inches to a foot or more high. _Radical leaf._--Equaling or
exceeding the stem; four to twelve lines broad.
_Sepals._--Greenish or yellow; eight to twelve lines long.
_Petals._--Yellow; strongly arched; glandular ciliate.
_Gland._--A deep pit, conspicuously prominent on the outside of
the petals, covered within by appressed hairs. (See
_Calochortus_.) _Hab._--Coast Ranges, from Monterey to
Mendocino County.
We have no more charmingly graceful flower than the yellow globe-tulip. A
single, long, grasslike leaf precedes the flexuous stem, with its quaintly
arched and delicately fringed blossoms. There is a certain quizzical look
about these flowers--something akin to the inquiring look of Diogenes, as
he thrust his lantern into all sorts of out-of-the-way places in broad
daylight. The margins of the petals look as though they had been snipped
into a very fine, delicate fringe, unlike the slender, tapering hairs of
_C. alba_.
[Illustration DIOGENES' LANTERN--_Calochortus pulchellus_.]
The Indians are fond of the bulbs, which they eat with great relish,
calling them "Bo."
YELLOW SAND-VERBENA.
_Abronia latifolia_, Esch. Four-o'clock Family.
_Stems._--Prostrate; rubbery. _Leaves._--Opposite; unequal;
roundish; an inch or so across; petioled; leathery; gummy.
_Flowers._--Yellow; five or six lines long; in dense clusters,
subtended by an involucre of five distinct bracts.
_Perianth._--Salver-shaped. Tube green; its base strongly
angled or winged. Limb yellow; four or five-lobed.
_Stamens._--Mostly five, within the perianth.
_Ovary._--One-celled. Style filiform. Stigma club-shaped.
_Hab._--The seashore from Vancouver Island to Monterey.
The fragrant blossoms of the yellow sand-verbena may be found upon the
beach at almost any time of year. The stout root, which often becomes
several feet long, is sometimes eaten by the Indians.
SEA-DAHLIA.
_Leptosyne maritima_, Gray. Composite Family.
_Leaves._--Alternate; sometimes six inches long; two or three
times divided into rather sparse, linear divisions; quite
succulent. _Flower-heads._--Solitary; on naked peduncles from
six inches to two feet long; large; three or four inches
across; yellow; of disk- and ray-flowers. _Rays._--Narrowly
oblong; ten-nerved; three-toothed. _Involucre._--Double; the
outer part of several loose, leafy scales; the inner of eight
to twelve, erect, more chaffy ones. _Hab._--The seashore of San
Diego and the islands.
On the cliffs overlooking the sea, where its merry yellow faces can watch
the white-crested breakers as they chase one another ashore in never-ending
succession, and where the pelicans sail lazily over in lines, and gulls
circle and scream, the sea-dahlia flaunts its large yellow flowers. They
closely resemble the yellow single dahlias of our gardens; but the foliage
is cut into long lobes, and has the appearance of a coarse, very open
lace. The odor of the flowers is not especially agreeable, but the plant
merits a place in the garden for its beauty.
[Illustration YELLOW SAND-VERBENA--_Abronia latifolia_.]
FALSE LUPINE.
_Thermopsis Californica_, Wats. Pea Family.
_Stems._--Two feet tall. _Leaves._--With leafy stipules an inch
long. _Leaflets._--Three; obovate to oblanceolate; an inch or
two long; somewhat woolly. _Flowers._--Yellow; in
long-peduncled recemes. _Calyx._--Deeply five-cleft; the two
upper teeth often united. _Corolla._--Papilionaceous; eight
lines long. _Stamens._--Ten; all distinct.
_Ovary._--One-celled. _Pod._--Silky; six- to eight-seeded.
_Hab._--Marin County and southward.
The false lupine very closely resembles the true lupines, but may be
distinguished from them by the stamens, which are all distinct, instead of
being united into a sheath. Its silvery foliage and racemes of rather large
canary-colored flowers are common upon open hill-slopes by April.
TIDY-TIPS. YELLOW DAISY.
_Layia platyglossa_, Gray. Composite Family.
_Stems._--A foot or so high; loosely branching.
_Leaves._--Alternate; sessile; the lower linear and pinnatifid,
the upper entire. _Flowerheads._--Solitary; terminal; of
disk- and ray-flowers. _Disk-flowers._--Yellow, with black
stamens. _Rays._--Bright yellow, tipped with white; six lines
long; four lines wide; three-lobed. _Hab._--Throughout Western
California; in low ground.
Among the most charming of our flowers are the beautiful tidy-tips. In
midspring, countless millions of them lift themselves above the sheets of
golden _Baeria_ on our flower-tapestried plains. The fresh winds come
sweetly laden with their delicate fragrance. Were they not scattered
everywhere in such lavish profusion, we would doubtless cherish them in our
gardens.
Growing among these blossoms is often found another flower, somewhat
similar to them. This is _Leptosyne Douglasii_, DC., the false tidy-tip. It
has not the clean, natty appearance of _Layia platyglossa_; for the gradual
blending of the light tips into the darker yellow below gives it an
indefinite, unattractive look. There is a difference in the involucre,
which has two series of bracts, and there are no touches of black among the
disk-flowers.
[Illustration FALSE TIDY-TIPS--_Leptosyne Douglasii_. TIDY-TIPS--_Layia
Platyglossa_.]
GOLDEN BUTTERFLY-TULIP.
_Calochortus clavatus_, Wats. Lily Family.
_Hab._--Los Angeles County to San Luis Obispo and El Dorado
County.
Of all our Mariposa tulips, this is the largest-flowered and
stoutest-stemmed, and once seen is not readily forgotten. Its magnificent
flowers are sometimes six inches across, though not usually so large, and
have the form of a broad-based cup. The sturdy, zigzagging stems and
glaucous leaves and bracts, combined with the large rich, canary-colored or
golden flowers, make a striking plant. The first glance within the cup
shows the ring of club-shaped hairs, characteristic of this species, and
the anthers radiating starlike in the center; and as the latter are often a
dark, rich prune-purple, the effect can readily be imagined.
I saw this charming Mariposa blooming in abundance in May near Newhall,
where its golden cups were conspicuously beautiful against the soft browns
of the drying fields and hill-slopes. It is usually found growing upon lava
soil.
_C. Weedii_, Wood., found from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, is a charming
species, somewhat similar to the above. Its flowers are yellow, purple, or
pure white, and it may be known by several characteristics. Its bulb is
heavily coated with coarse fibers; it has a single, long radical leaf, like
_C. albus_, but unusual among the Mariposas; and its cups are covered all
over within with silky hairs.
* * * * *
_Malacothrix Californica_, DC. Composite Family.
_Leaves._--All radical; pinnately parted into very narrow
linear divisions. _Scape._--Six inches to a foot high; bearing
a solitary, large, light-yellow head. _Flower-head._--Composed
of strap-shaped ray-flowers only; five-toothed at the apex.
_Involucres._--Of narrow acute scales in two or three series.
_Receptacle._--Nearly naked. _Hab._--San Francisco to San
Diego, and eastward.
These beautiful _Compositae_ are conspicuous upon our open plains in late
spring, and are among the handsomest plants of the family. The fine flowers
seem to be sown like disks of light over the flower-carpet of the plain.
BUTTER-AND-EGGS.
_Orthocarpus erianthus_, Benth. Figwort Family.
Slender, with many erect branches; stems and bracts usually
dark-reddish; soft pubescent. _Corolla._--Deep sulphur-yellow;
the slender falcate upper lip dark purple; the tube very
slender, but the sacs of the lower lip large and deep, their
folds hairy within. (See _Orthocarpus_.) _Hab._--Monterey
County and northward; very common.
There are many species of _Orthocarpus_, and they are more numerous in
Middle and Northern California and in the Sierras, few of them reaching the
south. They are very difficult of determination, and are not well
understood by botanists yet. A common name for the plants of this genus is
"owl's clover."
BRASS BUTTONS.
_Cotula coronopifolia_, L. Composite Family.
_Stems._--Six inches to a foot long. _Leaves._--Alternate;
lanceolate or oblong-linear; pinnatifid or entire.
_Flower-heads._--Solitary; yellow; three to six lines across;
without rays. _Involucre._--Of two ranks of nearly equal,
scarious-margined scales. _Hab._--Common everywhere.
These little weeds are natives of the Southern Hemisphere, but are now
common everywhere. They affect wet places, and their little flowers, like
brass buttons, are very familiar objects along our roadsides. The foliage
when crushed gives out a curious odor, between lemon-verbena and camphor.
DEER-WEED. WILD BROOM.
_Hosackia glabra_, Torr. Pea Family.
Woody at base; two to eight feet high; erect or decumbent.
_Stems._--Many; slender; branching; reed-like.
_Leaves._--Sparse; short-petioled; mostly trifoliolate.
Leaflets three to six lines long; oblong to linear-oblong;
nearly glabrous. _Flowers._--In numerous small axillary umbels;
yellow; four lines long. _Calyx._--Less than three lines long;
five-toothed. _Corolla._--Papilionaceous. _Stamens._--Nine
united and one free. _Pod._--Elongated; exserted. Seeds two.
(See _Leguminosae_.) _Hab._--Common throughout the State.
This graceful, willowy plant, whose slender branches are closely set with
small golden-yellow flowers, in which there is often a hint of red, is as
ornamental as any of the small-flowered foreign _Genestas_, or brooms, we
grow in our gardens; but because it is so very abundant throughout our
borders, we have become blind to its merits. It is especially beautiful and
symmetrical in the south, where the low, bushy plants often spread over
several feet of ground; and on the mesas of Coronado, the plants growing
not far removed from one another, lend to the natural scene the aspect of a
garden. There it is in full flower in April; but in the north the blossoms
are usually later in arriving, and it is often June before they show
themselves; then making whole hill-slopes dull-yellow among the chaparral.
It is a great favorite with the bees, and for them holds untold treasure in
honey-making sweets. Among the mountaineers it is known as "deer-weed" and
"buck-brush," as both deer and stock are said to feed upon it and flourish,
when pasturage is scarce, though they rarely touch it when other food is
plenty.
TREFOIL SUMACH. FRAGRANT SUMACH. SQUAW-BERRY.
_Rhus Canadensis, var. trilobata_, Gray. Poison-Oak or Cashew Family.
Shrubs two to five feet high; spreading.
_Leaves._--Three-foliolate. _Leaflets._--Sessile; wedge-shaped;
six lines to an inch long; pubescent, becoming smooth.
_Flowers._--Yellowish; minute; borne in short, scaly-bracted
spikes preceding the leaves. _Fruit._--Viscid; reddish; two or
three lines in diameter; pleasantly acid. _Syn._--_R.
aromatica, var. trilobata_, Gray. _Hab._--Dakota to Texas, and
west to California and Oregon.
[Illustration DEER-WEED.--_Hosackia glabra_.]
The dense foliage of these little bushes has a strong odor, which is not
altogether agreeable, while their small fruit has a pleasant acid taste,
and is much relished by the Indians.
Dr. Edward Palmer writes that this shrub furnishes the Indians of Utah,
Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California with one of the most valuable
of basket materials. The young twigs, which are much tougher than those of
the willow, are soaked, scraped, and split. The baskets are then built up
of a succession of small rolls of grass, over which the split twigs are
closely and firmly bound. The baskets thus made are very durable, will hold
water, and are often used to cook in, by dropping hot stones into them till
the food is done. The wood exhales a peculiar odor, which is always
recognizable about the camps of these Indians, and never leaves articles
made from it.
This is grown in England as an ornamental shrub.
GOLDEN STARS.
_Bloomeria aurea_, Kell. Lily Family.
_Bulb._--Six lines in diameter. _Leaf._--Solitary; about
equaling the scape; three to six lines broad. _Scape._--Six to
eighteen inches high. _Flowers._--Yellow; fifteen to sixty in
an umbel. _Perianth._--About an inch across. _Stamens._--Six;
with cup-shaped appendages. _Ovary._--Three-celled. Style
club-shaped. Stigma three-lobed. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from
Monterey to San Diego.
Just as the floral procession begins to slacken a little before the
oncoming of summer, the fields suddenly blossom out anew and twinkle with
millions of the golden stars of the _Bloomeria_. These plants are closely
allied to the _Brodiaeas_, and by some authorities are classed as such.
They are especially characterized by the structure of the stamens, which
rise out of a tiny cup. Under a glass this cup is seen to be granular,
somewhat flattened, and furnished with two cusps, or points. The anthers
are a very pretty Nile or peacock green.
[Illustration GOLDEN STARS--_Bloomeria aurea_.]
Another species--_B. Clevelandi_, Wats.--is easily distinguished from the
above by its numerous narrow leaves and its green-nerved perianth. This is
found at San Diego, upon the mesas in midspring, growing abundantly in
spots which, earlier in the season, have been mud-holes. Its open flowers
are so outnumbered by the numerous undeveloped green buds, that, even
though it grows in masses, it is not very showy, but makes the ground a
dull yellow. But its flower-clusters are feathery and delicate.
There is another plant which closely resembles the _Bloomerias_. This is
the "golden Brodiaea"--_Brodiaea ixioides_, Wats. But the filaments,
instead of having a cuplike appendage, are winged, with the little anthers
swinging prettily upon their summits. This is found in the Coast Ranges,
from Santa Barbara northward, also in the Sierras. It is a beautiful
flower; especially when seen starring the velvet alpine meadows in August.
Another plant--_Brodiaea lactea_, Wats.--the "white Brodiaea" has flowers
similar to the above, but pure white (sometimes lilac), with a green
mid-vein. This is common in late spring from Monterey to British Columbia.
YELLOW SWEET CLOVER.
_Melilotus parviflora_, Desf. Pea Family.
_Hab._--Widely naturalized from Europe.
In early summer the breezes come laden with fragrance from the sweet
clover. This is easily recognized by its tall stems, its fragrant leaves,
with three small, toothed leaflets, and its small crowded racemes of minute
yellow flowers a line long.
A white form--_Melilotus alba_, Lam.--is found in the north. Its flowers
are vanilla-scented.
This plant is a highly valued remedy in the pharmacopoeia for various
ailments, and its sweet-scented flowers have been used for flavoring many
products, such as Gruyère cheese, snuff, and tobacco. In Europe the
blossoms are packed among furs to give them a pleasant odor and keep away
moths.
CALIFORNIAN COMPASS-PLANT. SUNFLOWER.
_Wyethia angustifolia_, Nutt. Composite Family.
_Stems._--Six inches to two feet high.
_Leaves._--Long-lanceolate; pointed at both ends; the radical
and lower ones six to twelve inches long; the upper sessile,
shorter, and often broader. _Flower-heads._--Yellow; composed
of ray- and disk-flowers. Plume-like styles of the latter
conspicuous. _Ray flowers._--Numerous; one inch long; six lines
wide; early deciduous. _Involucre._--Broadly campanulate, of
numerous erect, loose, foliaceous, ciliate scales, in several
rows. _Hab._--Monterey, east to the Sierra foothills and north
to Oregon.
In late spring our open plains and hillsides are often plentifully sown
with the large golden flowers of these Californian compass-plants, called
"sunflowers" by many people. There is a belief prevalent that their erect
leaves always stand with their edges pointing north and south, whence the
common name. This trait is said to be true of all the species.
_W. helenioides_, Nutt., has large, broad leaves, which are white-woolly
when young. Its flower-heads are often four inches or more across.
This plant is used as a common domestic remedy for coughs and colds by
Californian housewives, and goes under the unmerited name of "poison-weed."
It has also been adopted among physicians as an officinal drug. The root,
which is slightly bitter and aromatic, is made into a tincture and
administered for asthma, throat disorders, and epidemic influenza, with
excellent results. It blooms in early spring, and is common upon hillsides.
Another species, very similar to the above, is _W. glabra_, Gray. This may
be known by its smooth green leaves, which are often very viscid. It is
found from Marin County southward, in the Coast Ranges, and probably
northward.
_W. mollis_, Gray, or "Indian wheat," is very abundant in the Sierras,
growing all through the open woods, and covering great tracts of dry
gravelly soil. Its large, coarse, somewhat woolly radical leaves stand
erect and clustered, usually having a flower-stalk or two in their midst,
bearing some smaller leaves, and several yellow flower-heads, which
resemble small sunflowers with yellow centers. It has a strong odor, and
gives a characteristic smell to the region where it grows. The common name,
"Indian wheat," has been bestowed upon it not because it in the least
resembles wheat, but because the Indians gather the seed in great
quantities and grind it into a flour.
CALIFORNIAN SLIPPERY-ELM.
_Fremontia Californica_, Torr. Hand-tree Family.
Shrubs or trees from two to twenty feet high.
_Leaves._--Alternate; petioled; round-cordate to round-ovate;
moderately three- to five-lobed or cleft; woolly or whitish
beneath; the larger two inches wide.
_Flowers._--Short-peduncled on very short lateral branches;
numerous; one to three inches across; having three to five
small bractlets. _Calyx._--Corolla-like; brilliant gold,
five-cleft nearly to the base; the lobes having a rounded,
hairy pit at base. _Corolla._--Wanting. _Filaments._--United to
their middle; each bearing a linear, adnate, curved, two-celled
anther. _Ovary._--Five-celled. Style filiform. _Hab._--Dry
Sierra foothills, from Lake County southward.
No more beautiful sight is often seen than a slope covered with the wild
slippery-elm in blossom. The bushes are almost obscured from view by the
masses of large golden flowers. This shrub takes on various forms;
sometimes sending out in every direction long slender branches, which are
solid wreaths of the magnificent blooms; and again assuming a more erect,
treelike habit. It has been hailed with delight in the gardens of our
Southern States, and heartily welcomed in France and England. Why do not
_we_ honor it with a place in our own gardens, instead of giving room to so
many far less beautiful exotics?
It flowers in early summer, and its season of bloom is said to last only
about two weeks, but the brilliant hibiscus-like blossoms, drying upon
their stems, maintain for a long time a semblance of their first beauty.
The branches are tough and flexible, and are often cut for whips by
teamsters. Among the mountaineers it is generally known as "leatherwood."
But this name properly belongs to another entirely different plant, _Dirca
palustris_.
[Illustration CALIFORNIAN SLIPPERY-ELM--_Fremontia Californica_.]
The bark of the _Fremontia_ so closely resembles that of the slippery-elm
in taste and other qualities, that it is difficult to distinguish between
them; and it is used in the same manner for making poultices.
We are told that this shrub thrives best upon a disintegrated granite soil,
and reaches its finest development upon the arid slopes bordering such
rainless regions as the Mojave Desert. It was first discovered by General
Fremont when crossing the Sierras, about half a century ago, and was named
in his honor. It is closely related to the mallows.
DODDER. LOVE-VINE. GOLDEN-THREAD.
_Cuscuta_, Tourn. Morning-Glory Family.
Leafless plants with filiform, yellow or orange-colored stems;
germinating in the soil; soon breaking off and becoming
parasitic upon other plants. _Flowers._--Small; white; densely
clustered. _Calyx._--Usually five-cleft or parted.
_Corolla._--Tubular or campanulate; four- or five-toothed or
lobed. _Stamens._--On the corolla, alternate with its lobes.
Filaments with fringed scales below. _Ovary._--Globose;
two-celled. Styles two.
. . . "while everywhere
The love-vine spreads a silken snare,
The tangles of her yellow hair."
Though popularly known as the love-vine, because of its clinging habit, it
must be confessed that this pernicious plant in no respect merits the
title. On the other hand, it might with propriety be called the octopus of
the plant world. If you break a branch from a plant which has become its
victim, you can see how it has twined itself about it, drawing its very
life-blood from it at every turn, by means of ugly, wartlike suckers.
It is no wonder, however, that people are generally deceived as to the
moral character of this plant--for it is indeed a beautiful sight, when it
spreads its golden tangle over the chamisal, wild buckwheat, and other
plants, often completely hiding them from view.
We have a number of species. _C. salina_ often covers our salt marshes with
brilliant patches of orange.
LARGE YELLOW LUPINE.
_Lupinus arboreus_, Sims. Pea Family.
Shrubby; four to ten feet high. _Flowers._--Large; in a loose,
whorled raceme; sulphur-yellow; very fragrant.
_Leaflets._--Four to eleven; generally about nine; narrowly
lanceolate; nine to twenty lines long. _Pods._--Two to three
inches long; ten- to twelve-seeded; silky pubescent. (See
_Lupinus_.) _Hab._--Common from the Sacramento to San Diego.
The large yellow lupine is a common plant upon our wind-swept mesas,
growing in sandy soil. Its shrubby form, somewhat silvery foliage, and
large canary-colored, very fragrant flowers make it always a conspicuous
and beautiful plant.
This species, together with _L. albifrons_, have been found most useful in
anchoring the shifting sands of the dunes near San Francisco. It was
accidentally discovered in a deep cutting that these lupines sent their
roots down sometimes twenty feet, and the idea was conceived of making use
of them in the above manner. Barley, which grows more rapidly than the
lupine, was sown to protect the plants while very young. In a single year
the lupines covered the sands with a dense growth, two or three feet high,
sufficient to prevent them from shifting during the severest storms, and to
allow of the subsequent planting of various pines, willows, and other
trees. Thus the way was prepared for one of the most beautiful of
pleasure-grounds--the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco which can hardly be
rivaled anywhere for natural situation and diversity of scene.
One of our handsomest species is _L. Stiveri_, Kell., found in the
Yosemite. Its blossoms have yellow standards and rose-colored wings.
ST. JOHN'S-WORT.
_Hypericum concinnum_, Benth. St. John's-wort Family.
_Stems._--Three to eighteen inches high; branching from a woody
base. _Leaves._--Opposite; often in four ranks; linear to
oblong; six lines to an inch or more long; usually folded;
translucently dotted. _Flowers._--Golden yellow; over an inch
across. _Sepals._--Five. _Petals._--Five; margins black-dotted.
_Stamens._--Numerous; in three bunches. _Ovary._--Usually
three-celled. Styles three. _Hab._--Central California.
Just as spring is merging into summer, we may look for the bright golden
flowers of our common St. John's-wort. The numerous stamens give these
blossoms a feathery appearance, and the leaves often group themselves
characteristically in four ranks upon the stems.