early spring along the hills of the Coast Ranges. This plant is said to be
very beautiful in cultivation. The generic name was bestowed because many
of the well-known species are natives of Arabia, while the formidable
specific name means "eyelash-leaved," referring to the ciliate leaves.
[Illustration REDWOOD-SORREL--_Oxalis Oregana_.]
WILD HOLLYHOCK.
_Sidalcea malvaeflora_, Gray. Mallow Family.
_Stems._--Several; eight inches to two feet long.
_Leaves._--Round in outline; variously lobed and cut.
_Flowers._--Pink; in terminal racemes. _Calyx._--Five-cleft;
without bractlets. _Petals._--Five; united at base; one inch
long. _Stamens._--United in a column; in two series. Anthers
one-celled. _Ovaries._--Three to ten in a ring; separating at
maturity. Styles as many; filiform. _Hab._--The Coast from San
Diego to Mendocino County.
In early spring the graceful sprays of the _Sidalcea_ bend over our meadows
everywhere, making them bright with their pink blossoms, which the children
call "wild hollyhocks." The stamens of these flowers are especially pretty
and interesting if examined with a glass. By a careful dissection, the
stamen-column is found to be double, its outer part bearing five bunches of
stamens. The anthers are one-celled and of a beautiful rose-pink. They may
be seen best by pulling apart one of the unopened buds.
There are two kinds of these plants, one having large pale-pink flowers,
which are perfect; the other bearing smaller deep rose-pink blossoms, in
which the anthers are only rudimentary.
There are quite a number of species of _Sidalcea_ in California, but they
are very difficult of determination for the non-botanist.
REDBUD. JUDAS-TREE.
_Cercis occidentalis_, Torr. Pea Family.
Small trees or shrubs. _Leaves._--Alternate; slender-petioled;
round-cordate; palmately veined; smooth; about two inches in
diameter. _Flowers._--Rose-color; papilionaceous; clustered in
the axils. _Petals._--Four lines long; the standard smaller and
inclosed by the wings. _Stamens._--Ten; all distinct.
_Ovary._--One-celled. _Pods._--Two or three inches long; thin.
_Hab._--Mt. Shasta to San Diego.
By April, or earlier, our interior hills and valleys begin to show the rosy
blossoms of the Judas-tree. The leafless branches are wreathed with the
abundant flowers, which gives the shrub the appearance of a garden
fruit-tree. When seen later, in its full summer foliage, it is almost
equally attractive. Its shapely leaves are then diversified by the
clusters of long purple pods, which hang gracefully among them.
[Illustration WILD HOLLYHOCK--_Sidalcea malvaeflora_.]
The Indians find the slender twigs of this shrub very useful in their
basket-making. By means of the thumb-nail or flints, they split them into
threads, which they use as woof.
A closely allied species of _Cercis_, growing in Palestine, had, according
to tradition, white flowers, until the arch-traitor Judas hanged himself
from its limbs, when it blushed pink for very shame.
In medieval Europe the Judas-tree was believed to be a favorite rendezvous
for witches, and it was considered dangerous to approach one at nightfall.
HUCKLEBERRY.
_Vaccinium ovatum_, Pursh. Heath Family.
Evergreen shrubs, three to eight feet high. _Leaves._--Ovate to
oblong-lanceolate; leathery; smooth and shining. _Flowers._--In
axillary clusters: small; pinkish. _Calyx._--Minutely
fine-toothed. _Corolla._--Campanulate; two or three lines long.
_Stamens._--Ten; anthers opening terminally. _Ovary._--Globose;
five-celled. Style filiform. _Berries._--Small; reddish,
turning black. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges from Monterey to
Vancouver Island.
When in bloom our Californian huckleberry is a delightful shrub. Its
leaves, which are of a particularly rich, shining green, are set at a
characteristic angle to the red stems, contrasting finely with their warm
tones; and the effect is heightened by the clusters of small pink and white
waxen bells scattered here and there amid the foliage.
The huckleberry is at its best upon the high ridges of the Coast Ranges,
where it becomes especially luxuriant in the fog-nurtured region of the
northern portion of the redwood belt. There its abundant berries become
juicy and delicious, and are much sought for preserving and pie-making. Its
branches, when cut, keep admirably in water and are favorite greens for
household decoration.
[Illustration HUCKLEBERRY--_Vaccinium ovatum_.]
STAR-FLOWER. CHICKWEED-WINTERGREEN.
_Trientalis Europaea, var. latifolia_, Torr. Primrose Family.
_Root._--Tuberous. _Stem._--Four to eight inches high; with a
whorl of oval-pointed leaves one to four inches long.
_Flowers._--White or pink; eight lines across. _Calyx_ and
rotate corolla seven-parted, sometimes six- to nine-parted;
divisions pointed. _Stamens._--As many as the corolla-lobes,
and opposite them. _Ovary._--One-celled. Style filiform.
_Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from Monterey northward.
In April and May, as we walk through shaded woods, we begin to notice a
trim little plant three or four inches high, with very slender stem,
bearing at its summit a number of pretty leaves of varying size. A little
later, we find among them one or two delicate pink, starry flowers on very
slender, threadlike stems.
The generic name is from the Latin _triens_, and is in allusion to the
height of the plant, which is the third part of a foot.
CLINTONIA.
_Clintonia Andrewsiana_, Torr. Lily Family.
_Leaves._--Radical; oblong; six inches to one foot long; two to
four wide. _Flower-stem._--One or two feet high; with one leafy
bract. _Flowers._--Pink; many; in a terminal compound cluster
on pedicels an inch or less long. _Perianth._--Campanulate;
four to seven lines long. _Segments._--Six; gibbous at the
base. _Stamens._--Six. _Ovary._--Two- or three-celled.
_Fruit._--Beautiful, large, dark-blue berries. _Hab._--The
Coast Ranges, from Santa Cruz to Humboldt County.
This is one of the most distinguished-looking plants of our deep coast
woods. Its large leaves, of a rich polished green, arrange themselves
symmetrically around the short stem, seeming to come from the ground--and
so fine are they, that if no blossom appeared, we should feel the plant had
fulfilled its mission of beauty. But in April a blossom-stalk shoots up
from their midst, bearing upon its summit a cluster of deep rose-colored,
nodding bells. These are succeeded later by a bunch of superb dark-blue
berries, which might be made of lapis lazuli or the rarest old delft china.
I remember a beautiful spot upon the Lagunitas Creek, where the stream,
flowing over a brown, pebbly bottom, passes among the redwoods where their
tall shafts make dim cathedral aisles,--
... "forest-corridors that lie
In a mysterious world unpeopled yet."
Here little yellow violets and the charming wood-sorrel carpet the ground,
the fetid adder's-tongue spreads its mottled leaves, while groups of the
lovely _Clintonia_ put the finishing touches to an already beautiful scene.
LEMONADE-BERRY. MAHOGANY.
_Rhus integrifolia_, Benth. and Hook. Poison-oak or Cashew Family.
Evergreen shrubs two to six feet high, becoming small trees
southward. _Leaves._--Alternate; short-petioled; one to three
inches long; rigid; leathery. _Flowers._--Of two sexes, also
some perfect; in short, dense terminal clusters one to three
inches long; rose-colored or white. _Sepals_, petals, and
stamens four to nine; usually five. _Petals._--Rounded;
ciliate; one or two lines across. _Ovary._--One-celled. Stigmas
three. _Fruit._--Flat; one-seeded; six lines across; red;
viscid and acid. _Hab._--The Coast from Santa Barbara to San
Diego.
Growing everywhere upon the southern coast in great abundance, this shrub
forms low, dense, wind-shorn thickets. Farther inland it rises to a height
of several feet, with tough, India-rubber-like branches, and in Lower
California it becomes a small tree. In its better estate it is very
ornamental, especially in spring, when sprinkled with its clusters of small
pink flowers. The little drupes are covered with an acid, oily substance,
and have long been used by the Indians and Mexicans in the preparation of a
lemonade-like drink. These people are so fond of this fruit that they dry
it for winter use, grinding and roasting it as we do coffee. The wood of
these shrubs is of a dark-red color, which is responsible for the common
name, "mahogany."
Another _Rhus_ very common in the valleys of Southern California is _R.
laurina_, Nutt., usually called "sumach." It is an evergreen shrub, with
smooth, lanceolate leaves, two or three inches long, exhaling a rather
strong odor, considered by some like bitter almonds, and bearing dense
clusters of small white flowers in midsummer. Its small drupes are only a
line or two across. They are also coated with a waxen substance, and yield
a pungent oil.
In the mountains from Santa Barbara to San Diego is found another
species--_R. ovata_, Wats. This has large leathery, pointed leaves, and is
known as "lemonade-and-sugar-tree," as the acid berries are coated with a
sweet, waxen substance, which the Indians value as sugar. Its leaves
resemble in form those of the lilacs of our gardens.
SHOOTING-STARS. WILD CYCLAMEN. MAD VIOLETS.
_Dodecatheon Meadia_, L. Primrose Family.
_Leaves._--All radical; tufted; from obovate to lanceolate.
_Scape._--Three to fifteen inches high; umbel two- to
twenty-flowered. _Calyx._--Deeply five-cleft, the divisions
reflexed in flower, erect in fruit. _Corolla._--With extremely
short tube, and an abruptly reflexed five-parted limb; white,
rose-color, or purple. _Stamens._--Five; opposite the
corolla-lobes. Filaments short; united. Anthers standing erect
around the long style, forming a beak; violet.
_Ovary._--One-celled. _Hab._--Throughout the continent;
exceedingly variable.
The shooting-star is one of our prettiest spring flowers, which arrives a
little before the baby-eyes and just as the brakes are unrolling their
green crosiers. There is something particularly pleasing in these blossoms.
It seems as though Nature had taxed her ingenuity to produce something
original when she fashioned them. The name _Dodecatheon_, from the Greek,
is entirely a fanciful one, and means "the twelve gods."
Formerly _D. Meadia_, L., was considered the only species, embracing many
widely varying forms; but of late botanists have made several of the forms
into separate species.
_D. Hendersoni_ (Gray), Ktz., is the species prevalent in our central and
northern Coast Ranges. This has ovoid or obovoid, very obtuse, entire
leaves, with broad petiole, equaling the blade, two inches long. Its
flower-stem is from eight to twelve inches high, bearing a cluster of
bright rose-purple flowers. The corolla has a short, dark-maroon tube,
encircled by a band of yellow, sometimes merging into white. A variety of
this with very slender stems and the flower parts in fours is common in the
Bay region, and southward possibly to Santa Barbara. This is called _var.
cruciata_. Its blossoms have a strong odor, suggestive of a tannery. In
this species the capsule opens at the top, splitting into a number of
little teeth, which soon turn downward.
[Illustration SHOOTING-STARS--_Dodecathceon Hendersoni var. cruciata_.]
_D. Clevelandi_, Greene, is a beautiful species found in the south. It
sends up a tall shaft, crowned with a large cluster of beautiful blossoms,
varying from a delicate lilac to pure white. The petals are ringed below
with pale yellow, and the beak of the flower is a rich prune-purple. There
is a certain generous, fine look about these flowers, although they are
exquisitely delicate. Their charm is completed by a delicious perfume, like
that of the cultivated cyclamen.
Among the children the various forms are known by a number of names, such
as "mad violets," "prairie-pointers," "mosquito-bills," and
"roosters'-heads." The latter is said to be the designation of prosaic
little boys who see in these blossoms gaming possibilities, and who love to
hook them together and pull to see which head will come off first.
PRICKLY PHLOX.
_Gilia Californica_, Benth. Phlox or Polemonium Family.
_Stems._--Woody; two or three feet high. _Leaves._--Palmately
three- to seven-parted, with spreading, needle-like divisions,
two to four lines long. _Flowers._--Solitary, at the ends of
the branchlets; rose-pink or lilac, with a white eye.
_Calyx._--Five-toothed. _Corolla-limb._--An inch and a half
across. (See _Gilia_.) _Hab._--Dry hills from Monterey to San
Bernardino.
I hardly know how to describe these delightful flowers. At a little
distance the plant-stems have almost the look of a cactus, so densely are
they clothed with the small, rigid leaves. Nor does a closer acquaintance
serve to lessen the likeness--for in our breathless haste to take
possession of the beautiful blossoms we are quite certain to have their
prickly character impressed upon the hands as well as upon the sight. The
texture of the flowers is of the finest silk, with an exquisite sheen;
and they have a delicate fragrance. Growing at the tips of the numerous
branchlets, they often form large masses of rich rose-colored bloom, which
are especially brilliant and showy against the warm foliage.
[Illustration PRICKLY PHLOX--_Gilia Californica_.]
In some localities they are called "rock-rose," an unfortunate name in two
respects: it has long belonged to a yellow flower of an entirely different
family--_Helianthemum_; and these blossoms do not in the least resemble a
rose.
CALIFORNIAN FOUR-O'CLOCK.
_Mirabilis Californica_, Gray. Four-o'clock Family.
_Stems._--From a woody base; a foot or two long.
_Leaves._--Ovate; six to fifteen lines long; rather thick.
_Flowers._--Magenta-colored; one to three in a campanulate,
calyx-like, five-toothed involucre. Involucres nearly sessile.
_Perianth._--Six lines long; open funnel-form; five-lobed.
_Stamens._--Five. Anthers yellow. _Ovary._--Globose;
one-celled. Style filiform. Stigma capitate. _Hab._--Southern
California and eastward.
When the heat of the day is over and the morning-glories are folding
together their faded chalices, the bright little four-o'clocks begin to
open their myriad magenta-colored eyes upon the closing day, and they,
together with the evening primroses, will keep the vigils of the night.
These diaphanous little flowers, with their long stamens resting on the
lower side of the perianth, are like diminutive azaleas.
They are very puzzling, and the part that baffles the young botanist is the
calyx, which, as it sometimes has two or three corollas within it, cannot
be considered a calyx at all, but must be called an involucre. In reality
the corolla is absent, and the calyx, which is colored like a corolla, is
called a perianth. This appears to sit upon the top of the round ovary, but
in reality a green continuation of it is drawn down tightly over the
ovary.
[Illustration CALIFORNIAN FOUR-O'CLOCK--_Mirabilis Californica_.]
BEACH MORNING-GLORY.
_Convolvulus Soldanella_, L. Morning-glory Family.
_Stems._--A foot or less long; trailing.
_Leaves._--Kidney-shaped; long-petioled; leathery; an inch or
two broad. _Flowers._--Pink to lavender; one to nearly three
inches across, with a pair of thin bracts just below the calyx,
partly enveloping it. (Otherwise as _C. luteolus_.) _Hab._--The
seashore from Puget Sound to San Diego.
The beach morning-glory trails its stems over the shifting sands of the
seashore, making clusters of beautiful foliage, over which the large,
delicate flowers raise their exquisite satin funnels.
CALYPSO.
_Calypso borealis_, Salisb. Orchis Family.
_Bulb._--Small; solid. _Stem._--Three to six inches high.
_Leaf._--An inch or two long. _Sepals_ and petals light to deep
rose-color; six to nine lines long. _Lip._--Brownish pink,
mottled with purple. _Style._--Petaloid, oval, and concave,
bearing the hemispherical anther on its summit underneath.
_Hab._--The northern Coast Ranges; also across the continent.
It has never been my good fortune to find this rare and exquisite little
orchid, but beautiful specimens have been sent from the redwoods of Sonoma
County and from Oregon. The books speak of it as growing in bogs; but I am
told by those who gathered them that the little plants sit lightly upon the
layer of needles that carpet the forest-floor. The roots scarcely penetrate
the soil, so that the plants are easily disengaged without digging.
Nature produced a perfect work when she fashioned this little plant, so
simple, so charming in every way, with its one dainty leaf and one unique
blossom. The form of the column is peculiarly interesting, being that of a
curving concave petal, bearing the anther, in the shape of a hollow
hemisphere, on its upper edge.
[Illustration CALYPSO--_Calypso borealis_.]
WILD PORTULACA.
_Calandrinia caulescens_, HBK.; _var. Menziesii_, Gray. Purslane Family.
Decumbent, branching herbs, mostly smooth.
_Leaves._--Alternate; linear to oblanceolate; one to three
inches long. _Flowers._--In loose racemes; rose-color or
magenta; about an inch across. _Sepals._--Two; keeled.
_Petals._--Mostly five. _Stamens._--Four to eleven.
_Ovary._--One-celled. Style slender. Stigma three-cleft. Seeds
black, shining, lens-shaped. _Hab._--From Lower California to
Vancouver Island.
The wild portulaca is very abundant, and in seasons favorable to its
development is a very noticeable little plant. Its succulent stems have a
spreading habit and bear many satiny flowers of a deep purplish-pink, which
open in the bright sunshine. The petals, which are veined with a slightly
darker color, become white toward the center, and the little anthers are
full of orange-colored pollen. These blossoms have a delicate, somewhat
musky perfume.
Cattle are fond of the herbage, and the plants are considered excellent as
potherbs and for salads. The seeds, which are a favorite food of the wild
dove are very pretty, being lens-shaped, black and shining, with a granular
surface.
THE PRIDE OF CALIFORNIA.
_Lathyrus splendens_, Kell. Pea Family.
_Stem._--Climbing; six to ten feet. _Leaflets._--About eight;
scattered; very variable; linear to lanceolate or oblong;
acute; mucronate; strongly three- to five-nerved.
_Tendrils._--Two- to five-parted. _Stipules._--Small;
semi-sagittate. _Peduncles._--Stout; usually seven- to
ten-flowered. _Flowers._--Very large; brilliant crimson.
_Calyx._--Five-toothed; eighteen-nerved. _Standard_ and keel an
inch or more long. _Pods._--Three inches long; smooth;
compressed; ten- to twenty-seeded. _Hab._--Parts of San Diego
County, and southward.
Clambering over our wild shrubs, this wonderful pea gives them the
appearance of being loaded with a magnificence of bloom quite unwonted. The
blossoms are the richest and most gorgeous of crimsons throughout, and have
such a superb air that it is difficult to believe they are not the product
of centuries of careful selection by the gardener. The long standard turns
back over the stem, continuing the gracefully outlined keel in a long
compound curve. The blossoms hang from the stem in charming abandon, like a
flock of graceful tropic-birds poising upon the wing before taking flight,
or like a fleet of gayly decked pleasure-barges, with canopies thrown back,
fit for the conveyance of a Cleopatra.
[Illustration WILD PORTULACA--_Calandrinia caulescens_.]
CALIFORNIAN WILD CURRANT. INCENSE-SHRUB.
_Ribes glutinosum_, Benth. Saxifrage Family.
Shrubs six to fifteen feet high. _Leaves._--Three- to
five-lobed; glutinous when young; three to five inches broad.
_Flowers._--Rose-pink to pale pink; in long drooping racemes.
_Calyx._--Petaloid; five-lobed. _Petals_ and stamens five on
the calyx. _Ovary._--One-celled. Styles two; more or less
united. _Berries._--Blue, with a dense bloom; glandular-hispid.
_Syn._--_Ribes sanguineum_, Pursh. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges;
more common southward.
In early winter in the south, and somewhat later northward, the wild
currant becomes a thing of beauty hardly to have been expected. The young
foliage, of a clear brilliant green, is gayly decked with the long clusters
of peculiarly fresh pink blossoms, which seem like the very incarnation of
the spirit of Spring, producing a certain _eblouissement_, which quickens
our sense into an anticipation of beauty on every side.
We are made aware of a strong, heavy fragrance emanating from this shrub,
for which its numerous glands are responsible, and which has gained for it
the popular name of "incense-shrub" in some localities.
The fruit, which ripens toward fall, is dry and bitter, or insipid.
The genus _Ribes_ includes the currant and the gooseberry, and furnishes us
with several charming shrubs in California.
[Illustration CALIFORNIAN WILD CURRANT--_Ribes glutinosum_.]
GROUND-PINK. FRINGED GILIA.
_Gilia dianthoides_, Endl. Phlox or Polemonium Family.
One to six inches high. _Leaves._--Six lines or so long; linear
to filiform. _Flowers._--Rose or lilac, blending inward to
white, with darker color or yellow in the throat.
_Calyx._--Five-cleft. _Corolla._--Nine to twelve lines across;
fringed. (See _Gilia_.) _Hab._--From Santa Barbara to San
Diego.
In March our southern meadows and hill-slopes are all aglow with the lovely
flowers of this charming little _Gilia_. The plants are tiny, often no more
than an inch high, but are ambitious out of all proportion to their size,
covering themselves with blossoms exquisitely delicate in texture, form,
and coloring, which literally carpet the earth with an overlapping mosaic.
It is a wonderful thought that upon every one of these countless millions
of little flowers that clothe the fields Nature has bestowed such care that
each is a masterpiece in itself.
COMMON FLEABANE.
_Erigeron Philadelphicus_, L. Sunflower Family.
Hairy, perennial herbs. _Stems._--One to three feet high; leafy
to the top. _Root-leaves._--Spatulate or obovate.
_Stem-leaves._--Oblong; sessile, with broad clasping base;
irregularly toothed. _Flower-heads._--In a loose corymb.
_Disks._--Yellow; three or four lines across.
_Rays._--Innumerable; very narrow; flesh-color to rose-purple;
about three lines long. _Hab._--Widely distributed on the
Pacific and Atlantic Coasts.
The feathery, daisy-like flowers of the common fleabane are of frequent
occurrence in moist meadows or along the roadsides in spring. The
ray-flowers are so narrow as to form a delicate fringe around the disk.
The common name arose from the belief that these plants were harmful to
fleas.
[Illustration GROUND-PINK--_Gilia dianthoides_.]
TURKISH RUGGING.
_Chorizanthe staticoides_, Benth. Buckwheat Family.
A foot high or more, with widely spreading branches.
_Leaves._--All radical; oblong; obtuse; twelve to thirty lines
long, including petioles. _Involucres._--Loosely clustered;
sessile; one-flowered; campanulate; with six bristle-like
teeth. _Perianth._--Pink; two lines long; six-lobed; not
fringed. _Stamens._--Mostly nine; on the perianth.
_Ovary._--One-celled. Styles three. Stigmas capitate.
_Hab._--From Monterey to San Diego.
In late spring the dry, open hills of the south are overrun with the soft
lavender of the _Chorizanthe_. The flowers are small, but the whole plant
is purplish, and the stems are quite as productive of color as the
blossoms. In fact, the whole plant seems to consist of a scraggly
interlacement of slender branches and small flowers, as the leaves, which
nestle close to the ground, are not very noticeable.
CANCHALAGUA. CALIFORNIAN CENTAURY.
_Erythraea venusta_, Gray. Gentian Family.