Part 32

There are three kinds of Trientalis, much alike, perennials, with tuberous roots. The Latin name means "one third of a foot," the height of these plants.

A little woodland plant, with a slender stem, from three to six inches tall, bearing at the top a circle of from four to six, smooth, bright green leaves and one or two, threadlike flower-stalks, each tipped with a delicate flower. The corolla is about half an inch across, wheel-shaped, with no tube and usually with six, white or pinkish petals, sometimes deep pink, or flecked with lilac outside. The ovary makes a purplish dot in the center, surrounded by curling, yellow anthers, with threadlike filaments united at base. The capsule contains a few, rather large, white seeds. We often find these dainty little plants growing in companies, their starry blossoms glimmering in the shade, prettily set off by their neat circle of leaves.

Scarlet Pimpernel--Anagallis arvensis.]

There are a good many kinds of Dodecatheon, of North America and Asia; perennials, with root-leaves; flowers in bracted, terminal clusters; calyx with four or five lobes, turned back in flower but erect in fruit; corolla with four or five, long lobes, turned strongly back over the short tube and thick throat; stamens of the same number as the lobes, the anthers pointing straight forward, inserted on the throat of the corolla, filaments short, flat and united, or lacking; style long; capsule containing many seeds. The Greek name, meaning "twelve gods," seems far-fetched, but Linnaeus fancied the cluster of flowers resembled a little assembly of divinities. Common names are Prairie Pointers, Mosquito-bills, Wild Cyclamen, and American Cowslip, the latter poor, because misleading.

A very decorative plant, with a smooth, stout, reddish stem, five to eighteen inches tall, very slightly hairy towards the top, springing from a cluster of root-leaves, five to eighteen inches long, smooth, sometimes slightly toothed, and bearing a cluster of from five to fifteen beautiful flowers. The corolla is usually an inch or more long, usually with four petals, purplish-pink, paler at the base, with a yellow and maroon ring and maroon "bill." This has a faint, oddly sweet scent and grows in wet, mountain meadows. I found a very beautiful white form at Lost Lake, in Yosemite, more delicate, with lighter green foliage and pure white corollas, ringed with yellow and maroon.

Not so handsome as the last, but very attractive, with a slightly roughish stem, twelve to sixteen inches tall, bearing a fine crown of flowers and springing from a cluster of smooth, slightly thickish leaves, paler on the under side, with a few teeth. The sepals are slightly downy and the corollas are about three-quarters of an inch long, with pure-white petals, sometimes lilac-tinged, yellow at base, with a ring of maroon scallops and a dark purple "bill." The flowers are deliciously fragrant, like Clove Pinks. This grows in the south.

D. Clevelandi.]

A charming little plant, growing in wet, rich mountain meadows, with a smooth reddish stem, about eight inches tall, bearing a bracted cluster of several delicate flowers, and springing from a loose clump of smooth leaves. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch long, with bright purplish-pink petals, with a ring of crimson, a ring of yellow and a wavy line of red, where they begin to turn back; the stamens with united filaments and long purplish-brown anthers; the pistil white.

OLIVE FAMILY. Oleaceae.

A rather large family, widely distributed, including Olive, Lilac, and Privet; trees and shrubs; leaves mostly opposite; without stipules; flowers perfect or imperfect, with two to four divisions, calyx usually small or lacking, corolla with separate or united petals, sometimes lacking; stamens two or four, on the corolla, ovary superior, two-celled, with a short style or none; fruit a capsule, berry, stone-fruit, or wing-fruit.

There are many kinds of Fraxinus, almost all trees.

An odd and beautiful shrub, growing on Bright Angel trail, in the Grand Canyon, about as large as a lilac bush, with smooth, bright-green leaves, some of the leaflets obscurely toothed, and drooping plumes of fragrant white flowers. The calyx is very small, and the four petals are so long and narrow that the effect of the cluster is of a bunch of white fringe. The fruit is a flat winged-seed.

GENTIAN FAMILY. Gentianaceae.

A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in temperate regions; smooth herbs, with colorless, bitter juice; leaves toothless, usually opposite, without leaf-stalks or stipules; flowers regular; calyx four to twelve-toothed; corolla with united lobes, twisted or overlapping in the bud, of the same number as the calyx-teeth; stamens inserted on the tube or throat of the corolla, as many as its lobes, alternate with them; ovary superior, mostly one-celled, with a single style or none, and one or two stigmas; fruit a capsule, mostly with two valves, containing many seeds. These plants were named for King Gentius of Illyria, said to have discovered their medicinal value.

There are several kinds of Frasera, North American, all but one western; herbs, with thick, bitter, woody roots; leaves opposite or in whorls; flowers numerous; corolla wheel-shaped, with four divisions, each with one or two fringed glands and sometimes also a fringed crown at base; stamens on the base of the corolla, with oblong, swinging anthers, the filaments often united at base; ovary egg-shaped, tapering to a slender style, with a small, more or less two-lobed, stigma; capsule leathery, egg-shaped, with flattish seeds.

A handsome plant, though rather coarse, from two to six feet tall, with a pale glossy stem, very stout, sometimes over two inches across at the base, and very smooth, pale green leaves, in whorls of four and six, the lower ones sometimes a foot long. The flowers are mixed with the leaves all along the upper part of the stem, but mostly crowded at the top in a pyramidal cluster about six inches long, and are each nearly an inch and a half across, with a greenish or bluish-white corolla, the lobes bordered with violet and dotted with purple, and on each lobe two glands covered by a fringed flap, resembling a small petal, these fringes forming a sort of cross on the corolla. The four stamens stand stiffly out between the corolla-lobes and the general effect of the flower is so symmetrical that it suggests an architectural or ecclesiastical ornament. Though the flowers are not bright, this plant is decorative on account of its luxuriant size and pale foliage, and if Mr. Burbank could make the flowers clear white or purple it would be magnificent. It grows in the western mountains, as far east as Dakota and New Mexico. The finest I ever saw were on an open slope, in a high pass in the Wasatch Mountains, where they reared their pale spires proudly far above the surrounding herbage.

Quite a pretty plant, too colorless to be effective at a distance, but not coarse, with a smooth, pale stem, over a foot tall, and smooth, dull, bluish-green leaves, slightly stiffish, prettily bordered with white, mostly in a clump near the base. The flowers are about half an inch across, shaped like the last; with bluish-white petals, specked with dull-purple, with a green line on the outside, with one green gland near the center, fringed all around; large whitish anthers, becoming pinkish, and a white pistil.

There are a good many kinds of Erythraea, widely distributed, usually with red or pink flowers; calyx with five or four, narrow lobes, or divisions; corolla salver-form, with five or four lobes; anthers twisting spirally after shedding their pollen; stigmas two, oblong or fan-shaped. The Greek name means "red" and the common name, Centaury, from the Latin, meaning "a hundred gold pieces," alludes to the supposedly valuable medicinal properties of these plants.

From three to twelve inches tall, with apple-green leaves, mostly on the stems, smooth and thin in texture, and flowers an inch or more across, a very vivid shade of purplish-pink, with a yellow or white "eye," bright yellow anthers and green pistil. These are attractive, because they look so gay and cheerful, but the color is a little crude. The flowers are not so large in Yosemite as they are in some places, such as Point Loma, but are very numerous and cover large patches with brilliant color. These plants are called Canchalagua by Spanish-Californians, who use them medicinally.

This has a slender, leafy stem, from a few inches to over a foot tall, and flowers not so large as the last, but pretty and gay, about half an inch across, bright pink with a distinct white "eye." This grows in sandy soil, as far east as Wyoming.

There are many kinds of Gentiana, of northern regions and the Andes; calyx tubular, usually with five teeth; corolla variously shaped with from four to seven lobes, often fringed, or with folds between the teeth; style short or lacking; stigma two-lipped.

A pretty plant, with leafy, often branching stems, from six to twenty inches tall, and numerous flowers, with stiff pedicels and leafy bracts, forming several small clusters along the upper part of the stem. They are each about half an inch long, various shades of purple or blue, sometimes white, and easily recognized by the little crown of white fringe in the throat of the rather tubular, five-lobed corolla. These plants have very small roots, so that it is difficult to pick them without pulling them up, and as they are annuals they are easily exterminated. They are common in northern mountains, in moist places across the continent, and in Europe and Asia.

This has smooth, thin leaves and pretty flowers, three-quarters of an inch long, with lilac or purple corollas, satiny in texture, with four lobes, pointed at the tips and more or less fringed. This grows in high mountains.

A handsome perennial, with leafy stems, from five to fifteen inches tall, bearing one or several, fine flowers at the top. They are an inch and a half long, with a bright blue corolla, dotted with green, with plaited folds and small teeth between the five lobes. This has been found in Yosemite, but is more common at Lake Tahoe. There are many other handsome large Blue Gentians in the West. G. lùtea, with yellow flowers, is the German kind from which the well-known drug, gentian, is made.

Northern Gentian--Gentiana acuta.

Gentian--G. propinqua.]

MILKWEED FAMILY. Asclepiadaceae.

A large family, widely distributed, most abundant in warm regions; ours are perennial herbs, usually with milky juice and tough fibrous inner bark; leaves generally large, toothless, without stipules; flowers peculiar in shape, in roundish clusters; calyx with a short tube or none and five lobes; corolla five-lobed; stamens five, on the base of the corolla, with short, stout filaments, anthers more or less united around the disk-like stigma, which covers and unites the two short styles of the superior ovary. The two parts of the ovary develop into two conspicuous pods, opening at the side, containing numerous flattish seeds, arranged along a thick, central axis, usually each with a tuft of silky down to waft it about.