Part 2

WAKE-ROBIN _Trillium ovatum_ 11 WHIPPLEA _Whipplea modesta_ 33 WHISPERING BELLS _Emmenanthe penduliflora_ 131 WHITE EVENING PRIMROSE _OEnothera Californica_ 49 WHITE FORGET-ME-NOT 31 WHITE OWL'S CLOVER _Orthocarpus versicolor_ 53 WHITE-VEINED SHINLEAF _Pyrola picta_ 101 WILD BROOM _Hosackia glabra_ 153 WILD BUCKWHEAT _Eriogonum fasciculatum_ 35 WILD CANTERBURY-BELL _Phacelia Whitlavia_ 289 WILD COREOPSIS _Madia elegans_ 183 WILD CUCUMBER _Echinocystis fabacea_ 27 WILD CURRANT, CALIFORNIAN _Ribes glutinosum_ 215 WILD CYCLAMEN _Dodecatheon Meadia_ 205 WILD GINGER _Asarum caudatum_ 311 WILD HELIOTROPE _Phacelia tanacetifolia_ 283

WILD HOLLYHOCK _Sidalcea malvaeflora_ 199 WILD HYACINTH _Brodiaea capitata_ 263 WILD PEONY _Paeonia Brownii_ 341 WILD PIE-PLANT _Rumex hymenosepalus_ 379 WILD PORTULACA _Calandrinia caulescens_ 213 WIND-FLOWER _Anemone quinquefolia_ 19 WOOD-BALM _Sphacele calycina_ 43 WOOLLY BLUE-CURLS _Trichostema lanatum_ 317

YELLOW DAISY _Layia platyglossa_ 149 YELLOW GLOBE-TULIP _Calochortus pulchellus_ 145 YELLOW PANSY _Viola pedunculata_ 121 YELLOW SAND-VERBENA _Abronia latifolia_ 147 YERBA BUENA _Micromeria Douglasii_ 63 YERBA MANSA _Anemopsis Californica_ 77 YERBA SANTA _Eriodictyon glutinosum_ 57

ZYGADENE _Zygadenus Fremonti_ 7

---- _Baccharis Douglasii_ 107 ---- _Gilia androsacea_ 223 ---- _Hosackia gracilis_ 167

HOW TO USE THE BOOK

When gathering flowers with a view to ascertaining their names with the help of the botany, the whole plant--root, stem, leaves, flowers, buds, and fruit--should be secured, if possible. This will avoid much uncertainty in the work.

The anthers are best seen in the unopened buds, and the ovary in old flowers or those gone to seed. A cross-section of the ovary will show the number of its cells.

The flowers should be sorted into colors, and each in turn looked for in its own color-section. In arranging the flowers according to color, some difficulty has been experienced, because the pink blends so gradually into the purple, and the purple into white, etc., that it has been impossible sometimes to say accurately to which section a flower rightly belongs. In such a case search must be made in the other probable section. Sometimes the same flower occurs in several colors, in which case it is usually put into the section in whose color it most frequently occurs. In the Red Section have been included flowers of a scarlet hue, not those of crimson or magenta hues, as these have a tendency to merge into pink or purple. Flowers of a greenish-white are usually put into the White Section, those of more decided green into the Miscellaneous.

It is an excellent plan for the student to write a careful description of his plant before beginning to look for it in the book; commencing with the root, passing on to stem, leaves, inflorescence, calyx, corolla, etc., taking the order of the technical descriptions in the book. This will serve to do away with that vacillating condition of mind which is often the result of reading a number of plant-descriptions before fixing firmly in mind the characters of the specimen under consideration.

A magnifying-glass--or a small dissecting microscope and a good Zeiss lens, if more careful work is to be done,--a couple of dissecting needles, a pocket-knife, and a small three or four-inch measure, having one of the inches divided into lines, will be required for examining specimens.

It is also a good plan to make a note of the date and place of collection of all plants, as it is often of great interest to know these facts at some future time.

Plants are grouped into great orders, or families, which are made up of a number of genera, each genus consisting of a number of species. Every plant has two Latin names; the first a generic name, answering to the last name of a person; the second a specific name, answering to a person's given name. The latter is usually descriptive of some quality or character of the plant, the name of the place where found, or of its discoverer, or of some person in whose honor it is named. This dual name serves to clearly distinguish the species from all others, especially when the name of the person by whom the specific name was bestowed is added.

Each plant-family bears an English title, which is usually the name of its best-known genus. Thus the order _Leguminosae_ is known as the "Pea Family" because _Lathyrus_, or the pea, is its best-known genus. In many instances the English names borne by orders in the Eastern States have no significance with us, as the type genus is not found in our flora. In such cases we have given the name of the genus best known among us, to which we have added the other; thus, "Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family."

Most of our plants have common English names, and the same plant is often known by one name in one locality and by another in another. Hence, while these names are often pretty and apt, they cannot serve for the accurate identification of the plant. For this we must consult its Latin name, by which it is known all over the world.

Wherever the terms used are not understood, reference should be made to the "Explanation of Terms" or to the Glossary.

For identification of species not found in the present work, other books should be consulted. The two large volumes of the botany of the Geological Survey of California are the most complete of anything thus far published. In addition to these, "The Synoptical Flora of North America," as far as published (the _Gamopetalae_, the _Compositae_, and some orders of the _Polypetalae_), furnishes valuable aid. Professor E.L. Greene's works, "The Botany of the Bay Region," "Pittonia," and "Flora Franciscana," furnish excellent plant-descriptions for the more advanced botanist. The author's technical descriptions have in every instance been verified by comparison with one or more of the above works.

Miss Eastwood's little volume, recently published as Part Second of "Bergen's Elements of Botany," (and also issued in separate form), is recommended for use in connection with the present work, as it embodies in compact form a general view of the method of classification of plants, showing their places in the plant-world and their relations to one another. It also contains very clear descriptions of plant-families. To the student who becomes interested in knowing more about the structure of plants, Gray's "Structural Botany" will prove useful; and the large work of Oliver and Kerner (translated from the German) will prove a fascinating book.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

[The following simple definitions of the more common terms used have been mostly taken or adapted from the works of Asa Gray and others, and will prove useful to those unacquainted with botany, or to those whose memories require refreshing.]

ROOTS

The =root= is that portion of the plant which grows downward, fixing it to the soil, and absorbing nourishment from the latter. True roots produce nothing but root-branches or rootlets.

Simple or unbranched roots are named according to their shapes--

_conical_, when like the carrot;

_napiform_, when like the turnip;

_fusiform_, when like the long radish.

Multiple, or branched, roots may be--

_fascicled_, or bunched, as in the dahlia;

_tubercular_, when furnished with small tubers;

_fibrous_, when threadlike.

STEMS

The =stem= is the ascending axis of the plant, which usually bears the leaves, flowers, and fruit. The points on the stem to which the leaves are fastened are called the =nodes=; and the portions of stem between the nodes are called the =internodes=. The angle formed by the upper side of the leaf and the stem is called the =axil=.

Stems aboveground are classed as--

_erect_, when growing upright;

_procumbent_, when lying on the ground without rooting;

_decumbent_, when lying on the ground with the tip ascending;

_diffuse_, when loosely spreading;

_creeping_, when growing on the ground and rooting.

Stems underground are classed as =rhizomes= (or =rootstocks=) =tubers=, =corms=, and =bulbs=, the forms passing into one another by gradations.

A =rhizome=, or =rootstock=, is a horizontal underground stem. It is sometimes thick, fleshy, or woody, as in the iris;

a =tuber= is a short, much thickened rootstock, having eyes or buds of which the potato is an example;

a =corm= is a depressed and rounded, solid rootstock; it may be called a solid bulb; the garden cyclamen is an example;

a =bulb= is a leaf-bud, commonly underground, with fleshy scales or coats; the lily is an example.

LEAVES

=Leaves= are the green expansions borne by the stem, out-spread in the air and light, in which assimilation is carried on. They may be said to be the stomachs of the plant. A typical leaf consists of three parts--the =blade=, the =foot-stalk= (or =petiole=), and a pair of =stipules=. Yet any one of these parts may be absent.

The =blade= is the expanded portion of the leaf and the part to which the word _leaf_, in its commonest sense, is applied;

the =stipules= are small, usually leaflike bodies borne at the base of the petiole, usually one on either side;

the =petiole= is the stalk of the leaf.

=Leaves= are =simple=, when having but one blade; =compound=, when having more than one, when each blade is called a =leaflet=.

Compound leaves are said to be--

_pinnate_, when the leaflets are arranged along the sides of a petiole, or rather of its prolongation, the rachis;

_abruptly pinnate_, with an even number of leaflets;

_odd-pinnate_, with an odd leaflet at the end;

_palmate_, or _digitate_, when the leaflets all diverge from the summit of the petiole, like the fingers of a hand.

VENATION

The venation, or veining, of leaves relates to the mode in which the woody tissue, in the form of ribs, veins, etc., is distributed in the cellular tissue.

There are two principle modes--

the _parallel-veined_, of which the iris is an example;

the _reticulated-veined_, or _netted-veined_, of which the Elm is an example.

Small veins are called =veinlets=.

FORM

As to general form, or outline, leaves are:--

Those broadest in the middle--

_peltate_, or shield-shaped, when rounded, with the stem attached to the center, or near it--as in the garden nasturtium;

_orbicular_, when circular in outline, or nearly so;

_oval_, when having a flowing outline, with the breadth considerably more than half the length, and both ends alike;

_elliptical_, when having a flowing outline, twice or thrice as long as broad, and both ends alike;

_oblong_, when nearly twice or thrice as long as broad;

_linear_, when narrow, several times longer than wide, and of about the same width throughout;

_acerose_, when needle-shaped--like the Pine.

Those broadest at the base--

_deltoid_, when having the triangular shape of the Greek letter _delta_;

_ovate_, when having an outline like the section of a hen's-egg, the broader end downward;

_lanceolate_, or lance-shaped, when several times longer than broad, and tapering upward, or both upward and downward;

_subulate_, when shaped like an awl;

_cordate_, when ovate, with a heart-shaped base;

_reniform_, when like the last, only rounder and broader than long;

_auriculate_, when having a pair of small blunt projections, or ears, at the base;

_sagittate_, or arrow-shaped, when those ears are acute and turned downward, the body of the leaf tapering upward;

_hastate_, or halberd-shaped, when the ears or lobes point outward.

Those broadest at the apex--

_obovate_, when inversely ovate;

_oblanceolate_, when inversely lanceolate;

_spatulate_, when rounded above, and long and narrow below, like a druggist's spatula;

_cuneate_, or wedge-shaped, when broad above, tapering by straight lines to an acute base;

_obcordate_, when inversely cordate.

Sometimes no one of the above terms will describe a leaf, and it becomes necessary to combine two of them; as, _linear-spatulate_, _ovate-lanceolate_, etc.

THE APEX

Leaves are classified according to their apices; as--

_emarginate_, when having a decided terminal notch;

_truncate_, when abruptly cut off;

_obtuse_, when ending in a blunt or roundish extremity;

_acute_, when ending in an acute angle, without special tapering;

_acuminate_, when tapering into a narrow, more or less prolonged end;

_mucronate_, when abruptly tipped with a small, short point.

THE MARGIN

Leaves are classified according to their margins; as--

_entire_, when the margin is completely filled out to an even line;

_repand_, or _undulate_, when the margin is a wavy line;

_dentate_, or _toothed_, when the teeth point outward;

_crenate_, or _scalloped_, when dentate, with the teeth rounded;

_serrate_, when having small sharp teeth directed forward;

_incised_, when cut by sharp and irregular incisions more or less deeply;

_lobed_, when cut not more than half-way to the midrib, and the divisions or their angles are rounded;

_cleft_, when cut half-way down or more, and the lobes or sinuses are narrow or acute;

_parted_, when the cutting reaches almost but not quite to the midrib;

_divided_, when the blade is cut into distinct parts, thus making the leaf compound.

All these terms may be modified by the words _pinnate_ or _palmate_; thus--_pinnately parted_, _pinnately divided_, _palmately parted_, _palmately divided_, etc.; also by the adjectives _once_, _twice_, _thrice_, etc.

TEXTURE

Leaves vary as to texture, and may be--

_coriaceous_, or leathery;

_succulent_, or juicy;

_scarious_, or dry and thin;

_fleshy_, or thick;

_herbaceous_, or thin.

ARRANGEMENT

According to their arrangement on the stem, leaves are--

_alternate_, when distributed singly at different heights on the stem;

_opposite_, when two stand opposite each other at the nodes;

_whorled_, when more than two are borne at a node, equidistant in a circle around the stem.

INFLORESCENCE

=Inflorescence= is a term commonly applied to the mode of flowering--_i.e._ to the arrangement of blossoms on the stem and their relative positions to one another.

A =peduncle= is the stem of a solitary flower, or the main stem of a flower-cluster;

a =scape= is a peduncle growing from the ground;

a =pedicel= is the stem of each flower in a cluster;

a =bract= is a small floral leaf;

an =involucre= is a collection of bracts around a flower-cluster or around a single flower.

Flowers may be solitary or clustered.

Solitary flowers or flower-clusters are--

_terminal_, when borne at the summit of the stem;

_axillary_, when borne in the axils of the leaves.

A flower-cluster is called--

a =raceme=, when the flowers are arranged along the axis upon pedicels nearly equal in length;

a =corymb=, when the flowers are arranged as in the raceme, with the lower pedicels elongated, making the cluster flat-topped;

an =umbel=, when the pedicels arise from the same point, like the rays of an umbrella, and the cluster is flat-topped;

a =panicle=, when compound, irregularly made up of a number of racemes;

a =spike=, when like a raceme, the flowers being without pedicels;

a =spadix=, when it is a fleshy spike, generally enveloped by a large bract, called a =spathe=, as in the calla-lily;

an =ament=, or =catkin=, when it is a pendent spike, with scaly bracts, like the Willow;

a =head=, when it is a shortened spike, with a globular form;

a =cyme=, when it is branched and flat-topped, usually compound, with the older flowers in the center of each simple cluster.

THE INDIVIDUAL FLOWER

A =complete flower= consists of =stamens= and =pistils= (the organs of reproduction), and =calyx= and =corolla= (the floral envelops which protect the stamens and pistils). But any one of these organs may be absent.

The =calyx= is the outer floral envelop, which is more often green, though it is sometimes colored. It may consist of a number of separate parts, called =sepals=, or these may be more or less united.

The =corolla= is the inner floral envelop. It is usually colored, and forms the most beautiful feature of the flower, and plays an important part in attracting insects to it, which may carry on the work of fertilization. It may consist of a number of separate parts, called =petals=, or these may be more or less united, in which case the corolla is said to be _gamopetalous_. When the calyx and corolla are much alike, and seem like one floral circle, this is referred to as a =perianth=.

The =stamens= and =pistils= are called the =essential organs= of a flower, because they are necessary to the maturing of the fruit.

=Perfect flowers= have both sets of essential organs.

=Imperfect flowers= have but one set of essential organs.

_Staminate_ (or male) _flowers_ have only stamens;

_Pistillate_ (or female) _flowers_ have only pistils.

_Neutral flowers_ have neither.

THE STAMEN

The =stamen= consists of two parts--the =filament= and the =anther=. The filament is the stalk of the stamen. The anther is the little case holding the =pollen=, or powdery substance, which, falling upon the stigma, is conducted downward into the ovary, where it quickens the ovules into life. The anther normally consists of two cells, which more often open lengthwise for the discharge of the pollen, though they sometimes open by terminal pores or chinks, or by uplifting lids.

Stamens sometimes undergo a morphological change, taking the form of scales or other bodies (as is the case in many of our _Brodiaeas_), when they are called =staminodia=.

THE PISTIL

The =pistil= is the organ occupying the center of the flower. It consists of three parts--the =ovary=, or the enlarged part below, consisting of one or more cells or cavities, and containing the ovules, or unfertilized seed; the =style=, or the stem which upholds the stigma; the =stigma=, or the roughened portion which receives the pollen.

The pistil is _simple_, when it has but one ovary, style, stigma, etc.; _compound_, if any one of these is duplicated.

THE FRUIT

The =fruit= is the ripened ovary. After the ovules have been fertilized, the ovary is called a =pericarp=. Fruits may be either _fleshy_ or _dry_.

The following are some of the principal kinds of dry fruits:--

A =capsule= is a dry, dehiscent (splitting) fruit, composed of more than one carpel or division;

an =akene= is a small, dry, hard, one-celled, one-seeded indehiscent fruit;

a =follicle= is a pod formed from a single pistil, dehiscing along the ventral suture only;

a =legume= is a simple pericarp, opening by both seams.

a =samara= is a dry, indehiscent fruit, having a wing.

The following are some of the principal kinds of fleshy fruits:--

A =pome= is a fruit like an apple or pear;

the =pepo=, or =gourd=, fruit is like that of the melon, squash, etc.;

the =drupe= is like that of the cherry, plum, and peach;

the =berry= is like that of the grape, currant, and tomato.

=Aggregate fruits= are those in which a cluster of carpels, all of one flower, are crowded upon the receptacle into one mass; as in the raspberry and blackberry.

IMPORTANT PLANT FAMILIES AND GENERA

[To avoid too long technical descriptions in the body of the work, a few of the more important plant families and genera have been inserted below, to which reference has been made in the technical descriptions.]

FAMILIES

=Cruciferae.= Mustard Family.

Herbs with pungent, watery juice. _Leaves._--Alternate; without stipules; entire or divided. _Flowers._--Generally in racemes. _Sepals._--Four. _Petals._--Four; usually with narrowed base or claw; the blades spreading to form a cross. _Stamens._--Six; two of them shorter than the other four. _Ovary._--Two-celled; rarely one-celled. Style undivided, or none. Stigma entire or two-lobed. _Fruit._--A silique--_i.e._ a capsule, in which the walls separate upward away from a central partition.

The Mustard family is a very large one, comprising over a hundred and seventy genera, and containing between one and two thousand species. It is widely distributed over all parts of the world, but is most abundantly represented in the cooler or temperate regions. It furnishes us with many useful plants; such as the mustard, horseradish, radish, cabbage, turnip, cauliflower, etc.

The genera of this order are very closely allied, and very difficult of discrimination. The fruit, as well as the flower, is necessary in the study of any given species.

=Leguminosae.= Pea Family.

The order _Leguminosae_ is divided into three well-marked sub-orders--the Pea family proper, the Brasiletto family, and the Mimosa family. But as all our genera, save _Cercis_, fall under the first, we shall describe that only.

PAPILIONACEAE. Pea Family proper.

Herbs, shrubs, or trees. _Leaves._--Usually alternate; compound; with stipules; the latter sometimes transformed into thorns or tendrils. _Flowers._--Seldom solitary; usually in spikes, racemes or umbels. _Calyx._--Five-toothed; often bilabiate. _Corolla._--Irregular; of five petals; _papilionaceous_--_i.e._ the two lower petals more or less coherent, forming the _keel_; the two lateral ones often adherent to the keel, called the _wings_; the upper petal called the _standard_ or _banner_. Stamens and pistil inclosed in the keel. _Stamens._--Ten; their filaments either coherent into a tube surrounding the pistil; or nine of them united into a sheath, open above, the tenth lying in front of the cleft; or rarely all distinct. _Ovary._--Superior; one-celled. _Style._--Simple and incurved. _Stigma._--Simple. _Fruit._--A two-valved pod, of which the garden pea is typical.

The Pea family, including its three sub-orders, is one of the most important plant-families known. It is distributed over almost the entire world, and furnishes some of the most valuable products to man. The Judas-tree, the numerous acacias, and the sweet pea, are well known in our gardens; while among our most valuable vegetables are the bean, the pea, and the lentil. The clover and alfalfa are extremely important forage plants.

The order furnishes several important timber-trees, in different parts of the world, such as the Rosewood, the Laburnum, and the Locust; and yields numerous products of economic importance, such as licorice, senna, gum Senegal, gum Arabic, gum tragacanth, balsam of copaiba, balsam of Tolu, indigo, logwood, red sandalwood, etc.

=Compositae.= Composite Family.