[Sidenote: =Trailing Snap-dragon=
_Antirrhìnum stríctum_
=Blue
Spring
California=]
This is an odd-looking plant, from one to two feet tall, which seems
unable to decide whether or not it is a vine, for the pedicels of the
flowers are exceedingly slender and twist like tendrils and by their
means the plant clings to its neighbors and raises its weak stems
from the ground, or, if it finds no support, it stands almost erect
and waves its tendrils aimlessly in the air. It is smooth all over,
with dark green leaves and pretty, bright purplish-blue flowers, about
half an inch long, with a pale, hairy palate, which almost closes the
throat. This grows in the South, near the sea. _A. vàgans_ is similar
and is common farther north in California, growing on dry open wooded
hills or in canyons of the Coast Ranges, blooming in summer and autumn.
There are many kinds of Castilleja, almost always perennials, usually
parasitic on the roots of other plants, usually handsome and striking,
the conspicuous feature being the large leafy bracts, colored like
flowers, which adorn the upper part of the stem. They usually have
several stems, springing from woody roots; leaves alternate, without
leaf-stalks, green below and gradually merging above into colored
bracts; flowers crowded in terminal clusters, mixed with bracts; calyx
tubular, flattened, more or less cleft in front or behind, or on both
sides, the lobes sometimes two-toothed, colored like the bracts,
enclosing the tube of the corolla; corolla less conspicuous and duller
in color than the calyx, tubular, two-lipped, the lower lip short and
very small, not inflated, with three small teeth, the upper lip long
and beaklike, enclosing the four stamens and single threadlike style;
stigma cap-shaped or two-lobed; anther-sacs unequally attached to the
filament, one by its middle and the other hanging by its tip; capsule
egg-shaped or oblong, splitting open, containing many seeds. These
gaudy plants are well named Indian Paint Brush, for the flower-cluster
and leaf-tips look as if they had been dipped in color. Red Feather is
also good but Painted Cup is rather poor, as there is nothing cup-like
about the flower. They were named for Castillejo, a Spanish botanist.
[Illustration: Trailing Snap-dragon--Antirrhinum strictum.]
[Sidenote: =Paint Brush=
_Castillèja miniàta_
=Red
Summer
Northwest=]
This is a very handsome kind, from two to four feet tall, with a smooth
stem, and smooth leaves, which are not crinkled, toothed, or lobed,
and with more or less hairy bracts, which are beautifully tinted with
many shades of pink, red, and purple. This is a magnificent plant,
especially when we find it growing along irrigation ditches, among
blue Lupines, yellow Mimulus and other bright flowers, where the
combinations of color are quite wonderful, and it is the handsomest and
commonest sort around Yosemite, where it grows in meadows and moist
places, from the foothills nearly up to timber-line.
[Sidenote: =Scarlet Paint Brush=
_Castillèja pinetòrum_
=Red and yellow
Summer
Cal., Oreg.=]
This is not quite so large or handsome as the last, but gives much the
effect of a brush dipped in red paint, for the yellowish bracts are
beautifully tipped with scarlet and the flowers are also bright red.
The rough stem is a foot or more tall, the roughish dark green leaves
are not toothed or lobed, but have crinkled edges, and the bracts
usually have three lobes. These plants grow in the mountains and often
make bright patches of color in the landscape.
[Sidenote: =Paint Brush=
_Castillèja angustifòlia_
=Red
Spring, summer
Utah., Nev.=]
This is very variable, and is usually about a foot high, with several
hairy stems, springing from a long yellow root. The leaves are slightly
rough, but not coarse, with fine white hairs along the margins, and
light gray-green in color, the lowest ones not lobed, a few of the
upper ones with two lobes, but most of the leaves, and the bracts,
slashed into three lobes. The calyx is covered with white hairs, and
the upper lip of the corolla is bright green. The whole plant is most
beautiful and harmonious in color, not coarse like many Castillejas,
and the upper part is clothed with innumerable delicate yet vivid tints
of salmon, rose, and deep pink, shading to scarlet and crimson, forming
a charming contrast to the quiet tones of the lower foliage. This grows
in gravelly soil, on dry plains and hillsides, and the clumps of bloom
are very striking among the sage-brush.
[Illustration: Indian Paint Brush--Castilleja miniata.]
[Illustration: Scarlet Paint Brush--Castilleja pinetorum.]
There are a good many kinds of Stemodia, widely distributed, only two
in the United States; the corolla blue or purplish and two-lipped; the
stamens four, not protruding.
[Sidenote: =Stemodia=
_Stemòdia durantifòlia_
=Blue
Spring
Southwest, etc.=]
This is a rather pretty plant, which is quite effective when growing in
quantities. The stem is hairy and sticky, from a foot to a foot and a
half tall, with hairy leaves, which have a few sharp teeth. The flowers
are three-eighths of an inch long, with sticky-hairy calyxes and bright
purplish-blue corollas, white and hairy in the throat. This has a
slightly unpleasant, aromatic smell and grows in moist spots, often in
mountain canyons near streams, as far east as Texas and also in the
tropics.
There are many kinds of Linaria, most abundant in the Old World; herbs;
the upper leaves alternate, the lower opposite, usually toothless;
the corolla like Antirrhinum, but with a spur; the stamens four, not
protruding.
[Sidenote: =Toad Flax=
_Linària Canadénsis_
=Blue, lilac
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
A slender plant, from six to eighteen inches tall and smooth all over,
with branching stems, dark green leaves, and pretty little flowers,
delicately scented, from a quarter to half an inch long, with bright
purplish-blue or pale lilac corollas, veined with purple. This is found
in dry soil across the continent and sometimes grows in such quantities
around San Diego as to form blue patches in the landscape.
There are many kinds of Veronica; ours are rather low herbs, though
some are trees in the tropics, widely distributed, living in meadows
and moist places; flowers small, usually blue or white, never yellow;
calyx with four divisions, rarely five; corolla wheel-shaped, with a
very short tube and four, rarely five, lobes, the lower one narrower
than the others; stamens two, sticking out at each side of the base
of the upper lobe; anthers blunt, with slender filaments; ovary
two-celled, with a slender style and round-top stigma; capsule more or
less flattened, two-lobed or heart-shaped, splitting open, containing
few or many seeds. They were named in honor of St. Veronica.
[Illustration: Toad Flax--Linaria Canadensis.