REDWOOD-SORREL.

RED-STEMMED FILAREE—Erodium cicutarium.

Herbs with sour juice.Leaves.—With three leaflets; petioles twoto even twelve inches long. Leaflets one or two inches broad; usually light-blotched.Scapes.—One to six inches long; one-flowered.Sepals.—Five.Petals.—Five; nine to twelve lines long; white or rose-colored, often veined with darker color; usually having an orange spot at base.Stamens.—Ten.Ovary.—Five-celled. Styles five.Hab.—Coast woods, from Santa Cruz to Washington.

In deep woods, "where no stir nor call the sacred hush profanes," the beautiful leaves and delicate flowers of the redwood-sorrel cover the ground with an exquisite tapestry, which catches the shimmer of the sunlight as it sifts down through the tall trees. If the goddess Nanna in passing left the print of her pretty fingers upon the clover, perhaps some wood-nymph may have touched the leaves of this charming plant. Each day as twilight deepens, the leaflets fold gently together and prepare to sleep.

The small yellow oxalis—O. corniculata, L.—becomes a troublesome weed in our lawns.

Stems.—Four to twelve inches high.Radical-leaves.—Broadly spatulate; one or two inches long.Cauline-leaves.—Oblong; sessile.All.—Ciliate.Flowers.—Purplish-pink.Sepals.—Four; generally colored.Petals.—Four; six to nine lines long; clawed.Stamens.—Six; two shorter.Ovary.—Two-celled. Stigma button-shaped.Pod.—Linear; an inch or more long; flattened.Hab.—The Coast, from San Francisco to Monterey.

The bright magenta-colored blossoms of the rock-cress may be looked for in early spring along the hills of the Coast Ranges. This plant is said to be very beautiful in cultivation. The generic name was bestowed because many of the well-known species are natives of Arabia, while the formidable specific name means "eyelash-leaved," referring to the ciliate leaves.

REDWOOD-SORREL—Oxalis Oregana.

Stems.—Several; eight inches to two feet long.Leaves.—Roundin outline; variously lobed and cut.Flowers.—Pink; in terminal racemes.Calyx.—Five-cleft; without bractlets.Petals.—Five; united at base; one inch long.Stamens.—United in a column; in two series. Anthers one-celled.Ovaries.—Three to ten in a ring; separating at maturity. Styles as many; filiform.Hab.—The Coast from San Diego to Mendocino County.

In early spring the graceful sprays of theSidalceabend over our meadows everywhere, making them bright with their pink blossoms, which the children call "wild hollyhocks." The stamens of these flowers are especially pretty and interesting if examined with a glass. By a careful dissection, the stamen-column is found to be double, its outer part bearing five bunches of stamens. The anthers are one-celled and of a beautiful rose-pink. They may be seen best by pulling apart one of the unopened buds.

There are two kinds of these plants, one having large pale-pink flowers, which are perfect; the other bearing smaller deep rose-pink blossoms, in which the anthers are only rudimentary.

There are quite a number of species ofSidalceain California, but they are very difficult of determination for the non-botanist.

Small trees or shrubs.Leaves.—Alternate; slender-petioled; round-cordate; palmately veined; smooth; about two inches in diameter.Flowers.—Rose-color; papilionaceous; clustered in the axils.Petals.—Four lines long; the standard smaller and inclosed by the wings.Stamens.—Ten; all distinct.Ovary.—One-celled.Pods.—Two or three inches long; thin.Hab.—Mt. Shasta to San Diego.

By April, or earlier, our interior hills and valleys begin to show the rosy blossoms of the Judas-tree. The leafless branches are wreathed with the abundant flowers, which gives the shrub the appearance of a garden fruit-tree. When seen later, in its full summer foliage, it is almost equally attractive. Its shapelyleaves are then diversified by the clusters of long purple pods, which hang gracefully among them.

WILD HOLLYHOCK—Sidalcea malvæflora.

The Indians find the slender twigs of this shrub very useful in their basket-making. By means of the thumb-nail or flints, they split them into threads, which they use as woof.

A closely allied species ofCercis, growing in Palestine, had, according to tradition, white flowers, until the arch-traitor Judas hanged himself from its limbs, when it blushed pink for very shame.

In medieval Europe the Judas-tree was believed to be a favorite rendezvous for witches, and it was considered dangerous to approach one at nightfall.

Evergreen shrubs, three to eight feet high.Leaves.—Ovate to oblong-lanceolate; leathery; smooth and shining.Flowers.—In axillary clusters: small; pinkish.Calyx.—Minutely fine-toothed.Corolla.—Campanulate; two or three lines long.Stamens.—Ten; anthers opening terminally.Ovary.—Globose; five-celled. Style filiform.Berries.—Small; reddish, turning black.Hab.—The Coast Ranges from Monterey to Vancouver Island.

When in bloom our Californian huckleberry is a delightful shrub. Its leaves, which are of a particularly rich, shining green, are set at a characteristic angle to the red stems, contrasting finely with their warm tones; and the effect is heightened by the clusters of small pink and white waxen bells scattered here and there amid the foliage.

The huckleberry is at its best upon the high ridges of the Coast Ranges, where it becomes especially luxuriant in the fog-nurtured region of the northern portion of the redwood belt. There its abundant berries become juicy and delicious, and are much sought for preserving and pie-making. Its branches, when cut, keep admirably in water and are favorite greens for household decoration.

HUCKLEBERRY—Vaccinium ovatum.

Root.—Tuberous.Stem.—Four to eight inches high; with a whorlof oval-pointed leaves one to four inches long.Flowers.—White or pink; eight lines across.Calyxand rotate corolla seven-parted, sometimes six- to nine-parted; divisions pointed.Stamens.—As many as the corolla-lobes, and opposite them.Ovary.—One-celled. Style filiform.Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from Monterey northward.

In April and May, as we walk through shaded woods, we begin to notice a trim little plant three or four inches high, with very slender stem, bearing at its summit a number of pretty leaves of varying size. A little later, we find among them one or two delicate pink, starry flowers on very slender, threadlike stems.

The generic name is from the Latintriens, and is in allusion to the height of the plant, which is the third part of a foot.

Leaves.—Radical; oblong; six inches to one foot long; two to four wide.Flower-stem.—One or two feet high; with one leafy bract.Flowers.—Pink; many; in a terminal compound cluster on pedicels an inch or less long.Perianth.—Campanulate; four to seven lines long.Segments.—Six; gibbous at the base.Stamens.—Six.Ovary.—Two- or three-celled.Fruit.—Beautiful, large, dark-blue berries.Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from Santa Cruz to Humboldt County.

This is one of the most distinguished-looking plants of our deep coast woods. Its large leaves, of a rich polished green, arrange themselves symmetrically around the short stem, seeming to come from the ground—and so fine are they, that if no blossom appeared, we should feel the plant had fulfilled its mission of beauty. But in April a blossom-stalk shoots up from their midst, bearing upon its summit a cluster of deep rose-colored, nodding bells. These are succeeded later by a bunch of superb dark-blue berries, which might be made of lapis lazuli or the rarest old delft china. I remember a beautiful spot upon the Lagunitas Creek, where the stream, flowingover a brown, pebbly bottom, passes among the redwoods where their tall shafts make dim cathedral aisles,—

. . . "forest-corridors that lieIn a mysterious world unpeopled yet."

Here little yellow violets and the charming wood-sorrel carpet the ground, the fetid adder's-tongue spreads its mottled leaves, while groups of the lovelyClintoniaput the finishing touches to an already beautiful scene.

Evergreen shrubs two to six feet high, becoming small trees southward.Leaves.—Alternate; short-petioled; one to three inches long; rigid; leathery.Flowers.—Of two sexes, also some perfect; in short, dense terminal clusters one to three inches long; rose-colored or white.Sepals, petals, and stamens four to nine; usually five.Petals.—Rounded; ciliate; one or two lines across.Ovary.—One-celled. Stigmas three.Fruit.—Flat; one-seeded; six lines across; red; viscid and acid.Hab.—The Coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

Growing everywhere upon the southern coast in great abundance, this shrub forms low, dense, wind-shorn thickets. Farther inland it rises to a height of several feet, with tough, India-rubber-like branches, and in Lower California it becomes a small tree. In its better estate it is very ornamental, especially in spring, when sprinkled with its clusters of small pink flowers. The little drupes are covered with an acid, oily substance, and have long been used by the Indians and Mexicans in the preparation of a lemonade-like drink. These people are so fond of this fruit that they dry it for winter use, grinding and roasting it as we do coffee. The wood of these shrubs is of a dark-red color, which is responsible for the common name, "mahogany."

AnotherRhusvery common in the valleys of Southern California isR. laurina, Nutt., usually called "sumach." It is an evergreen shrub, with smooth, lanceolate leaves, two or three inches long, exhaling a rather strong odor, considered by some like bitter almonds, and bearing dense clusters of smallwhite flowers in midsummer. Its small drupes are only a line or two across. They are also coated with a waxen substance, and yield a pungent oil.

In the mountains from Santa Barbara to San Diego is found another species—R. ovata, Wats. This has large leathery, pointed leaves, and is known as "lemonade-and-sugar-tree," as the acid berries are coated with a sweet, waxen substance, which the Indians value as sugar. Its leaves resemble in form those of the lilacs of our gardens.

Leaves.—All radical; tufted; from obovate to lanceolate.Scape.—Three to fifteen inches high; umbel two- to twenty-flowered.Calyx.—Deeply five-cleft, the divisions reflexed in flower, erect in fruit.Corolla.—With extremely short tube, and an abruptly reflexed five-parted limb; white, rose-color, or purple.Stamens.—Five; opposite the corolla-lobes. Filaments short; united. Anthers standing erect around the long style, forming a beak; violet.Ovary.—One-celled.Hab.—Throughout the continent; exceedingly variable.

The shooting-star is one of our prettiest spring flowers, which arrives a little before the baby-eyes and just as the brakes are unrolling their green crosiers. There is something particularly pleasing in these blossoms. It seems as though Nature had taxed her ingenuity to produce something original when she fashioned them. The nameDodecatheon, from the Greek, is entirely a fanciful one, and means "the twelve gods."

FormerlyD. Meadia, L., was considered the only species, embracing many widely varying forms; but of late botanists have made several of the forms into separate species.

D. Hendersoni(Gray), Ktz., is the species prevalent in our central and northern Coast Ranges. This has ovoid or obovoid, very obtuse, entire leaves, with broad petiole, equaling the blade, two inches long. Its flower-stem is from eight to twelve inches high, bearing a cluster of bright rose-purple flowers. The corolla has a short, dark-maroon tube, encircled by a band of yellow, sometimes merging into white. A varietyof this with very slender stems and the flower parts in fours is common in the Bay region, and southward possibly to Santa Barbara. This is calledvar. cruciata. Its blossoms have a strong odor, suggestive of a tannery. In this species the capsule opens at the top, splitting into a number of little teeth, which soon turn downward.

SHOOTING-STARS—Dodecatheon Hendersoni var. cruciata.

D. Clevelandi, Greene, is a beautiful species found in the south. It sends up a tall shaft, crowned with a large cluster of beautiful blossoms, varying from a delicate lilac to pure white. The petals are ringed below with pale yellow, and the beak of the flower is a rich prune-purple. There is a certain generous, fine look about these flowers, although they are exquisitely delicate. Their charm is completed by a delicious perfume, like that of the cultivated cyclamen.

Among the children the various forms are known by a number of names, such as "mad violets," "prairie-pointers," "mosquito-bills," and "roosters'-heads." The latter is said to be the designation of prosaic little boys who see in these blossoms gaming possibilities, and who love to hook them together and pull to see which head will come off first.

Stems.—Woody; two or three feet high.Leaves.—Palmately three- to seven-parted, with spreading, needle-like divisions, two to four lines long.Flowers.—Solitary, at the ends of the branchlets; rose-pink or lilac, with a white eye.Calyx.—Five-toothed.Corolla-limb.—An inch and a half across. (SeeGilia.)Hab.—Dry hills from Monterey to San Bernardino.

I hardly know how to describe these delightful flowers. At a little distance the plant-stems have almost the look of a cactus, so densely are they clothed with the small, rigid leaves. Nor does a closer acquaintance serve to lessen the likeness—for in our breathless haste to take possession of the beautiful blossoms we are quite certain to have their prickly character impressed upon the hands as well as upon the sight. The texture of the flowers is of the finest silk, with an exquisite sheen;and they have a delicate fragrance. Growing at the tips of the numerous branchlets, they often form large masses of rich rose-colored bloom, which are especially brilliant and showy against the warm foliage.

PRICKLY PHLOX—Gilia Californica.

In some localities they are called "rock-rose," an unfortunate name in two respects: it has long belonged to a yellow flower of an entirely different family—Helianthemum; and these blossoms do not in the least resemble a rose.

Stems.—From a woody base; a foot or two long.Leaves.—Ovate; six to fifteen lines long; rather thick.Flowers.—Magenta-colored; one to three in a campanulate, calyx-like, five-toothed involucre. Involucres nearly sessile.Perianth.—Six lines long; open funnel-form; five-lobed.Stamens.—Five. Anthers yellow.Ovary.—Globose; one-celled. Style filiform. Stigma capitate.Hab.—Southern California and eastward.

When the heat of the day is over and the morning-glories are folding together their faded chalices, the bright little four-o'clocks begin to open their myriad magenta-colored eyes upon the closing day, and they, together with the evening primroses, will keep the vigils of the night. These diaphanous little flowers, with their long stamens resting on the lower side of the perianth, are like diminutive azaleas.

They are very puzzling, and the part that baffles the young botanist is the calyx, which, as it sometimes has two or three corollas within it, cannot be considered a calyx at all, but must be called an involucre. In reality the corolla is absent, and the calyx, which is colored like a corolla, is called a perianth. This appears to sit upon the top of the round ovary, but in reality a green continuation of it is drawn down tightly over the ovary.

CALIFORNIAN FOUR-O'CLOCK—Mirabilis Californica.

Stems.—A foot or less long; trailing.Leaves.—Kidney-shaped;long-petioled; leathery; an inch or two broad.Flowers.—Pink to lavender; one to nearly three inches across, with a pair of thin bracts just below the calyx, partly enveloping it. (Otherwise asC. luteolus.)Hab.—The seashore from Puget Sound to San Diego.

The beach morning-glory trails its stems over the shifting sands of the seashore, making clusters of beautiful foliage, over which the large, delicate flowers raise their exquisite satin funnels.

Bulb.—Small; solid.Stem.—Three to six inches high.Leaf.—An inch or two long.Sepalsand petals light to deep rose-color; six to nine lines long.Lip.—Brownish pink, mottled with purple.Style.—Petaloid, oval, and concave, bearing the hemispherical anther on its summit underneath.Hab.—The northern Coast Ranges; also across the continent.

It has never been my good fortune to find this rare and exquisite little orchid, but beautiful specimens have been sent from the redwoods of Sonoma County and from Oregon. The books speak of it as growing in bogs; but I am told by those who gathered them that the little plants sit lightly upon the layer of needles that carpet the forest-floor. The roots scarcely penetrate the soil, so that the plants are easily disengaged without digging.

Nature produced a perfect work when she fashioned this little plant, so simple, so charming in every way, with its one dainty leaf and one unique blossom. The form of the column is peculiarly interesting, being that of a curving concave petal, bearing the anther, in the shape of a hollow hemisphere, on its upper edge.

CALYPSO—Calypso borealis.

Decumbent, branching herbs, mostly smooth.Leaves.—Alternate;linear to oblanceolate; one to three inches long.Flowers.—In loose racemes; rose-color or magenta; about an inch across.Sepals.—Two; keeled.Petals.—Mostly five.Stamens.—Four to eleven.Ovary.—One-celled. Style slender. Stigma three-cleft. Seeds black, shining, lens-shaped.Hab.—From Lower California to Vancouver Island.

The wild portulaca is very abundant, and in seasons favorable to its development is a very noticeable little plant. Its succulent stems have a spreading habit and bear many satiny flowers of a deep purplish-pink, which open in the bright sunshine. The petals, which are veined with a slightly darker color, become white toward the center, and the little anthers are full of orange-colored pollen. These blossoms have a delicate, somewhat musky perfume.

Cattle are fond of the herbage, and the plants are considered excellent as potherbs and for salads. The seeds, which are a favorite food of the wild dove are very pretty, being lens-shaped, black and shining, with a granular surface.

Stem.—Climbing; six to ten feet.Leaflets.—About eight; scattered; very variable; linear to lanceolate or oblong; acute; mucronate; strongly three- to five-nerved.Tendrils.—Two- to five-parted.Stipules.—Small; semi-sagittate.Peduncles.—Stout; usually seven- to ten-flowered.Flowers.—Very large; brilliant crimson.Calyx.—Five-toothed; eighteen-nerved.Standardand keel an inch or more long.Pods.—Three inches long; smooth; compressed; ten- to twenty-seeded.Hab.—Parts of San Diego County, and southward.

Clambering over our wild shrubs, this wonderful pea gives them the appearance of being loaded with a magnificence of bloom quite unwonted. The blossoms are the richest and most gorgeous of crimsons throughout, and have such a superb air that it is difficult to believe they are not the product of centuries of careful selection by the gardener. The long standard turns back over the stem, continuing the gracefullyoutlined keel in a long compound curve. The blossoms hang from the stem in charming abandon, like a flock of graceful tropic-birds poising upon the wing before taking flight, or like a fleet of gayly decked pleasure-barges, with canopies thrown back, fit for the conveyance of a Cleopatra.

WILD PORTULACA—Calandrinia caulescens.

Shrubs six to fifteen feet high.Leaves.—Three- to five-lobed; glutinous when young; three to five inches broad.Flowers.—Rose-pink to pale pink; in long drooping racemes.Calyx.—Petaloid; five-lobed.Petalsand stamens five on the calyx.Ovary.—One-celled. Styles two; more or less united.Berries.—Blue, with a dense bloom; glandular-hispid.Syn.—Ribes sanguineum, Pursh.Hab.—The Coast Ranges; more common southward.

In early winter in the south, and somewhat later northward, the wild currant becomes a thing of beauty hardly to have been expected. The young foliage, of a clear brilliant green, is gayly decked with the long clusters of peculiarly fresh pink blossoms, which seem like the very incarnation of the spirit of Spring, producing a certaineblouissement, which quickens our sense into an anticipation of beauty on every side.

We are made aware of a strong, heavy fragrance emanating from this shrub, for which its numerous glands are responsible, and which has gained for it the popular name of "incense-shrub" in some localities.

The fruit, which ripens toward fall, is dry and bitter, or insipid.

The genusRibesincludes the currant and the gooseberry, and furnishes us with several charming shrubs in California.

CALIFORNIAN WILD CURRANT—Ribes glutinosum.

One to six inches high.Leaves.—Six lines or so long; linear tofiliform.Flowers.—Rose or lilac, blending inward to white, with darker color or yellow in the throat.Calyx.—Five-cleft.Corolla.—Nine to twelve lines across; fringed. (SeeGilia.)Hab.—From Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In March our southern meadows and hill-slopes are all aglow with the lovely flowers of this charming littleGilia. The plants are tiny, often no more than an inch high, but are ambitious out of all proportion to their size, covering themselves with blossoms exquisitely delicate in texture, form, and coloring, which literally carpet the earth with an overlapping mosaic.

It is a wonderful thought that upon every one of these countless millions of little flowers that clothe the fields Nature has bestowed such care that each is a masterpiece in itself.

Hairy, perennial herbs.Stems.—One to three feet high; leafy to the top.Root-leaves.—Spatulate or obovate.Stem-leaves.—Oblong; sessile, with broad clasping base; irregularly toothed.Flower-heads.—In a loose corymb.Disks.—Yellow; three or four lines across.Rays.—Innumerable; very narrow; flesh-color to rose-purple; about three lines long.Hab.—Widely distributed on the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts.

The feathery, daisy-like flowers of the common fleabane are of frequent occurrence in moist meadows or along the roadsides in spring. The ray-flowers are so narrow as to form a delicate fringe around the disk.

The common name arose from the belief that these plants were harmful to fleas.

GROUND-PINK—Gilia dianthoides.

A foot high or more, with widely spreading branches.Leaves.—Allradical; oblong; obtuse; twelve to thirty lines long, including petioles.Involucres.—Loosely clustered; sessile; one-flowered; campanulate; with six bristle-like teeth.Perianth.—Pink; two lines long; six-lobed; not fringed.Stamens.—Mostly nine; on the perianth.Ovary.—One-celled. Styles three. Stigmas capitate.Hab.—From Monterey to San Diego.

In late spring the dry, open hills of the south are overrun with the soft lavender of theChorizanthe. The flowers are small, but the whole plant is purplish, and the stems are quite as productive of color as the blossoms. In fact, the whole plant seems to consist of a scraggly interlacement of slender branches and small flowers, as the leaves, which nestle close to the ground, are not very noticeable.

Six inches to two feet high.Leaves.—Six to twelve lines long; pale apple-green.Calyx.—Usually five-parted.Corolla.—Bright pink, with yellow or white center; an inch or so across.Stamens.—Five; anthers spirally twisted after shedding the pollen.Ovary.—One-celled. Style slender. Stigmas two.Hab.—From Plumas County southward; more abundant southward.

Just as our attention has been called afresh to the fields by the sudden appearance of the "golden stars," orBloomeria, in late spring, we find, as we stoop to gather them, a charming pink flower nestling close to the earth amid the grasses. Though low of stature, these firstlings of the season atone for it by brilliancy of color, and their pink blossoms have a peculiarly clean, fresh, wide-awake appearance, reminding one of a rosy-faced country wench.

While enjoying their bright beauty, we do not for a moment suspect that we are paying homage to the famous "canchalagua" of the Spanish-Californians. No well-regulated household among these people is without bundles of these herbs strung upon the rafters—for they are considered by theman indispensable remedy for fevers; also, an excellent bitter tonic, and are said to possess rare antiseptic properties.

CANCHALAGUA—Erythræa venusta.

Shrubby at base; three to fifteen feet high; densely tomentose.Leaves.—An inch or two across; thick.Flowers.—Clustered in the axils of the leaves; or in an interrupted naked spike.Calyx.—Five-lobed; with one to three bractlets.Petals.—Five, about six lines long; rose-purple.Stamens.—United in a column.Ovaries.—Numerous; united in a ring. Styles united at base. Stigmas capitate.Hab.—The southern Coast Ranges and islands of the Coast.

Upon the mesas of the south we often see a shrubby member of the mallow family, with long, wandlike branches ornamented with closely set, pink flowers, of delicate texture and pleasant perfume. This is the false mallow. It is a very handsome and noticeable shrub when in full bloom. The anthers are golden brown, and the stigmas are spherical instead of filiform. Upon the seashore it blooms much earlier than in the valleys inland.

Succulent plants.Stems.—Elongating; forming large mats.Leaves.—Opposite; sessile; fleshy; three-angled; two inches or more long; oblong.Flowers.—Terminal; solitary; fifteen lines to two inches across; pink.Calyx.—With top-shaped tube and five-lobed border.Petals.—Very numerous; linear.Stamens.—Innumerable.Ovary.—Four- to twenty-celled. Stigmas six to ten.Hab.—The Coast, from Point Reyes southward.

The fig-marigold is a very common plant upon our seashore. It seems to flourish best toward the south, where it covers large tracts of sand with its succulent foliage, making mats of pleasant verdure in otherwise sandy wastes. Its stems often trail many yards down the cliffs, making beautiful natural draperies, decked with myriads of the pink blossoms. Because it is capable of withstanding the drouth in the most remarkable manner, it has been planted to produce verdurewhere irrigation is impossible. The very numerous slender petals give the flower the appearance at first sight of aComposita. The fruit is pulpy and full of very small seeds, like the fig, and has a suggestion of the flavor of the Isabella grape.

FALSE MALLOW—Malvastrum Thurberi.

Many species ofMesembryanthemumare cultivated in our gardens, mostly as border-plants. The genus is a large one, most of the species being native of Southern Africa, and it is supposed that the three species now common upon our Coast were introduced in the remote past without the agency of man.

Stems.—Three to twelve inches high; erect; spreading.Leaves.—Opposite; sessile; palmately five- to seven-parted; seemingly whorled.Flowers.—In terminal clusters.Corolla.—Salver-shaped; rose-pink, lilac, or white, with a yellow or dark throat; its tube filiform, about an inch long; limb eight to ten lines across. Filaments and style slender; exserted. (SeeGilia.)Hab.—Throughout the western part of the State; into the Sierra foothills.

The delicate flowers of this little plant may be found nestling amid the grasses of dry hill-slopes in late spring, often making charming bits of color. It is usually rather a low plant, but in specially favorable situations it rises to a foot in height. Its fragile flowers vary from pure white to lilac and a lovely rose-pink, and look like small phloxes.

Flowering at half an inch high; later becoming a span high.Leaves.—Ovate or oblong; three- to five-nerved at base; narrowed into a short petiole.Flowers.—Rich maroon, with deeper color in the throat and some yellow below.Calyx.—Five-toothed.Corolla.—An inch to eighteen lines long; with dilated throat. Lower lip much shorter than the ample, erect, upper one; sometimes almost wanting. (SeeMimulus.)Hab.—Throughout California.

This littleMimulusis quite common upon gravelly or stony hills. Its pert little maroon flowers, with their very long tubes and erect lobes, so ridiculously out of proportion to the size of the tiny plant, give it the look of some very important small personage.

Gilia Androsacea.

Root.—Very thick.Leaves.—Clustered; linear-oblong; one or twoinches long.Scapes.—One-flowered; one or two inches long; jointed in the middle, with a whorl of five to seven scarious bracts at the joint.Sepals.—Six to eight; six to nine lines long; scarious-margined.Petals.—Twelve to fifteen; rose-color, sometimes white; oblong; eight to sixteen lines long; rotately spreading in sunshine.Stamens.—Forty or more.Ovary.—One-celled. Style three- to eight-parted nearly to the base.Hab.—The mountains of California, northward and eastward.

Within our borders this little plant is not abundant, but must be sought upon mountain heights. Formerly it was supposed not to occur south of Mt. Diablo, but it has since been found in the mountains of the southern part of the State and at intermediate points. It is very abundant in Montana, where it has been adopted as the State flower.

The plants are very small, being but an inch or two high, but the flowers are handsome and showy, and the delicate, rose-colored corollas, which are often two inches across, are of an exquisite silken texture. The root is remarkably large and thick for so small a plant, and it contains a nutritious, farinaceous matter, much esteemed by the Indians for food. Among them it is known as "spat'lum," and they gather large quantities of it, which they store in bags for future use.

This was the "racine-amère," or "bitter-root," of the early French settlers. It is also known as "tobacco-root," because when boiled it has a tobacco-like odor.

The specific name,rediviva, was bestowed because of the wonderful vitality of these plants. It is known upon good authority that specimens which had been drying for two years in an herbarium continued to produce leaves, and at last, when taken out and planted, went on growing and blossomed!

This genus is an exception to the other members of the Purslane family, in having more than two sepals.

Low; spreading; branching freely above.Joints.—Flat; smooth; without large spines, but with close tufts of minute bristles; obovate or fan-shaped; five to eight inches long; nearly as wide at the top.Flowers.—Large; brilliant rose-magenta; two or three inches long.Fruit.—Dry; sub-globose. (Flower-structure as inO. Engelmanni.)Hab.—The southern deserts and San Bernardino Mountains.

In the arid regions of the southern interior, thisOpuntiais a very common one, and its large, brilliant rose-magenta flowers attract the attention wherever seen. They are very tempting blossoms, and it is hard to resist them, even though we know the penalty will be the conversion of thumbs and fingers into pin-cushions for innumerable, minute, tormenting thorns.

Shrubs two to four feet high.Leaves.—Opposite; short-petioled; cuneate to oblong; entire or lobed; nine to eighteen lines long.Flowers.—Small; mostly in terminal clusters.Calyx.—Adnate to the ovary; with five-toothed border.Corolla.—Campanulate; five-lobed; three lines long; waxen; pinkish; very hairy within.Stamens.—Five; on the corolla.Ovary.—Four-celled.Berries.—Waxen-white; six lines in diameter.Hab.—Widely distributed.

In early winter the pure-white clusters of the snow-berry, on their almost leafless stems, make flecks of light through the dun woods. At this season of few woodland attractions, these berries, together with the trailing sprays of the fragrant yerba buena and the long graceful leaves of the iris, are about the only trophies to be obtained upon a walk. In early spring, when their slender twigs first begin to leaf out, these little shrubs are among the most delicate and airy of growing things, and make a tender veil of green through the shadowy woodland. The blossoms, which arrive rather late, are inconspicuous.

Shrubs.—Six to fifteen feet high.Leaves.—Three to nine inches across.Flowers.—Pink, veined with maroon.Calyx.—Five-cleft, with an involucel below, like a second calyx.Petals.—Twelve to eighteen lines long.Filaments.—Numerous; united in a column.Styles.—Numerous; filiform.Carpels.—One-seeded, in a ring around an axis; separating at maturity.Hab.—The islands off the Coast; cultivated on the mainland north to Mendocino County.

TheLavaterasare Old-World plants, with the exception of a few species which are natives of the islands of our southern coast. In the early days the Padres planted the above species (L. assurgentiflora) plentifully around the old Missions, and thence it has spread and become spontaneous in many localities. It can be seen in San Francisco, planted as wind-break hedges about the market-gardens, where it thrives luxuriantly as long as it is protected from cattle.

The leaves and twigs abound in mucilage, and are very fattening and nutritious food for sheep and cattle, who are very fond of it.

Woody; climbing and twining.Leaves.—Opposite; short-petioled; oval; pale; one to three inches long; the upper pairs uniting around the stem.Flowers.—Pink; in spikes of several whorls.Calyx.—Minute; growing to the ovary; border five-toothed.Corolla.—Tubular; six lines to an inch long; bilabiate; the lips strongly revolute; the upper four-lobed, the lower entire.Stamens.—Five; much exserted.Ovary.—Two- or three-celled. Style slender. Stigma capitate.Berries.—Scarlet; translucent.Hab.—Throughout the State.

In early summer the climbing honeysuckle with its pale foliage flings its long arms over neighboring trees and shrubs, showing glimpses here and there of small pinkish flowers. But it is far more noticeable in the fall, when its long pendulous branches are laden with the fine clusters of translucent, orange-red berries. It is quite variable and has many forms, which are all considered varieties of the one species.

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