Part 36

The Indians, who seem to have a use for everything, parch the seeds of our common buttercup and beat them to a flour, which they eat without the further formality of cooking. This flour is said to have the peculiar rich flavor of parched corn.

We have a number of other species of buttercup--some of them denizens of marshy spots; but the common field buttercup is widest-spread and best known.

CREAM-CUPS.

Platystemon Californicus, Benth. Poppy Family.

Delicate hairy herbs. Stems.--A span or two high. Leaves.--Mostly opposite; sessile; two to four inches long. Flowers.--Axillary; long-peduncled; an inch or so across. Sepals.--Three; falling early. Petals.--Six, in two rows; cream-color, often with a yellow spot at base. Stamens.--Numerous. Filaments broad; petaloid. Pistils.--Six to twenty-five; united in a ring at first; afterward separating. Stigmas terminal. Hab.--Throughout California.

The cream-cups are delicate, hairy plants of the early springtime, which often grow in masses and take possession of whole fields. They seem to be more vigorous in the south, and produce larger flowers there than in the north, often having as many as nine petals. The delicate, nodding green buds (like miniature poppy-buds) soon throw off their outer wrappings, and, emerging from captivity, gradually assume an erect position and unfurl their lovely, pure, straw-colored petals to their widest extent. These blossoms open for several successive days.

The genus takes its name from the flat filaments. The numerous slender pistils are so cleverly joined together into a cylinder, that they appear like a hollow, one-celled ovary. But a cross-section will show the separate ovaries under a glass.

Some people like the odor of these flowers; but I must confess to a lack of appreciation of it. I suspect its charm must exist in some pleasant association.

COPA DE ORO. CALIFORNIA POPPY. TOROSA.

Eschscholtzia Californica, Cham. Poppy Family.

Stems.--Twelve to eighteen inches high; branching. Leaves.--Alternate; finely dissected; glaucous. Flowers.--Two or three inches across; usually orange; but ranging from that to white. Summit of the peduncle enlarging into a cup-shaped torus or disk, upon the upper inner surface of which are borne the calyx, corolla, and stamens. Calyx.--A pointed green cap, falling early. Petals.--Four. Stamens.--Numerous, in four groups, in front of the petals. Anthers linear. Ovary.--One-celled. Style short. Stigmas four to six; unequal. Capsule.--Cylindrical; ten-nerved; two or three inches long. Hab.--Throughout California.

Thy satin vesture richer is than looms Of Orient weave for raiment of her kings! Not dyes of olden Tyre, not precious things Regathered from the long-forgotten tombs Of buried empires, not the iris plumes That wave upon the tropics' myriad wings, Not all proud Sheba's queenly offerings Could match the golden marvel of thy blooms. For thou art nurtured from the treasure-veins Of this fair land; thy golden rootlets sup Her sands of gold--of gold thy petals spun. Her golden glory, thou! On hills and plains, Lifting, exultant, every kingly cup Brimmed with the golden vintage of the sun.

--INA D. COOLBRITH.

It is difficult to exaggerate the charms of this wonderful flower. When reproduced in countless millions, its brilliant blossoms fairly cover the earth; and far away upon distant mountain-slopes, bright patches of red gold denote that league after league of it lies open to the sun. It revels in the sunshine, and not until the morning is well advanced does it begin to unfurl its tightly rolled petals.

In the early days, when Spanish vessels sailed up and down the newly-discovered coast, the mariners, looking inland, saw the flame of the poppies upon the hills and called this "the land of fire." They said that the altar-cloth of San Pascual was spread upon the hills, and, filled with a devotional spirit, they disembarked to worship upon the shore.

This flower is now cultivated in many parts of the world. But one can form no conception of it, pale and languishing in a foreign garden. One must go to its native hillsides to get any idea of its prodigal beauty.

The common title, "California poppy," though it has been widely used, is open to the objection that it belongs more properly to another flower, Papaver Californicum. The generic name is dissonant and harsh. Why not replace it by one of the more euphonious Spanish titles--"amapola," "dormidera," "torosa," or, most charmingly appropriate of all, "copa de oro,"--"cup of gold"?

There are many forms of Eschscholtzia, and of late the original species, E. Californica, has been divided into a number of new species, which are, however, difficult of determination.

The Indians of Placer County, it is said, boil the herbage, or roast it by means of hot stones, lay it in water afterward, and then eat it as a green. A drug made from this plant is used in medicine as a harmless substitute for morphine and as a remedy for headache and insomnia, and it has an especially excellent effect with children. The Spanish-Californians make a hair-oil, which they prize highly, by frying the whole plant in olive oil and adding some choice perfume. This is said to promote the growth of the hair and to make it glossy.

MOCK-ORANGE. GOURD. CHILI-COJOTE. CALABAZILLA.

Cucurbita foetidissima, HBK. Gourd Family.

Stems.--Long; coarse; trailing. Leaves.--Alternate; petioled; triangular-cordate; six to twelve inches long; acute; rough. Tendrils.--Three- to five-cleft. Flowers.--Solitary; yellow; three or four inches long; monoecious. Calyx-tube.--Six lines long, equaling the five linear lobes. Corolla.--Campanulate; five-cleft to the middle or lower; with recurved lobes. Stamens.--In the male flowers two with two-celled anthers, and one with one; in the female all three rudimentary. Ovary.--Three-celled. Style short. Stigmas three; two-lobed. Fruit.--Orange-like, but with a hard rind. Syn.--C. perennis, Gray. Hab.--San Diego to San Joaquin County.

The rough, ill-smelling foliage of the Chili-cojote is a common sight in Southern California, where it may be seen trailing over many a field; but woe to the negligent farmer who allows this pest to get a foothold--for it will cost him a small fortune to eradicate it. It sends down into the earth an enormous root, six feet or so long, and often as broad. When the gourds are ripe, these vines look like the dumping-ground for numerous poor, discarded oranges.

Notwithstanding its unsavory character, the various parts of this vine are put to use--specially among the Spanish-Californians and the Indians. The root is a purgative more powerful than croton-oil. When pounded to a pulp, it is used as soap by the Spanish-Californians, who aver that it cleanses as nothing else can; but rinsing must be very thorough--for any particles remaining in the garments prove very irritating to the skin. The leaves are highly valued for medicinal purposes, and the pulp of the green fruit, mixed with soap, is said to remove stains from clothing. The Indians eat the seed, when ground and made into a mush. The early Californian women used the gourds as darning-balls.

This vine is a near relative of the pumpkins and squashes of our gardens.

The flowers are said to be violet-scented.

WATER-HOLLY. MAHONIA.

Berberis nervosa, Pursh. Barberry Family.