ACONITE. MONK'S-HOOD. FRIAR'S-CAP. BLUEWEED.

ALFALFA—Medicago sativa.

Upon half-shaded slopes in the Sierras, where great firs rear their noble shafts, forming an open forest, this little trailing shrub makes a clean, delightfully springy carpet underfoot.Early in the season it is an exquisite thing, when covered with its delicate clusters of bright-blue flowers, and it is no less attractive in late summer, when its odd scarlet fruit studs the rich green foliage.

The children of our mountain districts know it as "squaw's carpet" and "mahala mats." Among the Digger Indians the word "Mahala" is applied as a title of respect to all the women of the tribe indiscriminately, and they always refer to one another as "Mahala Sally," "Mahala Nancy," etc.

Stems.—Two to six feet high.Leaves.—Alternate; palmately three- to five-cleft, three to five inches across.Flowers.—From blue to almost white; in a terminal cluster.Sepals.—Five; petaloid; very irregular; the upper one helmet-shaped.Petals.—Two to five; the upper two stamen-like, concealed within the helmet; the lower three minute or obsolete.Stamens.—Numerous. Filaments short.Pistils.—Usually three; becoming divergent follicles.Syn.—A. Fischeri, Reichb.Hab.—The Sierras and the northern Coast Ranges.

The blossoms of the monk's-hood, or aconite, may be found with those of the tall blue larkspur and the little alpine lily along our mountain streams in late summer. Owing to the shape of the upper sepal, these flowers have received several of their common names, such as "helmet-flower," "friar's-cap," and "monk's-hood."

The genusAconitumhas been known from remote times and noted for the poisonous qualities of its species. From the roots and leaves ofA. napellus, the officinal species, supposed to be native of Britain, is made the powerful drug, aconite. Our own species is also poisonous, and among the mountaineers it is called "blueweed," and remembered only for its disastrous effect upon their sheep, who are sometimes driven to eat it when other feed is scare. The helmet varies greatly in breadth and length.

MONK'S-HOOD—Aconitum Columbianum.

Stems.—Six to twelve inches high.Leaves.—Eighteen lines to less than an inch long.Flowers.—Deep, rich blue.Corolla.—An inch or two long; plaited into folds between the lobes; the sinuses with two long,toothlikeappendages; the lobes green-dotted.Stamens.—Five; alternate with the corolla-lobes. Filaments flattened and adnate to the corolla below.Ovary.—One-celled. Style awl-shaped. Stigma two-lobed.Hab.—The Sierras.

This genus was named for Gentius, an ancient king of Illyria, who is said to have discovered the medicinal virtues of these plants. The drug called "gentian," a bitter tonic, is made from the root of a German species—G. lutea—with yellow flowers.

All the Gentians are natives of the cooler portions of the world, inhabiting northern latitudes and mountain heights. We have several fine species, which are found in the Sierras and the northern Coast Ranges.

G. calycosais a truly beautiful flower, rivaling the sky with its deep blue blossoms, which are to be found in the fall in many an alpine meadow, called by Mr. Muir "gentian-meadows."

Mostly smooth; more or less glaucous.Stems.—Two to six feet high.Leaves.—Palmately five- to seven-parted; the divisions slashed into sharp-pointed lobes.Flowers.—Blue; in narrow, slender racemes; on rather short, slender pedicels.Sepals.—Rather narrow; six lines long or less; minutely tomentose. Spur crapy; rather slender.Ovaries.—Smooth. (Flower-structure as inD. nudicaule.)Syn.—D. scopulorum, Gray.Hab.—The Sierras, at about six thousand feet; from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Yukon River.

BLUE GENTIAN—Gentiana calycosa.

By July and August the slender spires of the tall mountain larkspur are conspicuous along the watercourses of the Sierras, where they are usually found in the company of their near relatives, the monk's-hoods and the gay scarlet columbines. A ramble down one of these mountain streams affords a succession of most delightful surprises. Willow copses, alternatingwith tangles of larkspur, great willow-herb, and monk's-hood, are followed by open, velvety meadows, starred by white and blue daisies, or diversified by the pure spikes of the milk-white rein-orchis, or the lovely blossoms of the pink mimulus; while further down, the stream perchance suddenly narrows and deepens, flowing by some jutting rock-wall, resplendent with crimson pentstemons or brilliant sulphur-flowers.

Stems.—Two to five feet high; loosely branching.Leaves.—Alternate; sessile; lanceolate; three to six inches long; the upper becoming small or minute.Flower-heads.—Five or six lines long; composed of yellow disk-flowers and violet or purple rays.Rays.—Twenty to twenty-five; half an inch long.Involucre.—Campanulate; of many small imbricated scales.Hab.—Throughout California.

We have not as many species ofAsteras are found in the Eastern States, but we have some very beautiful ones.A. Chamissonisis one of our commonest and most widespread species. Its blossoms begin to appear in late summer and linger along through the fall. Many species ofErigeron(very closely allied toAster) are called "asters" among us, and comprise some of our most charming flowers. These are found chiefly in the mountains, thoughE. glaucusis found upon the sea-beach and ocean cliffs.

Stems.—A foot or two high.Radical and lower leaves.—Spatulate to nearly obovate; tapering into a margined petiole.Upper leaves.—Ovate-oblong to lanceolate; sessile.Uppermost leaves.—Small and bract-like.Flower-heads.—Solitary; large; of yellow disk-flowers and lavender rays.Disk.—Over half an inch across.Rays.—Fifty to seventy; six lines or more long; rather wide.Bractsof the involucre numerous; loosely spreading.Syn.—Aster salsuginosus, Richardson.Hab.—Sierra meadows, at an altitude of from six to ten thousand feet.

COMMON ASTER—Aster Chamissonis.

Of all the beautiful flowers of the Sierras, not one lingers so fondly in the memory, after our return to the lowlands, as this exquisite lavender daisy. Late in the summer it stars thealpine meadows with its charming flowers, or stands in sociable companies on those natural velvet lawns of the mountains. It resembles the feathery, white mountain daisy, and grows in the same region; but its rays are wider and give the blossoms a somewhat more substantial look.

Stems.—Two feet or so high.Leaves.—Oblong to linear-lanceolate; two to five inches long.Flowers.—In numerous, slender-panicled racemes; on short, slender pedicels. Racemes often in pairs.Calyx.—Five-parted; minute.Corolla.—Sky-blue (rarely white); salver-form, with short tube and spreading, five-lobed border; two to five lines across, with conspicuous arching crests in the throat.Stamens.—Five; included; on the corolla.Ovary.—Of four nutlets; each having a deltoid, keeled disk and margined by long, flat prickles.Hab.—From California to British Columbia and eastward.

The beautiful blossoms of the wild blue forget-me-not will be readily recognized by all lovers of flowers. They may be found in the Sierras in midsummer. The tall stems rise amid the lush grasses upon the sides of steep cañons, where the air is humid and vegetation is rank. The flowers are unfortunately followed by very troublesome burs, which are much dreaded by sheep-herders.

Root woody.Stems.—Six to twenty inches high.Leaves.—Alternate; oblong-lanceolate; pinnate; leaflets lobed and toothed; diminishing into the flower-bracts.Calyx.—Campanulate; five-toothed.Corolla.—Club-shaped, bent downward above the calyx and oblique to it; one inch long; the two upper lobes united and containing the stamens; the three lower mere teeth.Stamens.—Four. Style filiform; exserted.Ovary.—Two-celled.Hab.—Throughout Western California.

These blossoms, which come early in the season, seem "warmed with the new wine of the year." They often stand in little companies in openings among the trees, and the rays of the afternoon sun slanting in upon them brighten and vivify them into a rich, warm claret-color. The leaves, finely dissected, like certain fern-fronds, are often of a bronze tone, which harmonizes finely with the flowers.

To the casual observer, this flower resembles the Indian paint-brush. In reality, it belongs to a closely allied genus. But in this blossom the bracts do not constitute the brilliant part of the inflorescence, and the calyx, instead of being the showy, sheathing envelop it is in the paint-brush, is quite small and inconspicuous.

Mrs. Blochman has quaintly and aptly alluded to the corolla of this flower as a long and slender mitten, just fit for some high-born fairy's hand.

Among the children of our mountain districts this flower is known as "Indian warrior."

INDIAN WARRIOR—Pedicularis densiflora.

Shrubs two to six feet high, with naked glandular-bristly or prickly branches and stout triple thorns under the fascicled leaves.Peduncles.—With one or two drooping, Fuchsia-like flowers.Calyx.—Half an inch long; garnet; the five oblong lobes somewhat longer than the tube, but hardly longer than the stamens, which surpass the five white petals with inrolled edges. Styles exserted. Anthers sagittate.Berry.—Four to six lines in diameter; thickly covered with long prickles. (Otherwise asRibes glutinosum.)Hab.—From San Diego to Humboldt County; also in the Sierras.

The wild gooseberry, considered as a fruit, is very disappointing, as its large, prickly berries are composed mostly of skin and seeds. But as an ornamental shrub it is very pleasing. In February its long, thorny branches are densely clothed with small but rich green leaves, under which hang the perfect little miniature red and white Fuchsias.

A closely allied species—R. subvestitum, Hook. and Arn.,—has long exserted filaments and glandular-prickly berries.

Shrubs six to ten feet high, with spreading branches, armed with large triple thorns.Leaves.—Evergreen; three- to five-lobed; an inch or so long.Flowers.—Bright cardinal; an inch long.Calyx.—Petaloid; its tube adnate to the ovary; the limb is usually five-cleft (sometimes four).Petals.—On the sinuses of the calyx.Stamens.—As many as the petals; twice the length of the calyx.Ovary.—One-celled. Style two-cleft.Fruit.—A dry, densely glandular berry.Hab.—From Monterey to San Diego.

One of the most charming shrubs to be found in the southern part of the State is the Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. Early in the season the long sprays of its spreading branches are thickly hung with the beautiful drooping cardinal flowers, which gleam against the rich green of the glossy leaves. The stems often rival the flowers in brilliance of coloring, but they harbor a multitude of formidable thorns which serve to cool our impetuous desire to possess ourselves of the blossoms. Though far more brilliant than the flowers ofR. subvestitum, these are not so truly counterparts in miniature of the garden Fuchsia as they.

FUCHSIA-FLOWERED GOOSEBERRY—Ribes speciosum.

Coarse, leathery herbs, with woody roots.Stems.—Stout; branched; ten to eighteen inches high.Leaves.—Alternate; once- or twice- ternately compound; the leaflets ternately lobed.Flowers.—Solitary;Sepals.—Green; often with leaflike appendages.Petals.—Five to ten; dark red.Stamens.—Numerous.Pistils.—Two to five; becoming leathery follicles.Hab.—Almost throughout California.

Our wild peony, which is the only species of North America, grows through a wide range of territory, from the hot plains of the south to the region of perpetual snow in the mountains of the north. As might be expected, it manifests considerable variation in form and character. Indeed, some authors have thought these variations sufficiently marked to warrant the division of the species into two.

After the first rains in the south, the plant pushes up its broad, scarlet-tipped leaves, and by January, or earlier, produces its flowers, which are deep red, shading almost into black, an inch or so across, and quite fragrant. These blossoms are at first erect; but as the seed-vessels mature, the stems begin to droop, till the fruit rests upon the ground.

The Spanish-Californians consider the thick root an excellent remedy for dyspepsia, when eaten raw; while the Indians of the south use it, powdered or made into a decoction, for colds, sore throat, etc. In the north its leaves are reputed to be poisonous to the touch.

In some localities it is known as "Christmas-rose," and in others the children call its dark, round flowers "nigger-heads." In the mountains it blossoms in June and July near snow-banks.

WILD PEONY—Pæonia Brownii.

Stems.—Two to five feet high; angled.Leaves.—Oblong-ovate or oblong-triangular; two or more inches long.Flowers.—Small; dull red; three to five lines long; in loose terminal panicles.Calyx.—Five-lobed.Corolla.—Bilabiate; upper lip four-lobed; lower of one lobe.Stamens.—Four perfect; in pairs; and a fifth scalelike, rudimentary one.Ovary.—Two-celled. Style exserted.Hab.—Almost throughout the State.

The tall stems of the Californian figwort are common along roadsides, and become especially rank and luxuriant where the soil has been freshly stirred. The plants are so plentiful and so plebeian in appearance, that we are apt to class them in the category of weeds; but the fact that their little corollas are almost always stored abundantly with honey for the bees, saves them from this reproachful title.

They are cultivated by the keepers of bees. The odd, little dull-red or greenish flowers have a knowing look, which is enhanced by two of the stamens, which project just over the lower rim of the corolla, like the front teeth of some tiny rodent.

Radical-leaves.—Long-petioled.Stem-leaves.—With shorter petioles, round-cordate; variously lobed and toothed; very hairy, with coarse, bristle-like hairs; two to four inches across.Stems.—One to three feet high.Flowers.—In long racemes; on short pedicels; green or rose-color.Calyx.—Campanulate; five-toothed; ribbed; three to six lines long; adnate to the ovary below.Petals.—Five; short-clawed; slashed above; two or three lines long; on the calyx.Stamens.—Ten; very short.Ovary.—One-celled; with a disklike summit, tapering into two stout styles with large capitate stigmas.Hab.—From Santa Cruz to Alaska.

This robust plant bears no resemblance to its delicate relative,T. affinis. It is far more like the alum-root in habit and appearance, and its leaves are prettily blotched in the same manner. It grows along rich banks by shaded roads, and blooms from early spring onward. Its tall racemes of either rose-colored or greenish, obscure flowers look rather like thepromise of something to come than a present fulfillment. The petals are small and inconspicuous at a distance; but when closely examined, reveal a delicacy and beauty of form entirely unsuspected.

CALIFORNIAN BEE PLANT—Scrophularia Californica.

Hairy, at least above; six inches to two feet high.Leaves.—Laciniate-cleft or incised; sometimes entire; two inches or so long; mostly alternate.Flowers.—With conspicuous colored bracts.Calyx.—Tubular; about equally cleft before and behind; tinged with scarlet or yellow.Corolla.—Tubular; six lines to over an inch long; the upper lip equaling the tube; the lower very short; three-toothed; the whole tinged with red or yellow.Stamens.—Four; inclosed in the upper lip.Ovary.—Two-celled. Style long; exserted.Hab.—Throughout California.

Scarlet flowers are so rare, and nature is so chary of that beautiful hue, that these blossoms are especially welcome. Their dense tufts make brilliant dashes of color, which are very noticeable amid the vivid greens of springtime. Strange to say, most of their brilliancy is due not to the corollas, but to the large petal-like bracts under the flowers and to the calyxes. In the vicinity of the seashore these blossoms may be found at almost any time of the year, while inland they have their season of bloom in the spring, resting for the most part during the summer.

They are known in some localities as "Indian plume." The specific name is a very misleading one—for these flowers, far from being small, are in reality comparatively large and fine. The species was probably first named from poor or depauperate specimens. It is in every way a larger, more showy flower than the closely allied species—C. coccinea, Spreng.—of the East, commonly known as the "painted cup."

We have a number of species closely resembling one another.C. foliolosa, Hook. and Arn., may be easily recognized by its white-woolly stems and foliage.

INDIAN PAINT-BRUSH—Castilleia parviflora.

Stems.—A foot or two high; naked or very few-leaved.Leaves.—One to three inches in diameter; deeply three- to five-cleft, or barely parted into obovate or cuneate divisions.Flowers.—Scarlet; in loose, open racemes; on pedicels two to four inches long.Sepals.—Five; petaloid; the upper prolonged upward into a spur containing the smaller spurs of the two upper petals. Spur six to nine lines long.Petals.—Usually four; the two lateral small, not spurred.Stamens.—Many.Pistils.—Mostly three; becoming divergent follicles.Hab.—The Coast Ranges from San Luis Obispo to Oregon.

Though not so intensely brilliant and striking as the southern scarlet larkspur, this is a delightful flower, the sight of which gracing some rocky cañon-wall or making flecks of flame amid the grass, gives us a thrill of pleasure. It would require no great stretch of the imagination to fancy these blossoms a company of pert little red-coated elves clambering over the loose, slender stems. In our childhood we used to hear them called "Christmas-horns."

Bulb as inF. lanceolata.Stems.—Eight to eighteen inches high; one- to nine-flowered.Flowers.—Scarlet outside; yellow, spotted with scarlet, within.Perianth.—Campanulate; urn-shaped.Segments.—Twelve to eighteen lines long; with recurved tips.Stamensand style not quite equaling the segments.Capsule.—Rather obtusely angled. (Otherwise asF. lanceolata.)Hab.—The Sierras, from Placer County northward into Oregon.

The scarlet fritillary is without doubt the most beautiful of all our species. It is a wonderful blossom, which seems as much of a marvel to us every time we behold it as it did at first. Usually there are from one to nine of the brilliant bells; but the effect can be imagined when as many as thirty-five have been seen upon a single stem!

F. coccinea, Greene, is another beautiful scarlet-and-yellow species, found in the mountains of Sonoma and Napa Counties. This has from one to four flowers, which are an inch long, with simple campanulate outline, without recurving tips.

NORTHERN SCARLET LARKSPUR—Delphinium nudicaule.

Stems.—One to three feet high; very slender.Leaves.—Mostly radical; divided into thin, distant leaflets.Flowers.—Scarlet; tinged with yellow; eighteen to twenty-four lines across. Parts in fives.Sepals.—Petaloid; rotately spreading.Petals.—Tubular; produced into long spurs or horns.Stamens.—Numerous on the receptacle; much exserted.Pistils.—Five; simple.Hab.—Throughout California.

Sprung in a cleft of the wayside steep,And saucily nodding, flushing deep,With her airy tropic bells aglow,—Bold and careless, yet wondrous light,And swung into poise on the stony height,Like a challenge flung to the world below!Skirting the rocks at the forest edgeWith a running flame from ledge to ledge,Or swaying deeper in shadowy glooms,A smoldering fire in her dusky blooms;Bronzed and molded by wind and sun,Maddening, gladdening every oneWith a gypsy beauty full and fine,—A health to the crimson columbine!—Elaine Goodale

—Elaine Goodale

To enjoy the exquisite airy beauty of this lovely flower, we must seek it in its own haunts—for there is a touch of wildness in its nature that will not be subdued; nor will it submit to being handled or ruthlessly transported from its own sylvan retreat.

Fringing the stream, peering over the bank, as if to see its own loveliness reflected there, or hiding in the greenest recesses of the woodland, it is always a welcome blossom, and the eye brightens and the pulse quickens upon beholding it.

This species is at home throughout our borders; but there is another form which is said to be found occasionally in our very high mountains—A. cœrulea, James. This is plentiful in the Rocky Mountains, and is the State flower of Colorado. Its blossoms, which are blue or white, are large and magnificent, with slender spurs an inch and a half or two inches long.

COLUMBINE—Aquilegia truncata.

Woody at base, with long, slender branches, which climb over other shrubs.Leaves.—Cordate or ovate; an inch or less long.Calyx.—Campanulate; five-parted.Corolla.—Bright scarlet; eighteen lines long. Sterile stamen bearded down one side. (SeePentstemon.)Hab.—From Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In spring we notice in the borders of southern woodlands and along the roadsides certain long, wandlike branches with beautiful heart-shaped leaves, which are suggestive of those of the garden Fuchsia. Our curiosity is naturally aroused and we wonder what blossom is destined to grace this elegant foliage. Early summer solves the mystery by hanging the tips of these wands with brilliant scarlet blossoms, in every way satisfying the earlier promise.

These flowers often look down at us in a sort of mocking, Mephistophelian manner, as they hang amid the rich greens of other shrubs and trees. Seen with a glass, they are quite glandular. The fifth stamen looks like a very cunning little golden hearth-brush.

Coarse plants, with woolly stems; one to three feet high.Leaves.—Opposite; wrinkly; white-woolly beneath; crenate; the lower three to eight inches long; hastate-lanceolate; on margined petioles; upper sessile; pointed.Inflorescence.—Over a foot long, with many large, widely separated whorls of crimson flowers.Corollas.—Eighteen lines long. Stamens and style much exserted.Flower-bracts.—Ovate; sharp-pointed; often crimson-tinged. (Otherwise asA. stachyoides.)Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from San Mateo southward.

This, the largest-flowered of all ourAudibertias, becomes especially conspicuous by April and May in southern woodlands, where its large, dark flower-clusters may be seen in little companies amid the shadows. The leaves and bracts are quite viscid, and have a rather rank, unpleasant odor; but the flowers are not without a certain comeliness. The long, crimson trumpets are arranged in whorls about the stems, projectingfrom many densely crowded bracts. Tier after tier of these interrupted whorls, sometimes as many as nine, mount the stems. The bracts and stems are usually of a rich bronze, which harmonizes finely with the color of the flowers. The joint in the filament is quite conspicuous in this species.

"Humming-birds that dart in the sun like green and golden arrows"

seem to be the sole beneficiaries of the abundant nectar in these deep tubes.

CLIMBING PENTSTEMOM—Pentstemon cordifolius.

Shrubs.—Six to twelve feet high.Leaves.—Ovate to oblong-lanceolate; three to six inches long; dark green; roughish.Flowers.—Wine-colored (sometimes white); solitary; two inches or so across.Sepals, petals, and stamens indefinite, passing into each other; all coalescent below into the cuplike calyx-tube, on whose inner surface are borne the numerous carpels.Petals.—Linear-spatulate, usually tawny-tipped. Carpels becoming akenes.Hab.—From the lower Sacramento River northward.

This is one of our most beautiful shrubs. Upon the banks of streams, or often upon a shaded hillside where some little rill trickles out from a hidden source, it spreads its branches and lifts its canopy of ample leaves. There is a pleasant fragrance about the whole shrub, and the leaves, when crushed, are agreeably bitter. From April to November the charming flowers, like small wine-colored chrysanthemums, are produced; and these are followed by the prettily veined, urn-shaped seed-vessels, which remain upon the bushes until after the next season's flowers appear, by which time they are almost black. It is from these cuplike seed-vessels that the genus takes its name, which is derived from two Greek words, meaningflowerandcup.

CALIFORNIAN SWEET-SCENTED SHRUB—Calycanthus occidentalis.

Root.—Deep.Stems.—Several; procumbent or sub-erect; leafy.Leaves.—Ovate-elliptic or lanceolate; eighteen lines to four inches long.Flowers.—Brilliant scarlet; over an inch across.Calyx.—Five-toothed.Petals.—Five; long-clawed; the blades variously cleft, and with two erecttoothlikeappendages at the throat.Stamens.—Ten; exserted with the three filiform styles.Ovary.—One-celled.Hab.—Widely distributed.

The Indian pink is one of the most beautiful of our flowers, and it appeals to the æsthetic sense in a way few flowers do. Its brilliant scarlet blossoms brighten the soft browns of our roadsides in early summer, and gleam amid the green of thickets like bits of fire. Its corolla is elegantly slashed, and it is altogether a much finer flower than the southern form,S. laciniata. Its rather broad leaves are often quite viscid to the touch, in which respect it shares in the character from which the genus was named in allusion to Silenus, the companion of Bacchus, who is described as covered with foam.

S. laciniata, Cav., is a similar species found from Central California southward. It is usually a taller plant, with many stems and narrow leaves. It is also quite viscid, and many small insects, mostly ants, are almost always to be seen ensnared upon its stems. We are at a loss to account for this until we remember what Sir John Lubbock says in this connection. He suggests that ants are not very desirable visitors for promoting cross-fertilization among plants, as their progress is slow, and they cannot visit many plants far apart. On the other hand, winged insects, such as bees, butterflies, and moths, making long excursions through the air, are admirably adapted for bringing pollen from distant plants. Hence plants spread their attractions for such insects, while they often contrive all sorts of ingenious devices for keeping undesirable ones, like ants, away from their flowers.

INDIAN PINK—Silene Californica.

The Spanish-Californians call this plant "Yerba del Indio," and make it into a tea which they esteem as a remedy for allsorts of aches and pains, and use as a healing application to ulcers.

Another species—S. Hookeri, Nutt.—is easily known by its large pink flowers, often two and a half inches across, and delicately slashed. This is found in our western counties, growing upon wooded hillsides, where its charming flowers show to excellent advantage.

Bulb.—Conical; twelve to eighteen lines thick, with closely appressed scales.Stem.—One to three feet high; slender.Leaves.—Seldom, if at all, whorled; linear or narrowly oblanceolate; obtuse; one to five inches long.Flowers.—One to five; deep blood-red; spotted with purple; long-pediceled; horizontal.Perianth-segments.—Six; lanceolate; eighteen lines long; the upper third somewhat recurved.Hab.—Near the Coast, from San Mateo to Mendocino County.

The little Coast lily is found most abundantly in the black peat bogs of Mendocino County, though it ranges southward to San Mateo County and northward to Humboldt County.

Mr. Purdy says of it: "It is seldom seen farther than two miles from the ocean. On the edges of the bogs the lily is often a dwarf, blossoming at three or four inches. In the bogs it roots itself in the tufts, and becomes a lovely plant five feet high with ten or fifteen fine blossoms."

The leaves are dark, glossy green and the blossoms are more cylindrical than funnel-form, the three inner segments spreading more than the outer, which remain almost erect. The little oval anthers, with cinnamon-colored pollen, almost fill the narrow tube and conceal the fact that the segments are yellow below and more decidedly spotted.

Leafless, spiny, arborescent shrubs, three to ten feet high, with elongated, cylindrical joints, covered with oblong tubercles which bear from three to eight spines. Longest spines twelve to eighteen lines long.Stems.—Two to seven inches thick.Flowers.—Purplish-red;

densely clustered at the ends of the branches.Sepals, petals, and stamens, many.Ovary.—One-celled. Style one. Stigmas several.Fruit.—Green; obovate; concave on the top; having no spines, only bristles; usually sterile; often producing other flowers.Hab.—From Ventura to San Diego and southward.

Upon dry hills, even as far north as Ventura, the cholla cactus is a familiar feature of the landscape. In many places it forms extensive and impassable thickets, which afford an asylum to many delicate and tender plants that retire to it as a last refuge from sheep and cattle.

The young joints, which are clustered at the ends of the branches, are from three to nine inches long. By means of their barbed spines, these adhere to any passing object, and as they break off very readily, they are thus often transported to a distance. As they root easily, this seems to afford a means of propagation, in the absence of seed—for the fruit is usually seedless.

The spines are quite variable in length, the longest being sometimes an inch and a half. Each one is covered by a papery sheath, which slips off easily.

Upon the ground about these shrubs may usually be found the skeletons of old branches. These are hollow cylinders of woody basket-work, which are quite symmetrical and pretty.

O. serpentina, Engelm., found at San Diego, and often growing with the above, resembles it somewhat, but may be known by its much longer spines, which are from three to nine inches long, and by its greenish-yellow flowers. The plants are usually found near the seashore and scattered—i.e.never forming thickets.

Upon the sea-coast at San Diego is found another plant similar to the above—Cereus Emoryi, Engelm.—the "velvet cactus." Instead of being covered with tubercles, these plants have from sixteen to twenty vertical ribs, upon which are borne the bunches of slender spines. These spines are from a quarter of an inch to one and three quarters inches long, and without barbs. The flowers are greenish-yellow, and not particularly pretty or attractive.

Very glaucous and smooth.Stem.—One to three feet high.Leaves.—Ovate-lanceolate; mostly sessile; the upper cordate-clasping; thick.Panicles.—Narrow; a foot or two long.Corolla.—Bright scarlet; an inch or more long; hardly bilabiate. (SeePentstemon.)Hab.—From Monterey to Los Angeles.

The tall spires of the scarlet bugler are such familiar sights along southern roadsides and sandy washes that people almost forget the enthusiastic admiration their bright beauty first elicited. It is said that acres of mountain lands are sometimes a solid mass of vermilion during the blooming season of this lovely plant.

The panicle is often two feet long, with its string of scarlet horns. The individual flowers bear quite a likeness to those of the honeysuckle, common in Eastern gardens, and by those who encounter the plant for the first time, it is usually spoken of as "honeysuckle." The blossoms are sometimes yellow near San Bernardino.

P. Bridgesii, Gray, met more frequently in the Yosemite than elsewhere, though it occurs in the Sierras from the Yosemite southward, is a very similar plant to the above. But it differs in having its corolla quite distinctly bilabiate, though of the same general tubular, funnel-form shape.

Climbing. Stems.—Five to fifteen feet long.Leaves.—Alternate; pinnate; terminated by a tendril.Leaflets.—Ten to thirteen pairs; linear-oblong; obtuse; mucronulate; one or two inches long.Stipules.—An inch long; semi-sagittate.Racemes.—Dense; one-sided; five to eighteen-flowered.Flowers.—Dull red.Corolla.—Papilionaceous. Petals not spreading.Stamens.—Nine united; one free.Style.—Hairy all around under the stigma.Pod.—An inch or so long. (SeeLeguminosæ.)Hab.—From San Francisco Bay northward to Sitka.

This vine is usually found in moist places. Its blossoms are never attractive for they have a faded, worn-out look, even when they are fresh. The pods are black when ripe, and the seeds are said to be edible.

SCARLET BUGLER—Pentstemon centranthifolius.

Stems.—One to three feet high.Leaves.—Pinnately parted into seven to thirteen linear, pointed divisions. Upper leaves more simple.Flowers.—In a loose panicle.Calyx.—Deeply five-cleft; glandular.Corolla.—Scarlet, pink, or rarely even white; with funnel-form tube, one inch long; and rotately spreading five-lobed border. Lobes three to six lines long. (SeeGilia.)Hab.—Throughout the Sierras.

The scarletGiliais a familiar flower in the Sierras in late summer, growing everywhere in dry places. It may be easily recognized by its rich, glossy, flat, green leaves, pinnately divided into linear divisions, its tall, loosely branching habit, and its bright, delicate scarlet flowers, standing out horizontally from the stem. The corolla-lobes are often flesh-pink or yellowish within, splashed or streaked with scarlet. The whole plant is quite viscid.

Stout; viscid; hairy.Stems.—One to five feet high.Leaves.—Sessile; ovate to ovate-lanceolate; ragged-margined; several-nerved; two or three inches long.Peduncles.—Three inches long.Corolla.—Scarlet; two inches or more long. Upper lip erect; its two lobes turned back. Lower lip three-lobed; reflexed.Stamens.—Exserted. (SeeMimulus.)Hab.—Throughout Oregon and California along watercourses.

One day in June, when riding upon the shores of Bolinas Bay, I came upon a spot where a cañon stream flowed out upon a little flat at tide-level, making a small fresh-water marsh, in which mint, bulrushes, and scarletMimuluswere striving for the mastery. But theMimuluswas the most wonderful I ever saw. It stood four or five feet high—a patch of it—strong and vigorous, and covered with its handsome, large scarlet flowers, a sight to be remembered. This species is often cultivated in gardens.

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