus)_
=White
Spring
Oreg., Ida., Nev., Cal.=]
A charming little desert plant, graceful and airy in character, with
stiff, very slender, branching, roughish stems, about ten inches tall,
and dull green leaves, very rough to the touch, with the edges rolled
back. The delicate little flowers are an inch across, with pure white
rays, and with white centers, which are specked with black and pink.
This is common on the mesas around Reno and looks much like some kinds
of Madia.
[Sidenote: =Desert Holly=
_Perèzia nàna_
=Pink
Spring
Ariz., Tex.=]
An odd little desert plant, only two or three inches high, with stiff,
smooth, dull bluish-green leaves, with prickly edges, like holly leaves
but not so stiff, and one quite pretty, light purplish-pink flower, the
head about an inch long, with purplish bracts. The effect of the whole
plant is of a little sprig stuck into the sand.
[Sidenote: =Brown-foot=
_Perèzia Wrìghtii_
=Pink
Spring
Ariz., Tex.=]
Much like the last, but more commonplace looking, for the flowers are
smaller and the plant much larger. It is about a foot high and grows
among rocks, and the general effect of dull mauve is rather pretty,
though not bright in color. The common name alludes to the plant being
covered with a mass of brown hairs at the base.
There are several kinds of Gutierrezia, all American.
[Sidenote: =Brown-weed=
_Gutierrèzia Saròthrae (G. Euthamiae)_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
A bushy plant, resinous, smooth or nearly so, from six inches to two
feet high, with many stiff, upright branches and alternate, toothless,
narrow leaves, an inch or so long. The flowers have yellow centers and
small yellow rays, forming clusters at the ends of the branches, and
though very small are so numerous as to make effective clumps of bright
color. This grows at the Grand Canyon, and in dry rocky places, as far
east as the Central States.
[Illustration: Ptilonella--P. scabra.
Brown-foot--Perezia Wrightii.
Desert Holly--P. nana.]
There are a good many kinds of Helenium, natives of North and Central
America.
[Sidenote: =Sneeze-weed=
_Helènium Bigelòwii_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
Cal., Oreg.=]
A handsome plant, with a roughish stem, from two to four feet tall, and
toothless, rather coarse leaves, rougher on the underside, the lower
part of the leaf grown to the stem along its middle in a curious way.
The flowers are from an inch and a half to two inches across, with
bright golden-yellow rays and a rich-brown center, powdered with yellow
pollen, and the budding flower heads look like brown buttons. This
grows in meadows and along streams, at moderate altitudes, and is found
in Yosemite.
[Sidenote: _Hymenopáppus lùteus_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., New Mex., Col., Utah=]
A pretty and rather unusual-looking plant, with a cluster of
root-leaves, gray-green and downy, cut into many fine divisions, and
slender stems, about a foot tall, with two or three, narrow, alternate,
toothless leaves, and bearing at the top a few pretty, bright yellow
flower-heads, nearly an inch across, with tube-shaped flowers only.
This grows in dry, open places.
There are many kinds of Madia, sticky, heavy-scented herbs, commonly
called Tarweed and called Madi in Chili. They are used medicinally by
Spanish-Californians.
[Sidenote: _Common Madia, Tarweed_ _Màdia élegans_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West=]
Pretty flowers, with hairy stems, from six inches to three feet tall,
and velvety or hairy leaves, more or less sticky and the upper ones
alternate. The flowers grow in loose clusters and are from one to over
two inches across, with bright yellow rays, sometimes with a spot of
maroon at the base which gives an extremely pretty effect, and a yellow
or maroon center. This often makes pretty patches of color in sandy
places, and is widely distributed and very variable. Woodland Madia,
_M. madioìdes_, is similar, but not so pretty.
[Sidenote: =Gum-weed=
_Màdia dissitiflòra_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
A slender plant, over a foot tall, with hairy stem and leaves, which
are aromatic when crushed, and rather pretty little flowers, about half
an inch across, with pale yellow rays, yellow centers specked with
black, and sticky-hairy involucres. This grows along roadsides and the
edges of woods.
[Illustration: Madia--M. elegans.
Hymenopappus luteus.
Sneeze Weed--Helenium Bigelowii.
Gum-weed--Madia dissitiflora.]
There are many kinds of Coreopsis, natives of America, South Africa,
and Australasia, several of them cultivated in gardens. They are called
Tickseed.
[Sidenote: =Desert Coreopsis=
_Coreópsis Bigelòwii_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
This is very pretty, with one or several, slender, smooth stems, about
ten inches tall, springing from a tuft of pretty, bright green, smooth,
shiny leaves, cut into narrow divisions and slightly succulent. The
flowers are an inch and a half to two inches across, with bright yellow
rays, lighter at the tips, and an orange center, and look exceedingly
pretty in the Mohave Desert.
[Sidenote: =Sea Dahlia=
_Coreópsis marítima (Leptosyne)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A magnificent plant, forming large clumps, two feet high, but not at
all coarse in character. The leaves are very bright green, smooth and
quite succulent, and cut into narrow lobes, so that the effect is
graceful and unusual looking. The superb flowers are often four inches
across, with clear light yellow rays and orange-yellow centers, and the
lower row of bracts stand out stiffly like a ruffle and are like the
leaves in texture and color, contrasting oddly with the upper bracts,
which are satiny in texture and almost as yellow as the rays. These
plants are conspicuously beautiful on the sea cliffs near San Diego.
[Sidenote: =Trixis=
_Tríxis angustifòlia var. latiúscula_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, New Mex.=]
A small evergreen shrub, about a foot high, with smooth, light dull
green leaves, with a few fine teeth, and loose clusters of rather
pretty, bright yellow flowers, the heads about three-quarters of an
inch long. This grows on rocky hillsides and is quite effective.
There are a great many kinds of Chrysanthemum, widely distributed in
the northern hemisphere.
[Sidenote: =Ox-eye Daisy=
_Chrysánthemum Leucánthemum_
=White
Spring, summer, autumn
Northwest, etc.=]
This is the well known common kind, a general favorite, except with
farmers, naturalized from Europe and also found in Asia; a perennial
weed in pastures, meadows, and waste places, more or less all over
the United States, but much more common in the Northeast. It grows
from one to three feet high, the leaves toothed and cut, and the
flower-heads measuring from one to two inches across, with bright
golden centers and pure white rays.
[Illustration: Trixis angustifolia--var. latiuscula.
Desert Coreopsis--C. Bigelowii.
Sea Dahlia--Coreopsis maritima.]
There are several kinds of Coreothrogyne, some resembling Lessingia,
others Aster.
[Sidenote: =Woolly Aster=
_Coreothrógyne filaginifòlia_
=Pink, purple
Spring, summer, autumn
California=]
This forms a clump from one to three feet high, with many erect
stems, white with woolly down, at least when young, and crowded
with alternate, pale grayish-green leaves, thin and soft in texture
and covered with down. The flower-heads are an inch across, with
purplish-pink rays and dark yellow centers, and contrast rather
prettily with the pale foliage. In Yosemite this grows on rocky ledges
below five thousand feet and blooms late. It is common from Monterey to
Santa Barbara, blooming at almost all seasons, and is very variable.
[Sidenote: _Psilóstrophe tagetìna var. sparsiflòra (Riddellia)_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Arizona=]
These flowers do not look much like those of a composite, but give more
the effect of yellow Wallflowers. The plant is very attractive, from
one to two feet tall, with alternate, bluish-green leaves, most of them
toothless, and handsome clusters of lemon-yellow flowers. They are each
about three-quarters of an inch across, delicately scented, and usually
have four large rays, mixed with a few smaller and more irregularly
shaped, all much more like petals than rays and becoming papery in
fading. The picture is of a plant growing in the Grand Canyon.
[Sidenote: =Paper Flowers=
_Psilóstrophe Coòperi_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
A pretty, compact, shrubby plant, woody below, about a foot high, with
tangled branches, pale downy twigs, and thickish, dull green, downy
leaves. The pretty flowers are an inch and a quarter across, with
an orange-yellow center and five or six, large, clear bright yellow
rays, twisted to one side and puckered at the base, turning back and
becoming papery as they fade. This plant is at its best in sandy soil
and is very effective in the desert. When fully developed it is very
symmetrical in outline, forming a charming yellow globe of flowers.
There are several kinds of Xylorrhiza, nearly related to the Aster
group and by some authorities regarded as Asters.
[Illustration: Woolly Aster--Coreothrogyne filaginifolia.
Psilostrophe tagetina--var. sparsiflora.
Paper Flowers--P. Cooperi.]
[Sidenote: =Xylorrhiza=
_Xylorrhìza tortifòlia_
=Lilac
Spring
Southwest, Utah, Col.=]
A handsome plant, growing in clumps over two feet high, with prickly
leaves and beautiful flowers, two inches and a half across, with rays
shading from bright lilac to nearly white and yellow centers. This is
common in the Grand Canyon.
There are a good many kinds of Arnica, natives of the northern
hemisphere. This is the ancient name and a European kind is much used
medicinally.
[Sidenote: =Heart-leaved Arnica=
_Árnica cordifòlia_
=Yellow
Summer
West, except Ariz.=]
A handsome mountain flower, with a hairy stem, from six inches to
two feet tall, and velvety leaves, coarsely toothed, the lower ones
usually heart-shaped. The flower-heads are usually single, over two
inches across, with bright yellow rays, an orange center, and a hairy
involucre. This is common in rich moist soil in mountain valleys, as
far east as Colorado.
[Sidenote: =Broad-leaved Arnica=
_Árnica latifòlia_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest=]
A handsome kind, sometimes a foot and a half tall, with pretty flowers,
about two inches across, with very bright yellow rays. The bright green
leaves are thin in texture and practically smooth, the lower ones more
or less roundish, with leaf stalks. This grows in mountain woods.
There are many kinds of Artemisia; herbs or shrubs, usually bitter and
aromatic, widely distributed.
[Sidenote: =Common Sage-brush=
_Artemísia tridentàta_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West, etc.=]
This is the characteristic sort, often immensely abundant and found
as far east as Colorado, often tinting the landscape for miles with
its pale and beautiful foliage and one of the dominant shrubs in the
Great Basin. It is very branching, from one to twelve feet high, with a
distinct trunk and shreddy bark, and the twigs and alternate leaves are
all gray-green, covered with silvery down, the upper leaves small and
toothless, the lower wedge-shaped, with usually three, blunt teeth. The
small yellow flowers have no rays and grow in small, close clusters,
forming long sprays towards the ends of the branches. Sagebrush is a
"soil indicator" and when the prospective rancher finds it on land
he knows at once that it will be good for even dry farming, as the soil
contains no salt or alkali.
[Illustration: Xylorrhiza tortifolia.]
[Illustration: Heart-leaved Arnica--A. cordifolia.
Broad-leaved Arnica--A. latifolia.]
There are a good many kinds of Eriophyllum, common and very variable,
woolly plants.
[Sidenote: =Woolly Yellow Daisy=
_Eriophýllum lanàtum_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
This is a handsome kind, in favorable situations forming large
conspicuous clumps, from one to two feet high, covered with bright
golden flowers, each over an inch across. The leaves are dull green
on the upper side, but the under side and the buds and stems are
all covered with fine white down. The leaves are variable in form,
sometimes neither lobed nor toothed, and sometimes cut into narrow
toothed divisions. This has a variety of forms and grows on hillsides.
[Sidenote: =Eriophyllum=
_Eriophýllum caespitòsum var. integrifòlium_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]
This forms low tufts of pale gray downy foliage, contrasting well with
the bright yellow flower-heads, each about an inch across. This grows
around Yosemite and in other mountain places, as far east as Wyoming,
and has a variety of forms.
[Sidenote: =Golden Yarrow=
_Eriophýllum confertiflòrum_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
This has small flowers, but it forms such large clumps that the effect
of the golden-yellow clusters is handsome and very conspicuous, on dry
hills and mountains and along roadsides in summer. It is woody below,
from one to two feet high, and the leaves are more or less woolly. The
variety _discoídeum_ has no rays.
There are many kinds of Anthemis, natives of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
[Sidenote: =Mayweed, Chamomile, Dog Fennel=
_Ánthemis Cótula_
=White
Summer, autumn
U. S., etc.=]
This little weed is common in waste places and fields and along
roadsides, almost all over the world. It is a branching annual, from
one to two feet tall, with feathery light green foliage, cut into many
long, narrow divisions, almost smooth, with a disagreeable smell and
strong acrid taste. The many daisy-like flowers have heads about an
inch across, with from ten to eighteen white rays and convex yellow
centers. There is a picture of this plant in Mathews' _Field Book_.
[Illustration: Golden Yarrow--E. confertiflorum.
Woolly Yellow Daisy--E. lanatum.
Eriophyllum caespitosum--var. integrifolium.]
There are a good many kinds of Chaenactis, the flower-heads with
tubular flowers only, but in some kinds the marginal flowers are larger
and have a broad border resembling a kind of ray.
[Sidenote: =Chaenactis=
_Chaenáctis Douglásii_
=White
Spring, summer
Utah, Cal., New Mex.=]
A rather pretty plant, from eight inches to over a foot tall and more
or less downy, with stiffish, gray-green, leaves, cut into many short,
blunt lobes and teeth. The flower-heads are about an inch long, and
contain numerous small, pearly-white or pinkish, tube-shaped flowers,
with long, purplish pistils. This grows in dry open places, the flowers
turn pink in fading and are sweet-smelling and quite pretty, though not
striking. _C. macrántha_, which grows in the Grand Canyon, has similar
flowers, rather prettier, with a somewhat sickly scent, but it is a
lower plant.
[Sidenote: =Golden Girls=
_Chaenáctis lanòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
A charming desert plant, with several downy stems, over a foot tall,
springing from a feathery cluster of pretty, bright green, thickish
leaves, cut into narrow divisions, rather downy and often tinged with
red. The flower-head is nearly an inch and a half across, without rays,
but the marginal flowers in the head are larger and have broad borders
that look like rays. They are a beautiful shade of clear bright yellow.
[Sidenote: =Morning Bride=
_Chaenáctis Fremóntii_
=White
Spring
Southwest=]
This is very much like the last in size, form, and foliage and is
equally charming, but the flowers are all pure white, or pinkish,
instead of yellow. It is one of the most attractive of the white desert
flowers.
[Sidenote: =Desert Star=
_Erimiástrum bellidoìdes_
=Lilac
Spring
Arizona=]
A charming little desert plant, with spreading stems and small, narrow,
toothless, gray bluish-green leaves, which are soft, but sprinkled with
small, stiff, white bristles, the whole forming a rosette, five or six
inches across, growing flat on the sand and ornamented with many pretty
little flowers. They are each set off by a little rosette of leaves and
are over half an inch across, with pinkish-lilac rays, shading to white
towards the yellow center and tinted with bright purple on the back.
[Illustration: Desert Star--Erimiastrum bellidoides.
Chaenactis--C. Douglasii.
Golden Girls--Chaenactis lanosa.]
[Sidenote: =Venegasia=
_Venegàsia carpesioìdes_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
These big, leafy plants, with their bright flowers, are a splendid
feature of the California woods and canyons in June, especially on the
slopes of the Santa Inez mountains, where they often cover large areas
with green and gold; unfortunately the smell is rather disagreeable.
The leafy stems are four or five feet high, nearly smooth, with
alternate, bright green leaves, almost smooth and thin in texture, and
the flowers, resembling Sun-flowers, are over two inches across, with
clear yellow rays, an orange center, and an involucre of many green
scales, overlapping and wrapped around each other, so that the bud
looks much like a tiny head of lettuce. This was named for Venegas, a
Jesuit missionary, and is the only kind, growing near the coast in the
South.
[Sidenote: =Lessingia=
_Lessíngia leptóclada_
=Lilac
Summer
California=]
This is a slender plant, from six inches to two feet tall, with pale
gray green, woolly leaves, the lower ones somewhat toothed, and
pale pinkish-lilac flowers, not very conspicuous in themselves, but
sometimes growing in such quantities that they form pretty patches of
soft pinkish color in sandy places. The flower-head is about half an
inch long, with no rays, but the outer flowers in the head are larger
and have long lobes resembling rays. This is very variable, especially
in size, and is common along dry roadsides and quite abundant in
Yosemite. The picture is of a small plant. _L. Germanòrum_, which is
common on sandy hills along the coast from San Francisco to San Diego,
has yellow flowers and blooms in autumn.
There are many kinds of Baeria, not easily distinguished.
[Sidenote: =Sunshine, Gold Fields=
_Baéria grácilis_
=Yellow
Southwest=]
This is a dear little plant, often covering the fields with a carpet of
gold. The slender stems are about six inches tall, with soft, downy,
light green leaves, usually opposite, and pretty fragrant flowers,
about three-quarters of an inch across, with bright yellow rays and
darker yellow centers. This is sometimes called Fly Flower, because
in some places it is frequented by a small fly, which is annoying
to horses. _B. macrántha_ is a much larger plant, a biennial, with
a tuberous root, from seven inches to a foot and a half tall, with
long, narrow, toothless leaves, with hairy margins, and flower-heads
from an inch to an inch and a half across, with yellow rays and hairy
involucres. This grows along the coast in California, blooming in May
and June.
[Illustration: Venegasia--V. carpesioides.
Sunshine--Baeria gracilis.
Lessingia--L. leptoclada.]
There are several kinds of Bahia, natives of western North America,
Mexico, and Chile, herbs or shrubs, more or less woolly.
[Sidenote: =Bahia=
_Bàhia absinthifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
This is from eight to fifteen inches tall, with pretty flowers, an inch
and a half across, with bright yellow rays and deep yellow centers,
contrasting well with the pale gray-green foliage, which is covered
with close white down. This grows in arid situations on the mesas and
often forms clumps.
There are several kinds of Crassina, natives of the United States and
Mexico.
[Sidenote: =Desert Zinnia=
_Crassìna pùmila (Zinnia)_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]
Nothing could look much less like a garden Zinnia than this dry,
prickly-looking dwarf shrub. It is from three inches to a foot high,
the branches crowded with very small, stiff, dull green leaves, and the
flowers are about an inch across, rather pretty but not conspicuous,
with a yellow center and four or five, broad, cream-white rays,
often tinged with dull pink. This plant grows on the plains and is a
"soil-indicator," as it flourishes on the poorest, stoniest, and most
arid land.
[Sidenote: =Wild Marigold=
_Bàileya multiradiàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, etc.
Southwest, Tex.=]
Charming flowers, with a thrifty, cultivated appearance like that
of a garden flower. The plant is a foot tall, with grayish-green,
woolly stems and foliage, and the handsome flower is an inch and a
half across, with a fine ruffle of many bright yellow rays, prettily
scalloped, and a yellow center, rather deeper in color. In Arizona
bouquets of these flowers may be gathered during every month in the
year.
[Sidenote: _Bàileya pauciradiàta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]
An odd little desert plant, about six inches tall, with a thickish stem
and soft, thickish leaves, covered all over with silky, white wool,
giving a pale, silky effect to the whole plant, which is quite pretty,
though the pale yellow flowers, each about half an inch across, are not
striking.
[Illustration: Desert Zinnia--Crassina pumila.
Baileya pauciradiata.
Bahia absinthifolia.
Wild Marigold--Baileya multiradiata.]
[Sidenote: =Pentachaeta=
_Pentachaèta àurea_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
Gay, yet delicate little flowers, with slender branching stems, about
eight inches tall, and light green, very narrow leaves. The flowers are
an inch across, with a feathery ruffle of very numerous narrow rays,
light yellow at the tips, growing deeper towards the orange-colored
center, and the pretty buds are often tinged with pink or purple. This
often grows in patches and is common in southern California.
[Sidenote: =Daisy Dwarf=
_Actinolèpis lanòsa_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]
A quaint little desert plant, only two or three inches tall, with
thickish, pale gray-green leaves, covered with close white down, and
pretty little flowers, growing singly at the ends of tiny branches,
each half an inch across, with a yellow center and pure white rays,
which fold back at night. These little flowers are too small to be very
conspicuous, but are charming in effect, sprinkled over the bare sand,
and when growing in quantities on nearly bare mesas give a whitish
appearance to the ground.
There are a good many kinds of Blepharipappus.
[Sidenote: =Yellow Tidy-tips=
_Blepharipáppus élegans (Layia)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
Very pretty flowers, with slender, branching, hairy stems, about a foot
tall, and light green, hairy leaves. The flowers are about two inches
across, with yellow rays, tipped with white or very pale yellow, neatly
arranged around the deep yellow centers, which are specked with black.
The rays twist up in fading and turn to a pretty shade of dull pink.
This is common and a very handsome kind.
[Sidenote: =White Tidy-tips=
_Blepharipáppus glandulòsus (Layia)_
=White
Spring
Southwest, Oreg., Wash.=]
A beautiful kind, eight or nine inches tall, with pale green, hairy
leaves, the lower ones toothed, and a slender stem, bearing a charming
flower, nearly an inch and a half across, with neat pure white rays and
a bright yellow center. This grows in mountain canyons and is widely
distributed as far north as British Columbia.
There are several kinds of Gaillardia, all American. They are much
cultivated in gardens, were named in honor of Gaillard de Merentonneau,
a French botanist.
[Illustration: Daisy Dwarf--Actinolepis lanosa.
Pentachaeta aurea.
White Tidy-tips--B. glandulosus.
Yellow Tidy-tips--Blepharipappus elegans.]
[Sidenote: =Blanket-flower, Gaillardia=
_Gaillàrdia pinnatífida_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., Col., Tex.=]
This is handsome and conspicuous, with a slender, rough stalk, about
a foot tall, dull green, stiff, rather hairy leaves, mostly from
the root, and beautiful flowers, an inch and a half across, with
golden-yellow rays, with three teeth, and a center of shaded maroon and
yellow, which is very velvety and pretty and becomes an attractive,
purplish, fuzzy, round head when the rays drop off. This grows on the
plains. _G. aristàta_, found throughout the West and as far east as
Colorado, is an exceedingly handsome kind, sometimes over two feet
tall, with beautiful yellow flowers, sometimes measuring four inches
across.
[Sidenote: =Arizona Gaillardia=
_Gaillàrdia Arizònica_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
A pretty little desert plant, from four to eight inches tall, with a
slender, downy flower-stalk, springing from a cluster of roughish,
light dull green leaves, more or less hairy and bearing a single
handsome flower, nearly two inches across, with a downy involucre and
three-toothed rays of an unusual and pretty shade of dull light yellow,
finely veined with brown on the back, surrounding a darker yellow,
fuzzy center.
[Sidenote: =Tiny Tim=
_Hymenathèrum Hartwégi_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
A neat little evergreen, shrubby plant, only about three inches high,
with branching stems, clothed with small, narrow, dull green leaves,
which look prickly but are actually not very stiff, though tipped with
tiny bristles. The flowers are three-eighths of an inch across, very
perfect in outline, with bright yellow rays and deeper yellow centers,
and the whole effect, of a tiny shrub sprinkled with flowers, is quite
attractive, growing on very dry ground along the roadside. The plant
has a pronounced smell, which is not unpleasant.
[Sidenote: =Tall Purple Aster=
_Machaeranthèra incàna (Aster)_
=Purple
Spring
Southwest, Utah, New Mex.=]
This looks a good deal like an Aster, a branching plant, from two to
nearly three feet high, with grayish-green, slightly downy leaves,
with very sharp teeth. The flowers are an inch and a half across,
with narrow, bright violet rays and bright yellow centers. This grows
abundantly in valleys.
[Illustration: Purple Aster--Machaeranthera incana.
Tiny Tim--Hymenatherum Hartwegi.
Blanket-flower--Gaillardia pinnatifida.
Arizona Gaillardia--G. Arizonica.]
[Sidenote: _Laphàmia bisetòsa_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., New Mex., Tex.=]
An insignificant plant, except that it grows on the sides of bare,
red rocks or head-downward on the under side of overhanging ledges,
apparently needing little or no soil, and is therefore noticeable. It
forms round clumps, one or two feet across, with many slender stems,
about six inches high, small, pale yellowish-green, roughish leaves,
and small yellow flower-heads, without rays. This is rare and grows in
the Grand Canyon.
There are several kinds of Grindelia, common in the West, recommended
as a remedy for Poison Oak.
[Sidenote: =Gum Plant=
_Grindèlia latifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]
Coarse but rather effective flowers, with smooth, stiff, branching
stems, about three feet high, and dark dull green leaves. The
flower-heads are over an inch and a half across, with bright yellow
rays and centers and very resinous, shiny buds.
There are several kinds of Balsamorrhiza. Both the Latin and common
names allude to the aromatic roots.
[Sidenote: =Arrow-leaf Balsam-root, Big Root=
_Balsamorrhìza sagittàta_
=Yellow
Spring
Utah, Ida., Cal., Nev., Col.=]
A very handsome plant, the contrast between the gray-velvet leaves and
the great yellow flowers being very striking. It forms large clumps,
about a foot and a half high, with slightly downy flower-stalks and
heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, toothless leaves, pale gray-green and
velvety, covered with silvery down, whiter on the under side. The
flowers are over three inches across, with clear bright yellow rays,
and a deeper yellow center, fuzzy and greenish-yellow in the middle.
The involucre is almost white, thickly covered with silvery, silky
wool, and the flowers are pleasantly sweet-smelling. This grows on dry
hillsides.
[Sidenote: =Cut-leaved Balsam-root=
_Balsamorrhìza macrophýlla_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Wyo.=]
A strikingly handsome plant, forming clumps even larger than the last,
with similar flowers, but with quite different foliage. The leaves are
rich-green, and decorative in form, more or less slashed into lobes
and very sticky, with hairy margins and leaf-stalks, and are nearly as
tall as the hairy, sticky flower-stems, from one to two feet high. This
grows in rich soil in mountain valleys.
[Illustration: Cut-leaved Balsam Root--Balsamorrhiza macrophylla.]
[Illustration: Laphamia bisetosa.
Gum Plant--Grindelia latifolia.
Arrow-leaf Balsam-root--Balsamorrhiza sagittata.]
[Sidenote: =Balsam-root=
_Balsamorrhìza Hóokeri_
=Yellow
Spring
West, except Ariz.=]
Rather handsome, though a coarse plant, over a foot tall, with
hairy, dull green or grayish leaves, crisp and harsh to the touch,
variously lobed and cut, chiefly in a clump at the root. The flowers
are numerous, from an inch and a half to over two inches across, with
deep orange-yellow rays, and grow singly on long flower-stalks. This
flourishes on dry plains and mesas.
There are several kinds of Wyethia, resembling Balsam-roots, but their
thick roots not resinous.
[Sidenote: =Yellows, Mule-ears=
_Wyéthia amplexicàulis_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Nev., etc.=]
A robust and exceedingly handsome plant, one or two feet tall, with
rich foliage and gorgeous flowers. The leaves are stiffish, dark rich
green, smooth but somewhat sticky, often toothed; the stem-leaves
alternate, their bases partly clasping, and the root-leaves a
foot or two long and two or three inches broad, with leaf-stalks.
The flower-heads are about four inches across, with bright yellow
rays, almost orange color, and the center with three rows of yellow
disk-flowers, surrounding a clump of pointed, overlapping, stiff,
greenish scales in the middle. This sometimes forms immense patches
on dry hills at rather high altitudes, as far east as Colorado. It is
sometimes called Compass Plant, because its leaves are thought to point
North and South, and the Indian name is "Pe-ik."
[Sidenote: =Woolly Wyethia=
_Wyéthia móllis_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
Not so handsome as the last, but a striking plant, from one to four
feet high, with gray-green, velvety foliage, all covered with soft
wool, forming large clumps of leaves, from six to fifteen inches long.
The flowers are two or three inches across, with orange rays and very
woolly involucres. This is common in dry places in Yosemite.
There are several kinds of Rudbeckia, all North American.
[Sidenote: =Black Eyed Susan=
_Rudbéckia hírta_
=Yellow
Summer
California, etc.=]
From one to four feet high, with rough leaves and one or a few handsome
flowers, from one to four inches across, with deep yellow rays and
a purplish-brown conical center. This comes from the Mississippi
Valley, is very common in the East, and becoming common in Yosemite
meadows.
[Illustration: Woolly Wyethia--W. mollis.
Balsam-root--Balsamorrhiza Hookeri.]
[Sidenote: =Brass Buttons, Butter-heads=
_Cótula coronopifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
Cal., Oreg.=]
This little weed comes from South Africa, but is now common in wet
places, especially in the salt marshes around San Francisco Bay, often
carpeting the sand and mud with its succulent, trailing stems. The
bright green leaves are alternate and smooth, clasping the stem at
base, some with toothless edges, others variously cut and lobed, and
the flower-heads are about half an inch or less across, like the bright
yellow center of a Daisy, without rays. _Matricària matricarioìdes_
is another little weed, common along roadsides, with conical,
greenish-yellow flower-heads, without rays, and feathery foliage, which
has a strong pleasant fruity smell when crushed, giving it the name of
Pineapple-weed and Manzanilla.
[Sidenote: =Tetradymia=
_Tetradýmia spinòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
West, etc.=]
An odd desert shrub, about three feet high, with gray bark and crooked,
gnarly, tangled branches, armed with long spines and clothed with
small, downy, pale green leaves. The flower-heads are three-quarters
of an inch long, without rays, with pale yellow tube-shaped flowers
and downy, white involucres, and are so crowded on the twigs that they
appear to be loaded with them, but the coloring is too pale to be
effective. This is common in the Mohave Desert and elsewhere on dry
hills and plains, as far east as Colorado.
There are a great many kinds of Solidago, most of them natives of North
America. On the whole, the western Golden-rods are not so fine as the
eastern ones, nor are there so many kinds, though there are quite
enough to puzzle the amateur, as they are difficult to distinguish.
[Sidenote: =Arizona Golden-rod=
_Solidàgo trinervàta_
=Yellow
Summer
Arizona=]
A handsome kind, from one to two feet high, with flower-heads nearly
three-eighths of an inch across, with bright yellow rays and centers,
forming a large, handsome, plume-like cluster. The stem and leaves are
dull bluish-green, rather stiff and rough, the lower leaves with a few
obscure teeth. This grows at the Grand Canyon. _S. occidentàlis_,
Western Golden-rod, is smooth all over, with leafy stems, from three
to five feet tall, toothless leaves, and flat-topped clusters of
small, yellow, sweet-scented flowers. This grows in marshes and along
the banks of streams, in California, Oregon, and Washington, blooming
in summer and autumn. _S. Califórnica_, California Golden-rod, is
from two to four feet high, with grayish-green, roughish leaves, the
lower ones toothed, and small yellow flowers, forming dense pyramidal
clusters, from four to thirteen inches long. This grows on dry plains
and hillsides and in the mountains, throughout California and in
Oregon, blooming in the autumn. It is called Orojo de Leabre by the
Spanish-Californians.
[Illustration: Tetradymia spinosa.
Arizona Golden-rod--Solidago trinervata.
Brass Buttons--Cotula coronopifolia.]
There are probably over a thousand different kinds of Senecio, very
widely distributed. The name is from the Latin for "old man," in
allusion to the long white hairs of the pappus, when "gone to seed."
Our kinds have many common names, such as Groundsel, Ragwort, and
Squaw-weed.
[Sidenote: =Ragwort=
_Senècio perpléxus var. díspar_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Idaho=]
A conspicuous plant and quite handsome, though its flowers are rather
untidy-looking, for, like many other Senecios, the rays do not come out
evenly. It is about two feet high, with a stout, hollow, ridged stem,
sparsely woolly, and dark green, thickish leaves, with shallow and
uneven teeth and covered with sparse, fine, white woolly hairs, as if
partially rubbed off. The flowers are over an inch across, with bright
yellow rays, curling back in fading, an orange center, fading to brown,
and the bracts of the involucre tipped with black. This grows in moist
rich soil, in mountain valleys.
[Sidenote: =Creek Senecio=
_Senècio Douglásii_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
Southwest=]
A handsome bush, about three feet high, covered with many flowers, on
slender flower-stalks, sticking up out of a mass of rather delicate
foliage, which is often covered with white cottony wool. The flowers
are an inch and three-quarters across, with bright light yellow, rather
untidy rays and yellow centers. This grows in dry stream beds and on
warm slopes in the foothills.
[Illustration: Creek Senecio--S. Douglasii.
Squaw-weed--S. perplexus var. dispar.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: _Senècio Lémmoni_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
This is quite effective, with attractive flowers and foliage, growing
among rocks on hillsides and forming large clumps over a foot high.
The stems are slender and often much bent, the leaves are dark green
and thin in texture with toothed edges, rolled back, and the numerous
flowers are an inch across, with bright yellow rays and deep yellow
centers. This plant blossoms both as an annual and as a perennial.
[Sidenote: =White Squaw-weed=
_Senècio cordàtus_
=White
Summer
Northwest=]
A rather handsome plant, with a stout stem, about two feet tall; the
upper leaves more or less downy and the root-leaves rather thick and
soft, covered with whitish hairs on the under side. The flower-heads
are about three-quarters of an inch across, with a fuzzy, pale yellow
center and white rays. This grows in open woods, at rather high
altitudes.
[Sidenote: _Senècio Riddéllii_
=Yellow
Spring, winter
Arizona=]
A rather showy plant, from six inches to two feet tall, blossoming both
as an annual and as a biennial, after which it dies. The whole plant is
smooth and the foliage is green or bluish-green, rather delicate and
pretty. The flowers are an inch to an inch and a half across and they
begin to appear in winter when there is little else to brighten the
desert mesas. This plant is abundant in valley lands, though it has a
wide range.
[Sidenote: _S. multilobàtus_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]
A rather pretty plant, about a foot tall, with a few small leaves on
the slightly woolly stem, but most of them in a rosette at the base.
They are smooth, thickish and slightly stiff, about an inch and a
half long, and neatly cut into small, toothed lobes. The few flowers
are in a loose cluster at the top of the stem and have heads about
three-quarters of an inch across, with pale yellow rays and brighter
yellow centers. This grows at the Grand Canyon and on the dry plains of
Utah and Colorado, at altitudes of about seven thousand feet.
[Illustration: Leaf of S. multilobatus.
S. Riddellii.
S. Lemmoni.
White Squaw-weed--Senecio cordatus.]
[Sidenote: =African Senecio=
_Senècio élegans_
=White and mauve
Spring
California=]
A handsome plant, which is noticeable on account of its unusual
coloring. The stout, smooth stem is two or three feet tall, with
smooth, slightly thickish leaves, the margins rolled back, a very
peculiar shade of light bright yellowish-green. The handsome flowers
are an inch and three-eighths across, with bright deep yellow centers
and white rays shading to mauve at the tips, and form a large
flat-topped cluster. This is a native of Africa and is not yet common
in this country, but grows on the sand dunes near San Francisco.
There are many kinds of Baccharis, all American, chiefly shrubs.
[Sidenote: =Groundsel-tree Chaparral Broom=
_Báccharis pilulàris_
=Whitish, yellowish
Autumn
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
A branching evergreen shrub, from two to five feet high, with smooth
dark green, leathery leaves, an inch or less long, rather wedge-shaped,
usually coarsely toothed. The flower-heads are very small, without
rays, and are crowded at the ends of the twigs. Some plants have only
staminate flowers and some only pistillate ones, and the effect of the
two sorts is very different, for the staminate flowers are ugly, but
the pistillate ones are provided with quantities of long, white, silky
pappus, giving a beautiful, snowy appearance to the shrub. This is very
variable, being a fine shrub in favorable situations, and is common
along the coast on the sand dunes, on low hills and on high mountain
slopes.
There are a great many kinds of Aster, most abundant in North America,
difficult to distinguish, the flowers never yellow. Though there are
some fine ones in the West, they are not so numerous or so handsome as
in the East.
[Sidenote: =Aster=
_Aster Chamissónis_
=Purple
Summer, autumn
Cal., Oreg.=]
This is one of the commonest kinds and is quite handsome, from two to
five feet high, with leafy, branching stems and alternate, lance-shaped
leaves, from two to five inches long, usually toothless, without
leaf-stalks. The many flowers are an inch or more across, with yellow
centers and white, violet, or purple rays, the bracts of the involucre
in several rows, with short and rounded tips. This is rather variable.
_A. radulìnus_, Broad-leaf Aster, has stiff, rough leaves, sharply
toothed towards the broad tips, and usually many flowers, an inch or
so across, with whitish rays. This is rather common on dry hills in
California and Oregon, blooming in summer and autumn. _A. Andersóni_,
of Yosemite, has toothless, grasslike root-leaves and one beautiful
flower, an inch across, with purple rays.
[Illustration: African Senecio--S. elegans.]
CHICORY FAMILY. _Cicoriaceae._
A large family, of wide geographic distribution, resembling the
Sunflower Family and by some authors included in it. They are herbs,
rarely trees, almost always with milky, acrid, or bitter juice; the
leaves alternate or from the root; the flowers small and crowded
in heads, with involucres, the bracts in one or several rows; the
receptacle flat or flattish, sometimes naked or smooth, sometimes
scaly, pitted or honeycombed; the flowers all perfect; the calyx-tube
without pappus, or with pappus of scales or bristles, sometimes
feathery; the corollas not of two sorts, like those of the Sunflower
Family, but all with a strap-shaped border, usually five-toothed, and
a short or long tube; the anthers united into a tube around the style,
which is very slender and two-cleft or two-lobed; the ovary one-celled
and inferior, developing into an akene.
There are several kinds of Ptiloria, of western and central North
America.
[Sidenote: =Flowering-straw=
_Ptilòria pauciflòra (Stephanomeria runcinata)_
=Pink
Spring
West, etc.=]
In the desert this is a very strange-looking, pale plant, forming a
scanty, straggling bush, about two feet high, with slender, brittle,
gray stems, most of the leaves reduced to mere scales, and delicate,
pale pinkish-lilac flowers, less than half an inch long. This grows
on the plains, as far east as Texas, and is not always so leafless
as in the picture, which is that of a desert plant, but has some
coarsely-toothed leaves.
[Sidenote: =Desert Pink=
_Ptilòria Wrìghtii (Stephanomeria)_
=Pink
Summer
Ariz., New Mex.=]
Much like the last, but not a queer-looking plant, with pale green
foliage and larger, prettier flowers, three-quarters of an inch long,
giving the effect of tiny, pale pink carnations. This grows at the
Grand Canyon.
[Illustration: Flowering-straw--Ptiloria pauciflora.
Desert Pink--Ptiloria Wrightii.]
There are a good many kinds of Agoseris, natives of western and
southern North America and of southern South America.
[Sidenote: =Goat Chicory, Large-flowered Agoseris=
_Agóseris glàuca_
=Yellow
Spring
Utah, Ida., Wash., etc.=]
A pretty perennial plant, about fourteen inches tall, with a slender,
slightly woolly flower-stem, springing from a pretty cluster of smooth
bluish-green leaves, sometimes toothless, and bearing a handsome bright
yellow flower, from one to two inches across, the involucre often
covered with white wool. This grows on dry slopes, as far east as
Colorado.
There are a good many kinds of Malacothrix, natives of the western and
southwestern United States.
[Sidenote: _Malácothrix glabràta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, Nev., Utah=]
A very attractive plant, with several flower-stalks, from six inches
to a foot tall, springing from a pretty feathery tuft of bright green
root-leaves, cut into almost threadlike divisions and often tinged with
deep red. The handsome flowers are nearly two inches across, clear very
pale yellow, shading to brighter color towards the middle. This is
common on open plains in southern California, where it passes almost
gradually into _M. Califórnica_, which is similar, but conspicuously
woolly when young, covered with very long, soft hairs.
[Sidenote: =Snake's Head=
_Malácothrix Còulteri_
=White
Spring
California=]
A smooth plant, with a "bloom," from five to sixteen inches high,
often branching from the base, the leaves cut into wavy lobes, with
no leaf-stalk. The handsome flowers are about an inch across, white,
turning pink in fading, the involucres with shining, papery, green
and white bracts. This is one of the most conspicuous annuals in the
San Joaquin Valley. _M. saxàtilis_, the Cliff Aster, is a handsome
perennial, common in southern California and often growing on
sea-cliffs. It has a leafy branching stem, from one to four feet high,
the leaves toothless, or cut into slender divisions, and often quite
fleshy, and many pretty flowers at the ends of the branches. They are
each about an inch across, white, changing to pink or lilac, with an
involucre of many narrow bracts, running down the flower-stalk. This is
common in southern California, blooming in summer and autumn.
[Illustration: Malacothrix glabrata.
Goat Chicory--Agoserìs glauca.]
[Sidenote: =Desert Dandelion=
_Malácothrix Féndleri_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]
An attractive little desert plant, about five inches tall, with
stiffish, pale bluish-green leaves, forming a rosette, and pretty,
very pale yellow flowers, nearly an inch across, like a delicate sort
of Dandelion. It is a near relation of the common Dandelion and blooms
early in the spring.
[Sidenote: =Salsify, Oyster Plant=
_Tragopògon porrifòlius_
=Purple
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
This is the common Salsify, the root of which is used as a vegetable.
It is naturalized from Europe and is now quite common in the West as
a "stray" and also in the East. It has a smooth, stout, hollow stem,
from two to over four feet tall, rather dark green, smooth leaves,
clasping at base, and handsome flowers from two to four inches across,
which are a very peculiar shade of reddish-purple, not usually seen in
flowers. They open early in the morning, closing by midday and fading
almost immediately when picked, and may be seen growing along the edges
of fields and just outside garden fences where they are often quite
conspicuous. This plant has many common names, such as Jerusalem Star,
Nap-at-noon, and Vegetable Oyster.
[Sidenote: =Desert Chicory=
_Nemosèris Neo-Mexicàna (Rafinesquia)_
=White
Spring
Ariz., New Mex.=]
A straggling desert plant, from a few inches to a foot and a half
high, with smooth branching stems and smooth, very pale bluish-green
leaves, rather thick in texture. The pretty flowers are from one to
two inches across, white, tinged with pink or cream-color and a little
yellow in the middle, often striped with magenta on the outside, and
the bracts of the involucre tinged with pink and bordered with white.
_N. Califórnica_ is a branching plant, from one to five feet tall,
with a stout stem and smooth oblong leaves, lobed, toothed, or almost
toothless, and quite pretty flowers at the ends of the branches. They
are about an inch across, white, often tinged with magenta on the
outside. This grows in California and Oregon, usually in shady or moist
places.
There are several kinds of Cichorium, natives of the Old World. The
name is from the Arabic.
[Illustration: Salsify--Tragopogon porrifolius.
Desert Chicory--Nemoseris Neo-Mexicana.
Desert Dandelion--Malacothrix Fendleri.]
[Sidenote: =Chicory, Blue Sailors=
_Cichòrium Íntybus_
=Blue
Summer, autumn
Northwest, etc.=]
This is a straggling plant, from one to three feet tall, a perennial,
with a long, deep tap-root, stiff, branching stems, and leaves
irregularly slashed into toothed lobes and chiefly from the root. The
pretty flowers are from an inch to an inch and a half across, much like
those of Desert Chicory, but very brilliant blue, occasionally white.
This plant has escaped from cultivation and is now very common in waste
places and along roadsides in the East and often found in the West. The
ground-up root is used as a substitute for coffee. There is a picture
in Mathews' _Field Book_.
There are several kinds of Microseris, rather difficult to distinguish.
[Sidenote: =Silver-puffs=
_Microsèris linearifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, Nev.=]
This is about a foot tall, with smooth, hollow flower-stems, smooth
leaves, and rather small yellow flowers, not particularly pretty. The
"gone-to-seed" flower-heads are, however, very conspicuous, for they
are nearly an inch and a half across, and each seed is tipped by a
little silvery paper star, the effect before the wind carries them away
being exceedingly pretty, a good deal like a Dandelion puff. This grows
in the Grand Canyon on the plateau.
There are many kinds of Sonchus, natives of the Old World.
[Sidenote: =Sow Thistle=
_Sónchus oleràceus_
=Yellow
All seasons
West, etc.=]
A common weed, from Europe, found across the continent, coarse but
decorative in form, with a stout leafy stem, from one to four feet
tall, and smooth leaves, with some soft prickles on the edges, the
upper ones clasping the stem and the lower ones with leaf-stalks. The
pale yellow flowers are three-quarters of an inch or more across.
There are several kinds of Taraxacum, natives of the northern
hemisphere and southern South America.
[Sidenote: =Dandelion=
_Taráxacum Taráxacum_
=Yellow
All seasons
U. S., etc.=]
This is a weed in all civilized parts of the world, growing in
meadows, fields, and waste places. It has a thick, deep, bitter root,
a tuft of root-leaves, slashed into toothed lobes, and several hollow
flower-stalks, from two to eighteen inches tall, each bearing a
single, handsome, bright yellow flower, from one to two inches across,
which is succeeded by a beautiful silvery seed puff. This plant has
many common names, such as Blow-ball, Monk's-head, Lion's-tooth, etc.
[Illustration: Sow Thistle--Sonchus oleraceus.
Silver-puffs--Microseris linearifolia.]
[Illustration]
There are a great many kinds of Crepis, natives of the northern
hemisphere.
[Sidenote: =Gray Hawksbeard=
_Crèpis occidentàlis_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
This is a pretty plant, for the gray-green foliage sets off the yellow
flowers. It is from six to eighteen inches high, more or less hairy or
downy all over, with one or several, stout, branching, leafy stems, and
thickish leaves, variously cut, mostly jagged like Dandelion leaves,
with crisp margins, dark bluish-green in color and often covered on
the under side with obscure white down, the root-leaves narrowed to
leaf-stalks at the base. The flower-heads are about an inch across,
with bright yellow rays, the involucre sprinkled with short, dark
hairs. This grows on dry plains, as far east as Colorado.
[Sidenote: =Smooth Hawksbeard=
_Crèpis vìrens_
=Yellow
Summer
Cal., Oreg., etc.=]
This is a weed from Europe, growing in fields and waste places, in the
East and on the Pacific Coast. It is a smooth plant, from one to two
feet tall, with green leaves the shape of Dandelion leaves, chiefly
in a bunch at the root. The many, small, yellow flowers, each about a
quarter of an inch long, are in a loose cluster at the top of the stem.
This is very variable.
[Sidenote: =Hawksbeard=
_Crèpis acuminàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, except Ariz.=]
A handsome and conspicuous plant, often forming large clumps, from one
to three feet tall, with dull green, downy, rather leathery leaves,
irregularly slashed and cut, and large clusters of light bright yellow
flowers, each about three-quarters of an inch across. This grows on
hillsides and on high dry mesas.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Gray Hawksbeard--C. occidentalis.
Hawksbeard--Crepis acuminata.]
INDEX.
_Abronia_, 102.
_Abronia latifolia_, 106.
_Abronia maritima_, 104.
_Abronia salsa_, 104.
_Abronia umbellata_, 104.
_Abronia villosa_, 104.
_Achlys triphylla_, 156.
_Aconitum_, 136.
_Aconitum Columbianum_, 136.
_Actaea_, 140.
_Actaea arguta_, 140.
_Actaea viridiflora_, 140.
_Actinolepis lanosa_, 554.
Adam and Eve, 28.
Adder's tongue, 28.
_Adenostoma_, 228.
_Adenostoma fasciculatum_, 228.
_Adenostoma sparsifolium_, 228.
_Aesculus_, 280.
_Aesculus Californica_, 280.
_Agastache_, 454.
_Agastache pallidiflora_, 456.
_Agastache urticifolia_, 456.
_Agoseris_, 572.
_Agoseris glauca_, 572.
Agoseris, Large-flowered, 572.
_Aizoaceae_, 108.
Alfalfa, 242.
Alfilerilla, 276.
_Alismaceae_, 2.
_Allionia_, 106.
_Allionia linearis_, 106.
_Allium_, 14.
_Allium acuminatum_, 14.
_Allium bisceptrum_, 14.
_Allium serratum_, 14.
_Allotropa virgata_, 360.
_Alpine Avens_, 232.
_Alsine_, 118.
_Alsine longipes_, 118.
Alumroot, 200, 202.
Amapola, 164.
_Amaranthus albus_, 98.
_Amelanchier_, 214.
_Amelanchier alnifolia_, 216.
Amole, 12.
_Amsinckia_, 426.
_Amsinckia intermedia_, 428.
_Anagallis_, 362.
_Anagallis arvensis_, 362.
_Anaphalis_, 526.
_Anaphalis margaritacea_, 526.
_Anemone_, 142, 144.
_Anemone deltoidea_, 144.
_Anemone occidentalis_, 146.
_Anemone parviflora_, 144.
_Anemone quinquefolia var. Grayi_, 144.
_Anemone sphenophylla_, 144.
Anemone, Canyon, 144.
Anemone, Northern, 144.
Anemone, Three-leaved, 144.
Anemone, Western, 146.
Anemone, Wood, 144.
_Anemopsis Californica_, 80.
Angels' Trumpets, 460.
_Anisolotus_, 242.
_Anisolotus argyraeus_, 242.
_Anisolotus decumbens_, 244.
_Anisolotus formosissimus_, 242.
_Anisolotus glaber_, 244.
_Anisolotus strigosus_, 244.
_Anisolotus Wrightii_, 244.
_Anogra_, 328.
_Anogra albicaulis_, 328.
_Anogra coronopifolia_, 328.
_Antennaria rosea_, 526.
_Anthemis_, 546.
_Anthemis Cotula_, 546.
_Anthericum_, 4.
_Anthericum Torreyi_, 4.
_Antirrhinum_, 468.
_Antirrhinum Coulterianum_, 468.
_Antirrhinum glandulosum_, 468.
_Antirrhinum maurandioides_, 466.
_Antirrhinum strictum_, 470.
_Antirrhinum vagans_, 470.
_Antirrhinum virga_, 468.
Apache Plume, 218.
_Aplopappus Brandegei_, 534.
_Apocynaceae_, 378.
_Apocynum_, 378.
_Apocynum androsaemifolium_, 378.
Apple Family, 214.
Apple, 214.
_Aquilegia_, 134.
_Aquilegia leptocera_, 134.
_Aquilegia truncata_, 134.
_Arabis_, 176.
_Arabis Fendleri_, 176.
_Arabis, Fendler's_, 176.
_Arctostaphylos_, 344.
_Arctostaphylos bicolor_, 346.
_Arctostaphylos patula_, 346.
_Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi_, 346.
_Arenaria_, 112.
_Arenaria Fendleri_, 112.
_Argemone_, 162.
_Argemone hispida_, 162.
_Argentina_, 232.
_Argentina Anserina_, 232.
_Aristolochiaceae_, 84.
_Arnica_, 544.
_Arnica cordifolia_, 544.
_Arnica latifolia_, 544.
Arnica, Broad-leaved, 544.
Arnica, Heart-leaved, 544.
Arrowhead, 2.
Arrow-leaf, 558.
_Artemisia_, 544.
_Artemisia tridentata_, 544.
_Aruncus_, 226.
_Aruncus sylvester_, 226.
_Asarum Hartwegi_, 84.
_Asclepiadaceae_, 374.
_Asclepias_, 374, 376.
_Asclepias erosa_, 376.
_Asclepias speciosa_, 374.
_Asclepias vestita var. Mohavensis_, 376.
_Asclepiodora_, 376.
_Asclepiodora decumbens_, 378.
Ash, Flowering, 366.
_Aster_, 532, 542, 544, 556, 568.
_Aster Andersoni_, 570.
_Aster Chamissonis_, 568.
_Aster radulinus_, 568.
Aster, Beach, 534.
Aster, Broad-leaf, 568.
Aster, Cliff, 572.
Aster, Hairy Golden, 530.
Aster, Tall Purple, 556.
Aster, Woolly, 542.
_Astragalus_, 256.
_Astragalus MacDougali_, 260.
_Astragalus Menziesii_, 256.
_Astragalus nothoxys_, 258.
_Astragalus pomonensis_, 258.
_Astragalus Utahensis_, 258.
_Atragene_, 150.
_Atragene occidentalis_, 150.
_Audibertia_, 438, 440, 442.
_Aulospermum longipes_, 336.
_Azalea_, 342.
_Azalea occidentalis_, 342.
Azalea, Small, 348.
Azalea, Western, 342.
_Azaleastrum_, 348.
_Azaleastrum albiflorum_, 348.
Azulea, 70.
Baby Blue-eyes, 412.
_Baccharis_, 568.
_Baccharis pilularis_, 568.
_Baeria_, 550.
_Baeria gracilis_, 550.
_Baeria macrantha_, 550.
_Bahia_, 552.
_Bahia absinthifolia_, 552.
_Baileya multiradiata_, 552.
_Baileya pauciradiata_, 552.
Balm, 456.
Balm, Mountain, 420.
Balsam-root, 558, 560.
Balsam-root, Cut-leaved, 558.
_Balsamorrhiza_, 558.
_Balsamorrhiza Hookeri_, 560.
_Balsamorrhiza macrophylla_, 558.
_Balsamorrhiza sagittata_, 558.
Baneberry, 140.
Barberry Family, 152.
Barberry, 154.
Barberry, Trailing, 154.
Barrenwort, 152.
Bean, 242.
Bearberry, Red.
Bear's Cabbage, 418.
Bear-clover, 222.
Bear Grass, 44.
Bear-mat, 222.
Beard-tongue, 478, 480.
Beard-tongue, Bushy, 482.
Beard-tongue, Large, 478.
Bedstraw, Northern, 508.
Beech-drops, Albany, 360.
Bee-plant, 188.
Bee-plant, California, 490.
Beet, 98.
Belladonna, 458.
Bellflower Family, 520.
Bellflower, 520.
Betony, Alpine, 504.
_Berberidaceae_, 152.
_Berberis_, 154.
_Berberis aquifolium_, 154.
_Berberis Fendleri_, 154.
_Berberis repens_, 154.
Bergamot, 456.
Berry, Salmon, 236, 238.
Berry, Thimble, 238.
_Bicuculla_, 168.
_Bicuculla chrysantha_, 170.
_Bicuculla formosa_, 168.
_Bicuculla uniflora_, 170.
Big Root, 558.
Bilberry, 348.
Bird's Eyes, 394.
Bird-foot, 242, 244.
Bird-foot, Pretty, 242.
Bird-of-paradise, 264.
Birthroot, 42.
Birthwort Family, 84.
_Biscutella_, 178.
Bishop's Cap, 204.
Bisnaga, 306.
Blackberry, 236.
Blackberry, Common, 236.
Black-eyed Susan, 560.
Bladder-bush, 448.
Bladder-cherry, 460.
Bladderpod, 184, 190.
Bladderpod, White, 184.
Bladderpod, Yellow, 184.
Blanket-flower, 556.
Blazing Star, 300.
Bleeding Heart Family, 168.
Bleeding Heart, 168.
_Blepharipappus_, 536, 554.
_Blepharipappus elegans_, 554.
_Blepharipappus glandulosus_, 554.
_Bloomeria_, 22.
_Bloomeria aurea_, 22.
_Bloomeria Clevelandi_, 22.
Blow-ball, 578.
Bluebell, Mountain, 430.
Blue Bells of Scotland, 520.
Blueberry, 348.
Blue-curls, 454.
Blue-curls, Woolly, 454.
Blue Dicks, 16.
Blue-eyes, Baby, 412.
Blue-eyed Grass, 70.
Blue-lips, 488.
Blue Sailors, 576.
Blue-weed, 136.
Blue Witch, 462.
_Boraginaceae_, 422.
Borage Family, 422.
Borage, 402.
Bottle-plant, 90.
Bouvardia, Wild, 400.
Brass Buttons, 562.
_Brassica_, 184.
_Brassica nigra_, 184.
_Brevoortia, Ida-Maia_, 26.
Brittle-bush, 526.
_Brodiaea_, 16.
_Brodiaea capitata_, 16.
_Brodiaea capitata var. pauciflora_, 16.
_Brodiaea coccinea_, 26.
_Brodiaea congesta_, 16.
_Brodiaea Douglasii_, 24.
_Brodiaea grandiflora_, 18.
_Brodiaea lactea_, 24.
_Brodiaea minor_, 18.
_Brodiaea volubilis_, 20.
Brodiaea, Golden, 22.
Brodiaea, Harvest, 18, 24.
Brodiaea, Twining, 20.
Brodiaea, White, 24.
Bronze Bells, 38.
Brooklime, American, 476.
Broom, Chaparral, 568.
Broom, Scotch, 264.
Broom-rape Family, 504.
Brown-foot, 536.
Brown-weed, 536.
_Brunella_, 444.
Brussels Sprouts, 184.
_Bryanthus_, 352.
Buck-bean Family, 380.
Buck-bean, 246, 380.
Buckbrush, 282.
Buckeye Family, 280.
Buckeye, California, 280.
Buckthorn Family, 282.
Buckthorn Weed, 428.
Buckwheat Bush, 94.
Buckwheat Family, 86.
Buckwheat, Wild, 96.
Buena Mujer, 302.
Bugbane, False, 142.
Bunchberry, 340.
Butter Balls, 92.
Buttercup Family, 126.
Buttercup, 38, 234.
Buttercup, Common Western, 126.
Butter-heads, 562.
Butterfly-tongue, 504.
Butterfly Tulip, 62.
Cabbage, 184.
_Cactaceae_, 304.
Cactus Family, 304.
Cactus, 310.
_Cactus Grahami_, 310.
Cactus, Barrel, 306.
Cactus, Column, 310.
Cactus, Fish-hook, 306.
Cactus, Hedgehog, 306.
Cactus, Pincushion, 310.
Calabazilla, 518.
_Calliandra_, 266.
_Calliandra eriophylla_, 266.
_Calochortus_, 56.
_Calochortus albus_, 58.
_Calochortus amabilis_, 56.
_Calochortus Benthami_, 60.
_Calochortus Kennedyi_, 64.
_Calochortus luteus_, 62.
_Calochortus luteus var. citrinus_, 62.
_Calochortus luteus var. oculatus_, 62.
_Calochortus Maweanus_, 60.
_Calochortus nudus_, 60.
_Calochortus Nuttallii_, 64.
_Calochortus venustus_, 62.
_Caltha_, 146.
_Caltha leptosepala_, 146.
_Caltha palustris_, 146.
Caltrop Family, 268.
_Calycanthaceae_, 158.
_Calycanthus_, 158.
_Calycanthus occidentalis_, 158.
_Calyptridium_, 124.
Camass, 48.
Camass, Death, 8, 48.
_Camassia_, 48.
_Camassia quamash_, 48.
_Campanulaceae_, 520.
_Campanula_, 520.
_Campanula prenanthoides_, 520.
_Campanula rotundifolia_, 520.
_Campanula Scouleri_, 520.
Camphor Weed, 454.
Campion, Moss, 114.
Cancer-root, One-flowered, 504.
Canchalagua, 370.
Candle Flower, 294.
Candle, Our Lord's, 40.
Candytuft, 174.
Candytuft, Wild, 178.
Canterbury Bell, Wild, 408.
Caper Family, 186.
Caper, 186.
_Capnoides_, 170.
_Capnoides aureum_, 172.
_Capnoides Scouleri_, 172.
_Capparidaceae_, 186.
_Caprifoliaceae_, 512.
Cardinal Flower, 482.
_Carduus_, 522.
_Carduus Arizonicus_, 524.
_Carduus Californicus_, 524.
_Carduus candadissimus_, 524.
_Carduus Coulteri_, 522.
_Carduus occidentalis_, 524.
_Carduus ochrocentrus_, 524.
Carolina Allspice, 158.
Carpet-weed Family, 108.
Carrot, 332.
_Caryophyllaceae_, 112.
_Cassiaceae_, 264.
_Cassia_, 264.
_Cassia armata_, 266.
Cassia, Golden, 266.
_Cassiope_, 354.
_Cassiope Mertensiana_, 354.
_Castilleja_, 470.
_Castilleja angustifolia_, 472.
_Castilleja miniata_, 472.
_Castilleja pinetorum_, 472.
Catchfly, 112.
Cat's Breeches, 418.
Cat's-clover, 242.
Cauliflower, 184.
Cavalier's Spur, 128.
_Ceanothus_, 282.
_Ceanothus integerrimus_, 284.
_Ceanothus parvifolius_, 284.
_Ceanothus prostratus_, 282.
_Ceanothus velutinus_, 282.
_Centaurium_, 370, 372.
Centaury, California, 370.
Centaury, Tall, 372.
_Cephalanthera_, 72.
_Cephalanthera Austinae_, 72.
_Cerastium_, 118.
_Cerastium arvense_, 118.
_Cereus_, 310.
_Cereus giganteus_, 310.
_Chaenactis_, 548.
_Chaenactis Douglasii_, 548.
_Chaenactis Fremontii_, 548.
_Chaenactis lanosa_, 548.
_Chaenactis macrantha_, 548.
_Chamaebatia foliolosa_, 222.
_Chamaebatiaria_, 230.
_Chamaebatiaria millefolium_, 230.
_Chamaenerion_, 314.
_Chamaenerion angustifolium_, 314.
_Chamaenerion latifolium_, 314.
Chamise, 228.
Chamomile, 546.
Chatter-box, 74.
Checkerberry, 340, 356.
Checker-bloom, 288.
_Chenopodiaceae_, 96.
Cherry, 216.
Cherry, Holly-leaved, 216.
Chia, 452.
Chickweed, 112.
Chickweed, Field, 118.
Chickweed, Mouse-ear, 118.
Chickweed, Tall, 118.
_Chicorium_, 574.
_Chicorium Intybus_, 576.
Chicory Family, 570.
Chicory, 576.
Chicory, Desert, 574.
Chicory, Goat, 572.
Chilicothe, 518.
_Chimaphila_, 356.
_Chimaphila Menziesii_, 356.
Chinese Houses, 488.
Chinese Pusley, 432.
_Chlorogalum pomeridianum_, 12.
Cholla, 308.
_Chorizanthe_, 86.
_Chorizanthe fimbriata_, 86.
_Chorizanthe staticoides_, 86.
Christmas-horns, 132.
Christmas-rose, 138.
_Chrysanthemum_, 540.
_Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, 540.
_Chrysopsis villosa_, 530.
_Chylisma_, 326.
_Chylisma scapoidea var. clavaeformis_, 326.
_Cicoriaceae_, 570.
Cinquefoil, 126, 234.
Cinquefoil, Arctic, 234.
Cinquefoil, Silky, 234.
Cinquefoil, Shrubby, 234.
_Cirsium_, 522.
_Cistaceae_, 304.
_Clarkia_, 320, 322.
_Clarkia concinna_, 322.
_Clarkia elegans_, 320.
_Clarkia pulchella_, 322.
_Clarkia rhomboidea_, 322.
_Claytonia_, 120, 122.
_Claytonia lanceolata_, 122.
Cleavers, 508.
_Cleistoyucca_, 40.
_Cleistoyucca arborescens_, 40.
_Clematis_, 126, 148, 150.
_Clematis lasiantha_, 148.
Clematis, Lilac, 151.
Clematis, Purple, 150.
_Cleome_, 188.
_Cleome platycarpa_, 190.
_Cleome serrulata_, 188.
Cleome, Yellow, 190.
_Cleomella_, 186.
_Cleomella longipes_, 186, 190.
Cliff Rose, 226.
_Clintonia_, 50.
_Clintonia Andrewsiana_, 50.
_Clintonia uniflora_, 50.
Clintonia, Red, 50.
Clintonia, White, 50.
Clocks, 276.
Clover, 242, 260, 262.
Clover, Sour, 262.
_Cnicus_, 522.
_Cogswellia platycarpa_, 334.
Coffee, 506.
_Coleogyne ramosissima_, 230.
_Collinsia_, 486.
_Collinsia bicolor_, 488.
_Collinsia multiflora_, 488.
_Collomia_, 400.
_Collomia grandiflora_, 400.
_Collomia linearis_, 400.
Columbine, Blue, 134.
Columbine, Scarlet, 134.
Columbine, White, 134.
Columbo, 368.
Columbo, Small, 370.
_Comandra_, 82.
_Comandra pallida_, 82.
Comandra, Pale, 82.
Compass Plant, 560.
_Compositae_, 522.
_Conanthus_, 414.
_Conanthus aretioides_, 414.
_Convolvulaceae_, 380.
_Convolvulus_, 382.
_Convolvulus arvensis_, 382.
_Convolvulus occidentalis_, 382.
Copa de Oro, 164.
Coral-root, 76.
_Corallorrhiza_, 76.
_Corallorrhiza Bigelowii_, 76.
_Corallorrhiza multiflora_, 76.
_Coreopsis_, 540.
_Coreopsis Bigelowii_, 540.
_Coreopsis maritima_, 540.
Coreopsis, Desert, 540.
_Coreothrogyne_, 542.
_Coreothrogyne filaginifolia_, 542.
_Cornaceae_, 338.
_Cornus_, 338.
_Cornus Canadensis_, 340.
_Cornus Nuttallii_, 338.
_Cornus stolonifera var. riparia_, 340.
Corn-salad, 508.
Corpse-plant, 358.
_Corydalis_, 172.
Corydal, Golden, 172.
Corydalis, Pink, 172.
Cotton, Arizona Wild, 286.
_Cotula coronopifolia_, 562.
_Cotyledon_, 194.
Covena, 16.
_Covillea glutinosa_, 268.
_Cowania Stansburiana_, 226.
Cow-herb, 116.
Cowslip, American, 364.
Crane's-bill, 274.
Crane's-bill, Long-stalked, 276.
_Crassina_, 552.
_Crassina pumila_, 552.
_Crassulaceae_, 192.
Cream-cups, 166.
Creosote-bush, 268.
_Crepis_, 578.
_Crepis acuminata_, 578.
_Crepis occidentalis_, 578.
_Crepis virens_, 578.
Crimson-beak, 268.
Crocus, 38.
Crown Imperial, 38.
Crowtoes, 242.
_Cruciferae_, 174.
_Cryptanthe_, 428.
_Cryptanthe intermedia_, 428.
_Cucurbitaceae_, 518.
_Cucurbita_, 518.
_Cucurbita foetidissima_, 518.
Cucumber, Wild, 518.
Cudweed, 526.
Currant, Black, 212.
Currant, Buffalo, 214.
Currant, Golden, 214.
Currant, Missouri, 214.
Currant, Sierra, 212.
_Cuscuta_, 382.
Cyclamen, Wild, 364.
_Cycloloma_, 98.
_Cycloloma atriplicifolium_, 98.
_Cymopterus_, 334, 336.
Cypress, Wild, 394.
_Cypripedium_, 78.
_Cypripedium Californicum_, 78.
_Cypripedium montanum_, 78.
_Cypripedium parviflorum_, 78.
_Cytisus_, 264.
_Cytisus scoparius_, 264.
Dahlia, Sea, 540.
Daisy, 522
Daisy Dwarf, 554.
Daisy, Easter, 530.
Daisy, Ground, 530.
Daisy, Ox-eye, 540.
Daisy, Seaside, 534.
Daisy, White Mountain, 534.
Daisy, Woolly Yellow, 546.
_Dalea_, 248.
Dandelion, 576.
Dandelion, Desert, 574.
_Dasiphora fruticosa_, 234.
_Datura_, 458.
_Datura meteloides_, 458.
_Datura stramonium_, 460.
_Datura suaveolens_, 460.
Datura, Large-flowered, 458.
Deer-brush, 284.
Deer-foot, 156.
Deer-weed, 244.
Deer's Tongue, 368.
_Delphinium_, 128.
_Delphinium cardinale_, 132.
_Delphinium bicolor_, 130.
_Delphinium Hanseni_, 128.
_Delphinium nudicaule_, 132.
_Delphinium Parryi_, 130.
_Delphinium scaposum_, 128.
_Delphinium variegatum_, 132.
_Dendromecon_, 156.
_Dendromecon rigida_, 166.
_Dentaria_, 174.
_Dentaria Californica_, 174.
Desert Holly, 536.
Desert Star, 548.
Desert Zinnia, 552.
_Deutzia_, 206.
_Dicentra_, 168, 170.
_Diplacus_, 490.
_Diplacus longiflorus_, 490.
_Diplacus puniceus_, 490.
_Disporum_, 54.
_Disporum Hookeri_, 54.
_Disporum trachycarpum_, 54.
_Dithyrea_, 178.
_Dithyrea Wislizeni_, 178.
Dock, 86, 88.
Dock, Sand, 88.
Dodder, 382.
_Dodecatheon_, 364.
_Dodecatheon Clevelandi_, 364.
_Dodecatheon Jeffreyi_, 364.
_Dodecatheon pauciflorum_, 366.
Dogbane Family, 378.
Dogbane, Spreading, 378.
Dog Fennel, 546.
Dog-tooth Violet, 28.
Dogwood Family, 338.
Dogwood, Flowering, 338.
Dogwood, Pacific, 338.
Dogwood, Red-osier, 340.
Dormidera, 164.
Drops of Gold, 54.
_Drupaceae_, 216.
_Dryas_, 232.
_Dryas octopetala_, 232.
_Dryopetalon runcinatum_, 182.
Duck-bill, 502.
_Dudleya_, 194.
_Dudleya Nevadensis_, 194.
_Dudleya pulverulenta_, 194.
Dutchman's Breeches, 168, 172.
Easter Bells, 28, 30.
_Echeveria_, 194.
_Echinocactus_, 304.
_Echinocactus Wislizeni_, 306.
_Echinocereus_, 306.
_Echinocereus polyacanthus_, 306.
_Echinocystis_, 518.
Egg-plant, 458.
Elephants' Heads, 504.
_Emmenanthe_, 416.
_Emmenanthe lutea_, 416.
_Emmenanthe penduliflora_, 418.
_Encelia, Californica_, 528.
_Encelia eriocephala_, 526.
_Encelia farinosa_, 526.
_Encelia frutescens_, 528.
Encelia, California, 528.
_Epilobium_, 314, 316.
_Epilobium Franciscanum_, 316.
_Epipactis_, 74.
_Ericaceae_, 340.
_Erigeron_, 532.
_Erigeron aureus_, 534.
_Erigeron Breweri_, 532.
_Erigeron compositus_, 536.
_Erigeron concinnus var. aphanactis_, 532.
_Erigeron Coulteri_, 534.
_Erigeron divergens_, 532.
_Erigeron flagellaris_, 532.
_Erigeron glaucus_, 534.
_Erigeron Philadelphicus_, 534.
_Erigeron pumilis_, 532.
_Erigeron salsuginosus_, 534.
_Erimiastrum bellidoides_, 548.
_Eriodictyon_, 420.
_Eriodictyon Californicum_, 420.
_Eriodictyon tomentosum_, 420.
_Eriogonum_, 90.
_Eriogonum Bakeri_, 94.
_Eriogonum compositum_, 92.
_Eriogonum elatum_, 90.
_Eriogonum fasciculatum_, 94.
_Eriogonum flavum_, 94.
_Eriogonum incanum_, 94.
_Eriogonum inflatum_, 90.
_Eriogonum orthocaulon_, 92.
_Eriogonum racemosum_, 96.
_Eriophyllum_, 546.
_Eriophyllum caespitosum var. integrifolium_, 546.
_Eriophyllum confertiflorum_, 546.
_Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. discoideum_, 546.
_Eriophyllum lanatum_, 546.
_Erodium_, 276.
_Erodium cicutarium_, 276.
_Erodium moschatum_, 276.
_Erysimum_, 176.
_Erysimum asperum_, 176.
_Erysimum asperum var. perenne_, 178.
_Erysimum capitatum_, 178.
_Erythraea_, 370.
_Erythraea Douglasii_, 372
_Erythraea exaltata_, 372.
_Erythraea venusta_, 370.
_Erythronium_, 26.
_Erythronium grandiflorum_, 28.
_Erythronium montanum_, 28.
_Erythronium parviflorum_, 28.
_Eschscholtzia_, 164.
_Eschscholtzia Californica_, 164.
Escobita, 500.
Espuela del caballero, 128.
_Eucharidium_, 322.
_Eulobus Californicus_, 312.
_Eulophus Bolanderi_, 336.
Evening Primrose Family, 312.
Evening Primrose, 324, 330.
Evening Primrose, Cut-leaved, 328.
Evening Primrose, Prairie, 328.
Evening Primrose, White, 326.
Evening Snow, 388.
Evening Star, 302.
Everlasting, Pearly, 526.
Everlasting, Rosy, 526.
_Fabaceae_, 242.
Fairy Bells, 54.
Fairy Dusters, 266.
_Fallugia paradoxa_, 218.
Farewell-to-Spring, 318.
_Fendlera_, 206.
_Fendlera rupicola_, 206.
Fern-bush, 230.
_Ferula_, 334.
Fig-marigold, 110.
Figwort Family, 466.
Fiddle-neck, 428.
Filaree, Red-stem, 276.
Filaree, White-stem, 276.
Fire-cracker Flower, 26.
Fire-weed, 314.
Flag, Western Blue, 66.
Flaming Sword, 294.
Flat-top, 94.
Flax Family, 270.
Flax, Blue, 270.
Fleabane, 532.
Fleabane, Large Mountain, 534.
Fleabane, Philadelphia, 534.
Fleabane, Rayless, 532.
Fleabane, Spreading, 532.
Fleabane, Whip-lash, 532.
Fleabane, Yellow, 534.
Fleur-de-lis, 66.
_Floerkia_, 278.
_Floerkia Douglasii_, 278.
Floriponda, 460.
Flower-de-luce, 66.
Flowering-fungus, 360.
Flowering-straw, 570.
Fly Flower, 550.
Forget-me-not, 422, 430.
Forget-me-not, White, 422, 428.
Forget-me-not, Wild, 424.
_Fouquieriaceae_, 294.
Fouquiera Family, 294.
_Fouquiera splendens_, 294.
Four-o'clock Family, 100.
Four-o'clock, 100.
Four-o'clock, California, 102.
_Fragaria_, 240.
_Fragaria bracteata_, 240.
_Fragaria Chiloensis_, 240.
_Frasera_, 368.
_Frasera nitida_, 370.
_Frasera speciosa_, 368.
_Fraxinus_, 366.
_Fraxinus macropetala_, 366.
Friar's cap, 136.
Fried-eggs, 162.
Fringe-bush, 366.
_Fritillaria_, 38.
_Fritillaria atropurpurea_, 38.
_Fritillaria pudica_, 38.
Fritillary, Brown, 38.
Fritillary, Yellow, 38.
_Fumariaceae_, 168.
_Gaillardia_, 556.
_Gaillardia aristata_, 556.
_Gaillardia Arizonica_, 556.
_Gaillardia pinnatifida_, 556.
Gaillardia, Arizona, 556.
_Galium_, 508.
_Galium boreale_, 508.
Gallito, 300.
_Gaultheria_, 340, 356.
_Gaultheria ovatifolia_, 342.
_Gaultheria Shallon_, 342.
_Gayophytum_, 316.
_Gayophytum eriospermum_, 316.
_Gentianaceae_, 368.
_Gentiana_, 372.
_Gentiana acuta_, 372.
_Gentiana calycosa_, 372.
_Gentiana lutea_, 372.
_Gentiana propinqua_, 372.
Gentian Family, 368.
Gentian, 372.
Gentian, Blue, 372.
Gentian, Northern, 372.
_Geraniaceae_, 274.
_Geranium_, 274.
_Geranium columbinum_, 276.
_Geranium Fremontii_, 274.
_Geranium furcatum_, 274.
_Geranium incisum_, 274.
Geranium Family, 274.
Geranium, Wild, 274.
Ghost Tree, 246.
Ghost-flower, 358.
Giant Bird's-nest, 360.
_Gilia_, 386, 388, 390, 392, 400.
_Gilia achillaefolia_, 398.
_Gilia aggregata_, 392.
_Gilia Californica_, 398.
_Gilia capitata_, 398.
_Gilia floccosa_, 396.
_Gilia multicaulis_, 396.
_Gilia multiflora_, 398.
_Gilia pungens_, 396.
_Gilia rigidula_, 394.
_Gilia tricolor_, 394.
Gilia, Blue Desert, 394.
Gilia, Downy, 396.
Gilia, Fringed, 390.
Gilia, Large Prickly, 398.
Gilia, Scarlet, 392.
Gilia, Small Prickly, 396.
Gilia, Yellow, 388.
Ginger, Wild, 84.
Globe-flower, 142.
Globe Tulip, White, 58.
Globe Tulip, Yellow, 56.
_Gnaphalium microcephalum_, 526.
Goat's Beard, 226.
_Godetia_, 318.
_Godetia deflexa_, 318.
_Godetia Dudleyana_, 320.
_Godetia Goddardii var. capitata_, 318.
_Godetia quadrivulnera_, 318.
_Godetia viminea_, 320.
Golden Eardrops, 170.
Golden-eyed Grass, 70.
Golden Girls, 548.
Golden Hills, 526.
Golden Stars, 22.
Golden-rod, Arizona, 562.
Golden-rod, California, 564.
Golden-rod, Western, 564.
Gold Fields, 550.
_Gomphocarpus_, 376.
_Gomphocarpus cordifolius,_ 376.
Gooseberry Family, 210.
Gooseberry, Canyon, 210.
Gooseberry, Fuchsia-flowered, 210.
Gooseberry, Wild, 210.
Goose-grass, 508.
Gourd Family, 518.
Gourd, 518.
Grass Nuts, 16.
Grass of Parnassus, 196.
_Grayia_, 98.
_Grayia polygaloides_, 98.
_Grayia spinosa_, 98.
Greasewood, 228.
Greek Valerian, 384.
_Grindelia_, 558.
_Grindelia latifolia_, 558.
Gromwell, 424, 426.
_Grossulariaceae_, 210.
_Grossularia_, 210.
_Grossularia Menziesii_, 210.
_Grossularia Roezli_, 210.
_Grossularia speciosa_, 210.
Ground-cherry, 460.
Groundsel, 564.
Groundsel-tree, 568.
Gum Plant, 558.
Gum-weed, 538.
_Gutierrezia_, 536.
_Gutierrezia Euthamiae_, 536.
_Gutierrezia Sarothrae_, 536.
Hairbell, 58, 520.
Harebell, 58, 520.
Harebell, California, 520.
Hardhack, 230.
_Hastingsia_, 10.
_Hastingsia alba_, 10.
Hawksbeard, 578.
Hawksbeard, Gray, 578.
Hawksbeard, Smooth, 578.
Hawthorn, 214.
Heartsease, Western, 296.
Heath Family, 340.
Heather, 352.
Heather, Red, 352.
Heather, White, 354.
Heather, Yellow, 352.
Hediondilla, 268.
_Hedysarum_, 260.
_Hedysarum pabulare_, 260.
_Helenium_, 538.
_Helenium Bigelowii_, 538.
_Helianthemum_, 304.
_Helianthemum scoparium_, 304.
_Helianthus_, 528.
_Helianthus annuus_, 528.
_Helianthus fascicularis_, 530.
_Heliotropium_, 432.
_Heliotropium Curassavicum_, 432.
Heliotrope, Sea-side, 432.
Heliotrope, Wild, 410.
Hellebore, 8.
Hellebore, False, 10.
Helmet-flower, 446.
Hen-and-Chickens, 194.
_Hesperocallis undulata_, 30.
_Hesperonia_, 100.
_Hesperonia Californica_, 102.
_Hesperonia glutinosa_, 102.
_Hesperonia glutinosa var. gracilis_, 102.
_Heuchera_, 200.
_Heuchera micrantha_, 200, 202.
_Heuchera rubescens_, 202.
_Hippocastanaceae_, 280.
Hog's Potato, 8.
Hog-onion, 16.
Holly, Desert, 536.
Hollyhock, Wild, 288.
Holly-leaved Cherry, 216.
_Holodiscus_, 236.
Honey-bloom, 378.
Honey-locust, 264.
Honeysuckle Family, 512.
Honeysuckle, Pink, 514.
Honeysuckle, Orange, 512.
Honeysuckle, Yellow, 514.
Honeysuckle, Wild, 394.
_Hookera coronaria_, 18.
_Horkelia_, 224.
_Horkelia fusca_, 224.
Horse Chestnut, 280.
Horse-mint, 456.
Horse-radish, 174.
_Hosackia_, 242, 244.
_Houstonia_, 506.
_Houstonia rubra_, 506.
Huckleberry, 348.
Huckleberry, California, 348.
Huckleberry, Fool's, 350.
Hyacinth, Indian, 24.
Hyacinth, Wild, 16, 48.
_Hydrangeaceae_, 206.
Hydrangea Family, 206.
Hydrangea, 206.
_Hydrophyllaceae_, 402.
_Hydrophyllum_, 418.
_Hydrophyllum capitatum_, 418.
_Hymenatherum Hartwegi_, 556.
_Hymenopappus luteus_, 538.
_Hypericaceae_, 292.
_Hypericum_, 292.
_Hypericum anagalloides_, 292.
_Hypericum concinnum_, 292.
_Hypericum formosum var. Scouleri_, 292.
_Hypopitys Hypopitys_, 358.
_Hypopitys sanguinea_, 360.
_Hyptis_, 442.
_Hyptis_, _Emoryi_, 442.
Hyssop, Giant, 456.
Ice-plant, 108.
Incense-shrub, 212.
Indian Dye-stuff, 424.
Indian Pipe Family, 356.
Indian Pipe, 358.
Indian Warrior, 502.
_Ingenhouzia triloba_, 286.
Innocence, Desert, 506.
Inside-out Flower, 152.
_Iridaceae_, 66.
_Iris_, 66.
_Iris Douglasiana_, 68.
_Iris Hartwegi_, 68.
_Iris macrosiphon_, 68.
_Iris Missouriensis_, 66.
Iris Family, 66.
Iris, Douglas, 68.
Iris, Ground, 68.
Iris, Hartweg's, 68.
Islay, 216.
Isomeris arborea, 190.
Ithuriel's Spear, 18, 24.
_Ivesia_, 224.
Jacob's Ladder, 384.
Jerusalem Star, 574.
Jimson-weed, 460.
Johnny Jump-up, 300.
Johnny-Tuck, 498.
Johnny-Tuck, Pink, 498.
Joshua Tree, 40.
Judas Tree, 264.
June-berry, 216.
_Kalmia_, 350.
_Kalmia glauca var. microphylla_, 350.
_Kalmia microphylla_, 350.
_Kelloggia galioides_, 506.
Kentucky Coffee-tree, 264.
Kinnikinic, 346.
Kittikit, 222.
Kit-kit-dizze, 222.
Knot-weed, 96.
_Krameriaceae_, 268.
_Krameria Grayi_, 268.
Krameria Family, 268.
_Labiatae_, 434.
Labrador Tea, Woolly, 350.
Lady's Slipper, Mountain, 78.
Lamb's Quarters, 98.
Languid Lady, 430.
Lantern of the Fairies, 58.
_Laphamia bisetosa_, 558.
_Lappula_, 422.
_Lappula Californica_, 424.
_Lappula floribunda_, 424.
_Lappula nervosa_, 424.
_Lappula subdecumbens_, 422.
_Lappula velutina_, 424.
Larkspur, 128.
Larkspur, Blue, 128, 130.
Larkspur, Foothills, 129.
Larkspur, Sacramento, 132.
Larkspur, Scarlet, 132.
_Larrea Mexicana_, 268.
_Lathyrus_, 254.
_Lathyrus graminifolius_, 254.
_Lathyrus splendens_, 256.
_Lathyrus Utahensis_, 254.
Laurel, Swamp, 350.
_Lavatera_, 290.
_Lavatera assurgentiflora_, 290.
_Lavauxia_, 330.
_Lavauxia primiveris_, 330.
_Layia_, 554.
_Ledum_, 350.
_Ledum glandulosum_, 352.
_Ledum Groenlandicum_, 350.
_Leptasea_, 196.
_Leptasea austromontana_, 198.
_Leptaxis Menziesii_, 200.
_Leptosyne_, 540.
_Leptotaenia multifida_, 334.
_Lesquerella_, 184, 190.
_Lesquerella Arizonica_, 184.
_Lesquerella Gordoni_, 184.
_Lesquerella purpurea_, 184.
_Lessingia_, 542, 550.
_Lessingia Germanorum_, 550.
_Lessingia leptoclada_, 550.
Lettuce, Indian, 122.
Lilac, Blue Mountain, 284.
Lilac, Mountain, 282, 284.
_Liliaceae_, 4.
_Lilium_, 32.
_Lilium Columbianum_, 36.
_Lilium pardalinum_, 36.
_Lilium Parryi_, 34.
_Lilium parvum_, 32.
_Lilium rubescens_, 36.
_Lilium Washingtonianum_, 34.
Lily Family, 4.
Lilies, 32.
Lily, Amber, 4.
Lily, Avalanche, 28.
Lily Bell, Golden, 56.
Lily, Chamise, 28.
Lily, Chaparral, 36.
Lily, Cluster, 16.
Lily, Desert, 30.
Lily, Fawn, 28.
Lily, Glacier, 28.
Lily, Indian Pond, 156.
Lily, Lemon, 34.
Lily, Leopard, 36.
Lily, Ruby, 36.
Lily, Sego, 64.
Lily, Shasta, 34.
Lily, Small Tiger, 32.
Lily, Tiger, 36.
Lily-of-the-valley, Wild, 44.
Lily, Washington, 34.
Lily, Water, 156.
_Limnanthaceae_, 278.
_Limnanthes_, 278.
_Limnorchis_, 78.
_Limnorchis leucostachys_, 78.
_Linaceae_, 270.
_Linanthus_, 386.
_Linanthus androsaceus_, 386.
_Linanthus aureus_, 388.
_Linanthus breviculus_, 386.
_Linanthus dianthiflorus_, 390.
_Linanthus dichotomus_, 388.
_Linanthus liniflorus_, 390.
_Linanthus Parryae_, 386.
_Linanthus parviflorus_, 388.
_Linanthus parviflorus var. acicularis_, 388.
_Linaria_, 474.
_Linaria Canadensis_, 474.
_Linnaea borealis var. Americana_, 514.
_Linum_, 270.
_Linum Lewisii_, 270.
_Linum usitatissimum_, 270.
Lion's-tooth, 578.
_Lithophragma_, 198.
_Lithophragma heterophylla_, 198.
_Lithospermum_, 424.
_Lithospermum angustifolium_, 426.
_Lithospermum multiflorum_, 426.
_Lithospermum pilosum_, 424.
Lizard-tail Family, 80.
_Loasaceae_, 300.
Loasa Family, 300.
Loco-weed, 256, 258, 260.
_Lonicera_, 512.
_Lonicera Californica_, 514.
_Lonicera ciliosa_, 512.
_Lonicera hispidula_, 514.
_Lonicera involucrata_, 512.
_Lophanthus_, 456.
Lotus, 242, 244.
Lousewort, 502.
Love-vine, 382.
Lungwort, 430.
_Lupinus_, 250.
_Lupinus arboreus_, 250.
_Lupinus citrinus_, 252.
_Lupinus lacteus_, 252.
_Lupinus laxiflorus_, 252.
_Lupinus rivularis_, 250.
_Lupinus Stiversii_, 252.
Lupine, Bi-colored, 253.
Lupine, False, 246.
Lupine, Milk-white, 252.
Lupine, Parti-colored, 252.
Lupine, River, 250.
Lupine, Tree.
_Lycium_, 464.
_Lycium Cooperi_, 464.
_Machaeranthera incana_, 556.
Madder Family, 506.
Madder, 506.
_Madia_, 538.
_Madia dissitiflora_, 538.
_Madia elegans_, 538.
_Madia madioides_, 538.
Madia, Common, 538.
Madia, Woodland, 538.
Mahala Mats, 282.
_Maianthemum_, 44.
_Maianthemum bifolium_, 44.
_Malacothrix_, 572.
_Malacothrix Californica_, 572.
_Malacothrix Coulteri_, 572.
_Malacothrix Fendleri_, 574.
_Malacothrix glabrata_, 572.
_Malacothrix saxatilis_, 572.
Mallow Family, 284.
Mallow, 286, 288.
Mallow, False, 290.
Mallow, Oregon, 286.
Mallow, Rose, 286.
Mallow, Salmon Globe, 291.
Mallow, Scarlet, 290.
Mallow, Spotted, 288.
Mallow, Tree, 290.
_Malvaceae_, 284.
_Malvastrum_, 288.
_Malvastrum rotundifolium_, 288.
_Malvastrum Thurberi_, 290.
_Mamillaria_, 310.
Manzanilla, 562.
Manzanita, 346.
Manzanita, Green, 346.
Mariana, 412.
Marigold, White Marsh, 146.
Marigold, Wild, 552.
Marigold, Yellow Marsh, 146.
Mariposa Tulip, 62, 64.
Mariposa Tulip, Orange, 64.
Mariposa Tulip, Yellow, 62.
_Matricaria matricarioides_, 562.
Matrimony, Desert, 464.
Matrimony Vine, 464.
_Maurandia_, 466.
_Maurandia antirrhiniflora_, 466.
Mayweed, 546.
Meadow Foam Family, 278.
Meadow Foam, 278.
Meadow Rue, 150.
Meadowsweet, Flat-top, 278.
_Mentzelia_, 300.
_Mentzelia gracilenta_, 302.
_Mentzelia laevicaulis_, 300.
_Mentzelia Lindleyi_, 302.
_Mentzelia multiflora_, 302.
_Menyanthaceae_, 380.
_Menyanthes trifoliata_, 380.
_Menziesia_, 350.
_Menziesia ferruginea_, 350.
_Menziesia urcelolaria_, 350.
_Mertensia_, 430.
_Mertensia brevistyla_, 430.
_Mertensia Sibirica_, 430.
_Mesembryanthemum_, 108.
_Mesembryanthemum aequilaterale_, 110.
_Mesembryanthemum crystallinum_, 108.
_Micrampelis_, 518.
_Micrampelis fabacea_, 518.
_Micranthes_, 202.
_Micranthes Oregana_, 202.
_Micranthes rhomboidea_, 202.
_Micromeria_, 436.
_Micromeria Chamissonis_, 436.
_Micromeria Douglasii_, 436.
_Microseris_, 576.
_Microseris linearifolia_, 576.
Milk Maids, 174.
Milkweed Family, 374.
Milkweed, Desert, 376.
Milkweed, Pale, 376.
Milkweed, Purple, 376.
Milkweed, Showy, 374.
Milkweed, Spider, 378.
Milkwort Family, 278.
Milkwort, California, 278.
_Mimosaceae_, 266.
Mimosa Family, 266.
_Mimulus_, 490, 492.
_Mimulus brevipes_, 492.
_Mimulus cardinalis_, 494.
_Mimulus Fremontii_, 494.
_Mimulus Langsdorfii_, 496.
_Mimulus Lewisii_, 492.
_Mimulus moschatus_, 496.
_Mimulus primuloides_, 494.
_Mimulus Torreyi_, 494.
Miner's Lettuce, 120.
Mint Family, 434.
Mint, Horse, 456.
Mint, Mustang, 436.
_Mirabilis_, 100, 102.
_Myosotis_, 422.
Mission Bells, 38.
_Mitella_, 204.
_Mitella ovalis_, 204.
Mitrewort, 204.
_Moccasin, Indian_, 78.
Mock-orange, 208.
Modesty, 204.
_Monarda_, 456.
_Monarda citriodora_, 456.
_Monarda pectinata_, 456.
_Monardella_, 436.
_Monardella lanceolata_, 436.
_Moneses uniflora_, 354.
Monkey-flower, 492.
Monkey-flower, Bush, 490.
Monkey-flower, Common-yellow, 496.
Monkey-flower, Desert, 494.
Monkey-flower, Little Pink, 494.
Monkey-flower, Little Yellow, 494.
Monkey-flower, Pink, 492.
Monkey-flower, Scarlet, 494.
Monkey-flower, Sticky, 490.
Monk's-head, 578.
Monkshood, 136.
_Monotropaceae_, 356.
_Monotropa_, 358.
_Monotropa uniflora_, 358.
_Montia_, 120.
_Montia parviflora_, 120.
_Montia parvifolia_, 122.
_Montia perfoliata_, 122.
Morning Bride, 548.
Morning-glory Family, 380.
Morning-glory, Field, 382.
Morning-glory, Yellow, 382.
Mosquito-bills, 364.
Moss Campion, 114.
Mountain Ash, 214.
Mountain Lilac, 282, 284.
Mountain Misery, 222.
_Muilla_, 26.
_Muilla maritima_, 26.
Mule-ears, 560.
_Muscaria_, 198.
_Muscaria caespitosa_, 198.
Musk-plant, 496.
Mustard Family, 174.
Mustard, 174.
Mustard, Black, 184.
Mustard, Tumbling, 98.
_Myosotis_, 422.
Nap-at-noon, 574.
_Nemophila_, 410.
_Nemophila aurita_, 414.
_Nemophila insignis_, 412.
_Nemophila intermedia_, 412.
_Nemophila maculata_, 412.
Nemophila, Climbing, 414.
Nemophila, Spotted, 412.
_Nemoseris Californica_, 574.
_Nemoseris Neo-Mexicana_, 574.
Nettle, Common Hedge, 446.
Nettle, Hedge, 444.
_Nicotiana_, 464.
_Nicotiana glauca_, 464.
Nievitas, 428.
Nigger-babies, 70, 336.
Nightshade, 462.
Nightshade, Purple, 462.
Ninebark, 218.
Noonas, 56.
_Nuphar_, 156.
_Nyctaginaceae_, 100.
_Nymphaceae_, 156.
_Nymphaea polysepala_, 156.
Ocean Spray, 236.
Ocotillo, 294.
_Oenothera_, 324, 326, 328, 330.
_Oenothera cheiranthifolia var. suffruticosa_, 324.
_Oleaceae_, 366.
Olive Family, 366.
_Onagraceae_, 312.
_Onagra_, 330.
_Onagra biennis_, 330.
_Onagra Hookeri_, 330.
Onion, Pink Wild, 14.
Onion, Wild, 14.
Ookow, 16.
_Opulaster_, 218.
_Opulaster malvaceus_, 218.
_Opuntia_, 306, 310.
_Opuntia acanthocarpa_, 306.
_Opuntia basilaris_, 308.
_Opuntia fulgida_, 308.
_Orchidaceae_, 72.
Orchid Family, 72.
Orchis, Phantom, 72.
Orchis, Sierra Rein, 78.
Orchis, Stream, 74.
Oregon Grape, 154.
_Oreocarya_, 432.
_Oreocarya multicaulis_, 432.
_Oreocarya setosissima_, 432.
_Ornithogalum_, 200.
_Orobanchaceae_, 504.
_Orobanche_, 504.
_Orogenia linearifolia_, 332.
Orojo de Leabre 564.
Orpine Family, 192.
_Orthocarpus_, 496.
_Orthocarpus attenuatus_, 500.
_Orthocarpus densiflorus_, 500.
_Orthocarpus erianthus_, 498.
_Orthocarpus erianthus var. roseus_, 498.
_Orthocarpus erianthus var. versicolor_, 498.
_Orthocarpus exsertus_, 500.
_Orthocarpus faucibarbatus_, 498.
_Orthocarpus luteus_, 498.
_Orthocarpus purpureo-albus_, 500.
_Orthocarpus purpurascens_, 500.
Owl's-clover, 496, 500.
Owl's-clover, Yellow, 498.
_Oxalidaceae_, 272.
_Oxalis_, 272.
_Oxalis corniculata_, 272.
_Oxalis Oregana_, 272.
Oyster Plant, 574.
Oyster, Vegetable, 574.
_Pachylophus_, 326.
_Pachylophus marginatus_, 326.
_Paeonia Brownii_, 138.
Paint Brush, 472.
Paint Brush, Indian, 470.
Paint Brush, Scarlet, 472.
Painted Cup, 470.
Palo Verde, 264.
Pansy, Yellow, 300.
_Papaveraceae_, 160.
_Papaver_, 162.
_Papaver heterophyllum_, 164.
_Papaver somniferum_, 162.
Paper Flowers, 542.
_Parnassia_, 196.
_Parnassia fimbriata_, 196.
_Parnassia Californica_, 196.
_Parosela_, 246.
_Parosela Californica_, 248.
_Parosela Emoryi_, 248.
_Parosela spinosa_, 246.
Parsley Family, 332.
Parsley, 332.
Parsley, Whisk-broom, 334.
Parsnip, 332.
Parsnip, Indian, 336.
Pea Family, 242.
Pea, 242.
Pea, Chaparral, 248.
Pea, Golden, 246.
Pear, 214.
_Pedicularis_, 502.
_Pedicularis centranthera_, 504.
_Pedicularis densiflora_, 502.
_Pedicularis Groenlandica_, 504.
_Pedicularis ornithorhynca_, 502.
_Pedicularis semibarbata_, 504.
Pe-ik, 560.
_Pelargonium_, 274.
Pelican Flower, Yellow, 498.
Pennycress, 178.
Pennyroyal, Western, 436.
_Penstemon_, 478.
_Penstemon acuminatus_, 480.
_Penstemon antirrhinoides_, 482.
_Penstemon breviflorus_, 486.
_Penstemon Bridgesii_, 484.
_Penstemon centranthifolius_, 484.
_Penstemon confertus_, 482.
_Penstemon confertus var. caeruleo-purpureus_, 482.
_Penstemon cordifolius_, 480.
_Penstemon cyananthus_, 480.
_Penstemon Eatoni_, 484.
_Penstemon glandulosus_, 478.
_Penstemon heterophyllus_, 484.
_Penstemon laetus_, 484.
_Penstemon linarioides_, 484.
_Penstemon Newberryi_, 480.
_Penstemon Parryi_, 482.
_Penstemon Rattani var. minor_, 478.
_Penstemon Torreyi_, 486.
_Penstemon Wrightii_, 484.
Penstemon, Blue, 480.
Penstemon, Cardinal, 482.
Penstemon, Honeysuckle, 480.
Penstemon, Scarlet, 486.
Penstemon, Variable, 482.
Penstemon, Yawning, 486.
_Pentachaeta aurea_, 554.
Peony, Wild, 138.
Peppergrass, 174.
Pepper-root, 174.
_Perezia nana_, 536.
_Perezia Wrightii_, 536.
Persian Prince, 450.
_Peucedanum Euryptera_, 332.
_Peucedanum simplex_, 334.
_Phacelia_, 402, 404, 406, 408.
_Phacelia alpina_, 410.
_Phacelia Arizonica_, 410.
_Phacelia crenulata_, 410.
_Phacelia distans_, 404.
_Phacelia Fremontii_, 406.
_Phacelia glechomaefolia_, 402.
_Phacelia grandiflora_, 408.
_Phacelia linearis_, 406.
_Phacelia longipes_, 402.
_Phacelia Parryi_, 404.
_Phacelia ramosissima_, 406.
_Phacelia sericea_, 404.
_Phacelia viscida_, 408.
_Phacelia viscida var. albiflora_, 408.
_Phacelia Whitlavia_, 408.
Phacelia, _Alpine_, 410.
Phacelia, Arizona, 410.
Phacelia, Mountain, 405.
_Philadelphus_, 206.
_Philadelphus Californicus_, 208.
_Philadelphus microphyllus_, 208.
_Phlox_, 390.
_Phlox Douglasii_, 390.
_Phlox longifolia_, 392.
_Phlox Stansburyi_, 392.
Phlox Family, 384.
Phlox, Alpine, 390, 396.
_Phyllodoce_, 352.
_Phyllodoce Breweri_, 352.
_Phyllodoce empetriformis_, 352.
_Phyllodoce glanduliflora_, 352.
_Physalis_, 460.
_Physalis crassifolia_, 460.
_Physalis Fendleri_, 460.
_Physocarpus_, 218.
_Pickeringia_, 248.
Pigweed Family, 96.
Pimpernel, Scarlet, 294, 362.
Pinclover, 276.
Pineapple-weed, 562.
Pine-drops, 360.
Pine-sap, 358.
Pink Family, 112.
Pink, 112.
Pink, Cushion, 114.
Pink, Desert, 570.
Pink, Ground, 390.
Pink, Indian, 114, 116.
Pink, Windmill, 114.
Pink Lady-fingers, 258.
Pink Fairies, 322.
Pinkets, 276.
Pipe-stem, 148.
Pipsissewa, 356.
_Plagiobothrys nothofulvus_, 428.
_Platystemon_, 166.
_Platystemon Californicus_, 166.
_Plectritis_, 508.
_Pleuricospora fimbriolata_, 360.
Plum Family, 216.
Plum, 216.
Polecat Plant, 394.
_Polemoniaceae_, 384.
_Polemonium_, 384.
_Polemonium carneum_, 384.
_Polemonium coeruleum_, 384.
_Polemonium occidentale_, 384.
_Polygalaceae_, 278.
_Polygala Californica_, 278.
_Polygonaceae_, 86.
_Polygonum_, 96.
_Polygonum bistortoides_, 96.
_Pomaceae_, 214.
Poor-man's Weather-glass, 362.
Popcorn Beauty, 498.
Popcorn Flower, 428.
Popcorn Flower, Pink, 498.
Poppy Family, 160.
Poppy, Bush, 167.
Poppy, California, 164.
Poppy, Giant, 160.
Poppy, Matilija, 160.
Poppy, Thistle, 162.
Poppy, Tree, 166.
Poppy, Wind, 164.
_Portulacaceae_, 120.
_Portulaca_, 120.
Potato Family, 458.
Potato, 458.
_Potentilla_, 232, 234.
_Potentilla emarginata_, 234.
_Potentilla pectinisecta_, 234.
Prairie Pointers, 364.
Prickly Pear, 306, 308, 310.
Pride of California, 256.
Pride-of-the-mountain, 480.
_Primulaceae_, 362.
Primrose Family, 362.
Primrose, Beach, 324.
Prince's Plume, Golden, 182.
_Prosartes_, 54.
_Prunus_, 216.
_Prunus ilicifolia_, 216.
_Prunella vulgaris_, 444.
_Psathyrotes annua_, 530.
_Psilostrophe Cooperi_, 542.
_Psilostrophe tagetina var. sparsiflora_, 542.
_Psoralea_, 262.
_Psoralea physodes_, 262.
_Pterospora Andromedea_, 360.
_Pteryxia Californica_, 334.
_Ptilonella scabra_, 536.
_Ptiloria_, 570.
_Ptiloria pauciflora_, 570.
_Ptiloria Wrightii_, 570.
Puccoon, Hairy, 424.
Puccoon, Pretty, 426.
Purslane Family, 120.
Purslane-tree, 120.
Pusley, 120.
Pusley, Chinese, 432.
Pussy's Ears, Yellow, 60.
Pussy's Ears, White, 60.
Pussy-paws, 124.
Pussy-tails, 224.
Pyramid Bush, 228.
_Pyrolaceae_, 354.
_Pyrola_, 356.
_Pyrola bracteata_, 356.
Quaker Bonnets, 252.
Quamash, 48.
_Quamoclidion_, 100.
_Quamoclidion multiflorum_, 100.
Queen-cup, 50.
Quinine, 506.
Quinine Bush, 226.
Radish, 174.
_Rafinesquia_, 574.
Ragwort, 564.
_Ramona_, 438.
_Ramona grandiflora_, 438.
_Ramona incana_, 438.
_Ramona nivea_, 440.
_Ramona polystachya_, 440.
_Ramona stachyoides_, 442.
Ramona, Desert, 438.
_Ranunculaceae_, 126.
_Ranunculus_, 126.
_Ranunculus Californicus_, 126.
Raspberry, 236.
Raspberry, Creeping, 238.
Rattleweed, 256, 258.
Red-bud, 264.
Red Feather, 470.
Red-pepper, 458.
Red-root, 282.
Reed-lily, 10.
_Rhamnaceae_, 282.
_Rhododendron_, 342, 344, 348.
_Rhododendron Californicum_, 344.
_Ribes_, 210, 212.
_Ribes aureum_, 214.
_Ribes glutinosum_, 212.
_Ribes Hudsonianum_, 212.
_Ribes Nevadense_, 212.
Rice Root, 38.
_Riddellia_, 542.
Rocket, 174.
Rock-rose Family, 304.
Rock-rose, 304.
_Romanzoffia_, 416.
_Romanzoffia sitchensis_, 416.
Romero, 454.
_Romneya_, 160.
_Romneya Coulteri_, 160.
_Romneya trichocalyx_, 160.
_Rosaceae_, 218.
_Rosa_, 220.
_Rosa Californica_, 220.
_Rosa Fendleri_, 220.
_Rosa gymnocarpa_, 222.
Rose Family, 218.
Rose Bay, California, 344.
Rose, California Wild, 220.
Rose, Cliff, 226.
Rose, Fendler's, 220.
Rose, Redwood, 222.
_Rubiaceae_, 506.
_Rubus_, 236.
_Rubus parviflorus_, 236, 238.
_Rubus pedatus_, 238.
_Rubus spectabilis_, 236.
_Rubus vitifolius_, 236.
_Rudbeckia_, 560.
_Rudbeckia hirta_, 560.
_Rumex_, 88.
_Rumex venosus_, 88.
Saccato Gordo, 428.
Sage, 436, 438.
Sage, Ball, 442.
Sage, Black, 442.
Sage, Hop, 98.
Sage, Humming-bird, 438.
Sage, Pitcher, 450.
Sage, Thistle, 450.
Sage, White, 440.
Sage, White Ball, 440.
Sage-brush, Common, 544.
_Sagittaria_, 2.
_Sagittaria latifolia,_ 2.
Sahuaro, 310.
Sailors, Blue, 576.
Salal, 342.
_Salazaria Mexicana_, 448.
Salmon-berry, 236.
Salsify, 574.
_Salvia_, 438, 450.
_Salvia apiana_, 440.
_Salvia columbariae_, 452.
_Salvia carduacea_, 450.
Sandalwood Family, 82.
Sand Dock, 88.
Sanicle, Purple, 336.
_Sanicula bipinnatifida_, 336.
San Juan Tree, 464.
Sand Puffs, 104.
Sandwort, 112.
Sandwort, Fendler's, 112.
_Santalaceae_, 82.
_Saponaria_, 116.
_Sarcodes sanguinea_, 358.
Satin-bell, 58.
_Saururaceae_, 80.
_Saxifragaceae_, 196.
_Saxifraga_, 198, 202.
_Saxifraga Bongardi_, 204.
_Saxifraga bronchialis_, 198.
_Saxifraga Nutkana_, 204.
Saxifrage Family, 196.
Saxifrage, 202.
Saxifrage, Dotted, 198.
Saxifrage, Tall Swamp, 202.
Saxifrage, Tufted, 198.
Scarlet Bugler, 482, 484.
_Schoenolirion_, 10.
_Scrophulariaceae_, 466.
_Scrophularia_, 488.
_Scrophularia Californica_, 490.
_Scrophularia Californica var. floribunda_, 490.
_Scutellaria_, 446.
_Scutellaria angustifolia_, 446.
_Scutellaria antirrhinoides_, 446.
_Scutellaria Californica_, 446.
_Scutellaria tuberosa_, 448.
Sea Dahlia, 540.
Sea Fig, 110.
_Sedum_, 192.
_Sedum Douglasii_, 192.
_Sedum Yosemitense_, 192.
Sego Lily, 64.
Sego, Poison, 6.
Self-heal, 444.
_Senecio_, 564.
_Senecio cordatus_, 566.
_Senecio Douglasii_, 564.
_Senecio elegans_, 568.
_Senecio Lemmoni_, 566.
_Senecio multilobatus_, 566.
_Senecio perplexus var. dispar_, 564.
_Senecio Riddellii_, 566.
Senecio, African, 568.
Senecio, Creek, 564.
Senna Family, 264.
Senna, Desert, 266.
_Serapias_, 74.
_Serapias gigantea_, 74.
_Sericotheca_, 236.
_Sericotheca discolor_, 236.
Service-berry, 216.
Shadbush, 214.
Shallon, 342.
Sheep-pod, 258.
Shepherd's Purse, 174.
Shield-leaf, 180.
Shinleaf, 356.
Shooting-star, 364.
Shooting-star, Large, 364.
Shooting-star, Small, 366.
_Sidalcea_, 286.
_Sidalcea Californica_, 286.
_Sidalcea malvaeflora_, 288.
_Sidalcea Neo-Mexicana_, 288.
_Sidalcea Oregana_, 286.
_Silene_, 112.
_Silene acaulis_, 114.
_Silene Anglica_, 114.
_Silene Californica_, 114.
_Silene Gallica_, 114.
_Silene Hookeri_, 114.
_Silene laciniata_, 116.
_Silene laciniata var. Greggii_, 116.
_Silene Lyalli_, 116.
Silver-puffs, 576.
Silver-weed, 232.
Single Beauty, 354.
_Sisymbrium allissimum_, 98.
_Sisyrinchium_, 70.
_Sisyrinchium Arizonicum_, 70.
_Sisyrinchium bellum_, 70.
_Sisyrinchium Californicum_, 70.
_Sisyrinchium Elmeri_, 70.
Skevish, 534.
Skullcap, 446.
Skunk-weed, 188.
Skyrocket, 392.
Smartweed, 86.
Smartweed, Alpine, 96.
Smoke Tree, 246.
Snake's Head, 572.
Snap-dragon, Sticky, 468.
Snap-dragon, Trailing, 470.
Snap-dragon Vine, 466.
Snap-dragon, White, 468.
Sneeze-weed, 538.
Snow-Balls, 92, 104.
Snowberry, 516.
Snow Brush, 282.
Snowdrop, 38.
Snow-plant, 358.
Soap-bush, 282.
Soap Plant, 12.
_Solanaceae_, 458.
_Solanum_, 462.
_Solanum Douglasii_, 462.
_Solanum nigrum_, 462.
_Solanum umbelliferum_, 462.
_Solanum Xanti_, 462.
_Solidago_, 562.
_Solidago Californica_, 564.
_Solidago occidentalis_, 564.
_Solidago trinervata_, 562.
Solomon's Seal, False, 52.
Solomon's Seal, Star-flowered, 52.
_Sonchus_, 576.
_Sonchus oleraceus_, 576.
Sorrel, 86.
Sorrel, Redwood, 272.
Sow Thistle, 576.
Spanish Bayonet, 40.
Spatter-dock, 156.
_Spatularia_, 204.
_Spatularia Brunoniana_, 204.
Speedwell, Alpine, 476.
Speedwell, Hairy, 476.
Spek-boom, 120.
_Sphacele calycina_, 450.
_Sphaeralcea_, 290.
_Sphaeralcea pedata_, 290.
_Sphaerostigma_, 324.
_Sphaerostigma bistorta_, 324.
_Sphaerostigma tortuosa_, 326.
_Sphaerostigma Veitchianum_, 324.
_Sphaerostigma viridescens_, 324.
Spikenard, Wild, 52.
Spinach, 98.
_Spiraea_, 228, 230, 236.
_Spiraea aruncus_, 226.
_Spiraea betulaefolia_, 228.
_Spiraea corymbosa_, 228.
_Spiraea Douglasii_, 230.
_Spiraea pyramidata_, 228.
_Spraguea_, 124.
_Spraguea umbellata_, 124.
Spring Beauty, 122.
Squaw Cabbage, 122.
Squaw Carpets, 282.
Squaw-grass, 44.
Squaw-weed, 564.
Squaw-weed, White, 566.
Squirrel Corn, 170.
_Stachys_, 444.
_Stachys bullata_, 446.
_Stachys ciliata_, 444.
_Stachys coccinea_, 444.
_Stanleya_, 182.
_Stanleya pinnatifida_, 182.
Star of Bethlehem, 200.
Star, Blazing, 300.
Star, Evening, 302.
Star-flower, 362.
Star Tulip, White, 60.
Star Tulip, Yellow, 60.
Star, Woodland, 198.
Steeple-bush, 230.
Steer's Head, 170.
_Stellaria_, 118.
_Stellariopsis_, 224.
_Stellariopsis santolinoides_, 224.
_Stemodia_, 474.
_Stemodia durantifolia_, 474.
_Stenanthella_, 46.
_Stenanthella occidentalis_, 46.
_Stephanomeria_, 570.
_Stephanomeria runcinata_, 570.
Stickseed, 422.
Stitchwort, 118.
St. Johnswort Family, 292.
St. Johnswort, 292.
St. Johnswort, Creeping, 292.
Stock, 174.
Stonecrop, Douglas, 192.
Stonecrop, Yosemite, 192.
Storksbill, 276.
Strangle-weed, 382.
Strawberry, 240.
Strawberry, Sand, 240.
Strawberry, Wood, 240.
Strawberry Shrub Family, 158.
Strawberry Shrub, 158.
Strawberry-tomato, 460.
_Streptanthus_, 178, 180.
_Streptanthus Arizonicus_, 180.
_Streptanthus tortuosus_, 180.
Streptanthus, Arizona, 180.
_Streptopus_, 46.
_Streptopus amplexifolius_, 46.
_Streptopus roseus_, 46.
_Stropholirion Californicum_, 20.
Sulphur Flower, 94.
Sun-cups, 330.
Sunflower Family, 522.
Sunflower, 530, 550.
Sunflower, Common, 528.
Sunshine, 550.
Sweet-after-Death, 156.
Sweet Alyssum, 174.
Sweet Pea, Narrow-leaved, 254.
Sweet Pea, Utah, 254.
Sweet Shrub, 158.
Sweet William, Wild, 392.
Swollen-stalk, 90.
_Symphoricarpos_, 516.
_Symphoricarpos longiflorus_, 516.
_Symphoricarpos oreophilus_, 516.
_Symphoricarpos racemosus_, 516.
Syringa, 208.
Syringa, Small, 208.
_Taraxia ovata_, 330.
_Taraxacum_, 576.
_Taraxacum Taraxacum_, 576.
Tarweed, 222, 538.
Tea, Native California, 262.
Tea-tree, White, 284.
Tea-vine, 436.
_Tetradymia spinosa_, 562.
_Thalesia uniflora_, 504.
_Thalictrum_, 150.
_Thalictrum Fendleri_, 150.
_Thalictrum Fendleri var. Wrightii_, 150.
_Thelypodium_, 176.
_Thelypodium torulosum_, 176.
_Themopsis_, 246.
_Themopsis Californica_, 246.
_Themopsis montana_, 246.
Thimble-berry, 238.
Thistle, 522, 524.
Thistle, Arizona, 524.
Thistle, California, 524.
Thistle, Milk, 162.
Thistle, Sow, 576.
Thistle, Western, 524.
Thistle, Yellow-spined, 524.
_Thlaspi_, 178.
_Thlaspi alpestre_, 178.
_Thlaspi glaucum_, 178.
Thorn-Apple, 458.
_Thurberia thespesioides_, 286.
Thyme, 436.
Tickseed, 540.
Tidy-tips, White, 554.
Tidy-tips, Yellow, 554.
Tiny Tim, 556.
Toad-flax, 474.
Tobacco, 458, 464.
Tobacco, Tree, 464.
Tolguacha, 458.
_Tolmiea_, 200.
Tomato, 458.
Torosa, 164.
_Townsendia exscapa_, 530.
_Tragopogon porrifolius_, 574.
_Trautvetteria_, 142.
_Trautvetteria grandis_, 142.
Trefoil, 242.
_Trichostema_, 454.
_Trichostema lanatum_, 454.
_Trichostema lanceolatum_, 454.
_Trientalis_, 362.
_Trientalis latifolia_, 362.
_Trifolium_, 260.
_Trifolium fucatum_, 262.
_Trifolium tridentatum_, 262.
_Trillium_, 42.
_Trillium ovatum_, 42.
_Triteleia_, 24.
_Triteleia grandiflora_, 24.
_Triteleia hyacinthina_, 24.
_Triteleia laxa_, 18, 24.
_Trixis_, 540.
_Trixis angustifolia var. latiuscula_, 540.
_Trollius laxus_, 142.
Tule Potato, 2.
Tulip, Alabaster, 58.
Tulip, Butterfly, 62.
Tulip, Mariposa, 56, 62, 64.
Tulip, Orange Mariposa, 64.
Tulip, Yellow Mariposa, 62.
Tulip, Globe, 56.
Tulip, White Globe, 58.
Tulip, Yellow Globe, 56.
Tulip, Star, 56.
Tulip, White Star, 60.
Tulip, Yellow Star, 60.
Tumbleweed, 98.
Turkey Peas, 332.
Turkish Rugging, 86.
Turnip, 184.
Twinberry, Black, 512.
Twin-flower, 514.
Twisted Stalk, Pink, 46.
Twisted Stalk, White, 46.
_Umbelliferae_, 332.
Umbrella-wort, Narrow-leaved, 106.
_Vaccaria_, 116.
_Vaccaria vaccaria_, 116.
_Vaccinium_, 348.
_Vaccinium ovatum_, 348.
_Vagnera_, 52.
_Vagnera amplexicaulis_, 52.
_Vagnera sessilifolia_, 52.
_Valerianaceae_, 508.
_Valeriana_, 510.
_Valeriana Arizonica_, 510.
_Valeriana sylvatica_, 510.
_Valeriana sitchensis_, 510.
Valerian Family, 508.
Valerian, Arizona, 510.
Valerian, Greek, 384.
Valerian, Wild, 510.
_Valerianella_, 508.
_Valerianella macrosera_, 508.
_Vancouveria_, 152.
_Vancouveria chrysantha_, 152.
_Vancouveria hexandra_, 152.
_Vancouveria parviflora_, 152.
Vanilla Leaf, 156.
_Velaea arguta_, 336.
Velvet-rosette, 530.
_Venegasia carpesioides_, 550.
_Veratrum_, 8.
_Veratrum Californicum_, 10.
_Verbenaceae_, 434.
_Verbena_, 434.
_Verbena Arizonica_, 434.
_Verbena prostrata_, 434.
Verbena Family, 434.
Verbena, Yellow Sand, 106.
Verbena, Pink Sand, 104.
Verbena, Wild, 434.
_Veronica_, 474.
_Veronica Americana_, 476.
_Veronica Tournefortii_, 476.
_Veronica Wormskjoldii_, 476.
Vervain, Common, 434.
Vervenia, 404.
Vetch, 250.
Vetch, Milk, 256.
Villela, 70.
Vinegar Weed, 454.
_Violaceae_, 296.
_Viola_, 296.
_Viola adunca var. glabra_, 298.
_Viola adunca var. longipes_, 300.
_Viola Canadensis_, 298.
_Viola lobata_, 296.
_Viola ocellata_, 296.
_Viola pedunculata_, 300.
_Viola venosa_, 298.
Violet Family, 296.
Violet, Blue, 300.
Violet, Canada, 298.
Violet, Dog-tooth, 28.
Violet, Pine, 296.
Violet, Pale Mountain, 298.
Violet, Yellow Mountain, 298.
Virgin's Bower, 148.
Wake-robin, 42.
Wallflower, Cream-colored, 178.
Wallflower, Western, 176.
Wapato, 2.
Water-cress, 174.
Waterleaf Family, 402, 422.
Waterleaf, 418.
Water Lily Family, 156.
Water-plantain Family, 2.
_Whipplea modesta_, 204.
Whispering Bells, 418.
Willow-herb, 316.
Willow-herb, Great, 314.
Willow-herb, Water, 314.
Wineflowers, 158.
Wintergreen Family, 354.
Wintergreen 340, 356.
Wintergreen, Western, 342.
Wolfsbane, 136.
Wood-balm, 450.
Woodland Star, 198.
Wood-sorrel Family, 272.
Wood-sorrel, Yellow, 272.
_Wyethia_, 560.
_Wyethia amplexicaulis_, 560.
_Wyethia mollis_, 560.
Wyethia, Woolly, 560.
_Xerophyllum tenax_, 44.
_Xylorrhiza_, 544.
_Xylorrhiza tortifolia_, 544.
_Xylothermia montana_, 248.
Yarrow, Golden, 546.
Yellows, 560.
Yerba Buena, 436.
Yerba Buena del Campo, 436.
Yerba Buena del Poso, 436.
Yerba Mansa, 80.
Yerba del Pasmo, 228.
Yerba Santa, 420.
Yerba Santa, Woolly, 420.
Youth-on-age, 200.
_Yucca_, 40.
_Yucca Whipplei_, 40.
Yucca, Tree, 40.
_Zinnia_, 552.
Zinnia, Desert, 552.
Zygadene, 6, 8.
Zygadene, Star, 8.
_Zygadenus_, 6.
_Zygadenus elegans_, 8.
_Zygadenus Fremontii_, 8.
_Zygadenus paniculatus_, 6.
_Zygadenus venenosus_, 8.
_Zygophyllaceae_, 268.
_A Selection from the Catalogue of_
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
[Illustration]
Complete Catalogue sent on application
_By F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS_
FIELD BOOK OF WILD BIRDS AND THEIR MUSIC
16mo. With 38 Colored and 15 other Full-page
Illustrations, and numerous Musical Diagrams.
Cloth, net $2.00
Full Flexible leather, net 2.50
(Postage, 15 cents)
FIELD BOOK OF AMERICAN WILD FLOWERS
16mo. Revised and Enlarged Edition. With 24
Colored Plates and 215 Full-page Illustrations
in the text.
Cloth, net $2.00
Full leather, net 2.50
(Postage, 15 cents)
FIELD BOOK OF AMERICAN TREES AND SHRUBS
16mo. Uniform with "Field Book of Wild
Birds." Many Illustrations, some in color,
and maps.
Cloth, net $2.00
Full leather, net 2.50
(Postage, 15 cents)
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
New York London
[Transcriber's Note:
Page 79, "Limnorchis leuchostachys" was changed to read "Limnorchis
leucostachys", typo in illustration.
Page 563, "Tetradimia spinosa" was changed to read "Tetradymia
spinosa", typo in illustration.
Inconsistent spelling and punctuation are as in the original.]
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Field Book of Western Wild Flowers" ***
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