sessile; ovate. _Flowers._--Solitary on axillary peduncles;
orange-vermilion (rarely blue or white); six lines or so
across. _Calyx_ and rotate corolla five-parted.
_Petals._--Rounded; purple at base. _Stamens._--Five; opposite
the petals. Filaments purple, bearded. _Capsule._--Globose; the
top falling off as a lid. _Hab._--Common everywhere. Introduced
from Europe.
The little orange-vermilion flower of the pimpernel is a plain little
blossom to the unassisted eye, but it becomes truly regal when seen under a
glass, where its rich purple center displays itself in glistening splendor.
It is a forcible example of the infinite care bestowed upon all of Nature's
children, even to the humblest weeds.
[Illustration MEADOW-FOAM--_Floerkia Douglasii_.]
This little plant has come to us from Europe, and it makes itself perfectly
at home among us in many widely-differing situations. From the fact that it
furls its petals upon cloudy days, or at the approach of rain, it is called
in England "poor-man's weather-glass."
The plant is an acrid poison and was extensively used in medicine by the
ancients. It seems to act particularly upon the nervous system, and was
used as a remedy for convulsions, the plague, gout, and hydrophobia.
* * * * *
_Encelia Californica_, Nutt. Composite Family.
Bushy; two to four feet high; strong-scented. _Leaves._--Mostly
alternate; short-petioled; ovate-lanceolate; an inch or two
long. _Flower-heads._--Solitary; long-peduncled; large.
_Disk._--Eight lines across; of black-purple, tubular flowers,
with deep-yellow styles. _Rays._--Sterile; over an inch long;
five lines wide; four-toothed. _Involucre._--Open-campanulate
of several series of coriaceous, imbricated scales.
_Hab._--Santa Barbara to San Diego.
This shrubby _Composita_ is quite abundant in the south, and when covered
with its large yellow flowers with purple-brown centers is very showy. We
have seen mesas covered with the bushes, which have much the same spreading
habit as the white marguerite of the garden. It thrives particularly well
near the coast, but is also at home upon some of the hills of interior
valleys as well. It is quite strong-scented, but the flowers are very
handsome, rivaling in decorativeness many of the cherished plants of our
gardens.
YELLOW FORGET-ME-NOT. WOOLLY-BREECHES.
_Amsinckia_, Lehm. Borage Family.
Hispid annuals. _Leaves._--Alternate; oblong-ovate to linear.
_Flowers._--Small; yellow or orange, in coiled spikes or
racemes. _Calyx._--Five-parted; persistent.
_Corolla._--Salver-shaped, or somewhat funnel-form; with
five-lobed border; the throat naked or with minute hairy tufts
opposite the lobes. _Stamens._--Five. _Ovary._--Of four
seedlike nutlets. Style filiform. Stigma capitate.
We have several species of _Amsinckia_, all of which have small yellow
flowers, resembling in form our little white forget-me-nots. The genus is a
Western American one, and the species are very difficult of determination.
They are all hispid plants, very disagreeable to handle, and are generally
of rank growth. They often occur in great masses, when they become rather
showy.
The largest-flowered species, which is also the most common one in the
south, is _A. spectabilis_, Fisch. and Mey. The corolla of this is often
half an inch long and half an inch across, of an orange-yellow, with deeper
orange spots in the throat.
TREE-TOBACCO.
_Nicotiana glauca_, Graham. Nightshade Family.
Loosely branching shrubs, fifteen feet or so high.
_Leaves._--Alternate; petioled; ovate; smooth.
_Flowers._--Clustered at the ends of the branches.
_Calyx._--Campanulate; five-toothed. _Corolla._--Tubular;
eighteen lines long; with constricted throat; and border
shortly five-toothed. _Stamens._--Five, on the base of the
corolla, adnate to the tube below. Anthers with two diverging
cells. _Ovary._--One-celled. Style slender. Stigma capitate;
two-lobed. _Hab._--Throughout Southern California; introduced.
The tall, loosely branching, spreading form of the tree-tobacco is a
familiar sight in the south about vacant lots and waste places. Its
clusters of long, greenish-yellow flowers hang gracefully from the ends of
the slender branches, and the ovate leaves are rather long-stalked. It is
supposed to have been introduced from Buenos Ayres, and old inhabitants
remember the time when but one or two plants were known. In thirty years it
has spread rapidly, and is now exceedingly common.
WIND-POPPY. BLOOD-DROP. FLAMING POPPY.
_Meconopsis heterophylla_, Benth. Poppy Family.
Smooth herbs. _Stems._--Slender; a foot or two high.
_Leaves._--Mostly petioled; pinnately divided into variously
toothed, oval to linear segments. _Flowers._--Solitary; on long
peduncles; orange-vermilion to scarlet. _Sepals._--Two; falling
early. Petals.--Four; two to twelve lines long.
_Stamens._--Numerous. Filaments filiform; purple. Anthers
yellow. _Ovary._--Top-shaped; ribbed; one-celled. Style short.
Stigma large; capitate; four- to eight-lobed. _Hab._--Throughout
Western California.
The wind-poppy is an exceedingly variable flower. In the central part of
the State it is large and showy, its beautiful flame-colored blossoms
being two inches across; while in the south it is usually very small,
making tiny flecks of red in the grass, for which reason it is there called
"blood-drop." It is an exquisite thing. Its petals have the delicate satin
texture of the poppy; and their showy orange or scarlet blends suddenly at
the center into a deep maroon. The bright-green, top-shaped ovary stands up
in the midst of the slender stamens, whose yellow anthers show brilliantly
against the dark maroon of the petals.
It blossoms in spring upon open hillsides, seeming to prefer those which
are shaded for at least part of the day. It is very fragile, and falls to
pieces at a touch, which makes it an unsatisfactory flower to gather.
WHISPERING BELLS.
_Emmenanthe penduliflora_, Benth. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.
Six inches to a foot high; branched above; hairy; somewhat
viscid. _Leaves._--An inch or more long; pinnatifid.
_Flowers._--Straw-colored; at length pendulous.
_Corolla._--Campanulate; about six lines long. (Flower
structure as in _Phacelia_.) _Hab._--Lake County to San Diego.
In midspring, when passing among the plants upon our dry, open hillsides,
our attention is often attracted by a certain delicate, rustling sound,
which we find emanates from the little papery bells of the dried blossoms
of the _Emmenanthe_, which retain the semblance of their first freshness
for many weeks.
Though not at first apparent, a little examination will reveal the fact
that these plants are very closely related to the _Phacelias_, the chief
difference being in the yellow corollas.
YELLOW STAR TULIP.
_Calochortus Benthami_, Baker. Lily Family.
_Leaves._--Much elongated; two to five lines broad.
_Stems._--Slender; three to six inches high. _Buds._--Nodding.
_Flowers._--Erect; yellow. _Petals._--Six or seven lines long;
spreading; mostly obtuse; rather densely covered with yellow
hairs. _Gland._--Shallow; lunate. _Capsule._--Nodding; six to
nine lines long. _Hab._--Sierra Nevada foothills, throughout
their length.
[Illustration WHISPERING BELLS--_Emmenanthe penduliflora_.]
This is a very pretty little star tulip, with graceful, flexuous stems
and erect flowers, whose spreading petals are covered with hairs. Sometimes
there is a dark-brown, almost black, spot upon the petals, and when such is
the case the plant is called _C. Benthami, var. Wallacei_.
CREAM-COLORED WALL-FLOWER.
_Erysimum grandiflorum_, Nutt. Mustard Family.
_Stems._--Six to eighteen inches high. _Leaves._--Spatulate or
oblanceolate; entire, toothed or lobed; lower long-petioled.
_Sepals._--Four; one pair strongly gibbous at base.
_Petals._--An inch long; long-clawed; cream-color or yellowish.
_Stamens._--Six; two shorter. _Ovary._--One-celled; linear.
Style stout; short. Stigma capitate. _Pod._--Nearly flat;
thirty lines or less long. _Syn._--_Cheiranthus asper_, Cham.
and Schlecht. _Hab._--The seaboard from Los Angeles to Oregon.
Growing along sandy stretches, or upon open mesas by the seashore, we may
find the showy blossoms of the cream-colored wall-flower from February to
May. These flowers are less stocky and much more delicate than the garden
species; and when seen numerously dotting a field carpeted with other
flowers, they stand out conspicuously, claiming the attention peculiarly to
themselves. They have not the delicious fragrance of the Western
wall-flower. At first yellowish, they become pale cream-color after
fertilization has taken place.
_E. asperum_, DC., the Western wall-flower, is widely distributed, and may
be known from the above by its four-sided pods, and by its flowers, which
are usually orange-color--though they occasionally vary to yellow or
purple. These blossoms are especially abundant in the mountains and valleys
of the south, where their brilliant orange is conspicuous amid the lush
greens of springtime. They are very fragrant, and are favorites among our
wild flowers.
BUR-CLOVER.
_Medicago denticulata_, Willd. Pea Family.
_Stems._--Prostrate or ascending. _Leaves._--Trifoliolate.
_Leaflets._--Cuneate-obovate or obcordate; toothed above.
_Flowers._--Papilionaceous; small; yellow; two or three in a
cluster. _Stamens._--Nine united, one free. _Pods._--Coiled
into two circles; armed with hooked prickles. _Hab._--Common
everywhere; introduced.
[Illustration CREAM-COLORED WALL-FLOWER--_Erysimum grandiflorum_.]
The bur-clover is a little European weed which has become very widespread
and very much at home among us. It is an excellent forage-plant, and in
late summer, when our cattle have eaten everything else, they feed upon the
little burs, which are very nutritious in themselves. But these same little
coiled burs, with their numerous firm hooks, work great damage to wool,
imbedding themselves in it so firmly as to make it very difficult to remove
them without seriously injuring its quality. These plants invade our lawns,
where they become very troublesome.
COMMON MONKEY-FLOWER.
_Mimulus luteus_, L. Figwort Family.
Varying greatly in size. _Stems._--One to four feet high.
_Leaves._--Mostly smooth; ovate-oval or cordate; coarsely
notched. _Flowers._--Yellow. _Calyx._--Sharply five-angled;
unevenly five-lobed. _Corolla._--One or two inches long; lower
lip usually spotted with brown purple. _Stamens._--Four; in
pairs. Anthers with two divergent cells. _Ovary._--Two-celled.
Style long and slender. Stigma with two rounded lips.
_Hab._--Common throughout California.
The bright canary-colored blossoms of the common monkey-flower are a
familiar sight upon almost every stream-bank. The plant varies greatly in
size, according to the locality of its growth. I once saw it flourishing in
the rich soil of a lake-shore, where its hollow stems were as large as an
ordinary cane, and its blossoms grotesquely large.
_M. moschatus_, Dougl., the common musk-plant of cultivation, is usually
found along mountain-streams. It may be known by its clammy, musk-scented,
light-green herbage. Its flowers are larger than in cultivation.
_M. brevipes_, Benth., is common from Santa Barbara to San Diego, upon
hillsides in spring. It has stems a foot or two high, lanceolate leaves one
to four inches long, and large, handsome yellow flowers, having a pair of
ridges running down their open throats.
[Illustration COMMON MONKEY-FLOWER--_Mimulus luteus_.]
* * * * *
_OEnothera bistorta_, Nutt. Evening-Primrose Family.
From several inches to a foot or two high. _Leaves._--Three or
four inches long; denticulate; the upper mostly rounded at
base. _Petals._--Yellow; four to seven lines long; with usually
a brown spot at the base. _Stigma._--Large and spherical.
_Capsule._--Four to nine lines long; a line or so wide;
attenuate upward; contorted. (See _OEnothera_.) _Hab._--Ventura
to San Diego.
This is a very common species of evening primrose in the south, and may be
found blooming until June. It is very variable in its manner of growth. In
moist, shaded localities it becomes an erect plant a foot or two high;
while upon open, exposed plains it is often only two or three inches high,
but seems almost to emulate the "sunshine" in its attempt to gild the plain
with its bright blossoms. It frequently grows in gravelly washes. Its
flowers have a peculiarly clean, brilliant, alert look, and may usually be
known by the brown spot at the base of the petals. The specific name is in
reference to its twice-twisted capsule.
The "beach primrose," _OE. cheiranthifolia, var. suffruticosa_, Wats.,
often grows in great beds upon the dry sands of the seashore, from Monterey
to San Diego. Its decumbent stems are thickly clothed with small, ovate,
stemless leaves, and its silvery foliage makes a beautiful setting for its
large golden flowers.
FAWN-LILY. DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET. CHAMISE-LILY.
_Erythronium giganteum_, Lindl. Lily Family.
_Corm._--Usually elongated. _Leaves._--Oblong; six to ten
inches long; dark green, usually mottled in mahogany and dark
brown. _Scape._--One- to many-flowered. _Perianth._--Broadly
funnel-form, with six deciduous segments; at length revolute to
the stem. _Segments._--Straw-color, with orange base, with
often a transverse, brownish band across the base; broadly
lanceolate; eighteen lines or so long. _Stamens._--Six.
Filaments filiform. Anthers basifixed. _Ovary._--Three-celled.
Style slender. Stigma three-lobed. _Hab._--The interior of the
Coast Ranges, from Sonoma County to the Willamette Valley.
[Illustration FAWN-LILY--_Erythronium giganteum_.]
The dog's-tooth violets expand into larger, finer creations upon our shores
than were ever dreamed of elsewhere. They seem to imbibe new vigor in the
sweet life-giving air of our Coast Range forests. In Southern Oregon, they
reach their maximum development, manifesting themselves in numerous
beautiful species. With us the common title becomes still more
inappropriate than for the Atlantic species--for nothing could be farther
from a violet than these large pale flowers, which in reality look far more
like lilies. Indeed, in Mendocino County they are commonly known as
"chamise-lilies." Another name is "Adam and Eve," bestowed because the
plant often bears a large and a small flower at the same time.
Personally, I am inclined to favor Mr. Burroughs' suggestion of
"fawn-lily." It is both appropriate and pretty. The two erect leaves are
like the ears of a fawn; their beautiful mottling is not without a hint of
the fawn's spots; and the blossom is lily-like. The plant is shy, too,
keeping to the seclusion of our deep cañons. In such situations we may find
them in groups of a few, or occasionally in beds of hundreds. No more
delightful surprise could be imagined than to come suddenly upon such a
garden far from the habitations of man. The pale flowers, with orange
centers, when fully open, roll their petals back to the stem, like those of
the leopard-lily; but in cloudy weather they often maintain a campanulate
outline. Plants have frequently been seen with from eight to sixteen
flowers upon a stem, the flowers three or four inches across!
These are great favorites in gardens, and in cultivation are known as _E.
grandiflorum_. We have several species of _Erythronium_, all of them
beautiful.
STICKY MONKEY-FLOWER.
_Mimulus glutinosus_, Wend. Figwort Family.
Glutinous shrubs two to six feet high. _Leaves._--Narrowly
oblong to linear; one to four inches long; with margins at
length rolled backward. _Flowers._--Corn-color to red; eighteen
lines to three inches long. _Calyx._--Irregularly five-toothed.
_Corolla._--Funnel-form; five-lobed; the lobes gnawed.
_Stigma._--White. (See _Mimulus_.) _Hab._--San Francisco to San
Diego, and southward.
[Illustration STICKY MONKEY-FLOWER--_Mimulus glutinosus_.]
During a walk upon the hills, at almost any time of year, we may find the
corn-colored blossoms of the sticky monkey-flower, but they are most
abundant in spring and summer. When in full flower the small bushes are
very ornamental, as they are a perfect mass of bloom. They are said to be
especially handsome as greenhouse plants.
The flowers vary through a wide range of color, from almost white to a rich
scarlet, but the commoner hue is the corn-color. The scarlet-flowered form,
found at San Diego, constitutes the _var. puniceus_, Gray. Another form,
with red-brown to salmon-colored flowers on very short pedicels, is the
_var. linearis_, Gray. The very long-flowered form is the _var. brachypus_,
Gray. The sensitive lips of the stigma close upon being touched or after
receiving pollen.
CREEPING WOOD-VIOLET.
_Viola sarmentosa_, Dougl. Violet Family.
_Stems._--Creeping. _Leaves._--Round-cordate; six to eighteen
lines broad; finely crenate; often rusty beneath; usually
punctate with dark dots. _Peduncles._--Slender.
_Flowers._--Small; light yellow without and within. (Flower
structure as in _V. pedunculata_.) _Hab._--Coast Ranges, from
Monterey to British Columbia.
This modest little violet is found commonly in woods,--often in redwood
forests,--where it carpets the ground with its shapely little round leaves.
Its specific name refers to its running habit.
COMMON BLACK MUSTARD.
_Brassica nigra_, Koch. Mustard Family.
_Stems._--Six inches to twelve feet high. _Lower
leaves._--Lyrate; with large terminal lobes. _Upper
leaves._--Lobed or entire. _Flowers._--Yellow. _Sepals._--Four.
_Petals._--Four; three to four lines long. _Stamens._--Six.
_Ovary._--Two-celled. Style long. _Pod._--Six to nine lines
long, with seeds in one row. _Hab._--Common everywhere;
introduced.
I can give no truer idea of the manner of growth of this common plant in
California than by quoting Mrs. Jackson's charming description of it from
"Ramona":--
"The wild mustard in Southern California is like that spoken of in the New
Testament, in the branches of which the birds of the air may rest. Coming
up out of the earth, so slender a stem that dozens can find starting-point
in an inch, it darts up a slender, straight shoot, five, ten, twenty feet,
with hundreds of fine, feathery branches locking and interlocking with all
the other hundreds around it, till it is an inextricable network, like
lace. Then it bursts into yellow bloom, still finer, more feathery and
lacelike. The stems are so infinitesimally small and of so dark a green,
that at a short distance they do not show, and the cloud of blossoms seems
floating in the air; at times it looks like a golden dust. With a clear,
blue sky behind it, as it is often seen, it looks like a golden snowstorm."
The tall stems are favorite haunts of the red-winged blackbird, who tilts
about among them, showing his scarlet wings and occasionally plunging into
the depths below, as though he found a spot there much to his mind.
A very superior oil is made from the seed of the mustard, which is one of
the strongest antiseptics known. It is especially adapted to the needs of
the druggist, because it does not become rancid. The flour of mustard is
now much used by surgeons to render their hands aseptic. Tons of the seed
are exported from California every year.
ECHEVERIA.
_Cotyledon lanceolata_, Benth. and Hook. Stonecrop or Orpine Family.
Fleshy plants, with tufted radical leaves. _Leaves._--Narrowly
lanceolate; the outer ones two to four inches long; acuminate.
_Scapes._--Fifteen inches high; their lower leaves lanceolate;
becoming above broadly triangular-ovate, clasping, acute;
bearing on their summit a branching flower-cluster.
_Calyx._--Five-parted. _Corolla._--Cylindrical; of five almost
distinct, oblong, acute petals, four to six lines long,
reddish-yellow. _Stamens._--Ten. _Ovaries._--Five; distinct;
one-celled. _Hab._--Los Angeles to San Diego.
These plants, which are of frequent occurrence in the south, usually affect
dry, sandy soils. The fleshy foliage is of a warm tone, owing to a
suffusion of pink in the leaves. These have a loose, erect habit, and are
not crowded in dense rosettes, as are those of some species, and they are
so weak that they pull apart easily. The tall flowering stems have but few
leaves, and are sometimes nearly naked.
In early summer these plants put forth a strong effort, quickly sending up
several tall, vigorous flower-shoots, drawing upon the nourishment stored
in the fleshy leaves, which then become limp and shriveled.
Growing upon the coast at San Diego is a very curious and interesting
species--_C. edulis_, Brew. This has cylindrical leaves, about the size of
a lead-pencil, which grow in tufts, often a foot or two across. Its flowers
are greenish-yellow. It is commonly known as "finger-tips." Its young
leaves are considered very palatable by the Indians, who use them as a
salad.
HEN-AND-CHICKENS.
_Cotyledon Californicum_, Trelease. Stonecrop or Orpine Family.
(For flower structure, see _Cotyledon lanceolata_.)
_Hab._--Central California.
The word "cotyledon" signifies any cup-shaped hollow or cavity, and has
been applied to the plants of this genus on account of the manner of growth
of the leaves, which is usually in a hollow rosette. The fleshy leaves are
often covered with a bloom or a floury powder. These plants are familiar to
most of us, as some of the species are extensively cultivated in our
gardens as border-plants. Owing to their habit of producing a circle of
young plants around the parent, they are commonly called
"hen-and-chickens." We have several native species, which are usually found
upon warm, rocky hill-slopes, or upon rocks near the sea.
_C. Californicum_ is a beautiful form, with pointed, ovate leaves, of a
light glaucous green, often tinged with pink. Its flowers are yellow, and
have their petals distinct almost to the base, and its carpels are
distinct. We are told that the Indians make soothing poultices of these
leaves.
[Illustration HEN-AND-CHICKENS--_Cotyledon Californicum_.]
Another species--_C. pulverulenta_, Benth. and Hook.,--found from Santa
Barbara to San Diego, is a very beautiful plant. It bears its leaves in a
symmetrical rosette, like a diminutive century-plant. These leaves are
usually covered with a dense white bloom, and the outer ones are spatulate,
abruptly pointed, and two to four inches broad at the tip, while the inner
are pointed. The plants are sometimes a foot and a half across, and send up
as many as eight of the leafy flowering stems, which look like
many-storied, slender Chinese pagodas. The blossoms are pale-red.
BLADDERPOD.
_Isomeris arborea_, Nutt. Caper Family.
Shrubby; evil-scented. _Leaves._--Alternate; compound, with
three leaflets. _Flowers._--With their parts in fours.
_Petals._--Yellow; five to eight lines long. _Stamens._--Eight;
of equal length. _Ovary._--One-celled. Style short.
_Pod._--Pendulous; inflated; pear-shaped; on a long stalk.
_Hab._--Santa Barbara to San Diego.
This low shrub is somewhat plentiful upon the mesas of the south. Its
yellow flowers attract one to it, only to be repulsed by the dreadful odor
of its foliage. It certainly ought to have some compensating utility for so
repellent a characteristic. The ovary is so long-stalked, even in the
flower, that it looks like an abnormal, inflated stigma.
This is the only species of the genus.
YELLOW GLOBE-TULIP. DIOGENES' LANTERN. GOLDEN LILY-BELL.
_Calochortus pulchellus_, Dougl. Lily Family.