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.