[Sidenote: =Balsam-root=
_Balsamorrhìza Hóokeri_
=Yellow
Spring
West, except Ariz.=]
Rather handsome, though a coarse plant, over a foot tall, with
hairy, dull green or grayish leaves, crisp and harsh to the touch,
variously lobed and cut, chiefly in a clump at the root. The flowers
are numerous, from an inch and a half to over two inches across, with
deep orange-yellow rays, and grow singly on long flower-stalks. This
flourishes on dry plains and mesas.
There are several kinds of Wyethia, resembling Balsam-roots, but their
thick roots not resinous.
[Sidenote: =Yellows, Mule-ears=
_Wyéthia amplexicàulis_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Nev., etc.=]
A robust and exceedingly handsome plant, one or two feet tall, with
rich foliage and gorgeous flowers. The leaves are stiffish, dark rich
green, smooth but somewhat sticky, often toothed; the stem-leaves
alternate, their bases partly clasping, and the root-leaves a
foot or two long and two or three inches broad, with leaf-stalks.
The flower-heads are about four inches across, with bright yellow
rays, almost orange color, and the center with three rows of yellow
disk-flowers, surrounding a clump of pointed, overlapping, stiff,
greenish scales in the middle. This sometimes forms immense patches
on dry hills at rather high altitudes, as far east as Colorado. It is
sometimes called Compass Plant, because its leaves are thought to point
North and South, and the Indian name is "Pe-ik."
[Sidenote: =Woolly Wyethia=
_Wyéthia móllis_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
Not so handsome as the last, but a striking plant, from one to four
feet high, with gray-green, velvety foliage, all covered with soft
wool, forming large clumps of leaves, from six to fifteen inches long.
The flowers are two or three inches across, with orange rays and very
woolly involucres. This is common in dry places in Yosemite.
There are several kinds of Rudbeckia, all North American.
[Sidenote: =Black Eyed Susan=
_Rudbéckia hírta_
=Yellow
Summer
California, etc.=]
From one to four feet high, with rough leaves and one or a few handsome
flowers, from one to four inches across, with deep yellow rays and
a purplish-brown conical center. This comes from the Mississippi
Valley, is very common in the East, and becoming common in Yosemite
meadows.
[Illustration: Woolly Wyethia--W. mollis.