A large family, widely distributed, most of them natives of temperate
regions; chiefly herbs, with bitter juice, sometimes narcotic and
poisonous; without stipules; the flowers usually irregular; the calyx
usually with four or five divisions, sometimes split on the lower or
upper side, or on both sides; the corolla with united petals, nearly
regular or two-lipped, two of the lobes forming the upper lip, which is
sometimes beaklike, and three lobes forming the lower lip; the stamens
on the corolla and alternate with its lobes, two or four in number,
two long and two short, and sometimes also a fifth stamen which often
has no anther, the anthers two-celled; the ovary superior, usually
two-celled, the style slender, the stigma sometimes forked; the fruit
a pod, splitting from the top into two parts and usually containing
many seeds. This is a curious and interesting family, its members very
dissimilar in appearance, having expressed their individuality in many
striking and even fantastic forms.
There are several kinds of Maurandia, perennial herbs, climbing by
their slender twisted leaf-stalks and occasionally also by their
flower-stalks; the leaves triangular-heartshaped or halberd-shaped,
only the lower ones opposite; the flowers showy, purple, pink, or
white; the corolla with two lines or plaits, instead of a palate, which
are usually bearded.
[Sidenote: =Snap-dragon Vine=
_Maurándia antirrhìniflora_ (_Antirrhinum maurandioides_)
=Purple or pink and yellow
Spring
Ariz., New Mex.=]
This is a beautiful trailing or climbing vine, smooth all over, with
charming foliage and twining stems, much like those of a Morning-glory,
springing from a thickened, perennial root. The pretty flowers are
over an inch long, with a purple or raspberry-pink corolla, with
bright yellow blotches on the lower lip, forming an odd and striking
combination of color. This blooms all through the spring and summer and
may be found growing in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, near the river,
where its delicate prettiness is in strange contrast to the dark and
forbidding rocks over which it clambers and clothes with a mantle of
tender green.
[Illustration: Snap-dragon Vine--Maurandia antirrhiniflora.]
There are many kinds of Antirrhinum, natives of Europe, Asia, and
western North America; herbs; the lower leaves often opposite, and the
upper ones alternate; the sepals five; the corolla two-lipped, swollen
at the base on the lower side, but with no spur, the palate nearly
closing the throat; the stamens four. The name is from the Greek,
meaning "nose-like," because the shape of the flowers suggests the
snout of an animal.
[Sidenote: =Sticky Snap-dragon=
_Antirrhìnum glandulòsum_
=Pink, purple
Spring
California=]
This is a conspicuous perennial, handsome though rather coarse, hairy
and sticky all over, with stout leafy stems, from two to five feet
tall, with branches but no tendrils, and soft, rather dark green
leaves. The flowers are half an inch long, the corolla pink with a
yellow palate, and they are crowded in fine, long, one-sided clusters.
This is common in the South and looks a good deal like some of the
cultivated kinds; when its flowers are pinched from the sides they open
their mouths in the same funny way.
[Sidenote: =White Snap-dragon=
_Antirrhìnum Coulteriànum_
=White and lilac
Spring
California=]
This has tendril-like pedicels, which curl around nearby plants, but
the stem is stout and erect, over two feet tall, smooth below and hairy
above, with smooth, dark green leaves, and bears a long, crowded,
one-sided cluster of pink buds and pretty white flowers. They are each
about half an inch long, with hairy calyxes, and the corollas are
prettily tinged with lilac or pink, but are too pale in color, though
the general effect of the plant is rather striking. The anthers are
bright yellow. This grows in the South. _A. vírga_ is a smooth plant,
from two and a half to five feet tall, with many wand-like stems,
springing from a perennial base, and reddish-purple flowers, about half
an inch long, forming a long, rather one-sided cluster. This grows in
the chaparral, on ridges of the Coast Ranges, blooming in June, but is
not common.
[Illustration: White Snap-dragon--A. Coulterianum.