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.