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THE WILD FLOWERS
OF CALIFORNIA
THE WILD FLOWERS
OF CALIFORNIA
_THEIR NAMES, HAUNTS, AND HABITS_
BY
MARY ELIZABETH PARSONS
ILLUSTRATED BY
MARGARET WARRINER BUCK
_THIRD THOUSAND_
[Illustration]
WILLIAM DOXEY
AT THE SIGN OF THE LARK
SAN FRANCISCO
1897
COPYRIGHT, 1897
WILLIAM DOXEY
THE DOXEY PRESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE vii
TABLE OF PLATES xiii
HOW TO USE THE BOOK xix
EXPLANATION OF TERMS xxii
IMPORTANT PLANT FAMILIES AND GENERA xxxi
INTRODUCTORY xlii
PRELUDE xlvii
FLOWER DESCRIPTIONS:--
I. WHITE 3
II. YELLOW 109
III. PINK 193
IV. BLUE AND PURPLE 255
V. RED 335
VI. MISCELLANEOUS 369
INDEX TO LATIN NAMES 393
INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES 399
INDEX OF TECHNICAL TERMS 405
GLOSSARY 406
"Were I, O God, in churchless lands remaining,
Far from all voice of teachers or divines,
My soul would find in flowers of thy ordaining
Priests, sermons, shrines!"
PREFACE
To the thoughtless a flower is often a trivial thing--beautiful perhaps,
and worthy of a passing glance--but that is all. But to the mind open to
the great truths of the universe, it takes on a deeper significance. Such a
mind sees in its often humble beginnings the genesis of things far-reaching
and mighty. Two thousand years ago one grain of the shower of pollen wafted
upon the wind and falling upon a minute undeveloped cone, quickened a seed
there into life, and this dropping into the soil pushed up a tiny thread of
green, which, after the quiet process of the ages, you now behold in the
giant Sequoia which tosses its branches aloft, swept by the four winds of
heaven.
Whether manifesting itself in the inconspicuous flower upon the tree or in
the equally unassuming inflorescence of the vegetable, or unfurling petals
of satin or gauze of brilliant hue and marvelous beauty, the blossom is the
origin of most that is useful or beautiful in the organic world about us.
Strip the world of its blossoms, and the higher forms of life must come to
a speedy termination. Thus we see the flower playing a wonderfully
important part in the cosmos around us. It becomes henceforth not only a
thing of beauty for the gratification of the aesthetic sense, but the
instrument by which Nature brings about the fullness of her perfection in
her own good season.
* * * * *
There is perhaps no nature-study that can yield the same amount of pure and
unalloyed pleasure with so little outlay as the study of the wild flowers.
When one is interested in them, every walk into the fields is transformed
from an aimless ramble into a joyous, eager quest, and every journey upon
stage or railroad becomes a rare opportunity for making new
plant-acquaintances--a season of exhilarating excitement.
Mr. Burroughs, that devout lover of nature, says: "Most young people find
botany a dull study. So it is, as taught from the text-books in the
schools; but study it yourself in the fields and woods, and you will find
it a source of perennial delight. Find your flower, and then name it by the
aid of the botany. There is so much in a name. To find out what a thing is
called is a great help. It is the beginning of knowledge; it is the first
step. When we see a new person who interests us, we wish to know his or her
name. A bird, a flower, a place--the first thing we wish to know about it
is its name. Its name helps us to classify it; it gives us a handle to
grasp it by; it sheds a ray of light where all before was darkness. As soon
as we know the name of a thing, we seem to have established some sort of
relation with it."
Having learned the name of a flower or plant, or having been formally
introduced to it, as it were, our acquaintance has but just begun. Instead
of being our end and aim, as it was with students of botany in the olden
times, this is but the beginning. If this were our ultimate aim, all our
pleasure would be at an end as soon as we had learned the names of all the
plants within our reach. But the point of view has changed and broadened.
The plant is now recognized as a _living organism_, not a dead, unchanging
thing. It is _vital_; it grows; it is amenable to the great laws of the
universe; and we see it daily complying with those laws, adapting itself to
its surroundings--or perishing. It becomes a thing of absorbing interest
when we trace the steps by which it has come to be what it is; when we note
its relationship to other closely allied forms, and locate its place in the
great world of plants.
A thoughtful observation of the structure of plants alone will fill the
mind with amazement at the beauty of their minutest parts, the exquisite
perfection of every organ. Then it is most interesting to notice the
various kinds of places where the same plants grow; how they flourish in
different soils and climates; how they parry the difficulties of new and
unaccustomed surroundings, by some change of structure or habit to meet the
altered conditions--as clothing themselves with wool, to prevent the undue
escape of moisture, or twisting their leaves to a vertical position for the
same purpose, or sending their roots deep into the earth to seek perennial
sources of moisture, which enables them to flourish in our driest times. It
is wonderful to note, too, the methods employed to secure the distribution
of the seed--how it is sometimes imbedded in a delicious edible fruit,
again furnished with hooks or bristles or springs, or provided with silken
sails to waft it away upon the wings of the wind. Then the insects that
visit plants. It is marvelous to note how plants spread their attractions
in bright colors and perfumes and offerings of honey to bees, butterflies,
and moths that can carry their pollen abroad, and how they even place
hindrances in the way of such as are undesirable.
Studied in this way, botany is no longer the dry science it used to be, but
becomes a most fascinating pursuit; and we know of no richer field in which
to carry on the study of flowers than that afforded in California.
* * * * *
There has been a long-felt need of a popular work upon the wild flowers of
California. Though celebrated throughout the world for their wealth and
beauty, and though many of them have found their way across the waters and
endeared themselves to plant lovers in many a foreign garden, the story of
their home life has never yet been told.
It has been the delightful task of the author and the illustrator of the
present work to seek them out in their native haunts--on seashore and mesa,
in deep, cool cañon, on dry and open hill-slope, on mountain-top, in
glacier meadow, by stream and lake, in marsh and woodland, and to listen to
the ofttimes marvelous tales they have had to unfold. If they shall have
succeeded in making better known these children of Mother Nature to her
lovers and appreciators, and in arousing an interest in them among those
who have hitherto found the technical difficulties of scientific botany
insurmountable, they will feel amply rewarded for their labors.
The present work does not claim by any means to be a complete flora of the
region treated. Our State is so new, and many parts of it have as yet been
so imperfectly explored, that a comprehensive and exhaustive flora of it
must be the work of a future time, and will doubtless be undertaken by some
one when all the data have been procured. Such an attempt, however, were it
possible, is without the scope of the present work.
California, with her wonderfully varied climate and topography, has a flora
correspondingly rich and varied, probably not surpassed by any region of
like area in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus the author finds herself
confronted with an embarrassment of riches rather than with any lack of
material; and it has often been exceedingly difficult to exclude some
beautiful flower that seemed to have strong claims to representation. She
therefore craves beforehand the indulgence of the reader, should he find
some favorite missing.
In making a choice, she has been guided by the following general
principles, and selected, _first_--the flowers most general in their
distribution; _second_--those remarkable for their beauty of form or color,
their interesting structure, history, or economic uses; _third_--those
which are characteristically Californian. At the same time, those which are
too insignificant in appearance to attract attention and those too
difficult of determination by the non-botanist have been omitted. Flowering
plants only have been included.
Many of our species extend northward into Oregon and Washington. Thus,
while this work is called "THE WILD FLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA," it will in a
certain measure apply equally well to Oregon and Washington.
It has been the aim of the author to picture for the most part the flowers
peculiarly Californian, leaving Mrs. Dana's charming book, "How to Know the
Wild Flowers," to illustrate those we possess in common with the Atlantic
Slope, thus making the works the complements one of the other.
Mrs. Dana has kindly permitted the author to use her plan of
arrangement--_i.e._ of grouping all the white flowers in one section, the
yellow in another, the pink in a third, and so on, which, in the absence of
a key, greatly facilitates the finding of any given flower. The flowers of
each section have been arranged as nearly as possible according to their
natural succession in the seasons, with one or two exceptions.
Such confusion is rife in the nomenclature of Californian plants, and the
same plant is so often furnished with several names,--and several plants
sometimes with the same name,--that the authority is in every instance
quoted, in order to make it perfectly clear what plant is meant by the name
given. Wherever allusion is made to the Spanish-Californians, the
Spanish-_speaking_ Californians are meant, very few of whom are Castilians
at the present day, most of whom are of an admixture of races.
The flower-cuts are all from pen-and-ink drawings by the illustrator; and
all but four are from her own original studies from nature. These four,
which it was impossible for her to procure, have been adapted by her from
other drawings, by the aid of herbarium specimens. They include _Aphyllon
fasciculatum_, _Fremontia Californica_, _Hosackia gracilis_, and _Brodiaea
volubilis_. It has been impossible upon so small a page to maintain a
uniform relative size in the drawings, for which reason the
plant-descriptions in fine print should be consulted for the size.
The author and the illustrator desire to make grateful acknowledgments to
many kind friends throughout the State who have rendered them assistance in
numerous ways. Their gratitude is due in particular to Miss Alice Eastwood,
of the California Academy of Sciences, who, by her unfailing kindness and
encouragement, as well as by her personal assistance, has rendered them
invaluable aid. Also, to Mr. Carl Purdy, of Ukiah, who from his wide
experience, as a grower of our native liliaceous plants, has a knowledge of
them shared by few or none, and who has generously placed at their disposal
the results of his observations. They also tender their thanks to the
Southern Pacific and the North Pacific Railways, who, by their generous
granting of reduced rates and passes, have made possible a wider personal
acquaintance with the flowers than could have otherwise been enjoyed.
San Rafael, Cal., October 15, 1897.
TABLE OF PLATES
PAGE
ACONITE _Aconitum Columbianum_ 329
ALFALFA _Medicago sativa_ 327
ALFILERILLA _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
ALPINE HEATHER _Bryanthus Breweri_ 247
ALPINE PHLOX _Phlox Douglasii_ 249
ALUM-ROOT _Heuchera micrantha_ 59
AMERICAN BARRENWORT _Vancouveria parviflora_ 89
ANEMONE, WOOD _Anemone quinquefolia_ 19
AUGUST-FLOWER _Grindelia cuneifolia_ 177
AZULEA _Sisyrinchium bellum_ 285
AZURE BEARD-TONGUE _Pentstemon azureus_ 309
BABY-BLUE-EYES _Nemophila insignis_ 291
BEACH-ASTER _Erigeron glaucus_ 305
BEAUTIFUL CLARKIA _Clarkia concinna_ 237
BEE-PLANT, CALIFORNIAN _Scrophularia Californica_ 343
BELLFLOWER _Campanula prenanthoides_ 323
BIG-ROOT _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27
BLAZING-STAR _Mentzelia Lindleyi_ 169
BLEEDING-HEART _Dicentra formosa_ 243
BLUE-BLOSSOM _Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_ 275
BLUE-EYED GRASS _Sisyrinchium bellum_ 285
BLUE GENTIAN _Gentiana calycosa_ 331
BLUE GILIA _Gilia Chamissonis_ 297
BLUE LARKSPUR _Delphinium_ 277
BLUE-AND-WHITE LUPINE _Lupinus bicolor_ 301
BLUE MILLA _Brodiaea laxa_ 303
BLUE MYRTLE _Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_ 275
BLUEWEED _Aconitum Columbianum_ 329
BRODIAEA _Brodiaea capitata_ 263
BRONZE-BELLS }
BROWN LILY } _Fritillaria lanceolata_ 265
CALF'S-HEAD _Darlingtonia Californica_ 391
CALIFORNIA FUCHSIA _Zauschneria Californica_ 367
CALIFORNIA LILAC _Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_ 275
CALIFORNIA POPPY _Eschscholtzia Californica_ 115
CALIFORNIAN AZALEA _Rhododendron occidentale_ 87
CALIFORNIAN CENTAURY _Erythraea venusta_ 219
CALIFORNIAN ROSE-BAY _Rhododendron Californicum_ 235
CALIFORNIAN SLIPPERY-ELM _Fremontia Californica_ 159
CALYPSO _Calypso borealis_ 211
CANAIGRE _Rumex hymenosepalus_ 379
CANCER-ROOT _Aphyllon fasciculatum_ 173
CANCHALAGUA _Erythraea venusta_ 219
CAT'S-EARS _Calochortus Maweanus_ 279
CHAMISE LILY _Erythronium giganteum_ 137
CHAPARRAL LILY _Lilium rubescens_ 73
CHAPARRAL PEA _Pickeringia montana_ 231
CHIA _Salvia Columbariae_ 299
CHILICOTHE _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27
CHRISTMAS-HORNS _Delphinium nudicaule_ 347
CLIMBING PENTSTEMON _Pentstemon cordifolius_ 351
CLOCKS _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
CLUSTER-LILY _Brodiaea capitata_ 263
COLLINSIA _Collinsia bicolor_ 295
COLUMBINE _Aquilegia truncata_ 349
COMMON ASTER _Aster Chamissonis_ 333
COMMON MONKEY-FLOWER _Mimulus luteus_ 135
CORAL-ROOT _Corallorhiza Bigelovii_ 273
CREAM-COLORED WALL-FLOWER _Erysimum grandiflorum_ 133
CREAM-CUPS _Platystemon Californicus_ 113
CURRANT, CALIFORNIAN WILD _Ribes glutinosum_ 215
DEERWEED _Hosackia glabra_ 153
DIOGENES' LANTERN _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145
DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET _Erythronium giganteum_ 137
DUTCHMAN'S PIPE _Aristolochia Californica_ 375
FALSE LADY'S SLIPPER _Epipactis gigantea_ 389
FALSE MALLOW _Malvastrum Thurberi_ 221
FALSE TIDY-TIPS _Leptosyne Douglasii_ 149
FAREWELL TO SPRING _Godetia viminea_ 241
FAWN-LILY _Erythronium giganteum_ 137
FETID ADDER'S-TONGUE _Scoliopus Bigelovii_ 257
FIRECRACKER FLOWER _Brodiaea coccinea_ 239
FIREWEED _Epilobium spicatum_ 245
FOUR-O'CLOCK, CALIFORNIAN _Mirabilis Californica_ 209
FRINGED GILIA _Gilia dianthoides_ 217
GODETIA _Godetia viminea_ 241
GOLDEN LILY-BELL _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145
GOLDEN STARS _Bloomeria aurea_ 155
GOOSEBERRY, FUCHSIA-FLOWERED _Ribes speciosum_ 339
GREAT WILLOW-HERB _Epilobium spicatum_ 245
GROUND-IRIS _Iris macrosiphon_ 281
GROUND-PINK _Gilia dianthoides_ 217
GUM-PLANT _Grindelia cuneifolia_ 177
HAIRBELL _Calochortus albus_ 55
HAREBELL, CALIFORNIAN _Campanula prenanthoides_ 323
HARVEST BRODIAEA _Brodiaea grandiflora_ 319
HEN-AND-CHICKENS _Cotyledon Californicum_ 143
HOUND'S-TONGUE _Cynoglossum grande_ 259
HUCKLEBERRY _Vaccinium ovatum_ 201
HUMMING-BIRD'S TRUMPET _Zauschneria Californica_ 367
INDIAN LETTUCE _Montia perfoliata_ 17
INDIAN PAINT-BRUSH _Castilleia parviflora_ 345
INDIAN PINK _Silene Californica_ 355
INDIAN WARRIOR _Pedicularis densiflora_ 337
ITHURIEL'S SPEAR _Brodiaea laxa_ 303
LADIES' TRESSES _Spiranthes Romanzoffianum_ 93
LANTERN OF THE FAIRIES _Calochortus albus_ 55
LARGE-FLOWERED BRODIAEA _Brodiaea grandiflora_ 319
LESSINGIA _Lessingia leptoclada_ 253
LITTLE ALPINE LILY _Lilium parvum_ 181
LOCO-WEED _Astragalus leucopsis_ 41
LUCERN _Medicago sativa_ 327
MANZANITA _Arctostaphylos manzanita_ 13
MARIPOSA TULIP _Calochortus venustus_ 79
MATILIJA POPPY _Romneya Coulteri_ 65
MEADOW-FOAM _Floerkia Douglasii_ 127
MILKWEED, COMMON _Asclepias Mexicana_ 313
MILKWEED, HORNLESS WOOLLY _Gomphocarpus tomentosus_ 381
MILK-WHITE REIN-ORCHIS _Habenaria leucostachys_ 95
MILKWORT, CALIFORNIAN _Polygala Californica_ 287
MINER'S LETTUCE _Montia perfoliata_ 17
MIST-MAIDENS _Romanzoffia Sitchensis_ 23
MONK'S-HOOD _Aconitum Columbianum_ 329
MOTTLED SWAMP-ORCHIS _Epipactis gigantea_ 389
MOUNTAIN BALM _Eriodictyon glutinosum_ 57
MOUNTAIN LADY'S SLIPPER _Cypripedium montanum_ 383
PENNYROYAL _Monardella villosa_ 325
PENTACHAETA _PentachAEta aurea_ 125
PEPPER-ROOT _Dentaria Californica_ 5
PIN-CLOVER _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
PINE-DROPS _Pterospora andromedea_ 187
PINK PAINT-BRUSH _Orthocarpus purpurascens_ 229
PIPE-VINE _Aristolochia Californica_ 375
PIPSISSIWA _Chimaphila Menziesii_ 105
PITCHER-PLANT, CALIFORNIAN _Darlingtonia Californica_ 391
PITCHER-SAGE _Sphacele calycina_ 43
POISON-OAK _Rhus diversiloba_ 9
POLÉO _Monardella villosa_ 325
POP-CORN FLOWER 31
PRICKLY PHLOX _Gilia Californica_ 207
PRINCE'S PINE _Chimaphila Menziesii_ 105
PUSSY'S-EARS _Calochortus Maweanus_ 279
PUSSY'S-PAWS _Spraguea umbellata_ 71
QUININE-BUSH _Garrya elliptica_ 371
RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN _Goodyera Menziesii_ 99
RATTLE-WEED _Astragalus leucopsis_ 41
RED-STEMMED FILAREE _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
REDWOOD-SORREL _Oxalis Oregana_ 197
REIN-ORCHIS _Habenaria elegans_ 385
RESIN-WEED _Grindelia cuneifolia_ 177
RICE-ROOT _Fritillaria lanceolata_ 265
ROMERO _Trichostema lanatum_ 317
RUBY LILY _Lilium rubescens_ 73
SAXIFRAGE, CALIFORNIAN _Saxifraga Californica_ 15
SCARLET BUGLER _Pentstemon centranthifolius_ 359
SCARLET GILIA _gilia Aggregata_ 361
SCARLET HONEYSUCKLE _Pentstemon cordifolius_ 351
SCARLET LARKSPUR, NORTHERN _Delphinium nudicaule_ 347
SCARLET PAINT-BRUSH _Castilleia parviflora_ 345
SHOOTING-STARS _Dodecatheon Meadia_ 205
SIERRA PRIMROSE _Primula Suffrutescens_ 251
SILK-TASSEL TREE _Garrya elliptica_ 371
SKULLCAP _Scutellaria tuberosa_ 271
SNAPDRAGON, VIOLET _Antirrhinum vagans_ 321
SNOW-PLANT _Sarcodes sanguinea_ 363
SOAP-PLANT _Chlorogalum pomeridianum_ 83
SPRING-BLOSSOM _Dentaria Californica_ 5
STICKY MONKEY-FLOWER _Mimulus glutinosus_ 139
ST. JOHN'S-WORT _Hypericum concinnum_ 163
SULPHUR-FLOWER _Eriogonum umbellatum_ 179
SUN-CUPS _OEnothera ovata_ 111
SUNSHINE _Baeria gracilis_ 125
SWEET-SCENTED SHRUB, CALIF'N. _Calycanthus occidentalis_ 353
TARWEED _Hemizonia luzulaefolia_ 189
TARWEED _Madia elegans_ 183
TIDY-TIPS _Layia platyglossa_ 149
TOOTHWORT _Dentaria Californica_ 5
TOROSA _Eschscholtzia Californica_ 115
TREE-MALLOW _Lavatera assurgentiflora_ 227
TREE-POPPY _Dendromecon rigidum_ 119
TRILLIUM, CALIFORNIAN _Trillium sessile_ 261
TWIN-BERRY _Lonicera involucrata_ 123
TWINING HYACINTH _Brodiaea volubilis_ 233
VILLELA _Sisyrinchium bellum_ 285
VIOLET NIGHTSHADE _Solanum Xanti_ 269
WAKE-ROBIN _Trillium ovatum_ 11
WHIPPLEA _Whipplea modesta_ 33
WHISPERING BELLS _Emmenanthe penduliflora_ 131
WHITE EVENING PRIMROSE _OEnothera Californica_ 49
WHITE FORGET-ME-NOT 31
WHITE OWL'S CLOVER _Orthocarpus versicolor_ 53
WHITE-VEINED SHINLEAF _Pyrola picta_ 101
WILD BROOM _Hosackia glabra_ 153
WILD BUCKWHEAT _Eriogonum fasciculatum_ 35
WILD CANTERBURY-BELL _Phacelia Whitlavia_ 289
WILD COREOPSIS _Madia elegans_ 183
WILD CUCUMBER _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27
WILD CURRANT, CALIFORNIAN _Ribes glutinosum_ 215
WILD CYCLAMEN _Dodecatheon Meadia_ 205
WILD GINGER _Asarum caudatum_ 311
WILD HELIOTROPE _Phacelia tanacetifolia_ 283
WILD HOLLYHOCK _Sidalcea malvaeflora_ 199
WILD HYACINTH _Brodiaea capitata_ 263
WILD PEONY _Paeonia Brownii_ 341
WILD PIE-PLANT _Rumex hymenosepalus_ 379
WILD PORTULACA _Calandrinia caulescens_ 213
WIND-FLOWER _Anemone quinquefolia_ 19
WOOD-BALM _Sphacele calycina_ 43
WOOLLY BLUE-CURLS _Trichostema lanatum_ 317
YELLOW DAISY _Layia platyglossa_ 149
YELLOW GLOBE-TULIP _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145
YELLOW PANSY _Viola pedunculata_ 121
YELLOW SAND-VERBENA _Abronia latifolia_ 147
YERBA BUENA _Micromeria Douglasii_ 63
YERBA MANSA _Anemopsis Californica_ 77
YERBA SANTA _Eriodictyon glutinosum_ 57
ZYGADENE _Zygadenus Fremonti_ 7
---- _Baccharis Douglasii_ 107
---- _Gilia androsacea_ 223
---- _Hosackia gracilis_ 167
HOW TO USE THE BOOK
When gathering flowers with a view to ascertaining their names with the
help of the botany, the whole plant--root, stem, leaves, flowers, buds, and
fruit--should be secured, if possible. This will avoid much uncertainty in
the work.
The anthers are best seen in the unopened buds, and the ovary in old
flowers or those gone to seed. A cross-section of the ovary will show the
number of its cells.
The flowers should be sorted into colors, and each in turn looked for in
its own color-section. In arranging the flowers according to color, some
difficulty has been experienced, because the pink blends so gradually into
the purple, and the purple into white, etc., that it has been impossible
sometimes to say accurately to which section a flower rightly belongs. In
such a case search must be made in the other probable section. Sometimes
the same flower occurs in several colors, in which case it is usually put
into the section in whose color it most frequently occurs. In the Red
Section have been included flowers of a scarlet hue, not those of crimson
or magenta hues, as these have a tendency to merge into pink or purple.
Flowers of a greenish-white are usually put into the White Section, those
of more decided green into the Miscellaneous.
It is an excellent plan for the student to write a careful description of
his plant before beginning to look for it in the book; commencing with the
root, passing on to stem, leaves, inflorescence, calyx, corolla, etc.,
taking the order of the technical descriptions in the book. This will serve
to do away with that vacillating condition of mind which is often the
result of reading a number of plant-descriptions before fixing firmly in
mind the characters of the specimen under consideration.
A magnifying-glass--or a small dissecting microscope and a good Zeiss lens,
if more careful work is to be done,--a couple of dissecting needles, a
pocket-knife, and a small three or four-inch measure, having one of the
inches divided into lines, will be required for examining specimens.
It is also a good plan to make a note of the date and place of collection
of all plants, as it is often of great interest to know these facts at some
future time.
Plants are grouped into great orders, or families, which are made up of a
number of genera, each genus consisting of a number of species. Every plant
has two Latin names; the first a generic name, answering to the last name
of a person; the second a specific name, answering to a person's given
name. The latter is usually descriptive of some quality or character of the
plant, the name of the place where found, or of its discoverer, or of some
person in whose honor it is named. This dual name serves to clearly
distinguish the species from all others, especially when the name of the
person by whom the specific name was bestowed is added.
Each plant-family bears an English title, which is usually the name of its
best-known genus. Thus the order _Leguminosae_ is known as the "Pea Family"
because _Lathyrus_, or the pea, is its best-known genus. In many instances
the English names borne by orders in the Eastern States have no
significance with us, as the type genus is not found in our flora. In such
cases we have given the name of the genus best known among us, to which we
have added the other; thus, "Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family."
Most of our plants have common English names, and the same plant is often
known by one name in one locality and by another in another. Hence, while
these names are often pretty and apt, they cannot serve for the accurate
identification of the plant. For this we must consult its Latin name, by
which it is known all over the world.
Wherever the terms used are not understood, reference should be made to the
"Explanation of Terms" or to the Glossary.
For identification of species not found in the present work, other books
should be consulted. The two large volumes of the botany of the Geological
Survey of California are the most complete of anything thus far published.
In addition to these, "The Synoptical Flora of North America," as far as
published (the _Gamopetalae_, the _Compositae_, and some orders of the
_Polypetalae_), furnishes valuable aid. Professor E.L. Greene's works, "The
Botany of the Bay Region," "Pittonia," and "Flora Franciscana," furnish
excellent plant-descriptions for the more advanced botanist. The author's
technical descriptions have in every instance been verified by comparison
with one or more of the above works.
Miss Eastwood's little volume, recently published as Part Second of
"Bergen's Elements of Botany," (and also issued in separate form), is
recommended for use in connection with the present work, as it embodies in
compact form a general view of the method of classification of plants,
showing their places in the plant-world and their relations to one another.
It also contains very clear descriptions of plant-families. To the student
who becomes interested in knowing more about the structure of plants,
Gray's "Structural Botany" will prove useful; and the large work of Oliver
and Kerner (translated from the German) will prove a fascinating book.
EXPLANATION OF TERMS
[The following simple definitions of the more common terms used
have been mostly taken or adapted from the works of Asa Gray
and others, and will prove useful to those unacquainted with
botany, or to those whose memories require refreshing.]
ROOTS
The =root= is that portion of the plant which grows downward, fixing it to
the soil, and absorbing nourishment from the latter. True roots produce
nothing but root-branches or rootlets.
Simple or unbranched roots are named according to their shapes--
_conical_, when like the carrot;
_napiform_, when like the turnip;
_fusiform_, when like the long radish.
Multiple, or branched, roots may be--
_fascicled_, or bunched, as in the dahlia;
_tubercular_, when furnished with small tubers;
_fibrous_, when threadlike.
STEMS
The =stem= is the ascending axis of the plant, which usually bears the
leaves, flowers, and fruit. The points on the stem to which the leaves are
fastened are called the =nodes=; and the portions of stem between the nodes
are called the =internodes=. The angle formed by the upper side of the leaf
and the stem is called the =axil=.
Stems aboveground are classed as--
_erect_, when growing upright;
_procumbent_, when lying on the ground without rooting;
_decumbent_, when lying on the ground with the tip ascending;
_diffuse_, when loosely spreading;
_creeping_, when growing on the ground and rooting.
Stems underground are classed as =rhizomes= (or =rootstocks=) =tubers=,
=corms=, and =bulbs=, the forms passing into one another by gradations.
A =rhizome=, or =rootstock=, is a horizontal underground stem. It
is sometimes thick, fleshy, or woody, as in the iris;
a =tuber= is a short, much thickened rootstock, having eyes or
buds of which the potato is an example;
a =corm= is a depressed and rounded, solid rootstock; it may be
called a solid bulb; the garden cyclamen is an example;
a =bulb= is a leaf-bud, commonly underground, with fleshy scales
or coats; the lily is an example.
LEAVES
=Leaves= are the green expansions borne by the stem, out-spread in the
air and light, in which assimilation is carried on. They may be said to
be the stomachs of the plant. A typical leaf consists of three
parts--the =blade=, the =foot-stalk= (or =petiole=), and a pair of
=stipules=. Yet any one of these parts may be absent.
The =blade= is the expanded portion of the leaf and the part to
which the word _leaf_, in its commonest sense, is applied;
the =stipules= are small, usually leaflike bodies borne at the
base of the petiole, usually one on either side;
the =petiole= is the stalk of the leaf.
=Leaves= are =simple=, when having but one blade; =compound=, when
having more than one, when each blade is called a =leaflet=.
Compound leaves are said to be--
_pinnate_, when the leaflets are arranged along the sides of a
petiole, or rather of its prolongation, the rachis;
_abruptly pinnate_, with an even number of leaflets;
_odd-pinnate_, with an odd leaflet at the end;
_palmate_, or _digitate_, when the leaflets all diverge from
the summit of the petiole, like the fingers of a hand.
VENATION
The venation, or veining, of leaves relates to the mode in which the woody
tissue, in the form of ribs, veins, etc., is distributed in the cellular
tissue.
There are two principle modes--
the _parallel-veined_, of which the iris is an example;
the _reticulated-veined_, or _netted-veined_, of which the Elm
is an example.
Small veins are called =veinlets=.
FORM
As to general form, or outline, leaves are:--
Those broadest in the middle--
_peltate_, or shield-shaped, when rounded, with the stem
attached to the center, or near it--as in the garden
nasturtium;
_orbicular_, when circular in outline, or nearly so;
_oval_, when having a flowing outline, with the breadth
considerably more than half the length, and both ends alike;
_elliptical_, when having a flowing outline, twice or thrice as
long as broad, and both ends alike;
_oblong_, when nearly twice or thrice as long as broad;
_linear_, when narrow, several times longer than wide, and of
about the same width throughout;
_acerose_, when needle-shaped--like the Pine.
Those broadest at the base--
_deltoid_, when having the triangular shape of the Greek letter
_delta_;
_ovate_, when having an outline like the section of a
hen's-egg, the broader end downward;
_lanceolate_, or lance-shaped, when several times longer than
broad, and tapering upward, or both upward and downward;
_subulate_, when shaped like an awl;
_cordate_, when ovate, with a heart-shaped base;
_reniform_, when like the last, only rounder and broader than
long;
_auriculate_, when having a pair of small blunt projections, or
ears, at the base;
_sagittate_, or arrow-shaped, when those ears are acute and
turned downward, the body of the leaf tapering upward;
_hastate_, or halberd-shaped, when the ears or lobes point
outward.
Those broadest at the apex--
_obovate_, when inversely ovate;
_oblanceolate_, when inversely lanceolate;
_spatulate_, when rounded above, and long and narrow below,
like a druggist's spatula;
_cuneate_, or wedge-shaped, when broad above, tapering by
straight lines to an acute base;
_obcordate_, when inversely cordate.
Sometimes no one of the above terms will describe a leaf, and it becomes
necessary to combine two of them; as, _linear-spatulate_,
_ovate-lanceolate_, etc.
THE APEX
Leaves are classified according to their apices; as--
_emarginate_, when having a decided terminal notch;
_truncate_, when abruptly cut off;
_obtuse_, when ending in a blunt or roundish extremity;
_acute_, when ending in an acute angle, without special
tapering;
_acuminate_, when tapering into a narrow, more or less
prolonged end;
_mucronate_, when abruptly tipped with a small, short point.
THE MARGIN
Leaves are classified according to their margins; as--
_entire_, when the margin is completely filled out to an even
line;
_repand_, or _undulate_, when the margin is a wavy line;
_dentate_, or _toothed_, when the teeth point outward;
_crenate_, or _scalloped_, when dentate, with the teeth
rounded;
_serrate_, when having small sharp teeth directed forward;
_incised_, when cut by sharp and irregular incisions more or
less deeply;
_lobed_, when cut not more than half-way to the midrib, and the
divisions or their angles are rounded;
_cleft_, when cut half-way down or more, and the lobes or
sinuses are narrow or acute;
_parted_, when the cutting reaches almost but not quite to the
midrib;
_divided_, when the blade is cut into distinct parts, thus
making the leaf compound.
All these terms may be modified by the words _pinnate_ or _palmate_;
thus--_pinnately parted_, _pinnately divided_, _palmately parted_,
_palmately divided_, etc.; also by the adjectives _once_, _twice_,
_thrice_, etc.
TEXTURE
Leaves vary as to texture, and may be--
_coriaceous_, or leathery;
_succulent_, or juicy;
_scarious_, or dry and thin;
_fleshy_, or thick;
_herbaceous_, or thin.
ARRANGEMENT
According to their arrangement on the stem, leaves are--
_alternate_, when distributed singly at different heights on
the stem;
_opposite_, when two stand opposite each other at the nodes;
_whorled_, when more than two are borne at a node, equidistant
in a circle around the stem.
INFLORESCENCE
=Inflorescence= is a term commonly applied to the mode of flowering--_i.e._
to the arrangement of blossoms on the stem and their relative positions to
one another.
A =peduncle= is the stem of a solitary flower, or the main stem
of a flower-cluster;
a =scape= is a peduncle growing from the ground;
a =pedicel= is the stem of each flower in a cluster;
a =bract= is a small floral leaf;
an =involucre= is a collection of bracts around a flower-cluster
or around a single flower.
Flowers may be solitary or clustered.
Solitary flowers or flower-clusters are--
_terminal_, when borne at the summit of the stem;
_axillary_, when borne in the axils of the leaves.
A flower-cluster is called--
a =raceme=, when the flowers are arranged along the axis upon
pedicels nearly equal in length;
a =corymb=, when the flowers are arranged as in the raceme, with
the lower pedicels elongated, making the cluster flat-topped;
an =umbel=, when the pedicels arise from the same point, like the
rays of an umbrella, and the cluster is flat-topped;
a =panicle=, when compound, irregularly made up of a number of
racemes;
a =spike=, when like a raceme, the flowers being without
pedicels;
a =spadix=, when it is a fleshy spike, generally enveloped by a
large bract, called a =spathe=, as in the calla-lily;
an =ament=, or =catkin=, when it is a pendent spike, with scaly
bracts, like the Willow;
a =head=, when it is a shortened spike, with a globular form;
a =cyme=, when it is branched and flat-topped, usually compound,
with the older flowers in the center of each simple cluster.
THE INDIVIDUAL FLOWER
A =complete flower= consists of =stamens= and =pistils= (the organs of
reproduction), and =calyx= and =corolla= (the floral envelops which
protect the stamens and pistils). But any one of these organs may be
absent.
The =calyx= is the outer floral envelop, which is more often
green, though it is sometimes colored. It may consist of a
number of separate parts, called =sepals=, or these may be more
or less united.
The =corolla= is the inner floral envelop. It is usually colored,
and forms the most beautiful feature of the flower, and plays
an important part in attracting insects to it, which may carry
on the work of fertilization. It may consist of a number of
separate parts, called =petals=, or these may be more or less
united, in which case the corolla is said to be _gamopetalous_.
When the calyx and corolla are much alike, and seem like one
floral circle, this is referred to as a =perianth=.
The =stamens= and =pistils= are called the =essential organs= of a
flower, because they are necessary to the maturing of the
fruit.
=Perfect flowers= have both sets of essential organs.
=Imperfect flowers= have but one set of essential organs.
_Staminate_ (or male) _flowers_ have only stamens;
_Pistillate_ (or female) _flowers_ have only pistils.
_Neutral flowers_ have neither.
THE STAMEN
The =stamen= consists of two parts--the =filament= and the =anther=. The
filament is the stalk of the stamen. The anther is the little case
holding the =pollen=, or powdery substance, which, falling upon the
stigma, is conducted downward into the ovary, where it quickens the
ovules into life. The anther normally consists of two cells, which more
often open lengthwise for the discharge of the pollen, though they
sometimes open by terminal pores or chinks, or by uplifting lids.
Stamens sometimes undergo a morphological change, taking the form of
scales or other bodies (as is the case in many of our _Brodiaeas_), when
they are called =staminodia=.
THE PISTIL
The =pistil= is the organ occupying the center of the flower. It
consists of three parts--the =ovary=, or the enlarged part below,
consisting of one or more cells or cavities, and containing the ovules,
or unfertilized seed; the =style=, or the stem which upholds the stigma;
the =stigma=, or the roughened portion which receives the pollen.
The pistil is _simple_, when it has but one ovary, style, stigma, etc.;
_compound_, if any one of these is duplicated.
THE FRUIT
The =fruit= is the ripened ovary. After the ovules have been fertilized,
the ovary is called a =pericarp=. Fruits may be either _fleshy_ or
_dry_.
The following are some of the principal kinds of dry fruits:--
A =capsule= is a dry, dehiscent (splitting) fruit, composed of
more than one carpel or division;
an =akene= is a small, dry, hard, one-celled, one-seeded
indehiscent fruit;
a =follicle= is a pod formed from a single pistil, dehiscing
along the ventral suture only;
a =legume= is a simple pericarp, opening by both seams.
a =samara= is a dry, indehiscent fruit, having a wing.
The following are some of the principal kinds of fleshy fruits:--
A =pome= is a fruit like an apple or pear;
the =pepo=, or =gourd=, fruit is like that of the melon, squash,
etc.;
the =drupe= is like that of the cherry, plum, and peach;
the =berry= is like that of the grape, currant, and tomato.
=Aggregate fruits= are those in which a cluster of carpels, all of one
flower, are crowded upon the receptacle into one mass; as in the
raspberry and blackberry.
IMPORTANT PLANT FAMILIES AND GENERA
[To avoid too long technical descriptions in the body of the
work, a few of the more important plant families and genera
have been inserted below, to which reference has been made in
the technical descriptions.]
FAMILIES
=Cruciferae.= Mustard Family.
Herbs with pungent, watery juice. _Leaves._--Alternate; without
stipules; entire or divided. _Flowers._--Generally in racemes.
_Sepals._--Four. _Petals._--Four; usually with narrowed base or
claw; the blades spreading to form a cross. _Stamens._--Six;
two of them shorter than the other four. _Ovary._--Two-celled;
rarely one-celled. Style undivided, or none. Stigma entire or
two-lobed. _Fruit._--A silique--_i.e._ a capsule, in which the
walls separate upward away from a central partition.
The Mustard family is a very large one, comprising over a hundred and
seventy genera, and containing between one and two thousand species. It is
widely distributed over all parts of the world, but is most abundantly
represented in the cooler or temperate regions. It furnishes us with many
useful plants; such as the mustard, horseradish, radish, cabbage, turnip,
cauliflower, etc.
The genera of this order are very closely allied, and very difficult of
discrimination. The fruit, as well as the flower, is necessary in the study
of any given species.
=Leguminosae.= Pea Family.
The order _Leguminosae_ is divided into three well-marked sub-orders--the
Pea family proper, the Brasiletto family, and the Mimosa family. But as all
our genera, save _Cercis_, fall under the first, we shall describe that
only.
PAPILIONACEAE. Pea Family proper.
Herbs, shrubs, or trees. _Leaves._--Usually alternate;
compound; with stipules; the latter sometimes transformed into
thorns or tendrils. _Flowers._--Seldom solitary; usually in
spikes, racemes or umbels. _Calyx._--Five-toothed; often
bilabiate. _Corolla._--Irregular; of five petals;
_papilionaceous_--_i.e._ the two lower petals more or less
coherent, forming the _keel_; the two lateral ones often
adherent to the keel, called the _wings_; the upper petal
called the _standard_ or _banner_. Stamens and pistil inclosed
in the keel. _Stamens._--Ten; their filaments either coherent
into a tube surrounding the pistil; or nine of them united into
a sheath, open above, the tenth lying in front of the cleft; or
rarely all distinct. _Ovary._--Superior; one-celled.
_Style._--Simple and incurved. _Stigma._--Simple. _Fruit._--A
two-valved pod, of which the garden pea is typical.
The Pea family, including its three sub-orders, is one of the most
important plant-families known. It is distributed over almost the entire
world, and furnishes some of the most valuable products to man. The
Judas-tree, the numerous acacias, and the sweet pea, are well known in our
gardens; while among our most valuable vegetables are the bean, the pea,
and the lentil. The clover and alfalfa are extremely important forage
plants.
The order furnishes several important timber-trees, in different parts of
the world, such as the Rosewood, the Laburnum, and the Locust; and yields
numerous products of economic importance, such as licorice, senna, gum
Senegal, gum Arabic, gum tragacanth, balsam of copaiba, balsam of Tolu,
indigo, logwood, red sandalwood, etc.
=Compositae.= Composite Family.
Herbs, rarely shrubs. _Leaves._--Usually alternate; without
stipules. _Flowers._--In a close head on a common _receptacle_,
surrounded by an _involucre_, whose divisions are called
_scales_ or _bracts_. _Calyx-tube._--Adnate to the one-celled
ovary; its limb (called a _pappus_) crowning its summit in the
form of bristles, awns, scales, teeth, etc.; or cup-shaped; or
else entirely absent. _Corolla._--Either strap-shaped or
tubular; in the latter chiefly five-lobed. _Stamens._--Five
(rarely four); on the corolla; their anthers united in a tube.
_Style._--Two-cleft at the apex. _Fruit._--An akene. Flowers
with strap-shaped corollas are called _ray flowers_ or _rays_.
The _tubular flowers_ compose the disk.
The Composite family is the largest of all plant-families, numbering twelve
thousand species and upward, and is widely distributed over the world. In
the cooler parts of the world the plants are mostly herbaceous, but toward
the tropics they gradually become shrubs, and even trees. In North America
they comprise about one sixth of all the flowering plants.
For so large a family there are comparatively few useful plants found in
it. Among the products of the order, may be mentioned chicory, lettuce, the
artichoke, the vegetable oyster, arnica, chamomile-flowers, wormwood,
absinth, elecampane, coltsfoot, taraxacum, oil of tansy, etc. But our
gardens owe to this family innumerable beautiful and showy plants such as
the China aster, the chrysanthemum, the cosmos, zinnia, dahlia, ageratum,
gaillardia, coreopsis, sunflower, etc., etc.
The plants of this family are quickly recognized by the flowers being
always borne in a head and surrounded by an involucre, and presenting the
appearance of a single flower. The heads are sometimes made up entirely of
one kind of flower. The dandelion and the chicory are examples of a head
made up entirely of ray-flowers, while the thistle consists of tubular
flowers only. The more common arrangement, however, is the mixed one,
comprising both tubular disk-flowers and strap-shaped rays, as in the
daisy. The seeds are usually furnished with silken down or a delicate
parachute to waft them abroad.
The identification of the flowers of this order is a very difficult matter,
even for experienced botanists.
=Labiatae.= Mint Family.
Herbs with square stems. _Leaves._--Opposite; usually aromatic.
_Flowers._--Axillary, or often in whorls or heads.
_Corolla._--Bilabiate (rarely regular). _Stamens._--Four (or
only two). _Ovary._--Deeply four-lobed; becoming four seedlike
nutlets. Style single; arising from the midst of the lobes.
The plants of this order are easily recognized by the traits in the above
description. But some of these traits are shared by the plants of the
Figwort family, which have also the bilabiate corolla. The distinguishing
character, however, is always to be found in the _four-lobed ovary_ for the
Figworts have a two-celled ovary.
This order is a large one; and there are no noxious or poisonous plants to
be found in it. On the contrary, it comprises many useful plants, too well
known almost to need enumeration--such as the lavender, peppermint, sage,
horehound, thyme, spearmint, horsemint, pennyroyal, etc.
GENERA
CEANOTHUS, L. Buckthorn Family.
Shrubs or small trees, sometimes spinescent.
_Leaves._--Opposite or alternate; petioled; variously toothed
or entire. _Flowers._--Blue or white; small, usually not more
than two or three lines across; borne in showy thyrsoid or
cymose clusters. _Calyx._--Petaloid; with short tube and
five-cleft border, the lobes acute and connivent.
_Petals._--Five; long-clawed; hooded; inserted on the
calyx-tube. _Stamens._--Five; opposite the petals; long
exserted. _Ovary._--Three-lobed; three-celled. Style short;
three-cleft. _Fruit._--Dry; consisting of three dehiscent
nutlets; sometimes crested.
The genus _Ceanothus_ is mainly a Western one. Of its thirty or more
species, two thirds are found in the region between the Rocky Mountains and
the Pacific Ocean.
In California we have about twenty species; and these all hybridize to such
an extent, that often the determination of any given species is a very
difficult matter. The genus reaches its culmination in the mountains of
Santa Cruz County, where there are many beautiful species. Many of the
species are commonly known as "California lilac."
LUPINUS, Catullus. Pea Family.
_Leaves._--Palmately divided, with from one to sixteen
leaflets; stipules adnate; seldom conspicuous.
_Leaflets._--Entire; sessile. _Flowers._--In terminal racemes,
whorled or scattered. _Calyx._--Deeply bilabiate; upper lip
notched; lower usually entire, or occasionally three-toothed or
cleft. _Corolla._--Papilionaceous. _Standard._--Broad, with
sides reflexed. _Wings._--Falcate; oblong; commonly slightly
united at the tip in front of and inclosing the falcate,
usually slender, pointed keel. _Stamens._--With their filaments
united in a tube; of two forms; five with longer and basifixed
anthers; the alternate five with shorter and versatile ones.
_Pod._--Compressed; straight; two-valved. Style slender. Stigma
bearded.
The Lupines are mostly plants of Western America. In fact, they are so
abundant between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean that that
territory is known among botanists as the "Lupine Region."
The species, which are very numerous, are difficult of determination,
requiring very long technical descriptions, which cannot be given in a work
like the present. For this reason we have been able to give but a few of
the more easily recognized.
We have in California upwards of forty species. They are of little economic
importance, although one or two species have been found very useful in the
reclaiming of sand-dunes. Several species have been cultivated for
ornament. The leaves are often beautiful and the flower-clusters showy.
The generic name is supposed to come from the Latin _lupinus_, a _wolf_,
and to have been given because of the voracity evinced by the species in
exhausting the soil.
ASTRAGALUS, Tourn. Pea Family.
Herbs, or sometimes plants woody at base. _Leaves._--Alternate;
with stipules; unequally pinnate. _Flowers._--Rather small;
chiefly in simple axillary spikes or racemes, upon a commonly
elongated peduncle; papilionaceous. _Calyx._--Five-toothed.
_Corolla_ and its slender-clawed petals usually narrow. Keel
not pointed. _Stamens._--Nine united; one free.
_Ovary._--One-celled; sometimes apparently two-celled.
_Pod._--Very various; commonly inflated. _Seeds._--Few to many
on slender stalks; generally small for the size of the pod.