POTATO FAMILY.Solanaceae.

Chia—Salvia columbariae.

There are several kinds of Trichostema, all North American; herbs, sometimes shrubby; leaves toothless, or with wavy margins; flowers in clusters; calyx usually with five unequal lobes; corolla with a long slender tube and five oblong lobes nearly alike, forming in bud a roundish ball, enclosing the coiled stamens; stamens four, the upper pair longer, with very long, blue or purple filaments, conspicuously protruding from the corolla, suggesting both the Greek name, meaning "hair-like stamens," and the common name, Blue-curls.

Romero, Woolly Blue-curlsTrichostèma lanàtumBlueSummer, autumnCalifornia

This is shrubby and usually has many stems, from two to four feet high, with stiffish leaves, dark green on the upper side, paler and woolly on the under, the margins rolled back, and beautiful flower-clusters, which are sometimes a foot long. The bright blue corolla is nearly an inch long, with a border shaped like a violet, the smaller buds are pink, and the purple stamens and style are two inches long and very conspicuous. The calyxes, stems, and buds are all covered with fuzzy, pink wool, forming a most unusual and beautiful color scheme, giving a changeable almost iridescent effect of mauve and pink, in remarkable contrast to the brilliant blue of the flowers. This grows on rocky hills in southern California, is pleasantly aromatic and used medicinally by Spanish-Californians.T. lanceolàtumis called Camphor Weed, because of its strong odor, like camphor but exceedingly unpleasant. It grows on dry plains and low hills in the Northwest and is an important bee-plant, blooming in summer and autumn, and is also called Vinegar Weed.

There are a few kinds of Agastache, all North American, perennial herbs, mostly tall and coarse; leaves toothed, with leaf-stalks; flowers small, in a terminal spike, with bracts; calyx bell-shaped, with five teeth and slightly two-lipped; corolla with a two-lobed, erect, upper lip, the lower lip spreading and three-lobed, the middle lobe broader and scalloped; stamens four, all with anthers, the upper pair longer; nutlets smooth. The Greek name means "many spikes."

Romero—Trichostema lanatum.

Giant HyssopAgástache urticifòlia (Lophanthus)PinkSummerWest, etc.

A handsome plant, from three to five feet high, with stout, branching stems, usually smooth, sometimes hairy, and smoothish, dark green leaves. The small flowers have a green calyx, with mauve teeth, a white or pale violet corolla, and long, protruding stamens, with lilac anthers. They are crowded in spikes, from two to six inches long, and the whole effect is rather bright purplish-pink, feathery and pretty. This has a strong aromatic smell and grows along the edges of meadows and is abundant in Yosemite at moderate altitudes, but in other places reaches an altitude of over eight thousand feet and is found as far east as Colorado.A. pallidiflòra, with greenish-white calyxes and white corollas, too dull in color to be pretty, grows in the Grand Canyon and in New Mexico and Colorado.

There are several kinds of Monarda, all North American; aromatic herbs; leaves toothed; flowers crowded in heads, usually with bracts, which are sometimes colored; calyx tubular, with five teeth, often hairy inside; corolla more or less hairy outside, two-lipped, upper lip erect or arched, sometimes notched, lower lip spreading and three-lobed, the middle lobe larger; stamens two, with swinging anthers, sometimes also two rudimentary stamens; nutlets smooth. These plants are called Balm, Bergamot, and Horse-mint.

Horse-mintMonàrda pectinàta (M. citriodora in part)PinkSummerAriz., Utah, etc.

This is handsome when growing in masses, though the flowers are not sufficiently positive in color. It grows from one to three feet high, with a stout, roughish stem, sometimes branching, and leaves which are thin and soft in texture, with a dull surface, but not rough, and more or less toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch long and project from crowded heads of conspicuous purplish bracts, tipped with bristles. The calyx is very hairy inside, the lobes tipped with long bristles, and the corolla is pale pink, lilac, or almost white, not spotted, with a very wide open, yawning mouth, the stamens and the curling tips of the pistil protruding from under the upper lip. This grows on dry plains, especially in sandy soil, as far east asColorado and Texas, reaching an altitude of six thousand feet, and is strongly aromatic when crushed.

Giant Hyssop—Agastache urticifolia.Horse-mint—Monarda pectinata.

A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in the tropics. Ours are herbs, shrubs, or vines; leaves alternate, without stipules; flowers perfect, usually regular, in clusters; calyx and corolla usually with five united lobes; stamens on the throat of the corolla, as many as its lobes and alternate with them; ovary superior, two-celled, with a slender style; fruit a berry or capsule, with many seeds. Many important plants, such as Tobacco, Belladonna, Tomato, Egg-plant, Red-pepper, and Potato, belong to this family. Many have a strong odor.

There are several kinds of Datura, widely distributed; ours are chiefly weeds, coarse, tall, branching herbs, with rank odor and narcotic properties; leaves large, toothed or lobed, with leaf-stalks; flowers large, single, erect, with short stalks, in the forks of the stems; calyx with a long tube and five teeth, the lower part remaining in the form of a collar or rim around the base of the capsule; corolla funnel-form, with a plaited border and broad lobes with pointed tips; stamens with very long, threadlike filaments, but not protruding; style threadlike, with a two-lipped stigma; fruit a large, roundish, usually prickly capsule, giving these plants the common name, Thorn-Apple. Datura is the Hindoo name.

Tolguacha, Large-flowered DaturaDatùra meteloìdesWhiteSpring, summerSouthwest, Nev., Utah

A handsome and exceedingly conspicuous plant, forming a large clump of rather coarse, dark foliage, adorned with many magnificent flowers. The stout, velvety stems are bronze-color, from two to four feet high, the leaves are dark green, velvety on the under side, and the flowers are sometimes ten inches long, white, tinged with lilac outside, drooping like wet tissue-paper in the heat of the afternoon, and with sweet though heavy scent. I remember seeing a grave in the desert, marked by a wooden cross and separated from a vast waste of sand by clumps of these great white flowers. It grows in valleylands, reaching an altitude of six thousand feet. It is used as a narcotic by the Indians and resemblesD. stramònium, Jimson-weed, from Asia, common in the East and found also in the West, but it is far handsomer.D. suaveòlens, Floriponda or Angels' Trumpets, is a large shrub, with very large, pendulous, creamy flowers, and is often cultivated in the old mission gardens in California. The flowers are very fragrant at night.

Tolguacha—Datura meteloides.

There are many kinds of Physalis, most of them American, difficult to distinguish; herbs, often slightly woody below; flowers whitish or yellowish; corolla more or less bell-shaped, with a plaited border; style slender, somewhat bent, with a minutely two-cleft stigma. In fruit the calyx becomes large and inflated, papery, angled and ribbed, wholly enclosing the pulpy berry, which contains numerous, flat, kidney-shaped seeds. The name is from the Greek, meaning "bladder," and refers to the inflated calyx, and the common names, Ground-cherry and Strawberry-tomato, are suggested by the fruit, which is juicy, often red or yellow, and in some kinds is edible.

Ground-cherryPhýsalis crassifòliaYellowSouthwest

A pretty, delicate, desert plant, from six to eight inches high, with branching stems and light green leaves. It is sprinkled with pretty cream-yellow flowers, which are not spotted or dark in the center, with yellow anthers, and is hung with odd little green globes, each about three-quarters of an inch long, which are the inflated calyxes containing the berries.

Bladder-cherryPhsýalis FéndleriYellowSummerAriz., Utah

A straggling perennial plant, about a foot high, with widely-branching, roughish stems, springing from a deep tuberous root. The leaves are dull green, roughish, rather coarse in texture, but not large, mostly less than an inch long, coarsely and irregularly toothed, and the flowers are the shape of a shallow Morning-glory, half an inch across, pale dull-yellow, marked with brown inside, with yellow anthers. This does not bear its berries close to the ground, as do many of its relations, and is not pretty. It grows in dry places, reaching an altitude of eight thousand feet.

Ground-cherry—Physalis crassifolia.

There are a great many kinds of Solanum, abundant in tropical America; herbs or shrubs, sometimes climbing; often downy; calyx wheel-shaped, with five teeth or lobes, corolla wheel-shaped, the border plaited, with five angles or lobes and a very short tube; anthers sometimes grouped to form a cone, filaments short; fruit a berry, either enclosed in the calyx or with the calyx remaining on its base. This is the Latin name of the Nightshade, meaning "quieting."

Purple NightshadeSolànum XántiPurpleSpring, summerCalifornia

This is much handsomer than most of the eastern Nightshades, hairy and sticky, with several spreading stems, from one to three feet high, springing from a perennial root, with thin, roughish leaves, more or less toothed. In favorable situations the flowers are beautiful, each about an inch across, and form handsome loose clusters. The corolla is saucer-shaped, bright purple, with a ring of green spots in the center, bordered with white and surrounding the bright yellow cone formed by the anthers. The berry is pale green or purple, the size of a small cherry. This is sometimes sweet-scented and is very fine on Mt. Lowe and elsewhere in southern California, but is paler and smaller in Yosemite. Blue Witch,S. umbellíferum, is very similar, more woody below, with deep green stems, shorter branches, smaller, thicker leaves, and a dull white or purplish berry. It grows in the foothills of the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada Mountains and flowers chiefly in summer, but more or less all through the year.

NightshadeSolànum DouglásiiWhiteSpring, summerSouthwest

A branching plant, about two feet high and across, with roughish stems and thin, smooth or slightly hairy, dark green leaves, toothless, or the margins more or less coarsely toothed. The flowers are white, tinged with lilac, with a purplish ring surrounding the yellow cone formed by the anthers. In southern California the flowers are nearly half an inch across, but smaller elsewhere. The berries are black. This is common throughout California near the coast.S. nìgrum, the common Nightshade, is a weed in almost all countries, common in waste places and in cultivated soil, and has small white flowers and black berries, about as large as peas and said to be poisonous.

Purple Nightshade—Solanum Xanti.

There are many kinds of Nicotiana, or Tobacco, chiefly American; acrid, narcotic herbs or shrubs, usually sticky-hairy; leaves large, toothless; corolla funnel-form or salver-form, with a long tube and spreading border, plaited in the bud; stamens with threadlike filaments and broad anthers, not protruding; capsule smooth, containing numerous small seeds. The name is in honor of Nicot, diplomat and author of the first French dictionary, who sent some of these plants to Catherine de' Medici from Portugal in 1560.

San Juan Tree, Tree TobaccoNicotiàna glaùcaYellowSpringSouthwest

A very slender, loosely-branching evergreen shrub, from six to fifteen feet high, with graceful, swaying branches and smooth, thick leaves, with a "bloom," the lower leaves eight inches long. The flowers are nearly two inches long, greenish at first and then becoming a rather pretty shade of warm dull-yellow, and hang in graceful clusters from the ends of the branches. The calyx is unequally five-toothed, the tube of the corolla downy on the outside; the anthers whitish; the ovary on a yellowish disk, with a long style and two-lobed stigma, and the capsule oblong, half an inch long. This was introduced into California from South America about fifty years ago and is now common in waste places and cultivated valleys.

There are many kinds of Lycium, shrubs or woody vines, named for the country Lycia.

Desert MatrimonyLycium CòoperiWhiteSpringSouthwest

An odd-looking desert shrub, everything about it so closely crowded as to give a queer bunchy and clumsy effect. It is three or four feet high, with thick, dark gray, gnarled, woody branches, crowded with tufts of small, dull, light green leaves, which are thickish, stiffish, obscurely downy and toothless, and mingled with close little bunches of flowers. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a large, yellowish, hairy calyx, with five lobes, a white corolla, which is slightly hairy outside, with five lobes and a narrow, greenish tube, and pale yellow anthers, not protruding. They are rather pretty near by, but the appearance of the whole shrub is too pale to be effective. The familiar Matrimony Vine of old-fashioned gardens belongs to this genus.

San Juan Tree—Nicotiana glauca.Desert Matrimony—Lycium Cooperi.

A large family, widely distributed, most of them natives of temperate regions; chiefly herbs, with bitter juice, sometimes narcotic and poisonous; without stipules; the flowers usually irregular; the calyx usually with four or five divisions, sometimes split on the lower or upper side, or on both sides; the corolla with united petals, nearly regular or two-lipped, two of the lobes forming the upper lip, which is sometimes beaklike, and three lobes forming the lower lip; the stamens on the corolla and alternate with its lobes, two or four in number, two long and two short, and sometimes also a fifth stamen which often has no anther, the anthers two-celled; the ovary superior, usually two-celled, the style slender, the stigma sometimes forked; the fruit a pod, splitting from the top into two parts and usually containing many seeds. This is a curious and interesting family, its members very dissimilar in appearance, having expressed their individuality in many striking and even fantastic forms.

There are several kinds of Maurandia, perennial herbs, climbing by their slender twisted leaf-stalks and occasionally also by their flower-stalks; the leaves triangular-heartshaped or halberd-shaped, only the lower ones opposite; the flowers showy, purple, pink, or white; the corolla with two lines or plaits, instead of a palate, which are usually bearded.

Snap-dragon VineMaurándia antirrhìniflora(Antirrhinum maurandioides)Purple or pink and yellowSpringAriz., New Mex.

This is a beautiful trailing or climbing vine, smooth all over, with charming foliage and twining stems, much like those of a Morning-glory, springing from a thickened, perennial root. The pretty flowers are over an inch long, with a purple or raspberry-pink corolla, with bright yellow blotches on the lower lip, forming an odd and striking combination of color. This blooms all through the spring and summer and may be found growing in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, near the river, where its delicate prettiness is in strange contrast to the dark and forbidding rocks over which it clambers and clothes with a mantle of tender green.

Snap-dragon Vine—Maurandia antirrhiniflora.

There are many kinds of Antirrhinum, natives of Europe, Asia, and western North America; herbs; the lower leaves often opposite, and the upper ones alternate; the sepals five; the corolla two-lipped, swollen at the base on the lower side, but with no spur, the palate nearly closing the throat; the stamens four. The name is from the Greek, meaning "nose-like," because the shape of the flowers suggests the snout of an animal.

Sticky Snap-dragonAntirrhìnum glandulòsumPink, purpleSpringCalifornia

This is a conspicuous perennial, handsome though rather coarse, hairy and sticky all over, with stout leafy stems, from two to five feet tall, with branches but no tendrils, and soft, rather dark green leaves. The flowers are half an inch long, the corolla pink with a yellow palate, and they are crowded in fine, long, one-sided clusters. This is common in the South and looks a good deal like some of the cultivated kinds; when its flowers are pinched from the sides they open their mouths in the same funny way.

White Snap-dragonAntirrhìnum CoulteriànumWhite and lilacSpringCalifornia

This has tendril-like pedicels, which curl around nearby plants, but the stem is stout and erect, over two feet tall, smooth below and hairy above, with smooth, dark green leaves, and bears a long, crowded, one-sided cluster of pink buds and pretty white flowers. They are each about half an inch long, with hairy calyxes, and the corollas are prettily tinged with lilac or pink, but are too pale in color, though the general effect of the plant is rather striking. The anthers are bright yellow. This grows in the South.A. vírgais a smooth plant, from two and a half to five feet tall, with many wand-like stems, springing from a perennial base, and reddish-purple flowers, about half an inch long, forming a long, rather one-sided cluster. This grows in the chaparral, on ridges of the Coast Ranges, blooming in June, but is not common.

White Snap-dragon—A. Coulterianum.Sticky Snap-dragon—Antirrhinum glandulosum.

Trailing Snap-dragonAntirrhìnum stríctumBlueSpringCalifornia

This is an odd-looking plant, from one to two feet tall, which seems unable to decide whether or not it is a vine, for the pedicels of the flowers are exceedingly slender and twist like tendrils and by their means the plant clings to its neighbors and raises its weak stems from the ground, or, if it finds no support, it stands almost erect and waves its tendrils aimlessly in the air. It is smooth all over, with dark green leaves and pretty, bright purplish-blue flowers, about half an inch long, with a pale, hairy palate, which almost closes the throat. This grows in the South, near the sea.A. vàgansis similar and is common farther north in California, growing on dry open wooded hills or in canyons of the Coast Ranges, blooming in summer and autumn.

There are many kinds of Castilleja, almost always perennials, usually parasitic on the roots of other plants, usually handsome and striking, the conspicuous feature being the large leafy bracts, colored like flowers, which adorn the upper part of the stem. They usually have several stems, springing from woody roots; leaves alternate, without leaf-stalks, green below and gradually merging above into colored bracts; flowers crowded in terminal clusters, mixed with bracts; calyx tubular, flattened, more or less cleft in front or behind, or on both sides, the lobes sometimes two-toothed, colored like the bracts, enclosing the tube of the corolla; corolla less conspicuous and duller in color than the calyx, tubular, two-lipped, the lower lip short and very small, not inflated, with three small teeth, the upper lip long and beaklike, enclosing the four stamens and single threadlike style; stigma cap-shaped or two-lobed; anther-sacs unequally attached to the filament, one by its middle and the other hanging by its tip; capsule egg-shaped or oblong, splitting open, containing many seeds. These gaudy plants are well named Indian Paint Brush, for the flower-cluster and leaf-tips look as if they had been dipped in color. Red Feather is also good but Painted Cup is rather poor, as there is nothing cup-like about the flower. They were named for Castillejo, a Spanish botanist.

Trailing Snap-dragon—Antirrhinum strictum.

Paint BrushCastillèja miniàtaRedSummerNorthwest

This is a very handsome kind, from two to four feet tall, with a smooth stem, and smooth leaves, which are not crinkled, toothed, or lobed, and with more or less hairy bracts, which are beautifully tinted with many shades of pink, red, and purple. This is a magnificent plant, especially when we find it growing along irrigation ditches, among blue Lupines, yellow Mimulus and other bright flowers, where the combinations of color are quite wonderful, and it is the handsomest and commonest sort around Yosemite, where it grows in meadows and moist places, from the foothills nearly up to timber-line.

Scarlet Paint BrushCastillèja pinetòrumRed and yellowSummerCal., Oreg.

This is not quite so large or handsome as the last, but gives much the effect of a brush dipped in red paint, for the yellowish bracts are beautifully tipped with scarlet and the flowers are also bright red. The rough stem is a foot or more tall, the roughish dark green leaves are not toothed or lobed, but have crinkled edges, and the bracts usually have three lobes. These plants grow in the mountains and often make bright patches of color in the landscape.

Paint BrushCastillèja angustifòliaRedSpring, summerUtah., Nev.

This is very variable, and is usually about a foot high, with several hairy stems, springing from a long yellow root. The leaves are slightly rough, but not coarse, with fine white hairs along the margins, and light gray-green in color, the lowest ones not lobed, a few of the upper ones with two lobes, but most of the leaves, and the bracts, slashed into three lobes. The calyx is covered with white hairs, and the upper lip of the corolla is bright green. The whole plant is most beautiful and harmonious in color, not coarse like many Castillejas, and the upper part is clothed with innumerable delicate yet vivid tints of salmon, rose, and deep pink, shading to scarlet and crimson, forming a charming contrast to the quiet tones of the lower foliage. This grows in gravelly soil, on dry plains and hillsides, and the clumps of bloom are very striking among the sage-brush.

Indian Paint Brush—Castilleja miniata.

Scarlet Paint Brush—Castilleja pinetorum.

There are a good many kinds of Stemodia, widely distributed, only two in the United States; the corolla blue or purplish and two-lipped; the stamens four, not protruding.

StemodiaStemòdia durantifòliaBlueSpringSouthwest, etc.

This is a rather pretty plant, which is quite effective when growing in quantities. The stem is hairy and sticky, from a foot to a foot and a half tall, with hairy leaves, which have a few sharp teeth. The flowers are three-eighths of an inch long, with sticky-hairy calyxes and bright purplish-blue corollas, white and hairy in the throat. This has a slightly unpleasant, aromatic smell and grows in moist spots, often in mountain canyons near streams, as far east as Texas and also in the tropics.

There are many kinds of Linaria, most abundant in the Old World; herbs; the upper leaves alternate, the lower opposite, usually toothless; the corolla like Antirrhinum, but with a spur; the stamens four, not protruding.

Toad FlaxLinària CanadénsisBlue, lilacSpring, summerWest, etc.

A slender plant, from six to eighteen inches tall and smooth all over, with branching stems, dark green leaves, and pretty little flowers, delicately scented, from a quarter to half an inch long, with bright purplish-blue or pale lilac corollas, veined with purple. This is found in dry soil across the continent and sometimes grows in such quantities around San Diego as to form blue patches in the landscape.

There are many kinds of Veronica; ours are rather low herbs, though some are trees in the tropics, widely distributed, living in meadows and moist places; flowers small, usually blue or white, never yellow; calyx with four divisions, rarely five; corolla wheel-shaped, with a very short tube and four, rarely five, lobes, the lower one narrower than the others; stamens two, sticking out at each side of the base of the upper lobe; anthers blunt, with slender filaments; ovary two-celled, with a slender style and round-top stigma; capsule more or less flattened, two-lobed or heart-shaped, splitting open, containing few or many seeds. They were named in honor of St. Veronica.

Toad Flax—Linaria Canadensis.Stemodia—S. durantifolia.

Hairy SpeedwellVerónica TournefórtiiBlueSpring, summer, autumnUtah, Cal., etc.

This is one of the most attractive of the little Speedwells, for its flowers are bright and quite large. The stems are branching, hairy and purplish, some short and erect, others long and trailing, and the leaves are alternate above and opposite below, dull yellowish-green, hairy and rather soft, with scalloped edges. The flowers grow singly, on slender flower-stalks over an inch long, springing from the angles of the upper leaves, and the corolla is three-eighths of an inch across, the upper lobe deep brilliant blue, veined with dark blue, the side lobes similar in color but not so bright, the lower lobe almost white, without blue veins, and each lobe with a little pale yellow at its base. The stamens and pistil are white, the anthers becoming brown and the style bent to one side, and the capsule is somewhat heart-shaped, containing several cup-shaped seeds. This forms patches along roadsides and in fields, the soft foliage dotted with the quaint bright blue flowers, opening a few at a time in bright sunlight and closing at night. This is a native of Europe and Asia and is found across the continent.

American BrooklimeVerónica AmericànaBlueSummerAcross the continent

In shallow water, or in very wet meadows, we find these little flowers. They are smooth perennials, with straggling, branching, purplish stems, more or less creeping, and rooting from the lower joints, from one to three feet long. The yellowish-green leaves usually have short leaf-stalks and are often toothed and the very small, pale blue flowers, with white centers and veined with purple, grow in loose spreading clusters.

Alpine SpeedwellVerónica WormskjòldiiBlueSummerNorthwest, Ariz., etc.

A pretty little plant, with smooth, stiffish, toothless leaves and deep bright blue flowers, with a little white at the base of the petals and veined with purple. This is found in damp spots in the mountains, up to twelve thousand feet, in northern places across the continent, and as far south as Arizona.

Hairy Speedwell—V. Tournefortii.Alpine Speedwell—V. Wormskjoldii.American Brooklime—Veronica Americana.

There are a great many kinds of Pentstemon and some of our handsomest and most conspicuous western flowers are included among them. They are natives of North America, chiefly herbs, sometimes branching below; the leaves usually opposite, the upper ones without leaf-stalks and more or less clasping; the flowers showy, in long clusters; the calyx with five lobes; the corolla two-lipped, with a more or less swollen tube, the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-cleft and spreading; the stamens four, in pairs, and also a fifth stamen, which is merely a filament without any anther, but is conspicuous and often hairy; the style threadlike, with a round-top stigma; the pod usually pointed; the seeds numerous. The common name, Beard-tongue, is in allusion to the usually hairy tip of the sterile filament. Pentstemon is from the Greek meaning five stamens. This name is often mispronounced; the accent should be on the second syllable and long.

Large Beard-tonguePentstèmon glandulòsusLilac, purpleSummerOreg., Wash., Idaho

An exceedingly handsome plant, a foot and a half tall, with a stout reddish stem, rather downy and sticky, and dark green leaves, rather shiny and stiff, and downy on the under side. The flowers are an inch and a half long, so large that they look like Fox-glove, and are beautifully shaded from pale lilac to deep reddish-purple, with purple filaments and white anthers and pistil. The calyx is reddish, sticky and downy, and the outside of the corolla glistens with sticky fuzz. This grows in the mountains.

PentstemonPentstèmon Rattáni var. mìnorBlueSummerUtah, Oreg., Cal.

This forms pretty clumps of bright color, with several stems about eight inches tall, smooth below, and smooth dark green leaves. The flowers are less than half an inch long, with a downy calyx and bright purplish-blue corolla, with a purplish throat. This grows in mountain canyons.

Penstemon—P. Rattani var. minor.Large Beard-tongue—P. glandulosus.

Blue Pentstemon, Beard-tonguePentstèmon cyanánthusBlueSpring, summerUtah, Ariz., Wyo.

This is perhaps the most beautiful of all the Pentstemons, with several smooth, stoutish, pale green, leafy stems, from one to two feet tall and smooth, pale bluish-green leaves, with more or less "bloom," toothless and thickish, the upper ones somewhat clasping. The flowers are not hairy or sticky, and are over an inch long, forming a handsome cluster about eight inches long. The sepals are narrow and pointed, the corolla is tinted with various beautiful shades of blue and purple, often with a white throat and blue lobes, or with a pink throat and deep blue lobes, the sterile filament has a thickened, more or less hairy, yellow tip, and the pale yellow anthers are more or less hairy. This plant is beautiful in every way, for the foliage is fine in form and color and the flowers are brilliantly variegated, yet harmonious and graceful. This grows on hillsides and in mountain valleys, at rather high altitudes, and used to be common and conspicuous on the "benches" around the Salt Lake Valley, but it is gradually being exterminated by sheep. It thrives and improves when transplanted into gardens.P. acuminàtusis similar, but the cluster is looser and the flowers often pink and purple. It forms fine patches of color at the Grand Canyon.

Honeysuckle PentstemonPentstèmon cordifòliusRedSummerCalifornia

A handsome shrub, with much the general appearance of a Honeysuckle, woody below, with long slender branches and pretty heart-shaped leaves. The flowers are often in pairs and are each an inch and a half long, with bright scarlet corollas, conspicuously two-lipped, the stamens protruding, and form large clusters towards the ends of the branches. This grows in light shade in the woods and trails its long branches and garlands of bright flowers over the neighboring shrubs and trees.

Pride-of-the-mountainPentstèmon NewbérryiPink, lilacSummerCalifornia

A beautiful little shrub, making splendid patches of vivid color on high bare rocks in the mountains, where it is very conspicuous, hanging over the edges of inaccessible ledges. The stems are woody below and very branching, about a foot high, and the leaves are usually toothed,smooth, stiffish, and thickish. The flowers are an inch and a quarter long, with a rather sticky calyx and bright carmine-pink corolla, moderately two-lipped, with a patch of white hairs on the lower lip; the stamens protruding, with conspicuous, white, woolly anthers, and the style remaining on the tip of the capsule like a long purple thread. This is slightly sweet-scented and is common around Yosemite. The alpine form is less than four inches high, with larger, lilac flowers and toothless leaves.

Penstemon cyananthus.

Honeysuckle Penstemon—P. cordifolius.Pride-of-the-mountain—Penstemon Newberryi.

Bushy Beard-tonguePentstèmon antirrhinoìdesYellowSpringCalifornia

This is a rather pretty shrub, about four feet high, with pale woody branches, purplish twigs, and many, small, rich green leaves. The flowers have a glossy, bright green calyx and a yellow corolla, which is three-quarters of an inch long, streaked with dull-red outside and slightly hairy, the sterile stamen hairy and yellow.

Variable PentstemonPentstèmon confértusYellow, blue, purpleSummerNorthwest and Cal.

This has a smooth stem and smooth, toothless leaves, but is very variable both in form and color, for the typical plant, from Oregon and the Rocky Mountains, has yellow flowers, but in Yosemite the varietycaerùleo-purpùreusalways has blue or purple flowers, but the plants vary in general appearance. In good soil, such as the floor of the Valley, the stem is sometimes two feet tall and the flowers are about half an inch long, grouped in whorls along the stem, but at high altitudes the plant shrinks to a few inches in height.

Cardinal PentstemonPentstèmon PárryiScarletSpringArizona

These wands of flaming scarlet are conspicuous along the trails in the Grand Canyon and are exceedingly beautiful, very graceful in form and vivid in color. The smooth, purplish, somewhat leafy stems, from one and a half to two feet tall, spring from a clump of rather small leaves, which are toothless, smooth, and rather light green in color. The flowers are three-quarters of an inch long, the corolla with five rounded lobes and very slightly two-lipped, and look something like Scarlet Bugler, but are smaller and more delicate, and are sometimes mistaken for Cardinal Flowers by people from the East.

Penstemon Parryi.

Bushy Beard-tongue—P. antirrhinoides.Variable Penstemon—P. confertus. var. caeruleo-purpureus.P. confertus.

PentstemonPentstèmon WrìghtiiPink, purpleSpringArizona

This is very much like the last in every way, except the color of its flowers. The leaves are smooth and thickish, bluish-green, with a "bloom," the lower ones with a few irregular, blunt teeth, or with wavy margins, and the flowers, which are the same shape and size as the last, are deep, bright pink, with a magenta line on each lobe and some white hairs on the lower lip. The filaments are purple, with whitish anthers, and the fifth stamen resembles a tiny brush, with yellow bristles on the upper side and pointing into the throat. The whole effect of the graceful flower-cluster is bright, beautiful, and conspicuous, growing among the rocks, on hillsides and in canyons.

PentstemonPentstèmon laètusBlue, purpleSummerCalifornia

This is very beautiful and varied in color and is the commonest kind in Yosemite, from one to two feet high, with roughish, toothless leaves and several slender, erect, somewhat hairy branches, ending in long loose clusters of flowers. The corollas are an inch long, and vary from deep bright blue through all shades of violet to deep pink, with two white ridges in the throat, and with two white anthers visible and two purple ones hidden in the throat. The flowers' faces have a quaint, wide-awake expression. This grows on dry rocky slopes and is often mistaken forP. heterophýllus, which is rather common in open places in the Coast Ranges.P. linarioìdes, blooming in late summer at the Grand Canyon, is somewhat similar, but the flowers are smaller and more delicate, and the leaves are smooth, small, and narrow.

Scarlet BuglerPentstèmon ÈatoniRedSpringAriz., Utah

Very beautiful, from two to three feet high; with purplish stems, smooth leaves, and flowers an inch long, with a bright scarlet, funnel-shaped corolla, not much two-lipped, the stamens not protruding. These graceful wands of vivid color are conspicuous in the Grand Canyon.P. centranthifòlius, common in California, is similar, the corolla less two-lipped, and has very smooth, thickish leaves.P. Bridgésii, found in Yosemite, is similar, but the corolla is decidedly two-lipped.

Penstemon—P. laetus.Scarlet Bugler—P. Eatoni.

Yawning PentstemonPentstèmon breviflòrusFlesh-colorSummerCalifornia

A bushy plant, from two to five feet high, with many smooth, slender branches, terminating in long loose clusters of flowers. The leaves are smooth, rather dark green, the lower ones sharply toothed, and the flowers are three-quarters of an inch long; the corolla flesh-color, tipped with pink, with some purple lines on the lower lip, and some fine white hairs on the upper; the buds yellow, tipped with dark red. These flowers are too dull in color to be effective, but they are sweet-smelling and have ridiculous faces with widely yawning mouths. This is quite common in Yosemite, forming large clumps on open rocky slopes. Indians use the tough stems for making baskets.

Scarlet PentstemonPentstèmon TórreyiRedSummerArizona

Exceedingly handsome, with smooth, pale green stems, two feet or more tall, and smooth, rather bluish-green leaves, with slightly rippled edges. The corolla is an inch and a quarter long, vivid scarlet, paler inside, strongly two-lipped, with long, conspicuous stamens, with pale yellow anthers, the style remaining on the tip of the capsule like a long purple thread. This makes splendid clumps of gorgeous color and is common on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

There are a number of kinds of Collinsia, natives of North America, with the leaves opposite or in whorls; the flowers single or in whorls; the calyx five-cleft; the corolla irregular, with a short tube and two-lipped; the upper lip two-cleft and more or less erect, the lower lip larger and three-lobed, the side lobes spreading or drooping, the middle lobe keel-like and folded together and enclosing the two pairs of stamens and the threadlike style, which has a small round-top or two-lobed stigma. The fifth stamen is represented by a minute gland on the upper side of the corolla tube near the base. The form of the flowers somewhat suggests those of the Pea Family. If we pull the lower lip apart we find the odd little crevice in which the stamens are concealed.

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