Part 17

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.

PINK PAINT-BRUSH. ESCOBITA.

_Orthocarpus purpurascens_, Benth. Figwort Family.

_Stems._--Six to twelve inches high. _Leaves._--Variously parted into filiform divisions. _Bracts._--About equaling the flowers; tipped with crimson or pale pink. _Corolla._--About an inch long; the lower lip only moderately inflated and three-saccate; the upper long, hooked, bearded, crimson. _Stigma._--Large. (See _Orthocarpus_.) _Hab._--Widely distributed.

The bright-magenta tufts of the pink paint-brush are often so abundant that they give the country a purplish hue for miles at a stretch. The Spanish-Californians have a pretty name for these blossoms, calling them "escobitas," meaning "little whisk-brooms."

_O. densiflorus_, Benth., is a very similar species; but its corolla has a straight upper lip, without hairs.

CLARKIA.

_Clarkia elegans_, Dougl. Evening-Primrose Family.

_Stems._--One to six feet high; simple or branching. _Leaves._--Alternate; broadly ovate to linear; dentate; an inch or more long. _Petals._--About nine lines long; with long, slender claws and rhomboidal blades; pink. _Stamens._--Eight; all perfect. Filaments with a hairy scale at base. _Stigma._--Four-lobed. _Capsule._--Six to nine lines long; sessile. (Otherwise as _C. concinna_.) _Hab._--Widely distributed.

This plant is a very common one along our dusty roadsides in early summer, and it shows a facility in adapting itself to quite a range of climate and condition. It grows from six inches to six feet high, is nearly smooth or quite hairy, and has rather large flowers or quite small ones. Its scarlet stamens, purple-pink petals, and often deeper purple sepals make an odd combination of color. It often grows in showy masses, making patches of glowing color under the shade of trees.

CHAPARRAL PEA.

_Pickeringia montana_, Nutt. Pea Family.

Evergreen, much branched, spiny shrubs, four to seven feet high. _Leaves._--With from one to three leaflets. _Leaflets._--Three to nine lines long. _Flowers._--Magenta-colored; solitary; sessile; seven to nine lines long; papilionaceous. _Stamens._--All ten distinct. _Pod._--One-celled; two inches long. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from Lake County to San Diego.

Upon wild mountain-slopes where are heard the fluting notes of a certain shy bird that rarely comes near habitations, the chaparral pea often makes dense, impenetrable thickets. It would be impossible to mistake it for any other shrub, with its solitary magenta-colored pea-blossoms, which often cover the bushes with a mass of color. Its green branchlets terminate in long, rigid spines, which are often clothed with small leaves nearly to the end.

Woe to him who tries to penetrate the chaparral when it is composed of this formidable and uncompromising shrub! The result is quite likely to be a humiliating progress upon hands and knees before he can extricate himself, probably with torn garments and scratched visage.

HEDGE-NETTLE.

_Stachys bullata_, Benth. Mint Family.

Rough, pubescent herbs. _Stem._--Ten to eighteen inches high; four-angled. _Leaves._--Opposite; ovate or ovate-oblong; cordate; coarsely crenate; wrinkly veined; petioled; an inch or two long. _Flowers._--Pinkish; in a narrow, interrupted spike. _Calyx._--Five-cleft. _Corolla._--Eight lines long; bilabiate. Upper lip erect; lower deflexed, of three unequal lobes, spotted with purple. _Stamens._--Four. Filaments hairy. Anthers divergently two-celled. _Ovary._--Of four seedlike nutlets. Style filiform. Stigma two-cleft. _Hab._--Throughout the State.

The hedge-nettles are common weeds, of which we have several species. _S. bullata_, so called on account of its leaves, which look as though blistered, is the most widespread. It is quite variable in aspect, and we are constantly meeting it in new guises and being deceived into believing it something finer than it really is, through some subtle change in its usually homely little pink flowers.

TWINING HYACINTH.

_Brodiaea volubilis_, Baker. Lily Family.

Coated corm about one inch in diameter. _Leaves._--All radical; broadly linear; a foot or more long. _Scape._--Twining; two to even twelve feet long; naked. _Umbel._--Many-flowered. _Perianth._--Five to eight lines long; rose-color without, whitish within. _Stamens._--Three; alternating with three notched staminodia. Filaments winged; very short. _Ovary._--Three-celled. Style short. Stigma capitate. _Syn._--_Stropholirion Californicum_, Torr. _Hab._--Sierra foothills, from Mariposa County northward.

In this plant we see the _Brodiaea_ disporting itself in a very odd manner, having vinelike aspirations. It produces several long leaves, which lie prostrate upon the ground, and then the stem puts in its appearance and commences a wonderful series of evolutions not to be outdone by any contortionist. It twists and clambers and climbs, reaching a height of five or six feet, often having expended twice that amount of stem in its convolutions.

During this remarkable process, which consumes from two to four weeks, the terminal bud has remained dormant. But it now commences to grow, and in a couple of weeks the flower-cluster is complete in all its beauty. It is sometimes six inches across.

It often happens that before the flower has blossomed, the stem is broken off at the ground. Strangely enough, this seems not to matter at all, for it grows on and perfects its flowers just as though nothing had occurred. People often bring the stem indoors and allow it to climb up over the curtains, where they can watch the interesting process of its growth.

CALIFORNIAN ROSE-BAY.

_Rhododendron Californicum_, Hook. Heath Family.

Evergreen shrubs three to fifteen feet high. _Leaves._--Four to six inches long; leathery. _Flowers._--Rose-pink; in large clusters. _Calyx._--Small; with rounded lobes. _Corolla._--Broadly campanulate; two inches or so across; slightly irregular; with wavy, margined lobes; the upper spotted within. _Stamens._--About equaling the corolla. Style crimson. Stigma funnel-form. (Otherwise as _R. occidentale_.) _Hab._--From British Columbia to Marin County.

In our northern counties the rugged mountain-sides are often densely covered with the lovely rose-bay, which in early summer presents an appearance it would be impossible to rival. When the foliage, which is very rich in both quality and hue, is thickly massed with the great glowing flower-clusters, the sight is worth a pilgrimage to see. It is a shrub so beautiful, we marvel it is not generally cultivated in gardens.

The bees are very fond of the blossoms, but popular tradition ascribes a poisonous quality to the honey made from them.

We have noticed no perfume in these flowers, but the leaves are often quite pleasantly fragrant.

COMMON WILD ROSE.

_Rosa Californica_, Cham. and Schlecht. Rose Family.

Erect shrubs three to eight feet high. Prickles few; stout; recurved; mostly in pairs beneath the entire stipules. _Leaves._--Alternate; pinnate; with five to seven leaflets. _Leaflets._--Ovate or oblong; serrate. _Flowers._--Few to many in clusters; pale-pink. _Calyx._--With urn-shaped tube and five-cleft border, whose lobes are foliaceously tipped. _Petals._--Five; six to nine lines long. _Stamens._--Very numerous. _Ovaries._--Several; bony; in, but free from, the calyx-tube. _Hips._--Many; four or five lines through. _Hab._--From San Diego to Oregon.

The wild rose is one of the few flowers that blooms cheerfully through the long summer days, lavishing its beautiful clusters of deliciously fragrant flowers as freely along the dusty roadside as in the more secluded thicket. In autumn it often seems inspired to a special luxuriance of blossoming, and it lingers to greet the asters and mingle its pink flowers and brilliant scarlet hips with their delicate lilacs.

_R. gymnocarpa_, Nutt., "the redwood-rose," is exquisitely dainty. This is found in shady places under the trees. It blooms earlier than the common species, and is neither so abundant nor so fragrant. Its flowers are barely an inch across and of a bright pink. The prickles are straight, and the calyx-lobes are without leafy tips, while the leaflets are small and shapely.

BEAUTIFUL CLARKIA.

_Clarkia concinna_ (F. and M.), Greene. Evening-Primrose Family.

_Stems._--Several inches to two feet high. _Leaves._--One or two inches long. _Flowers._--Axillary; sessile; parts in fours. _Calyx._--Red-pink; tube an inch or more long. _Petals._--Rose-pink; six lines to over an inch long. _Ovary._--Four-celled. _Syn._--_Eucharidium concinnum_, Fisch. and Mey. _Hab._--The Coast Ranges, from Santa Barbara to Mendocino County.

In June these charming blossoms may be found in the company of the maidenhair fern fringing the banks of shady roads, or standing in glowing masses under the buckeye-trees. In them nature has ventured upon one of those rather daring color combinations of which we would have hardly dreamed, and the result is delightful. The petals are bright rose-pink, while the sepals are of a red pink.

SPREADING DOGBANE.

_Apocynum androsaemifolium_, L. Dogbane Family.

Erect; one to three feet high; spreading. _Leaves._--Opposite; short-petioled; ovate or roundish; an inch or two long. _Flowers._--Clustered; pink. _Calyx._--Five-cleft. _Corolla._--Campanulate; three or four lines long; with five revolute lobes; having a small scale at base, opposite each lobe. _Stamens._--Five; on the corolla. Filaments short. Anthers erect around the stigma. Style none. _Ovaries._--Two; becoming a pair of long pods. Seeds silky-tufted. _Hab._--Widely distributed in the United States.

The small pink flowers of the spreading dogbane may be found all through the summer, often upon our driest hillsides. The shapely little blossoms are of a flesh-tint without, richly veined with deeper pink within, and quite fragrant. The plants have a milky juice and a tough fiber in the stem, similar to that in the American-Indian hemp. The plant was formerly supposed to be poisonous to dogs, from which fact it received its generic name, which translated gives the common English name, "dogbane." It is used in medicine as a remedy for rheumatic gout. The very long pods seem absurdly out of proportion to the small flowers.

_A. cannabinum_, L., the American-Indian hemp, is also found within our borders, but it grows along stream-banks and in marshy places. It has oblong, pointed leaves, and small greenish-white flowers, only two lines long, whose close cylindrical corollas hardly surpass the calyx. The yellowish-brown bark of this plant is very tough and fibrous, and at the same time soft and silky. Our Indians have always found it of the utmost value in the making of ropes, lariats, nets, mats, baskets, etc., and before the coming of the white man they even made certain articles of clothing of it. A tincture made from the root is a recognized drug in the pharmacopoeia. Professor Thouin, of Paris, says that a permanent dye may be obtained from a decoction of it, which is brown or black, according to the mordant used.

FIRECRACKER FLOWER.

_Brodiaea coccinea_, Gray. Lily Family.

_Leaves._--Grasslike, a foot or two long. _Scape._--One to three feet high; six- to fifteen-flowered. _Perianth._--An inch or two long; rich crimson; the limb of six green or yellowish oblong lobes. _Stamens._--Three; on the perianth. Filaments adnate to its tube. Anther tips exserted. _Staminodia._--Three; broad; short; white; on the throat of the perianth, alternating with the stamens. _Ovary._--Three-celled. Style exserted. Stigma three-lobed. _Syn._--_Brevoortia coccinea_, Wats. _Hab._--The mountains from Mendocino County to Shasta County.

When our northern valleys have become parched by the first heat of summer, many beautiful flowers are still to be found in deep cañon retreats, where the streams, overarched by great shadowing oaks, gush downward through leafy copses of hazelwood and thimble-berry by beds of moss and fern. Upon the walls of such charming gorges the firecracker flower rears its slender stem and shakes out its bunch of brilliant crimson blossoms. These are a prophetic symbol of our national holiday rather than an aid to its celebration--for they have often passed away before the Fourth of July.

GODETIA. FAREWELL TO SPRING.

_Godetia viminea_, Spach. Evening-Primrose Family.

_Stems._--One to three feet high; sometimes stout. _Leaves._--Linear to linear-lanceolate; entire; an inch or two long; distant. _Flowers._--Nodding in the bud. _Calyx-tube._--Two to four lines long. _Petals._--Deep rose-color, sometimes yellowish at base with a dark spot; nine to fifteen lines long. _Capsules._--Smoothish; eight to eighteen lines long; its sides two-ribbed; sessile or short-pediceled. (See _Godetia_.) _Hab._--From the Columbia River southward to Ventura.

In early summer the rosy flowers of this _Godetia_ make bright masses of color along dry banks and hill-slopes. Its blossoms are very variable as to marking. Sometimes the petals have a bright crimson blotch at the base and sometimes they are without it, both forms often occurring upon the same plant. In some seasons all the flowers are without the blotch.

_G. grandiflora_, Lindl., found in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, is probably the most showy species we have. The plants are a foot or two high and covered all over with the wonderful flowers, which are often four inches across. These are delicate pink, blotched with rich crimson.

_G. Bottae_, Spach., is an exquisite species found in the Coast Ranges, from Monterey to San Diego. Its very slender stems lift the fragile, satiny cups above the dried grasses in charming companies. These blossoms also vary much. Among the prettiest forms is one which is pale rose or lilac, blending to white at the center, delicately striate with purple-dotted lines, and having a rich purple spot in the center. This often grows with the lilac butterfly-tulip, _Calochortus splendens_, and at a little distance is so similar, it is difficult to distinguish it from the lily. But the lily rarely or never grows in throngs. The capsules of this species have pedicels from three to nine lines long.

BLEEDING-HEART.

_Dicentra formosa_, DC. Bleeding-heart Family.

_Leaves._--Ternately dissected, with toothed leaflets. _Scapes._--Six inches to two feet high. _Flowers._--Rose-colored to pale pink, sometimes almost white or yellowish; nodding. (Floral structure as in _D. chrysantha_.) _Hab._--The Coast Ranges and Sierras, from Middle California to British Columbia.

The bleeding-heart is a rather shy flower, and never makes itself common enough to dull our enthusiasm for it. It fully merits its specific name, for it is a plant of elegant form throughout, from its shapely divided leaves to its graceful clusters of pendent hearts. It is found in the woods of our Coast Ranges, but may be seen to best advantage when nestling amid the lush grasses of Sierra meadows.

INDIAN RHUBARB. UMBRELLA-PLANT.

_Saxifraga peltata_, Torr. Saxifrage Family.

_Rootstock._--Thick; creeping. _Leaves._--Radical; long-petioled; a foot or more across when mature; nine- to fourteen-lobed; centrally depressed. _Scapes._--One to three feet high. _Calyx._--Five-lobed. _Petals._--Five; roundish; three lines or more long; purplish-pink. _Stamens._--Ten. _Ovaries._--Two; distinct. Stigmas capitate or reniform. _Hab._--The Sierras, from Mariposa County to Mt. Shasta; also Mendocino County.

Upon the borders of our swift-flowing mountain streams, where the water-ouzel flies up and down all day, sometimes filling the air with melody as he passes, may be seen the large lotus-like leaves of this great Saxifrage. They stand with their dark, warm stems in the water; or, poising upon the brink, they lean gracefully over it, making myriad reflections in the brown depths below, while every passing breeze awakens a quick response among them.

Early in the season, before the coming of the leaves, these plants send up tall stems with dense, branching clusters of handsome purplish-pink flowers. The leaves, small at first, continue to grow until late summer, when they have reached their perfection; after which they begin to deepen into the richest of autumn hues.

This plant is commonly called "Indian rhubarb," because the Indians are extravagantly fond of the stalks of the leaves and flowers. It is now cultivated in Eastern gardens.

GREAT WILLOW-HERB. FIREWEED.

_Epilobium spicatum_, Lam. Evening-Primrose Family.

_Stems._--Often four to seven feet high. _Leaves._--Scattered; willow-like. _Flowers._--Purplish-pink; an inch or more across. _Calyx-tube._--Linear; limb four-parted; often colored. _Stamens._--Eight. Anthers purplish. _Ovary._--Four-celled. Seeds silky-tufted. _Syn._--_E. angustifolium_, L. _Hab._--The Sierras; eastward to the Atlantic; also in the North Coast mountains. Found also in Europe and Asia.

This plant has received one of its English names, because its leaves are like those of the willow and its seeds are furnished with silken down, like the fluff on the willow.

It is our finest and most showy species of _Epilobium_, and is also found in the Eastern States, where it is still known by a former name--_E. angustifolium_, L. Owing to the fact that it grows with special luxuriance in spots which have been recently burned over, it is commonly known as "fireweed." It may be found in perfection in the Sierras in August, where its great spikes of large pink flowers make showy masses of color along the streams and through the meadows, commanding our warmest admiration.

In the fall the tall, pliant, widely branching stems of the "autumn willow-herb"--_E. paniculatum_, Nutt.--stand everywhere by the roadside. The small pink flowers, half an inch across, terminate the almost leafless stems, and later are replaced by the dry, curled remains of the opened capsules and the feathery down of the escaping seeds.

ALPINE HEATHER.

_Bryanthus Breweri_, Gray. Heath Family.

Dwarf evergreens; six inches to a foot high; woody. _Leaves._--Alternate; linear; three to seven lines long. _Flowers._--Purplish-rose; on glandular pedicels. _Calyx._--Five-toothed; small. _Corolla._--Saucer-shaped; six lines or so across. _Stamens._--Seven to ten. Anthers two-celled; opening terminally. _Ovary._--Five-celled. Style slender. Stigma capitate. _Hab._--The High Sierras.

This little plant, to which Mr. Muir fondly alludes in his charming book, "The Mountains of California," may be found blooming in July and August in the Sierras. Sometimes it nestles in rocky crevices in the cool drip of the snow-banks, and again it ventures boldly out into the openings, where it spreads its rich carpet, covered with a wealth of rosy bloom. From the abundance of this little heathling about its shores, one of our mountain lakes has received the name of "Heather Lake."

* * * * *

_Silene Gallica_, L. Pink Family.

Hairy. _Stems._--Generally several. _Leaves._--Spatulate; six to eighteen lines long. _Flowers._--In terminal, one-sided racemes; four or five lines long; short-pediceled. _Petals._--Pale rose-color or almost white; barely exceeding the calyx. (Flower-structure as in _S. Californica_.)

This little weed has come to us from Europe, and it is now so widely distributed, both near the sea and inland, that it is hard to believe it is not native. The slender racemes are from two to four inches long, and the little flowers vary from white to pale pink. They can boast none of the showy beauty of their relatives, the Indian pink and the Yerba del Indio.

ALPINE PHLOX.

_Phlox Douglasii_, Hook. Phlox or Polemonium Family.

Plants forming cushion-like tufts; three or four inches high. _Leaves._--Needle-like; six lines or less long; with shorter ones crowded in the axils. _Flowers._--Pink, lilac, or white; sessile; terminating the branchlets. _Calyx._--Five-cleft. _Corolla._--Salver-form; with five-lobed border. _Stamens._--Five; on the tube of the corolla. _Ovary._--Three-celled. Style three-lobed. _Hab._--The Sierras, from Mariposa County northward and eastward.

This delightful little flower may be found in the Sierras at an altitude of from five to ten thousand feet. It loves the open sunshine of the cool mountain heights, and with its cushiony tufts clothes many a bit of granite soil with beauty. It seems undaunted by its stern surroundings, and lifts its innocent eyes confidingly to the skies which bend gently over it--those skies

"So fathomless and pure, as if All loveliest azure things have gone To heaven that way--the flowers, the sea,-- And left their color there alone."

PINK MONKEY-FLOWER.

_Mimulus Lewisii_, Pursh. Figwort Family.

_Stems._--Slender; eighteen inches or so high. _Leaves._--Sessile; oblong-ovate to lanceolate; denticulate; somewhat viscid. _Peduncles._--Elongated. _Corolla._--Eighteen lines to two inches long; with tube exceeding the calyx and five ample spreading ciliate lobes; rose-color or paler, with usually a darker stripe down the center of each lobe. Ridges of lower lobe yellow and spotted; bearded. _Stamens._--Included. (See _Mimulus_.) _Hab._--The Sierras, from Central California northward and eastward to Montana.

One of the most beautiful of all our monkey-flowers is this charming species, which is found along the cold streams of the Sierras. Its large flowers have a fragile, delicate look, and the light stems and leaves are of an exquisite green.

I remember coming upon a delightful company of these blossoms, in a little emerald meadow upon the margin of one of those alpine lakelets which nestle among the granite crags. They seemed the most fitting flowers for just such a high, pure atmosphere.

SIERRA PRIMROSE.