Chapter XI: Part 11

There are many kinds of Lonicera, shrubs, or twining woody vines; leaves usually without teeth or lobes, the upper ones sometimes united around the stem; flowers usually irregular; calyx with five, minute teeth; corolla more or less funnel-shaped, often two-lipped, four lobes forming the upper lip and one lobe the under, tube often swollen at base; stamens five; style with a cap-like stigma; fruit berrylike.

[Sidenote: =Orange Honeysuckle=
_Lonicèra ciliòsa_
=Orange and scarlet
Summer
Northwest=]

A climbing or trailing shrub, with brilliant flowers, set off by bright green leaves, thin in texture, with pale "bloom" on the under side and usually hairy margins, the lower ones with short leaf-stalks, the upper usually united and forming a disk. The flowers are scentless, about an inch and a quarter long, with smooth, trumpet-shaped corollas, bright orange at base, shading to scarlet above, with a bright green stigma and crimson or brownish anthers. This lives in the woods and sometimes climbs to the tops of quite tall trees, ornamenting them with its splendid clusters of flowers and sprinkling the forest floor with its fallen blossoms in a shower of scarlet and gold.

[Sidenote: =Black Twinberry=
_Lonicèra involucràta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West=]

A bush, from three to seven feet high, with thick, woody, pale gray stems and bright green leaves, glossy and thin in texture, or rather coarse and hairy, with fine hairs along the margins. The flower-stalks each bear a pair of flowers, without scent, emerging from an involucre of two bracts. The corolla is rather hairy and sticky, half an inch or more long, a pretty shade of warm dull yellow, sometimes tinged with red outside, with five, short, nearly equal lobes, the tube swollen at base. The involucre becomes dark red, its lobes turn back and display a pair of berries, disagreeable to the taste, as large as peas, nearly black, the whole affair striking in color and form. This grows in moist mountain woods and seems to have smoother, glossier foliage, and smaller flowers, in Utah than elsewhere.

Black Twinberry--Lonicera involucrata.]

[Sidenote: =Pink Honeysuckle=
_Lonicèra hispídula_
=Pink
Summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]

Rather pretty, with a woody trunk and hairy twigs, climbing over shrubs and trees, sometimes to a height of twenty feet. The leaves are pale on the under side, the upper ones usually united around the stem, and the flowers are about three-quarters of an inch long, with pink corollas and long stamens, and form long clusters, which are pretty but not effective, though the translucent, orange-red berries are handsome and conspicuous. This varies very much, especially in hairiness and color of the foliage, and is quite common in canyons and along streams in the Coast Ranges. The Yellow Honeysuckle, _L. Califórnica_, is similar, but with smooth branches and leaves and pale yellow flowers; growing in Oregon and northern California.

There are two kinds of Linnaea.

[Sidenote: =Twin-flower=
_Linnaèa boreàlis var. Americàna_
=Pink
Summer
Northwest, Utah, etc.=]

One of the loveliest of woodland plants; the long, woody stems trail over the ground and send up straight, slender branches, a few inches tall, clothed with leathery, evergreen leaves, bright green and glossy, and terminating in a slender, slightly hairy flower-stalk, which bears a pair of little nodding flowers, about half an inch long, hanging on very slender pedicels, with two bracts. The corollas are regular, with five lobes, delicate pink, veined with deeper color and paler at the margins, with a white pistil and four, white stamens, not protruding. The fruit is roundish and dry, with one seed. This often carpets the forest floor with its glossy foliage, ornamenting the moss with its fairy-like blossoms, which perfume the air with a fragrance like Heliotrope. It is found in cold, mountain woods, up to thirteen thousand feet, across the continent and also in Europe and Asia, and was named after Linnaeus because it was a favorite of his.

Twin-flower--Linnaea borealis var. Americana.]

There are several kinds of Symphoricarpos, of North America and Mexico; low, branching shrubs, with small leaves, scaly leaf-buds, and small, pink or white flowers, with two bracts, in clusters; the calyx roundish, with four or five teeth; the corolla regular, more or less bell-shaped, with four or five lobes; the fruit a roundish, white or red berry, containing two bony seeds. We often find Snowberries cultivated in old-fashioned gardens.

[Sidenote: =Snowberry=
_Symphoricàrpos racemòsus_
=Pink
Spring, summer
U. S.=]

An attractive shrub, about four feet high, with slender branches and yellowish twigs. The pretty leaves are mostly smooth, rich green, but not glossy, paler and sometimes downy on the under side, thin, but rather crisp in texture, usually with a few shallow scallops along the margins. The flowers are about a quarter of an inch long, with bell-shaped corollas, purplish-pink outside, white and woolly in the inside, the stamens and style not protruding. The berry is large and pure-white, with white, almost tasteless pulp, which is said to be slightly poisonous. This is very common in California, in the hill country, and is found across the continent.

[Sidenote: =Snowberry=
_Symphoricàrpos longiflòrus_
=White
Summer
Arizona=]

A straggling shrub, from two to three feet high, with small, slightly velvety, rather pale green leaves, white on the under side, sometimes set edgewise on the stem. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a slender, white, salver-form corolla, with widely separating lobes and very smooth inside, the anthers partially protruding from the throat, and the pretty berries are waxy-white. This grows at the Grand Canyon.

[Sidenote: =Snowberry=
_Symphoricàrpos oreóphilus_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Idaho, Utah, Ariz.=]

A branching shrub, not especially pretty, about three feet high, with shreddy bark, pinkish twigs, and light, bluish-green, toothless leaves, usually smooth. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a tubular corolla, with short lobes, flesh-color, tinged with purplish-pink, the stamens and style not protruding and the buds purplish-pink. This grows in the mountains, up to eight or ten thousand feet.

S. longiflorus.

Snowberry--Symphoricarpos racemosus.]

GOURD FAMILY. _Cucurbitaceae._

A large family, chiefly of the tropics, climbing or trailing, herbaceous vines, usually with tendrils, rather juicy, with no stipules; leaves alternate, with leaf-stalks, usually lobed or cut; flowers some staminate and some pistillate; calyx bell-shaped or tubular, usually five-lobed; petals mostly united, usually five, on the calyx; stamens generally three, with short filaments, often united; ovary inferior; fruit fleshy, often with a hard rind, usually with flat seeds.

There are many kinds of Micrampelis, natives of America.

[Sidenote: =Chilicothe, Wild Cucumber=
_Micrámpelis fabàcea (Echinocystis)_
=White
Summer
California=]

A graceful, decorative vine, with many tendrils and spreading to a great distance, sometimes as much as thirty feet, partly climbing over bushes and partly on the ground, springing from an enormous bitter root as large as a man's body, the leaves slightly rough. The pretty little flowers are half an inch across, the calyx with small teeth or with none and the corolla cream-white, with from five to seven lobes; the staminate flowers in loose clusters and the pistillate ones single. The fruit is peculiar and conspicuous, a big green ball, very prickly and measuring two inches across. The Indians used to make hair-oil out of the seeds. This is also called Big-root and Man-in-the-ground.

There are several kinds of Cucurbita, natives of America, Asia, and Africa. This is the Latin name for the Gourd.

[Sidenote: =Calabazilla, Gourd=
_Cucúrbita foetidíssima_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, etc.=]

This is a near relation of the common Pumpkin and Squash and resembles them. It is an exceedingly coarse, but very decorative vine, with bristly stems, trailing on the ground and sometimes twenty-five feet long. The leaves are about eight inches long, bluish-gray, thick and velvety, covered with bristles and exceedingly unpleasant to touch but handsome in appearance. The gaudy flowers measure five or six inches across, with a bristly calyx and bell-shaped, orange-yellow corolla. The root is enormous, sometimes six feet long, the fruit is a smooth, yellow gourd, and the whole plant has a horrible smell. This is found in dry soil, from Nebraska west, and is common in southern California.

BELLFLOWER FAMILY. _Campanulaceae._

A large family, widely distributed. Ours are small herbs, with bitter milky juice; leaves alternate, without stipules; flowers perfect, usually with five sepals; corolla with five united lobes; stamens five; ovary inferior, style long, sometimes hairy, with two to five stigmas, which do not expand until some time after the flower opens.

There are a great many kinds of Campanula; ours are chiefly perennials, with more or less bell-shaped corollas; the capsule tipped with the remains of the calyx and opening at the sides by minute holes. The name is from the Latin, meaning "little bell."

[Sidenote: =Harebell, Blue Bells of Scotland=
_Campánula rotundifòlia_
=Violet
Summer
West, etc.=]

This is the well-known kind, sung by the poets, and found across our continent and in Europe and Asia, reaching an altitude of twelve thousand feet. A charming, graceful little plant, with slender stems, from six inches to two feet tall, springing from a cluster of dull green, roundish or heart-shaped leaves, which usually wither away before the flowers bloom; the stem-leaves long and narrow. The flowers hang on threadlike pedicels, usually in a loose cluster, and are less than an inch long, violet or blue and paler at the base, with a long white pistil and pale yellow or lilac anthers. Neither the plants nor the flowers are nearly so fragile as they look, for the stems are wiry and the flowers are slightly papery in texture. This plant is variable and may include more than one kind. It seems hardly necessary to remark that it is not to be confused with _Calochortus albus_, which is unfortunately sometimes called Hairbell and is entirely different, but I have several times been asked whether they were the same.

[Sidenote: =Bellflower=
_Campánula Scoúleri_
=White, lilac
Summer
Northwest, Cal.=]

A pretty little plant, with smooth, slender stems, from six to eight inches tall, and smooth, toothed leaves. The flowers are in a loose cluster and are more the shape of little Lilies than of Blue Bells, white tinged with lilac, or pale blue, with yellow anthers and a long pistil with three pink stigmas. The California Harebell, _C. prenanthoìdes_, has blue flowers, similar in shape.

Harebell--C. rotundifolia.]

SUNFLOWER FAMILY. _Compositae._

The youngest and largest plant family, comprising about seven hundred and fifty genera and ten thousand species, highly specialized for insect pollination, easily recognized as a whole, but many of its members difficult to distinguish. Some tropical kinds are trees; ours are usually herbs, sometimes shrubs, without stipules; the leaves opposite, alternate or from the root; the flowers all small and crowded in heads, on the enlarged top of the flower-stalk, which is called the "receptacle," and surrounded by a common involucre of separate bracts, few or many, arranged in one or more rows; the receptacle also sometimes having scale-like or bristle-like bracts among the flowers, its surface smooth, or variously pitted and honey-combed. The flowers are sometimes perfect, or with only pistils, or only stamens, or with stamens and pistils on different plants, or all kinds mixed. The calyx-tube is sometimes a mere ring, or its margin consists of hairs, bristles or scales, called the "pappus." The corollas are chiefly of two sorts; they are tubular and usually have five lobes or teeth, but often the flowers around the margin of the head are strap-shaped, that is, the border of the corolla is expanded into what is called a "ray." For instance, the yellow center, or "disk," of a Daisy is composed of a crowded mass of tiny tube-shaped flowers, which is surrounded by a circle of white, strap-shaped flowers, or rays, which look like petals. A Thistle, on the other hand, has no rays and the head is made up of tube-shaped flowers only. Stamens usually five, on the corolla-tube, alternate with its lobes, anthers usually united into a tube surrounding the style, which has two branches in fertile flowers, but usually undivided in sterile flowers; ovary inferior, one-celled, maturing into an akene, often tipped with hairs from the pappus to waft it about, or with hooks or barbs to catch in fur of animals. (Descriptions of genera have been omitted as too technical.)

There are many kinds of Carduus (Cnicus) (Cirsium), widely distributed; with tubular flowers only.

[Sidenote: =Thistle=
_Càrduus Còulteri_
=Pink, crimson
Spring, summer
California=]

A strikingly handsome, branching plant, from three to seven feet high, with light green leaves, very decorative in form, more or less downy on the upper side and pale with down on the under. The flower-heads, about two inches long, have bright lilac-pink or crimson flowers and more or less woolly involucres. This grows in the hills and mountains of the Coast Ranges.

[Sidenote: =Arizona Thistle=
_Càrduus Arizònicus_
=Pink
Summer
Arizona=]

A very striking and decorative plant, both in form and color, from two to six feet tall, with a pale, branching, leafy stem, covered with close, white down, springing from a cluster of large root-leaves. The leaves are gray-green, covered with white down, and show great beauty of design, being sharply and symmetrically lobed and toothed, the margins armed with long yellow prickles. The flower-heads are an inch and a half long, with beautiful carmine and pale-pink flowers, all with no tinge of purple, the vivid spots of color giving a very brilliant effect in contrast with the pale foliage. This grows in the Grand Canyon and is conspicuous along the Berry trail, a little way below the rim.

[Sidenote: =Thistle=
_Càrduus candadíssimus_
=Pink, crimson
Summer
California=]

A very handsome and decorative plant, about three feet tall, with spreading stems, covered with white down, and dull-green leaves, pale with down on the under side and often covered with white down all over. The handsome flower-heads are two inches or more long and have deep pink or crimson flowers and very woolly involucres.

[Sidenote: =California Thistle=
_Càrduus Califórnicus_
=White
Spring
California=]

A branching plant, from two to six feet tall, very leafy below, with very dark bluish-green leaves, with more or less woolly down on the upper side and pale with matted down on the under side. The flower-heads are nearly three inches across, with cream-white or rarely purple flowers, and the bracts are caught together with silky, cobwebby down. This is common in the Sierra Nevada.

[Sidenote: =Western Thistle=
_Càrduus occidentàlis_
=Red, purple
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]

A stout plant, two or three feet high, with large prickly leaves, and more or less covered all over with cottony wool. The flower-head is about two inches long, and nearly as wide, and is a ball of white, cobwebby wool, pierced all over with brown spines, and tipped with wine-colored flowers. This is common on sandy hills, near the coast, from San Francisco south. Yellow-spined Thistle, _C. ochrocéntrus_, found in Nevada and Arizona and as far east as Colorado, has purple flowers and leaves deeply slashed and armed with long yellow spines. This grows at the Grand Canyon.

Carduus Californicus.

C. candadissimus.]

There are a good many kinds of Anaphalis, natives of the north temperate zone, but only one in North America.

[Sidenote: =Pearly Everlasting=
_Anáphalis margaritàcea_
=White
Summer
U. S., etc.=]

This is the prettiest of the Everlastings, from one to three feet tall, with a leafy stem, covered with white wool, and alternate, toothless leaves, which are rather long and narrow, gray-green and more or less woolly on the upper side, pale and woolly on the under. The flower-heads are numerous, forming close, roundish clusters. The heads are without rays, but the tiny, yellow, tubular flowers are surrounded by many small, white, papery bracts, resembling petals, making the involucre the conspicuous feature and forming a pretty little, round, white head. This is common in dry places, East and West, and found in Asia. There is a picture in Mathews' _Field Book_. Rosy Everlasting, _Antennària ròsea_, has the same general appearance, but the bracts are pink, giving a pretty pink tint to the flower-cluster, and is found in the Northwest at high altitudes. Another kind of Everlasting is _Gnaphàlium microcéphalum_, Cudweed, a mountain plant of the Northwest and California, with similar foliage, but with larger, looser clusters of cream-white flowers, conspicuous at a distance, though not pretty close by. There is a picture of a similar species in Mathews' _Field Book_.

There are several kinds of Encelia.

[Sidenote: =Encelia=
_Encèlia eriocéphala_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

A handsome, desert plant, with rough, purplish stems, a foot and a half tall, dull-green, hairy leaves, and flowers over an inch across, in loose clusters, with bright golden-yellow rays, yellow centers, and woolly involucres. This makes fine conspicuous clumps of bright color on the pale desert sand.

[Sidenote: =Golden Hills, Brittle-bush=
_Encèlia farinòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]

A conspicuous shrubby plant, from two to four feet high, with many stout, branching stems, grayish, downy twigs, and large clumps of downy, gray-green leaves, from which spring the long, slender flower-stalks, bearing loose clusters of handsome flowers. They are each over an inch and a quarter across, with bright yellow rays and orange centers and are well set off by the rather pale foliage. This grows on hillsides among the rocks and gives a golden hue which may be seen at a distance of seven or eight miles.

Encelia frutescens.]

[Sidenote: =California Encelia=
_Encèlia Califórnica_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

A handsome conspicuous shrub, two feet or more high, gray and downy when young but becoming smoother and greener, with downy, reddish twigs, dark green leaves, and numerous flowers, on long flower-stalks. They are two or three inches across, with three-toothed, bright yellow rays and very dark maroon or brown centers, specked with yellow, and velvety or hairy involucres. This grows on sea-cliffs, where it makes very effective masses of color, in fine contrast to the blue of the sea below and the sky above.

[Sidenote: _Encèlia frutéscens_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

A rather straggling shrub, about two feet high, with whitish, woody stems, pale reddish twigs, and bright green leaves, which are roughened with minute prickles on the margins and under sides, but look quite shiny. The flower-heads are over half an inch long, in western Arizona usually without any rays, and are not especially pretty, like a starved Sunflower whose rays have shrivelled away in the dry heat of the desert, but the effect of the foliage, which suggests little apple leaves, is decidedly attractive in the arid sandy places it frequents.

There are many kinds of Helianthus, natives of the New World.

[Sidenote: =Common Sunflower=
_Heliánthus ánnuus_
=Yellow
Summer
West, etc.=]

A handsome kind, with a rough stem, from two to ten feet tall, roughish leaves, more or less toothed, the upper alternate, the lower opposite, and a flower-head from two to four inches across, with bright golden-yellow, toothless rays, a maroon center, and a very dark green involucre, with stiff, overlapping bracts. This is larger in cultivation and is a very useful plant, for its flowers yield honey and a yellow dye, its seeds oil and food, the leaves are good for fodder, and the stalks for textile fiber. It is common nearly everywhere along roadsides, as far east as Missouri, and is found as a stray in the East.

Encelia frutescens.

Common Sunflower--Helianthus annuus.]

[Sidenote: =Sunflower=
_Heliánthus fasciculàris_
=Yellow
Spring
Nev., Ariz., etc.=]

A handsome kind, forming a clump from two to four feet high, with several leafy, rough stems and harsh, rather shiny leaves. The fine flowers measure four inches across, with bright yellow rays, deeper yellow centers, and bronze, rough, rather resinous involucres. This is common around Reno and grows in dry mountain valleys as far east as Colorado.

[Sidenote: =Hairy Golden Aster=
_Chrysópsis villòsa_
=Yellow
Summer
Arizona, etc.=]

A striking plant, quite handsome, with a hairy, pale, leafy stem, from six inches to two feet tall, and gray-green, rather velvety leaves, generally toothless. The flowers are an inch or more across, with bright golden-yellow rays and centers of the same shade, growing singly, or in a more or less crowded cluster at the top of the stalk. This is common in open ground and dry hills, up to an altitude of ten thousand feet, as far east as Alabama, and there are many varieties. The Greek name means "golden aspect."

[Sidenote: =Velvet-rosette=
_Psathyròtes ánnua_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

A curious and pretty little desert plant, that looks as if it were trying to protect itself from cold rather than heat, as its pretty foliage and stems seem all made of silvery, gray velvet, forming a symmetrical rosette, dotted with the small, rayless, yellow flower-heads, like fuzzy buttons. The rosette is decorative in form, about a foot across, spreading flat and close to the ground, and is conspicuous on the bare sand of the desert. Only one of the branches is given in the picture.

[Sidenote: =Easter Daisy, Ground Daisy=
_Townséndia exscàpa_
=Pink
Spring
Ariz., New Mex. to Saskatchewan=]

This is a charming and quaint little plant, with close, downy rosettes of small, gray-green leaves and two or three, pretty, daisy-like flowers, all crowded together close to the ground. The flowers are over an inch across, with numerous, pale-pink rays, deeper pink on the under side, and a bright yellow center, and when they bloom in early spring, on bare rocky soil, they are exceedingly attractive.

There are a great many kinds of Erigeron, widely distributed, most abundant in the New World, easily confused with Asters, but usually with numerous and finer rays, so that the effect is more delicate.

Hairy Golden Aster--Chrysopsis villosa.

Sunflower--Helianthus fascicularis.]

[Sidenote: =Fleabane=
_Erígeron Bréweri_
=Purple
Summer
California=]

This is rather pretty, with slender, brittle, downy stems, from six to eighteen inches tall, and small, narrow, rough, dull green leaves. The flowers grow singly, at the ends of short leafy branches, and are each less than an inch across, with rather few violet or pinkish-purple rays and a yellow center. This is common around Yosemite and looks a good deal like an Aster.

[Sidenote: =Whip-lash Fleabane=
_Erígeron flagellàris_
=White, pink
Summer
Ariz., Utah, etc.=]

A rather odd-looking plant, with numerous, very slender, weak, branching stems, trailing on the ground, and very small, toothless, grayish-green, downy leaves, forming a rather dense, low bush, about two and a half feet across, the long sprays interlacing and dotted here and there with pretty little flowers, with numerous fine, white, pink-tipped rays and a yellow center. The sprays often take root at the tip. This grows in the Grand Canyon, and is found as far east as Colorado.

[Sidenote: =Rayless Fleabane=
_Erígeron concínnus var. aphanáctis_
=Yellow
Spring
Utah, Nev., Cal. etc.=]

A rather attractive little plant, forming small clumps, about five inches high, with several very hairy stems and light dull green, very hairy leaves. The many flower-heads are less than half an inch across, deep yellow, without rays. This grows on dry plains and mesas, as far east as Colorado, and has a rather starved appearance.

[Sidenote: =Spreading Fleabane=
_Erígeron divérgens_
=Violet
Spring, summer, autumn
West, etc.=]

A dear little common plant, from six to fifteen inches high, with several slender, branching, hairy stems, and soft, hairy, gray-green leaves, the upper ones small and narrow, without leaf-stalks and the lower ones sometimes with two or three lobes and with leaf-stalks. The flower-heads, several or many, on slender flower-stalks, measure nearly an inch across in spring, but are smaller in summer, and have numerous very narrow rays, white towards the center, shading to bright violet or pink at the tips, with a bright yellow center. This often grows in quantities on dry plains and mountain-sides, as far east as Texas, and is quite charming, the tufts of foliage, dotted with pretty delicate little flowers, not touching each other, but sprinkled over a large space, recalling the little flowers in early Italian pictures. _E. pùmilis_, of the Northwest and Utah, is much the same, with white rays.

E Breweri.

Whip-lash Fleabane--Erigeron flagellaris.

Rayless Fleabane--E. concinnus var. aphanactis.]

[Sidenote: =Large Mountain Fleabane=
_Erígeron salsuginòsus_
=Lilac
Summer
West, etc.=]

A large, handsome kind, abundant in the higher mountains and growing in moist places, as far east as Colorado. The stems are downy and leafy, from one to two feet tall, the leaves are smooth or slightly hairy, with bristle-like points, and the flowers are an inch and a half or more across, with bright yellow centers and clear bright lilac rays, not very narrow.

[Sidenote: =Yellow Fleabane=
_Erígeron àureus (Aplopappus Brandegei)_
=Yellow
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]

A little alpine plant, about three inches tall, with downy stems, thickish, gray-green leaves, covered with close white down and forming a mat of foliage on the rocks at high altitudes. The flowers are rather more than half an inch across, with a woolly involucre, dark yellow center, and deep yellow rays, an unusual color among Fleabanes.

[Sidenote: =Seaside Daisy, Beach Aster=
_Erígeron glàucus_
=Violet, pink
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]

Very cheerful, sturdy-looking flowers, with stout, hairy stems, four to ten inches tall, and stiffish, slightly hairy leaves, rather pale in color. The handsome flowers are an inch and a half across, with numerous violet, lilac, or pink rays and rather dark yellow centers. This grows near the sea and is common on cliffs and sandy shores, where it makes beautiful spots of bright color.

[Sidenote: =Skevish, Philadelphia Fleabane=
_Erígeron Philadélphicus_
=Pink, mauve
Spring, summer
U. S.=]

A pretty perennial, from one to three feet tall, usually soft and hairy, the slender stems usually branching above and most of the leaves toothed. The flowers usually form a loose cluster at the top, the buds drooping, and the heads are from half an inch to an inch across, with yellow centers and a very feathery fringe of pink or pinkish rays. This grows in fields and woods. There is a picture in Mathews' _Field Book_. _E. Còulteri_, the large White Mountain Daisy, is a beautiful kind, from six to twenty inches tall, with bright green leaves, often toothed, sometimes downy, and the flowers usually single, an inch and a half across, usually with pure white rays. This grows in Yosemite meadows and similar mountain places, in Utah, California, and Colorado. _E. compósitus_ is a little Alpine plant, forming dense leafy mats, easily recognized by the broad tips of the leaves being cut into lobes, usually three. The flowers are an inch or more across, with violet or white rays. This grows on the granite peaks around Yosemite, and in other Alpine regions, as far east as Colorado.

Seaside Daisy--Erigeron glaucus.

Large Mountain Fleabane--E. salsuginosus.]

[Sidenote: =Ptilonella=
_Ptilonélla scàbra (Blepharipappus)_
=White
Spring
Oreg., Ida., Nev., Cal.=]

A charming little desert plant, graceful and airy in character, with stiff, very slender, branching, roughish stems, about ten inches tall, and dull green leaves, very rough to the touch, with the edges rolled back. The delicate little flowers are an inch across, with pure white rays, and with white centers, which are specked with black and pink. This is common on the mesas around Reno and looks much like some kinds of Madia.

[Sidenote: =Desert Holly=
_Perèzia nàna_
=Pink
Spring
Ariz., Tex.=]

An odd little desert plant, only two or three inches high, with stiff, smooth, dull bluish-green leaves, with prickly edges, like holly leaves but not so stiff, and one quite pretty, light purplish-pink flower, the head about an inch long, with purplish bracts. The effect of the whole plant is of a little sprig stuck into the sand.

[Sidenote: =Brown-foot=
_Perèzia Wrìghtii_
=Pink
Spring
Ariz., Tex.=]

Much like the last, but more commonplace looking, for the flowers are smaller and the plant much larger. It is about a foot high and grows among rocks, and the general effect of dull mauve is rather pretty, though not bright in color. The common name alludes to the plant being covered with a mass of brown hairs at the base.

There are several kinds of Gutierrezia, all American.

[Sidenote: =Brown-weed=
_Gutierrèzia Saròthrae (G. Euthamiae)_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West, etc.=]

A bushy plant, resinous, smooth or nearly so, from six inches to two feet high, with many stiff, upright branches and alternate, toothless, narrow leaves, an inch or so long. The flowers have yellow centers and small yellow rays, forming clusters at the ends of the branches, and though very small are so numerous as to make effective clumps of bright color. This grows at the Grand Canyon, and in dry rocky places, as far east as the Central States.

Brown-foot--Perezia Wrightii.

Desert Holly--P. nana.]

There are a good many kinds of Helenium, natives of North and Central America.

[Sidenote: =Sneeze-weed=
_Helènium Bigelòwii_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
Cal., Oreg.=]

A handsome plant, with a roughish stem, from two to four feet tall, and toothless, rather coarse leaves, rougher on the underside, the lower part of the leaf grown to the stem along its middle in a curious way. The flowers are from an inch and a half to two inches across, with bright golden-yellow rays and a rich-brown center, powdered with yellow pollen, and the budding flower heads look like brown buttons. This grows in meadows and along streams, at moderate altitudes, and is found in Yosemite.

[Sidenote: _Hymenopáppus lùteus_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., New Mex., Col., Utah=]

A pretty and rather unusual-looking plant, with a cluster of root-leaves, gray-green and downy, cut into many fine divisions, and slender stems, about a foot tall, with two or three, narrow, alternate, toothless leaves, and bearing at the top a few pretty, bright yellow flower-heads, nearly an inch across, with tube-shaped flowers only. This grows in dry, open places.

There are many kinds of Madia, sticky, heavy-scented herbs, commonly called Tarweed and called Madi in Chili. They are used medicinally by Spanish-Californians.

[Sidenote: _Common Madia, Tarweed_ _Màdia élegans_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West=]

Pretty flowers, with hairy stems, from six inches to three feet tall, and velvety or hairy leaves, more or less sticky and the upper ones alternate. The flowers grow in loose clusters and are from one to over two inches across, with bright yellow rays, sometimes with a spot of maroon at the base which gives an extremely pretty effect, and a yellow or maroon center. This often makes pretty patches of color in sandy places, and is widely distributed and very variable. Woodland Madia, _M. madioìdes_, is similar, but not so pretty.

[Sidenote: =Gum-weed=
_Màdia dissitiflòra_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]

A slender plant, over a foot tall, with hairy stem and leaves, which are aromatic when crushed, and rather pretty little flowers, about half an inch across, with pale yellow rays, yellow centers specked with black, and sticky-hairy involucres. This grows along roadsides and the edges of woods.

Hymenopappus luteus.

Sneeze Weed--Helenium Bigelowii.

Gum-weed--Madia dissitiflora.]

There are many kinds of Coreopsis, natives of America, South Africa, and Australasia, several of them cultivated in gardens. They are called Tickseed.

[Sidenote: =Desert Coreopsis=
_Coreópsis Bigelòwii_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

This is very pretty, with one or several, slender, smooth stems, about ten inches tall, springing from a tuft of pretty, bright green, smooth, shiny leaves, cut into narrow divisions and slightly succulent. The flowers are an inch and a half to two inches across, with bright yellow rays, lighter at the tips, and an orange center, and look exceedingly pretty in the Mohave Desert.

[Sidenote: =Sea Dahlia=
_Coreópsis marítima (Leptosyne)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

A magnificent plant, forming large clumps, two feet high, but not at all coarse in character. The leaves are very bright green, smooth and quite succulent, and cut into narrow lobes, so that the effect is graceful and unusual looking. The superb flowers are often four inches across, with clear light yellow rays and orange-yellow centers, and the lower row of bracts stand out stiffly like a ruffle and are like the leaves in texture and color, contrasting oddly with the upper bracts, which are satiny in texture and almost as yellow as the rays. These plants are conspicuously beautiful on the sea cliffs near San Diego.

[Sidenote: =Trixis=
_Tríxis angustifòlia var. latiúscula_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, New Mex.=]

A small evergreen shrub, about a foot high, with smooth, light dull green leaves, with a few fine teeth, and loose clusters of rather pretty, bright yellow flowers, the heads about three-quarters of an inch long. This grows on rocky hillsides and is quite effective.

There are a great many kinds of Chrysanthemum, widely distributed in the northern hemisphere.

[Sidenote: =Ox-eye Daisy=
_Chrysánthemum Leucánthemum_
=White
Spring, summer, autumn
Northwest, etc.=]

This is the well known common kind, a general favorite, except with farmers, naturalized from Europe and also found in Asia; a perennial weed in pastures, meadows, and waste places, more or less all over the United States, but much more common in the Northeast. It grows from one to three feet high, the leaves toothed and cut, and the flower-heads measuring from one to two inches across, with bright golden centers and pure white rays.

Desert Coreopsis--C. Bigelowii.

Sea Dahlia--Coreopsis maritima.]

There are several kinds of Coreothrogyne, some resembling Lessingia, others Aster.

[Sidenote: =Woolly Aster=
_Coreothrógyne filaginifòlia_
=Pink, purple
Spring, summer, autumn
California=]

This forms a clump from one to three feet high, with many erect stems, white with woolly down, at least when young, and crowded with alternate, pale grayish-green leaves, thin and soft in texture and covered with down. The flower-heads are an inch across, with purplish-pink rays and dark yellow centers, and contrast rather prettily with the pale foliage. In Yosemite this grows on rocky ledges below five thousand feet and blooms late. It is common from Monterey to Santa Barbara, blooming at almost all seasons, and is very variable.

[Sidenote: _Psilóstrophe tagetìna var. sparsiflòra (Riddellia)_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Arizona=]

These flowers do not look much like those of a composite, but give more the effect of yellow Wallflowers. The plant is very attractive, from one to two feet tall, with alternate, bluish-green leaves, most of them toothless, and handsome clusters of lemon-yellow flowers. They are each about three-quarters of an inch across, delicately scented, and usually have four large rays, mixed with a few smaller and more irregularly shaped, all much more like petals than rays and becoming papery in fading. The picture is of a plant growing in the Grand Canyon.

[Sidenote: =Paper Flowers=
_Psilóstrophe Coòperi_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

A pretty, compact, shrubby plant, woody below, about a foot high, with tangled branches, pale downy twigs, and thickish, dull green, downy leaves. The pretty flowers are an inch and a quarter across, with an orange-yellow center and five or six, large, clear bright yellow rays, twisted to one side and puckered at the base, turning back and becoming papery as they fade. This plant is at its best in sandy soil and is very effective in the desert. When fully developed it is very symmetrical in outline, forming a charming yellow globe of flowers.

There are several kinds of Xylorrhiza, nearly related to the Aster group and by some authorities regarded as Asters.

Psilostrophe tagetina--var. sparsiflora.

Paper Flowers--P. Cooperi.]

[Sidenote: =Xylorrhiza=
_Xylorrhìza tortifòlia_
=Lilac
Spring
Southwest, Utah, Col.=]

A handsome plant, growing in clumps over two feet high, with prickly leaves and beautiful flowers, two inches and a half across, with rays shading from bright lilac to nearly white and yellow centers. This is common in the Grand Canyon.

There are a good many kinds of Arnica, natives of the northern hemisphere. This is the ancient name and a European kind is much used medicinally.

[Sidenote: =Heart-leaved Arnica=
_Árnica cordifòlia_
=Yellow
Summer
West, except Ariz.=]

A handsome mountain flower, with a hairy stem, from six inches to two feet tall, and velvety leaves, coarsely toothed, the lower ones usually heart-shaped. The flower-heads are usually single, over two inches across, with bright yellow rays, an orange center, and a hairy involucre. This is common in rich moist soil in mountain valleys, as far east as Colorado.

[Sidenote: =Broad-leaved Arnica=
_Árnica latifòlia_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest=]

A handsome kind, sometimes a foot and a half tall, with pretty flowers, about two inches across, with very bright yellow rays. The bright green leaves are thin in texture and practically smooth, the lower ones more or less roundish, with leaf stalks. This grows in mountain woods.

There are many kinds of Artemisia; herbs or shrubs, usually bitter and aromatic, widely distributed.

[Sidenote: =Common Sage-brush=
_Artemísia tridentàta_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West, etc.=]

This is the characteristic sort, often immensely abundant and found as far east as Colorado, often tinting the landscape for miles with its pale and beautiful foliage and one of the dominant shrubs in the Great Basin. It is very branching, from one to twelve feet high, with a distinct trunk and shreddy bark, and the twigs and alternate leaves are all gray-green, covered with silvery down, the upper leaves small and toothless, the lower wedge-shaped, with usually three, blunt teeth. The small yellow flowers have no rays and grow in small, close clusters, forming long sprays towards the ends of the branches. Sagebrush is a "soil indicator" and when the prospective rancher finds it on land he knows at once that it will be good for even dry farming, as the soil contains no salt or alkali.

Broad-leaved Arnica--A. latifolia.]

There are a good many kinds of Eriophyllum, common and very variable, woolly plants.

[Sidenote: =Woolly Yellow Daisy=
_Eriophýllum lanàtum_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]

This is a handsome kind, in favorable situations forming large conspicuous clumps, from one to two feet high, covered with bright golden flowers, each over an inch across. The leaves are dull green on the upper side, but the under side and the buds and stems are all covered with fine white down. The leaves are variable in form, sometimes neither lobed nor toothed, and sometimes cut into narrow toothed divisions. This has a variety of forms and grows on hillsides.

[Sidenote: =Eriophyllum=
_Eriophýllum caespitòsum var. integrifòlium_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest, etc.=]

This forms low tufts of pale gray downy foliage, contrasting well with the bright yellow flower-heads, each about an inch across. This grows around Yosemite and in other mountain places, as far east as Wyoming, and has a variety of forms.

[Sidenote: =Golden Yarrow=
_Eriophýllum confertiflòrum_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]

This has small flowers, but it forms such large clumps that the effect of the golden-yellow clusters is handsome and very conspicuous, on dry hills and mountains and along roadsides in summer. It is woody below, from one to two feet high, and the leaves are more or less woolly. The variety _discoídeum_ has no rays.

There are many kinds of Anthemis, natives of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

[Sidenote: =Mayweed, Chamomile, Dog Fennel=
_Ánthemis Cótula_
=White
Summer, autumn
U. S., etc.=]

This little weed is common in waste places and fields and along roadsides, almost all over the world. It is a branching annual, from one to two feet tall, with feathery light green foliage, cut into many long, narrow divisions, almost smooth, with a disagreeable smell and strong acrid taste. The many daisy-like flowers have heads about an inch across, with from ten to eighteen white rays and convex yellow centers. There is a picture of this plant in Mathews' _Field Book_.

Woolly Yellow Daisy--E. lanatum.

Eriophyllum caespitosum--var. integrifolium.]

There are a good many kinds of Chaenactis, the flower-heads with tubular flowers only, but in some kinds the marginal flowers are larger and have a broad border resembling a kind of ray.

[Sidenote: =Chaenactis=
_Chaenáctis Douglásii_
=White
Spring, summer
Utah, Cal., New Mex.=]

A rather pretty plant, from eight inches to over a foot tall and more or less downy, with stiffish, gray-green, leaves, cut into many short, blunt lobes and teeth. The flower-heads are about an inch long, and contain numerous small, pearly-white or pinkish, tube-shaped flowers, with long, purplish pistils. This grows in dry open places, the flowers turn pink in fading and are sweet-smelling and quite pretty, though not striking. _C. macrántha_, which grows in the Grand Canyon, has similar flowers, rather prettier, with a somewhat sickly scent, but it is a lower plant.

[Sidenote: =Golden Girls=
_Chaenáctis lanòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

A charming desert plant, with several downy stems, over a foot tall, springing from a feathery cluster of pretty, bright green, thickish leaves, cut into narrow divisions, rather downy and often tinged with red. The flower-head is nearly an inch and a half across, without rays, but the marginal flowers in the head are larger and have broad borders that look like rays. They are a beautiful shade of clear bright yellow.

[Sidenote: =Morning Bride=
_Chaenáctis Fremóntii_
=White
Spring
Southwest=]

This is very much like the last in size, form, and foliage and is equally charming, but the flowers are all pure white, or pinkish, instead of yellow. It is one of the most attractive of the white desert flowers.

[Sidenote: =Desert Star=
_Erimiástrum bellidoìdes_
=Lilac
Spring
Arizona=]

A charming little desert plant, with spreading stems and small, narrow, toothless, gray bluish-green leaves, which are soft, but sprinkled with small, stiff, white bristles, the whole forming a rosette, five or six inches across, growing flat on the sand and ornamented with many pretty little flowers. They are each set off by a little rosette of leaves and are over half an inch across, with pinkish-lilac rays, shading to white towards the yellow center and tinted with bright purple on the back.

Chaenactis--C. Douglasii.

Golden Girls--Chaenactis lanosa.]

[Sidenote: =Venegasia=
_Venegàsia carpesioìdes_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]

These big, leafy plants, with their bright flowers, are a splendid feature of the California woods and canyons in June, especially on the slopes of the Santa Inez mountains, where they often cover large areas with green and gold; unfortunately the smell is rather disagreeable. The leafy stems are four or five feet high, nearly smooth, with alternate, bright green leaves, almost smooth and thin in texture, and the flowers, resembling Sun-flowers, are over two inches across, with clear yellow rays, an orange center, and an involucre of many green scales, overlapping and wrapped around each other, so that the bud looks much like a tiny head of lettuce. This was named for Venegas, a Jesuit missionary, and is the only kind, growing near the coast in the South.

[Sidenote: =Lessingia=
_Lessíngia leptóclada_
=Lilac
Summer
California=]

This is a slender plant, from six inches to two feet tall, with pale gray green, woolly leaves, the lower ones somewhat toothed, and pale pinkish-lilac flowers, not very conspicuous in themselves, but sometimes growing in such quantities that they form pretty patches of soft pinkish color in sandy places. The flower-head is about half an inch long, with no rays, but the outer flowers in the head are larger and have long lobes resembling rays. This is very variable, especially in size, and is common along dry roadsides and quite abundant in Yosemite. The picture is of a small plant. _L. Germanòrum_, which is common on sandy hills along the coast from San Francisco to San Diego, has yellow flowers and blooms in autumn.

There are many kinds of Baeria, not easily distinguished.

[Sidenote: =Sunshine, Gold Fields=
_Baéria grácilis_
=Yellow
Southwest=]

This is a dear little plant, often covering the fields with a carpet of gold. The slender stems are about six inches tall, with soft, downy, light green leaves, usually opposite, and pretty fragrant flowers, about three-quarters of an inch across, with bright yellow rays and darker yellow centers. This is sometimes called Fly Flower, because in some places it is frequented by a small fly, which is annoying to horses. _B. macrántha_ is a much larger plant, a biennial, with a tuberous root, from seven inches to a foot and a half tall, with long, narrow, toothless leaves, with hairy margins, and flower-heads from an inch to an inch and a half across, with yellow rays and hairy involucres. This grows along the coast in California, blooming in May and June.

Sunshine--Baeria gracilis.

Lessingia--L. leptoclada.]

There are several kinds of Bahia, natives of western North America, Mexico, and Chile, herbs or shrubs, more or less woolly.

[Sidenote: =Bahia=
_Bàhia absinthifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]

This is from eight to fifteen inches tall, with pretty flowers, an inch and a half across, with bright yellow rays and deep yellow centers, contrasting well with the pale gray-green foliage, which is covered with close white down. This grows in arid situations on the mesas and often forms clumps.

There are several kinds of Crassina, natives of the United States and Mexico.

[Sidenote: =Desert Zinnia=
_Crassìna pùmila (Zinnia)_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]

Nothing could look much less like a garden Zinnia than this dry, prickly-looking dwarf shrub. It is from three inches to a foot high, the branches crowded with very small, stiff, dull green leaves, and the flowers are about an inch across, rather pretty but not conspicuous, with a yellow center and four or five, broad, cream-white rays, often tinged with dull pink. This plant grows on the plains and is a "soil-indicator," as it flourishes on the poorest, stoniest, and most arid land.

[Sidenote: =Wild Marigold=
_Bàileya multiradiàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, etc.
Southwest, Tex.=]

Charming flowers, with a thrifty, cultivated appearance like that of a garden flower. The plant is a foot tall, with grayish-green, woolly stems and foliage, and the handsome flower is an inch and a half across, with a fine ruffle of many bright yellow rays, prettily scalloped, and a yellow center, rather deeper in color. In Arizona bouquets of these flowers may be gathered during every month in the year.

[Sidenote: _Bàileya pauciradiàta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

An odd little desert plant, about six inches tall, with a thickish stem and soft, thickish leaves, covered all over with silky, white wool, giving a pale, silky effect to the whole plant, which is quite pretty, though the pale yellow flowers, each about half an inch across, are not striking.

Baileya pauciradiata.

Bahia absinthifolia.

Wild Marigold--Baileya multiradiata.]

[Sidenote: =Pentachaeta=
_Pentachaèta àurea_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

Gay, yet delicate little flowers, with slender branching stems, about eight inches tall, and light green, very narrow leaves. The flowers are an inch across, with a feathery ruffle of very numerous narrow rays, light yellow at the tips, growing deeper towards the orange-colored center, and the pretty buds are often tinged with pink or purple. This often grows in patches and is common in southern California.

[Sidenote: =Daisy Dwarf=
_Actinolèpis lanòsa_
=White
Spring
Arizona=]

A quaint little desert plant, only two or three inches tall, with thickish, pale gray-green leaves, covered with close white down, and pretty little flowers, growing singly at the ends of tiny branches, each half an inch across, with a yellow center and pure white rays, which fold back at night. These little flowers are too small to be very conspicuous, but are charming in effect, sprinkled over the bare sand, and when growing in quantities on nearly bare mesas give a whitish appearance to the ground.

There are a good many kinds of Blepharipappus.

[Sidenote: =Yellow Tidy-tips=
_Blepharipáppus élegans (Layia)_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

Very pretty flowers, with slender, branching, hairy stems, about a foot tall, and light green, hairy leaves. The flowers are about two inches across, with yellow rays, tipped with white or very pale yellow, neatly arranged around the deep yellow centers, which are specked with black. The rays twist up in fading and turn to a pretty shade of dull pink. This is common and a very handsome kind.

[Sidenote: =White Tidy-tips=
_Blepharipáppus glandulòsus (Layia)_
=White
Spring
Southwest, Oreg., Wash.=]

A beautiful kind, eight or nine inches tall, with pale green, hairy leaves, the lower ones toothed, and a slender stem, bearing a charming flower, nearly an inch and a half across, with neat pure white rays and a bright yellow center. This grows in mountain canyons and is widely distributed as far north as British Columbia.

There are several kinds of Gaillardia, all American. They are much cultivated in gardens, were named in honor of Gaillard de Merentonneau, a French botanist.

Pentachaeta aurea.

White Tidy-tips--B. glandulosus.

Yellow Tidy-tips--Blepharipappus elegans.]

[Sidenote: =Blanket-flower, Gaillardia=
_Gaillàrdia pinnatífida_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., Col., Tex.=]

This is handsome and conspicuous, with a slender, rough stalk, about a foot tall, dull green, stiff, rather hairy leaves, mostly from the root, and beautiful flowers, an inch and a half across, with golden-yellow rays, with three teeth, and a center of shaded maroon and yellow, which is very velvety and pretty and becomes an attractive, purplish, fuzzy, round head when the rays drop off. This grows on the plains. _G. aristàta_, found throughout the West and as far east as Colorado, is an exceedingly handsome kind, sometimes over two feet tall, with beautiful yellow flowers, sometimes measuring four inches across.

[Sidenote: =Arizona Gaillardia=
_Gaillàrdia Arizònica_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]

A pretty little desert plant, from four to eight inches tall, with a slender, downy flower-stalk, springing from a cluster of roughish, light dull green leaves, more or less hairy and bearing a single handsome flower, nearly two inches across, with a downy involucre and three-toothed rays of an unusual and pretty shade of dull light yellow, finely veined with brown on the back, surrounding a darker yellow, fuzzy center.

[Sidenote: =Tiny Tim=
_Hymenathèrum Hartwégi_
=Yellow
Spring
Arizona=]

A neat little evergreen, shrubby plant, only about three inches high, with branching stems, clothed with small, narrow, dull green leaves, which look prickly but are actually not very stiff, though tipped with tiny bristles. The flowers are three-eighths of an inch across, very perfect in outline, with bright yellow rays and deeper yellow centers, and the whole effect, of a tiny shrub sprinkled with flowers, is quite attractive, growing on very dry ground along the roadside. The plant has a pronounced smell, which is not unpleasant.

[Sidenote: =Tall Purple Aster=
_Machaeranthèra incàna (Aster)_
=Purple
Spring
Southwest, Utah, New Mex.=]

This looks a good deal like an Aster, a branching plant, from two to nearly three feet high, with grayish-green, slightly downy leaves, with very sharp teeth. The flowers are an inch and a half across, with narrow, bright violet rays and bright yellow centers. This grows abundantly in valleys.

Tiny Tim--Hymenatherum Hartwegi.

Blanket-flower--Gaillardia pinnatifida.

Arizona Gaillardia--G. Arizonica.]

[Sidenote: _Laphàmia bisetòsa_
=Yellow
Summer
Ariz., New Mex., Tex.=]

An insignificant plant, except that it grows on the sides of bare, red rocks or head-downward on the under side of overhanging ledges, apparently needing little or no soil, and is therefore noticeable. It forms round clumps, one or two feet across, with many slender stems, about six inches high, small, pale yellowish-green, roughish leaves, and small yellow flower-heads, without rays. This is rare and grows in the Grand Canyon.

There are several kinds of Grindelia, common in the West, recommended as a remedy for Poison Oak.

[Sidenote: =Gum Plant=
_Grindèlia latifòlia_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

Coarse but rather effective flowers, with smooth, stiff, branching stems, about three feet high, and dark dull green leaves. The flower-heads are over an inch and a half across, with bright yellow rays and centers and very resinous, shiny buds.

There are several kinds of Balsamorrhiza. Both the Latin and common names allude to the aromatic roots.

[Sidenote: =Arrow-leaf Balsam-root, Big Root=
_Balsamorrhìza sagittàta_
=Yellow
Spring
Utah, Ida., Cal., Nev., Col.=]

A very handsome plant, the contrast between the gray-velvet leaves and the great yellow flowers being very striking. It forms large clumps, about a foot and a half high, with slightly downy flower-stalks and heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, toothless leaves, pale gray-green and velvety, covered with silvery down, whiter on the under side. The flowers are over three inches across, with clear bright yellow rays, and a deeper yellow center, fuzzy and greenish-yellow in the middle. The involucre is almost white, thickly covered with silvery, silky wool, and the flowers are pleasantly sweet-smelling. This grows on dry hillsides.

[Sidenote: =Cut-leaved Balsam-root=
_Balsamorrhìza macrophýlla_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Wyo.=]

A strikingly handsome plant, forming clumps even larger than the last, with similar flowers, but with quite different foliage. The leaves are rich-green, and decorative in form, more or less slashed into lobes and very sticky, with hairy margins and leaf-stalks, and are nearly as tall as the hairy, sticky flower-stems, from one to two feet high. This grows in rich soil in mountain valleys.

Gum Plant--Grindelia latifolia.

Arrow-leaf Balsam-root--Balsamorrhiza sagittata.]

[Sidenote: =Balsam-root=
_Balsamorrhìza Hóokeri_
=Yellow
Spring
West, except Ariz.=]

Rather handsome, though a coarse plant, over a foot tall, with hairy, dull green or grayish leaves, crisp and harsh to the touch, variously lobed and cut, chiefly in a clump at the root. The flowers are numerous, from an inch and a half to over two inches across, with deep orange-yellow rays, and grow singly on long flower-stalks. This flourishes on dry plains and mesas.

There are several kinds of Wyethia, resembling Balsam-roots, but their thick roots not resinous.

[Sidenote: =Yellows, Mule-ears=
_Wyéthia amplexicàulis_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Nev., etc.=]

A robust and exceedingly handsome plant, one or two feet tall, with rich foliage and gorgeous flowers. The leaves are stiffish, dark rich green, smooth but somewhat sticky, often toothed; the stem-leaves alternate, their bases partly clasping, and the root-leaves a foot or two long and two or three inches broad, with leaf-stalks. The flower-heads are about four inches across, with bright yellow rays, almost orange color, and the center with three rows of yellow disk-flowers, surrounding a clump of pointed, overlapping, stiff, greenish scales in the middle. This sometimes forms immense patches on dry hills at rather high altitudes, as far east as Colorado. It is sometimes called Compass Plant, because its leaves are thought to point North and South, and the Indian name is "Pe-ik."

[Sidenote: =Woolly Wyethia=
_Wyéthia móllis_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]