PARSLEY FAMILY.Umbelliferae.

Farewell-to-SpringGodètia quadrivúlneraPink, lilacSpring, summerNorthwest

This is common in the foothills of the Sierras and Coast Ranges and has a slender stem, about a foot tall, with more or less downy leaves, sometimes slightly toothed, and a few very pretty flowers, about an inch and a half across, with bright lilac-pink petals, usually splashed with carmine. This red spot gives a vivid effect and the delicate flowers look exceedingly gay and charming, as they sway in the wind among tall grasses on open hillsides.

Godètia Góddardii var. capitàtaPinkSpring, summerCalifornia

From one to two feet tall, with a rather stout, more or less branching stem and soft, rather downy, dull green leaves. The flowers are about an inch across, with purplish-pink petals, often stained with crimson at the tips. This is found on dry hills in the Coast Ranges.

Farewell-to-Spring—G. deflexa.G. Goddardii var. capitata.Godetia quadrivulnera.

Farewell-to-Spring—G. deflexa.

G. Goddardii var. capitata.Godetia quadrivulnera.

Godètia vimíneaPurplish-pinkSummerNorthwest

A handsome plant, with nearly smooth, slender, reddish stems, a few inches to two feet tall, and smooth, pale-green, toothless, narrow leaves, mostly without leaf-stalks. The buds are erect and the flowers form a long, loose cluster, with bright purplish-pink petals, half an inch to over an inch long, with a large, magenta blotch near the center, or at the tip, and yellowish at base; the stamens and pistil all purple; the calyx-lobes not caught together, but turned primly back. This forms fine patches of bright color in rather meadowy places in Yosemite and elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada foothills.G. Dudleyànais pretty and slender, with drooping buds and light lilac-pink flowers, the petals paler at base, with darker dots, the calyx-lobes caught together and turned to one side, and also makes beautiful patches of color on sunny slopes around Yosemite.

There are several kinds of Clarkia, resembling Godetia, but the petals have claws. The stems are brittle; the leaves mostly alternate, with short, slender leaf-stalks; the buds nodding; the flowers in terminal clusters, with four petals, never yellow, and four sepals, turned back; the stamens eight, those opposite the petals often rudimentary; the stigma four-lobed; the capsule long, leathery, erect, more or less four-angled, with many seeds. Named in honor of Captain Clarke, of the Lewis and Clarke expedition, the first to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, in 1806.

ClarkiaClàrkia élegansPinkSpring, summerCalifornia

A conspicuous plant, on account of the oddly contrasting colors of the flowers, and very variable both in size and smoothness. It grows from six inches to six feet high; the stems more or less branching; the leaves sometimes toothed and often reddish; the buds and calyxes often woolly. The flowers are very gay; the sepals being dark red or purple, the petals, with long, slender claws, bright pink and the anthers scarlet! The stamens, four long and four short, have a hairy, reddish scale at the base of each filament, the anthers of the shorter stamens often white, and the capsule is usually curved, with no stalk, nearly an inch long, often hairy. When the foliage is red, as it often is, the various combinations of redin the flowers and leaves are quite startling. This is common in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges and is often rather shabby looking, but in favorable situations is very handsome.

Godetia viminea.Clarkia elegans.

ClarkiaClàrkia rhomboídeaPurpleSpring, summerNorthwest, Nev., Utah

Pretty and delicate and not nearly so conspicuous as the last, with a slender, smooth, branching stem, one to three feet tall, with smooth leaves, mostly alternate, nodding buds, and a few pretty flowers, about three-quarters of an inch across. The sepals are reddish-yellow; the petals pinkish-purple, often dotted with purple at base, with a short, broad, toothed claw; the stigma magenta; the filaments purple, with a whitish, hairy scale at the base of each; the anthers grayish, all perfect; the capsule four-angled, slightly curved, about an inch long. This grows in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges and is widely distributed in Yosemite, but nowhere very abundant.

Pink FairiesClàrkia pulchéllaPinkSummerNorthwest

Odd and exceedingly charming flowers, with very slender, very slightly downy, purplish, branching stems, from six inches to a foot tall, and smooth leaves. The flowers are fantastic in form, the airiest and most fairy-like blossoms that can well be imagined, over two inches across, their delicate petals with long, toothed claws and three lobes, bright rose-pink, shading to a deeper tint at the base, the calyx slightly downy and reddish. Four of the stamens are perfect and four are rudimentary; the anthers are reddish; the pistil white; the capsule an inch long, eight-angled, with a spreading stalk. It is a pretty sight to see these gay flowers dancing in the wind on open mountain slopes.C. concínna (Eucharidium), of the Coast Ranges, is similar, equally beautiful and even more brilliant in coloring; the flowers sometimes in such quantities as to make patches of bright pink color, very effective when growing among yellow Sedums, Scarlet Larkspurs, and scarlet Indian Pinks, in shady mountain canyons.

Clarkia rhomboidea.Pink Fairies—C. pulchella.

There are several kinds of Sphaerostigma; leaves alternate; flowers yellow, white or pink, turning green or reddish; stamens eight, with oblong, swinging anthers; style threadlike, with a round-top stigma; capsule four-celled, usually long and narrow, four-angled, often twisted, with no stalk.

Evening PrimroseSphaerostígma bistórta (Oenothera)YellowSpringCalifornia

A common kind, very variable in its manner of growth, being tall and erect in moist, shady places and spreading flat on the ground in dry, sunny spots. The leaves are dull green, more or less downy and more or less toothed, and the flowers are three-quarters of an inch across, clear yellow, usually with a speck, or blotch, of reddish-brown at the base of each petal; the stamens and pistil also yellow; the pods reddish and very much twisted. Gravelly washes are often thickly sprinkled with these gay and charming flowers.

Sphaerostígma Veitchiànum (Oenothera)YellowSpringCalifornia

Much like the last, but the flowers are only a little over a quarter of an inch across. The pods are dark red and shiny, with a few hairs.

Beach PrimroseSphaerostígma viridéscens (Oenothera cheiranthifolia var. suffruticosa)YellowAll seasonsCalifornia

A beautiful seashore plant, forming large, low clumps of reclining stems and pale gray, downy foliage, the twigs and younger leaves silvery-white. The flowers are about an inch and a quarter across, clear yellow, often with two, dark red dots at the base of each petal; the stamens and pistil also yellow of the same shade; the pods pinkish, downy, and much twisted. The flat masses of pale foliage, strewn with golden disks, are exceedingly effective, growing in drifting sand hills along the coast, from San Francisco south.

S. Veitchianum.Beach Primrose—Sphaerostigma viridescens.Evening Primrose—S. bistorta.

Sphaerostígma tortuòsa. (Oenothera)WhiteSpringNevada

A queer little, stunted-looking, desert plant, with almost no stem, but with several branches, spreading flat on the ground, stiff, smooth and purplish, with crowded clusters of flowers, leaves, and pods, mostly at the ends, the whole forming flat clumps, from six to ten inches across. The leaves are smooth, slightly thickish, pale bluish-green and toothless; the buds are erect, and the flowers are over a quarter of an inch across, white, with yellow anthers and a green stigma. The pods are very much twisted and form odd little snarly bunches.

There are only a few kinds of Chylisma; the flowers in terminal clusters; the calyx with a more or less funnel-form tube and four lobes; the petals four, not notched; the stamens eight, unequal; the stigma with a round top, the capsule long, membranous, with a stalk.

ChylismaChylísma scapoìdea var. clavaefórmis (Oenothera)WhiteSpringAriz., Utah

A charming desert plant, from a few inches to a foot tall, with one or more, pinkish, smooth, rather leafy stems, springing from a pretty clump of smooth, bluish-green leaves. The delicate flowers are about three-quarters of an inch across and form a graceful cluster of several or many blossoms. The petals are white or yellow, often tinted with pink, with some specks of maroon at the base, and the sepals are pinkish-yellow; the stamens pale yellow; the stigma green; the pods erect.

There are several kinds of Pachylophus; perennials, stemless or nearly so; leaves from the root; calyx downy, with a long tube; petals white or pink; stamens eight, with threadlike filaments, the alternate ones longer; style threadlike; stigma four-cleft; capsule woody.

White Evening PrimrosePachýlophus marginàtus (Oenothera)WhiteSummerAriz., Utah, Nev., Col.

This has a few large flowers, three inches or more across, with pure-white diaphanous petals, fading to pink, and pink calyx-lobes. The buds are erect, hairy and pink, and the flowers spring from a cluster of long, downy root-leaves, narrowing to slender leaf-stalks, with hairs on the veins and on the toothed and jagged margins, and have almost no flower-stalk, but the hairy calyx-tubeis so long, sometimes as much as seven inches, that it looks like a stalk. The root is thick and woody and the capsule is egg-shaped and ribbed, with no stem. There is a patch of these wonderful flowers in the Grand Canyon on Bright Angel trail, halfway between the rim and the plateau, where in a shaded spot beside a great rock the pure blossoms seem to shed a moonlight radiance. They are equally beautiful on the dry plains of Utah, where they grow in quantities.

White Evening Primrose—Pachylophus marginatus.

Chylisma scapoidea var. clavaeformis.Sphaerostigma tortuosa.

There are several kinds of Anogra, resembling Onagra, but with white or pink flowers and the seeds differently arranged; the stems often clothed with papery bark; the buds drooping. The name is an anagram of Onagra.

Prairie Evening PrimroseAnogra albicàulis. (Oenothera)WhiteSpring, summerSouthwest, etc.

A conspicuous kind, often growing in large patches, with whitish, downy, branching stems, from a few inches to a foot tall, often with shreddy bark, and downy, pale bluish-green leaves, more or less toothed. The drooping, downy buds are tinted with reddish-pink and the lovely flowers are from one and a half to three inches across, with pure white petals, tinted with yellow at base, changing to pink after pollination and fading to crimson. The stamens have cobwebby threads, white filaments, and yellow anthers, the pistil is green and the curved capsule is downy or hairy. The whole color scheme, of pale sea-green foliage, reddish buds, and white, rose-color, and crimson flowers, is delicate, harmonious, and effective. This grows in sandy places, and on the prairies from Dakota to Mexico.

Cut-leaved Evening PrimroseAnogra coronopifòlia (Oenothera)WhiteSummer, autumnAriz., Utah, etc.

A pretty plant, with an erect, leafy stem, six inches to two feet tall, springing from running rootstocks, and pale green, more or less downy, leaves, finely cut into numerous, small, narrow lobes, so that they look like rather dry little ferns. The delicate flowers are the usual Evening Primrose shape, about an inch across, in the axils of the leaves, with pure white petals, greenish at the base and turning pink in fading, and a calyx-tube two inches long, with turned-back, pinkish-green lobes. The anthers are brown, the pistil green, the throat of the corolla is closed by a fringe of white hairs, the buds are drooping and thecapsule is oblong and hairy. This is common on prairies and plains, from Nebraska to Utah, and south to New Mexico, reaching an altitude of nine thousand feet.

Prairie Evening Primrose—Anogra albicaulis.

There are several kinds of Onagra, differing from Anogra in having yellow flowers and in the arrangement of the seeds; with stems; leaves alternate, with wavy or toothed margins; buds erect; flowers night-blooming, in terminal clusters; calyx-tube long; petals four; stamens eight, equal in length; stigma four-cleft; capsule four-angled, more or less tapering.

Evening PrimroseÓnagra Hóokeri (Oenothera)YellowSummerWest

A fine biennial, with stout, leafy stems, from three to six feet high, bearing splendid flowers, over three inches across, with clear yellow petals, fading to pink, and reddish calyx-lobes. The leaves, stems, and buds all downy and the buds erect. The stigma has four, slender lobes, forming a little cross, and the yellow pollen is loosely connected by cobwebby threads, clinging to visiting insects, and is thus carried from flower to flower; the capsule is an inch long. This is much handsomer than the common Evening Primrose,O. biénnis, and especially fine in Yosemite. As the mountain shadows begin to slant across the Valley the blossoms commence to open, until the meadows are thickly strewn with "patens of bright gold." They stay open all night, withering with the noonday sun.

There are several kinds of Lavauxia; low, usually stemless; leaves mostly from the root; calyx-tube slender; petals four; stamens eight, the alternate ones longer; ovary short, stigma four-cleft; capsule stout, four-angled or winged.

Sun-cupsLavaùxia primivèris (Oenothera)YellowSpringArizona

An attractive little plant, in the desert, with no stem, the flowers with long, slender calyx-tubes, resembling stems, springing from a clump of rather downy root-leaves. The buds are hairy and the flowers are about an inch across, light yellow, with pale yellow stamens and stigma. This plant varies a good deal in size, bearing one or several flowers, and the margins of the leaves almost toothless or irregularly slashed. It superficially resemblesTaráxia ovàta, the Sun-cups so common on the southwestern coast, for the flowers have the same little fresh, sunny faces, but the latter has a round-topped stigma.

Evening Primrose—Onagra Hookeri.Sun-cups—Lavauxia primiveris.

A large family, widely distributed, not abundant in the tropics; usually strong-smelling herbs, remarkable for their aromatic oil, mostly with hollow, grooved stems; leaves alternate, compound, generally deeply cut, leaf-stalks often broadened at base; flowers very small, usually in broad, flat-topped clusters, generally with bracts; calyx usually a five-toothed rim around the top of the ovary; petals five, small, usually with tips curled in, inserted on a disk, which crowns the ovary and surrounds the base of the styles; stamens five, with threadlike filaments and swinging anthers, also on the disk; ovary two-celled, inferior, with two threadlike styles; fruit two, dry, seedlike bodies, when ripe separating from each other, and usually suspended from the summit of a slender axis, each body marked with ribs, usually with oil-tubes between the ribs. The examination of these oil-tubes in mature fruits, with a microscope, is necessary to determine most of the genera and species, so description of genera is omitted here, and botanists have added to the difficulties of the amateur by giving almost every genus more than one name. The flowers are much alike, yet the leaves often differ very much in the same genus. Many kinds are poisonous, although others, such as Parsley, Carrot, and Parsnip, are valuable food plants.

Peucédanum EuryptèraYellowSpringCalifornia

A fine robust plant, a foot or more tall, with stout, purplish stems and smooth, crisp leaves, the lower ones with three leaflets, the upper with five, and the teeth tipped with bristles. The flowers are greenish-yellow and the main cluster measures four or five inches across, with no bracts at base, but the small clusters have bracts. The flowers are ugly, but the foliage is handsome and the seed vessels richly tinted with wine-color, making the plant decorative and conspicuous on the sea cliffs of southern California.

Turkey PeasOrogènia linearifòliaWhiteSpringNorthwest and Utah

A quaint little plant, only about three inches high, with a tuberous root, spreading, slanting stems, and smooth leaves, all from the root, with three, long, narrow leaflets; a reddish, stiff, papery scale sheathing the stem at base. The minute, white flowers form a cluster less than aninch across, without bracts, with a stout, ridged flower-stalk and composed of from two to ten smaller clusters, with small bracts; the anthers red. This grows in rich moist soil, in shady valleys, on mountain ridges; in the Wasatch Mountains, sometimes on the edge of the snow.

Turkey Peas—Orogenia linearifolia.(fruit) Peucedanum Euryptera.

Pterýxia Califórnica (Cymópterus)YellowSummerCal., Oreg.

Over a foot tall, with very pretty, dark green foliage and rather ugly, dull yellow flowers, in flat-topped clusters, three inches across. The leaves are in a cluster at the root, with long leaf-stalks sheathing at base, very finely cut and toothed, with stiffish points; the main flower-cluster without bracts, but the smaller clusters with narrow bracts.

Whisk-broom ParsleyCogswéllia platycàrpa (Peucedanum simplex)YellowSpringNorthwest and Utah

An odd-looking plant, for the foliage looks like pieces of a whisk-broom stuck in the ground. It is six to fourteen inches tall, with a thickish root and minute, sulphur-yellow flowers, forming a flat-topped cluster, about two inches across, without bracts, and composed of three to fifteen smaller clusters, with small bracts; usually only the outermost flowers of both the large and small clusters are fertile. The stem and leaves are stiff and sage-green, the root-leaves with broad leaf-stems, reddish and papery at base, sheathing the stem, and all the leaves cut into narrow divisions, not much thicker than pine needles, folded together so that they appear to be cylindrical. This grows on dry gravelly hills, at an altitude of from six to eight thousand feet.

Leptotaènia multífida (Ferula)Yellowish-greenSpring, summerNorthwest, Nev., Utah, New Mex.

A fine, stout plant, about two feet tall, with a thick, spindle-shaped root and dark, rich-green, feathery foliage; the large leaves, over a foot long, appearing smooth but really imperceptibly downy, finely cut and lobed, with long, stout leaf-stalks; the small flowers, yellowish-green or bronze-color, in flat-topped clusters, two or three inches across, with few or no bracts, with tall, stout flower-stalks, and composed of about eighteen, small clusters, forming round knobs, with many bracts, on slender pedicels of various lengths. This grows in rich soil and is conspicuous on account of its size and foliage.

Pteryxia Californica.Whisk-broom Parsley—Cogswellia platycarpa.

Velaèa argùtaYellowSpringCalifornia

This has a stout, brownish stem, about eight inches tall, and fine, conspicuous foliage, mostly in a clump at the base, the leaves rich-green and very glossy, stiff and crisp in texture, though not thick, with bristle-tipped teeth. The rather ugly little flowers are greenish-yellow and the main cluster has no bracts. This grows in canyons in southern California.

Purple Sanicle, Nigger-babiesSanícula bipinnatífidaPurplishSpring, summerCal., Oreg.

This has branching, purplish stems, from six inches to three feet tall, and handsome foliage. The flowers are maroon-color and are crowded into balls, less than half an inch across, forming a loose, irregular cluster, with leafy bracts at the base. The effect of the dark flowers and fine foliage is rather attractive and it is common on grassy slopes in the hills.

Eulòphus BolánderiWhiteSummerNorthwest

This has a smooth, stiff stem, one to two feet tall, the leaves cut into long, narrow divisions, and the flowers very small, cream-white or pinkish, forming a flat-topped cluster, about two inches across, with narrow, pale bracts. This is quite pretty and common in Yosemite.

Indian ParsnipAulospérmum lóngipes (Cymopterus)YellowSpringUtah, Col., Wyo.

Decorative in form and color and unusual looking, with smooth, pale bluish-green foliage, with a "bloom," the leaves prettily cut and lobed, with pinkish leafstalks, forming, when young, a large rosette, close to the ground, but the stem gradually lengthens until the cluster of leaves, after the flowers are gone, finds itself on the summit of a long stem, sheathed at base. The minute, bright yellow flowers form flat-topped clusters, with flower-stems two or three inches tall, not hollow, the main cluster about an inch across, usually without bracts, and composed of five to ten smaller clusters, with bracts. When the plant is young the general effect of the flat, pale gray rosette of fern-like leaves, spotted with the contrasting yellow of the flowers, is pretty and striking. Sometimes a few of the flowers are purple. This has a thick root and grows on dry sunny hills, in gravelly soil.

Velaea arguta.Eulophus Bolanderi.Purple Sanicle—Sanicula bipinnatifida.

Not a very large family, most abundant in the northern hemisphere, mostly trees or shrubs. They have simple, mostly toothless leaves, without stipules, usually opposite or in whorls. The flowers are in round or flat-topped clusters and have four or five sepals and petals and four to many stamens. The inferior ovary becomes a stone-fruit that looks like a berry. Cornus is from the Greek for "horn," in allusion to the toughness of the wood.

There are many kinds of Cornus, some natives of Mexico and Peru, with small, white, greenish or purple flowers, in clusters, which often have an involucre of large, white bracts.

Pacific DogwoodCórnus NuttálliiWhiteSpring, summerOreg., Wash., Cal.

A handsome shrub or small tree, from ten to thirty feet high and growing in rich woods, often near streams. The flower clusters are composed of numerous, small, greenish flowers, forming a large, protruding knob, which is surrounded by large, white, petal-like bracts, usually six in number, giving the effect of a single handsome flower, measuring from three to six inches across. It resembles the Flowering Dogwood of the East, but as the flowers have six instead of four "petals," the tips of which in Yosemite are neither puckered nor stained with pink, they look different to eastern eyes and the general appearance, though equally fine, is less picturesque, probably because the shrub is rather larger and less straggling, the flowers bigger and more symmetrical, and the leaves brighter green. The effect of the flat masses of creamy white bloom among the darker forest trees is magnificent, and in Washington and Oregon the leaves turn to brilliant red in the autumn. The fruit is a cluster of bright red berries. The wood is exceedingly hard and is used in cabinet-making. There is a tradition that when Dogwood blooms corn should be planted.

Pacific Dogwood—Cornus Nuttallii.

Red-osier DogwoodCórnus stolonífera var. ripàriaWhiteSpring, summer, autumnUtah, Ariz., New Mex., Col.

A handsome shrub, five to eight feet high, with smooth, dark red branches and bright red twigs. The leaves are thin in texture, smooth and rich-green on the upper side, paler on the under, and the small, cream-white flowers, with long, yellow stamens, form handsome, flat-topped clusters, about two inches across, smelling pleasantly of honey; the berries are dull white. This is common.

BunchberryCórnus CanadénsisWhiteSummerWest, except Ariz.

A charming little plant, about six inches high, growing in moist, cool woods and common in the East. The slender stem, with one or two pairs of small leaves, springs from creeping, woody shoots and is crowned by a circle of larger leaves, six, or rarely four, in number, smooth and bright green, setting off a pretty white blossom, with a slender flower-stalk. This looks like a single flower, measuring about an inch across, but it is really composed of a number of tiny, greenish flowers, forming a cluster in the center, and surrounded by four white bracts, which look like large petals. The flowers are succeeded by a bunch of red berries, insipid in flavor, but vivid scarlet in hue.

A large and interesting family, of very wide geographic distribution, in temperate and cold regions; herbs, shrubs, or trees; the leaves undivided, without stipules; the flowers mostly perfect; the calyx with four or five divisions; the corolla usually regular, with four or five, usually united, petals; the stamens inserted under the pistil, usually as many, or twice as many, as the petals; the ovary usually superior, with one style; the fruit a capsule, berry, or stone-fruit, usually with many small seeds.

There are many kinds of Gaultheria, mostly of the Andes; ours are evergreen shrubs, with alternate, aromatic leaves and nodding flowers; the calyx five-cleft; the corolla more or less urn-shaped, with five teeth; the stamens ten; the fruit a berry, composed of the fleshy calyx surrounding the ovary and containing many seeds. The Wintergreen, or Checkerberry, used for flavoring, belongs to this genus.

Bunch-berry—C. Canadensis.Red-osier Dogwood—Cornus stolonifera var. riparia.

Western WintergreenGaulthèria ovatifòliaWhiteSummerNorthwest

A pretty little shrub, growing in mountain woods, a few inches high, with woody stems, spreading on the ground, and glossy foliage, almost hiding the flowers. The twigs are fuzzy and the leaves are dark rich-green, the small flowers white and the berries red.

Salal, ShallonGaulthèria ShállonWhite, pinkSpring, summerNorthwest

An attractive little shrub, usually from one to three feet high, with handsome foliage. The leaves are finely toothed, dark olive-green, leathery and rather glossy, pale on the under side, and the waxy flowers hang gracefully on a stiffly bending flower-stem, which is sticky and hairy and often bright red, with large, scaly, red bracts at the base of the pedicels and smaller bracts halfway up. The flowers are nearly half an inch long, with a yellowish calyx, covered with reddish hairs, and a white corolla, tipped with pink, or all pink; the filaments hairy, with orange anthers. There is often so much bright pinkish-red about the flower-stems and bracts that the effect, with the waxy flowers and dark foliage, is very pretty. This plant often grows in great quantities, thickly covering the floor of the redwood forests. It is called Salál by the Oregon Indians, who value the black, aromatic berries as an important article of food.

There are many kinds of Azalea, of North America and Asia, mostly tall, branching shrubs; leaves alternate, thin, deciduous; flowers large, in terminal clusters, developing from cone-like, scaly buds; calyx small, five-parted; corolla funnel-form, five-lobed or somewhat two-lipped; stamens five, rarely ten, protruding, usually drooping; style long, slender, drooping; capsule more or less oblong.

Western AzaleaAzàlea occidentàlis (Rhododendron)WhiteSummerCal., Oreg.

One of the most beautiful western shrubs, from two to ten feet high, loosely branching, with splendid clusters of flowers and rich-green leaves, almost smooth, from one to four inches long, with a small, sharp tip and clustered at the ends of the twigs. The corolla is from one and a half to three inches long, slightly irregular, white with a broad stripe of warm-yellow on the upper petal and often all the petals striped with pink. The westernwoodland streams are bordered with these wonderful blossoms, leaning over the water and filling the air with their delicious fragrance.

Western Azalea—Azalea occidentalis.

Salal—G. Shallon.Western Wintergreen—Gaultheria ovatifolia.

There are many kinds of Rhododendron, most abundant in Asia, resembling Azalea, but with evergreen, leathery leaves. The name is from the Greek, meaning "rose-tree."

California Rose BayRhododéndron CalifórnicumPinkSpring, summerNorthwest

A magnificent shrub, the handsomest in the West, from three to fifteen feet high, with a grayish trunk and fine, evergreen foliage. The leaves are from three to ten inches long, rich-green and leathery, smooth but not shiny, paler on the under side, spreading out around the large flower-clusters, so as to set them off to great advantage, and the flowers are over two inches across, scentless, with small, pale sepals and pink corollas, almost white at the base and shading to deep pink at the edges, which are prettily ruffled. The upper petal is freckled with golden-brown, or greenish spots and arrow-shaped markings, the pistil is crimson and the stamens, with pale pink filaments and pale yellow anthers, curve in, like little serpents' heads. The coloring of the flower clusters, mixed with the crimson-tipped buds, is a combination of delicate and brilliant tints and in such places as the redwood forests, along the Noyo River in California, where the shrub develops into a small tree, the huge clusters, glowing high above us among the dark forest trees, are a wonderful sight. This is the "State flower" of Washington.

There are a good many kinds of Arctostaphylos, mostly western; evergreen shrubs, with very crooked branches; smooth, dark red or brown bark; alternate leaves, and usually nodding, white or pink flowers, with bracted pedicels, in terminal clusters, the parts usually in fives; the corolla urn-shaped; the stamens usually ten, not protruding, the filaments hairy; the ovary raised on a disk on the receptacle; the fruit berry-like, several nutlets surrounded by soft pulp. The leaves, by a twisting of their stalks, assume a vertical position on the branches, a habit which enables many plants of dry regions to avoid unnecessary evaporation. These shrubs are often very abundant and with Chaparral Pea, Buck Brush, ScrubOak, etc., form the extensive brush thickets known as chaparral, so characteristic of the western mountain scenery. The Greek name means "bear-berry," as bears are fond of the berries, and Manzanita is from the Spanish for "little apple," as the fruits often resemble tiny apples. They are dry but pleasantly acid and are popular with Indians, bears, and chipmunks, and jelly can be made from them. The largest Manzanita tree known is one in Napa County, California, thirty-five feet high and as large across.

California Rose Bay—Rhododendron Californicum.

Green ManzanitaArctostáphylos pátulaPinkWinter, springCalifornia

A decorative shrub, from four to six feet high, with spreading branches. The leaves are from one to two inches long, smooth, pale green, and leathery and the flowers are waxy, a quarter of an inch or more long, crowded in pretty, roundish clusters, of various shades of pink. The very smooth trunk and branches are picturesquely gnarled and twisted and, in fine contrast to the pale foliage, are rich mahogany-color, with here and there openings in the outer bark, showing the gray, under layer, as if the branches had been dipped in hot chocolate, which had melted off in some places. The berry is about a quarter of an inch across, smooth and fleshy. This forms most of the chaparral on the slopes around the Yosemite Valley, ranging from over four thousand to nine thousand feet in altitude, and is widely distributed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

ManzanitaArctostáphylos bícolorPinkSpringCalifornia

A handsome shrub, three or four feet high, with rich-green leaves, very glossy on the upper side and covered with close white down on the under. The waxy flowers are a lovely shade of pink and the pretty fruit is about the size of a pea, like a tiny greenish-yellow apple, with a brownish-red cheek. This grows in the South near the coast.

Kinnikinic.Red BearberryArctostáphylos Ùva-ÚrsiWhiteSpring, summerWest, etc.

An attractive little shrub, with many trailing branches, creeping over the ground and often covering the rocks with a beautiful mat of evergreen foliage. The leaves are small, toothless, shining and leathery and the little white or pinkish, bell-shaped flowers hang in pretty littleclusters and are succeeded by smooth, round, red berries. This is common in the mountains, across the continent, reaching an altitude of ten thousand feet. The Indians use it medicinally and in the curing of animal skins. There is a picture of this in Schuyler Mathews'Field Book.

Manzanita—A. bicolor.Green Manzanita—Arctostaphylos patula.

There are a great many kinds of Vaccinium, widely distributed; branching shrubs, with alternate leaves and small flowers, usually in clusters; the ovary inferior, the fruit a many-seeded berry, crowned with the remains of the calyx-teeth. This is the classic Latin name. These plants include Blueberry, Huckleberry, and Bilberry.

California HuckleberryVaccínium ovàtumWhite, pinkSpring, summerCal., Oreg.

An attractive shrub, from four to eight feet high, with beautiful, glossy, evergreen foliage, which is very ornamental and much used in household decoration. The older leaves are rich dark green, contrasting finely with the younger, apple-green leaves and, in the spring, with the charming little red ones, with which the twigs are tipped. They are leathery in texture and very neatly arranged along the branches, which are ornamented with pretty clusters of waxy, white or pink flowers, a quarter of an inch long, or with purple berries, without a "bloom," which are edible and make excellent preserves. This grows on hills near the coast, especially among the redwoods.

There is one kind of Azaleastrum; resembling Rhododendron, but with deciduous leaves; and resembling Azalea, but the flowers developing from lateral instead of terminal buds, the corolla with five, regular lobes, and the stamens shorter.

Small AzaleaAzaleástrum albiflòrum (Rhododendron)WhiteSummerNorthwest

An attractive shrub, from two to six feet high and loosely branching, with grayish-brown bark and rich-green leaves, glossy, but not stiff or leathery. The flowers are about an inch across, with a sticky, aromatic, pale green calyx and waxy-white corolla, the style and stamens pale yellow or white. They have no scent and are not so handsome as the last, but are very beautiful, growing in high mountains, often close to the snow line.

Small Azalea—Azaleastrum albiflorum.California Huckleberry—Vaccinium ovatum.

There are several kinds of Kalmia, almost all of eastern North America, the flowers alike in form.

Swamp LaurelKálmia microphýlla (K. glauca var. microphylla)PinkSummerNorthwest, etc.

A very pretty little evergreen shrub, from a few inches to over a foot high, with glossy, leathery, rich-green leaves, whitish on the under side, with the margins rolled back. The flowers are single or in clusters, each about half an inch across, with five sepals and a bright purplish-pink, saucer-shaped corolla, with five lobes, which is prettily symmetrical and intricate in form. There are ten little pouches below the border and in these the tips of the ten anthers are caught, so that the filaments curve over from the center, and at the touch of a visiting insect they spring out of the pouches and dust the visitor's back with pollen, which is carried to another flower. The little, pointed buds, angled and deep in color, are also pretty and the capsule is roundish, with many small seeds. This grows in northern swamps, across the continent.

There are several kinds of Menziesia, some Japanese; branching shrubs, with alternate, deciduous, toothless leaves, and small, nodding flowers, in clusters, developing from scaly buds, their parts almost always in fours; stamens eight, not protruding; capsule more or less egg-shaped.

Fool's HuckleberryMenzièsia urcelolària (M. ferruginea)Yellowish, reddishSummerNorthwest

A rather attractive little bush, from two to six feet high, with light brown bark, hairy twigs and slightly hairy leaves, with hairy margins. The flowers are less than half an inch long, with a hairy calyx and dull cream-colored corolla, tinged with dull-pink or red, and hang prettily in a circle, on drooping pedicels, which become erect as the capsules ripen. When crushed, the stems and foliage have a strong skunk-like smell.

There are only a few kinds of Ledum, all much alike.

Woolly Labrador TeaLèdum GroenlándicumWhiteSpring, summerNorthwest, etc.

A loosely-branching, evergreen shrub, from one to four feet high. The bark is reddish and the twigs are covered with reddish wool, the color of iron rust, and the leathery, dark green leaves, which are alternate, with rolled-back margins, are also covered with reddish wool on theunder side. The flowers are a good deal less than half an inch across, with five, very small sepals; five, spreading, white petals; a green ovary, and from five to seven, long, conspicuous stamens, giving a feathery appearance to the pretty flower-clusters, which before blooming are enclosed in large, scaly buds. Both foliage and flowers are aromatic. This is found across the continent, as far south as Pennsylvania, and in Greenland.L. glandulòsumis similar, but not woolly. These plants grow in swamps and damp places and are considered poisonous.

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