Part 38

Considered singly, the blossom of this plant is a simple, unassuming little flower; but when countless millions of its golden stars stud the nether firmament, it becomes one of the most conspicuous of all our Compositae. It literally covers the earth with a close carpet of rich golden bloom, and other plants, such as scarlet paint-brushes, blue Phacelias, and yellow and white tidy-tips, rise out of its golden tapestry. Mile after mile of it whirls by the car-window as we journey along, or long stretches of it gild the gently rounded hill-slopes of the distant landscape.

There are several other species of Baeria, but this is the most abundant and widespread. In some localities this little plant is so much frequented by a small fly, which feeds upon its pollen, that it is called "fly-flower." It then becomes a serious nuisance to horses and cattle, which grow wild and restive under the persecution of this insect.

In the Spanish deck of playing-cards in the early days, the "Jack of Spades" always held one of these flowers in his hand. By the Spanish-Californians it was called "Si me quieres, no me quieres"--"Love me, love me not,"--because their dark-eyed maidens tried their fortunes upon it in the same manner that our own maidens consult the marguerite.

Growing in brilliant beds by themselves, or intermingling their gold with that of the Baeria, the charming feathery blossoms of Pentachaeta aurea, Nutt., are found in midspring. They have from fifty to seventy rays and their involucres consist of several rows of scarious-margined bracts.

MEADOW-FOAM.

Floerkia Douglasii, Baillon. Geranium Family.

Smooth, succulent herbs. Stems.--A foot or so long. Leaves.--Much dissected. Flowers.--Axillary; solitary. Sepals.--Narrow; acute. Petals.--Nine lines long or so; yellow, sometimes tipped with white, white, or rose-tinged. Stamens.--Ten, in two sets; a gland at the base of those opposite the sepals. Ovary.--Of five carpels, becoming distinct. Style five-cleft at the apex. Syn.--Limnanthes Douglasii, R. Br. Hab.--Oregon to Southern California.

When the spring is well advanced, our wet meadows are all a-cream with the meadow-foam, whose dense masses blend exquisitely with the rich red of the common sorrel, which is in blossom at the same time.

This plant is a near relative of the redwood-sorrel, and its flowers are similar in size and veining, and also in their habit of closing at night. It is much admired and has long been in cultivation.

PIMPERNEL. POOR-MAN'S WEATHER-GLASS.

Anagallis arvensis, L. Primrose Family.

Stems.--Prostrate; spreading. Leaves.--Usually opposite; sessile; ovate. Flowers.--Solitary on axillary peduncles; orange-vermilion (rarely blue or white); six lines or so across. Calyx and rotate corolla five-parted. Petals.--Rounded; purple at base. Stamens.--Five; opposite the petals. Filaments purple, bearded. Capsule.--Globose; the top falling off as a lid. Hab.--Common everywhere. Introduced from Europe.

The little orange-vermilion flower of the pimpernel is a plain little blossom to the unassisted eye, but it becomes truly regal when seen under a glass, where its rich purple center displays itself in glistening splendor. It is a forcible example of the infinite care bestowed upon all of Nature's children, even to the humblest weeds.

This little plant has come to us from Europe, and it makes itself perfectly at home among us in many widely-differing situations. From the fact that it furls its petals upon cloudy days, or at the approach of rain, it is called in England "poor-man's weather-glass."

The plant is an acrid poison and was extensively used in medicine by the ancients. It seems to act particularly upon the nervous system, and was used as a remedy for convulsions, the plague, gout, and hydrophobia.

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Encelia Californica, Nutt. Composite Family.

Bushy; two to four feet high; strong-scented. Leaves.--Mostly alternate; short-petioled; ovate-lanceolate; an inch or two long. Flower-heads.--Solitary; long-peduncled; large. Disk.--Eight lines across; of black-purple, tubular flowers, with deep-yellow styles. Rays.--Sterile; over an inch long; five lines wide; four-toothed. Involucre.--Open-campanulate of several series of coriaceous, imbricated scales. Hab.--Santa Barbara to San Diego.

This shrubby Composita is quite abundant in the south, and when covered with its large yellow flowers with purple-brown centers is very showy. We have seen mesas covered with the bushes, which have much the same spreading habit as the white marguerite of the garden. It thrives particularly well near the coast, but is also at home upon some of the hills of interior valleys as well. It is quite strong-scented, but the flowers are very handsome, rivaling in decorativeness many of the cherished plants of our gardens.

YELLOW FORGET-ME-NOT. WOOLLY-BREECHES.

Amsinckia, Lehm. Borage Family.

Hispid annuals. Leaves.--Alternate; oblong-ovate to linear. Flowers.--Small; yellow or orange, in coiled spikes or racemes. Calyx.--Five-parted; persistent. Corolla.--Salver-shaped, or somewhat funnel-form; with five-lobed border; the throat naked or with minute hairy tufts opposite the lobes. Stamens.--Five. Ovary.--Of four seedlike nutlets. Style filiform. Stigma capitate.

We have several species of Amsinckia, all of which have small yellow flowers, resembling in form our little white forget-me-nots. The genus is a Western American one, and the species are very difficult of determination. They are all hispid plants, very disagreeable to handle, and are generally of rank growth. They often occur in great masses, when they become rather showy.

The largest-flowered species, which is also the most common one in the south, is A. spectabilis, Fisch. and Mey. The corolla of this is often half an inch long and half an inch across, of an orange-yellow, with deeper orange spots in the throat.

TREE-TOBACCO.

Nicotiana glauca, Graham. Nightshade Family.

Loosely branching shrubs, fifteen feet or so high. Leaves.--Alternate; petioled; ovate; smooth. Flowers.--Clustered at the ends of the branches. Calyx.--Campanulate; five-toothed. Corolla.--Tubular; eighteen lines long; with constricted throat; and border shortly five-toothed. Stamens.--Five, on the base of the corolla, adnate to the tube below. Anthers with two diverging cells. Ovary.--One-celled. Style slender. Stigma capitate; two-lobed. Hab.--Throughout Southern California; introduced.

The tall, loosely branching, spreading form of the tree-tobacco is a familiar sight in the south about vacant lots and waste places. Its clusters of long, greenish-yellow flowers hang gracefully from the ends of the slender branches, and the ovate leaves are rather long-stalked. It is supposed to have been introduced from Buenos Ayres, and old inhabitants remember the time when but one or two plants were known. In thirty years it has spread rapidly, and is now exceedingly common.