BLUE GILIA.

COLLINSIA—Collinsia bicolor.

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

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

Stems.—About a foot high.Leaves.—Alternate; dissected into linear segments.Flowers.—In capitate clusters an inch and a half across; deep blue.Calyx.—Five-toothed.Corolla.—Four lines long; with five obtuse lobes.Stamens.—Exserted. Anthers nearly white. (SeeGilia.)Hab.—The Coast of Central California.

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

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

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

BLUE GILIA—Gilia Chamissonis.

Stems.—Six inches to two feet high.Leaves.—Wrinkly; one to several inches long.Flowers.—Blue; in interrupted whorls.Whorls.—Twelve to eighteen lines in diameter; subtended by numerous, ovate-acuminate bracts.Calyx.—Bilabiate; upper lip arching, and tipped with two short bristles; lower, of two awn-like teeth.Corolla.—Three or four lines long; bilabiate. Upper lip erect; notched or two-lobed. Lower deflexed; with three lobes, the central much larger.Stamens.—Two. Filaments two; short; apparently forked—i.e.bearing on their summit a cross-bar having on one end a perfect anther-cell and on the other a dwarfed or rudimentary one.Ovary.—Of four seedlike nutlets. Style slender.Hab.—Throughout the State, specially southward.

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

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

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

CHIA—Salvia Columbariæ.

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

Stems.—Stoutish; six to ten inches high; silky.Leaves.—Alternate; with small stipules.Leaflets.—Five to seven; linear-spatulate; one inch long.Flowers.—Four or five lines long; blue and white; the white changing to red-purple after fertilization. Upper calyx-lip bifid; lower twice as long; entire.Keel.—Falcate; acute; ciliate toward the apex.Pod.—Small; about five-seeded. (SeeLupinus.)Hab.—Western Central California.

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

Rhizomes.—Stoutish; clumps not dense.Radical-leaves.—Strongly ribbed underneath; dark, shining green above; one to three feet long; three to eight lines broad; flexile; rosy pink at base.Stems.—Simple; two- or three-flowered. Flowers.—On pedicels six to eighteen lines long; deep reddish-purple, lilac, or cream.Perianth-tube.—Six to twelve lines long.Capsule.—Narrowly oblong; acutely triangular; twenty lines long. Seeds nearly globular. (Otherwise asI. macrosiphon.)Hab.—The Coast, from Santa Cruz to Marin County.

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

BLUE-AND-WHITE LUPINE—Lupinus bicolor.

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

Corm.—Small; fiber-coated.Leaves.—Usually two; radical; linear channeled.Scapes.—Six inches to two feet high.Umbels.—Of ten to thirty or more purple or violet, or even white, flowers.Pedicels.—One to three inches long.Perianth.—Twelve to twenty lines long.Stamens.—Six; in two rows; the upper opposite the inner lobes of the perianth.Ovary.—Three-celled; on a stalk six lines long.Hab.—From Kern County to Northern Oregon

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

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

Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spearTouched lightly; for no falsehood can endureTouch of celestial temper, but returnsOf force to its own likeness: up he startsDiscovered and surprised."

ITHURIEL'S SPEAR—Brodiæa laxa.

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

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

Stems.—Slender; six inches to two feet high.Leaves.—Mostly alternate on the flowering stems, but smaller and broader ones often opposite or whorled on the procumbent shoots; linear; smooth.Flowers.—Blue; in terminal racemes; like those ofAntirrhinum, but the tube furnished with a long, downward-pointing spur at base.Hab.—Throughout California.

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

BEACH-ASTER—Erigeron glaucus.

Stems.—Two feet high; loosely branching; bulbiferous. Leaves and bracts linear-lanceolate.Flowers.—Erect; eighteen lines or so long.Sepals.—Green without; scarious-margined; whitish within; with purple spot at base; one inch long; acute.Petals.—White; with garnet base; bearing a round gland covered with hairs. Filaments garnet.Capsule.—Narrowly oblong; three-sided; obtuse; an inch or two long. Seeds flat; horizontal. (SeeCalochortus.)Hab.—From San Luis Obispo County to San Bernardino; and the islands off the Coast.

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

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

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

Stems.—Leafy; several from the rootstocks.Leaves.—Ovate; often somewhat cordate at base; acute or obtuse; six to eighteen lines long; obscurely crenate. Stipules foliaceous; narrowly lanceolate; lacerately toothed.Flowers.—Violet or purple; rather large. Lateral petals bearded. Spur as long as the sepals; rather slender; obtuse; hooked or curved. (Otherwise asV. pedunculata.)Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from San Francisco to Washington.

... "violetsWhich yet join not scent to hueCrown the pale year weak and new."

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

Leaves.—All radical; thistle-like; with cobwebby wool.Stems.—Stout; a foot or two high.Flower-whorls.—An inch or two through.Calyx.—Bilabiate; with five spiny teeth.Corolla.—Lavender; an inch long. Upper lip erect; two-cleft. Lower fan-shaped; white-fringed.Stamens.—On the lower lip. Proper filaments very short, with one short and one long fork, each bearing an anther-cell. (Otherwise likeS. Columbariæ.)Hab.—Western and Southern California.

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

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

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

Woody at base; many-stemmed.Stems.—Two to five feet tall.Leaves.—Lanceolate or linear; or the lowest oblong-lanceolate; diminishing into narrow floral bracts.Panicle.—Narrow. Pedicels one- to three-flowered; short and erect.Corolla.—Rose-purple, or violet suffused with pink; an inch or more long; ventricose-funnel-form above the narrow, slender tube. (SeePentstemon.)Hab.—Western California, specially southward.

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

P. azureus, Benth., or the "azure beard-tongue," is very similar to the above, growing from one to three feet high; but it is smooth and glaucous; its leaves are inclined to have a broader base, and its flowers are usually larger, azure blue,approaching violet, sometimes having a red-purple tube, while its border is often an inch across. This is found throughout the State, but is more common in the interior and in the Sierras. Its buds are not yellow.

AZURE BEARD-TONGUE—Pentstemon heterophyllus.

Rootstocks.—Creeping; aboveground.Leaves.—Alternate; two to four inches long; heart-shaped; not mottled; shining green.Flowers.—Raisin-colored.Perianth.—With spherical tube and three long-pointed lobes, thirty lines long.Stamens.—Twelve. Filaments more or less coherent in groups, adherent to the styles, and produced beaklike beyond the anthers.Ovary.—Six-celled. Styles united; equaling the stamens.Hab.—The Coast Ranges from Santa Cruz to British Columbia.

The beautiful long-stemmed leaves of the wild ginger stand upon the borders of many a shaded cañon stream, seeming to enjoy the gossiping of the brook as it gurgles by. The leaves and roots of these plants are aromatic, and the former when crushed emit a pleasant fragrance, similar to that of the camphor-laurel. The branching rootstocks, creeping along the surface of the ground, grow from their tips; which are swathed in the undeveloped silky leaves.

In the spring a warm hue comes among these closely-folded leaves, and presently a curious dull-colored bud begins to protrude its long tip from their midst. This bud looks as though some worm had eaten off its end; but we soon see that its blunt appearance is due to the fact that the long prongs of the sepals are neatly folded in upon themselves, like the jointed leg of an insect. It must require considerable force in the flower to unfurl them. When at length expanded, these blossoms have the look of some rapacious, hobgoblin spider, lurking for its prey.

Another species—A. Hartwegi, Wats.—the "Sierra wild ginger," is easily distinguished from the above by its white-mottled leaves, which grow in clusters, and by its smaller flowers. It blooms later than the other, its flowers lasting into July. These plants are closely related to the "Dutchman's pipe."

WILD GINGER—Asarum caudatum.

Stems.—Three to five feet high; slender.Leaves.—Mostly whorled and fascicled; linear-lanceolate; short-petioled; two to six inches long.Peduncles.—Erect; slender; often in whorls.Flowers.—Very small and numerous; in umbels; white and lavender.Corolla-lobes.—Two lines long.Anthers.—Twice the filament column.Horns.—Awl-shaped; arising from below the middle of the ovate hoods, and conspicuously curved over the stigma.Pods.—Slender; spindle-shaped. (Structure otherwise as inGomphocarpus.)Hab.—Throughout the State, and beyond its borders.

This is one of our most widely distributed milkweeds, and may be found blossoming along our dusty roadsides and through the fields in early summer. Its stems are tall and wandlike with long, narrow leaves, and its little blossoms are very trim. Its distaff-shaped pods, with their beautiful silken down, are familiar objects, much beloved by the children, and are sought by older people who utilize them in many dainty ways.

Stems.—Two to five feet high; much branched.Leaves.—Alternate; the lower oblong or lanceolate, partly clasping, sometimes sharply incised; the upper reduced to bracts.Flower-heads.—Bright blue; sessile; two or three together in the axils of the leaves or terminal; of ray-flowers only.Rays.—Ten lines long; about two wide; notched at the tip. Bracts of the involucre in two series; green.Hab.—Escaped from cultivation in many places.

The most careless observer will some day have his attention startled into activity by a certain tall, fine plant growing along the roadside, bearing beautiful, ragged blue flowers closely set to its stem. This is a stranger from over the seas, whose native home is England; and, like all English, it is an excellent colonist, having pushed its way into most parts of the civilized world. It has become quite plentiful among us in the last few years, and whole fields may often be seen covered with its lovely bright-blue blossoms, which are known as "ragged sailors," and "wild bachelor's-buttons." They open in theearly morning, closing by midday. In Europe a popular belief is rife that they open at eight o'clock in the morning and close at four in the afternoon.

COMMON MILKWEED—Asclepias Mexicana.

"On upland slopes the shepherds markThe hour when, to the dial true,Cichorium to the towering larkLifts her soft eye, serenely blue."

The plant is useful in several ways. Its root is boiled and eaten as a vegetable; the leaves, when blanched, make an excellent salad; and the whole plant was formerly employed in medicine, and is still considered a valuable remedy for jaundice. But the most common use of it is as a substitute for coffee, or as an adulterant of it. The fleshy, milky root is dried, ground, and roasted, and though it has neither the essential oil nor the delicious aroma of coffee, it is not an unpleasant beverage, and its cheapness brings it within the reach of the very poor.

The chicory industry has grown to be of considerable importance in California of late. The plants are grown in reclaimed tule land near Stockton, where there is a factory for the conversion of the root into the commercial article.

Stems.—Three to six inches high.Leaves.—Alternate; sessile; linear; obtuse; passing into flower-bracts above.Flowers.—Racemose; blue.Calyx-tube.—Very long and slender; adnate to the ovary; its limb of five slender divisions.Corolla.—With short tube and bilabiate border. The smaller lip of two narrow spreading or recurved divisions; the larger three-lobed; broader than long; nine or ten lines by five or six lines. All the lobes intense blue; the large centers mostly white.Stamens.—Five; united into a curved tube.Capsule.—Splitting at the sides.Hab.—Nearly throughout the State.

These little lobeliaceous plants are very common, especially upon the plains of the interior, and may be found growing in wet places, where they often make the ground blue. The showy, white-centered flowers are familiar along the roadsidesupon the borders of puddles. The blossoms, which are really stemless, appear to have stems of considerable length, owing to the very long, slender ovary and calyx-tube. They are cultivated for ornament under the name ofClintonia pulchella.

We have one other species in the northern part of the State. It is a larger plant, sometimes a foot tall, with ovate to lanceolate leaves. This isD. elegans, Torr.

Shrubs three to over eight feet high.Leaves.—Mostly alternate; with stipules; pinnate.Leaflets.—One inch long; five to nine or more pairs.Flower-spikes.—Two to six inches long.Flowers.—Black-purple; two and a half lines long.Calyx.—Half as long.Corolla.—With only one petal! (the standard); this erect and folded.Stamens.—Slightly united at base; exserted.Ovary.—One-celled.Pod.—Three lines long. (SeeLeguminosæ.)Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from Marin County to San Diego.

This shrub or small tree is remarkable for its sickeningly fragrant foliage. The small blossoms, taken individually, are inconspicuous, but when seen in masses, sprinkling the foliage with black and gold, they are quite effective.

One or two feet high; branching from the base.Leaves.—Opposite; sessile; crowded; lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate; gradually acuminate; densely pubescent; several-nerved; an inch or more long.Flowers.—Blue; in axillary, short-peduncled, dense clusters.Calyx.—Five-cleft.Corolla.—Six lines long; with filiform tube; and border with five almost similar lobes.Stamens.—Four; of two lengths. Filaments filiform; long-exserted and curled.Ovary.—Of four seed like nutlets. Style long; filiform; two-cleft at the tip.Hab.—Throughout Western California.

Of all the plants of our acquaintance, the common blue-curls is the most aggressive and ill-smelling. Its odor is positively sickening. Some years ago, when it was first new to me, I brought some of it down from Sonoma County upon the train, and, even though it had been carefully wrapped, I wasobliged to deposit it in the wood-box, as far as possible from the passengers.

The generic name comes from two Greek words, signifyinghairandstamen, and was bestowed on account of the capillary filaments. The common name also refers to the long, curling blue stamens.

This species blossoms late in summer, and grows upon very dry ground, where it seems almost a miracle for any plant to thrive.

Shrubby; two to five feet high.Leaves.—Opposite and fascicled in the axils; an inch or so long; green above; white-woolly beneath.Flowers.—Blue; in terminal clusters sometimes a foot long; covered with dense violet wool.Calyx.—Five-toothed.Corolla.—Nearly an inch long; with tube half its length and border violet-shaped.Stamens and Style.—Two inches long.Ovary.—Of four seedlike nutlets.Hab.—From San Diego to Santa Barbara.

When the first scorching winds of the desert have withered and laid low the lovely flowers of the southern plains, the Romero is just coming into bloom upon dry hillsides. Its shrubby form, with densely crowded leaves, becomes conspicuous by reason of its long spikes of purple-woolly buds and blossoms. This inflorescence is an exquisite thing, more like the production of a Paris milliner than a guileless creation of nature. The individual blossoms have much the look of alert little blue violets wearing long, elegant lilac aigrets. Both leaf and flower have a pleasant aromatic fragrance, entirely unlike the dreadful odor of the common blue-curls.

Among the Spanish-Californians it is known altogether by the musical name of "Romero," and is one of their most highly valued medicinal herbs, being considered a panacea for many troubles. Fried in olive oil, it becomes an ointment which alleviates pain and cures ulcers; dried and reduced to powder, it is a snuff very efficacious for catarrh; and made into a tincture, it is used as a liniment. This plant is also sometimes called "black sage."

ROMERO—Trichostema lanatum.

Corm.—Fibrous-coated.Leaves.—Narrowly linear; somewhat cylindrical.Scape.—Four to twelve inches high.Pedicels.—Three to ten, rarely one; unequal.Perianth.—Violet; waxen; ten to twenty lines long; broadly funnel-form; six-cleft; lobes recurving.Stamens.—Three; opposite the inner segments.Staminodia.—Three; strap-shaped; entire; white; erect; about equaling the stamens.Ovary.—Sessile; three-celled. Style stout. Stigma three-lobed.Hab.—From Ventura to the British boundary in the Coast Ranges and Sierras.

In the latter part of May and early in June, just as the grain is mellowing in the fields, the dry grasses of our hill-slopes and roadsides begin to reveal the beautiful blossoms of the "harvest Brodiæa." Seen at its best, this is one of our finest species. It sends up a scape a foot high, bearing from five to ten of the large, lily-like, violet flowers. They are somewhere described as varying to rose. I have never seen them of this color, though a flash of them caught when riding by a field is often suggestive of a pink flower.

These plants vary considerably in size, in some localities blooming when but an inch or two high, and in others having their tall scape crowned with as many as ten of the fine blossoms. These have their segments nerved with brown upon the outside. The clear-white stamens stand opposite the outer segments, alternating with the white staminodia. The leaves have dried away before the coming of the blossoms.

B. terrestris, Kell., common throughout Central California, is always found in sandy soil. Its perianth is less than an inch long, and its staminodia are yellow, with inrolled edges. This is clearly distinguished by these characteristics, added to the fact that its flower-cluster has no common stalk or scape, but seems to sit upon the ground, giving the separate flowers the appearance of coming from the ground.

HARVEST BRODIÆA—Brodiæa grandiflora.

Herbs with prehensile branchlets.Leaves.—Alternate; short-petioled; lanceolate to oblong-ovate; entire; an inch long.Flowers.—Six lines long; lavender.Sepals.—Five; upper one large; oblong; the others small, linear.Stamens.—Four; in pairs; on the corolla. Filaments slender. Anthers with two diverging cells.Ovary.—Two-celled. Style awl-shaped.Hab.—Throughout the western part of the State.

When the first dryness of summer is beginning to make itself felt, the tall wandlike sprays of the little lilac snapdragon begin to appear along our dusty roadsides. A curious feature of this plant is to be found in the long threadlike branchlets produced in the axils of the leaves. These are like so many little arms, apparently waving about in aimless abandon, but in reality vigilant of any opportunity to grasp some convenient object of support.

Another species—A. glandulosum, Lindl.—is common from Santa Cruz southward. This may be known by its pink and yellow flowers, its very viscid, leafy stems, three to five feet tall, and its lack of prehensile branchlets. This has somewhat more the look of the familiar garden species. Its anthers are arranged like teeth in the roof of its mouth, and the children, by slightly pinching the sides of its funny little countenance, can make it open its mouth in quite a formidable manner.

Sir John Lubbock, writing of the fertilization of flowers, says: "Thus theAntirrhinum, or snapdragon, is completely closed, and only a somewhat powerful insect can force its way in. The flower is in fact a strong-box, of which the humble-bee only has the key."

VIOLET SNAPDRAGON—Antirrhinum vagans.

Stems.—Several inches to two feet high.Leaves.—Alternate; ovate-oblong to lanceolate; one inch or less long.Flowers.—Blue; on recurved pedicels.Calyx.—Growing to the ovary below; with five awl-shaped teeth.Corolla.—Five to eight lines long; with short tube and slender, spreading, recurved lobes.Stamens.—Five.Ovary.—Three- to five-celled. Style club-shaped; much exserted. Stigma becoming three-lobed.Hab.—Coast woods from Monterey to Mendocino County, and through the northern Sierras.

The fragile blossoms of the harebell lurk in the seclusion of our cool cañons or peer down at us from the banks of shaded mountain roads toward the end of July. We almost wonder that this ethereal flower dares delay its coming so long when outside its cool retreat all is parched and dry. It forms a delicate contrast to its more robust English sister, the harebell so often celebrated by the poets.

Stems.—Six to fifteen inches high.Leaves.—Opposite; petioled; ovate or oblong.Flowers.—In a dense, short spike, with broad, leafy bracts; purple, violet, or rarely white.Calyx.—Bilabiate; upper lip with three short teeth; the lower two-cleft.Corolla.—Bilabiate; upper lip arched, entire; lower three-lobed; deflexed.Stamens.—Four; in pairs. Filaments two-forked; one fork naked, the other bearing the two-celled anther.Ovary.—Of four seedlike nutlets. Style filiform; two-cleft above.Hab.—Widely distributed over the Northern Hemisphere.

From April to July the purple blossoms of the self-heal, or heal-all, may be found in the borders of woods or in open grounds.

The generic name is thought to come from the old German word,braune, a disease of the throat, for which this plant was believed to be a cure. According to the old doctrine of signatures, plants by their appearance were supposed to indicate the diseases for which nature intended them as remedies, and in England theBrunellawas considered particularly efficaciousin the disorders of carpenters and common laborers, because its corolla resembled a bill-hook. Hence it was commonly called "carpenter's herb," "hook-heal," and "sicklewort."

CALIFORNIAN HAREBELL—Campanula prenanthoides.

Stems.—Woody; branching from below; a foot or two high.Leaves.—An inch or less long; toothed or entire; veins conspicuous.Flowers.—White to deep lilac; in a dense head subtended by a number of ovate, green bracts.Calyx.—Tubular; five-toothed; four lines long.Corolla.—Nine lines long; with filiform tube and bilabiate border. Upper lip two-cleft; lower cleft into three linear divisions.Stamens.—Four; in pairs; exserted. Anther cells divergent.Ovary.—Of four seedlike nutlets.Hab.—Throughout the State; common.

Owing to their resemblance to theMonarda, or horsemint of the East, these Western plants have been given the diminutive of its name—Monardella.

In early summer the blossoms, which are generally purple, are conspicuous in our drying woods. The herbage is pleasantly fragrant. The more hairy form, which suggested the specific name, is found in the south.

Another species—M. lanceolata, Gray—common in the Sierras and south to San Diego, is a very handsome plant with lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, entire leaves, an inch or two long, and having its bright rose-colored or purple corollas sometimes dark-spotted. This is known among the Spanish-Californians as "poléo" (pennyroyal), and is valued as a remedy for various ailments.

M. odoratissima, Benth., found abundantly in the Sierras, and known as "wild pennyroyal," is a bushy, many-stemmed plant, whose flowers usually have a faded lavender hue. But the plant is exceedingly fragrant, perfuming the air all about.

PENNYROYAL—Monardella villosa.

Perennials, with roots sometimes reaching down eight or ten feet.Stems.—Two to four feet high.Leaflets.—Three; toothed above.Flowers.—Violet.Calyx.—Five-toothed.Corolla.—Papilionaceous; six lines long.Stamens.—Nine united; one free.Pod.—Spirally coiled; without spines.Hab.—Usually escaped from cultivation.

The value of this little plant has been known for many centuries. It was introduced into Greece from Media, whence it received the nameMedicago, and was cultivated several centuries before Christ. It has reached us through Mexico and Chile, where it is called "alfalfa" and "Chilean clover."

It is but sparingly naturalized among us, but on account of its very nutritious herbage it is largely cultivated for feed. Its very deep root enables it to seek moisture from perennial sources, and to thus withstand the dryness of our summers. It requires considerable care to start the plants; but once established, the roots will continue under favorable circumstances to produce crops of herbage almost indefinitely. When grown upon good soil and irrigated, it will yield several crops a year. When cured for hay, it is cut just before flowering. But it is of greatest value for feeding green to dairy cows and other animals. An alfalfa field is a beautiful and grateful sight amid the drouth of our late summer. In Chile sprays of this plant are laid about in the houses to drive away fleas.

Hardy, evergreen, trailing shrubs, carpeting the ground.Leaves.—Opposite; short-petioled; obovate or spatulate; cuneate; leathery; several-toothed above; three to twelve lines long.Flowers.—Bright blue; in loose clusters on stout peduncles.Fruit.—With thick, often red, flesh; with three large wrinkled, somewhat spreading horns from near the apex, and low intermediate crests. (SeeCeanothus.)Hab.—The Sierras and northern Coast Ranges.

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