Part 49

Blanket-flower--Gaillardia pinnatifida.

Arizona Gaillardia--G. Arizonica.]

An insignificant plant, except that it grows on the sides of bare, red rocks or head-downward on the under side of overhanging ledges, apparently needing little or no soil, and is therefore noticeable. It forms round clumps, one or two feet across, with many slender stems, about six inches high, small, pale yellowish-green, roughish leaves, and small yellow flower-heads, without rays. This is rare and grows in the Grand Canyon.

There are several kinds of Grindelia, common in the West, recommended as a remedy for Poison Oak.

Coarse but rather effective flowers, with smooth, stiff, branching stems, about three feet high, and dark dull green leaves. The flower-heads are over an inch and a half across, with bright yellow rays and centers and very resinous, shiny buds.

There are several kinds of Balsamorrhiza. Both the Latin and common names allude to the aromatic roots.

A very handsome plant, the contrast between the gray-velvet leaves and the great yellow flowers being very striking. It forms large clumps, about a foot and a half high, with slightly downy flower-stalks and heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, toothless leaves, pale gray-green and velvety, covered with silvery down, whiter on the under side. The flowers are over three inches across, with clear bright yellow rays, and a deeper yellow center, fuzzy and greenish-yellow in the middle. The involucre is almost white, thickly covered with silvery, silky wool, and the flowers are pleasantly sweet-smelling. This grows on dry hillsides.

A strikingly handsome plant, forming clumps even larger than the last, with similar flowers, but with quite different foliage. The leaves are rich-green, and decorative in form, more or less slashed into lobes and very sticky, with hairy margins and leaf-stalks, and are nearly as tall as the hairy, sticky flower-stems, from one to two feet high. This grows in rich soil in mountain valleys.

Gum Plant--Grindelia latifolia.

Arrow-leaf Balsam-root--Balsamorrhiza sagittata.]

Rather handsome, though a coarse plant, over a foot tall, with hairy, dull green or grayish leaves, crisp and harsh to the touch, variously lobed and cut, chiefly in a clump at the root. The flowers are numerous, from an inch and a half to over two inches across, with deep orange-yellow rays, and grow singly on long flower-stalks. This flourishes on dry plains and mesas.

There are several kinds of Wyethia, resembling Balsam-roots, but their thick roots not resinous.

A robust and exceedingly handsome plant, one or two feet tall, with rich foliage and gorgeous flowers. The leaves are stiffish, dark rich green, smooth but somewhat sticky, often toothed; the stem-leaves alternate, their bases partly clasping, and the root-leaves a foot or two long and two or three inches broad, with leaf-stalks. The flower-heads are about four inches across, with bright yellow rays, almost orange color, and the center with three rows of yellow disk-flowers, surrounding a clump of pointed, overlapping, stiff, greenish scales in the middle. This sometimes forms immense patches on dry hills at rather high altitudes, as far east as Colorado. It is sometimes called Compass Plant, because its leaves are thought to point North and South, and the Indian name is "Pe-ik."

Not so handsome as the last, but a striking plant, from one to four feet high, with gray-green, velvety foliage, all covered with soft wool, forming large clumps of leaves, from six to fifteen inches long. The flowers are two or three inches across, with orange rays and very woolly involucres. This is common in dry places in Yosemite.

There are several kinds of Rudbeckia, all North American.

From one to four feet high, with rough leaves and one or a few handsome flowers, from one to four inches across, with deep yellow rays and a purplish-brown conical center. This comes from the Mississippi Valley, is very common in the East, and becoming common in Yosemite meadows.

Balsam-root--Balsamorrhiza Hookeri.]

This little weed comes from South Africa, but is now common in wet places, especially in the salt marshes around San Francisco Bay, often carpeting the sand and mud with its succulent, trailing stems. The bright green leaves are alternate and smooth, clasping the stem at base, some with toothless edges, others variously cut and lobed, and the flower-heads are about half an inch or less across, like the bright yellow center of a Daisy, without rays. Matricària matricarioìdes is another little weed, common along roadsides, with conical, greenish-yellow flower-heads, without rays, and feathery foliage, which has a strong pleasant fruity smell when crushed, giving it the name of Pineapple-weed and Manzanilla.

An odd desert shrub, about three feet high, with gray bark and crooked, gnarly, tangled branches, armed with long spines and clothed with small, downy, pale green leaves. The flower-heads are three-quarters of an inch long, without rays, with pale yellow tube-shaped flowers and downy, white involucres, and are so crowded on the twigs that they appear to be loaded with them, but the coloring is too pale to be effective. This is common in the Mohave Desert and elsewhere on dry hills and plains, as far east as Colorado.

There are a great many kinds of Solidago, most of them natives of North America. On the whole, the western Golden-rods are not so fine as the eastern ones, nor are there so many kinds, though there are quite enough to puzzle the amateur, as they are difficult to distinguish.

A handsome kind, from one to two feet high, with flower-heads nearly three-eighths of an inch across, with bright yellow rays and centers, forming a large, handsome, plume-like cluster. The stem and leaves are dull bluish-green, rather stiff and rough, the lower leaves with a few obscure teeth. This grows at the Grand Canyon. S. occidentàlis, Western Golden-rod, is smooth all over, with leafy stems, from three to five feet tall, toothless leaves, and flat-topped clusters of small, yellow, sweet-scented flowers. This grows in marshes and along the banks of streams, in California, Oregon, and Washington, blooming in summer and autumn. S. Califórnica, California Golden-rod, is from two to four feet high, with grayish-green, roughish leaves, the lower ones toothed, and small yellow flowers, forming dense pyramidal clusters, from four to thirteen inches long. This grows on dry plains and hillsides and in the mountains, throughout California and in Oregon, blooming in the autumn. It is called Orojo de Leabre by the Spanish-Californians.

Arizona Golden-rod--Solidago trinervata.

Brass Buttons--Cotula coronopifolia.]

There are probably over a thousand different kinds of Senecio, very widely distributed. The name is from the Latin for "old man," in allusion to the long white hairs of the pappus, when "gone to seed." Our kinds have many common names, such as Groundsel, Ragwort, and Squaw-weed.

A conspicuous plant and quite handsome, though its flowers are rather untidy-looking, for, like many other Senecios, the rays do not come out evenly. It is about two feet high, with a stout, hollow, ridged stem, sparsely woolly, and dark green, thickish leaves, with shallow and uneven teeth and covered with sparse, fine, white woolly hairs, as if partially rubbed off. The flowers are over an inch across, with bright yellow rays, curling back in fading, an orange center, fading to brown, and the bracts of the involucre tipped with black. This grows in moist rich soil, in mountain valleys.

A handsome bush, about three feet high, covered with many flowers, on slender flower-stalks, sticking up out of a mass of rather delicate foliage, which is often covered with white cottony wool. The flowers are an inch and three-quarters across, with bright light yellow, rather untidy rays and yellow centers. This grows in dry stream beds and on warm slopes in the foothills.

Squaw-weed--S. perplexus var. dispar.]

This is quite effective, with attractive flowers and foliage, growing among rocks on hillsides and forming large clumps over a foot high. The stems are slender and often much bent, the leaves are dark green and thin in texture with toothed edges, rolled back, and the numerous flowers are an inch across, with bright yellow rays and deep yellow centers. This plant blossoms both as an annual and as a perennial.