the plants are usually found in sandy soil. The little blossoms are very
ethereal and have a sweet perfume. I once saw a deep blue band upon a mesa
near San Diego, which vied in richness with the ultramarine of the sea just
beyond. It stretched for some distance, and at last curved around and
crossed the road over which I was passing, when it proved to be made up of
millions of these delicate flowers. The color effect seemed cumulative, for
the mass was so much richer and deeper than the individual flowers.
[Illustration BEACH-ASTER--_Erigeron glaucus_.]
CATALINA MARIPOSA TULIP.
_Calochortus Catalinae_, Wats. Lily Family.
_Stems._--Two feet high; loosely branching; bulbiferous. Leaves
and bracts linear-lanceolate. _Flowers._--Erect; eighteen lines
or so long. _Sepals._--Green without; scarious-margined;
whitish within; with purple spot at base; one inch long; acute.
_Petals._--White; with garnet base; bearing a round gland
covered with hairs. Filaments garnet. _Capsule._--Narrowly
oblong; three-sided; obtuse; an inch or two long. Seeds flat;
horizontal. (See _Calochortus_.) _Hab._--From San Luis Obispo
County to San Bernardino; and the islands off the Coast.
This is one of the earliest _Mariposas_ to bloom in the south. Its
beautiful, stately white cups have a garnet base within, and this, with its
oblong, obtuse capsule and horizontal seeds, clearly identifies it. These
blossoms are favorite resting-places for the bees, who are often beguiled
in them from their labors and lulled to a gentle slumber. We have
frequently startled the little truants from these siestas, and with
amusement watched them struggling for a moment before regaining
consciousness and whizzing away once more upon their round of duties.
This may be designated our maritime _Calochortus_, as it is found mostly
near the Coast or upon its islands.
_C. splendens_, Dougl., found in the Coast Ranges from Lake County to San
Diego, is sometimes confused with the above. It is a beautiful flower,
whose petals are a clear rose-lilac without spots or marks, with long,
whitish, cobwebby hairs on their middle third. Its anthers are purple or
lilac, three to six lines long.
DOG-VIOLET.
_Viola canina, var. adunca_, Gray. Violet Family.
_Stems._--Leafy; several from the rootstocks. _Leaves._--Ovate;
often somewhat cordate at base; acute or obtuse; six to
eighteen lines long; obscurely crenate. Stipules foliaceous;
narrowly lanceolate; lacerately toothed. _Flowers._--Violet or
purple; rather large. Lateral petals bearded. Spur as long as
the sepals; rather slender; obtuse; hooked or curved.
(Otherwise as _V. pedunculata_.) _Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from
San Francisco to Washington.
... "violets
Which yet join not scent to hue
Crown the pale year weak and new."
Nestling amid the grasses on many a moist mesa by the sea, the modest
flowers of the dog-violet may be found at almost any time of year. They
vary greatly in the length of their stems, according to the season and the
locality of growth.
THISTLE-SAGE.
_Salvia carduacea_, Benth. Mint Family.
_Leaves._--All radical; thistle-like; with cobwebby wool.
_Stems._--Stout; a foot or two high. _Flower-whorls._--An inch
or two through. _Calyx._--Bilabiate; with five spiny teeth.
_Corolla._--Lavender; an inch long. Upper lip erect; two-cleft.
Lower fan-shaped; white-fringed. _Stamens._--On the lower lip.
Proper filaments very short, with one short and one long fork,
each bearing an anther-cell. (Otherwise like _S. Columbariae_.)
_Hab._--Western and Southern California.
Upon the dry, open plains of the south, the charming flowers of the
thistle-sage make their appearance by May. Upon the train we pass myriads
of them standing along the embankments, and seeming to beckon mockingly at
us, well knowing the train almost never stops where we can get them.
These plants present the most remarkable blending of the rigid,
uncompromising, touch-me-not aspect and the ethereal and fragile. In each
of the several stories of the flower-cluster there are usually a number of
the exquisitely delicate flowers in bloom at once, standing above the
hemisphere of densely crowded, spiny calyx-tips. Nothing more airy or
fantastic could well be imagined than these diaphanous blossoms. The upper
lip of the corolla stands erect, its two lobes side by side, or crossed
like two delicate little hands. The lower lip has two small and
inconspicuous lateral lobes and one large central one, which is like the
ruff of a fantail pigeon and daintily fringed with white. The color
combination in these blossoms is charming. To the sage green of the foliage
and the lilac of the blossoms is added the dash of orange in the anthers
that puts the finishing touch. The whole plant has a heavy, dull odor of
sage.
This species is also sometimes called "chia," and its seeds are used in the
same manner as those of our other _Salvia_, but to no such extent.
VIOLET BEARD-TONGUE.
_Pentstemon heterophyllus_, Lindl. Figwort Family.
Woody at base; many-stemmed. _Stems._--Two to five feet tall.
_Leaves._--Lanceolate or linear; or the lowest
oblong-lanceolate; diminishing into narrow floral bracts.
_Panicle._--Narrow. Pedicels one- to three-flowered; short and
erect. _Corolla._--Rose-purple, or violet suffused with pink;
an inch or more long; ventricose-funnel-form above the narrow,
slender tube. (See _Pentstemon_.) _Hab._--Western California,
specially southward.
The beautiful flowers of the violet beard-tongue are often seen among the
soft browns of our dusty roadsides in early summer. They are truly charming
flowers, and we marvel how any one can pass them by unnoticed. I have seen
them especially showy in the southern part of the State, in Santa Barbara
and Ventura Counties, where the plants often spread over two or three feet,
sending up innumerable slender flower-covered wands. The undeveloped buds
are of a characteristic greenish-yellow tone, making an unusual contrast to
the expanded flowers and the rather pale foliage. The structure of the
anthers is quite interesting, each cell consisting of a little bag with
bristly margins, the two together being heart-shaped in outline.
_P. azureus_, Benth., or the "azure beard-tongue," is very similar to the
above, growing from one to three feet high; but it is smooth and glaucous;
its leaves are inclined to have a broader base, and its flowers are usually
larger, azure blue, approaching violet, sometimes having a red-purple
tube, while its border is often an inch across. This is found throughout
the State, but is more common in the interior and in the Sierras. Its buds
are not yellow.
[Illustration AZURE BEARD-TONGUE--_Pentstemon heterophyllus_.]
WILD GINGER.
_Asarum caudatum_, Lindl. Birthwort Family.
_Rootstocks._--Creeping; aboveground. _Leaves._--Alternate; two
to four inches long; heart-shaped; not mottled; shining green.
_Flowers._--Raisin-colored. _Perianth._--With spherical tube
and three long-pointed lobes, thirty lines long.
_Stamens._--Twelve. Filaments more or less coherent in groups,
adherent to the styles, and produced beaklike beyond the
anthers. _Ovary._--Six-celled. Styles united; equaling the
stamens. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges from Santa Cruz to British
Columbia.
The beautiful long-stemmed leaves of the wild ginger stand upon the borders
of many a shaded cañon stream, seeming to enjoy the gossiping of the brook
as it gurgles by. The leaves and roots of these plants are aromatic, and
the former when crushed emit a pleasant fragrance, similar to that of the
camphor-laurel. The branching rootstocks, creeping along the surface of the
ground, grow from their tips; which are swathed in the undeveloped silky
leaves.
In the spring a warm hue comes among these closely-folded leaves, and
presently a curious dull-colored bud begins to protrude its long tip from
their midst. This bud looks as though some worm had eaten off its end; but
we soon see that its blunt appearance is due to the fact that the long
prongs of the sepals are neatly folded in upon themselves, like the jointed
leg of an insect. It must require considerable force in the flower to
unfurl them. When at length expanded, these blossoms have the look of some
rapacious, hobgoblin spider, lurking for its prey.
Another species--_A. Hartwegi_, Wats.--the "Sierra wild ginger," is easily
distinguished from the above by its white-mottled leaves, which grow in
clusters, and by its smaller flowers. It blooms later than the other, its
flowers lasting into July. These plants are closely related to the
"Dutchman's pipe."
[Illustration WILD GINGER--_Asarum caudatum_.]
COMMON MILKWEED. SILKWEED.
_Asclepias Mexicana_, Cav. Milkweed Family.
_Stems._--Three to five feet high; slender. _Leaves._--Mostly
whorled and fascicled; linear-lanceolate; short-petioled; two
to six inches long. _Peduncles._--Erect; slender; often in
whorls. _Flowers._--Very small and numerous; in umbels; white
and lavender. _Corolla-lobes._--Two lines long.
_Anthers._--Twice the filament column. _Horns._--Awl-shaped;
arising from below the middle of the ovate hoods, and
conspicuously curved over the stigma. _Pods._--Slender;
spindle-shaped. (Structure otherwise as in _Gomphocarpus_.)
_Hab._--Throughout the State, and beyond its borders.
This is one of our most widely distributed milkweeds, and may be found
blossoming along our dusty roadsides and through the fields in early
summer. Its stems are tall and wandlike with long, narrow leaves, and its
little blossoms are very trim. Its distaff-shaped pods, with their
beautiful silken down, are familiar objects, much beloved by the children,
and are sought by older people who utilize them in many dainty ways.
CHICORY. SUCCORY. WILD BACHELOR'S-BUTTON.
_Cichorium Intybus_, L. Composite Family.
_Stems._--Two to five feet high; much branched.
_Leaves._--Alternate; the lower oblong or lanceolate, partly
clasping, sometimes sharply incised; the upper reduced to
bracts. _Flower-heads._--Bright blue; sessile; two or three
together in the axils of the leaves or terminal; of ray-flowers
only. _Rays._--Ten lines long; about two wide; notched at the
tip. Bracts of the involucre in two series; green.
_Hab._--Escaped from cultivation in many places.
The most careless observer will some day have his attention startled into
activity by a certain tall, fine plant growing along the roadside, bearing
beautiful, ragged blue flowers closely set to its stem. This is a stranger
from over the seas, whose native home is England; and, like all English, it
is an excellent colonist, having pushed its way into most parts of the
civilized world. It has become quite plentiful among us in the last few
years, and whole fields may often be seen covered with its lovely
bright-blue blossoms, which are known as "ragged sailors," and "wild
bachelor's-buttons." They open in the early morning, closing by midday.
In Europe a popular belief is rife that they open at eight o'clock in the
morning and close at four in the afternoon.
[Illustration COMMON MILKWEED--_Asclepias Mexicana_.]
"On upland slopes the shepherds mark
The hour when, to the dial true,
Cichorium to the towering lark
Lifts her soft eye, serenely blue."
The plant is useful in several ways. Its root is boiled and eaten as a
vegetable; the leaves, when blanched, make an excellent salad; and the
whole plant was formerly employed in medicine, and is still considered a
valuable remedy for jaundice. But the most common use of it is as a
substitute for coffee, or as an adulterant of it. The fleshy, milky root is
dried, ground, and roasted, and though it has neither the essential oil nor
the delicious aroma of coffee, it is not an unpleasant beverage, and its
cheapness brings it within the reach of the very poor.
The chicory industry has grown to be of considerable importance in
California of late. The plants are grown in reclaimed tule land near
Stockton, where there is a factory for the conversion of the root into the
commercial article.
CALIFORNIAN LOBELIA.
_Downingia pulchella_, Torr. Lobelia Family.
_Stems._--Three to six inches high. _Leaves._--Alternate;
sessile; linear; obtuse; passing into flower-bracts above.
_Flowers._--Racemose; blue. _Calyx-tube._--Very long and
slender; adnate to the ovary; its limb of five slender
divisions. _Corolla._--With short tube and bilabiate border.
The smaller lip of two narrow spreading or recurved divisions;
the larger three-lobed; broader than long; nine or ten lines by
five or six lines. All the lobes intense blue; the large
centers mostly white. _Stamens._--Five; united into a curved
tube. _Capsule._--Splitting at the sides. _Hab._--Nearly
throughout the State.
These little lobeliaceous plants are very common, especially upon the
plains of the interior, and may be found growing in wet places, where they
often make the ground blue. The showy, white-centered flowers are familiar
along the roadsides upon the borders of puddles. The blossoms, which are
really stemless, appear to have stems of considerable length, owing to the
very long, slender ovary and calyx-tube. They are cultivated for ornament
under the name of _Clintonia pulchella_.
We have one other species in the northern part of the State. It is a larger
plant, sometimes a foot tall, with ovate to lanceolate leaves. This is _D.
elegans_, Torr.
FALSE INDIGO. LEAD-PLANT.
_Amorpha Californica_, Nutt. Pea Family.
Shrubs three to over eight feet high. _Leaves._--Mostly
alternate; with stipules; pinnate. _Leaflets._--One inch long;
five to nine or more pairs. _Flower-spikes._--Two to six inches
long. _Flowers._--Black-purple; two and a half lines long.
_Calyx._--Half as long. _Corolla._--With only one petal! (the
standard); this erect and folded. _Stamens._--Slightly united
at base; exserted. _Ovary._--One-celled. _Pod._--Three lines
long. (See _Leguminosae_.) _Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from Marin
County to San Diego.
This shrub or small tree is remarkable for its sickeningly fragrant
foliage. The small blossoms, taken individually, are inconspicuous, but
when seen in masses, sprinkling the foliage with black and gold, they are
quite effective.
BLUE-CURLS.
_Trichostema lanceolatum_, Benth. Mint Family.
One or two feet high; branching from the base.
_Leaves._--Opposite; sessile; crowded; lanceolate or
ovate-lanceolate; gradually acuminate; densely pubescent;
several-nerved; an inch or more long. _Flowers._--Blue; in
axillary, short-peduncled, dense clusters.
_Calyx._--Five-cleft. _Corolla._--Six lines long; with filiform
tube; and border with five almost similar lobes.
_Stamens._--Four; of two lengths. Filaments filiform;
long-exserted and curled. _Ovary._--Of four seed like nutlets.
Style long; filiform; two-cleft at the tip. _Hab._--Throughout
Western California.
Of all the plants of our acquaintance, the common blue-curls is the most
aggressive and ill-smelling. Its odor is positively sickening. Some years
ago, when it was first new to me, I brought some of it down from Sonoma
County upon the train, and, even though it had been carefully wrapped, I
was obliged to deposit it in the wood-box, as far as possible from the
passengers.
The generic name comes from two Greek words, signifying _hair_ and
_stamen_, and was bestowed on account of the capillary filaments. The
common name also refers to the long, curling blue stamens.
This species blossoms late in summer, and grows upon very dry ground, where
it seems almost a miracle for any plant to thrive.
ROMERO. WOOLLY BLUE-CURLS.
_Trichostema lanatum_, Benth. Mint Family.
Shrubby; two to five feet high. _Leaves._--Opposite and
fascicled in the axils; an inch or so long; green above;
white-woolly beneath. _Flowers._--Blue; in terminal clusters
sometimes a foot long; covered with dense violet wool.
_Calyx._--Five-toothed. _Corolla._--Nearly an inch long; with
tube half its length and border violet-shaped. _Stamens and
Style._--Two inches long. _Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets.
_Hab._--From San Diego to Santa Barbara.
When the first scorching winds of the desert have withered and laid low the
lovely flowers of the southern plains, the Romero is just coming into bloom
upon dry hillsides. Its shrubby form, with densely crowded leaves, becomes
conspicuous by reason of its long spikes of purple-woolly buds and
blossoms. This inflorescence is an exquisite thing, more like the
production of a Paris milliner than a guileless creation of nature. The
individual blossoms have much the look of alert little blue violets wearing
long, elegant lilac aigrets. Both leaf and flower have a pleasant aromatic
fragrance, entirely unlike the dreadful odor of the common blue-curls.
Among the Spanish-Californians it is known altogether by the musical name
of "Romero," and is one of their most highly valued medicinal herbs, being
considered a panacea for many troubles. Fried in olive oil, it becomes an
ointment which alleviates pain and cures ulcers; dried and reduced to
powder, it is a snuff very efficacious for catarrh; and made into a
tincture, it is used as a liniment. This plant is also sometimes called
"black sage."
[Illustration ROMERO--_Trichostema lanatum_.]
HARVEST BRODIAEA. LARGE-FLOWERED BRODIAEA.
_Brodiaea grandiflora_, Smith. Lily Family.
_Corm._--Fibrous-coated. _Leaves._--Narrowly linear; somewhat
cylindrical. _Scape._--Four to twelve inches high.
_Pedicels._--Three to ten, rarely one; unequal.
_Perianth._--Violet; waxen; ten to twenty lines long; broadly
funnel-form; six-cleft; lobes recurving. _Stamens._--Three;
opposite the inner segments. _Staminodia._--Three;
strap-shaped; entire; white; erect; about equaling the stamens.
_Ovary._--Sessile; three-celled. Style stout. Stigma
three-lobed. _Hab._--From Ventura to the British boundary in
the Coast Ranges and Sierras.
In the latter part of May and early in June, just as the grain is mellowing
in the fields, the dry grasses of our hill-slopes and roadsides begin to
reveal the beautiful blossoms of the "harvest Brodiaea." Seen at its best,
this is one of our finest species. It sends up a scape a foot high, bearing
from five to ten of the large, lily-like, violet flowers. They are
somewhere described as varying to rose. I have never seen them of this
color, though a flash of them caught when riding by a field is often
suggestive of a pink flower.
These plants vary considerably in size, in some localities blooming when
but an inch or two high, and in others having their tall scape crowned with
as many as ten of the fine blossoms. These have their segments nerved with
brown upon the outside. The clear-white stamens stand opposite the outer
segments, alternating with the white staminodia. The leaves have dried away
before the coming of the blossoms.
_B. terrestris_, Kell., common throughout Central California, is always
found in sandy soil. Its perianth is less than an inch long, and its
staminodia are yellow, with inrolled edges. This is clearly distinguished
by these characteristics, added to the fact that its flower-cluster has no
common stalk or scape, but seems to sit upon the ground, giving the
separate flowers the appearance of coming from the ground.
[Illustration HARVEST BRODIAEA--_Brodiaea grandiflora_.]
VIOLET SNAPDRAGON.
_Antirrhinum vagans_, Gray. Figwort Family.
Herbs with prehensile branchlets. _Leaves._--Alternate;
short-petioled; lanceolate to oblong-ovate; entire; an inch
long. _Flowers._--Six lines long; lavender. _Sepals._--Five;
upper one large; oblong; the others small, linear.
_Stamens._--Four; in pairs; on the corolla. Filaments slender.
Anthers with two diverging cells. _Ovary._--Two-celled. Style
awl-shaped. _Hab._--Throughout the western part of the State.
When the first dryness of summer is beginning to make itself felt, the tall
wandlike sprays of the little lilac snapdragon begin to appear along our
dusty roadsides. A curious feature of this plant is to be found in the long
threadlike branchlets produced in the axils of the leaves. These are like
so many little arms, apparently waving about in aimless abandon, but in
reality vigilant of any opportunity to grasp some convenient object of
support.
Another species--_A. glandulosum_, Lindl.--is common from Santa Cruz
southward. This may be known by its pink and yellow flowers, its very
viscid, leafy stems, three to five feet tall, and its lack of prehensile
branchlets. This has somewhat more the look of the familiar garden species.
Its anthers are arranged like teeth in the roof of its mouth, and the
children, by slightly pinching the sides of its funny little countenance,
can make it open its mouth in quite a formidable manner.
Sir John Lubbock, writing of the fertilization of flowers, says: "Thus the
_Antirrhinum_, or snapdragon, is completely closed, and only a somewhat
powerful insect can force its way in. The flower is in fact a strong-box,
of which the humble-bee only has the key."
[Illustration VIOLET SNAPDRAGON--_Antirrhinum vagans_.]
CALIFORNIAN HAREBELL. BELLFLOWER.
_Campanula prenanthoides_, Durand. Harebell or Campanula Family.
_Stems._--Several inches to two feet high.
_Leaves._--Alternate; ovate-oblong to lanceolate; one inch or
less long. _Flowers._--Blue; on recurved pedicels.
_Calyx._--Growing to the ovary below; with five awl-shaped
teeth. _Corolla._--Five to eight lines long; with short tube
and slender, spreading, recurved lobes. _Stamens._--Five.
_Ovary._--Three- to five-celled. Style club-shaped; much
exserted. Stigma becoming three-lobed. _Hab._--Coast woods from
Monterey to Mendocino County, and through the northern Sierras.
The fragile blossoms of the harebell lurk in the seclusion of our cool
cañons or peer down at us from the banks of shaded mountain roads toward
the end of July. We almost wonder that this ethereal flower dares delay its
coming so long when outside its cool retreat all is parched and dry. It
forms a delicate contrast to its more robust English sister, the harebell
so often celebrated by the poets.
SELF-HEAL. HEAL-ALL.
_Brunella vulgaris_, L. Mint Family.
_Stems._--Six to fifteen inches high. _Leaves._--Opposite;
petioled; ovate or oblong. _Flowers._--In a dense, short spike,
with broad, leafy bracts; purple, violet, or rarely white.
_Calyx._--Bilabiate; upper lip with three short teeth; the
lower two-cleft. _Corolla._--Bilabiate; upper lip arched,
entire; lower three-lobed; deflexed. _Stamens._--Four; in
pairs. Filaments two-forked; one fork naked, the other bearing
the two-celled anther. _Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets.
Style filiform; two-cleft above. _Hab._--Widely distributed
over the Northern Hemisphere.
From April to July the purple blossoms of the self-heal, or heal-all, may
be found in the borders of woods or in open grounds.
The generic name is thought to come from the old German word, _braune_, a
disease of the throat, for which this plant was believed to be a cure.
According to the old doctrine of signatures, plants by their appearance
were supposed to indicate the diseases for which nature intended them as
remedies, and in England the _Brunella_ was considered particularly
efficacious in the disorders of carpenters and common laborers, because
its corolla resembled a bill-hook. Hence it was commonly called
"carpenter's herb," "hook-heal," and "sicklewort."
[Illustration CALIFORNIAN HAREBELL--_Campanula prenanthoides_.]
PENNYROYAL. POLÉO.
_Monardella villosa_, Benth. Mint Family.
_Stems._--Woody; branching from below; a foot or two high.
_Leaves._--An inch or less long; toothed or entire; veins
conspicuous. _Flowers._--White to deep lilac; in a dense head
subtended by a number of ovate, green bracts.
_Calyx._--Tubular; five-toothed; four lines long.
_Corolla._--Nine lines long; with filiform tube and bilabiate
border. Upper lip two-cleft; lower cleft into three linear
divisions. _Stamens._--Four; in pairs; exserted. Anther cells
divergent. _Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets.
_Hab._--Throughout the State; common.
Owing to their resemblance to the _Monarda_, or horsemint of the East,
these Western plants have been given the diminutive of its
name--_Monardella_.