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.]