Part 53

In April and May, as we walk through shaded woods, we begin to notice a trim little plant three or four inches high, with very slender stem, bearing at its summit a number of pretty leaves of varying size. A little later, we find among them one or two delicate pink, starry flowers on very slender, threadlike stems.

The generic name is from the Latin triens, and is in allusion to the height of the plant, which is the third part of a foot.

CLINTONIA.

Clintonia Andrewsiana, Torr. Lily Family.

Leaves.--Radical; oblong; six inches to one foot long; two to four wide. Flower-stem.--One or two feet high; with one leafy bract. Flowers.--Pink; many; in a terminal compound cluster on pedicels an inch or less long. Perianth.--Campanulate; four to seven lines long. Segments.--Six; gibbous at the base. Stamens.--Six. Ovary.--Two- or three-celled. Fruit.--Beautiful, large, dark-blue berries. Hab.--The Coast Ranges, from Santa Cruz to Humboldt County.

This is one of the most distinguished-looking plants of our deep coast woods. Its large leaves, of a rich polished green, arrange themselves symmetrically around the short stem, seeming to come from the ground--and so fine are they, that if no blossom appeared, we should feel the plant had fulfilled its mission of beauty. But in April a blossom-stalk shoots up from their midst, bearing upon its summit a cluster of deep rose-colored, nodding bells. These are succeeded later by a bunch of superb dark-blue berries, which might be made of lapis lazuli or the rarest old delft china. I remember a beautiful spot upon the Lagunitas Creek, where the stream, flowing over a brown, pebbly bottom, passes among the redwoods where their tall shafts make dim cathedral aisles,--

... "forest-corridors that lie In a mysterious world unpeopled yet."

Here little yellow violets and the charming wood-sorrel carpet the ground, the fetid adder's-tongue spreads its mottled leaves, while groups of the lovely Clintonia put the finishing touches to an already beautiful scene.

LEMONADE-BERRY. MAHOGANY.

Rhus integrifolia, Benth. and Hook. Poison-oak or Cashew Family.

Evergreen shrubs two to six feet high, becoming small trees southward. Leaves.--Alternate; short-petioled; one to three inches long; rigid; leathery. Flowers.--Of two sexes, also some perfect; in short, dense terminal clusters one to three inches long; rose-colored or white. Sepals, petals, and stamens four to nine; usually five. Petals.--Rounded; ciliate; one or two lines across. Ovary.--One-celled. Stigmas three. Fruit.--Flat; one-seeded; six lines across; red; viscid and acid. Hab.--The Coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

Growing everywhere upon the southern coast in great abundance, this shrub forms low, dense, wind-shorn thickets. Farther inland it rises to a height of several feet, with tough, India-rubber-like branches, and in Lower California it becomes a small tree. In its better estate it is very ornamental, especially in spring, when sprinkled with its clusters of small pink flowers. The little drupes are covered with an acid, oily substance, and have long been used by the Indians and Mexicans in the preparation of a lemonade-like drink. These people are so fond of this fruit that they dry it for winter use, grinding and roasting it as we do coffee. The wood of these shrubs is of a dark-red color, which is responsible for the common name, "mahogany."

Another Rhus very common in the valleys of Southern California is R. laurina, Nutt., usually called "sumach." It is an evergreen shrub, with smooth, lanceolate leaves, two or three inches long, exhaling a rather strong odor, considered by some like bitter almonds, and bearing dense clusters of small white flowers in midsummer. Its small drupes are only a line or two across. They are also coated with a waxen substance, and yield a pungent oil.

In the mountains from Santa Barbara to San Diego is found another species--R. ovata, Wats. This has large leathery, pointed leaves, and is known as "lemonade-and-sugar-tree," as the acid berries are coated with a sweet, waxen substance, which the Indians value as sugar. Its leaves resemble in form those of the lilacs of our gardens.

SHOOTING-STARS. WILD CYCLAMEN. MAD VIOLETS.

Dodecatheon Meadia, L. Primrose Family.

Leaves.--All radical; tufted; from obovate to lanceolate. Scape.--Three to fifteen inches high; umbel two- to twenty-flowered. Calyx.--Deeply five-cleft, the divisions reflexed in flower, erect in fruit. Corolla.--With extremely short tube, and an abruptly reflexed five-parted limb; white, rose-color, or purple. Stamens.--Five; opposite the corolla-lobes. Filaments short; united. Anthers standing erect around the long style, forming a beak; violet. Ovary.--One-celled. Hab.--Throughout the continent; exceedingly variable.

The shooting-star is one of our prettiest spring flowers, which arrives a little before the baby-eyes and just as the brakes are unrolling their green crosiers. There is something particularly pleasing in these blossoms. It seems as though Nature had taxed her ingenuity to produce something original when she fashioned them. The name Dodecatheon, from the Greek, is entirely a fanciful one, and means "the twelve gods."

Formerly D. Meadia, L., was considered the only species, embracing many widely varying forms; but of late botanists have made several of the forms into separate species.

D. Hendersoni (Gray), Ktz., is the species prevalent in our central and northern Coast Ranges. This has ovoid or obovoid, very obtuse, entire leaves, with broad petiole, equaling the blade, two inches long. Its flower-stem is from eight to twelve inches high, bearing a cluster of bright rose-purple flowers. The corolla has a short, dark-maroon tube, encircled by a band of yellow, sometimes merging into white. A variety of this with very slender stems and the flower parts in fours is common in the Bay region, and southward possibly to Santa Barbara. This is called var. cruciata. Its blossoms have a strong odor, suggestive of a tannery. In this species the capsule opens at the top, splitting into a number of little teeth, which soon turn downward.

D. Clevelandi, Greene, is a beautiful species found in the south. It sends up a tall shaft, crowned with a large cluster of beautiful blossoms, varying from a delicate lilac to pure white. The petals are ringed below with pale yellow, and the beak of the flower is a rich prune-purple. There is a certain generous, fine look about these flowers, although they are exquisitely delicate. Their charm is completed by a delicious perfume, like that of the cultivated cyclamen.

Among the children the various forms are known by a number of names, such as "mad violets," "prairie-pointers," "mosquito-bills," and "roosters'-heads." The latter is said to be the designation of prosaic little boys who see in these blossoms gaming possibilities, and who love to hook them together and pull to see which head will come off first.

PRICKLY PHLOX.

Gilia Californica, Benth. Phlox or Polemonium Family.

Stems.--Woody; two or three feet high. Leaves.--Palmately three- to seven-parted, with spreading, needle-like divisions, two to four lines long. Flowers.--Solitary, at the ends of the branchlets; rose-pink or lilac, with a white eye. Calyx.--Five-toothed. Corolla-limb.--An inch and a half across. (See Gilia.) Hab.--Dry hills from Monterey to San Bernardino.

I hardly know how to describe these delightful flowers. At a little distance the plant-stems have almost the look of a cactus, so densely are they clothed with the small, rigid leaves. Nor does a closer acquaintance serve to lessen the likeness--for in our breathless haste to take possession of the beautiful blossoms we are quite certain to have their prickly character impressed upon the hands as well as upon the sight. The texture of the flowers is of the finest silk, with an exquisite sheen; and they have a delicate fragrance. Growing at the tips of the numerous branchlets, they often form large masses of rich rose-colored bloom, which are especially brilliant and showy against the warm foliage.

In some localities they are called "rock-rose," an unfortunate name in two respects: it has long belonged to a yellow flower of an entirely different family--Helianthemum; and these blossoms do not in the least resemble a rose.

CALIFORNIAN FOUR-O'CLOCK.