Part 62

Cynoglossum grande, Dougl. Borage Family.

Stem.--Two feet or so high. Leaves.--Alternate; long-petioled; ovate-oblong; pointed; usually rounded at base; often a foot long. Flowers.--Bright blue; in a terminal panicle. Calyx.--Deeply five-cleft. Corolla.--Rotate; with short tube and five-lobed border; having five beadlike crests in the throat. Stamens.--Five; on the corolla, alternate with its lobes. Ovary.--Four-lobed. Style undivided. Fruit.--Four prickly nutlets. Hab.--From Marin County to Washington.

Among the first plants to respond to the quickening influence of the early winter rains, is the hound's-tongue, whose large, pointed leaves begin to push their way aboveground usually in January. At first these are often quite velvety beneath and of a pinkish hue, and hold hidden within their midst the well-formed buds which a few warm, sunny days will call forth. The flowers, at first pink, become bright blue after fertilization has taken place.

The favorite haunts of this welcome blossom are half-shaded woods, where it rears its tall stalk in almost sole possession at this early season.

The common name is a translation of the generic name, which is derived from two Greek words, signifying dog and tongue, bestowed because of the shape of the leaves. In the olden times a superstition was rife that if a person laid the hound's-tongue beneath his feet it would prevent dogs from barking at him.

The distribution of the seed is most cunningly provided for, as the upper surfaces of the nutlets are covered with tiny barbs, which a magnifying-glass reveals to be quite perfect little anchors, admirably adapted for catching in the hair of animals.

CALIFORNIA LILAC. SOAP-BUSH.

Ceanothus divaricatus, Nutt. Buckthorn Family.

Tall, almost arborescent shrubs; with very divergent and rigid branches. Twigs cylindrical; smooth; mostly very pale. Leaves.--Alternate; short-petioled; ovate; four to ten lines long; three-nerved; somewhat leathery. Flowers.--In a narrowly oblong, dense cluster two or three inches long; pale blue to white. Capsule.--Two or three lines in diameter; not lobed; scarcely crested. (See Ceanothus.) Hab.--Chiefly the southern Coast Range.

This species of California lilac is very abundant in the south, and is specially characterized by its widely branching habit and its round, pale-green twigs. The flowers are usually light blue; but in some localities they are pure white. Near Santa Barbara, in January, the mountain-slopes are often snowy with them.

Dr. Gregg, of San Diego, while hunting one day in Lower California, just over the border, had his attention called to the wild lilac by his old Mexican guide, who assured him that the blossoms in themselves were excellent soap. Taking a handful of them down to the stream, he rubbed them vigorously between his wet hands, and found to his astonishment that they made an excellent lather, with a pleasant fragrance of wintergreen. I have since proved the fact for myself. A more delightful way of performing one's ablutions can hardly be imagined than at the brookside with so charming a soap. It is very cleansing and leaves the skin pleasantly soft.

It was probably the blossoms of C. integerrimus he used, as that shrub is called "soap-bush" in that region; but I have since tried the experiment upon C. divaricatus and some other species with perfect success, from which I suspect this may be a generic characteristic.

CALIFORNIAN TRILLIUM.

Trillium sessile, var. Californicum, Wats. Lily Family.

Rootstock.--Like a small turnip. Stems.--Usually several from the same root; a foot or so high. Leaves.--Three at the top of the stem; three to eight inches long. Flowers.--White to deep wine-color. Petals.--One to four inches long. (Otherwise as T. ovatum.) Hab.--From San Luis Obispo to Oregon.

We begin to look for the Californian Trillium early in the spring. Little companies of the plants may be seen upon low flats under the trees, where the soil is rich. The small, turnip-like tubers usually send up several stems, which lean gracefully away from one another. The large leaves are often like pieces of decorated china that have been several times through the kiln. They have various superimposed blotchings, the latest of which are dark, sharp, cuneiform characters, mysterious hieroglyphs of Nature, which might reveal wondrous secrets, could we but decipher them. The blossoms have a strong, heavy fragrance, and are exceedingly variable in color, ranging from pure white to lilac, deep wine, and even black-purple. These plants are much admired in the East and in Europe, where they are cultivated in the garden.

BRODIAEA. CLUSTER-LILY. WILD HYACINTH.

Brodiaea capitata, Benth. Lily Family.

Corm.--Small; scaly-coated. Leaves.--Linear; a foot or more long; passing away early. Scapes.--Four inches to over two feet high. Flowers.--Deep violet to white; six to ten lines long. Bracts.--Sometimes deep, rich purple. Perianth.--With oblong tube and campanulate, six-parted limb. Stamens.--Six; on the corolla; the inner with an appendage on each side; the outer naked. Ovary.--Three-celled. Style stout. Stigma three-lobed. Hab.--Throughout California.

This beautiful Brodiaea grows all over the hills in early spring, and steals into cultivated fields, where it luxuriates in the freshly stirred soil and lifts its fine violet-colored clusters above the waving grain. It holds quite as warm a place in our affections as the more gorgeous poppy. These blossoms will keep a long time after being gathered, and are used every year in lavish profusion in the decorations of the flower carnivals.

The little bulbs, eaten raw, are quite palatable, and are eagerly sought by the children, who call them "grass-nuts." The early Spanish-Californians also appreciated them, and knew them as "saitas." They have a number of other common names, such as "Spanish-lily," "cluster-lily," "wild hyacinth," and "hog-onion"; but I must protest against the injustice of this latter, and beg all flower-lovers to discountenance it.

Closely resembling the above, is B. multiflora, Benth. It has, however, but three stamens, the other three being represented by staminodia, which are entire and of the same length as the stamens.

B. congesta, Smith, another similar species, is often four feet tall. It also has three stamens and three staminodia; but the latter are deeply cleft and exceed the anthers. This is called "ookow" by the Indians.

BROWN LILY. MISSION-BELLS. BRONZE-BELLS. RICE-ROOT.

Fritillaria lanceolata, Pursh. Lily Family.

Stem.--A foot or two high. Leaves.--In scattered whorls; lanceolate; two to five inches long. Flowers.--One to several; open campanulate; greenish or black-purple; variously checkered or mottled. Perianth-segments.--Strongly arched, with a large oblong nectary. Stamens.--Six. Ovary.--Three-celled. Hab.--The Coast Ranges, from British Columbia to Santa Cruz.

"'Neath cloistered boughs each floral bell that swingeth

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