Chapter VI: Part 6

There are innumerable kinds of Astragalus; most abundant in Asia, usually perennial herbs, sometimes woody; leaves usually with numerous leaflets, flowers narrow, in spikes, with long flower-stalks; calyx tube-shaped, with nearly equal teeth; petals usually narrow, with slender claws, standard erect and somewhat oblong, wings oblong, keel with blunt tip, about the same length as the wings; stamens ten, in two sets of nine and one; pods numerous, more or less two-celled, often inflated, so the wind can distribute the small seeds, therefore these plants are often called Rattleweed. Another name is Milk Vetch and many kinds are called Loco-weed, from the word "loco," or crazy, because they are poisonous to horses and cattle. I was told by a cow-boy in Arizona that "horses eat this because it tastes sweet, but it gives them water on the brain and they die, unless the skull is split with an axe and the water is let out!"

[Sidenote: _Astrágalus Menzièsii_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]

A decorative plant, its pale flowers contrasting well with the dark foliage, with stout, branching stems, from two to three feet tall, hairy above, and many leaflets, dark-green on the upper side, hairy and paler on the under. The flowers are half an inch or more long, with a pale, yellowish-green, downy calyx and cream-white corolla, and form a fine cluster, from four to ten inches long. The egg-shaped pods are much inflated and almost papery, an inch or more long. This grows on sea-cliffs and in sandy soil near the coast.

[Sidenote: =Pink Lady-fingers, Sheep-pod=
_Astrágalus Utahénsis_
=Pink
Spring, summer, autumn
Utah, Nev.=]

A pretty plant, unusual in coloring, the short stems spreading on the ground and springing from a short, perennial root; the foliage all very pale bluish-gray, covered with silvery down, the thickish leaflets from eleven to seventeen in number, the younger leaves and flower buds almost white. The flowers are about an inch long, in loose clusters, with flower-stalks from three to four inches long; the calyx long, pinkish-gray and downy, the standard pale pink, the wings deeper purplish-pink, the keel yellowish-pink. The pod is short, leathery, woolly, and stemless. This grows in dry, gravelly soil and in favorable situations makes low, circular clumps of foliage, suggesting the old-fashioned crochet lamp-mats that we used to see in New England farmhouses, for the pale leaves are symmetrically arranged in neat clusters and ornamented at intervals with pink flowers. Unlike, however, the worsted ornament, its coloring is delicately harmonious and beautiful.

[Sidenote: _Astrágalus nothóxys_
=Purple
Spring
Arizona=]

A very slender plant, with trailing stems, one or two feet long, the leaflets odd in number and downy on the under side. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a whitish, downy calyx and a bright purple corolla, shading to white at the base. This grows in mountain canyons and looks a good deal like a Vetch, except that it has no tendrils.

[Sidenote: =Rattle-weed, Loco-weed=
_Astrágalus pomonénsis_
=White
Spring
California=]

This is a straggling plant, a foot and a half tall, smooth all over, with stout stems and many bluish-green leaflets. The flowers are over half an inch long, with a very pale calyx and yellowish-white corolla, forming a rather pretty cluster, about three inches long. The pods are each over an inch long and much inflated, forming a large bunch, odd and very conspicuous in appearance.

Pods of Rattle-weed--A. pomonensis.

Pink Lady-fingers--Astragalus Utahensis.]

[Sidenote: =Loco-weed=
_Astrágalus MacDoùgali_
=White,
lilac
Spring
Arizona=]

An attractive plant, about a foot high, with straggling, reddish stems and delicate foliage. The flowers are over half an inch long, with a hairy calyx and pale lilac and white corolla, and form pretty clusters about two inches long.

There are many kinds of Hedysarum, some from Africa and only a few in this country; perennial herbs, sometimes shrubby; the leaflets toothless, odd in number; the flowers in handsome racemes, with bracts, on stalks from the angles of the stem; the calyx with five, nearly equal teeth; the standard rather large, round, or inverted heart-shaped, narrow at base, the wings oblong, shorter than the standard; the keel blunt, nearly straight, longer than the wings; the stamens in two sets of nine and one, not adhering to the corolla; the pod long, flat, and oddly jointed into several, strongly-veined, one-seeded, roundish divisions, which separate when ripe. The name is from the Greek, meaning "sweet-broom."

[Sidenote: _Hedýsarum pabulàre_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Utah=]

A very handsome and decorative plant, with large brilliant flower-clusters, contrasting well with the foliage and making spots of vivid color on dry plains and hillsides. It has many stems, springing from a rootstock, which are from eight to fifteen inches long, yellowish-green, ridged, and covered with inconspicuous down, the leaflets are light bluish-green, thickish, nine to seventeen in number, and the bracts are thin and dry. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch long, with a pinkish-green and downy calyx, and the corolla all bright deep pink, fading to blue, with a veined standard. The pod has from three to five divisions. This flourishes at rather high altitudes, up to seven thousand feet, and is conspicuously beautiful near the entrance to Ogden Canyon in Utah.

There are a great many kinds of Trifolium, or Clover, difficult to distinguish; low herbs; leaves usually with three leaflets, usually toothed; stipules adhering to the leaf-stalks; flowers in heads or spikes; stamens usually in two sets of nine and one; pods small, mostly enclosed in the calyx, usually with one to six seeds.

[Sidenote: =Clover=
_Trifòlium tridentàtum_
=Purple
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]

This is very common from the coast to the Sierra foothills, but there are many named varieties. It is smooth all over and grows from eight inches to two feet high, with spreading stems and narrow leaflets, which are toothless, or have teeth and bristles on the edges. The pinkish-purple flowers form a broad head, over an inch across, with an involucre.

[Sidenote: =Sour Clover=
_Trifòlium fucàtum_
=Cream-color
Spring, summer
Wash., Oreg., Cal.=]

This has queer-looking flowers and is conspicuous on that account. The branching stems are a foot or more tall, the stipules are large, with papery margins, and the leaves are bright green, with a paler spot near the middle of each of the leaflets, which are toothed, or sometimes only bristly on the edges, and the flowers form a head about an inch and a quarter across, with a broad involucre. The calyx is very small and the corolla is cream-color, becoming much inflated and changing to deep pink as the flower withers. The effect of the cluster is curiously puffy and odd in color. This grows rankly in low alkaline and brackish places.

There are many kinds of Psoralea, widely distributed; ours are perennial herbs, without tendrils, the leaves with three or five leaflets, with glandular dots on them and usually bad-smelling. The flowers are white or purplish, and the pod is short, with only one seed.

[Sidenote: =Native California Tea=
_Psoràlea physòdes_
=White
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]

This is a rather pleasing plant, for the foliage is pretty, though the flowers are too dull in color to be effective. It is almost smooth all over, a foot or more tall, with several spreading stems and rich green leaves, thin in texture and giving out a rather pleasant aromatic smell when crushed. The flowers are less than half an inch long, with a somewhat hairy calyx, covered with dots and becoming inflated in fruit, and a yellowish-white corolla, more or less tinged with purple. This is common in the woods of the Coast Ranges. The foliage was used as tea by the early settlers.

Clover--T. tridentatum.

Native California Tea--Psoralea physodes.]

There are many kinds of Cytisus, natives of Europe, Asia, and Africa, named for Cythrus, one of the Cyclades, where the first species was found.

[Sidenote: =Scotch Broom=
_Cýtisus scopàrius_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc., except Ariz.=]

A handsome branching shrub, about five feet high, with almost smooth or quite hairy leaves, with three, toothless leaflets, and fine clusters of flowers, each an inch or more long, with a yellow two-lipped calyx and a golden-yellow corolla, deeper in color at the base of the standard and at the tips of the wings; the stamens ten, in one set; the style curved in. The pod is flat, smooth on the sides, but hairy along the edges, one or two inches long and curling when ripe. This is said to have been brought to California by Cornish miners.

SENNA FAMILY. _Cassiaceae._

A large family, most of them tropical; trees, shrubs, and herbs, with flowers more or less irregular in form, but not like the flowers of the true Pea, though sometimes resembling them; calyx usually with five sepals; corolla with five petals, overlapping in the bud, the petal which corresponds to the standard folded within the two side petals, instead of covering them, as in the Pea flower; stamens, ten, or fewer, in number, usually not united; ovar superior; fruit a pod, mostly splitting into two halves, containing one to many seeds. To this family belong the handsome Red-bud, or Judas Tree, of our woodlands, both East and West; the spiny Honey-locust; the Kentucky Coffee-tree, with its fine foliage, of the central and eastern states; the interesting Palo Verde, with greatly reduced leaves, of the Southwest, and the fine Bird-of-paradise flowers, of the tropics and Mexico, one or two of which are just beginning to grow wild in southern Arizona and California.

There are many kinds of Cassia, abundant in tropical America; herbs, shrubs, or trees; leaflets even in number; flowers usually yellow; calyx-teeth nearly equal; corolla almost regular, with five, nearly equal, spreading petals, with claws; stamens usually ten, sometimes five, often unequal, some of the anthers often imperfect, or lacking; pod flat or cylindrical, often curved, sometimes with partitions between the numerous seeds.

[Sidenote: =Desert Senna, Golden Cassia=
_Cássia armàta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

The peculiar orange-yellow of these handsome flowers at once attracts our attention, for their tint is quite different from the greenish-yellow, which is so much more common. They grow in the desert, forming big clumps, two feet high and two or three feet across, but have almost no foliage. The numerous, smooth stems are very pale in color, often bluish or gray, with a few dark-green leaves, with six, very small, stiff leaflets, and bearing clusters of numerous, sweet-smelling flowers, almost regular and about three-quarters of an inch across, with a downy calyx and the small, flat pod also downy.

MIMOSA FAMILY. _Mimosaceae._

A large family, most of them tropical; herbs, shrubs, or trees; leaves alternate, generally compound, usually with two or three leaflets; flowers small, regular and perfect, in clusters; calyx with three to six lobes or teeth; petals of the same number, separate, or more or less united, neither sepals nor petals overlapping in the bud; stamens as many as the petals, or twice as many, or numerous, separate or united; ovary superior; fruit a pod.

There are several kinds of Calliandra, low shrubs or herbs.

[Sidenote: =Fairy Dusters=
_Calliándra eriophýlla_
=Pink
Spring
Arizona=]

An odd little shrub, pretty and very Japanese in character, about a foot tall, with a few, pale-gray, spreading branches and very scanty foliage. The small leaves are cut into many tiny leaflets and look like those of a Mimosa, the buds are deep pink and the flowers are in clusters towards the ends of the branches and slightly sweet-scented. They are very queer-looking, but exceedingly pretty, for the purplish calyx and corolla are so small that the flower appears to be merely a tuft of many stamens, about an inch long, with threadlike filaments, white at base and shading to bright pink at the tips. The pistil is also long and pink, so the whole effect is a bunch of pink fuzz, airy in form and delicately shaded in color. These little shrubs sometimes bloom when they are only a few inches high, looking very quaint, like dwarf plants in a toy garden, and are among the earliest spring flowers.

KRAMERIA FAMILY. _Krameriaceae._

A small family, distributed from the southern United States to Chili; hairy herbs or low shrubs, without stipules; leaves alternate; two bracts on the flower-stalk; flowers purplish, irregular, perfect; sepals four or five, usually large, the outer one commonly wider than the others; petals usually five, smaller than the sepals, the three upper ones with long claws, often united by their claws, sometimes the middle one of the three lacking, the two lower ones reduced to mere fleshy glands and not resembling petals; stamens three or four, united at least at base; ovary superior, with a slender style; fruit spiny, seed one.

[Sidenote: =Crimson-beak=
_Kramèria Gràyi_
=Purplish-pink
Spring
Arizona=]

A desert shrub, with a pleasant smell like balsam, two to four feet high, with gray, woody stems, abruptly branching, armed with long, brown and gray thorns, and clothed with very small, silvery-gray leaves, downy and thickish. The flowers are curious in shape and color, with five, large, purplish-pink sepals and five, small petals, the two lower ones minute and reduced to glands. The pistil is dark red, the three stamens have green filaments and red anthers, the ovary is downy and prickly, and the downy buds are pale pink.

CALTROP FAMILY. _Zygophyllaceae._

Not a large family, widely distributed in warm and tropical regions; ours are herbs or shrubs, with opposite or alternate, compound leaves, with stipules and toothless leaflets; flowers complete, usually with five sepals and five petals, and usually twice the number of stamens, with swinging anthers, alternate stamens sometimes longer, filaments often with a small scale near the middle; ovary superior, usually surrounded at the base by a disk; style one, with a five- to ten-lobed stigma; fruit dry.

There are several kinds of Covillea.

[Sidenote: =Creosote-bush, Hediondilla=
_Covíllea glutinòsa (Larrea Mexicana)_
=Yellow
All seasons
Southwest=]

A graceful, evergreen shrub, common in arid regions and a characteristic feature of the desert landscape, filling the air with its very strong, peculiar odor. It is from three to ten feet high, with many little branches, with blackish knots at the joints, clothed with sticky, dull yellowish-green foliage, the thickish, resinous leaflets very small, in pairs, with almost no leaf-stalk, and uneven at base. The pretty flowers are nearly an inch across, with bright yellow petals, with claws, and silky, greenish-yellow sepals which soon drop off. The filaments are broadened below into wings and have a scale on the inner side. The ovary is covered with pale, silky hairs, so that the older flowers have a silky tuft in the center, and becomes a round, densely hairy fruit, with a short stalk, tipped with the slender style. These little white, silky balls of down are very conspicuous and, as they are mingled with yellow flowers, the bush has an odd and pretty effect of being spotted all over with yellow and white.

Crimson-beak--Krameria Grayi.]

FLAX FAMILY. _Linaceae._

A small family, widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions. Ours are smooth herbs, with loosely clustered, complete flowers, having five sepals; five petals, alternating with the sepals; five stamens, alternating with the petals, with swinging anthers and filaments united at the base; ovary superior; fruit a capsule, containing eight or ten, oily seeds.

There are many kinds of Flax, sometimes shrubby at base; with tough fibers in the bark; leaves without stipules, sometimes with glands at base in place of real stipules; flowers mostly blue or yellow. There are numerous, small-flowered, annual kinds, difficult to distinguish and usually somewhat local. _L. usitatíssimum_, an annual, with deep blue flowers, is the variety which, from time immemorial, has furnished the world with linen from its fiber and oil from its seeds. Linum is the ancient Latin name.

[Sidenote: =Blue Flax=
_Lìnum Lewísii_
=Blue
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]

An attractive plant, from one to two feet tall, with several, erect stems, springing from a woody, perennial root, with numerous, small, narrow, bluish-green leaves and loose clusters of pretty flowers, each about an inch across. The petals, delicately veined with blue, vary in tint from sky-blue to almost white, with a little yellow at the base. This is common and widely distributed, from Manitoba to Texas and westward, but the fiber is not strong enough to be used commercially.

WOOD-SORREL FAMILY. _Oxalidaceae._

Not a large family, mostly tropical. Ours are low herbs, with sour juice, often with rootstocks or scaly bulbs; leaves with three or several leaflets; flowers perfect; sepals five, often unequal; petals five, stamens ten to fifteen; ovary superior, five-celled, the five styles usually separate; fruit a capsule, containing several or many seeds. By some botanists this is merged in the Geranium Family.

There are many kinds of Oxalis. The Greek name means "sour," in allusion to the sour taste of these plants, which contain oxalic acid. The leaves are alternate, at nightfall the leaflets droop and fold together; the stamens are ten, five long and five short, all with anthers, with filaments broadened and united at base.

[Sidenote: =Yellow Wood-sorrel=
_Óxalis corniculàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer, autumn
Southwest=]

A pretty little plant, a few inches tall, more or less downy all over, with very slender, reddish, branching stems and light green leaves, about an inch across and thin in texture. The flowers are over half an inch across, with clear yellow petals, often tinged with pale red on the outside, yellow anthers and a green pistil. The capsules are long and downy.

[Sidenote: =Redwood Sorrel=
_Óxalis Oregàna_
=White, pink
Spring
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]

One of the most attractive of our woodland plants. The succulent, hairy, reddish flower-stalks, about six inches tall, with two small bracts near the top, spring from a clump of root-leaves. The larger leaves are three inches across, with long leaf-stalks, pale and hairy on the under side, rich green on the upper, each leaflet marked with an irregular blotch of pale green. The younger leaves are lighter green than the older ones and in the bud are neatly folded together, the middle leaflet inside the other two. The leaflets fold back, when it is either too hot or too cold to suit the plant. The delicate flowers are about an inch and a half across, white, pale pink, or rose-color, often veined with deeper color and with a spot of yellow at the base of each petal, and well set off by the foliage, which makes patches of rich and variegated green in dense forest shade.

Redwood Sorrel--O. Oregana.]

GERANIUM FAMILY. _Geraniaceae._

Not a large family, herbs, of temperate regions; leaves lobed or compound, usually with stipules; flowers perfect; sepals and petals usually five and stamens five or ten; ovary superior; fruit a capsule.

There are many kinds of Geranium; stems with swollen joints; stipules papery; five glands on the receptacle, alternating with the petals; stamens ten, five long and five short, filaments united at base; ovary with a beak formed by the five-cleft style, and becoming a capsule, which splits open elastically, the style-divisions becoming tails on the seeds. The Greek name means "crane," in allusion to the long beak of the capsule, and these plants are often called Crane's-bill. Cultivated Geraniums are Pelargoniums, from South Africa.

[Sidenote: =Wild Geranium=
_Gerànium incìsum_
=Pink
Spring, summer
West=]

In the Sierra woods, and along Yosemite roadsides, in summer we see the purplish-pink blossoms and nodding buds of this attractive plant, resembling the Wild Geranium of the East, growing from thick, perennial roots, with hairy, branching stems, from one to two feet high. The hairy leaves, with three or five, toothed lobes, are fragrant like cultivated geraniums; the flowers, over an inch across, are hairy inside, the petals veined with magenta. They are occasionally white and the plants vary in size and hairiness. _G. furcàtum_, of the Grand Canyon, has magenta petals, which turn back more.

[Sidenote: =Wild Geranium=
_Gerànium Fremóntii_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Southwest, and Utah, Ida., Col., New Mex.=]

This has similar flowers, but is a finer plant, forming large, thrifty-looking clumps, one or two feet across, of slightly thickish leaves, dark green on the upper side and paler, with prominent veins, on the under, the root-leaves with about seven, main divisions, the stem-leaves three- to five-cleft, each clump of leaves with several tall, slightly downy flower-stalks springing from it. The calyxes and buds are downy and the flowers bright pink or rose-purple, delicately veined. This grows in somewhat moist ground, at the edges of fields and woody roadsides and on mountain slopes, and is perhaps the handsomest of its clan.

Wild Geranium--Fremontii.]

[Sidenote:= Long-stalked Crane's-bill=
_Gerànium columbìnum_
=Purple
Spring, summer
California, etc.=]

A slender plant, about a foot tall, with pinkish, hairy stems and pretty leaves, thin in texture, with a dull surface; the seed-vessels erect, with bristly beaks. The flowers grow in pairs and are less than half an inch across, with hairy calyxes and notched, purple or magenta petals. This is naturalized from Europe, and common in the East and grows along roadsides, at the edges of fields and woods.

There are many kinds of Erodium, three native in the Southwest and several more introduced, weeds in the Old World and important forage plants in the West; leaves often unequal, with one stipule on one side and two on the other. They resemble Geranium, flower and fruit being nearly the same, but only five of the stamens have anthers, the alternate ones being scale-like, without anthers; styles hairy inside. The Greek name means "heron," in allusion to the long beak of the capsule.

[Sidenote: =Red-stem Filaree=
_Eròdium cicutàrium_
=Pink
All seasons
West, etc.=]

Though not native, this is the commonest kind, in the interior and semi-arid regions, and most valued for forage. When young it forms rosettes close to the ground, but grows taller and more straggling. The stems are often reddish; the leaves somewhat hairy; the flowers small, in clusters of four to eight, with four bracts at the base; the petals purplish-pink, with darker veins, and hairy at the base, the two upper petals slightly smaller; the sepals tipped with one or two bristles. The ovary is beaked by the united styles, the beak, when the seeds ripen, separating into five, long tails, which twist spirally when dry and untwist when moistened. This is common west of the Rockies, blooming more or less all the year round, varying in size in different soils. Filaree is a corruption of the Spanish Alfilerilla, from "alfiler," a "pin." Other names are Pinkets, Pinclover, Storksbill, and Clocks, so-called by children because they amuse themselves by watching the tails twist about like the hands of a clock. White-stem Filaree, _E. moschàtum_, common in rich soil, has larger, coarser leaves and a faint scent.

Red-stem Filaree--Erodium cicutarium.]

MILKWORT FAMILY. _Polygalaceae._

Not a very large family, widely distributed; ours are herbs, sometimes shrubby, with no stipules; flowers perfect, irregular, resembling those of the Pea Family, but not like them in structure; sepals five, the two at the sides large and colored, like "wings," the upper sepal forming a "keel"; petals three, more or less united into a tube; stamens usually eight and united; ovary superior, two-celled, with a broad, curved stigma.

There are many kinds of Polygala.

[Sidenote: =California Milkwort=
_Polýgala Califórnica_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]

A rather attractive little plant, three to eight inches tall, with smooth leaves and many slender, smooth, woody, stems, springing from slender rootstocks. The purplish-pink flowers become deeper in color as they fade and are quaint in form, over half an inch long, with pink "wings" and yellowish "keel," the petals downy inside and the middle one curving over to form a hood, in which the stamens and style are concealed. This plant has the odd habit of bearing another sort of flower near the root, maturing most of the seed, but without petals, and grows on dry, shady hillsides in the Coast Ranges.

MEADOW FOAM FAMILY. _Limnanthaceae._

A very small family, all North American, included in the Geranium Family by some botanists; smooth herbs, of wet places, with bitter juice; leaves alternate, lobed and cut, without stipules; flowers perfect; sepals and petals two to five; stamens twice as many as the petals; ovary superior, the five lobes becoming five nutlets; style one.

There are several kinds of Floerkea; sepals and petals three to five; five, small glands on the receptacle, alternating with the sepals; style two- to five-cleft.

[Sidenote: =Meadow Foam=
_Floérkea Douglásii (Limnanthes)_
=White, yellow
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]

A charming plant, often covering the meadows with drifts of creamy bloom. The stems are smooth, succulent, brittle and branching, from six to twelve inches tall; the delicate flowers over an inch across, the petals hairy at base, sometimes pinkish, but usually white and yellow.

California Milk-wort--Polygala Californica.]

BUCKEYE FAMILY. _Hippocastanaceae._

A small family, widely distributed; trees or shrubs, with opposite, compound leaves, no stipules and terminal clusters of irregular flowers, some perfect and some with only pistils or only stamens; the calyx tubular or bell-shaped, with five, unequal lobes or teeth; the petals four or five, unequal, with claws; the stamens five to eight, with long filaments; the ovary superior, with no stalk, three-celled, with a slender style; the capsule leathery, roundish or slightly three-lobed, smooth or spiny, with one to three, large, polished seeds.

There are a good many kinds of Aesculus, or Horse Chestnut, natives of America and Asia; the leaves palmately compound, with toothed leaflets; the flowers of two sorts, the fertile ones few in number, near the top of the cluster, with long, thick styles, and the sterile flowers with short styles.

[Sidenote: =California Buckeye=
_Aésculus Califórnica_
=White
Spring, summer
California=]

One of our handsomest western shrubs, usually from ten to fifteen feet tall, with gray bark, and dark bluish-green foliage, the leaflets from five to seven in number, glossy on the upper side, pale and dull on the under, and firm in texture. The flowers have a rather heavy scent and are about an inch across, with four or five, slightly irregular, white petals, which become pink in fading, a pinkish ovary and long stamens with curling, white filaments, unequal in length, with buff anthers. They are crowded in a magnificent, pyramidal cluster, about a foot long, which has a pinkish-red, downy stem, and the buds are also downy and pinkish, so that the color effect is warm-pink above, merging into cream-white below, the whole made feathery by the long stamens. The shrub has a rounded top of rich green foliage, symmetrically ornamented with spires of bloom, standing up quite stiffly all over it. The large, leathery pod contains a big, golden-brown nut, supposed to be poisonous to cattle. The leaves fall off very early in the season, leaving the pods hanging on the bare branches. This is at its best in the mountain valleys of middle California, sometimes becoming a good-sized tree.

BUCKTHORN FAMILY. _Rhamnaceae._

A large family; shrubs, or small trees, of temperate and warm regions, some with bitter, astringent properties, often thorny; leaves mostly alternate; stipules minute; flowers often in showy clusters, small, regular; calyx-lobes and stamens four or five; petals usually four or five, sometimes lacking, with claws. The short calyx-tube is lined with a fleshy disk and on this are borne the petals and the stamens, alternate with the sepals and opposite the petals, with swinging anthers. In some cases, some of the flowers have only pistils or only stamens. The ovary superior or partly inferior; the fruit a berry or capsule.

There are many kinds of Ceanothus, largely western; flowers small, blue or white, in clusters; calyx bell-shaped, five-lobed, with a colored, petal-like border; petals five, the tips arching to form a tiny hood, with long claws; stamens five, long, protruding, with threadlike filaments; ovary partly inferior; style three-cleft; capsule splitting open elastically so as to scatter the three, hard nutlets. The flowers make a soapy lather when rubbed in water, hence the name Soap-bush, and the kinds with rigid branches are called Buckbrush. Red-root is another name. Mountain Lilac is the commonest name, but misleading. Lilacs belong to another family.

[Sidenote: =Squaw Carpets, Mahala Mats=
_Ceanòthus prostràtus_
=Blue
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]

This decorative shrub is common in the Sierras and carpets the forest floor with a rich green, leafy mat, sprinkled with small, feathery clusters of blue flowers. The trailing stems are clothed with leathery leaves, opposite and very glossy, and the little flowers are deep purplish-blue, with yellow stamens, and slightly scented. These plants are equally attractive late in the season when the flowers are replaced by scarlet seed-vessels, with three horns.

[Sidenote: =Snow Brush, Mountain Lilac=
_Ceanòthus velùtinus_
=White
West, except Ariz.=]

A fine shrub, two to twelve feet high, with stout trunk and branches, easily recognized by its leaves, which are rich green, thick and resinous, shiny as if varnished on the upper side and sometimes rich chocolate-brown in color, but pale on the under side, with three, conspicuous nerves. The small, sweet-scented flowers are crowded in compact, creamy clusters, sometimes four or five inches long, very handsome, but not so delicate as Deer-brush. This is common on hillsides and in the mountains, up to seven thousand feet.

Squaw-Carpets--Ceanothus prostratus.]

[Sidenote: =Deer-brush, Mountain Lilac=
_Ceanòthus integérrimus_
=White, blue
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash., Ariz.=]

A graceful shrub, or small tree, six to fifteen feet tall, the slender trunk and branches covered with dull yellowish-green bark and the bright green foliage setting off the feathery flower clusters, two to six inches long, scattered lightly over the bush and composed of innumerable, tiny, sweet-scented blossoms. The leaves are alternate, half an inch to three inches long, toothless, thin in texture, very slightly downy or smooth, with three veins, and the flowers cream-white, occasionally blue or pink, with conspicuous stamens, which give the plume-like sprays a delicate foamy effect against the dark forest background. This shrub is a beautiful sight when in flower and sometimes covers the mountainsides with drifts of snowy bloom, filling the air with delicate perfume. It is quite variable and sometimes has dark shiny leaves and small compact clusters of flowers. It is often called White Tea-tree, because the bark is used medicinally.

[Sidenote: =Blue Mountain Lilac=
_Ceanòthus parvifòlius_
=Blue
Summer
California=]

An attractive mountain shrub, growing in Yosemite, and elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at similar altitudes, low and spreading, about three feet high, with smooth, pale green branches and small, smooth, toothless leaves, dark green and shining on the upper side, pale on the under. The oblong clusters of minute blue flowers are slightly sweet-scented and about two inches long.

MALLOW FAMILY. _Malvaceae._

A large family, widely distributed; mostly herbs, with mucilaginous juice and tough, fibrous bark; leaves alternate, mostly palmately-veined and lobed, with stipules; flowers regular, perfect, or the stamens and pistils on different plants; sepals five, often with an outer row of bracts below, resembling another calyx; petals five, their bases or claws united with each other and with the base of the stamen-tube; stamens numerous, united by their filaments into a column, forming a tube enclosing the pistils; fruit a capsule, breaking when ripe into several one-seeded parts, or splitting down the back of the valves, allowing the seeds to escape. The little fruits are commonly called "cheeses." True Mallows are introduced "weeds" in this country.

Blue Mountain Lilac--C. parvifolius.]

[Sidenote: =Arizona Wild Cotton=
_Thurbéria thespesioìdes (Ingenhouzia triloba)_
=White
Summer
Arizona=]

The only kind, a fine shrub, from four to eight feet high, with smooth leaves, most of them with three lobes, and handsome cream-white flowers, tinged with pink on the outside and measuring two inches across. This grows in the mountains of southern Arizona and is beautiful under cultivation, often growing to a height of six or eight feet in a season.

There are a number of kinds of Sidalcea, difficult to distinguish; perennials; leaves round in general outline, variously cut and lobed; flowers showy, in terminal clusters; calyx with no outer bracts, or with only one; stamen-column double; stigmas threadlike, distinguishing them from Malvastrum and Sidalcea.

[Sidenote: =Rose Mallow=
_Sidálcea Califórnica_
=Pink
Spring
California=]

This has velvety leaves, those from the root much less deeply lobed than the others, and a slender, slightly hairy stalk, one to two feet tall, leaning to one side and bearing a loose raceme of rose-pink flowers, with petals about an inch long. Only one or two flowers are open at a time, but they are very pretty and conspicuous in open woods and along the edges of fields, around Santa Barbara, in May.

[Sidenote: =Oregon Mallow=
_Sidálcea Oregàna_
=Pink
Summer, autumn
Northwest=]

A pretty plant, with one or more smooth, pale, branching stems, about two feet tall, and dark green leaves, with conspicuous veins. The buds are downy and the flowers are about three-quarters of an inch across, with pale pink petals, prettily veined, shading to white at the center. The anthers are white and the pistil, when the stigmas have expanded, is prettily tipped with a tiny crimson brush.

Rose Mallow--S. Californica.]

[Sidenote: =Checker-bloom=
_Sidálcea malvaeflòra_
=Pink
Spring
California=]

A pretty perennial, with several leaning, hairy stems, one or two feet tall, and dark green leaves. Some plants have perfect flowers, an inch or more across, often very pale pink, and others have only rudimentary stamens and smaller flowers, usually deep pink in color, but the plant is very variable. This is common near the coast. It is sometimes called Wild Hollyhock.

[Sidenote: =Mallow=
_Sidálcea Neo-Mexicàna_
=Pink
Summer
Ariz., Utah, New Mex., Col., Wyo.=]

This is from one to three feet tall, with smooth, rather dark green leaves and very pretty, pale purplish-pink flowers with pale-yellow anthers and pinkish pistil. This grows in the mountains.

There are many kinds of Malvastrum, natives of America and Africa; perennial herbs or shrubs; the calyx often with three outer bracts; the stamen-column bearing anthers at the top; the stigmas with round heads. The name is from the Greek, meaning "star-mallow."

[Sidenote: =Spotted Mallow=
_Malvástrum rotundifòlium_
=Pink
Spring
Southwest=]

A very pretty desert plant, from six to eight inches tall, the coloring of the flowers, stems, and leaves vivid and oddly contrasting, for the stems are bright red and hairy, and the leaves stiff, hairy, and bronze-green in color, while the lovely globe-shaped flowers, which are over an inch across, are delicately shaded from lilac to rose outside and paler inside, with conspicuous round blotches of orange-vermilion at the base of each petal within. The calyx and buds are very hairy, the petals each have a twist to one side, and the mauve stamens form a pretty cluster in the center. These flowers last a long time in water, closing at night and opening again in the morning.

Mallow--Sidalcea Neo-Mexicana.]

[Sidenote: =False Mallow=
_Malvástrum Thúrberi_
=Pink
Spring, summer
California=]

A handsome shrub, from five to ten feet high, woody below, with long, slender, wandlike branches and thick, very downy, light bluish-green leaves. The pretty lilac-pink flowers are from one to nearly two inches across and pleasantly scented, and the foliage is soft and pretty in appearance, though rather harsh to the touch, its pale tones blending harmoniously with the delicate blossoms. This is common in southern California.

There are several kinds of Lavatera, mostly from the Old World.

[Sidenote: =Tree Mallow=
_Lavàtera assurgentiflòra_
=Pink
Spring
California=]

This was planted in the mission gardens by the Fathers and is now common around San Francisco. It is a branching shrub, from six to fifteen feet high, with a twisted, gray trunk and large handsome leaves, light green and very soft and smooth to the touch, paler and downier on the under side. The flowers are handsome and conspicuous, two or three inches across, with bright pink petals, warm and rich in tone, beautifully striped with maroon and shading to yellowish-white towards the center, with a purple pistil and grayish anthers. The flowers and seed-vessels hang on curved pedicels, like pipe-stems, giving a rather odd effect. The leaves and twigs are very mucilaginous.

There are many kinds of Sphaeralcea, much like Malvastrum, except that they have two or three ovules, instead of one, in each cavity of the ovary. The name is from the Greek, meaning "globe-mallow," in allusion to the usually roundish fruit.

[Sidenote: =Scarlet Mallow=
_Sphaerálcea pedàta_
=Red
Spring
Southwest=]

These graceful wands of brilliant bloom are very common in spring in Arizona. The flowers are over an inch across, vivid yet delicate in color, shading from luminous scarlet to clear pale-orange. The buds are tipped with deeper red and the foliage is rather pale green, somewhat hairy and downy. The stems are from one to two feet tall and bend slightly to one side, swaying to and fro in the wind and displaying their flaming blossoms to great advantage.

False Mallow--Malvastrum Thurberi.]

ST. JOHN'S-WORT FAMILY. _Hypericaceae._

Not a large family, mostly natives of temperate and warm regions. Ours are herbs, sometimes shrubby, without stipules, with opposite, toothless leaves, with clear or black dots; the flowers regular and complete, all the parts borne on the receptacle; the sepals and petals usually five; the stamens usually numerous, sometimes grouped in three to five clusters; the ovary superior; the fruit a capsule.

There are many kinds of Hypericum, widely distributed; the leaves without leaf-stalks, the flowers yellow, with three to six styles. This is the ancient Greek name. These plants bloom in June, about St. John's Day, and so tradition gives them magic properties, appropriate to the Eve of that day, when fairies and witches are abroad, and they are commonly called St. John's-wort.

[Sidenote: =St. John's-wort=
_Hypéricum concínnum_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]

This has very pretty flowers and grows from three to eighteen inches tall, with smooth stems, branching and woody at base, and smooth, rather bluish-green leaves, usually folded, not clasping at base, usually with only a few dots. The flowers are an inch or more across, with bright golden petals, with some black dots, and numerous stamens in three bunches, forming large, fuzzy, golden centers. This grows on dry hills and is supposed to be poisonous to sheep.

[Sidenote: =St. John's-wort=
_Hypéricum formòsum var. Scoúleri_
=Yellow
Summer
West=]

A pretty plant, from six inches to three feet tall, with a stiff stem, often branching towards the top, and rather dull green leaves, blunt, oblong and clasping at base, about an inch long, thin in texture, with black dots on the margins. The flowers are from half an inch to an inch across, with bright yellow petals, dotted with black, and are very pretty, but not so handsome as the last. This grows in moist places, chiefly in the mountains, and is common in Yosemite.

[Sidenote: =Creeping St. John's-wort=
_Hypéricum anagalloìdes_
=Orange
Summer
Northwest=]

An attractive little plant, only a few inches tall, with many weak, slender, branching stems, spreading on the ground and rooting at the joints, and small, smooth, light yellowish-green leaves, often tinged with red. It grows in wet places and forms close mats of foliage, sprinkled with light-orange or salmon-colored flowers, a quarter of an inch or more across, with fifteen to twenty, yellow stamens. The effect is something like Anagallis, Scarlet Pimpernel, hence the name. This is common in Yosemite and similar places, up to nine thousand feet.

St. John's-wort--Hypericum formosum var. Scouleri.

Creeping St. John's-wort--H. anagalloides.]

FOUQUIERA FAMILY. _Fouquieriaceae._

A very small family, with one genus and only a few species; natives of the Southwest and Mexico; the flowers are brilliant red, in terminal clusters; the sepals five, not united; the petals five, united into a tube, the lobes somewhat spreading; the stamens ten to fifteen, protruding, inserted under the pistil; the ovary imperfectly three-celled; the styles three, long, somewhat united; the seeds three to six, oblong, flattened, surrounded by a membranous wing or long, white hairs. These plants are very puzzling, but interesting, and as they are not nearly related they have at various times been classified with other families.

[Sidenote: =Flaming Sword, Ocotillo, Candle Flower=
_Fouquièra spléndens_
=Red
Spring
Ariz., Cal., New Mex.=]

A magnificent desert shrub, when in full bloom, but strangely forbidding in aspect in spite of its beauty. Its many stiff stems, from six to twenty feet tall, entirely without branches, stand up stiffly from the root, like a bunch of wands, and are armed their whole length with terrible thorns, which in the spring are masked with beautiful foliage, like little apple leaves. From the tip of each wand springs a glorious cluster, from six to ten inches long, composed of hundreds of scarlet flowers, each about an inch long, and crowded closely together, suggesting a flame and waving to and fro in the wind with a startling effect against the pale desert sand. When the flowers and leaves are gone, the clumps of dry, thorny sticks look quite dead and it is hard to believe that they were so splendid early in the season. They make an impenetrable fence and are much used by the Indians for hedges.

VIOLET FAMILY. _Violaceae._

A rather large family, widely distributed, but we have only three genera, the principal one being Viola, which is the ancient Latin name, used by Virgil.

There are many kinds of Viola, widely distributed, blooming in spring, but often flowering again in the autumn; low, perennial herbs, with stipules; leaves alternate, or from the root; flowers complete, irregular, nodding, nectar-yielding, usually single; sepals five, with small ear-shaped projections at the base; petals five, slightly bearded within, so as to afford a foothold for bees, the lowest petal larger and with a spur at the back; stamens five, short, with broadened filaments and anthers opening inward, so as to cover the pistil all but the end of the style, the two lower anthers with spurs at the base, which project into the spur of the petal; ovary superior and one-celled; style club-shaped, with a one-sided stigma. The flowers are often of two kinds, the earlier ones with long flower-stalks, with petals and showy, but not producing seed; the later ones with short stalks, with small or no petals, but fertile, often cleistogamous, that is, fertilized in the bud. The capsule splits open and as the three valves dry they fold firmly together lengthwise and force out the seeds.

[Sidenote: =Pine Violet=
_Vìola lobàta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]

A pretty plant, growing in the woods, with leafy stems, from four to fourteen inches high, with leafy stipules and smooth, rather light green leaves, deeply lobed, so that they look unlike most Violet leaves. The flowers are more or less clustered, an inch or more across, with bright yellow petals, veined with purple inside, tinged with purplish-brown outside, the two side petals with a little hairy patch at the base inside.

[Sidenote: =Western Heartsease=
_Vìola ocellàta_
=White and yellow
Spring, summer
Cal., Oreg.=]

A shy little woodland plant, from five to twelve inches tall, with creeping rootstocks and small, dry stipules. The flowers are an inch or less across, the two upper petals white, tinged with reddish-purple on the outside, and the other petals white or yellow, with a splash of purple on each of the two side petals and the lower one veined with purple. This grows in shady woods.

Pine Violet--V. lobata.]

[Sidenote: =Yellow Mountain Violet=
_Vìola venòsa_
=Yellow
Spring
Northwest and Utah=]

An attractive kind, usually about three inches tall, with almost smooth leaves, often with purplish veins, with blunt tips and margins obscurely or coarsely toothed, or almost toothless, and with long leafstalks. The flowers are usually less than half an inch long, with clear yellow petals, more or less tinged with purple on the outside, the lower petal usually with several, purplish-black veins, the two side petals with one or two veins. This has no scent, the capsule is roundish and hairy, and the cleistogamous flowers are abundant. It grows on dry mountainsides and is very variable both as to flower and foliage and much smaller at great altitudes, the whole plant being not more than an inch high. The drawing is of a Utah plant.

[Sidenote: =Canada Violet=
_Vìola Canadénsis_
=Pale-violet, white
Spring, summer
West, etc., except Cal.=]

This is quite tall, the slender, rather weak stems being sometimes over a foot high, with smooth leaves, often with some hairs on the veins of the under side. The flowers, over half an inch across, with a short petal-spur, are almost white, delicately veined with purple, yellow in the throat and tinged with violet or purple on the outside. Occasionally they are pure-white all over and sometimes sweet-scented. The capsule is oval and smooth. This is common in eastern mountain woods, and to eastern eyes looked far from home when we found it in Walnut Canyon in Arizona.

[Sidenote: =Pale Mountain Violet=
_Vìola adúnca var. glàbra_
=Pale-blue
Spring, summer
Utah=]

This is small and low, about three inches high, with leafy stems, forming a clump of small, smooth, more or less toothed leaves, with blunt tips, dark green on the upper side and paler on the under, with two, quite large, fringed bracts at the bases of the leaf-stalks, and two, small, fringed bracts on the flower-stems, half an inch below the flower. The flowers are scentless, measure less than half an inch across, and are pale-blue or almost white, with veins of dark blue on the lower petal and tufts of white, fuzzy hairs inside, at the base of the side petals, the spur purplish. This grows in mountain canyons, at a height of five thousand to nine thousand feet, and is very small at great altitudes.

Canada Violet--Viola Canadensis.

Pale Mountain Violet--V. adunca var. glabra.]

[Sidenote: =Blue violet=
_Vìola adúnca var. lóngipes_
=Blue, purple
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]

A pretty plant, two to four inches high, with slightly hairy leaves and flowers nearly an inch long, with bright purplish-blue or violet petals, more or less veined with purple, the side petals hairy at base inside. This grows near the coast.

[Sidenote: =Johnny Jump-up, Yellow Pansy=
_Vìola pedunculàta_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

Charming flowers, often growing in quantities on open hillsides. The leafy stems are from two to six inches high, the leaves rather dark green and the scentless flowers, about an inch across, have bright golden petals, with some purple lines at the base of the three lower ones, the spur and upper petals tinged with brownish-purple on the outside, the two side petals hairy at base inside, and the stigma hairy. The Spanish-Californian name is Gallito. There is no technical difference between Pansies and Violets.

LOASA FAMILY. _Loasaceae._

Not a very large family, all but one natives of America; herbs, armed with hooked, stinging or sticky hairs; without stipules; the flowers perfect, with five sepals and five to ten petals; the stamens numerous, with threadlike filaments, the outer ones sometimes petal-like, inserted with the petals on the throat of the calyx and usually arranged in clusters opposite the petals; the ovary inferior, with a threadlike style; the capsule crowned with the calyx-lobes.

There are many kinds of Mentzelia, all western, often with white shining stems and alternate leaves; the calyx cylindrical or top-shaped, with five lobes; the petals five or ten; the styles three, somewhat united. The barbed hairs which clothe the stems and leaves make the plant stick to whatever it touches, probably helping to distribute the seeds, hence the common name Stick-leaf.

[Sidenote: =Blazing Star=
_Mentzèlia laevicàulis_
=Yellow
Summer, autumn
West, except Wash. and Ariz.=]

A stout, branching biennial, two to over three feet tall, with shining white stems, almost smooth, long, rather narrow, wavy-toothed leaves and enormous flowers, in clusters of two or three at the ends of the branches and opening only in bright sunlight. They are from three to five inches across, with five, broad, light yellow petals and quantities of very long stamens, making a beautiful center. Five of the stamens have broadened filaments, resembling narrow petals, the style is three-cleft, and the capsule is oblong, containing many flat, winged seeds. These plants usually grow in dry stream-beds and are not rare, but through various accidents I have never been able to secure a drawing of either this or the next.

Johnny Jump-up--Viola pedunculata.]

[Sidenote: =Evening Star=
_Mentzèlia Líndleyi_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]

A more slender plant than the last, with magnificent flowers, two and a half inches across, which open in the evening and remain open during the following morning. They have five, broad petals, with pointed tips, bright golden-yellow, colored with vermilion at the base, and handsome yellow centers. The filaments are very slender, some of the outer ones slightly broadened at base, and the style is not cleft. This grows in the mountains. There is a drawing of it in Miss Parsons's _Wild Flowers of California_. It is called Buena Mujer, or Good Woman, by the Spanish Californians, because the leaves stick so tightly to one.

[Sidenote: _Mentzèlia multiflòra_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest, Utah, etc.=]

An odd-looking plant, with very pale, straggling stems and thickish leaves, a pretty shade of pale green, all exceedingly disagreeable to touch. The buds are tipped with salmon-color and the flowers are an inch and a half to two inches across, with a long green calyx-tube with buff lobes, ten petals, bright yellow inside and pale buff outside, and pretty, fuzzy, yellow centers. They open in the evening, about five o'clock, and the plant would be pretty, in spite of its harsh foliage, if more of the flowers were out at one time. This is common along roadsides in the Southwest and in New Mexico and Colorado.

[Sidenote: _Mentzèlia gracilénta_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]

This has several pale greenish or pinkish stems, from a few inches to a foot and a half tall, which look smooth but are very harsh to the touch, springing from a cluster of stiff, harsh, dull-green leaves, variously lobed or toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch across, with glossy, bright yellow petals and beautiful, fuzzy, yellow centers, and are very delicate and pretty.

M. gracilenta.]

ROCK-ROSE FAMILY. _Cistaceae._

A rather large family, mostly of the Mediterranean region; herbs or low shrubs; flowers regular, perfect, all the parts borne on the receptacle; sepals five, the two outer ones smaller and bract-like, or lacking; petals three to five; stamens many; ovary superior, one-celled, with a single style, or none; fruit a capsule, with several or many seeds.

There are many kinds of Helianthemum, widely distributed, perennials; leaves alternate, undivided, toothless; flowers yellow and, in most North American species, of two sorts; the earlier ones with large, yellow petals, very numerous stamens and a many-seeded pod; the later ones, small, clustered, with small petals or none, three to ten stamens, and small, few-seeded pods.

[Sidenote: =Rock-rose=
_Heliánthemum scopàrium_
=Yellow
Spring
California=]

A pretty plant, with many, slender stems and narrow, yellowish-green leaves, forming clumps from one to two feet high. The flowers are half an inch to three-quarters of an inch across, the buds and calyxes reddish and the petals clear yellow, the pistil greenish, with a three-lobed stigma. In favorable situations, such as Point Loma, this makes attractive little bushes, neat yet feathery, suggesting large clumps of grass, sprinkled thickly with flowers.

CACTUS FAMILY. _Cactaceae._

A large family, nearly all natives of America and of dry or desert places, with strange characteristics, which make them easily recognized as a whole, but many of the individuals have not yet been studied or described; fleshy plants, with thick stems, often flattened, ridged or covered with knobs, mostly without leaves, usually with spines, which generally protrude from cushions of small bristles; the flowers perfect, regular, showy, and mostly single; sepals, petals, and stamens all numerous; ovary inferior, with a long style and several stigmas; fruit usually a pulpy berry, containing many seeds.

There are many kinds of Echinocactus, round or oval plants, mostly ribbed, with bunches of spines of several kinds, arranged in straight or spiral rows; the fruits scaly, though spineless.

[Sidenote: =Barrel Cactus, Bisnaga=
_Echinocáctus Wislizèni_
=Yellow, reddish
Summer
Southwest=]

A common and useful kind, the shape and often the size of a barrel, covered with spines. The Indians cut off the top of the plant and pound the pulp with a stick into a soft mass, which they squeeze with their hands, extracting a large amount of watery juice, which is wholesome and not unpalatable and has often saved lives in the desert. Indians use the spines for fish-hooks, hence a common name, Fishhook Cactus, and the celebrated cactus candy is made from it. The flowers are large.

There are many kinds of Echinocereus, oblong or cylindrical, spiny plants, generally a few inches tall, usually growing in clumps; stems ridged, or with spiny ribs; fruits spiny.

[Sidenote: =Hedgehog Cactus=
_Echinocèreus Polyacánthus_
=Red
Spring
Ariz., New Mex. Tex.=]

This forms a clump of several stems, each about the shape and size of a cucumber, and armed with bunches of long, stiff spines. The flowers are two or three inches long, with deep red petals, dull pink anthers, and a bright green pistil. This grows in the Grand Canyon.

There are many kinds of Opuntia, with jointed stems, cylindrical or flattened, armed with bristles, usually with spines. The fruits and fleshy joints are good for fodder, if the spines are removed, and hence there has been much inquiry into the economic value of these plants. It has been found that the spiny species are the most valuable for fodder, under extremely arid conditions, as the spines can be burned off, while the unarmed forms are subject to the attacks of so many animals that a crop cannot be secured without the protection of fences. The spines are removed either by singeing the growing plant with a torch, or the upper parts are cut off and thrown into a fire, or sometimes the plants are made into fodder by being chopped up, spines and all, in a machine. The Prickly Pears in Sicily and the Orient came from America.

[Sidenote: _Opúntia acanthocàrpa_
=Yellow
Spring
Southwest=]