Chapter IV: Blue and Purple (1)

[_Blue or purple or occasionally or partially blue or purple flowers not described in the Blue and Purple Section._

_Described in the White Section_:--

ANTIRRHINUM COULTERIANUM--Coulter's Snapdragon.
AUDIBERTIA POLYSTACHYA--White Sage.
CALOCHORTUS LUTEUS OCULATUS--Butterfly Tulip.
CALOCHORTUS VENUSTUS--Mariposa Tulip.
CEANOTHUS INTEGERRIMUS--Mountain Birch; Tea-Tree; Soap-Bush.
ERIODICTYON GLUTINOSUM--Yerba Santa.
ERIODICTYON TOMENTOSUM--Yerba Santa.
LATHYRUS VESTITUS--Common Wild Pea.
MALACOTHRIX SAXATILIS.
MICROMERIA DOUGLASII--Yerba Buena.
SOLANUM DOUGLASII--Nightshade.
SPHACELE CALYCINA--Pitcher-Sage.
VIOLA BECKWITHII--Mountain Heart's-ease.

_Described in the Yellow Section_:--

ANAGALLIS ARVENSIS--Pimpernel.
CALOCHORTUS WEEDII--Mariposa Lily, or Tulip.
HOSACKIA CRASSIFOLIA.

_Described in the Pink Section_:--

CONVOLVULUS SOLDANELLA--Beach Morning-glory.
DODECATHEON MEADIA--Shooting-Stars.
ERIGERON PHILADELPHICUS--Common Fleabane.
GILIA ANDROSACEA.
GILIA CALIFORNICA--Prickly Phlox.
GILIA DIANTHOIDES--Ground Pink.
PENTSTEMON MENZIESII--Pride of the Mountains.
PHLOX DOUGLASII--Alpine Phlox.

_Described in the Red Section_:--

AQUILEGIA COERULEA.

_Described in the Miscellaneous Section_:--

DARLINGTONIA CALIFORNICA--Californian Pitcher-Plant.
DIPSACUS FULLONUM--Teasel.]

FETID ADDER'S-TONGUE.

_Scoliopus Bigelovii_, Torr. Lily Family.

_Leaves._--Two; oval-elliptical to narrowly oblanceolate; four
to fifteen inches long; blotched with brown. _Flowers._--Three
to twelve; on lax pedicels three to nine inches long.
_Sepals._--Whitish, veined with purple; spreading.
_Petals._--Erect; narrowly linear; wine-color without.
_Stamens._--Three. _Ovary._--One-celled; three-angled. Stigma
three-lobed. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges from Marin to Humboldt
County.

When the first white blossoms of the toothwort are making their appearance in moist woodlands, we may be sure that the fetid adder's-tongue is already pushing its shining green leaves aboveground away up in the cold cañons of north hill-slopes; and unless we hasten, we shall be too late to see its curious flowers. I have often arrived only in time to find its fruit, which resembles a beechnut in shape. When the flowers first open they stand erect, held in the shining chalice formed by the two sheathing green leaves. Later the leaves open out, showing their beautiful blotched surfaces, and the three-angled flower-stems become limp and twisted. The petals stand erect, and are so slender as to resemble three linear stigmas. The little oval anthers are green before opening, but soon become golden with the discharging pollen.

These flowers are elegant in appearance, and suggestive of orchids; but unfortunately they have a very offensive odor, like that of the star-fishes found upon our beaches, which makes us quite content to leave them ungathered. But the large yellow slug has no such aversion to them, and we have often seen him banqueting upon them. Indeed, he is so fond of them that the flowers are often entirely gone from the stems.

HOUND'S-TONGUE.

_Cynoglossum grande_, Dougl. Borage Family.

_Stem._--Two feet or so high. _Leaves._--Alternate;
long-petioled; ovate-oblong; pointed; usually rounded at base;
often a foot long. _Flowers._--Bright blue; in a terminal
panicle. _Calyx._--Deeply five-cleft. _Corolla._--Rotate; with
short tube and five-lobed border; having five beadlike crests
in the throat. _Stamens._--Five; on the corolla, alternate with
its lobes. _Ovary._--Four-lobed. Style undivided.
_Fruit._--Four prickly nutlets. _Hab._--From Marin County to
Washington.

Among the first plants to respond to the quickening influence of the early winter rains, is the hound's-tongue, whose large, pointed leaves begin to push their way aboveground usually in January. At first these are often quite velvety beneath and of a pinkish hue, and hold hidden within their midst the well-formed buds which a few warm, sunny days will call forth. The flowers, at first pink, become bright blue after fertilization has taken place.

The favorite haunts of this welcome blossom are half-shaded woods, where it rears its tall stalk in almost sole possession at this early season.

The common name is a translation of the generic name, which is derived from two Greek words, signifying _dog_ and _tongue_, bestowed because of the shape of the leaves. In the olden times a superstition was rife that if a person laid the hound's-tongue beneath his feet it would prevent dogs from barking at him.

The distribution of the seed is most cunningly provided for, as the upper surfaces of the nutlets are covered with tiny barbs, which a magnifying-glass reveals to be quite perfect little anchors, admirably adapted for catching in the hair of animals.

CALIFORNIA LILAC. SOAP-BUSH.

_Ceanothus divaricatus_, Nutt. Buckthorn Family.

Tall, almost arborescent shrubs; with very divergent and rigid
branches. Twigs cylindrical; smooth; mostly very pale.
_Leaves._--Alternate; short-petioled; ovate; four to ten lines
long; three-nerved; somewhat leathery. _Flowers._--In a
narrowly oblong, dense cluster two or three inches long; pale
blue to white. _Capsule._--Two or three lines in diameter; not
lobed; scarcely crested. (See _Ceanothus_.)
_Hab._--Chiefly the southern Coast Range.

This species of California lilac is very abundant in the south, and is specially characterized by its widely branching habit and its round, pale-green twigs. The flowers are usually light blue; but in some localities they are pure white. Near Santa Barbara, in January, the mountain-slopes are often snowy with them.

Dr. Gregg, of San Diego, while hunting one day in Lower California, just over the border, had his attention called to the wild lilac by his old Mexican guide, who assured him that the blossoms in themselves were excellent soap. Taking a handful of them down to the stream, he rubbed them vigorously between his wet hands, and found to his astonishment that they made an excellent lather, with a pleasant fragrance of wintergreen. I have since proved the fact for myself. A more delightful way of performing one's ablutions can hardly be imagined than at the brookside with so charming a soap. It is very cleansing and leaves the skin pleasantly soft.

It was probably the blossoms of _C. integerrimus_ he used, as that shrub is called "soap-bush" in that region; but I have since tried the experiment upon _C. divaricatus_ and some other species with perfect success, from which I suspect this may be a generic characteristic.

CALIFORNIAN TRILLIUM.

_Trillium sessile, var. Californicum_, Wats. Lily Family.

_Rootstock._--Like a small turnip. _Stems._--Usually several
from the same root; a foot or so high. _Leaves._--Three at the
top of the stem; three to eight inches long. _Flowers._--White
to deep wine-color. _Petals._--One to four inches long.
(Otherwise as _T. ovatum_.) _Hab._--From San Luis Obispo to
Oregon.

We begin to look for the Californian _Trillium_ early in the spring. Little companies of the plants may be seen upon low flats under the trees, where the soil is rich. The small, turnip-like tubers usually send up several stems, which lean gracefully away from one another. The large leaves are often like pieces of decorated china that have been several times through the kiln. They have various superimposed blotchings, the latest of which are dark, sharp, cuneiform characters, mysterious hieroglyphs of Nature, which might reveal wondrous secrets, could we but decipher them. The blossoms have a strong, heavy fragrance, and are exceedingly variable in color, ranging from pure white to lilac, deep wine, and even black-purple. These plants are much admired in the East and in Europe, where they are cultivated in the garden.

BRODIAEA. CLUSTER-LILY. WILD HYACINTH.

_Brodiaea capitata_, Benth. Lily Family.

_Corm._--Small; scaly-coated. _Leaves._--Linear; a foot or more
long; passing away early. _Scapes._--Four inches to over two
feet high. _Flowers._--Deep violet to white; six to ten lines
long. _Bracts._--Sometimes deep, rich purple. _Perianth._--With
oblong tube and campanulate, six-parted limb. _Stamens._--Six;
on the corolla; the inner with an appendage on each side; the
outer naked. _Ovary._--Three-celled. Style stout. Stigma
three-lobed. _Hab_.--Throughout California.

This beautiful _Brodiaea_ grows all over the hills in early spring, and steals into cultivated fields, where it luxuriates in the freshly stirred soil and lifts its fine violet-colored clusters above the waving grain. It holds quite as warm a place in our affections as the more gorgeous poppy. These blossoms will keep a long time after being gathered, and are used every year in lavish profusion in the decorations of the flower carnivals.

The little bulbs, eaten raw, are quite palatable, and are eagerly sought by the children, who call them "grass-nuts." The early Spanish-Californians also appreciated them, and knew them as "saitas." They have a number of other common names, such as "Spanish-lily," "cluster-lily," "wild hyacinth," and "hog-onion"; but I must protest against the injustice of this latter, and beg all flower-lovers to discountenance it.

Closely resembling the above, is _B. multiflora_, Benth. It has, however, but three stamens, the other three being represented by staminodia, which are entire and of the same length as the stamens.

_B. congesta_, Smith, another similar species, is often four feet tall. It also has three stamens and three staminodia; but the latter are deeply cleft and exceed the anthers. This is called "ookow" by the Indians.

BROWN LILY. MISSION-BELLS. BRONZE-BELLS. RICE-ROOT.

_Fritillaria lanceolata_, Pursh. Lily Family.

_Stem._--A foot or two high. _Leaves._--In scattered whorls;
lanceolate; two to five inches long. _Flowers._--One to
several; open campanulate; greenish or black-purple; variously
checkered or mottled. _Perianth-segments._--Strongly arched,
with a large oblong nectary. _Stamens._--Six.
_Ovary._--Three-celled. _Hab_.--The Coast Ranges, from British
Columbia to Santa Cruz.

"'Neath cloistered boughs each floral bell that swingeth

* * * * *

Makes Sabbath in the fields, and ever ringeth
A call to prayer."

One of the oddest and most beautiful flowers of our rich woodlands is the brown lily, or _Fritillaria_. It is unrivaled in elegance, for every line of its contour is a study in grace. Nor do its charms cease with stem and leaf and flower; for, hidden away in the rich leaf-mold, is one of its most beautiful features, its bulb. This is pure, shining white, conical in form, and surrounded by many tiny bulblets, like grains of rice, which crumble away from it at a touch. If you go into the woods in early spring, you will often see certain handsome, broad, shining, solitary leaves, close to the ground, and you will wonder what they are. Often near them there are many tiny leaves of the same sort pushing their way aboveground; and sometimes among them all there is a solitary strong scape, with unfolding leaves and a promise of flowers. This is a colony of the beautiful brown lilies. The tiny leaves are the product of the little rice-grains, and are probably now seeing the light for the first time. Between these and the large leaves the breadth of the hand, are many sizes, in all stages. The broad leaves may be from bulbs four or five years old, but they will send up no blossom-stalk this year; for there is rarely or never a radical-leaf and a blossom-stalk from the same bulb at once.

When the plant is about to flower, the bulb sends up a tall stalk, with here and there a whorl of shining leaves, hanging at the summit its string of pendent bronze-bells. These are mottled and checkered, and are of varying shades, from dull green to black-purple, and often have a beautiful bloom upon them. Their modest colors blend so nicely into the shadowy scene about, that it is difficult to see them unless the eye is somewhat practiced.

Following the inflorescence comes a beautiful and unique seed-vessel, curiously winged and angled, and of a delicate, papery texture when mature. It contains the thin, flat seeds, neatly packed in six ranks.

The flowers are usually an inch long, though they are sometimes two inches long. A plant was once found three and a half feet high, with a chime of nineteen bells.

BLACK LILY. CHOCOLATE-LILY.

_Fritillaria biflora_, Lindl. Lily Family.

_Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from San Diego to Mendocino County.

We have a number of species of _Fritillaria_, most of them with beautiful flowers. They fall naturally into two groups, according to the character of the bulb; _F. lanceolata_ and _F. biflora_ being types of the two groups.

_F. biflora_, the black, or chocolate, lily, is the species common in the south, and blooms early. It closely resembles _F. lanceolata_, but can always be distinguished by its bulb, which is composed of several erect, short, easily separable scales. Its specific name is an unfortunate one; for, far from being confined to two flowers, it often has as many as ten.

_F. pluriflora_, Torr., found upon the upper Sacramento, has flowers of a uniform reddish-purple, without mottling or spots. It has a comparatively large bulb, an inch or so long, formed of separate scales.

_F. pudica_, Spreng., found on the eastern slopes of the Sierras, has solitary yellow flowers.

_F. liliacea_, Lindl., is our only white species. This is found upon the hills of San Francisco and in the Sacramento Valley. It has a whorl of leaves near the ground and two or three greenish-white, nodding flowers. It is exceedingly local.

LARGE-FLOWERED PHACELIA.

_Phacelia grandiflora_, Gray. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

Coarse, glandular-viscid plants; one to three feet high.
_Leaves._--Round-ovate; irregularly toothed; sometimes three or
four inches long. _Flowers._--Lavender to white; variously
streaked and veined with purple. _Corolla._--Rotate; two inches
across; without scalelike appendages in the throat.
_Filaments._--Long; purple. Anthers large; versatile. Style
two-cleft. (See _Phacelia_.) _Hab._--From Santa Barbara to San
Diego.

This is the largest-flowered of all our _Phacelias_. Its tall stems are abundantly covered above with the fine-looking blossoms. These are very attractive to the uninitiated, who usually rushes forward in breathless haste to possess himself of these new-found treasures and is rarely satisfied with less than a large bunch of them. But woe lies in wait for him. The innumerable glands, covering the whole plant, readily yield up their viscid fluid, which in a few moments turns everything with which it comes in contact to a deep red-brown, like iron-rust. If he escape with ruined clothing, and hands the color of a red Indian, he will have come off well--for the plant poisons some people.

Another species--_P. viscida_, Torr.--found in about the same range as the above, resembles it closely. It is a foot or so high, branching from the base, and has blue flowers, with purple or white centers, and only half the size of the above.

VIOLET NIGHTSHADE.

_Solanum Xanti_, Gray. Nightshade Family.

Herbaceous nearly to the base; viscid-pubescent, with jointed
hairs. _Stems._--Several feet high. _Leaves._--Two inches or
less long; sometimes with lobes at the base; thin.
_Flowers._--An inch or so across. _Calyx._--Five-parted.
_Corolla._--Violet, with green spots ringed with white at the
base. _Stamens._--Five. Filaments short. Anthers erect; opening
terminally. _Ovary._--Two-celled. Style filiform; exserted.
_Berries._--Purple; six lines in diameter. _Hab._--Throughout
California.

These plants are especially abundant in the south, where one encounters them upon every roadside. The clusters of violet flowers are very handsome, and often have the perfume of the wild rose.

Another species--_S. umbelliferum_, Esch.--is so nearly like the above as to be often confounded with it. But it has smaller, thicker leaves, the hairs are branched, and it is more woody below, with shorter flowering branches.

We once saw, in an ideal Japanese villa among the redwoods, a rustic arbor over which had been trained the rough, woody stems of one of these nightshades. The genius of these wise little people, who had adapted this pretty woodland climber to sylvan cultivation, seemed to us worthy of emulation.

GREEN-BANDED MARIPOSA. NOONA.

_Calochortus macrocarpus_, Dougl. Lily Family

Nature has sent this, one of the finest and most elegant of all our _Mariposas_, to beautify the arid sagebrush deserts of our northeastern boundary. In Europe it is admired beyond all our other species, and there is a great demand for the bulbs. Its large flowers are of a beautiful lilac, similar in tone to the Marie Louise violet, and each pointed petal has a green band running down its center.

Among the Indians of their native region the rather large bulbs of these plants are known as "noonas," and regarded as a priceless delicacy. Even those who have never experienced the bliss of tasting them know them by reputation as the acme of all that is delicious. When Mr. Johnson, of Astoria, wished to secure a number of the bulbs for the European market, he hired the squaws to dig them, but found that they ate them as fast as they dug them; and it was only by offering them most liberal stores of bacon and flour he could induce them to restrain their appetites and part with the treasure.

SKULLCAP.

_Scutellaria tuberosa_, Benth. Mint Family.

_Stems._--Several inches high, or at length trailing, and a
foot long; from small tubers. _Leaves._--One inch long and
less; not aromatic. _Flowers._--Axillary; blue-purple.
_Calyx._--Bilabiate. _Corolla._--Six lines or more long;
tubular; bilabiate. _Stamens._--Four; in pairs; ascending;
contained in the helmet. _Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets.
Style filiform. _Hab._--Hillsides, from San Diego northward;
probably throughout the State.

The bright-green herbage and the rich purple-blue flowers of the little skullcap may be looked for early in February. In the north they grow upon dry, stony hill-slopes under the chaparral, while southward they often affect the walls of cañons, among moist, luxuriant vegetation.

Though borne in the axils of the opposite leaves, the pretty blossoms, by a twist of their pedicels, stand side by side in pairs, in a very sociable way. The curious little two-lipped calyx resembles an old-fashioned Quaker bonnet.

Another species--_S. angustifolia_, Pursh.--has linear to oblong leaves, an inch long; flowers an inch or more long, the lower lobe of whose corolla is hairy within, and the root is not tuberous. It is otherwise like the above.

_S. Californica_, Gray, is very similar to the last species, but has cream-white flowers. This is found in early summer upon dry banks.

CORAL-ROOT.

_Corallorhiza Bigelovii_, Wats. Orchis Family.

Leafless plants, with coral-like roots.
_Scapes._--Flesh-colored; six to twenty-four inches high, with
two to four scarious, sheathing bracts. _Flowers._--Few to
many; sessile. _Perianth._--Of six segments. The five upper
yellowish, striped with purple. The lip yellowish, tipped with
deep red-purple. _Anther._--One; resting upon the column like a
lid; falling early. _Ovary._--One-celled. _Hab._--Central and
northern Coast Ranges and Sierras.

The coral-root is very rare in some localities, and one may not meet it more than a few times. But there are favored spots where its flesh-colored stems rear themselves luxuriantly. One year I saw a magnificent bunch of them in the hands of some friends who were taking them to San Francisco to furnish a rare and costly decoration for some festive occasion. Some of the stems were two feet tall and thickly covered above with the odd flowers, making a cluster which it would be difficult to equal for quiet elegance of coloring.

The plants are often found in redwood groves or upon wooded hill-slopes of north exposure, where the dull stems and flowers blend so nicely into the dead needles and leaves upon the ground that it is difficult to detect their presence.

As its name indicates, the root is the counterpart of a spray of branching coral.

Another species--_C. multiflora_, Nutt.--has stems of a colder purple; and the lip of the flower is white, spotted with purple, somewhat fan-shaped and three-lobed.

CALIFORNIA LILAC. BLUE MYRTLE. BLUE-BLOSSOM.

_Ceanothus thyrsiflorus_, Esch. Buckthorn Family.

Varying from small, prostrate shrubs in exposed places, to
erect shrubs or small trees. _Branches._--Strongly angled; not
spiny. _Leaves._--Elliptical; twelve to eighteen lines long;
three-nerved; smooth and shining above. _Flowers._--Bright to
pale blue, rarely white; in dense clusters about three inches
long, terminating the usually elongated, somewhat leafy
peduncles. _Capsules._--Globose; two lines in diameter; smooth,
not crested; slightly lobed. (See _Ceanothus_.) _Hab._--Near
the coast, from Monterey northward into Oregon.

In the spring our chaparral-covered slopes begin to take on a bluish tinge, like the misty smoke of distant camp-fires, for which the blossoms of the California lilac are responsible. This is a graceful evergreen shrub, with rich, shining leaves, among which the abundant feathery clusters of tiny blue flowers find a charming setting. The blossoms are deliciously fragrant, filling the cool air with perfume.

This shrub is never found far away from the coast, and it reaches its greatest beauty in Mendocino County, where it becomes a tree, sometimes thirty-five feet high. Its wood is exceedingly brittle. In early days it used to be cultivated in San Francisco gardens before it was crowded out by foreign shrubs, often far less worthy.

It is known in some localities as "blue myrtle," and in others as "blue-blossom." The name "California lilac," by which it is most often known, is more generally and more appropriately applied to this species of _Ceanothus_ than to any of the others.

The dark seeds are a favorite food of the quail.

BLUE LARKSPUR. ESPUELA DEL CABALLERO.

_Delphinium_, Tourn. Buttercup or Crowfoot Family.

California is rich in beautiful larkspurs, but the species are very difficult of determination and not well defined as yet. We have two well-marked scarlet species; but confusion still reigns among the blue and the white. Some of the latter are poisonous to sheep and cattle, causing great losses to the herds every year in some localities.

Among the blue larkspurs are some of our handsomest spring flowers. Their slender wands, covered with magnificent large blossoms, rise abundantly on every side upon some of the mesas of our seashore, making charming flower-gardens upon the plains. They are so lavishly bestowed that every comer may gather his fill and still none be missed. In color they are matchless--of the richest of Mazarin blue and purple-blue.

Other species are to be found upon the slopes of interior valleys and scattered all through the Coast Ranges and the Sierra foothills. In midsummer, which is the vernal springtime of the mountains, many lovely species deck the alpine meadows and brooksides.

The Spanish-Californians have a pretty title for these blossoms--"espuela del caballero"--"the cavalier's spur."

CAT'S-EARS. PUSSY'S-EARS.

_Calochortus Maweanus_, Leichtlein. Lily Family.

_Hab._--The Coast Ranges and Sierras, from San Francisco and
Butte County to the Willamette Valley.

This is an exceedingly pretty little _Calochortus_, much resembling _C. Benthami_ in form, but having pure-white or purplish-blue flowers, which are also covered with hairs and delicately fringed with hairs on the margin. Its stems are low, slender, and graceful, without bulblets at the base; and the gland upon the petals has a transverse scale covering its upper portion.

This plant belongs to the section of _Calochortus_ whose species are known as "star-tulips." In the Coast Ranges, in early spring, the blossoms are found in moist meadows near the sea, where they nestle amid the grasses.

The children are specially fond of them, and know them as "cat's-ears" and "pussy's-ears."

_C. uniflorus_, Hook. and Arn., found in wet meadows from San Francisco northward, has lilac to rose-purple flowers. Its petals are hairy on the lower third, and its stems bear small bulblets at the base underground.

_C. umbellatus_, Wood., is very similar to _C. Maweanus_; but its pure-white petals are almost without hairs, and its stem is without bulblets. This is found blooming in March and April on the low mountains of Contra Costa and Marin Counties.

PURPLE NEMOPHILA.

_Nemophila aurita_, Lindl. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

_Stems._--One to three feet long; square; angled; weak; very
brittle; with backward-pointing, hooked bristles.
_Leaves._--All with a dilated, clasping, eared base or winged
petiole; above deeply pinnatifid into five to nine oblong or
lanceolate, downward-pointing lobes. _Corolla._--Violet; an
inch or so across. (Otherwise as _Nemophila insignis_.)
_Hab._--From San Francisco to San Diego.

The purple _Nemophila_ is most abundant in the south, growing everywhere in early springtime upon hillsides partially shaded. Its long, coarse, hispid stems run riot over small undershrubs or dead or unsightly brushwood, often completely covering them with a mound of foliage thickly sown with the dull-purple flowers.

At first it is difficult to realize that this plant of coarse habit belongs to the sisterhood of baby-eyes, those delicate, ethereal favorites of the springtime. In fact, one's first impression of it is that it is some new species of nightshade. One learns, however, to have a fondness for these blossoms and a growing desire to gather them; but their tangling, quarrelsome habit forbids one, if any other flowers are in question.

It is said that the dark-eyed señoritas of early days decked their ball-dresses with sprays of this flower, which clung gracefully to the thin fabrics.

GROUND-IRIS.

_Iris macrosiphon_, Torr. Iris Family.

Almost stemless plants, often forming mats.
_Rhizome._--Slender. _Radical-leaves._--Grasslike; six to
fifteen inches long. _Buds._--One or two; borne in sheathing
bracts. _Flowers._--On short pedicels; deep purple-blue, marked
with white. _Perianth._--With slender tube one to three inches
long. _Stamens._--Three; borne under the petaloid divisions of
the style. _Ovary._--Three-celled. _Capsule._--Oblong-ovoid;
shortly acute at each end; one inch long. Seeds in two rows in
each cell; compressed and angled. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges,
from San Mateo to Trinity County.

When spring is at its height, this charming little _Iris_ may be found upon sunny, open hillsides among the unrolling crosiers of the common brake. There is something peculiarly captivating about these blossoms, with their satisfying richness of hue and perfect symmetry of form, added to which is a sweet, delicate perfume, an ideal exhalation of the springtime.

As the buds unfold beautifully in water, it is better to gather buds than flowers, as the latter are too fragile to carry without breaking.

_I. longipetala_, Herb., is the common bog-iris of our central coast. It grows in large clumps in wet places, and while not a delicate flower, it has a certain brave, hardy look as it stands out upon the wind-swept downs of the Coast. Its stems are rather stout, a foot or two high, and have from three to five large lilac flowers. The sepals are veined with deeper lilac and blotched with orange.

WILD HELIOTROPE. VERVENIA.

_Phacelia tanacetifolia_, Benth. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

_Stems._--One to three feet high; rough and hairy.
_Leaves._--Much divided. _Flowers._--Bright violet to blue; in
clustered, scorpioid racemes. _Calyx-lobes._--Linear or
linear-spatulate. _Corolla._--Six lines long. Style two-cleft.
(See _Phacelia_.) _Hab._--Throughout the western part of the
State.

The wild heliotrope is one of the most abundant flowers of midspring, especially in the south. It affects the gravelly banks of streams or the sandy soil of mesas; or grows all along the railroad embankments, making great mounds of foliage, thickly sown with the bright violet-blue blossoms; or it may often be seen clambering up through small shrubs, seeming to seek the support of their stiff branches. It is needless to say that this is not a true heliotrope, but belongs to the closely allied genus, _Phacelia_.

The specific name, _tanacetifolia_, meaning with tansy-like leaves, is more applicable to the _var. tenuifolia_, Thurber. Among the Spanish-Californians it is known as "vervenía."

It is a very important honey-plant.

_P. Douglasii_, Torr., is a species with lavender corolla with much the aspect of the baby-blue-eyes. This is common in the western part of the State, south of Monterey, and is found sparingly north of that point.

BLUE-EYED GRASS. AZULEA. VILLELA.

_Sisyrinchium bellum_, Wats. Iris Family.

_Leaves._--Radical; grasslike; shorter than the stems. _Stems._--Flat; clustered; six to eighteen inches high. _Flowers._--Four to seven; contained in two nearly equal sheathing bracts. _Perianth._--Six-parted; purplish-blue, with yellow center; six lines to an inch across. _Stamens._--Three. Filaments united. _Ovary._--Three-celled. Style filiform. Stigma spindle-shaped; three-cleft after fertilization. _Hab._--Throughout California.

The blue-eyed grass is such a modest flower, one would never suspect it to be closely allied to the regal _Iris_. In late spring its quiet stars are found in our meadows everywhere. In the south it grows so luxuriantly and so determinedly that it has become a serious pest to the farmer, crowding more useful plants from the pasture.

Owing to the quaint manner in which its petals kink up when they fade, these blossoms are called "nigger-babies" by the children. Among the Spanish-Californians the plant is known as "azulea" and "villela," and is made into a tea, which is considered a valuable remedy in fevers. It is thought that a patient can subsist for many days upon it alone.

_S. Californicum_, Ait., the "golden-eyed grass," with bright yellow flowers, is found in wet places all up and down the Coast.

BABY-EYES. BLUE-VEINED NEMOPHILA.

_Nemophila intermedia_, Bioletti. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf
Family.

_Leaves._--With petioles somewhat widened at base and ciliate;
the upper all opposite. _Corolla._--Nine to twelve lines wide;
light blue to white; distinctly blue-veined or more or less
sown with purple dots. Scales of the corolla long, narrow,
hairy, with expanded tips extending nearly to the sinuses.
_Ovary._--Rounded; with twelve to twenty-four ovules.
(Otherwise as _N. insignis_.) _Syn._--_Nemophila Menziesii_,
Hook. and Arn. _Hab._--Rather widespread.

This beautiful _Nemophila_ is a more fragile flower than its sister, the baby-blue-eyes. Its delicate corolla is usually white in the center, blending to azure-blue upon the rim, and dotted and veined with the same. At its best, it is an inch across. It affects the borders of moist woodlands, rarely venturing far out into the openings. There it nestles amid the tender herbage, often producing its ethereal flowers in such profusion that it seems as though bits of the sky had fallen to earth. In the south these blossoms do not seem so truly at home--for they are never so large nor so fine.

CALIFORNIAN MILKWORT.

_Polygala Californica_, Nutt. Milkwort Family.

_Stems._--Two to eight inches high. _Leaves._--Six to twelve
lines long. _Flowers._--Rose-purple. _Sepals._--Five; two of
them large and spreading like wings; six lines or less long.
_Petals._--Three; united to each other and to the stamen-tube;
the middle one hooded above and beaked. _Stamens._--Eight.
Filaments united into a sheath, which is open above. Anthers
one-celled; opening terminally. _Ovary._--Two-celled. Style
enlarging upward; curved like a button-hook. _Pod._--Rounded;
flat; three or four lines across. _Syn._--_P. cucullata_,
Benth. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges southward to Santa Barbara and
beyond.

In late spring the little flowers of the milkwort are common upon dry hill-slopes in the shade of the trees. The small plants have a very grown-up look, as though their age might be greater than indicated by their stature. At first glance, one is quite certain to mistake these plants for members of the pea family, as the blossoms have wings and a keel like the papilionaceous flower. But a careful counting of sepals, petals, and stamens will reveal their separate identity.

A curious feature of this plant is the fact that it bears another kind of flower near the root. This is without petals, and is destined, for some strange reason, to bear the seed. The upper flowers seem mostly for show, though one does occasionally mature fruit.

_P. cornuta_, Kell., found in the Sierras, is a larger plant, with greenish-white flowers.

WILD CANTERBURY-BELL.

_Phacelia Whitlavia_, Gray. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

A foot or so high; very hairy and glandular.
_Leaves._--Alternate; petioled; ovate or deltoid; toothed;
twelve to eighteen lines long. _Flowers._--Purple.
_Calyx._--Five-parted. _Corolla._--An inch or more long.
_Stamens._--Five; on the base of the corolla; appendaged at
base; long-exserted, with the two-cleft style.
_Ovary._--Two-celled. _Syn._--_Whitlavia grandiflora_, Harv.
_Hab._--From Los Angeles to San Bernardino.

The wild Canterbury-bell is one of the most charming flowers to be found anywhere. It affects the rich soil of half-shaded hill-slopes in the vicinity of streams, where it opens its beautiful fragile bells. Its stems are very brittle, and the blossoms fall early, the lower ones usually having passed away before the upper buds have emerged from the coil. The exceedingly long stamens and style give these blossoms an elegant, airy look.

_P. Parryi_, Torr., is another beautiful species, found from Los Angeles to San Diego. It resembles the above in foliage, color of blossoms, and the long stamens; but the form of the flowers is that of the _Nemophila_.

BIRD'S-EYES.

_Gilia tricolor_, Benth. Phlox or Polemonium Family.

_Stems._--Slender; branching; six inches to a foot or more
high. _Leaves._--Twice pinnately parted into narrow linear
lobes. _Corolla._--Six lines long; with yellow tube;
funnel-form throat, marked with deep violet-purple; and lilac
or white limb. (See _Gilia_.) _Hab._--Throughout Western
California.

Whole slopes are often carpeted with this dainty _Gilia_, producing an effect which has been described as like light chinchilla. The little blossoms have a peculiarly fresh and winsome look, and are called "bird's-eyes" by the children. The corollas are delicate lilac, blending into white toward the center, while the throat has five purple spots within, which give way to bright gold below.

BABY-BLUE-EYES. CALIFORNIAN BLUEBELLS. MARIANAS.

_Nemophila insignis_, Dougl. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

Tender, more or less hairy herbs. _Stems._--Branching; six to
twelve inches long. _Leaves._--Pinnately parted into five to
nine small, oblong, entire or two- to five-lobed divisions.
_Calyx._--Five-parted, with five extra, alternating, reflexed
lobes. _Corolla._--An inch or more across; from azure-blue,
with a large, well-defined white center, more or less dotted,
to deep blue. The throat furnished with ten short, wide, hairy
scales, or plates. _Stamens._--Five; on the corolla.
_Ovary._--One-celled. Style two-cleft. _Hab._--Throughout
California.

When skies are smiling and the earth is already clothed with a luxuriant and tender herbage, we find upon some balmy morning that the baby-eyes have opened in gentle surprise upon the lovely world. The spring breezes blow over no more beautiful and ethereal flowers than these. Companies of them open together, dotting the sward and luring us on from one to another, the one just beyond always seeming a little brighter blue or a little more captivating than those near at hand, till we are beguiled into filling our hands with them.

These delicate blossoms vary greatly in size and color. The largest and finest I ever saw grew upon the flower-sprinkled slopes of Lake Merced, near San Francisco. There the perfect azure corollas were an inch and a half across, with the large white circle in the center well defined.

Under southern skies it becomes a deep Yale blue, with the texture of tissue-paper, and with dark red-brown anthers.

From the campanulate, half-opened buds, it has been called "Californian bluebell," and among the Spanish-Californians it is known as "Mariana."

LILAC SAND-VERBENA. WILD LANTANA.

_Abronia villosa_, Wats. Four-o'clock Family.

Plants with more or less glandular-villous pubescence. _Stems._--Prostrate. _Leaves._--Rarely an inch long. _Peduncles._--One to three inches long; five- to fifteen-flowered. _Involucral bracts._--Lanceolate; three or four lines long. _Perianth._--Lilac; four or five lines across; with obcordate lobes. (Otherwise as _A. latifotia_.) _Hab._--San Diego and eastward; also in southern deserts.

The charming flowers of the lilac sand-verbena are not found upon the immediate sea-beach, but always a little withdrawn from it, where the soil is more firmly established, yet within sight and sound of the waves. The blossoms have a delicate beauty, not shared by our other species of _Abronia_, and somewhat resemble our garden verbenas. They are sometimes called "wild lantana."

_A. umbellata_, Lam., is common all up and down our coast, often making masses of deep pink on the beach; while _A. maritima_, Nutt., is found from Santa Barbara to San Diego. The latter is a very stout, coarse, viscid plant, with small, very deep magenta flowers.

CAMASS. KAMASS. WILD HYACINTH.

_Camassia esculenta_, Lindl. Lily Family.

Bulbs coated. _Leaves._--Radical; six or eight; grasslike;
three to eight lines broad; usually shorter than the scape.
_Scape._--Twelve to twenty-four inches high; loosely ten- to
twenty-flowered. Pedicels three to twelve lines long.
_Flowers._--From dark blue to nearly white; seven to fifteen
lines long or more; an inch or so across. _Perianth._--Of six
distinct, oblanceolate, three- to seven-nerved segments.
_Stamens._--Six; shorter than the segments. Anthers yellow.
_Ovary._--Three-celled. Style filiform; about equaling the
perianth; slightly three-cleft at the summit. _Hab._--From
Central California to Washington.

In some localities these plants are found covering meadows and marshy tracts in great profusion. They bear beautiful clusters of showy blue flowers, somewhat like the hyacinth in habit, and have long been favorites in European gardens. We are especially interested in them, however, on account of the bulbs, which are about an inch in diameter and very nutritious.

Grizzly bears, when more plentiful in the early days, were particularly fond of them; and the northern Indians to-day value them very highly as an article of diet, calling them "kamáss." Indeed, the Nez Percé Indian war in Idaho was caused by encroachments upon the territory which was especially rich in these bulbs. The plants are more abundant north of us than with us.

Mr. Macoun gives a most interesting account in "Garden and Forest" of the preparation of kamáss among the Indians, which is a very important and elaborate performance. He says, in substance: For some days beforehand the squaws were busily engaged in carrying into camp branches of alder and maple, bundles of skunk-cabbage (_Lysichiton_), and a quantity of a black, hairlike lichen, which grows in profusion upon the western larch. A hole ten feet square and two feet deep was then dug, and a large fire was made in this, in which they heated a great many small boulders to the glowing point. They then piled maple and alder boughs over these to the depth of a foot or more, tramped them down, and laid over them the leaves of the skunk-cabbage. Thin sheets of tamarack bark were spread over the steaming green mass, and upon these were placed the bulbs in large baskets. The black lichen was laid over the uncovered bark, and the remaining bulbs were spread on this. The whole was then covered with boughs and leaves as before, and sand was sprinkled on to the depth of four or five inches, and on the top of the whole a larger fire than before was built. The sun was just setting when this was lighted, and it burned all night. The oven was left for a day to cool. When opened, the bulbs in the baskets were dissolved to a flour, from which bread could be made; while those on the lichen had become amalgamated with it, forming a substance resembling plug-tobacco, which could be broken up and kept sweet a long time.

When boiled in water, the bulbs yield a very good molasses, much prized by the Indians, and used by them upon important festival occasions.

There is a white-flowered form of this same species, whose bulb is said to be poisonous.

INNOCENCE. COLLINSIA.

_Collinsia bicolor_, Benth. Figwort Family.

_Stems._--A foot or so high. _Leaves._--The lower oblong; the upper ovate-lanceolate. _Calyx._--Unequally five-cleft. _Corolla._--Nine lines long. Upper lip lilac or white; lower of three lobes; the middle folded into a keeled sac containing the stamens and style; the two lateral rose-purple. _Stamens._--Four; in two pairs on the corolla. Upper filaments bearded. _Ovary._--Two-celled. Style filiform. _Hab._--Throughout Western California.

Where spreading trees cast a dense shade and the moisture still lingers, companies of lovely _Collinsias_ stand amid the fresh green grasses, their delicate, many-storied blossoms swaying upon the idle breezes. In the north these are in the rear guard of spring flowers, and make their appearance just before the _Godetias_ bid farewell to spring; but in the south they come earlier. They vary much in color, from the typical rose-purple and white or lilac to all white.

We have a number of species; but _C. bicolor_ is the most showy and widespread.

BLACK SAGE. BALL-SAGE.

_Audibertia stachyoides_, Benth. Mint Family.

Shrubby; three to eight feet high; with herbaceous flowering
branches. _Leaves._--Opposite; oblong-lanceolate; tapering into
a petiole; crenate. _Flowers._--In interrupted spikes, having
from three to nine dense, rather remote, headlike, bracteate
whorls. _Calyx._--Bilabiate; each lip with two or three awned
teeth. _Corolla._--Lavender; six lines long; bilabiate. Upper
lip erect; emarginate; lower deflexed; three-lobed.
_Stamens._--Two sterile; two perfect on jointed filaments.
_Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets. Style slender. Stigma
two-cleft. _Hab._--From San Francisco Bay to San Diego.

We have but two or three true sages, or _Salvias_, in California; but the plants of the closely allied genus _Audibertia_ are with perfect propriety called sages, as they manifest all the characteristics of that genus, differing only in the structure of the stamens. There are a number of species of _Audibertia_, all of them important honey-plants. They are particularly abundant in the south, where they form a characteristic feature in the landscape, often covering whole hill-slopes.

_A. stachyoides_ frequently forms dense thickets over vast reaches of mountain-side, and when in full bloom is very noticeable. Its specific name is a happy one, denoting its resemblance to the _Stachys_, or hedge-nettle. But its pointed leaves, shrubby habit, and rank odor, together with its more numerous flower-whorls, proclaim its separate identity.

_A. nivea_, Benth., found from Santa Barbara to San Diego, has larger spikes of rich, warm lilac flowers. Nothing could be more charming than the soft lavender billows of it undulating over slope after slope of wild mountain-side.

BLUE GILIA.

_Cilia Chamissonis_, Greene. Phlox or Polemonium Family.

_Stems._--About a foot high. _Leaves._--Alternate; dissected into linear segments. _Flowers._--In capitate clusters an inch and a half across; deep blue. _Calyx._--Five-toothed. _Corolla._--Four lines long; with five obtuse lobes. _Stamens._--Exserted. Anthers nearly white. (See _Gilia_.) _Hab._--The Coast of Central California.

This pretty _Gilia_ is quite common about San Francisco in springtime, and often makes masses of bright deep blue over the fields.

_G. capitata_, Dougl., is a closely allied species, found in the Coast Ranges from Central California northward. This is in every way a more delicate plant. Its stems are taller and more slender; its flower-heads are less than an inch across, and composed of very small light-blue flowers, with feathery, exserted stamens.

_G. achilleaefolia_, Benth., is a beautiful form, closely related to both the above, but quite variable in habit. Its flowers are light lavender-blue, six lines or so long, and are borne in larger clusters, often two inches across, on long, naked peduncles. At a little distance these blossoms somewhat resemble the clusters of _Brodiaea capitata_.

CHIA. SAGE.

_Salvia Columbariae_, Benth. Mint Family.

_Stems._--Six inches to two feet high. _Leaves._--Wrinkly; one
to several inches long. _Flowers._--Blue; in interrupted
whorls. _Whorls._--Twelve to eighteen lines in diameter;
subtended by numerous, ovate-acuminate bracts.
_Calyx._--Bilabiate; upper lip arching, and tipped with two
short bristles; lower, of two awn-like teeth. _Corolla._--Three
or four lines long; bilabiate. Upper lip erect; notched or
two-lobed. Lower deflexed; with three lobes, the central much
larger. _Stamens._--Two. Filaments two; short; apparently
forked--_i.e._ bearing on their summit a cross-bar having on
one end a perfect anther-cell and on the other a dwarfed or
rudimentary one. _Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets. Style
slender. _Hab._--Throughout the State, specially southward.

This rough-leaved sage is quite common, especially southward, and grows upon dry hillsides or in sandy washes, where it blossoms in early spring. Its small bright-blue flowers are borne in an interrupted spike, consisting of from one to four button-like heads. Each of these heads has below it a number of leafy bracts, which are often of a bright wine-color, and form a rather striking combination with the blue flowers.

After the blossoms have passed away, the dried stems and heads remain standing all over the hills, shaking out the little gray seed in abundance. These seeds have been for centuries an article of economic importance to the aborigines and their descendants. Dr. Rothrock writes that among the Nahua races of ancient Mexico the plant was cultivated as regularly as corn, and was one of their most important cereals. Quantities of the seed have been found buried beneath groves which must be at least several hundred years old. It was in use among the Indians of California before the occupation of the country by the whites, being known among them as "chia."

Dr. Bard writes of these seeds: "They were roasted, ground, and used as food by being mixed with water. Thus prepared, it soon develops into a mucilaginous mass, larger than its original bulk. Its taste is somewhat like that of linseed meal. It is exceedingly nutritious, and was readily borne by the stomach when that organ refused to tolerate other aliment. An atole, or gruel, of this was one of the peace offerings to the first visiting sailors. One tablespoonful of these seeds was sufficient to sustain for twenty-four hours an Indian on a forced march. Chia was no less prized by the native Californian, and at this late date it frequently commands six or eight dollars a pound."

When added to water, the seeds make a cooling drink, which has the effect of assuaging burning thirst--a very valuable quality on the desert.

BLUE-AND-WHITE LUPINE.

_Lupinus bicolor_, Lindl. Pea Family.

_Stems._--Stoutish; six to ten inches high; silky.
_Leaves._--Alternate; with small stipules. _Leaflets._--Five to
seven; linear-spatulate; one inch long. _Flowers._--Four or
five lines long; blue and white; the white changing to
red-purple after fertilization. Upper calyx-lip bifid; lower
twice as long; entire. _Keel._--Falcate; acute; ciliate toward
the apex. _Pod._--Small; about five-seeded. (See _Lupinus_.)
_Hab._--Western Central California.

In late spring the open fields about San Francisco take on a delicate, amethystine tinge, due to the blossoms of the blue-and-white lupine. After fertilization has taken place, the white in these blossoms turns to deep red, and this admixture gives the general lilac tone to the mass.

DOUGLAS IRIS.

_Iris Douglasiana_, Herb. Iris Family.

_Rhizomes._--Stoutish; clumps not dense.
_Radical-leaves._--Strongly ribbed underneath; dark, shining
green above; one to three feet long; three to eight lines
broad; flexile; rosy pink at base. _Stems._--Simple; two- or
three-flowered. Flowers.--On pedicels six to eighteen lines
long; deep reddish-purple, lilac, or cream.
_Perianth-tube._--Six to twelve lines long.
_Capsule._--Narrowly oblong; acutely triangular; twenty lines
long. Seeds nearly globular. (Otherwise as _I. macrosiphon_.)
_Hab._--The Coast, from Santa Cruz to Marin County.

On account of the bright and varied hues of its flowers, the genus _Iris_ was named for the rainbow-winged messenger of the gods. In France it is known as "fleur-de-lis," a name whose origin has caused endless discussion and has been accounted for in many ways. There are many species, all of them beautiful. Orris-root is the product of the lovely white Florentine _Iris_.

In California we have several comparatively well-known species, and a number of others which are without names as yet; but the Douglas _Iris_ is probably our most beautiful. It thrives well upon open mesas or upon well-drained hill-slope in the shelter of the chaparral. But it is found at its best in the rich soil of moist woodlands, whose seclusion seems the most fitting abode for so aristocratic a flower. There, surrounded by the delicate greenery of fern-fronds and a hundred other tender, springing things, it seems to hold a sylvan court, receiving homage from all the other denizens of the wood. There is a certain marked and personal individuality about these flowers which makes encountering them seem like meeting certain distinguished personages.

ITHURIEL'S SPEAR. BLUE MILLA.

_Brodiaea laxa_, Wats. Lily Family.

_Corm._--Small; fiber-coated. _Leaves._--Usually two; radical;
linear channeled. _Scapes._--Six inches to two feet high.
_Umbels._--Of ten to thirty or more purple or violet, or even
white, flowers. _Pedicels._--One to three inches long.
_Perianth._--Twelve to twenty lines long. _Stamens._--Six; in
two rows; the upper opposite the inner lobes of the perianth.
_Ovary._--Three-celled; on a stalk six lines long. _Hab._--From
Kern County to Northern Oregon.

After the delicate _Collinsias_ have stolen away, the beautiful flowers of Ithuriel's spear begin to claim our attention in open grassy spots on the borders of rich woodlands. The common name is a happy one; for there is something commanding about this tall blossom-crowned shaft. It will perhaps be remembered that the angel Ithuriel possessed a truth compelling spear. When Satan, disguised, went to the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve, Ithuriel and Zephon were sent to expel him.

... "him there they found,
Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve,
Assaying by his devilish art to reach
The organs of her fancy, and with them forge
Illusions as he list, phantasms, and dreams;

* * * * *

Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear
Touched lightly; for no falsehood can endure
Touch of celestial temper, but returns
Of force to its own likeness: up he starts
Discovered and surprised."

BEACH-ASTER.

_Erigeron glaucus_, Ker. Composite Family.

Six to twelve inches high, having a tuft of radical leaves and
some ascending stems. _Leaves._--Obovate or spatulate-oblong;
one to four inches long; pale; somewhat succulent; slightly
viscid. _Flower-heads._--Composed of dull-yellow disk-flowers
and bright-violet ray-flowers. _Disk._--Eight lines or so
across. _Rays._--Six or eight lines long; narrow; numerous; in
several rows. _Hab._--The Coast, from Oregon to Southern
California.

Almost anywhere upon our Coast, "within the roar of a surf-tormented shore," we can find the beautiful blossoms of the beach-aster. We may know them by their resemblance to the China asters of our gardens, though they are not so large. They present a most delightful combination of color in their old-gold centers, violet rays, and rather pale foliage.

TOAD-FLAX.

_Linaria Canadensis_, Dumont. Figwort Family.

_Stems._--Slender; six inches to two feet high.
_Leaves._--Mostly alternate on the flowering stems, but smaller
and broader ones often opposite or whorled on the procumbent
shoots; linear; smooth. _Flowers._--Blue; in terminal racemes;
like those of _Antirrhinum_, but the tube furnished with a
long, downward-pointing spur at base. _Hab._--Throughout
California.

The delicate blue flowers of the toad-flax are not uncommon in spring, and the plants are usually found in sandy soil. The little blossoms are very ethereal and have a sweet perfume. I once saw a deep blue band upon a mesa near San Diego, which vied in richness with the ultramarine of the sea just beyond. It stretched for some distance, and at last curved around and crossed the road over which I was passing, when it proved to be made up of millions of these delicate flowers. The color effect seemed cumulative, for the mass was so much richer and deeper than the individual flowers.

CATALINA MARIPOSA TULIP.

_Calochortus Catalinae_, Wats. Lily Family.

_Stems._--Two feet high; loosely branching; bulbiferous. Leaves
and bracts linear-lanceolate. _Flowers._--Erect; eighteen lines
or so long. _Sepals._--Green without; scarious-margined;
whitish within; with purple spot at base; one inch long; acute.
_Petals._--White; with garnet base; bearing a round gland
covered with hairs. Filaments garnet. _Capsule._--Narrowly
oblong; three-sided; obtuse; an inch or two long. Seeds flat;
horizontal. (See _Calochortus_.) _Hab._--From San Luis Obispo
County to San Bernardino; and the islands off the Coast.

This is one of the earliest _Mariposas_ to bloom in the south. Its beautiful, stately white cups have a garnet base within, and this, with its oblong, obtuse capsule and horizontal seeds, clearly identifies it. These blossoms are favorite resting-places for the bees, who are often beguiled in them from their labors and lulled to a gentle slumber. We have frequently startled the little truants from these siestas, and with amusement watched them struggling for a moment before regaining consciousness and whizzing away once more upon their round of duties.

This may be designated our maritime _Calochortus_, as it is found mostly near the Coast or upon its islands.

_C. splendens_, Dougl., found in the Coast Ranges from Lake County to San Diego, is sometimes confused with the above. It is a beautiful flower, whose petals are a clear rose-lilac without spots or marks, with long, whitish, cobwebby hairs on their middle third. Its anthers are purple or lilac, three to six lines long.

DOG-VIOLET.

_Viola canina, var. adunca_, Gray. Violet Family.

_Stems._--Leafy; several from the rootstocks. _Leaves._--Ovate;
often somewhat cordate at base; acute or obtuse; six to
eighteen lines long; obscurely crenate. Stipules foliaceous;
narrowly lanceolate; lacerately toothed. _Flowers._--Violet or
purple; rather large. Lateral petals bearded. Spur as long as
the sepals; rather slender; obtuse; hooked or curved.
(Otherwise as _V. pedunculata_.) _Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from
San Francisco to Washington.

... "violets
Which yet join not scent to hue
Crown the pale year weak and new."

Nestling amid the grasses on many a moist mesa by the sea, the modest flowers of the dog-violet may be found at almost any time of year. They vary greatly in the length of their stems, according to the season and the locality of growth.

THISTLE-SAGE.

_Salvia carduacea_, Benth. Mint Family.

_Leaves._--All radical; thistle-like; with cobwebby wool.
_Stems._--Stout; a foot or two high. _Flower-whorls._--An inch
or two through. _Calyx._--Bilabiate; with five spiny teeth.
_Corolla._--Lavender; an inch long. Upper lip erect; two-cleft.
Lower fan-shaped; white-fringed. _Stamens._--On the lower lip.
Proper filaments very short, with one short and one long fork,
each bearing an anther-cell. (Otherwise like _S. Columbariae_.)
_Hab._--Western and Southern California.

Upon the dry, open plains of the south, the charming flowers of the thistle-sage make their appearance by May. Upon the train we pass myriads of them standing along the embankments, and seeming to beckon mockingly at us, well knowing the train almost never stops where we can get them.

These plants present the most remarkable blending of the rigid, uncompromising, touch-me-not aspect and the ethereal and fragile. In each of the several stories of the flower-cluster there are usually a number of the exquisitely delicate flowers in bloom at once, standing above the hemisphere of densely crowded, spiny calyx-tips. Nothing more airy or fantastic could well be imagined than these diaphanous blossoms. The upper lip of the corolla stands erect, its two lobes side by side, or crossed like two delicate little hands. The lower lip has two small and inconspicuous lateral lobes and one large central one, which is like the ruff of a fantail pigeon and daintily fringed with white. The color combination in these blossoms is charming. To the sage green of the foliage and the lilac of the blossoms is added the dash of orange in the anthers that puts the finishing touch. The whole plant has a heavy, dull odor of sage.

This species is also sometimes called "chia," and its seeds are used in the same manner as those of our other _Salvia_, but to no such extent.

VIOLET BEARD-TONGUE.

_Pentstemon heterophyllus_, Lindl. Figwort Family.

Woody at base; many-stemmed. _Stems._--Two to five feet tall.
_Leaves._--Lanceolate or linear; or the lowest
oblong-lanceolate; diminishing into narrow floral bracts.
_Panicle._--Narrow. Pedicels one- to three-flowered; short and
erect. _Corolla._--Rose-purple, or violet suffused with pink;
an inch or more long; ventricose-funnel-form above the narrow,
slender tube. (See _Pentstemon_.) _Hab._--Western California,
specially southward.

The beautiful flowers of the violet beard-tongue are often seen among the soft browns of our dusty roadsides in early summer. They are truly charming flowers, and we marvel how any one can pass them by unnoticed. I have seen them especially showy in the southern part of the State, in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, where the plants often spread over two or three feet, sending up innumerable slender flower-covered wands. The undeveloped buds are of a characteristic greenish-yellow tone, making an unusual contrast to the expanded flowers and the rather pale foliage. The structure of the anthers is quite interesting, each cell consisting of a little bag with bristly margins, the two together being heart-shaped in outline.