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.