Chapter II: Preface (1)

To the thoughtless a flower is often a trivial thing--beautiful perhaps, and worthy of a passing glance--but that is all. But to the mind open to the great truths of the universe, it takes on a deeper significance. Such a mind sees in its often humble beginnings the genesis of things far-reaching and mighty. Two thousand years ago one grain of the shower of pollen wafted upon the wind and falling upon a minute undeveloped cone, quickened a seed there into life, and this dropping into the soil pushed up a tiny thread of green, which, after the quiet process of the ages, you now behold in the giant Sequoia which tosses its branches aloft, swept by the four winds of heaven.

Whether manifesting itself in the inconspicuous flower upon the tree or in the equally unassuming inflorescence of the vegetable, or unfurling petals of satin or gauze of brilliant hue and marvelous beauty, the blossom is the origin of most that is useful or beautiful in the organic world about us. Strip the world of its blossoms, and the higher forms of life must come to a speedy termination. Thus we see the flower playing a wonderfully important part in the cosmos around us. It becomes henceforth not only a thing of beauty for the gratification of the aesthetic sense, but the instrument by which Nature brings about the fullness of her perfection in her own good season.

* * * * *

There is perhaps no nature-study that can yield the same amount of pure and unalloyed pleasure with so little outlay as the study of the wild flowers. When one is interested in them, every walk into the fields is transformed from an aimless ramble into a joyous, eager quest, and every journey upon stage or railroad becomes a rare opportunity for making new plant-acquaintances--a season of exhilarating excitement.

Mr. Burroughs, that devout lover of nature, says: "Most young people find botany a dull study. So it is, as taught from the text-books in the schools; but study it yourself in the fields and woods, and you will find it a source of perennial delight. Find your flower, and then name it by the aid of the botany. There is so much in a name. To find out what a thing is called is a great help. It is the beginning of knowledge; it is the first step. When we see a new person who interests us, we wish to know his or her name. A bird, a flower, a place--the first thing we wish to know about it is its name. Its name helps us to classify it; it gives us a handle to grasp it by; it sheds a ray of light where all before was darkness. As soon as we know the name of a thing, we seem to have established some sort of relation with it."

Having learned the name of a flower or plant, or having been formally introduced to it, as it were, our acquaintance has but just begun. Instead of being our end and aim, as it was with students of botany in the olden times, this is but the beginning. If this were our ultimate aim, all our pleasure would be at an end as soon as we had learned the names of all the plants within our reach. But the point of view has changed and broadened. The plant is now recognized as a _living organism_, not a dead, unchanging thing. It is _vital_; it grows; it is amenable to the great laws of the universe; and we see it daily complying with those laws, adapting itself to its surroundings--or perishing. It becomes a thing of absorbing interest when we trace the steps by which it has come to be what it is; when we note its relationship to other closely allied forms, and locate its place in the great world of plants.

A thoughtful observation of the structure of plants alone will fill the mind with amazement at the beauty of their minutest parts, the exquisite perfection of every organ. Then it is most interesting to notice the various kinds of places where the same plants grow; how they flourish in different soils and climates; how they parry the difficulties of new and unaccustomed surroundings, by some change of structure or habit to meet the altered conditions--as clothing themselves with wool, to prevent the undue escape of moisture, or twisting their leaves to a vertical position for the same purpose, or sending their roots deep into the earth to seek perennial sources of moisture, which enables them to flourish in our driest times. It is wonderful to note, too, the methods employed to secure the distribution of the seed--how it is sometimes imbedded in a delicious edible fruit, again furnished with hooks or bristles or springs, or provided with silken sails to waft it away upon the wings of the wind. Then the insects that visit plants. It is marvelous to note how plants spread their attractions in bright colors and perfumes and offerings of honey to bees, butterflies, and moths that can carry their pollen abroad, and how they even place hindrances in the way of such as are undesirable.

Studied in this way, botany is no longer the dry science it used to be, but becomes a most fascinating pursuit; and we know of no richer field in which to carry on the study of flowers than that afforded in California.

* * * * *

There has been a long-felt need of a popular work upon the wild flowers of California. Though celebrated throughout the world for their wealth and beauty, and though many of them have found their way across the waters and endeared themselves to plant lovers in many a foreign garden, the story of their home life has never yet been told.

It has been the delightful task of the author and the illustrator of the present work to seek them out in their native haunts--on seashore and mesa, in deep, cool cañon, on dry and open hill-slope, on mountain-top, in glacier meadow, by stream and lake, in marsh and woodland, and to listen to the ofttimes marvelous tales they have had to unfold. If they shall have succeeded in making better known these children of Mother Nature to her lovers and appreciators, and in arousing an interest in them among those who have hitherto found the technical difficulties of scientific botany insurmountable, they will feel amply rewarded for their labors.

The present work does not claim by any means to be a complete flora of the region treated. Our State is so new, and many parts of it have as yet been so imperfectly explored, that a comprehensive and exhaustive flora of it must be the work of a future time, and will doubtless be undertaken by some one when all the data have been procured. Such an attempt, however, were it possible, is without the scope of the present work.

California, with her wonderfully varied climate and topography, has a flora correspondingly rich and varied, probably not surpassed by any region of like area in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus the author finds herself confronted with an embarrassment of riches rather than with any lack of material; and it has often been exceedingly difficult to exclude some beautiful flower that seemed to have strong claims to representation. She therefore craves beforehand the indulgence of the reader, should he find some favorite missing.

In making a choice, she has been guided by the following general principles, and selected, _first_--the flowers most general in their distribution; _second_--those remarkable for their beauty of form or color, their interesting structure, history, or economic uses; _third_--those which are characteristically Californian. At the same time, those which are too insignificant in appearance to attract attention and those too difficult of determination by the non-botanist have been omitted. Flowering plants only have been included.

Many of our species extend northward into Oregon and Washington. Thus, while this work is called "THE WILD FLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA," it will in a certain measure apply equally well to Oregon and Washington.

It has been the aim of the author to picture for the most part the flowers peculiarly Californian, leaving Mrs. Dana's charming book, "How to Know the Wild Flowers," to illustrate those we possess in common with the Atlantic Slope, thus making the works the complements one of the other.

Mrs. Dana has kindly permitted the author to use her plan of arrangement--_i.e._ of grouping all the white flowers in one section, the yellow in another, the pink in a third, and so on, which, in the absence of a key, greatly facilitates the finding of any given flower. The flowers of each section have been arranged as nearly as possible according to their natural succession in the seasons, with one or two exceptions.

Such confusion is rife in the nomenclature of Californian plants, and the same plant is so often furnished with several names,--and several plants sometimes with the same name,--that the authority is in every instance quoted, in order to make it perfectly clear what plant is meant by the name given. Wherever allusion is made to the Spanish-Californians, the Spanish-_speaking_ Californians are meant, very few of whom are Castilians at the present day, most of whom are of an admixture of races.

The flower-cuts are all from pen-and-ink drawings by the illustrator; and all but four are from her own original studies from nature. These four, which it was impossible for her to procure, have been adapted by her from other drawings, by the aid of herbarium specimens. They include _Aphyllon fasciculatum_, _Fremontia Californica_, _Hosackia gracilis_, and _Brodiaea volubilis_. It has been impossible upon so small a page to maintain a uniform relative size in the drawings, for which reason the plant-descriptions in fine print should be consulted for the size.

The author and the illustrator desire to make grateful acknowledgments to many kind friends throughout the State who have rendered them assistance in numerous ways. Their gratitude is due in particular to Miss Alice Eastwood, of the California Academy of Sciences, who, by her unfailing kindness and encouragement, as well as by her personal assistance, has rendered them invaluable aid. Also, to Mr. Carl Purdy, of Ukiah, who from his wide experience, as a grower of our native liliaceous plants, has a knowledge of them shared by few or none, and who has generously placed at their disposal the results of his observations. They also tender their thanks to the Southern Pacific and the North Pacific Railways, who, by their generous granting of reduced rates and passes, have made possible a wider personal acquaintance with the flowers than could have otherwise been enjoyed.

San Rafael, Cal., October 15, 1897.

TABLE OF PLATES

PAGE

ACONITE _Aconitum Columbianum_ 329
ALFALFA _Medicago sativa_ 327
ALFILERILLA _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
ALPINE HEATHER _Bryanthus Breweri_ 247
ALPINE PHLOX _Phlox Douglasii_ 249
ALUM-ROOT _Heuchera micrantha_ 59
AMERICAN BARRENWORT _Vancouveria parviflora_ 89
ANEMONE, WOOD _Anemone quinquefolia_ 19
AUGUST-FLOWER _Grindelia cuneifolia_ 177
AZULEA _Sisyrinchium bellum_ 285
AZURE BEARD-TONGUE _Pentstemon azureus_ 309

BABY-BLUE-EYES _Nemophila insignis_ 291
BEACH-ASTER _Erigeron glaucus_ 305
BEAUTIFUL CLARKIA _Clarkia concinna_ 237
BEE-PLANT, CALIFORNIAN _Scrophularia Californica_ 343
BELLFLOWER _Campanula prenanthoides_ 323
BIG-ROOT _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27
BLAZING-STAR _Mentzelia Lindleyi_ 169
BLEEDING-HEART _Dicentra formosa_ 243
BLUE-BLOSSOM _Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_ 275
BLUE-EYED GRASS _Sisyrinchium bellum_ 285
BLUE GENTIAN _Gentiana calycosa_ 331
BLUE GILIA _Gilia Chamissonis_ 297
BLUE LARKSPUR _Delphinium_ 277
BLUE-AND-WHITE LUPINE _Lupinus bicolor_ 301
BLUE MILLA _Brodiaea laxa_ 303
BLUE MYRTLE _Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_ 275
BLUEWEED _Aconitum Columbianum_ 329
BRODIAEA _Brodiaea capitata_ 263
BRONZE-BELLS }
BROWN LILY } _Fritillaria lanceolata_ 265

CALF'S-HEAD _Darlingtonia Californica_ 391
CALIFORNIA FUCHSIA _Zauschneria Californica_ 367
CALIFORNIA LILAC _Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_ 275
CALIFORNIA POPPY _Eschscholtzia Californica_ 115
CALIFORNIAN AZALEA _Rhododendron occidentale_ 87
CALIFORNIAN CENTAURY _Erythraea venusta_ 219
CALIFORNIAN ROSE-BAY _Rhododendron Californicum_ 235
CALIFORNIAN SLIPPERY-ELM _Fremontia Californica_ 159
CALYPSO _Calypso borealis_ 211
CANAIGRE _Rumex hymenosepalus_ 379
CANCER-ROOT _Aphyllon fasciculatum_ 173
CANCHALAGUA _Erythraea venusta_ 219
CAT'S-EARS _Calochortus Maweanus_ 279
CHAMISE LILY _Erythronium giganteum_ 137
CHAPARRAL LILY _Lilium rubescens_ 73
CHAPARRAL PEA _Pickeringia montana_ 231
CHIA _Salvia Columbariae_ 299
CHILICOTHE _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27
CHRISTMAS-HORNS _Delphinium nudicaule_ 347
CLIMBING PENTSTEMON _Pentstemon cordifolius_ 351
CLOCKS _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
CLUSTER-LILY _Brodiaea capitata_ 263
COLLINSIA _Collinsia bicolor_ 295
COLUMBINE _Aquilegia truncata_ 349
COMMON ASTER _Aster Chamissonis_ 333
COMMON MONKEY-FLOWER _Mimulus luteus_ 135
CORAL-ROOT _Corallorhiza Bigelovii_ 273
CREAM-COLORED WALL-FLOWER _Erysimum grandiflorum_ 133
CREAM-CUPS _Platystemon Californicus_ 113
CURRANT, CALIFORNIAN WILD _Ribes glutinosum_ 215

DEERWEED _Hosackia glabra_ 153
DIOGENES' LANTERN _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145
DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET _Erythronium giganteum_ 137
DUTCHMAN'S PIPE _Aristolochia Californica_ 375

FALSE LADY'S SLIPPER _Epipactis gigantea_ 389
FALSE MALLOW _Malvastrum Thurberi_ 221
FALSE TIDY-TIPS _Leptosyne Douglasii_ 149
FAREWELL TO SPRING _Godetia viminea_ 241
FAWN-LILY _Erythronium giganteum_ 137
FETID ADDER'S-TONGUE _Scoliopus Bigelovii_ 257
FIRECRACKER FLOWER _Brodiaea coccinea_ 239

FIREWEED _Epilobium spicatum_ 245
FOUR-O'CLOCK, CALIFORNIAN _Mirabilis Californica_ 209
FRINGED GILIA _Gilia dianthoides_ 217

GODETIA _Godetia viminea_ 241
GOLDEN LILY-BELL _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145
GOLDEN STARS _Bloomeria aurea_ 155
GOOSEBERRY, FUCHSIA-FLOWERED _Ribes speciosum_ 339
GREAT WILLOW-HERB _Epilobium spicatum_ 245
GROUND-IRIS _Iris macrosiphon_ 281
GROUND-PINK _Gilia dianthoides_ 217
GUM-PLANT _Grindelia cuneifolia_ 177

HAIRBELL _Calochortus albus_ 55
HAREBELL, CALIFORNIAN _Campanula prenanthoides_ 323
HARVEST BRODIAEA _Brodiaea grandiflora_ 319
HEN-AND-CHICKENS _Cotyledon Californicum_ 143
HOUND'S-TONGUE _Cynoglossum grande_ 259
HUCKLEBERRY _Vaccinium ovatum_ 201
HUMMING-BIRD'S TRUMPET _Zauschneria Californica_ 367

INDIAN LETTUCE _Montia perfoliata_ 17
INDIAN PAINT-BRUSH _Castilleia parviflora_ 345
INDIAN PINK _Silene Californica_ 355
INDIAN WARRIOR _Pedicularis densiflora_ 337
ITHURIEL'S SPEAR _Brodiaea laxa_ 303

LADIES' TRESSES _Spiranthes Romanzoffianum_ 93
LANTERN OF THE FAIRIES _Calochortus albus_ 55
LARGE-FLOWERED BRODIAEA _Brodiaea grandiflora_ 319
LESSINGIA _Lessingia leptoclada_ 253
LITTLE ALPINE LILY _Lilium parvum_ 181
LOCO-WEED _Astragalus leucopsis_ 41
LUCERN _Medicago sativa_ 327

MANZANITA _Arctostaphylos manzanita_ 13
MARIPOSA TULIP _Calochortus venustus_ 79
MATILIJA POPPY _Romneya Coulteri_ 65
MEADOW-FOAM _Floerkia Douglasii_ 127
MILKWEED, COMMON _Asclepias Mexicana_ 313
MILKWEED, HORNLESS WOOLLY _Gomphocarpus tomentosus_ 381
MILK-WHITE REIN-ORCHIS _Habenaria leucostachys_ 95
MILKWORT, CALIFORNIAN _Polygala Californica_ 287
MINER'S LETTUCE _Montia perfoliata_ 17

MIST-MAIDENS _Romanzoffia Sitchensis_ 23
MONK'S-HOOD _Aconitum Columbianum_ 329
MOTTLED SWAMP-ORCHIS _Epipactis gigantea_ 389
MOUNTAIN BALM _Eriodictyon glutinosum_ 57
MOUNTAIN LADY'S SLIPPER _Cypripedium montanum_ 383

PENNYROYAL _Monardella villosa_ 325
PENTACHAETA _PentachAEta aurea_ 125
PEPPER-ROOT _Dentaria Californica_ 5
PIN-CLOVER _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
PINE-DROPS _Pterospora andromedea_ 187
PINK PAINT-BRUSH _Orthocarpus purpurascens_ 229
PIPE-VINE _Aristolochia Californica_ 375
PIPSISSIWA _Chimaphila Menziesii_ 105
PITCHER-PLANT, CALIFORNIAN _Darlingtonia Californica_ 391
PITCHER-SAGE _Sphacele calycina_ 43
POISON-OAK _Rhus diversiloba_ 9
POLÉO _Monardella villosa_ 325
POP-CORN FLOWER 31
PRICKLY PHLOX _Gilia Californica_ 207
PRINCE'S PINE _Chimaphila Menziesii_ 105
PUSSY'S-EARS _Calochortus Maweanus_ 279
PUSSY'S-PAWS _Spraguea umbellata_ 71

QUININE-BUSH _Garrya elliptica_ 371

RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN _Goodyera Menziesii_ 99
RATTLE-WEED _Astragalus leucopsis_ 41
RED-STEMMED FILAREE _Erodium cicutarium_ 195
REDWOOD-SORREL _Oxalis Oregana_ 197
REIN-ORCHIS _Habenaria elegans_ 385
RESIN-WEED _Grindelia cuneifolia_ 177
RICE-ROOT _Fritillaria lanceolata_ 265
ROMERO _Trichostema lanatum_ 317
RUBY LILY _Lilium rubescens_ 73

SAXIFRAGE, CALIFORNIAN _Saxifraga Californica_ 15
SCARLET BUGLER _Pentstemon centranthifolius_ 359
SCARLET GILIA _gilia Aggregata_ 361
SCARLET HONEYSUCKLE _Pentstemon cordifolius_ 351
SCARLET LARKSPUR, NORTHERN _Delphinium nudicaule_ 347
SCARLET PAINT-BRUSH _Castilleia parviflora_ 345
SHOOTING-STARS _Dodecatheon Meadia_ 205
SIERRA PRIMROSE _Primula Suffrutescens_ 251

SILK-TASSEL TREE _Garrya elliptica_ 371
SKULLCAP _Scutellaria tuberosa_ 271
SNAPDRAGON, VIOLET _Antirrhinum vagans_ 321
SNOW-PLANT _Sarcodes sanguinea_ 363
SOAP-PLANT _Chlorogalum pomeridianum_ 83
SPRING-BLOSSOM _Dentaria Californica_ 5
STICKY MONKEY-FLOWER _Mimulus glutinosus_ 139
ST. JOHN'S-WORT _Hypericum concinnum_ 163
SULPHUR-FLOWER _Eriogonum umbellatum_ 179
SUN-CUPS _OEnothera ovata_ 111
SUNSHINE _Baeria gracilis_ 125
SWEET-SCENTED SHRUB, CALIF'N. _Calycanthus occidentalis_ 353

TARWEED _Hemizonia luzulaefolia_ 189
TARWEED _Madia elegans_ 183
TIDY-TIPS _Layia platyglossa_ 149
TOOTHWORT _Dentaria Californica_ 5
TOROSA _Eschscholtzia Californica_ 115
TREE-MALLOW _Lavatera assurgentiflora_ 227
TREE-POPPY _Dendromecon rigidum_ 119
TRILLIUM, CALIFORNIAN _Trillium sessile_ 261
TWIN-BERRY _Lonicera involucrata_ 123
TWINING HYACINTH _Brodiaea volubilis_ 233

VILLELA _Sisyrinchium bellum_ 285
VIOLET NIGHTSHADE _Solanum Xanti_ 269

WAKE-ROBIN _Trillium ovatum_ 11
WHIPPLEA _Whipplea modesta_ 33
WHISPERING BELLS _Emmenanthe penduliflora_ 131
WHITE EVENING PRIMROSE _OEnothera Californica_ 49
WHITE FORGET-ME-NOT 31
WHITE OWL'S CLOVER _Orthocarpus versicolor_ 53
WHITE-VEINED SHINLEAF _Pyrola picta_ 101
WILD BROOM _Hosackia glabra_ 153
WILD BUCKWHEAT _Eriogonum fasciculatum_ 35
WILD CANTERBURY-BELL _Phacelia Whitlavia_ 289
WILD COREOPSIS _Madia elegans_ 183
WILD CUCUMBER _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27
WILD CURRANT, CALIFORNIAN _Ribes glutinosum_ 215
WILD CYCLAMEN _Dodecatheon Meadia_ 205
WILD GINGER _Asarum caudatum_ 311
WILD HELIOTROPE _Phacelia tanacetifolia_ 283

WILD HOLLYHOCK _Sidalcea malvaeflora_ 199
WILD HYACINTH _Brodiaea capitata_ 263
WILD PEONY _Paeonia Brownii_ 341
WILD PIE-PLANT _Rumex hymenosepalus_ 379
WILD PORTULACA _Calandrinia caulescens_ 213
WIND-FLOWER _Anemone quinquefolia_ 19
WOOD-BALM _Sphacele calycina_ 43
WOOLLY BLUE-CURLS _Trichostema lanatum_ 317

YELLOW DAISY _Layia platyglossa_ 149
YELLOW GLOBE-TULIP _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145
YELLOW PANSY _Viola pedunculata_ 121
YELLOW SAND-VERBENA _Abronia latifolia_ 147
YERBA BUENA _Micromeria Douglasii_ 63
YERBA MANSA _Anemopsis Californica_ 77
YERBA SANTA _Eriodictyon glutinosum_ 57

ZYGADENE _Zygadenus Fremonti_ 7

---- _Baccharis Douglasii_ 107
---- _Gilia androsacea_ 223
---- _Hosackia gracilis_ 167

HOW TO USE THE BOOK

When gathering flowers with a view to ascertaining their names with the help of the botany, the whole plant--root, stem, leaves, flowers, buds, and fruit--should be secured, if possible. This will avoid much uncertainty in the work.

The anthers are best seen in the unopened buds, and the ovary in old flowers or those gone to seed. A cross-section of the ovary will show the number of its cells.

The flowers should be sorted into colors, and each in turn looked for in its own color-section. In arranging the flowers according to color, some difficulty has been experienced, because the pink blends so gradually into the purple, and the purple into white, etc., that it has been impossible sometimes to say accurately to which section a flower rightly belongs. In such a case search must be made in the other probable section. Sometimes the same flower occurs in several colors, in which case it is usually put into the section in whose color it most frequently occurs. In the Red Section have been included flowers of a scarlet hue, not those of crimson or magenta hues, as these have a tendency to merge into pink or purple. Flowers of a greenish-white are usually put into the White Section, those of more decided green into the Miscellaneous.

It is an excellent plan for the student to write a careful description of his plant before beginning to look for it in the book; commencing with the root, passing on to stem, leaves, inflorescence, calyx, corolla, etc., taking the order of the technical descriptions in the book. This will serve to do away with that vacillating condition of mind which is often the result of reading a number of plant-descriptions before fixing firmly in mind the characters of the specimen under consideration.

A magnifying-glass--or a small dissecting microscope and a good Zeiss lens, if more careful work is to be done,--a couple of dissecting needles, a pocket-knife, and a small three or four-inch measure, having one of the inches divided into lines, will be required for examining specimens.

It is also a good plan to make a note of the date and place of collection of all plants, as it is often of great interest to know these facts at some future time.

Plants are grouped into great orders, or families, which are made up of a number of genera, each genus consisting of a number of species. Every plant has two Latin names; the first a generic name, answering to the last name of a person; the second a specific name, answering to a person's given name. The latter is usually descriptive of some quality or character of the plant, the name of the place where found, or of its discoverer, or of some person in whose honor it is named. This dual name serves to clearly distinguish the species from all others, especially when the name of the person by whom the specific name was bestowed is added.

Each plant-family bears an English title, which is usually the name of its best-known genus. Thus the order _Leguminosae_ is known as the "Pea Family" because _Lathyrus_, or the pea, is its best-known genus. In many instances the English names borne by orders in the Eastern States have no significance with us, as the type genus is not found in our flora. In such cases we have given the name of the genus best known among us, to which we have added the other; thus, "Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family."

Most of our plants have common English names, and the same plant is often known by one name in one locality and by another in another. Hence, while these names are often pretty and apt, they cannot serve for the accurate identification of the plant. For this we must consult its Latin name, by which it is known all over the world.

Wherever the terms used are not understood, reference should be made to the "Explanation of Terms" or to the Glossary.

For identification of species not found in the present work, other books should be consulted. The two large volumes of the botany of the Geological Survey of California are the most complete of anything thus far published. In addition to these, "The Synoptical Flora of North America," as far as published (the _Gamopetalae_, the _Compositae_, and some orders of the _Polypetalae_), furnishes valuable aid. Professor E.L. Greene's works, "The Botany of the Bay Region," "Pittonia," and "Flora Franciscana," furnish excellent plant-descriptions for the more advanced botanist. The author's technical descriptions have in every instance been verified by comparison with one or more of the above works.

Miss Eastwood's little volume, recently published as Part Second of "Bergen's Elements of Botany," (and also issued in separate form), is recommended for use in connection with the present work, as it embodies in compact form a general view of the method of classification of plants, showing their places in the plant-world and their relations to one another. It also contains very clear descriptions of plant-families. To the student who becomes interested in knowing more about the structure of plants, Gray's "Structural Botany" will prove useful; and the large work of Oliver and Kerner (translated from the German) will prove a fascinating book.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

[The following simple definitions of the more common terms used
have been mostly taken or adapted from the works of Asa Gray
and others, and will prove useful to those unacquainted with
botany, or to those whose memories require refreshing.]

ROOTS

The =root= is that portion of the plant which grows downward, fixing it to the soil, and absorbing nourishment from the latter. True roots produce nothing but root-branches or rootlets.

Simple or unbranched roots are named according to their shapes--

_conical_, when like the carrot;

_napiform_, when like the turnip;

_fusiform_, when like the long radish.

Multiple, or branched, roots may be--

_fascicled_, or bunched, as in the dahlia;

_tubercular_, when furnished with small tubers;

_fibrous_, when threadlike.

STEMS

The =stem= is the ascending axis of the plant, which usually bears the leaves, flowers, and fruit. The points on the stem to which the leaves are fastened are called the =nodes=; and the portions of stem between the nodes are called the =internodes=. The angle formed by the upper side of the leaf and the stem is called the =axil=.

Stems aboveground are classed as--

_erect_, when growing upright;

_procumbent_, when lying on the ground without rooting;

_decumbent_, when lying on the ground with the tip ascending;

_diffuse_, when loosely spreading;

_creeping_, when growing on the ground and rooting.

Stems underground are classed as =rhizomes= (or =rootstocks=) =tubers=, =corms=, and =bulbs=, the forms passing into one another by gradations.

A =rhizome=, or =rootstock=, is a horizontal underground stem. It
is sometimes thick, fleshy, or woody, as in the iris;

a =tuber= is a short, much thickened rootstock, having eyes or
buds of which the potato is an example;

a =corm= is a depressed and rounded, solid rootstock; it may be
called a solid bulb; the garden cyclamen is an example;

a =bulb= is a leaf-bud, commonly underground, with fleshy scales
or coats; the lily is an example.

LEAVES

=Leaves= are the green expansions borne by the stem, out-spread in the air and light, in which assimilation is carried on. They may be said to be the stomachs of the plant. A typical leaf consists of three parts--the =blade=, the =foot-stalk= (or =petiole=), and a pair of =stipules=. Yet any one of these parts may be absent.

The =blade= is the expanded portion of the leaf and the part to
which the word _leaf_, in its commonest sense, is applied;

the =stipules= are small, usually leaflike bodies borne at the
base of the petiole, usually one on either side;

the =petiole= is the stalk of the leaf.

=Leaves= are =simple=, when having but one blade; =compound=, when having more than one, when each blade is called a =leaflet=.

Compound leaves are said to be--

_pinnate_, when the leaflets are arranged along the sides of a
petiole, or rather of its prolongation, the rachis;

_abruptly pinnate_, with an even number of leaflets;

_odd-pinnate_, with an odd leaflet at the end;

_palmate_, or _digitate_, when the leaflets all diverge from
the summit of the petiole, like the fingers of a hand.

VENATION

The venation, or veining, of leaves relates to the mode in which the woody tissue, in the form of ribs, veins, etc., is distributed in the cellular tissue.

There are two principle modes--

the _parallel-veined_, of which the iris is an example;

the _reticulated-veined_, or _netted-veined_, of which the Elm
is an example.

Small veins are called =veinlets=.

FORM

As to general form, or outline, leaves are:--

Those broadest in the middle--

_peltate_, or shield-shaped, when rounded, with the stem
attached to the center, or near it--as in the garden
nasturtium;

_orbicular_, when circular in outline, or nearly so;

_oval_, when having a flowing outline, with the breadth
considerably more than half the length, and both ends alike;

_elliptical_, when having a flowing outline, twice or thrice as
long as broad, and both ends alike;

_oblong_, when nearly twice or thrice as long as broad;

_linear_, when narrow, several times longer than wide, and of
about the same width throughout;

_acerose_, when needle-shaped--like the Pine.

Those broadest at the base--

_deltoid_, when having the triangular shape of the Greek letter
_delta_;

_ovate_, when having an outline like the section of a
hen's-egg, the broader end downward;

_lanceolate_, or lance-shaped, when several times longer than
broad, and tapering upward, or both upward and downward;

_subulate_, when shaped like an awl;

_cordate_, when ovate, with a heart-shaped base;

_reniform_, when like the last, only rounder and broader than
long;

_auriculate_, when having a pair of small blunt projections, or
ears, at the base;

_sagittate_, or arrow-shaped, when those ears are acute and
turned downward, the body of the leaf tapering upward;

_hastate_, or halberd-shaped, when the ears or lobes point
outward.

Those broadest at the apex--

_obovate_, when inversely ovate;

_oblanceolate_, when inversely lanceolate;

_spatulate_, when rounded above, and long and narrow below,
like a druggist's spatula;

_cuneate_, or wedge-shaped, when broad above, tapering by
straight lines to an acute base;

_obcordate_, when inversely cordate.

Sometimes no one of the above terms will describe a leaf, and it becomes necessary to combine two of them; as, _linear-spatulate_, _ovate-lanceolate_, etc.

THE APEX

Leaves are classified according to their apices; as--

_emarginate_, when having a decided terminal notch;

_truncate_, when abruptly cut off;

_obtuse_, when ending in a blunt or roundish extremity;

_acute_, when ending in an acute angle, without special
tapering;

_acuminate_, when tapering into a narrow, more or less
prolonged end;

_mucronate_, when abruptly tipped with a small, short point.

THE MARGIN

Leaves are classified according to their margins; as--

_entire_, when the margin is completely filled out to an even
line;

_repand_, or _undulate_, when the margin is a wavy line;

_dentate_, or _toothed_, when the teeth point outward;

_crenate_, or _scalloped_, when dentate, with the teeth
rounded;

_serrate_, when having small sharp teeth directed forward;

_incised_, when cut by sharp and irregular incisions more or
less deeply;

_lobed_, when cut not more than half-way to the midrib, and the
divisions or their angles are rounded;

_cleft_, when cut half-way down or more, and the lobes or
sinuses are narrow or acute;

_parted_, when the cutting reaches almost but not quite to the
midrib;

_divided_, when the blade is cut into distinct parts, thus
making the leaf compound.

All these terms may be modified by the words _pinnate_ or _palmate_; thus--_pinnately parted_, _pinnately divided_, _palmately parted_, _palmately divided_, etc.; also by the adjectives _once_, _twice_, _thrice_, etc.

TEXTURE

Leaves vary as to texture, and may be--

_coriaceous_, or leathery;

_succulent_, or juicy;

_scarious_, or dry and thin;

_fleshy_, or thick;

_herbaceous_, or thin.

ARRANGEMENT

According to their arrangement on the stem, leaves are--

_alternate_, when distributed singly at different heights on
the stem;

_opposite_, when two stand opposite each other at the nodes;

_whorled_, when more than two are borne at a node, equidistant
in a circle around the stem.

INFLORESCENCE

=Inflorescence= is a term commonly applied to the mode of flowering--_i.e._ to the arrangement of blossoms on the stem and their relative positions to one another.

A =peduncle= is the stem of a solitary flower, or the main stem
of a flower-cluster;

a =scape= is a peduncle growing from the ground;

a =pedicel= is the stem of each flower in a cluster;

a =bract= is a small floral leaf;

an =involucre= is a collection of bracts around a flower-cluster
or around a single flower.

Flowers may be solitary or clustered.

Solitary flowers or flower-clusters are--

_terminal_, when borne at the summit of the stem;

_axillary_, when borne in the axils of the leaves.

A flower-cluster is called--

a =raceme=, when the flowers are arranged along the axis upon
pedicels nearly equal in length;

a =corymb=, when the flowers are arranged as in the raceme, with
the lower pedicels elongated, making the cluster flat-topped;

an =umbel=, when the pedicels arise from the same point, like the
rays of an umbrella, and the cluster is flat-topped;

a =panicle=, when compound, irregularly made up of a number of
racemes;

a =spike=, when like a raceme, the flowers being without
pedicels;

a =spadix=, when it is a fleshy spike, generally enveloped by a
large bract, called a =spathe=, as in the calla-lily;

an =ament=, or =catkin=, when it is a pendent spike, with scaly
bracts, like the Willow;

a =head=, when it is a shortened spike, with a globular form;

a =cyme=, when it is branched and flat-topped, usually compound,
with the older flowers in the center of each simple cluster.

THE INDIVIDUAL FLOWER

A =complete flower= consists of =stamens= and =pistils= (the organs of reproduction), and =calyx= and =corolla= (the floral envelops which protect the stamens and pistils). But any one of these organs may be absent.

The =calyx= is the outer floral envelop, which is more often
green, though it is sometimes colored. It may consist of a
number of separate parts, called =sepals=, or these may be more
or less united.

The =corolla= is the inner floral envelop. It is usually colored,
and forms the most beautiful feature of the flower, and plays
an important part in attracting insects to it, which may carry
on the work of fertilization. It may consist of a number of
separate parts, called =petals=, or these may be more or less
united, in which case the corolla is said to be _gamopetalous_.
When the calyx and corolla are much alike, and seem like one
floral circle, this is referred to as a =perianth=.

The =stamens= and =pistils= are called the =essential organs= of a
flower, because they are necessary to the maturing of the
fruit.

=Perfect flowers= have both sets of essential organs.

=Imperfect flowers= have but one set of essential organs.

_Staminate_ (or male) _flowers_ have only stamens;

_Pistillate_ (or female) _flowers_ have only pistils.

_Neutral flowers_ have neither.

THE STAMEN

The =stamen= consists of two parts--the =filament= and the =anther=. The filament is the stalk of the stamen. The anther is the little case holding the =pollen=, or powdery substance, which, falling upon the stigma, is conducted downward into the ovary, where it quickens the ovules into life. The anther normally consists of two cells, which more often open lengthwise for the discharge of the pollen, though they sometimes open by terminal pores or chinks, or by uplifting lids.

Stamens sometimes undergo a morphological change, taking the form of scales or other bodies (as is the case in many of our _Brodiaeas_), when they are called =staminodia=.

THE PISTIL

The =pistil= is the organ occupying the center of the flower. It consists of three parts--the =ovary=, or the enlarged part below, consisting of one or more cells or cavities, and containing the ovules, or unfertilized seed; the =style=, or the stem which upholds the stigma; the =stigma=, or the roughened portion which receives the pollen.

The pistil is _simple_, when it has but one ovary, style, stigma, etc.; _compound_, if any one of these is duplicated.

THE FRUIT

The =fruit= is the ripened ovary. After the ovules have been fertilized, the ovary is called a =pericarp=. Fruits may be either _fleshy_ or _dry_.

The following are some of the principal kinds of dry fruits:--

A =capsule= is a dry, dehiscent (splitting) fruit, composed of
more than one carpel or division;

an =akene= is a small, dry, hard, one-celled, one-seeded
indehiscent fruit;

a =follicle= is a pod formed from a single pistil, dehiscing
along the ventral suture only;

a =legume= is a simple pericarp, opening by both seams.

a =samara= is a dry, indehiscent fruit, having a wing.

The following are some of the principal kinds of fleshy fruits:--

A =pome= is a fruit like an apple or pear;

the =pepo=, or =gourd=, fruit is like that of the melon, squash,
etc.;

the =drupe= is like that of the cherry, plum, and peach;

the =berry= is like that of the grape, currant, and tomato.

=Aggregate fruits= are those in which a cluster of carpels, all of one flower, are crowded upon the receptacle into one mass; as in the raspberry and blackberry.

IMPORTANT PLANT FAMILIES AND GENERA

[To avoid too long technical descriptions in the body of the
work, a few of the more important plant families and genera
have been inserted below, to which reference has been made in
the technical descriptions.]

FAMILIES

=Cruciferae.= Mustard Family.

Herbs with pungent, watery juice. _Leaves._--Alternate; without
stipules; entire or divided. _Flowers._--Generally in racemes.
_Sepals._--Four. _Petals._--Four; usually with narrowed base or
claw; the blades spreading to form a cross. _Stamens._--Six;
two of them shorter than the other four. _Ovary._--Two-celled;
rarely one-celled. Style undivided, or none. Stigma entire or
two-lobed. _Fruit._--A silique--_i.e._ a capsule, in which the
walls separate upward away from a central partition.

The Mustard family is a very large one, comprising over a hundred and seventy genera, and containing between one and two thousand species. It is widely distributed over all parts of the world, but is most abundantly represented in the cooler or temperate regions. It furnishes us with many useful plants; such as the mustard, horseradish, radish, cabbage, turnip, cauliflower, etc.

The genera of this order are very closely allied, and very difficult of discrimination. The fruit, as well as the flower, is necessary in the study of any given species.

=Leguminosae.= Pea Family.

The order _Leguminosae_ is divided into three well-marked sub-orders--the Pea family proper, the Brasiletto family, and the Mimosa family. But as all our genera, save _Cercis_, fall under the first, we shall describe that only.

PAPILIONACEAE. Pea Family proper.

Herbs, shrubs, or trees. _Leaves._--Usually alternate;
compound; with stipules; the latter sometimes transformed into
thorns or tendrils. _Flowers._--Seldom solitary; usually in
spikes, racemes or umbels. _Calyx._--Five-toothed; often
bilabiate. _Corolla._--Irregular; of five petals;
_papilionaceous_--_i.e._ the two lower petals more or less
coherent, forming the _keel_; the two lateral ones often
adherent to the keel, called the _wings_; the upper petal
called the _standard_ or _banner_. Stamens and pistil inclosed
in the keel. _Stamens._--Ten; their filaments either coherent
into a tube surrounding the pistil; or nine of them united into
a sheath, open above, the tenth lying in front of the cleft; or
rarely all distinct. _Ovary._--Superior; one-celled.
_Style._--Simple and incurved. _Stigma._--Simple. _Fruit._--A
two-valved pod, of which the garden pea is typical.

The Pea family, including its three sub-orders, is one of the most important plant-families known. It is distributed over almost the entire world, and furnishes some of the most valuable products to man. The Judas-tree, the numerous acacias, and the sweet pea, are well known in our gardens; while among our most valuable vegetables are the bean, the pea, and the lentil. The clover and alfalfa are extremely important forage plants.

The order furnishes several important timber-trees, in different parts of the world, such as the Rosewood, the Laburnum, and the Locust; and yields numerous products of economic importance, such as licorice, senna, gum Senegal, gum Arabic, gum tragacanth, balsam of copaiba, balsam of Tolu, indigo, logwood, red sandalwood, etc.

=Compositae.= Composite Family.

Herbs, rarely shrubs. _Leaves._--Usually alternate; without
stipules. _Flowers._--In a close head on a common _receptacle_,
surrounded by an _involucre_, whose divisions are called
_scales_ or _bracts_. _Calyx-tube._--Adnate to the one-celled
ovary; its limb (called a _pappus_) crowning its summit in the
form of bristles, awns, scales, teeth, etc.; or cup-shaped; or
else entirely absent. _Corolla._--Either strap-shaped or
tubular; in the latter chiefly five-lobed. _Stamens._--Five
(rarely four); on the corolla; their anthers united in a tube.
_Style._--Two-cleft at the apex. _Fruit._--An akene. Flowers
with strap-shaped corollas are called _ray flowers_ or _rays_.
The _tubular flowers_ compose the disk.

The Composite family is the largest of all plant-families, numbering twelve thousand species and upward, and is widely distributed over the world. In the cooler parts of the world the plants are mostly herbaceous, but toward the tropics they gradually become shrubs, and even trees. In North America they comprise about one sixth of all the flowering plants.

For so large a family there are comparatively few useful plants found in it. Among the products of the order, may be mentioned chicory, lettuce, the artichoke, the vegetable oyster, arnica, chamomile-flowers, wormwood, absinth, elecampane, coltsfoot, taraxacum, oil of tansy, etc. But our gardens owe to this family innumerable beautiful and showy plants such as the China aster, the chrysanthemum, the cosmos, zinnia, dahlia, ageratum, gaillardia, coreopsis, sunflower, etc., etc.

The plants of this family are quickly recognized by the flowers being always borne in a head and surrounded by an involucre, and presenting the appearance of a single flower. The heads are sometimes made up entirely of one kind of flower. The dandelion and the chicory are examples of a head made up entirely of ray-flowers, while the thistle consists of tubular flowers only. The more common arrangement, however, is the mixed one, comprising both tubular disk-flowers and strap-shaped rays, as in the daisy. The seeds are usually furnished with silken down or a delicate parachute to waft them abroad.

The identification of the flowers of this order is a very difficult matter, even for experienced botanists.

=Labiatae.= Mint Family.

Herbs with square stems. _Leaves._--Opposite; usually aromatic.
_Flowers._--Axillary, or often in whorls or heads.
_Corolla._--Bilabiate (rarely regular). _Stamens._--Four (or
only two). _Ovary._--Deeply four-lobed; becoming four seedlike
nutlets. Style single; arising from the midst of the lobes.

The plants of this order are easily recognized by the traits in the above description. But some of these traits are shared by the plants of the Figwort family, which have also the bilabiate corolla. The distinguishing character, however, is always to be found in the _four-lobed ovary_ for the Figworts have a two-celled ovary.

This order is a large one; and there are no noxious or poisonous plants to be found in it. On the contrary, it comprises many useful plants, too well known almost to need enumeration--such as the lavender, peppermint, sage, horehound, thyme, spearmint, horsemint, pennyroyal, etc.

GENERA

CEANOTHUS, L. Buckthorn Family.

Shrubs or small trees, sometimes spinescent.
_Leaves._--Opposite or alternate; petioled; variously toothed
or entire. _Flowers._--Blue or white; small, usually not more
than two or three lines across; borne in showy thyrsoid or
cymose clusters. _Calyx._--Petaloid; with short tube and
five-cleft border, the lobes acute and connivent.
_Petals._--Five; long-clawed; hooded; inserted on the
calyx-tube. _Stamens._--Five; opposite the petals; long
exserted. _Ovary._--Three-lobed; three-celled. Style short;
three-cleft. _Fruit._--Dry; consisting of three dehiscent
nutlets; sometimes crested.

The genus _Ceanothus_ is mainly a Western one. Of its thirty or more species, two thirds are found in the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

In California we have about twenty species; and these all hybridize to such an extent, that often the determination of any given species is a very difficult matter. The genus reaches its culmination in the mountains of Santa Cruz County, where there are many beautiful species. Many of the species are commonly known as "California lilac."

LUPINUS, Catullus. Pea Family.

_Leaves._--Palmately divided, with from one to sixteen
leaflets; stipules adnate; seldom conspicuous.
_Leaflets._--Entire; sessile. _Flowers._--In terminal racemes,
whorled or scattered. _Calyx._--Deeply bilabiate; upper lip
notched; lower usually entire, or occasionally three-toothed or
cleft. _Corolla._--Papilionaceous. _Standard._--Broad, with
sides reflexed. _Wings._--Falcate; oblong; commonly slightly
united at the tip in front of and inclosing the falcate,
usually slender, pointed keel. _Stamens._--With their filaments
united in a tube; of two forms; five with longer and basifixed
anthers; the alternate five with shorter and versatile ones.
_Pod._--Compressed; straight; two-valved. Style slender. Stigma
bearded.

The Lupines are mostly plants of Western America. In fact, they are so abundant between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean that that territory is known among botanists as the "Lupine Region."

The species, which are very numerous, are difficult of determination, requiring very long technical descriptions, which cannot be given in a work like the present. For this reason we have been able to give but a few of the more easily recognized.

We have in California upwards of forty species. They are of little economic importance, although one or two species have been found very useful in the reclaiming of sand-dunes. Several species have been cultivated for ornament. The leaves are often beautiful and the flower-clusters showy.

The generic name is supposed to come from the Latin _lupinus_, a _wolf_, and to have been given because of the voracity evinced by the species in exhausting the soil.

ASTRAGALUS, Tourn. Pea Family.

Herbs, or sometimes plants woody at base. _Leaves._--Alternate;
with stipules; unequally pinnate. _Flowers._--Rather small;
chiefly in simple axillary spikes or racemes, upon a commonly
elongated peduncle; papilionaceous. _Calyx._--Five-toothed.
_Corolla_ and its slender-clawed petals usually narrow. Keel
not pointed. _Stamens._--Nine united; one free.
_Ovary._--One-celled; sometimes apparently two-celled.
_Pod._--Very various; commonly inflated. _Seeds._--Few to many
on slender stalks; generally small for the size of the pod.

The genus _Astragalus_ is a very large one, comprising many species in most parts of the world, save Australia and South Africa. About two hundred species are native of North America, most of which are found in the region west of the Mississippi River. Of these several are known as "loco-weed," and are poisonous to sheep and cattle.

Very few species of this genus have any economic value. _A. gummifer_ and some other similar species of Western Asia, low, spiny shrubs, yield the gum tragacanth of commerce.

OENOTHERA, L. Evening-Primrose Family.

Herbs, or plants sometimes woody at the base.
_Leaves._--Alternate. _Flowers._--Axillary or in spikes or
racemes. _Calyx-tube._--More or less prolonged above the ovary
with four reflexed segments.

_Petals._--Four; obcordate to obovate; sessile; yellow to
white, often tinged with red or turning red in fading.
_Stamens._--Eight; equal; or those opposite the petals shorter.
Anthers perfect; two-celled; versatile. _Ovary._--Four-celled;
many ovuled. Style filiform. Stigma four-lobed or capitate.
_Fruit._--A capsule with the seeds in one or two rows in each
cell.

The name _OEnothera_ is from two Greek words, meaning _wine_ and _a hunt_, or _pursuit_. Mr. Gray tells us that it was given in ancient times to some plant whose roots were eaten to provoke a relish for wine.

This is a large genus, containing a hundred or more species, which are mostly confined to America, about a quarter of them being Californian. Many of them are very beautiful and have long been favorites in gardens. The flowers are yellow or white, and are commonly designated as "evening primroses," as many of them open upon the edge of evening.

GODETIA, Spach. Evening-Primrose Family.

The genus _Godetia_ is closely allied to that of _OEnothera_; but is distinguished from the latter in several points. Its flowers are purple, lilac, or rose-colored--never yellow; the anthers are basifixed--_i.e._ fixed by their bases--not versatile; and the stigma, instead of being capitate, has four linear lobes.

The plants of this genus were formerly included under _OEnothera_; but it has been thought best to put them into a separate genus, which has been named for a Dr. Godet.

There are numerous species, many of them very beautiful and showy. They vary a great deal under different conditions and in different seasons, and are not well understood by botanists as yet.

The genus is confined to the western coast of North America, and is most largely represented in California.

The species flower mostly in late spring and early summer, which has given rise to the pretty name of "farewell to spring" for the plants of this genus.

GILIA, Renz. and Pav. Phlox or Polemonium Family.

Herbs or plants somewhat shrubby at base. _Leaves._--Opposite
or alternate; simple or compound; without stipules. Many
species with showy flowers. All the parts of the flower five,
except the pistil, which has a three-celled ovary and a
three-lobed style. _Calyx._--Imbricated in the bud.
_Corolla._--Regular; funnel-form, salver-form, or sometimes
short campanulate or rotate; convolute in the bud.
_Stamens._--Five; on the corolla alternate with its lobes;
distinct. Filaments mostly slender; sometimes unequal in
length; not bearded at base.

This genus was named in honor of Philip Gil, a Spanish botanist. In America the name is pronounced _jil'i-a_, though according to the rules of the Spanish language _he'li-a_ would be the correct pronunciation.

This is a comparatively large genus, comprising about a hundred species, most of which are native to the western parts of the United States. The flowers are often showy and beautiful, and some of them closely resemble the phloxes. A number are cultivated under the botanical name of _Ipomopsis_ or _Leptosiphon_.

PHACELIA, Juss. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

Herbs, mostly branched from the base and hairy.
_Leaves._--Alternate; the lower sometimes opposite; simple or
compound. _Flowers._--Usually in one-sided scorpioid racemes.
_Calyx._--Deeply five-parted; without appendages.
_Corolla._--From almost rotate to narrowly funnel-form;
five-lobed; with ten vertical plates or scales at the base
within. _Stamens._--Five; equally inserted low or at the base
of the corolla. _Ovary._--One-celled. Styles two; or one which
is two-cleft. _Fruit._--A capsule.

The name _Phacelia_ is from a Greek word signifying a _fascicle_, or _bunch_, and refers to the fascicled or clustered flower-racemes.

This genus is closely allied to _Nemophila_, but differs from it in several points. The calyx is not furnished with appendages at the sinuses; the corolla is imbricated in the bud--_i.e._ the lobes overlap one another in the manner of bricks in a wall,--and is not convolute, or rolled up, as in _Nemophila_.

This is mainly a North American genus, having about fifty species, about thirty of which are Californian. Many of the species have beautiful and showy flowers, and are cultivated in gardens. The blossoms are blue, violet, purple, or white, but never yellow (save sometimes in the tube or throat).

MIMULUS, L. Figwort Family.

_Leaves._--Opposite; simple. _Flowers._--Axillary on solitary
peduncles; sometimes becoming racemose by the diminution of the
upper leaves to bracts. _Calyx._--Tubular or campanulate;
mostly five-angled and five- toothed. _Corolla._--Funnel-form;
bilabiate; the upper lip erect, two-lobed; the lower
three-lobed; a pair of ridges, either bearded or naked, running
down the lower side of the throat. _Stamens._--Four. Anthers
often near together in pairs, with divergent cells.
_Ovary._--Superior; two-celled. Style filiform. Stigma
two-lipped, with the lips commonly dilated and petaloid.

The genus _Mimulus_ is so named from the shape of the corolla, which is supposed to resemble the gaping countenance of an ape. It comprises forty or fifty species, and affords us some of our most beautiful flowers. The greater number of species and the handsomest are Pacific, and several of our Californian species are especially prized in cultivation.

The plants of the genus are all known as "monkey-flowers." They exhibit an interesting character in the structure and movements of the stigma. It is usually composed of two somewhat expanded lips. These are extremely sensitive, and when touched, or when pollen has been received by them, they close quite rapidly.

ORTHOCARPUS, Nutt. Figwort Family.

Low herbs; almost all annuals. _Leaves._--Mainly alternate;
sessile; often cut into from three to five filiform divisions;
the upper passing into the bracts of the dense spike and
usually colored, as are the calyx-lobes.
_Calyx._--Short-tubular or oblong-campanulate; evenly
four-cleft, or sometimes cleft before and behind and the
divisions again cleft. _Corolla._--Tubular; the upper lip, or
galea, little or not at all longer than the lower; small in
comparison with the large, inflated, one- to three-saccate lower
one, which usually bears more or less conspicuous teeth.
_Stamens._--Four; inclosed in the upper lip.
_Ovary._--Two-celled. Style long. Stigma capitate. _Fruit._--A
capsule.

The genus _Orthocarpus_ is mainly Californian, comprising within our borders something less than twenty species. Most of them are to be found from San Francisco northward and in the mountains.

They are closely related to the _Castilleias_, and resemble them closely in habit. The difference between the two genera lies in the relative sizes of the upper and lower lips of the corolla. In _Castilleia_ the upper lip is the larger and more prominent; while in _Orthocarpus_ the lower is much more conspicuous, often consisting of three inflated sacs.

The species are quite difficult of determination.

"Owl's clover" is a common English name for the plants of this genus.

PENTSTEMON, Mitchell. Figwort Family.

Perennial herbs, or rarely shrubby. _Leaves._--Opposite, rarely
whorled; the upper sessile or clasping; the floral gradually or
abruptly reduced to bracts. _Flowers._--Usually red, blue,
purple, or white, rarely yellow; in raceme-like panicles.
_Calyx._--Five-parted. _Corolla._--With a conspicuous and
mostly elongated or ventricose tube; the throat swelling out on
the lower if on either side; the limb more or less bilabiate,
with the upper lip two-lobed and the lower three-cleft,
recurved, or spreading. _Stamens._--Four perfect; a fifth with
a bearded filament only. Anther cells mostly united or running
together at the summit. _Ovary._--Two-celled. Style long.
Stigma entire.

The name _Pentstemon_ is from two Greek words, signifying _five_ and _stamen_. It was bestowed upon this genus because the fifth stamen is present, though sterile.

The genus is a large one, comprising seventy species, most of which are North American, though a few are Mexican. It is most abundantly represented in the Pacific States and the States west of the Mississippi. California has over twenty species, many of them very beautiful, a number of them being in cultivation.

"Beard-tongue" is the common English name for the plants of this genus.

From so many charming species it has been very difficult to select; and if the reader finds some beautiful flower of this genus which is unnamed in these pages, he is advised to consult the technical botanies.

CALOCHORTUS, Pursh. Lily Family.

_Stem._--Branching; from a membranous-coated, sometimes
fibrous-coated corm. _Leaves._--Few; linear-lanceolate; the
radical one or two much larger than those of the flexuous or
erect stem. _Flowers._--Few to many; showy; terminal or
axillary, or umbellately fascicled. _Perianth._--Deciduous; of
six more or less concave segments; the three outer lanceolate,
greenish, more or less sepal-like; the inner (petals) mostly
broadly cuneate-obovate, usually with a conspicuous glandular
pit toward the base, which is apt to be hidden by long hairs.
_Stamens._--Six. Anthers erect; basifixed.
_Ovary._--Three-celled; three-angled. Stigmas three; sessile;
recurved. _Capsule._--Three-angled or winged.

The _Calochorti_ are the most widely diffused of all the liliaceous plants of the Pacific Coast, and comprise some of the most beautiful flowers in the world. "On the north they reach British America; one species is to be found as far east as Nebraska; and several are natives of Northern Mexico; and within these limits no considerable section of country is destitute of some species."[1] They are so closely allied to the true tulips that the common designation of them as "tulips" is not at all amiss.

The name _Calochortus_ signifies _beautiful grass_. The members of the genus fall naturally into three general groups:--

_First_--The GLOBE TULIPS, which have flexile stems, sub-globose, nodding flowers, and nodding capsules. Of these there are three--_C. albus_, _C. pulchellus_, and _C. amoenus_.

_Second_--The STAR TULIPS, having low, flexile stems, erect, starlike flowers, with spreading petals, and nodding capsules. They comprise _C. Benthami_, _C. Maweanus_, _C. coeruleus_, _C. apiculatus_, _C. elegans_, _C. Tolmei_, _C. umbellatus_, etc.

_Third_--The MARIPOSA TULIPS, which are usually tall, fine plants, with stiff, erect stems, having erect, cup-shaped or open-campanulate flowers, usually large and handsome, followed by erect capsules.

They have a few narrow, grasslike, radical leaves, which have usually dried away by the time of flowering, which is in early summer, after the ground has become dry and hard. These inhabit our dry, open hillsides and grassy slopes, loving a stony, clayey, sandy, or volcanic soil. They comprise over thirty different known forms, and others are constantly being discovered.

They have a tendency to hybridize, and the various forms sport and vary, and run into one another in such a wonderful manner that the exact determination of all the species is an impossible task to all but a few experts--and even they are not certain about them all yet. We have given only a few of the commonest or best-characterized species.

_Mariposa_ is the Spanish word meaning _butterfly_, and was applied on account of the marvelous resemblance of the markings of the petals of some of the forms to the wings of that insect.

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote 1: Mr. Carl Purdy.]

INTRODUCTORY