Part 74

Mrs. Blochman has quaintly and aptly alluded to the corolla of this flower as a long and slender mitten, just fit for some high-born fairy's hand.

Among the children of our mountain districts this flower is known as "Indian warrior."

WILD GOOSEBERRY.

Ribes Menziesii, Pursh. Saxifrage Family.

Shrubs two to six feet high, with naked glandular-bristly or prickly branches and stout triple thorns under the fascicled leaves. Peduncles.--With one or two drooping, Fuchsia-like flowers. Calyx.--Half an inch long; garnet; the five oblong lobes somewhat longer than the tube, but hardly longer than the stamens, which surpass the five white petals with inrolled edges. Styles exserted. Anthers sagittate. Berry.--Four to six lines in diameter; thickly covered with long prickles. (Otherwise as Ribes glutinosum.) Hab.--From San Diego to Humboldt County; also in the Sierras.

The wild gooseberry, considered as a fruit, is very disappointing, as its large, prickly berries are composed mostly of skin and seeds. But as an ornamental shrub it is very pleasing. In February its long, thorny branches are densely clothed with small but rich green leaves, under which hang the perfect little miniature red and white Fuchsias.

A closely allied species--R. subvestitum, Hook. and Arn.,--has long exserted filaments and glandular-prickly berries.

FUCHSIA-FLOWERED GOOSEBERRY.

Ribes speciosum, Pursh. Saxifrage Family.

Shrubs six to ten feet high, with spreading branches, armed with large triple thorns. Leaves.--Evergreen; three- to five-lobed; an inch or so long. Flowers.--Bright cardinal; an inch long. Calyx.--Petaloid; its tube adnate to the ovary; the limb is usually five-cleft (sometimes four). Petals.--On the sinuses of the calyx. Stamens.--As many as the petals; twice the length of the calyx. Ovary.--One-celled. Style two-cleft. Fruit.--A dry, densely glandular berry. Hab.--From Monterey to San Diego.

One of the most charming shrubs to be found in the southern part of the State is the Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. Early in the season the long sprays of its spreading branches are thickly hung with the beautiful drooping cardinal flowers, which gleam against the rich green of the glossy leaves. The stems often rival the flowers in brilliance of coloring, but they harbor a multitude of formidable thorns which serve to cool our impetuous desire to possess ourselves of the blossoms. Though far more brilliant than the flowers of R. subvestitum, these are not so truly counterparts in miniature of the garden Fuchsia as they.

WILD PEONY.

Paeonia Brownii, Dougl. Buttercup or Crowfoot Family.

Coarse, leathery herbs, with woody roots. Stems.--Stout; branched; ten to eighteen inches high. Leaves.--Alternate; once- or twice- ternately compound; the leaflets ternately lobed. Flowers.--Solitary; Sepals.--Green; often with leaflike appendages. Petals.--Five to ten; dark red. Stamens.--Numerous. Pistils.--Two to five; becoming leathery follicles. Hab.--Almost throughout California.

Our wild peony, which is the only species of North America, grows through a wide range of territory, from the hot plains of the south to the region of perpetual snow in the mountains of the north. As might be expected, it manifests considerable variation in form and character. Indeed, some authors have thought these variations sufficiently marked to warrant the division of the species into two.

After the first rains in the south, the plant pushes up its broad, scarlet-tipped leaves, and by January, or earlier, produces its flowers, which are deep red, shading almost into black, an inch or so across, and quite fragrant. These blossoms are at first erect; but as the seed-vessels mature, the stems begin to droop, till the fruit rests upon the ground.

The Spanish-Californians consider the thick root an excellent remedy for dyspepsia, when eaten raw; while the Indians of the south use it, powdered or made into a decoction, for colds, sore throat, etc. In the north its leaves are reputed to be poisonous to the touch.

In some localities it is known as "Christmas-rose," and in others the children call its dark, round flowers "nigger-heads." In the mountains it blossoms in June and July near snow-banks.

CALIFORNIAN FIGWORT. CALIFORNIAN BEE-PLANT.

Scrophularia Californica, Cham. Figwort Family.

Stems.--Two to five feet high; angled. Leaves.--Oblong-ovate or oblong-triangular; two or more inches long. Flowers.--Small; dull red; three to five lines long; in loose terminal panicles. Calyx.--Five-lobed. Corolla.--Bilabiate; upper lip four-lobed; lower of one lobe. Stamens.--Four perfect; in pairs; and a fifth scalelike, rudimentary one. Ovary.--Two-celled. Style exserted. Hab.--Almost throughout the State.

The tall stems of the Californian figwort are common along roadsides, and become especially rank and luxuriant where the soil has been freshly stirred. The plants are so plentiful and so plebeian in appearance, that we are apt to class them in the category of weeds; but the fact that their little corollas are almost always stored abundantly with honey for the bees, saves them from this reproachful title.

They are cultivated by the keepers of bees. The odd, little dull-red or greenish flowers have a knowing look, which is enhanced by two of the stamens, which project just over the lower rim of the corolla, like the front teeth of some tiny rodent.

FALSE ALUM-ROOT.

Tellima grandiflora, R. Br. Saxifrage Family.

Radical-leaves.--Long-petioled. Stem-leaves.--With shorter petioles, round-cordate; variously lobed and toothed; very hairy, with coarse, bristle-like hairs; two to four inches across. Stems.--One to three feet high. Flowers.--In long racemes; on short pedicels; green or rose-color. Calyx.--Campanulate; five-toothed; ribbed; three to six lines long; adnate to the ovary below. Petals.--Five; short-clawed; slashed above; two or three lines long; on the calyx. Stamens.--Ten; very short. Ovary.--One-celled; with a disklike summit, tapering into two stout styles with large capitate stigmas. Hab.--From Santa Cruz to Alaska.

This robust plant bears no resemblance to its delicate relative, T. affinis. It is far more like the alum-root in habit and appearance, and its leaves are prettily blotched in the same manner. It grows along rich banks by shaded roads, and blooms from early spring onward. Its tall racemes of either rose-colored or greenish, obscure flowers look rather like the promise of something to come than a present fulfillment. The petals are small and inconspicuous at a distance; but when closely examined, reveal a delicacy and beauty of form entirely unsuspected.

INDIAN PAINT-BRUSH. SCARLET PAINT-BRUSH.