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.