'Hast thou named all the birds without a gun;
Loved the wood-rose and left it on its stalk;
Unarmed faced danger with a heart of trust ;
And loved so well a high behavior in man or maid,
That thou from speech refrained,
Nobility more nobly to repay?
O be my friend and teach me to be thine!' EMERSON.
POPULAR STUDIES OF CALIFORNIA
WILD FLOWERS-
by
BERTHA M. RICE and ROLAND RICE
i /
Directors of
The Annual State Wild Flower Exhibit.
Founders and Directors of
The Outing Farm
A Summer Camp for City Children.
The special hand-colored edition is limited to 700 copies.
The excellent water-coloring is the work of
Myrtle Hill McQuarrie.
(Illustrations are from Photographs)
UPTON BROS. & DELZELLE
PUBLISHERS
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
These flower stories originally appeared, the greater number of
them, in the Oakland Tribune. They were written by request of
the Sunday editor for the magazine section of that paper. The arti-
cles have been carefully revised and many items of interest added
thereto. As to my son's share in this labor of love, I wish to say
that the stories appearing in this volume under his name were origin-
ally prepared by him, but were included in the group first published
in the Tribune under my name. In the midst of activities connected
with a summer camp for city children, with many groups of boys or
girls and their various leaders coming and going, I found it difficult
to devote the necessary time entailed in the preparation of such
subjects. I could hardly have finished the task without Roland's
loyal assistance and sympathetic support.
I wish to thank the kind friends in all parts of the State who
have encouraged us in the preparation of this volume. We are
especially indebted to Mrs. Roxana Ferris, of the Dudley Herbarium
at Stanford University, and to Dr. LeRoy Abrams, also of Stanford
University, the most able of botanists, for valuable assistance in the
identification of difficult species and in the scientific nomenclature of
the same.
....
COPYRIGHT 1920
By BERTHA M. RICE
Inscribed
To those high hills
Of happiness and peace
Where unnumbered
City children
Have enjoyed
"Vacation days."
430494
Washington Lilies Growing in Pine Woods, Yosemite
It was in His sermon on the Mount, that Jesus said : "Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they
spin ; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these."
White Mountain Lilies
By Bertha Marguerite Rice
White lilies growing on the mountain side,
In your loved forms I see
A sacred symbol of the Christ who died,
The Christ who lives for me.
tall, straight mountain lilies, sweet and fair.
Your incense waft above.
Your tender greetings softly heavenivard bear
To the dear Christ I love.
Lilies! fair and pure and sweet and white,
Thoughts of the Crucified,
1 read a message in your souls of light,
His love, who for me died.
Within your hearts no stain of earth doth hide,
Though from the earth you spring,
Then let not earth's taint in my soul abide,
Though still to earth I cling.
radiant lilies! blooming for the Christ,
Type of His purity;
O fragrant lilies! incense offering souls,
Waft prayerful thoughts for me.
Oh, may my heart from selfish aims be free,
Filled with His love divine,
To feel, to know, to have His purity,
Christ's cause on earth be mine!
Prefatory Comment
As to my own efforts in behalf of the flowers, I desire to state
that not through the study of botany or the love of science have I
taken up this work, but because of a sincere and abiding affection
for these divine messengers. The flowers of God's planting, grow-
ing in His natural gardens, represent the fullness and perfection of
His love. Born and raised on an Iowa farm, I early learned where
and when the wild flowers grew and blossomed. During my entire
life it has been my happy privilege to be closely associated with the
out-door world. As the director of "Wild Flower Day" at the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, I formed an extensive
acquaintance with flower enthusiasts. Together we have endeavored
to interest people in the unparalleled beauty and charm of our native
flowers, and in the importance of conserving them as valuable assets
of civilized communities. Much interest has since been awakened
by means of the annual State exhibit; all specimens sent in were
carefully gathered by experts in the various localities, and were
classified by scientists.
During the past several years my son has carried out a policy
of nature study, in connection with the groups of children who have
been our happy and welcome guests, and whose opportunities for
observation of the wonders of hills and woodlands have previously,
of necessity, been somewhat limited. The work of these field study
clubs has been conducted not only during the summer vacation
period, but also at other seasons of the year, through various trips
to the country and in the vicinity of the Bay Regions. Many chil-
dren have in this manner formed an inspiring acquaintance with
flowers and trees through contact with the life out of doors.
The flower stories in this book have been the natural outgrowth
of a keen interest and delight in such subjects, but the publishing of
the same, in their present form, has necessarily entailed careful study
and considerable research through historical references and old
legends and folk-lore, in which the ancients delighted, and which
have given rise to many of the popular appellations now applied to
flowers. The mysteries of flower lore have a distinct appeal.
It would require many volumes to relate even a few of the
interesting facts and fancies regarding the thousands of different
species of native plants belonging to this State. We can only hope
to introduce the reader to various phases of popular interest regard-
ing a fascinating and inexhaustible subject.
B.M.R.
"There is a lesson in each flower,
A story for each stream and bower;
In every herb on which you tread,
Are written words, which rightly read
Will lead you from earth's fragrant sod,
To hope, and holiness, and God."
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM.
Contents
LIST OF STORIES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Frontispiece, Washington Lilies growing in Pine Woods 6
Poem, "White Mountain Lilies," by Bertha M. Rice 7
Prefatory Comment 8
Contents 9
Wild Lilac (Ceanothus), by Bertha M. Rice 12
Lupines, by Bertha M. Rice 16
Golden Poppy, State Flower 20
Mariposa Lily ( Calochortus) 26
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) 32
Snow Plant (S arc odes sanguined) 37
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila) 41
Yellow Dandelion (Composite Family) 46
Iris, by Roland Rice 52
Violets, Johnny- Jump-Up, and Others, by Roland Rice 55
Thistles , 60
Cactus 64
Azalea, Western (.Rhododendron occidental) 68
Rose Bay (Rhododendron calif ornicum) 71
Blazing Star (Mentzelia), by Bertha M. Rice 74
Clematis (Ranunculaceae), by Bertha M. Rice 77
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa), by Roland Rice 80 1
Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri), by Bertha M. Rice 83
Shooting Stars (Dodocatheon) 8G
Miner's Lettuce (Purslane Family) 88
Gum Plant ( Grindelia), by Roland Rice 90
Floral Fire-Crackers (Brevoortia ida mai), by Bertha M. Rice 92
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum), by Roland Rice 94
False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina amplexicaulis) 96
Little Alpine or Small Leopard Lily 98
Clarkia, by Bertha M. Rice 100
Pitcher Sage, Sphacele calycina (Mint Family) 103
Creamcups (Piatystemon calif ornicus), by Roland Rice 106
Cone Flower (Rudbeckia calif ornica), by Bertha M. Rice 108
Elephant Heads (Pedicularis groenlandica) , by Roland Rice 110
Washington Lily (Lilium washingtonianum) , by Bertha M. Rice 114
Toyon or Christmas Berry, by Bertha M. Rice 117
Urgent Need of Protection for Toyon, by Bertha M. Rice . 119
"From mountains far and valleys near
The harvests sown today
Thrive in all zueathers zvithout fear,
Wild planters, plant away!"
EMERSON.
Hymn to the Flowers
'Neath cloistered boughs, each floral bell that sivingeth
And tolls its perfume on the air,
Makes Sabbath in the fields, and ever ringeth
A call to prayer.
"Your voiceless lips, O Flowers, are living preachers,
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book,
Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers
From loneliest nook.
"Were I, O God, in churchless lands remaining,
Far from all voice of teachers or divines,
My soul would find, in Flowers of Thy ordaining,
Priests, sermons, shrines!"
HORACE SMITH.
12
Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvers
The Ceanothus
My hills are Poets; all the year
They sing to me their lays sublime;
They sing you songs with voices clear
And sweetest sing in April time.
Then they their purple robes put on,
Robes spun in April's Lilac looms,
Their royal flowered robes they don,
For then the Ceanothus blooms!
Oh! Kingly Poets are my hills;
But kingliest in April time,
For then each green breast gladdest
thrills
And pulses with most royal rhyme.
These are the days, the singers' days,
When my King-Poets send aloft
Their highest, purest songs of praise,
Strains of the Ceanothus soft.
Faint, faint at -first, then deeper toned,
Till all the banks are gowned and capcd,
And my hill monarchs, high enthroned,
Are in the Ceanothus draped.
Stay, Spring, still let my monarchs
wear
Their robes and sing their songs
sublime.
Let it be April all the year,
And always Ceanothus time.
BAILEY MILI.ARD.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 13
Ceanothus. Wild Lilac
(Buckthorn Family]
By Bertha M. Rice
If you have never seen California hills in springtime, abloom
with Wild Lilac in all its softened blues, exquisite lavenders or deli-
cate white shades, you have missed, scenes that rival in loveliness
the famed cherry festivals of Japan. /If you cannot be here to enjoy
the poet's ''Ceanothus Time," call on some of the best art dealers
and bid them show you pictures of California's bloom-clothed hill-
sides. Sights such as these have inspired the best in art from paint-
ers of the West as well as of those from other lands who frequently
make the journey to these shores just to catch a bit of this tender
glory.
Ceanothus is one of our justly celebrated wild flowers. The
individual flowers, though small, form dense showy panicles of
bloom, and in the spring it covers the hills for miles with a radiance
that seems almost too delicate for earth-born loveliness. There are
many varieties of the plant generously distributed about the State,
from the pretty creeping Ceanothus growing on the sea's edge to
that of the tangled chaparral thickets clothing' innumerable hillsides.
It scatters its fragrant blooms through the stately redwood forests
of the Coast Range and trails its decorative "Squaw Carpets" under
the yellow pines of the high Sierras. A variety known to botanists
as C. cordulatus Kellogg, bordering higher altitudes, is popularly
called "Snow Bush" ; for when in full bloom it resembles fields of
newly fallen snow. During several months of the year these "Snow
Bushes" are obliged to carry heavy burdens of real snow that have
shaped and given them their flat-topped and compact form, which
provide such excellent shelter for the birds. It may be that this is
one of the reasons they are called Snow Bushes. , The name is
singularly appropriate. They seem wonderful plants, to me, and
add greatly to the interest and charm of those high mountains. We
have found them drifting their snowy blooms at an altitude of more
than 9,000 feet.
The popularity, of Ceanothus is partly due, perhaps, to its
adaptability to various soils and climates ; for while indigenous to
the Pacific Coast, it can be grown almost anywhere. It has long'
been cultivated in European gardens and is much admired there for
its innumerable clusters of lovely, fragrant flowers, called "California
Blue Blossoms."
Ceanothus has an interesting little cousin in the Eastern States,
known to botanists as C. americanus L., but famed as "New Jersey
Tea." It provided a welcome beverage, in Revolutionary days,
when people 'would not or could not afford to buy the English teas
because of exorbitant and unjust taxation. This variety is some-
times called "Red-root" ; it furnished an excellent dye, another com-
modity highly prized by those thrifty colonists.
But our Ceanothus is a shrub of many parts, as are so many
of our native growing things. It is one of the good shrubs that
14 Popular Studies of California Wild Fevers
help to make up our chaparral belt. It does well as a water cover
on dry, stony hillsides to prevent erosion. It furnishes the only
browse for stock in some parts of the mountains. Cattle and sheep
seem to do well with certain varieties for food. To the hunters
the bushes are known as buck brush or deer brush. Deer lie in
hiding in its dense thickets and feed upon it also. Indians and
mountaineers make a tea from the roots and bruised foliage of the
species known as "Squaw Carpets" or "Mahala Mats" (C. prostratus
Benth.), which they take for kidney trouble and blood disorders.
This variety has handsome holly-like leaves. Its low-trailing
branches starred with feathery purplish blossoms cover miles of
mountainside, forming veritable carpets of soft, springy texture
under the pine trees. Children are especially fond of its odd and
highly decorative scarlet seed vessels. One of our finest varieties
(C. integerimus) is sometimes called the "White Tea Tree." But
the beverage concocted from the bark of its roots is used only for
medicinal purposes, valued as a remedy for malaria and catarrhal
as well as for kidney trouble. This variety is widely distributed
and is quite variable in appearance. Its blossoms are sometimes
white and sometimes blue. "Soap-Bush" was the term applied to
these plants by the Mexicans in early days. Its blossoms really
make a delightful lather, very fragrant and cleansing in quality. By
merely crushing the blooms as they are rubbed on the hands in the
brook, they leave the skin clean and fragrant and with a velvety
softness. There are several varieties in the southern part of the
State, the blossoms of which are particularly rich in saponaceous
qualities. But the blossoms of practically all varieties furnish an
excellent substitute for soap. Its seed vessels when green have the
same quality.
A delicately beautiful variety of the creeping Ceanothus, not
common outside of the Yosemite and very abundant there in the
lower part of the pine belt, forms a magnificent sight in the spring,
when its loose, leafy mats are thickly sprinkled with pretty blue
blossoms. Surely the Wood Nymphs and Brownies have wonderful
carpets ! This variety is known to botanists as C. diver sifolious
Kellogg, and is somewhat similar in appearance to C. prostratus
Benth.
Ceanothus is at its best in Mendocino County, where it grows
in dense tangles, and is almost a tree, sometimes attaining a height
of thirty-five feet or more. Several varieties bloom in this county
in many shades of lavender and blue, paling to white. From Men-
docino County, also, there has been sent to me, for the State Exhibit,
a variety, the most exquisite pink in color, which may be one of the
hybridized forms. A singular greenish blossom (C. adolphia cali-
fornica) was sent from San Diego County.
There are innumerable and lovely species of this interesting
shrub. Dr. LeRoy Abrams in his Flor'a of Los Angeles and Vicinity
names many varieties and gives careful descriptions of species found
in the southland ; many of these species are common in the chaparral
belt of all our mountains. Among the more localized varieties is
"Parry's Lilac," found on the Napa Valley hills. Hybridized forms
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 15
of Ceanothus sometimes add to the confusion of botanists. The
term "Wild Lilac" is somewhat misleading, for although there is
some resemblance between the blossoms, it is not related to the lilac.
Its botanical name, Ceanothus, is quite as popular. It is sometimes
called Blue Myrtle.
The shrub bore another quaint name by the old settlers "Wait-
A-Bit" which is quite descriptive of the thornlike twigs which hold
one back, occasionally, while walking or riding through its thickets.
The word Ceanothus is from the Greek Keanothos, meaning a kind
of thistle, and was probably given our plant because of thorn-like
characteristics of certain species. The term "Mahala Mats" as
applied to the prostrate variety has a somewhat poetic origin, being
the Indian name, meaning "Squaw's Carpet."
Its elusive fragrance is most pleasing 1 in the fresh spring of the
year, when the hills are suddenly tinted with its wild, sweet blooms.
It is one of our very best honey flowers, and the drowsy hum of the
bees may be heard throughout the day as they diligently gather its
nectar. Later its odd looking dark seeds are a favorite food of the
quail.
Of course, many promising hillsides have most necessarily been
cleared of Wild Lilac and other shrubby growths. But I am sure
there must always remain enough of it to give distinctive color and
charm to many of our mountain regions.
16
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
"The most helpful and sacred
work which can at present be
done for humanity, is to teach
people not 'how to better them-
selves,' but how to 'satisfy them-
selves' . . We shall find that the
love of nature, wherever 'it has
existed, has been a faithful and
sacred element of feeling . . .
Nature-worship will be found to
bring with it such a sense of the
presence and power of a Great
Spirit as no mere reasoning can
either induce or controvert ; . .
it becomes the channel of certain
sacred truths, which by no other
means can be converted." JOHN
RUSKIN.
Field of Purple Lupine Growing in Yosemite National Park
There, too, a thousand purple lupine-eyes
Dream in the purple of the summer skies.
BLAND.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 17
Lupines
By Bertha M. Rice
Blue and Gold, the college colors of the University of California,
are said to have been chosen originally because of the great abun-
dance of Golden Poppies and Blue Lupines in the vicinity. The
choice could not have been a more pleasing one at any rate; for
these beautiful blooms still haunt the locality and companion the
wayfarer on many pleasant journeys throughout the State. Their
beautiful colors are portrayed in numerous flowery landscapes,
adorning our art galleries and exhibited by art dealers. Such vivid
scenes probably seem an exaggeration to any one never having
viewed these gay contrasts in California's open fields ; but Dame
Nature is at her brilliant best on the Pacific Coast, where her color
combinations are at times a bit startling, but wholly satisfactory.
Wonderfully good friends are the golden poppies and blue
lupines, though widely different as to family relations. Both are
"Royal Good Fellows," not nectar bearing, but exceedingly generous
with their pollen to their insect friends. As night approaches they
grow sleepy, and carefully tuck their petals around their precious
pollen to protect it from the dew and other harmful influences. They
seem determined to make the most of their bright flower lives and
they are prime favorites with lovers of the outdoor world. But the
Lupine is better fitted to win out in the struggle for existence; the
Poppy, more easily uprooted, is gradually disappearing from many
of its habitats.
When speaking of Lupines, we must remember that the family
is an exceedingly large and puzzling one. There are more than
fifty species in California. An attempt to list them here would be
useless. But they are not all blue by any means. They flower in
all shades of blue, purple, lavender, yellow, pink, and white, and are
mostly annuals or perennials ; a few are herbaceous or woody ; many
varieties are of a shrubby growth.
The small Blue Lupine, L. micranthus Dougl., so plentiful
throughout California, on plains and foothills, is one of the most
common varieties. Its billowing sheets of delicate colors lend glad-
ness to the springtime. As the season advances, their delicate blue
and white blossoms, through fertilization, assume more of a purplish
cast, and likewise remind us that summer is advancing.
In early days, giant Lupines grew in some of the arroyos to a
height of twelve feet or more. Three or four clusters together are
described as forming a mammoth bouquet, ninety feet around. But
it is rarely ever that one comes across such a truly aboriginal bouquet
nowadays. Fremont told of his mounted cavalcade riding through
seas of Lupine, where the blue flower spikes towered above their
heads on horseback ; and Edwin Markham writes : "I have frequently
seen whole hillsides given over to a sea of blue Lupines, head high."
Thoreau wrote of "hills blued with Lupine," and occasionally one
may still see just such a sight as that whole hillsides, glorified with
its blueness, blue as the skies bending over.
18
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
For miles and miles along the
coast, and occurring frequently in
light, sandy soil from Oregon to
Southern California, a variety
known as Beach Blue or Chamisso's
Lupine matches its blue with the
blue of the sea. It was named in
honor of the poet-botanist, Adel-
bert von Chamisso, spoken of as a
"French nobleman by birth, a Prus-
sian soldier by training, a poet by
inspiration, and a botanist by
choice." He it was who named our
California Poppy "Eschscholzia"
after his friend the German natu-
ralist, who, in turn, bestowed the
.name "Chamisso's Lupine" upon
this flower. For naming our Gold-
en Poppy Eschscholzia, we have
never quite forgiven Chamisso, but
we are pleased to be reminded, by
this blue Lupine, of that dreamy
poet-scholar, and brave adventurer,
who was among the first to give
knowledge to the world of our won-
derful wild flowers. This variety
is of shrubby growth, from one to
several feet in height. It is quite
variable in color, sometimes a blue
and white, but as the blossoms
grow older, and fertilization has
taken place, the white turns to lav-
ender or purple. The standard has
a permanent yellow spot. Its foli-
age is especially lovely, a silky,
silvery green, forming a pleasant contrast to the profuse spikes of
its bright-hued flowers. It blossoms nearly the year round.
There are wonderful stretches of blue Lupines along the coast
near Carmel, and one frequently sees the wild doves feasting upon
the ripened seeds. Last spring as we followed the winding trails
of Mount Tamalpais, some of the hills were most fair to look upon,
covered with a shrubby growth of blue and white Lupines.
There is a particularly handsome variety, L. stiver sii Kellogg,
yellow and rose in color, growing in the Yosemite, but rarely found
Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvers 19
in the Coast Range. There is also a frilly white Lupine, quite fre-
quently seen, and a false yellow Lupine which comes early on our
hills. But fairest of all is our lovely canon Lupine, L. cytisoides
Agardh., with its long racemes of deep pink and magenta flowers.
It grows on the creek banks and in damp places of the cool, quiet
woods. Perhaps it is partly because of its pleasant environment that
it seems to possess a sweeter and more enduring beauty than its
sisters of the same family.
The yellow beach Lupine, a large, shrubby variety, growing
from three to ten feet high and found along the coast from Central
California southward, is considered by many to be quite the hand-
somest of all. It is known botanically as L. arboreus, and it has
very pretty foliage and long racemes of showy, delightfully fragrant
yellow flowers. Moreover, it has something besides beauty and
charm to recommend it to Californians. Its memory will live as
long as San Francisco stands guarding the Golden Gate.
The roots of L. arboreus reach down through their sandy home
for a depth of twenty feet or more, forming natural sand binders.
The discovery of this important fact was of tremendous value in the
upbuilding of Golden Gate Park. A number of shifting, wind-swept
sand dunes were converted into solid ground by planting great
quantities of this yellow Lupine with barley until the Lupines had
secured a strangle hold on the ground. Later, many varieties of
trees were planted successfully on the land. In such manner was
built up one of the most attractive parts of this world-famous park.
The foliage of several species of Lupine furnish nutritious
forage for stock, particularly sheep. But the ripened seeds of certain
varieties are poisonous and have caused serious losses among stock.
A disease known as "Lupinosos" to veterinarians is caused by ani-
mals eating these seeds. A certain yellow variety, L. luteolus
Kellogg, growing in the northern part of the State, known locally
as Butter Flowers, because of the color, is considered a serious pest
by farmers through its habit of monopolizing their fields.
The Indians utilized the seeds of Lupines for food after boiling
them to extract the poison. They also used the young plants for
greens, boiling or roasting them by methods of their own.
1 here is a quaint little Alpine Dwarf, L. danaus Gray, pinkish
white in color, found above timber line in the Yosemite, and reported
from near Mount Dana, at an altitude of 12,500 feet.
A beautiful and fragrant purplish blue Lupine, L. Grayi Wats.,
which frequently covers whole hillsides in the open pine forest of
the Yosemite, is sometimes called Gray's Lupine, in honor of that
distinguished and eminent American botanist, Dr. Asa Gray.
Several varieties of California Lupines are cultivated in Euro-
pean gardens. But they can never be half so beautiful "Over There"
as they are at home a-gypsying down our sun-washed beaches,
rioting over the mesas, or clambering up the mountain steeps to
wave in triumph from the high Sierras. Associated with the Golden
Poppies, they form a characteristic feature of California landscapes.
20 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
THE GOLDEN POPPY
Our State Flower
Eschscholzia calif or nica Cham.
God's Gold
By JOAQUIN MILLER
"This Golden Poppy is God's gold;
The gold that lifts, nor weighs us dorvn,
The gold that knows no miser's hold,
The gold that banks not in the town,
But careless, laughing, freely spills
Its gold far up the happy hills!'
Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvers 21
The Golden Poppy State Flower
Eschscholzia calif ornica Cham.
By Bertha M. Rice
/ The Golden Poppy was officially adopted as the State Flower
by the California Legislature in 1903. Long previous to that date
it had been unanimously aeclaimed the floral emblem of the Com-
monwealth. A more appropriate choice could hardly have been
made; for this wonderful glowing poppy symbolizes in a strange
and striking manner the Golden State its golden traditions, its
golden flower fields and its sunny clime. And then also the flower
was born on these shores and it may always be found blooming in
some portion of the State on any day throughout the year.
In early days thousands upon thousands of acres of these
matchless, shimmering "fire-flowers," as certain tribes of Indians
called them, were massed at the feet of Mt. Wilson and Mt. Lowe.
Their brilliant gleaming could be distinguished far out at sea, a
certain indication that the mariner was opposite the mission land-
ings. The term "Cape Las Flores" as applied to these wild poppy
fields by the Spanish mariners is said to have originated with
Cabrillo's sailors in 154:2. But there is no real authority for this
statement.
The flower is at its brilliant best from February until June, and
a field of these burnished blossoms shimmering in the sunlight,
billowing gracefully with every vagrant breeze that blows, forms
a picture that beggars description and one that haunts the memory
ever afterward with visions of golden glory.
No blossom of later days has been so sung, or painted, de-
scribed or written about, or is so rich in historic incident as the
Golden Poppy. But it is yet unrhymed to the satisfaction of poets,
and no painter can ever hope to catch the tender, elusive sheen of
its satiny petals.
Some botanists claim that there are more than one hundred
varieties of the California Poppy in this State, and then it has a
host of attractive relatives ; but the Golden Poppy varies greatly
in size and color, its blossoms being paler or richer and smaller or
larger according to the season or the locality in which it grows. Of
the many species and sub-species of this plant as described by cer-
tain botanists, ten species and marked varieties, including the most
numerous and showy plants, are to be found only in California^
Two species are on the coast islands; two others are mostly in this
State, but extend northward into Washington, and one of them to
the banks of the Colorado River; two others are in California and
extend southward to Arizona, and but one species is found in Utah ;
and southward to northern Mexico, wholly without the confines of
California. The most radical of scientists, as well as those of the
very conservative school, agree that it is eminently proper and
fitting to call the Eschscholzia the California Poppy. To be fully
appreciated, the flower must be seen growing on its native heath.
22 Popular Studies of California Wild Floiuers
Most of the species of Eschscholzia are impatient of fixed type
and vary most unaccountably in detail of form and color under
cultivation. This tendency in the plant has caused botanists much
trouble, but has proven a welcome feature to skilled horticulturists,
who find the plant so pliable that it has been moulded by selection
into a great variety of colors and forms. Luther Burbank succeeded
in producing a pure crimson Eschscholtzia, and several other re-
markably handsome things which are considered very wonderful and
beautiful by those who prefer made-over flowers. But to appre-
ciate one of the most graceful and elegant flowers in the world, one
must find the Golden Poppy, growing under favorable conditions, in
its native habitat.
Its graceful stem, a foot or more tall ; its finely dissected, bluish-
green foliage, and above all, the rich golden cup, three or four
inches in diameter, with its satiny texture and indescribable sheen,
like the bloom on fruit, form a dream of pure loveliness. No artist
has ever done the poppy justice, nor yet has it ever been described.
The. blossoms in the full perfection of their glory seem to have caught
the sun's fire, and have a teasing, elusive quality, a maddening, glad-
dening something, that just escapes you that has never been named
that will never be caught by the artist's brush that will remain,
always, as was intended this flower's tender secret, its delicate,
elusive charm. And it is so dainty in its habits ! The exquisite
texture of its lovely satin gown is carefully protected, sheathed in
a clean green cap, which is slowly pushed off when it is ready to
open its petals. All day its glory is shared with the world, and
from the plentiful stores of its rich golden pollen the bees and other
insects may gather at will ; but it will have none of the "fly-by-
nights," and so surely it withdraws itself from the eventide, folding
its silken draperies, petal upon petal, over its rich golden heart, pro-
tecting its pollen from the dews and harmful influences, to unfurl
the next day when the sun is high in the heavens. It is a true child
of the sun. Who that has seen a California Poppy field at mid-day,
matching its glory with the glory of the sun-god, has not marveled
at this great wealth of brilliant color? Even in death, the Poppy
is beautiful, for its petals, lightly shed, are still fresh and fair, and
when dried they turn to a dusky gold.
Indians had many superstitions regarding the flower. One was
that a nursing mother must not touch, nor allow her infant to touch,
its glowing petals, or the milk would dry in the mother's breast. To
certain tribes of Indians this blossom was the "Great Spirit Flower,"
and when the gold diggers came rushing into their land to tear up
the mountains in their eager search for the glittering ore, the Indians
, averred that the bright leaves of the "Great Spirit Flower," falling
back to earth year after year, finally turned into this strange gold
for which the white men were always seeking. They believed that
a deity reigned over the poppy fields ; and in Southern California,
near Pasadena, where the fabled "Altar Cloth of San Pasqual"
(that lost glory of the Golden Land) was said to have been located,
were Indians thought to have been sun-worshipers. In early spring,
when the sun-gold of the poppies sheeted the hills with their dazzling
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 23
glory, these Indian women wove fine garlands and wreaths of its
blossoms, and on a spring day, when the flowers were in full per-
fection of their mid-day loveliness, they executed their weird "dance
of the poppies." This took place on the trail up Mt. Wilson; and
the Indian women in their picturesque garb, made of braided grasses,
with the blazing poppy fields for a background, must have presented
a strange scene. That was in the days when the poppy fields were
uncrossed save by El Camino Real and the trails of the aborigines.
From mostly forgotten Indian lore a few of the tribal names for the
poppy have been rescued. One name was "tesanaht" ; and in South-
ern California they called it "a-tow-sha-nat" ; while the place where
Pasadena now stands was "a-tow-shan-a-my," "place of poppies."
Northern California tribes called the flower "dis-shu-le" and "to-
shu-le" and "shu-le." But then they called all flowers "shu-le." f
The Indians used the young plants for greens. They used its
blossoms and leaves for medicinal purposes.
There is a pretty legend attached to the Spanish name "Calce-
de-oro" as applied to the poppy. An early Spanish explorer, upon
first seeing the flower, reverently raised its golden cup to his lips
and exclaimed : "Behold ! I have found the Holy Grail the Calce-
de-oro" (which means chalice of gold).
Sister Anna Raphael, of Notre Dame College, in San Jose, has
told us that Padre Junipero Serra is said to have exclaimed when
first he saw the Golden Poppy fields : "O happy omen !" She
embodied this thought in the following sweet lines :
"Be still to us by dusty inlays,
An angel-song of peace and praise,
Be still a chalice lifted up,
The Holy Grail's anointed cup
That blesses, strengthens, purifies,
And woos our spirit to the skies."
It was probably this thought that gave rise to another tradition,
immortalized by Carrie Stephans Walter :
"but one day came,
An hundred years and more ago, a band
Of holy friars to our shores.
The sun- gold flower they 'Amapola' named
. . . Adding, as whispered benedicite,
'Copa-de-oro,' Holy Grail, ^uhich holds
Within its sacred chalice heaven's gift
Of Golden Beauty, California's doiuer."
("Amapola" means poppy, and "copa-de-oro," cup of gold.)
The Spaniards had other quaint names for the flower. Among
them were "dormidera" (the sleepy one) and "torosa" and "to- '
rongo" but I am not quite sure of their meaning. They used the
plant for remedial purposes and also steeped its leaves in bear oil
or olive oil to make a tonic for their hair, which they claimed pro-
duced a wonderful growth and imparted a peculiar luster.
24 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
The gold diggers, despite their eagerness to uncover the wealth
within the hills, were struck by the unusual beauty of these flowers,
as evinced by the fact that 'many pressed specimens were enclosed
in their letters back home. They called it the "Gold Flower." In
the early fifties, the poppy was called the "Californicus."
Its discovery to the botanical world was a very interesting
incident. In 1815, Count Romanzoff of Russia sent the "Rurick"
on an exploring expedition under the command of Otto von Kotzebue
to find if possible a passage north of America connecting the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A group of enthusiastic young scien-
tists accompanied the expedition : Aelbert von Chammisso, poet,
author and botanist ; Dr. John Frederick Eschscholz, a German sur-
geon and naturalist, and a youth by the name of Choris, the artist.
Kotzebue, twenty-eight years of age, was the son of a great German
dramatist whose plays were then the most popular in the world.
Eschscholz, but twenty-two years old, had already won fame as a
naturalist.. Choris, two years younger, afterward became one of
the historical painters of Russia. Chammisso, the botanist, thirty-
four years old, was a French nobleman by birth. He had won fame
as the author of an unusual story entitled "Peter Schlemihl," an
amusing tale of a man who sold his shadow. It was this group of
distinguished young men who first sent specimens, notes, and draw-
ings of the California Poppy to Europe. But it was not until 1820
that Chammisso published a detailed account of the flower, which
he had named Eschscholzia in honor of his friend and co-worker,
and calif ornica, after the land of its birth. This account was first
published in Madrid ? Spain, just a century ago. Chammisso re-
ferred to his companion in labor as "the very skillful, very learned,
very amicable Eschscholz, Dr. of medicine and equally expert in
botany and entomology." From seeds collected by Chammisso the
flower was probably introduced into European gardens, and later
its popularity was established by seeds collected by David Douglas
and sent back to the Royal Horticultural Gardens in England, from
whence they were later distributed to all parts of .the world, including
the Atlantic States, which received their first seeds from Europe.
California is particularly rich in romantic incident. The dis-
covery of the Eschscholzia calif ornica Cham, is an interesting tale.
But to Californians this beautiful blossom will always be simply the
Golden or California Poppy; after all, are not the people the best
judge of what a flower should be called a flower so endeared to
them by memories of home and by its sunny, friendly presence every-
where throughout the length and breadth of the Golden State ?
In a February, 1910, number of Collier's Weekly, Caspar Whit-
ney deplores the gradual disappearance of the California Poppy
fields. He writes :
"Fifteen years ago, California had acres upon acres of those
beautiful flower things, the Wild Poppy. Even ten years ago, great
golden fields of these exquisites of the open plenteously adorned the
southern half of the State. Then tourists began pulling them up
by the armsful by the roots. Not with the wish to elsewhere
establish poppy loveliness through transplanting did these vandals
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 25
uproot this jewel of wild flowerdom, but only to feed that coarse
passion which delights in destroying flowers and killing birds. So
ravaged are those once joyously laden fields that now one must
actually seek them, as one looks for the big trees, in certain seques-
tered spots.
"California should enact a law protecting its remaining poppies,
because to get a sight of those golden fields has taken many a trav-
eler to the coast; and California's natural beauties are assets which
the Californians will be wise in safeguarding against foreign
vandalism and native gluttony."
California Poppy
(Copa De Oro)
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 COOLBRITH.
26 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Mariposa Lily (Calochortus)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 27
Mariposa Lily (Calochortus)
By Bertha M. Rice
The Mariposa Lily inspired one of the finest poems in the Eng-
lish language. I refer to the exquisite tribute to this beautiful blos-
som by California's poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. Nor is Miss Cool-
brith the only famed Westerner whose worshipful praise of the
Mariposa is engraved in the literature of the West. John Muir's
outburst of adoration for a member of this lily family is, I think,
the highest tribute ever paid by man to a flower, although the species
to which he refers is quite a different one from the airy-winged
butterfly tulip which Miss Coolbrith had in mind.
C. albus, whose common name is "Lantern of the Fairies,"
belongs to that section of the genus known as Globe Tulip. Of this
lovely blossom, the great naturalist wrote :
"Found a lovely lily (Calochortus albus) in a shady adenostoma
thicket near Coulterville. It is white with a faint purplish tinge
inside at the base of the petals, a most impressive plant, pure as a
show crystal, one of the plant saints- that all must love and be made
so much the purer by it every time it is seen. It puts the roughest
mountaineer on his good behavior. With this plant the whole world
would seem rich though none other existed. It is not easy to keep
on with the camp crowd while such plant people are standing preach-
ing by the wayside."
There are three groups of Calochortus : The Mariposa Lilies
with their lovely cup-shaped flowers ; the Globe Tulip with nodding,
globular flowers, and the exquisite little Star Tulips with erect, star-
like blossoms.
Almost every locality has its "Mariposa." There are forty or
more varieties in California and all of them are extremely beautiful.
There are many forms which seem to hybridize until only experts
can tell one from another, and botanists are forever disagreeing on
the nomenclature. It would probably be more correct to say Mari-
posa Tulip than Mariposa Lily, for botanists place them in the tulip
family. The rather tall, cup-shaped, or open campanulate flowers
on very erect stems resemble tulips. The California varieties, many
of them, are said to be more delicately beautiful than the tulips of
Europe.
When speaking of "Mariposa," it seems well to remember that
the name was given by the early Spanish-Californians and means
"Butterfly," which is very appropriate; the flowers resemble nothing
so much as delicately tinted and mottled butterflies hovering over
the grass on open glades and fields. Their fragile, grass-like stems
are so delicately green and tall, and so lightly and airily do the
blossoms nod in the passing breezes, that I am always reminded,
when coming across them, of some beautiful lines written by Carroll
de Wilton Scott, of San Diego:
28 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
"Beautiful zvinged Mariposas,
Graceful and shy and tall,
Poising like butterfly blossoms,
Fairest of zvild flozvers all:
Dressed in your velvets and satins,
Raiment a queen might share,
Loveliest jewels that summer
Wears in her gold-brown hair."
Who can look upon the Mariposas so endeared to poets and
flower lovers, without appreciation of their enchanting' beauty ? But
it is hard to choose a favorite from among so many forms of love-
liness, the gay "Butterfly Lily" of Ina Coolbrith's poem, or the
sainted White Lily of John Muir's choice. Charles Francis Saun-
ders, in speaking of C. albus, the White Globe Tulip, says : "Para-
phrasing a certain old dictum about the strawberry, one might say
that doubtless God could have made a loyelier flower, but never
did." This lovely little flower is also called the "Satin Bell" and
the "Alabaster Lily." It is sometimes called the "Hare Bell," but
the small Globe Tulip is not bell shaped. The tips of its petals are
prettily crossed ; we have another flower, quite different in appear-
ance, called the "Hare Bell," and it belongs to the Bell Flower
family, Campanulaceae. Our little Globe Tulip or "Lantern of the
Fairies" may often be found blooming in late spring or early sum-
mer in shady places, in the Coast Ranges and Sierras throughout the
State. A close relative of C. albus is the yellow Globe Tulip, C. pul-
chellus Dougl., which grows about a foot high and is found on Mt.
Diablo. This soft, lemon-colored flower is often confused with the
Golden Lily Bell, C. amabilis Purdy (the "Diogenes Lantern"),
which is found in the north Coast Ranges. But a marked difference
in the flowers is noticeable. C. pulcheilus is very rare. Pulchellus
means "little beauty." This flower was first collected by David
Douglas in the Mt. Diablo region, the only place it has ever been
seen, and it is seldom found of recent years.
The little Star Tulips are exceedingly lovely and dainty blos-
soms. They include the dear little "Pussy's Ears" so popular with
children. C. maweanus, with tiny, bell-shaped flowers, is white or
lilac colored, and barely an inch across. The blossoms are thickly
covered with white or purplish hairs. It is a low little plant from
three to five inches high, with a few delicate, grass-like leaves and
branching stems. It blooms in the Coast Range and Sierra foothills
from Central California northward into Oregon. This variety, be-
cause of its color, is more frequently called "Mouse Ears." Its spe-
cific name, "Maweanus" was given in honor of George Maw, a
noted horticulturist of England. There is also a yellow "Pussy's
Ears," C. benthamii, and C. umbellatus, which is white or lilac
colored. Both are to be found in the low, wooded hills of Central
and Northern California.
The Mariposa Tulips or "Butterfly Lilies" are more frequently
s.een on dry, open hillsides. They have three petals and three
sepals, and a hairy, crescent-shaped honey gland at the base of each
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 29
petal. They are among the most characteristic flowers of the West.
And to quote Carl Purely : "Until one has seen a good collection of
these plants, he has no idea how much Nature can do in the variation
of one flower." There are several well-marked strains, all said to
be variations of C. venustus. But ranging in color from white to
cream, palest to a clear bright yellow, orange, pink, claret, magenta,
flaming vermilion, lilac, purple, green-banded, and a mingling of
all other shades, wonderfully blotched and mottled with exquisitely
delicate pencilings, eyes and dots, in rich 'contrasting colors ; yet
each variety carries out a color schenle of its own. They bloom in
the spring in the Coast Ranges and in the summer in the Sierras,
and nearly all are confined to the Pacific Coast. But certain varie-
ties grow in the Rocky Mountain regions, and one has been discov-
ered as far east as Dakota and Nebraska. Abrams mentions several
varieties in his "Flora of Los Angeles and Vicinity" ; they are par-
ticularly beautiful in that locality. The famous Catalina Mariposa,
C. catalina Wats., is common throughout Southern California,
blooming on the plains and foothills and coast islands from February
until May. This flower is white or lilac, with a dark red blotch at
the base of each petal. It was first described from a specimen col-
lected on the Santa Catalina Island about fifty years ago.
Mary Austin, in her charming book, "The Land of Little Rain,"
says: "Farther south in the trail there will be poppies meeting ankle-
deep, and singly, peacock-painted bubbles of calochortus blown out
at the tops of tall stems." She was of course speaking of the early
springtime. Flowers are short lived in that region.
The flaming vermilion, tulip-shaped Desert Mariposa is a de-
light of motorists in the early spring along Southwestern desert
roads ; this glorious flower blooms in the hot, bright sunlight close
to the sand ; and with a semblance of shade or protection, it is even
more beautiful. "The wonder of it is increased," says Saunders,
"by finding it in the midst of such barren, sun-scorched wastes as
popular speech calls 'God-forsaken.' The flower is a reproach to
such a phrase, and seems to preach to us the universality of the
divine providence." This species (C. kennedyi) is somewhat rare
in California, but Margaret Armstrong speaks of it as being so
abundant in the foothills and mountain slopes of Arizona as to give
a beautiful orange-red color to the landscape for miles in the spring.
In his "Flora of Middle Western California," Jepson mentions
three of the popular Mariposas to be found in this section of the
State: C. splendens Dougl. and C. venustus Dougl., the white
Mariposa Lily, which is sometimes white and often lilac colored,
with a rose-colored blotch near the apex, and eyes and pencilings of
rich colors; also C. luteus Dougl., which has very erect stems with
fan-shaped petals, somewhat more claw-shaped than the preceding-
species. This Mariposa occurs from a clear yellow to a deep orange,
and instead of the central blotch, its penciled lines radiate from
gland to center of petal. Its honey gland is densely matted with
yellow hairs, with scattered single hairs to the center of the petals.
The yellow Mariposa Lily is a favorite with many, but C. luteus
is the least lovely of all Mariposas. A well-marked variety of the
30 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
yellow Mariposa growing near the Yosemite is a far more hand-
some, robust type. The petals are from two to four inches across,
bright yellow, with a rich maroon spot near the center, and the
hairy, crescent-shaped honey gland is brown, flecked with maroon.
It has a yellowish-green pistil and creamy anthers. C. luteus var.
oculatus frequently verges into C. venustus, and gorgeous varieties
of both are to be found in the Yosemite regions. Hall mentions,
in his "Yosemite Flora," C. venustus and C. nut t alii T. & G. ; this
latter variety is rather common, he says, in Yosemite meadows.
"The plants are tall and the 'flowers beautifully colored, while at
higher altitudes they are much dwarfed and the flowers are very
pale." Of C. venustus he says : "This is one of the handsomest of
all the Mariposa Lilies and is remarkable for the range of its color
forms. Along the Wawona road, near Alder Creek, one form has
deep wine-red petals, which are darker towards the middle and are
crossed below by a broad yellow band, while on nearby plants the
petals are nearly white, with a dark brown eye surrounded by
yellowish."
C. nuttalii, commonly called the "Sego Lily," is the State
flower of Utah, where it is highly esteemed not only for its beauty,
but also because its edible corms formed a substantial part of the
diet of the early Mormon pioneers when they crossed the desert.
These flowers are rather common in the Southwest and vary some-
what in colors, but are usually a lovely lilac with the usual splashes
of color in the center. This flower was named by the Ute Indians.
Through a misunderstanding of the word, the Mormons formerly
pronounced it "Sago Lily," but "Sego" was the Ute term. They
consumed great quantities of its corms. The Indians called these
corms "Noonas," and they were esteemed by them as the very great-
est of all delicacies. A somewhat amusing story is told of a foreign
collector of California bulbs, who was gathering them for the Euro-
pean trade. Anxious to secure a quantity of these choice tulip
corms, he hired Indians to dig them, but the Indian women ate the
"Noonas" as fast as they dug them up. It was only by furnishing
them with liberal supplies of food that he could persuade the squaws
to part with these wild corms.
It has always seemed a singular thing to me that while the
bulbs or corms of our wild lilies and the roots of other native plants
are known to have figured conspicuously in the aborigines' bill of
fare, there was no apparent decrease in the early wild gardens.
But I have wondered, sometimes, if the scarcity of these lilies at the
present time is not due, partly, to the prevalence of collectors, who
have been supplying our native bulbs to European and other deal-
ers, although there are horticulturists in California who have devoted
years to raising their own stock, and who have greatly improved
and perfected many varieties suitable for gardens.
The Digger Indians of California received their name because
the first white men saw them digging about in search of lily corms
and roots of different sorts "Indian Potatoes" or "Wild Onions,"
the early settlers called them. When the Indians saw that white
men were encroaching upon some of their food supplies (which
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 31
were big- natural gardens or fields of these conns and roots), it
caused one of our Indian wars.
The beautiful wild lilies are not so plentiful now, and it seems
better for us to enjoy the rare charm of these elegant blossoms
when we have the fortune of chancing upon them, rather than feast-
ing upon their delectable corms, even should they appeal to our
Anglicized palate. There are so many lovely varieties and so many
variations in the well-known strains that it would be an impossible
task to name them all. They can be likened only to orchids in
point of exquisite gradations of shades. But one of their chief
charms is their delicate, grass-like stems, usually a foot or more
high ; this gives the blossom its swaying grace and that appearance
of butterflies hovering over the grasses. Calochortus means beau-
tiful grass.
These gay blossoms are favorites with insects of all kinds.
Bees, butterflies and other members of the insectivorous world jostle
each other in friendly rivalry as candidates for their sweets.
Mariposa Lily
Insect or blossom? Fragile, fairy thing,
Poised upon slender tip, and quivering
To flight! a flower of the fields of air;
A jeweled moth; a butterfly, with rare
And tender tints upon his downy wing,
A moment resting in our happy sight;
A flower held captive by a thread so slight
Its petal-wings of broidered gossamer
Are, light as the wind, with every wind astir,
Wafting sweet odor, faint and exquisite.
O dainty nursling of the field and sky,
What fairer thing looks up to ^heaven's blue
And drinks the noontide sun, the dawning s dew?
Thou winged bloom! thou blossom-butterfly!
INA COOLBRITH.
,32
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
MANZ ANITA (Arctostaphylos)
"About the flowers grave lessons cling.
Let us softly steal like the tread of spring
And learn of them!'
Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvcrs 33
The Manzanita (Arctostaphylos)
Heath Family
By Bertha M. Rice
One of the most interesting shrubs in the world is the Manzanita
(Arctostaphylos). In the early days of California it was one of
the very first things to attract the attention of the traveler. It is
still so typical and characteristic a feature of this State that it deserves
especial attention. Although an extremely handsome shrub, the
Manzanita is something more than merely decorative. It has played
its part in the history of our land, and is still much beloved by the
bees and the birds, the chipmunk, the fox and the coyote.
This unusual shrub or little tree never fails to win exclamations
of surprise and delight from visitors to our land when first they
note its unusual coloring and quaint appearance. For whether deli-
cately crowned with faintly flushed little alabaster globes lighting
the way for those industrious gatherers of honey, the bees, or feast-
ing with its dark red berries the hungry quail and other small colo-
nists of the woodland, it is alike an interesting and lovely thing. No
less attractive is it in its season of rest, for its rich red wood, so
clean and highly polished, its curiously contorted branches, and its
good-looking foliage are ever unique and charming to the beholder.
When Fremont was making the difficult journey down the
slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near the American River
with his famished party of men and horses, he took occasion to
comment on the Manzanita when writing in his very interesting
journal. He says: "A new and singular shrub, which has made its
appearance since crossing the mountains, was very frequent today.
It branched out near the ground, forming a clump eight or ten
feet high, with pale green leaves of an oval form ; and the body and
branches had a naked appearance, as if stripped of the bark, which
is smooth and thin, of a chocolate color, contrasting well with the
pale green of the leaves." It is remarkable that Fremont could
think of such things as trees and shrubs when writing of the trials
and hardships of his party on their journey down into the Sacra-
mento Valley, through the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains, in late
winter. He mentioned the Manzanita twice; the second time to
tell that it was then in bloom with little white, globe-shaped flowers.
The Manzanita has been most famous with travelers from the
East on account of its beauty of polished dark red bark, and of its
singular habit of twisting and turning so that the collector of canes
is forever baffled by this most desirable shrub in trying to find a
straight limb. We have read of a standing offer of a reward of
five thousand dollars from an Eastern institution for a perfectly
straight piece of Manzanita five feet long. The holder of the reward
money need never worry.
Manzanita is a pretty Spanish name meaning "Little Apples."
The scientific name, Arctostaphylos, is translated as "Bear-Berry."
But the true Bear-Berry is the Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, which is
34 " Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
low trailing or spreading over the ground, with its flowers or fruits
in little clusters. This species is found in the high mountains of
Northern California and across the continent and in Europe.
When speaking of Manzanita, we may be speaking of one or
several varieties, but all have the generic name of Arctostaphylos ;
the shrubs are extremely variable and even botanists find it difficult
to discriminate between certain of the species. A number of the
scientists divide the genus into innumerable species, while others
name a few, but allow for much variation within the species. They
belong to the famous Heath Family, whose members are always of
extreme interest to nature lovers. ^This plant is a close relative of
the stately Madrona, the handsome Rhododendron, the lovely
Azalea, and the Huckleberry, also the singular Snow-Plant, and has
many other well-known relatives.
A very beautiful variety of Manzanita found growing on Mt.
Tamalpais and near Santa Cruz, and reported from other localities,
has the most delicate little pink flowers, very like arbutus.
Occasionally the Manzanita becomes almost a tree. There was
a famous Manzanita tree near St. Helena, in Napa County, which I
believe was the largest specimen known. It measured eleven and
one-half feet at the base of its trunk and was thirty-five feet high,
with proportionately wide-spreading branches. An interesting sketch
that made its appearance in "Garden and Forest" many years ago,
tells how this dignified patriarch once escaped the woodsman's axe.
A lover of trees was passing by as a woodsman raised his axe to
fell the tree. He begged the man to spare its life, giving him a
small sum of money to bind the bargain. I have often wondered if
this venerable tree is still standing. A few years ago it was still
holding high carnival with the bees and the birds in season and out
of season. For, aside from its honey flowers and nutritious fruit,
it furnished good nesting places and provided shelter for the flitting
visitors of that region.
Of the species more widely distributed in California, probably
Arctostaphylos manzaniia Parry is better known, as this is the true
Manzanita or "little apple" of the Spanish-speaking people. In
mountain regions a clear amber jelly of delicious taste is made from
its fruit.
The fruit of the Big-Berried Manzanita is much larger. Its
berries often exceed three-quarters of an inch across, and instead of
the usual seeds, it has a stone half an inch in diameter. But this
species is rare and of somewhat local occurrence. It has been re-
ported as occurring in the Mt. Diablo Range and other localities
from Monterey south to Los Angeles.
Probably the most widely distributed species, more common in
the chaparral districts of all our mountains, is A. tomentosa Doug-
las. In the mountains of Northern California, hogs consume great
quantities of the fruit and are said to fatten on them. Many people
in the foothills make an excellent vinegar from crushed Manzanita
berries. An infusion prepared from its leaves is the basis of an
official drug used in catarrhal troubles. Its leaves boiled in hot
water furnish a decoction used by others for relief from Poison
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 35
Oak. Its green berries chewed slightly and held in the mouth will
quench the thirst of travelers on hot, dry hillsides where water is
sometimes almost as scarce as in the desert regions.
In the days of the Red Man, Manzanita tracts were recognized
by family or tribal rights, and the squaws regularly harvested or
threshed the berries into their big burden baskets. The Indians ate
the fruit both in its raw state or dried and pounded into "Pinole"
(a meal), often cooked as mush. They also made a cider from its
berries, which they used as we would vinegar with greens. They
greatly relished this Manzanita cider, served with Lupines, which
had been boiled in water with the aid of hot stones. It may be said
that these berries were a staple food with the Indians and grizzly
bears in the early days of California, both being able to digest the
rather dry, puckery seeds, which are not so agreeable to civilized
palates. But it was the Arctostaphylos uva-ursi which was the true
"Kini-kinnick" of the Western Indians. They preferred its berries
and used its foliage, not only for medicinal purposes, but in the
curing of animal skins. The old chieftains were wont to manu-
facture a harmless tobacco from its leaves, which they dried and
powdered and smoked on ceremonial occasions in their "pipes of
peace."
The Manzanita is of special interest because of its wonderful
root system. Many a pioneer clearing his land to set out a vine-
yard or orchard, learned that there was far more wood under the
ground, in the Manzanita roots, than in the little twisted limbs
above ; and the wood makes a splendid fuel, being esteemed in the
old days of the barbecue for roasting meats over the steady heat of
its coals, which burned for a long time because of the oil in the
wood.
These shrubs often form a large percentage of the chaparral
belt, so characteristic a fe.ature of California foothills and mountains.
It is to such shrubs as the Manzanita and Ceanothus that California
is indebted for the protection of its water sheds in the chaparral belt.
They help to conserve the water. The Manzanita is well able to
resist fires, which in the ages past were often set by the Indians to
trap game, which at times burned over great sections of the forests.
It was fortunate that Manzanitas had their root systems so well
established that when fires came along and their tops burned off,
they were able to send up new and vigorous growths the following
year. There are regions on Mt. Tamalpais which furnish striking-
illustrations of this kind. The Manzanita is very hardy, growing
in dry and rocky soils as well as in the shade of big trees, where it
is sometimes confused, by superficial observers, with its close relative,
the Madrona (Bret Harte's famous "Robin Hood of the Western
Wood"). It greatly resembles the Madrona in the color of its wood
and in the manner of shedding its bark, and there is a certain simi-
larity between their blossoms, but there the similarity ends. For
the Madrona is a fine and shapely tree, frequently forming park-like
groves in the lower foothills ; its blossoms more nearly resemble the
Lily-of-the- Valley ; its rather large berries are a bright orange-
yellow in color, while the berries of the Manzanita are dark red and
36 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
usually much smaller. The Manzanita bark is a much deeper brown
than that of the Madrona, and there is no mistaking the large, de-
ciduous, magnolia-like leaves of the Madrona, while the small, light
colored, evergreen leaves of the Manzanita are curiously set on edge
to prevent evaporation. It is this ability to conserve its moisture
which is so valuable a feature in this plant, enabling it to thrive in
the sterile soil of the chaparral regions, where its presence is little
short of a benediction in the wilderness. This shrub sems to love
the dry, sunny hillsides, and together with its close friends and
companions, the Ceanothus or Wild Lilac and the beautiful Chapar-
ral Pea (Pickeringia), with its bright pink blossoms, they supply
those otherwise arid regions, during their successive seasons of
bloom, with a variety and charm unequaled by that of any other
portion of the State.
The Manzanita blooms when other flowers do not. At Christ-
mas time and before, and from New Year's Day on into the late
spring, its little waxen globes, with perhaps a rosy glow tinting
their pure whiteness, give of their nectar to the bees. It is a splendid
honey flower, for the bees may strengthen and prepare themselves
with its aid during the otherwise lean winter months, and be in good
shape to build up big honey stores when the rush of wild flower
season comes upon them suddenly in the spring.
The Mountain Quail in the Sierras and the smaller California
Quail in the coast foothills all love the Manzanita red berries and
enjoy many gay picnicking parties in fruiting time. I find it diffi-
cult to decide when the chaparral presents the happier appearance,
with the busy bees in blossom time or with the greedily feasting
birds in berry season.
In the language of flowers, the family name Heath stands
for "solitude," though it seems that this relative has not its place
in the dictionary of that language. It may be left to the choice of
the individual whether these delicately tinted, nectar-laden, waxen
urns, so refreshing in the wilderness of tangled chaparral, in the
"between seasons" of flowers, enlivened with the businesslike huni
of harvesting bees, might not stand for joy, or hope, or happiness.
Nor is the Manzanita solitary in its cheerful fruiting season, bidding
welcome to bird visitors and to various small furry friends.
The Manzanita's lovely flowers have been described as "like
little classic vases set in alabaster."
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
37
mm&M
Snow Plant (Sar codes sanguined)
"The woods were made for the hunters of dreams,
The brooks for the fishers of song;
To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game
The streams and the woods belong.
There are thoughts that moan from the soul of a pine,
And thoughts in the flower bell curled;
And the thoughts that are blown with the scent of the fern
Are as new and as old as the world!'
SAM WALTER Foss.
38 Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvers
The Snow Plant
(Sarcodes sanguined Torrey)
The Snow Plant is almost wholly confined to the high altitudes
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. It is sometimes
found in the mountains of southern Oregon and a portion of Nevada,
and has been discovered as far south as San Pedro Martir in Lower
California. This weird and extremely interesting plant has gained
world renown ; tourists actually come from all over the world to
seek for it growing in its native surroundings.
In the Yosemite Valley, where it was more frequently found,
it was discovered that visitors, with that morbid curiosity charac-
terizing people whose interest in flowers is but momentary, were
pulling it up by the roots or breaking it the better to examine it,
and as the plant was being exterminated, a heavy fine was imposed
for gathering the flower. It is now considered a misdemeanor to
pluck a Snow Plant in the Yosemite National Park. A fine of
twenty-five dollars or imprisonment may be imposed for such an
offense.
It seems a pity that this flower, which has long puzzled scien-
tists and so greatly interested travelers and writers, could not be
better protected in California, its native habitat, and that the law-
enacted guarding its presence in the Yosemite National Park might
not be extended throughout the State. Interest in the Snow Plant
would be increased, inasmuch as we value its presence within our
borders.
The Snow Plant is a member of the famous Heath Family,
which claims many of our finest flowers, including the Azalea, Rho-
dodendron, Huckleberry, Manzanita, and Madrone ; it was long
thought to be a parasite, but is akin in habit to the Fungi, and most
evidently it has made some strange compact with bacteria growths
for their mutual help, for its blood-red tissues lack all trace of that
green coloring matter supplied by the magician Chlorophyll for
transmuting or combining the elements necessary for the food of
plants which earn their own living; its very long root is not con-
nected with that of any other plant. Whether the scientifically
inclined call it parasite, fungus, saprophyte, or aught else, matters
but little to the average citizen, who is interested from quite a dif-
ferent viewpoint. Botanists will go on to the end of time splitting
hairs over differentiations in plant life. A "Snow Plant" it will be
called until the end of time. The people have so decreed. Its
botanical name, Sarcodes sanguinea, if generally understood, would
not add to its attractiveness ; it means "Bloody Flesh." It is perhaps
as well that we do not always grasp the meaning of these high-
sounding Greek and Latin words.
So much has been written about this strange flower and so
diverse are the opinions of botanists and writers regarding it, that
it has seemed best to quote from a few of our well-known California
writers of authority. I have been greatly interested and at times
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 39
a bit amused by their various statements. Said that "grand old
man" of the Yosemite, Galen Clark, who was for many years the
guardian of this national wonderland, and who, after ninety years
of age, wrote three small books on the Yosemite, its Indians and
its legendary lore. (I quote from one of these volumes) : 'This
blood-red and brilliantly attractive plant is met with in a few locali-
ties in the Yosemite. Its stout, succulent stems, covered with wax-
like, bell-shaped flowers, and delicate, semi-transparent, slender
leaves that intertwine among the bells, all being blood red, make it
the most conspicuous and beautiful flower in the Sierras. The name
it bears might give the impression that it grew in the Sierra snows ;
but this is not the case. Sometimes, however, a snow storm may
come in the spring after it is up in full bloom. It is thought by some
botanists to be a parasitic plant. This has been well proved to be
untrue."
Enos A. Mills, author of a book on "Our National Parks," had
this to say of our strange California bloom : "The Snow Plant is a
curiosity and attracts by its brilliancy of color. The plant and
bloom are blood-red, but this herb is as cold as an icicle. It is not
a parasite, but is isolated and appears to hold itself aloof from all
the world. When caught by late snows, it makes a startling figure,
but it does not grow up through the snows."
John Muir, great naturalist, says : "To tourists the most attract-
ive of all the flowers of the forest is the Snow Plant, Sarcodes san-
guinea; it is a bright red, fleshy, succulent pillar 'that pushes up
through the dead needles in the pine and fir woods like a gigantic
asparagus shoot. In a week or so it grows to a height of six to
twelve inches. Then the long, fringed bracts spread and curl aside,
allowing the twenty or thirty five-lobed, bell-shaped flowers to open
and look straight out from the fleshy axils. It is said to grow up
through the snow ; on the contrary, it always waits until the ground
is warm, though with other early flowers it is occasionally buried
or half buried for a day or two by spring storms. The entire plant
flowers, bracts, stems, scales, and roots is red. But notwith-
standing its glowing colors and beautiful flowers, it is singularly
unsympathetic and cold. Everybody admires it as a wonderful curi-
osity, but nobody loves it. Without fragrance, rooted in decaying
vegetable matter, it stands beneath the pines and firs lonely, silent,
and about as rigid as a graveyard monument."
Edwin Markham, poet, says : "On higher levels of the moun-
tains the Snow Plant pushes up like a sturdy mushroom through the
carpet of pine needles ; there, among the soft browns of the earth
and the deep green of the shadows, this uncouth shape sucks its
bright scarlet from the ground along the edges of the receding snows.
In shape and consistency it looks as if some ingenious Yankee had
whittled it out of the heart of a watermelon."
Mary Elizabeth Parson writes most charmingly of finding her
first Snow Plant: "I came unexpectedly upon this scarlet miracle,
standing in the rich, black mould in a sheltered nook in the wood.
A single ray of strong sunlight shone upon it, leaving the wood
around it dark, so that it stood out like a single statue in a tableau
40 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
vivant. There was something so personal, so glowing, and so life-
like about it, that I almost fancied I could see the warm life blood
pulsing and quivering through it. ... I carried my prize home,
where it retained its beauty for a number of days. I afterwards
found many of them. They gradually follow the receding snows
up the heights, so that late in the season one must climb for them/'
Margaret Armstrong, Western writer, describes the plant's
strange coloring as follows: "The plants are shaded with red all
over, from flesh color to rose, carmine, and blood-red, and are trans-
lucent in texture, so that when a shaft of sunlight strikes them they
glow with wonderful brilliance, almost as if lighted from within."
Charles Francis Saunders, well-known naturalist, of Pasadena,
says that it is a ''favorite posie with the mountaineers in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains," and that he has frequently seen it "planted in
lard pails ornamenting the porches of their cabins."
Dr. Harvey Monroe Hall, in his "Yosemite Flora," states that
the Snow Plant may be found in the transition zone of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains from Southern California northward to Oregon,
making its appearance soon after the snow has melted and later
until autumn. Dr. LeRoy Abrams, in his "Flora of Los Angeles
and Vicinity," says that the Snow Plant is frequently found in the
coniferous forests in the San Antonio and San Bernardino Moun-
tains above the seven thousand foot altitudes.
A legend tells us that one of a band of Brown Robed Friars first
sent out by Spain to conquer the red men of California, after march-
ing weary miles over the Sierras, saw suddenly a crimson glow
through the snow. On nearer view it proved to be this blood-red
blossom. He gazed in silent awe, saying: "It is the flower of the
Saviour's precious blood, a sign that our labors will not be in vain,"
for here
"Far from Calvary's azvful summit,
Where His life was sacrificed,
Figured on the lone Sierras,
Shines the precious blood of Christ."
I have never been so fortunate as to find the flower growing in
its native haunts, but have had specimens sent me for the State
Exhibit, and in spite of its great attraction to those who were privi-
leged to see it, I regretted always that it had been taken away from
its home in the wood, where it constituted a part of that mysterious
charm supplied by beautiful growing things, but rarely seen, and but
little understood.
One cannot but wonder about the true life history of this plant
the real purpose of its existence something more than merely
being beautiful to look upon, I am sure, although that interesting-
fact, of itself, is sufficient excuse for its being.
Its only accredited economic value is that it furnished a tooth-
ache medicine for the Indian. After all, it was the aborigines who
best understood nature's secrets, and with their passing she is closing
the pages of a volume more interesting than that which is written.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 41
vm
BABY BLUE EYES (Nemophila)
42 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Baby Blue Eyes
(Nemophila insignis Dougl.)
By Bertha M. Rice
Baby Blue Eyes, Nemophila insignis Dougl., is the daintiest
and fairest of wildings ; it is happily named, for its ethereal loveli-
ness makes as straight an appeal to our heart and reminds of naught
so much as that blue which is like the blue of a baby's eye. "Har-
binger of Spring" was the poetic title bestowed upon it by David
Douglas, the great Scotch botanist and explorer, nearly a cen-
tury ago.
California, at that time, was an unexplored wilderness ; but the
fame of her wonderful wild gardens had been circulated abroad.
Among the exploring expeditions that had visited this coast were
a number of scientists, and many herbarium specimens had been
preserved, while seeds of the wild 'plants had been sent back to
European countries and planted in botanical gardens. A number
of these flowers were so beautiful and unusual in appearance that
in 1824 the Royal Horticultural Society of London sent David
Douglas, a young Scotch gardener and a well-known botanist,
famous for his love for flowers, as well as for his great knowledge
of plant life, to this coast for the purpose of collecting specimens
and seeds of its marvelous flowers and trees, not only for the
advancement of science, but for the enrichment of European gar-
dens. He sailed around the Horn, stopping first at Vancouver,
and then came on down to Washington and Oregon. He studied
extensively the coniferous forests of the coast, and although a
number of scientists had preceded him and had recorded more or
less information regarding its remarkable plant life, it is conceded
that David Douglas gave to the public its first accurate knowledge
of our world-famous trees and of many of our most beautiful
flowers. It was David Douglas who, during an exciting experience
with the Indians, first discovered the Sugar Pine (Pinus lamber-
tiana Dougl.). But there are several trees, including the Douglas
Spruce or Fir, and numerous field flowers that bear the name of this
brave and devoted scientist.
David Douglas returned to England in a year or so, but came
back to California, in 1831, to make an exhaustive study of our
wild flowers. He landed at San Francisco and went immediately
to Monterey. It was then autumn, which is not California's favor-
able season of bloom. The Mexicans and Indians were somewhat
unfriendly to strangers at the time and they looked upon the young
botanist with suspicion. He persisted in his undertaking, however,
and soon discovered many rare plant species, entirely new to science.
Douglas passed through some exciting adventures and overcame
innumerable difficulties while botanizing in the wilderness. But
when spring arrived with all her floral splendors, we find this hard-
working Scotchman still pursuing his investigations, and enthusing
over an entirely new specimen a bonny blue blossom, whose shy
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 43
loveliness delighted this plant enthusiast. The first flower he took
in hand that spring day, he tells us, was the "beautiful wild goose-
berry (Ribes speciosum), a flower not surpassed in beauty by the
finest Fuchsia." However, this bloom had previously been de-
scribed by another. The second blossom he gathers on that inter-
esting occasion is entirely new, and in writing to a friend he speaks
of it as "a humble but lovely plant, the harbinger of California
spring." Just why the botanist should have designated this flower
as "harbinger of California spring" has seemed to puzzle some
people. Many outdoor enthusiasts who commune with our wild
flowers in their native haunts will tell you how absolutely unreliable
a floral calendar can be. They may ask with the poet, "When is
spring in California?" Our native flowers, Nemophila as well as
others, have a habit of blooming in season or out of season. I have
found the Baby Blue Eyes blooming in February, and at the same
time gave greetings to any number of other friendly little faces
such as Milk Maids, Red Maids, Wake Robins, and a host of pretty,
shy dwellers of the woods and fields ; while Manzanita, Flowering
Currant and other blossoms had held high carnival with the bees
and butterflies long before their arrival. California springs are not
as other springtides and cannot be reckoned by the calendar. It is
unfair to the rest of the beauties who are doing their best to lead
the procession of vernal handmaidens to the spring to give prece-
dence to one who is occasionally tardy in opening her pretty blue
eyes ; but her little ladyship was a great favorite with Douglas, and
we are not surprised that he sought to honor so exquisite a darling.
Most people are unaware of the fact that Baby Blue Eyes, so
illy appreciated on her native heath, is now one of the rq^t cher-
ished annuals in European gardens. Indeed, foreign catalo^^ are
said to speak of it as "the most precious of annuals" ; fo^^pivid
Douglas carefully gathered its seeds along with those of many other
interesting species and sent them back to the jflfeal Horticultural
Gardens, and while a few were kept merely as lljBrftcal curiosities,
at least one hundred and thirty varieties of California annuals were
continually grown and the seeds were distributed ti all parts of the
world. It is rather thrilling to think that CaliforiT|a!s wild flowers
long since transformed the gardens of Europe, which contained but
few annuals before their introduction. Ribes speciosum (our wild
fuchsia-flowered gooseberry) and Nemophila insignis Dougl. (Baby
Blue Eyes) are considered the most popular.
Baby Blue Eyes is a low-growing, herbaceous little plant that
is, or was, quite generally distributed about the State. In the days
gone by, when these bonny blossoms were as free as the air they
breathed, the Nemophilas, in places, literally sheathed the earth for
miles with that color which seemed but a reflection of heaven's own
azure, or together with their closest friends and companions, the
pretty Creamcups, they wove dainty carpets of softest creams and
heavenly blues, converting hills and plains into dreams of fairy-
land, which have given way to cultivated fields, cities and towns or
well-cropped pasture lands.
44 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
In Europe the Nemophila is frequently called the "California
Bluebell," but it is not in the least bell-shaped, unless one is con-
sidering its half-opened buds. It is somewhat saucer-shaped; a
clear, bright blue in color, with a white center, delicately veined with
blue; its blossoms vary in size and color and are from a half inch
to an inch or more across. The finest specimens I have ever seen
were growing in the Bay Region. It is a member of the Phacelia
division of the Water-leaf Family. Nemophila means "Lover of
the Grove" ; but, quite to the contrary, the plant formerly covered
vast open spaces, and occasional fields of them may still be found.
Dr. Abrams, in his "Flora of Los Angeles and Vicinity," says that
this species is quite frequent on sandy or dry plains and foothills
throughout that range. These flowers are extremely sensitive in
nature and seem to shrink from the near approach of unthinking-
people, but respond wonderfully to congenial influences. Insignis
means plainly marked, and their delicate blue veins trace straight to
honey cells for their lovers, the bees, who hover over the blossoms
in ecstasy. They are rich in nectar. The family name, Water-leaf,
is misleading; the leaves of the members of this family were for-
merly supposed to have water cavities. This is incorrect and is only
one of the innumerable and regrettable errors that somehow have
crept into the naming of certain plant families and species. The
Spanish Californians, after their own quaint fashion, call these
pretty blossoms "Mariana," after the Virgin Mother.
There are a number of species of Nemophila and some botanists
have divided them into innumerable sub-species, which but serve to
confuse and mislead the non-botanical ; but the Baby Blue Eyes is an
easily distinguished variety; when once seen, it is not forgotten.
The most commonly distributed Nemophila, frequently found
in the valleys of the Coast Ranges and Sierras, and quite common
in the Bay Regions, along roadsides and in ravines, is one so pale
an azure as to be almost white ; it is often called, simply, Baby Eyes
because finely dotted with tiny, pale blue or sometimes faint purple
specks. This variety really does prefer the borders of moist wood-
lands and underbrush, thereby perhaps meriting the name "Nemo-
phila" Lover of the Grove. It varies in color from almost white
to pale blue.
The purple-spotted Nemopila, N. maculata Benth., is commonly
found in the Yosemite and in moderate altitudes of the Sierra
Nevada Range. It is popular with visitors and is easily recognized
by its saucer-shaped blooms, an inch or more in diameter, and its
striking colors white, dotted with purple, with a deep purple blotch
at the tip of each lobe of the corolla. The concolor variety occa-
sionally found in the same locality lacks this showy purple blotch
on the petals.
The Climbing Nemophila, N. aurita Lindl., is found in shady
places in the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills, but is far
more common in the south, where it is said to have once been very
popular, for some reason, with the Spanish senoritas, who were
wont to wear its blossoms on gala occasions. This Nemophila some-
what resembles nightshade and is rather coarse in appearance. The
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 45
back of the leaves and stems are covered with little hooked bristles,
which enable it to climb over other plants, and the low shrubbery
and underbrush is sometimes thickly covered with its dull purple
and white blossoms.
It is safe to say that the frail little flower, Nemophila insignis
Dougl., or Baby Blue Eyes, as all love to call it, is a favorite flower
with all, and particularly with children. No sweeter blossom ever
traced our land. Yet in common with many of her beautiful sister
owers, who have become candidates for extermination, she now
seeks hiding places and more remote localities for her colonies. Year
by year they creep farther and farther away from the centers of
population in their eagerness to escape the destructive hand of man
and to continue the propagation of their species.
In future days when the sweet little blossoms have been almost
wholly eradicated from California landscapes, our children's chil-
dren, undoubtedly, will purchase seeds of the cultivated varieties,
from the florists, many of whom now get them from Europe. They
will grow them with great pride in their gardens. Perhaps some
one will remember and say of this flower: "Long ago, the fields for
miles around were blue, blue as the sky, with its blossoms."
"You never miss the singer till the sweet-voiced bird has flown.
You never miss the color of the flozuer till it's gone."
46
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Blow Balls
Seed Globe
of
California
Dandelion
" . , . dandelion this,
A college youth that flashes for a day,
All gold, anon, he doffs his gaudy suit,
Touched by the magic hand of some grave bishop,
And all at once becomes a reverent divine how sleek.
;jc * * * #
"But let me tell you in the pompous globe
Which rounds the dandelion head is couched
Divinity most rare." HURTIS.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 47
The Yellow Dandelion
Compositae
By Bertha M. Rice
"If you are going to write about flowers," said a young friend,
looking over my shoulder, "don't waste your time on common weeds.
Who do you suppose will read about a dandelion and who is there
that cares about such a common pest?"
And straightway I changed my text and erased the more com-
monplace statements I had made regarding this blossom like a
miniature sun this lovely though lowly flower.
"Very well," I said. "Come into the library, and I will show
you lines of beauty and rich gems of thought penned by some of the
world's greatest thinkers and inspired writers."
Here is what John Burroughs, the eminent naturalist, had to
say of this common dandelion :
"After its first blossoming comes the second and finer and more
spiritual inflorescence, when its stalk, dropping its more earthly and
carnal flower, shoots upward and is presently crowned by a globe
of most delicate and ethereal texture. It is like the poet's dream,
which succeeds his rank and golden youth. This globe is a fleet of
a hundred airy balloons ; each one bears a seed which is destined to
drop far from the parent source."
James Hurtis, an English poet, expresses similar thought in his
"Village Curate" :
Henry Ward Beecher speaks of dandelions as "golden kisses
all over the cheeks of the meadow," and Thoreau calls them the gold
which he has on deposit in country banks, the interest on which is
to be health and enjoyment. James Russell Lowell wrote no finer
poem than his appreciative tribute to the yellow dandelion :
"Dear common flower that groweth beside the way,
Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold,
First pledge of blithesome May,
Which children pluck, and, full of pride, uphold,
High-hearted buccaneers, o'er joyed that they
An El Dorado in the grass have found,
Which not the rich earth's ample round
May match in wealth, thou art more dear to me
Than all the prouder summer blooms may be.
* * # * *
' 'Tis the spring's largess, which she scatters now,
To rich and poor alike, with lavish hand,
Tho' most hearts never understand
To take it at God's value, but pass by
The offered wealth with unrezvarded eye."
Dandelions are not only an exceedingly characteristic and pleas-
ant feature of the landscape, but are continually used to embellish
prose and poetry as instanced by Bret Harte in a "Blue Grass Pene-
48 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
lope." The following lines will recall to mind many similar visions
of loveliness on California shores : "One afternoon she thought the
long, sad waste before her window had caught some tint of gayer
color from the sunset ; a week later she found a blazing landscape of
poppies, broken here and there by blue lagoons of lupines, by pools
of daisies, by banks of dog roses, by broad, outlying shores of
dandelions." Alfalfa fields in the Sierra regions are sometimes
yellow with its blossoms early in the spring, before the first cuttings.
An Algonquin tale, a legend of considerable beauty, tells us
that Shawwondasse, the South Wind, sighing under a Magnolia
tree, one day spied a slender maiden with golden tresses; but the
South Wind was languid with the scent of Magnolia blossoms, and
he neglected calling to the golden-haired divinity; until, one day,
he woke to find no longer the slender girl, with the crown of golden
glory, but a faded gray creature, the ghost of his dreaming. Then
knew he that his brother, the North Wind, with his chill breath, had
blighted her. As he gazed, stricken with sorrow, the white hair
fell from the maiden's head and she was gone. Other maidens with
golden glory came and went, but Shawwondasse sighed ever for the
slender girl with the yellow hair as he had first seen her.
This same soft, silvery globe of dandelion down has furnished
the children from time immemorial with the "Blow Balls" so closely
associated with the days of childhood.
Dandelion w4th globe of doum,
The school boy's clock in every town,
Which the truant puffs amain
To conjure lost hours again.
Who is there among us that has not at some time in our lives
blown the feathery seeds from these blooms to see whether mother
wanted us. If a single downy plume was left on the stalk, we could
play a little longer; and if we wanted very much to play a little
longer, I fear we did not blow very hard. In the language of flowers
the dandelion is the "rustic oracle," while its seed globe means
"Depart." In the long ago these blow-balls were often consulted
by young people as oracles. A lover would gather one and, care-
fully plucking its light feathers, would whisper sweet messages as
he blew them toward the place where his sweetheart was waiting;
while the maiden, wishing to know that her lover was thinking of
her, puffed thrice at the soft down, and if there was then a single
feather left, she knew that she was not forgotten.
These gossamer seed globes are also used as a barometer to
predict fine or stormy weather. If the down blows off the dandelion
when there is no wind, it is a sign of rain. Among the country
people of Switzerland the flower is known as the shepherd's clock,
for in that country it is said to open at five o'clock in the morning
and close at eight in the evening, and the shepherds often use it
to guess at the time of day. There are many superstitions regarding
the flower and to dream of them is supposed to denote misfortune
or treachery on the part of some loved one. In many ways these
blossoms are popular with children. In spite of their acrid taste,
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 49
little girls love to separate their long, slender stems with their sharp
little teeth and with their lips roll them into tantalizing curls. Or
the hollow stems are cut into beads and made into chains 'and brace-
lets by the children. Small lads sometimes make miniature trom-
bones of the stems, the pitch of the tiny instruments being varied
according to the length of the trombone.
Even after the little seed children have all left the parent stalk,
its stem is still conspicuous and has given rise to at least two of
its popular names. In the Middle Ages the dandelion was known as
"Monk's Head" or "Priest's Crown." Father Tabb says: "With
locks of gold today; tomorrow silver-gray; then blossom-bald." It
was this "blossom-bald" that was supposed to resemble a monk's
shaven head. The "blossom-bald" head is an interesting feature of
the plant. It is the little house in which all of the slender golden
fairies have lived ; for the dandelion is not a flower ; it is a whole
community. The dandelion mother often owns fully two hundred
of these minute yellow blossoms which form the composite flower;
and carefully she has reared and guarded her children. Like the
mother hen she lovingly gathers them under the protection of her
wing in rainy or inclement weather, closing them tightly in the
little flower house, and only when the weather is fair do they share
their precious pollen and wealth of nectar with innumerable mem-
bers of the insect world. When these flower children have lived
their brief day of happiness, the kind mother again encloses them
safe in her sheltering heart, where they mature their seeds, only to
reappear in ethereal beauty, provided with delicate silver wings all
ready to fly away into the wide, wild world to establish colonies of
their own. The parent dandelion, with all her children flown away,
has somewhat the appearance of a delicate parchment with a tiny
mark at the center of each figure where the seed was attached. I
can only liken it to a patient mother whose life work is finished, but
whose every wrinkle is a line of beauty.
Another name and an unpoetical one frequently used for these
flowers in the Middle Ages was "swine's snout," due to the flower's
singular habit of closing its blossoms during unfavorable weather
and also when maturing its seeds. The name dandelion came from
"dent-de-lion," meaning lion's tooth. The jagged leaves are sup-
posed to somewhat resemble a lion's tooth. While others claim that
its roots gave rise to the name. Professor De Gubernatis connects
the name with the sun (Helios) and adds that a lion was the animal
symbol of the sun and that all plants named after him are essentially
plants of the sun. The dandelion bears similar names in nearly
all countries. In England the blossoms were called "dazzles" and
"dashels" or "dashel flowers." This "gamin of the fields," as it is
sometimes called, is a native of Greece, but has emigrated to all
parts of the civilized world.
The dandelion need never be put on the protected list of Cali-
fornia flowers, or of any other place for that matter. It is quite
capable of taking care of itself. It is wholly impossible to eradicate
this determined globe trotter, so many and ingenious are its devices
for perpetuating its species. Volumes could be written about the
50 Popular Studies of California Wild Floivers
wise little plant, and its virtues are many in spite of the fact that it
is considered such a pest in the East and is the despair of town
people, whose lawns it will persist in occupying.
Professor Baily, of Cornell University, said that dandelions in
his lawn were a great trouble to him until he learned to love them
and then the sight of them gave him keenest pleasure. Mrs. Anna
B. Comstock, of Cornell, in her handbook of Nature Study, gives a
valuable illustration of this plant's tenacious hold on life. She says :
"One spring when all the vegetables in my garden were callow
weaklings, I found there, in their midst, a dandelion rosette, with
ten great leaves spreading out and completely shading a circle ten
inches in diameter ; I said, 'Look here, Madame, this is my garden !'
and I pulled up the squatter. But I could not help paying admiring
tribute to the tap-root, which lacked only an inch of being a foot in
length. It was smooth, whitish, fleshy and, when cut, bled a milky
juice showing that it was full of food ; and it was as strong from
the end-pull as a whip-cord; it also had a bunch of rather fine
rootlets about an inch below the surface of the soil and an occasional
rootlet farther down ; and then I said, 'Madame, I beg your pardon ;
I think this was your garden and not mine/ ' ;
The Eastern variety is not so common on this Coast, except
that it is very fond of damp lawns ; and it always seems to find a
way to get ahead of us. Strangely enough, on lawns, it blossoms
on stems so short that the lawn mower often cannot cut it. But
if "given an inch" it "takes an ell," or indeed, if banished from the
lawn, the whole roadside. When blooming in the meadows or high
grasses, this brave plant, with uncanny foresight, will grow until
it often towers above its neighbors. Specimens have been found
nearly three feet high; their bright yellow blossoms, richly laden
with sweets, were bound to attract winged visitors, which assist in
pollenization and illustrate the interdependence between vegetable
and insect life.
Stock will not eat dandelions ; that is one of the clever ways
this intelligent plant has of preventing itself from becoming exter-
minated. It has gathered the acrid juices from the ground, which
are distasteful to cattle. Unless its exceedingly long and strong
tap-roots are cut deeply, the plant keeps sending up new and more
vigorous growths, and its round mass of feathery down is quickly
scattered by the winds and other carriers to the four parts of the
earth. Its seeds are wellnigh indestructible.
More than one hundred thousand pounds of dried dandelion
roots (Taraxacum) are imported annually from Europe for medi-
cinal purposes notwithstanding its abundance in this country; to
make gathering pay, cheap labor must be employed. As a remedy,
it has been used for consumption, for fever, for liver troubles and
as a drink to improve the complexion. Indians had a high regard
for its medicinal qualities. They also devoured great quantities of
the plants for food. The Iroquois Indians would search for days
for them and it is stated that the amount one Indian would consume
both in the raw state and cooked, is almost beyond belief. It is a
common sight in this country to see foreigners gathering dancle-
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 51
lions ; Italians in particular like its raggedy leaves, which they cook
for greens. This was a favorite dish with early settlers and is com-
monly used in some places today. It is said that if the leaves are
blanched when young and tender, they make a fine salad served with
French dressing. The French-Canadians prepare a "bitter salad"
from its roots. In Germany, dandelion roots are roasted by the
peasants and ground for coffee. We are told that it makes an excel-
lent substitute for coffee. In the island of Minorca, when the people
were suffering from famine caused by locusts, the inhabitants were
enabled to eke out an existence on dandelion roots and greens.
When we are inclined to question the right of this pestiferous plant
to exist in a world decorated with man-made lawns and gardens,
cultivated grain fields and short-sighted individuals, it is well to
remember that Mother Nature has large families to provide for and
innumerable tiny mouths to feed. Without considering the dande-
lion as a remedial agency or its food values to nations and peoples
in times of famine and stress, it is interesting to note that ninety-
three different insects gather sustenance from its blossoms. After
its gay colors have faded, birds devour its seeds and weave its
down into their soft little nests. California has a dandelion of its
own, of another genus. The fluffy seed globes of the Western spe-
cies are most exquisite and are a conspicuous feature of autumn
roadsides, lending a touch of ethereal beauty to the landscape as they
hover over the dry grasses of waste places. If these seed globes
are gathered early, just before expanding, they will remain orna-
mental for a long time. The Spanish-Californians were especially
fond of them.
The Western dandelion (Troximon grandiflorum Gray) is
closely related to the Eastern dandelion. It has handsome yellow
flower heads with deeply cut, lance-shaped leaves, and is a perennial
herb with a strong, deep tap-root. It is sometimes two feet or more
high and is common on plains and hillsides from Southern California
to Washington during the spring and summer months. Troximon,
unlike its close relative Taraxacum and from which it can hardly
be distinguished by amateurs, is indigenous to the New World, and
is found principally west of the Mississippi River. There are more
than a dozen species and varieties found on the Pacific Coast. Some
of these have orange-colored flowers, while others are of a purplish
color.
The desert dandelion, Malocothrix fenderli, is a pretty little
plant growing only a few inches tall, with a dainty rosette of pale,
blue-green leaves and light yellow blossoms. It is closely related
to the common dandelion, but more frequently found in the desert
regions of Arizona.
With all your faults, we love you still, yellow Dandelions, and
the world would be a lonelier place without your friendly, familiar
faces smiling at us from the wayside. You are at once the most
despised and the best loved of blossoms. You will always be the
companion and comforter of little children and you play a noble part
in the life about you, doing your best to lighten the lone places
where other blooms are not.
52 Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvers
Iris (Iridaceae)
Oh flower-de-luce, bloom on, and let the river
Linger to kiss thy feet!
Oh flower of song, bloom on, and make forever
The zvorld more fair and sweet!
LONGFELLOW, "Flower-de-Luce."
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 53
Iris (Iridaceae)
By Roland Rice
The nine or more species of Iris we have in California bring
a message of the return of fair seasons in the rainbow tints of their
blooms. There is the pale light of dawn, touched with purple and
cream, in the Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) to be found during
May and June in the Coast Range mountains ; and in the deep blue
of the small Ground Iris (Iris macrosiphon) are reflected the azure
skies of winter and spring, on the green carpeted hills of San Mateo
County and northward along the coast. There is a lighter blue, for
the later seasons, when the Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis)
spills a flood of color over the fields of the Sierras and becomes
almost white at the desert rim of Mono County. Lavender and
yellow are the Hartweg Iris (Iris hartwegii) in the shade of the
coniferous forests on the middle heights of the Sierras in early
summer; and from Point Isabel to Monterey, there are the light
violet petals and white sepals touched with spots of orange and
veined with lilac of the Bog Iris (/. longipetala). They are brave
flowers, these Iris, which form stout clumps in the wet, wind-swept
marshes of our coast, or struggle with dry slopes and the gloom of
forests ; so that they have become toughened under their smooth
texture, and their slender leaves have strong fibers as proof of their
hardiness.
The Iris Family is a large one of over five hundred members
and about fifty groups, of which more than one hundred and seventy
species are in the Iris group. The rest are known in our gardens
as Gladioli, Ixia, Trigidia, Crocus, and in our fields the Sisyrin-
chium, which is our only other genus in California and contains
about four members known as Blue Eyed Grass and Golden Eyed
Grass. The Blue Flag is characteristic of the Eastern States ; in
Europe the yellow varieties are found, but in California they are
most variable in colors.
The Iris has held a prominent place in history and legend from
olden times. In ancient Babylon and Assyria it was known as the
symbol of royalty. The Egyptians used the flower in their archi-
tecture. On the brow of the Sphinx, and the scepters of their rulers,
it was the symbol of eloquence and power. The Greeks gave the
Iris the name of the "Goddess of the Rainbow," because they were
arrayed in her colors, and were used to indicate a good message ; for
the goddess "Iris," as Juno's messenger, held her position by bearing
only pleasant tidings. If the translation of the Hebrew word
"Supnh" is correct, it was among the Flags, beside the river Nile,
that Moses was laid, where his sister could watch him.
As a religious symbol, the Iris is sacred to the Virgin Mary;
and Charles VI. of France reduced the number of fleur-de-lis, used
in emblazoning the French coat-of-arms, to three, supposedly in
recognition of the Holy Trinity. The flowers were chosen as the
floral emblem of King Luis VII., the gallant crusader, and were
called by his soldiers the "Flowers of Luis," which, later, it is
54 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
thought, was contracted to "Fleur De Luce," and again to its present
form, "Fleur-de-lis." It was incorporated in the coat-of-arms of
France and used to decorate the crown. Many bloody battles were
fought when Edward III. claimed France for the English crown and
added the flowers to England's coat-of-arms. It was only in 1801
that they disappeared from the English shield. Shakespeare makes
mention of the plants, in "Henry VI.," when a messenger enters
and exclaims :
"Awake, awake, English nobility!
Let not sloth dim your honors new begot;
Cropped are the flower-de-luces in your anus;
Of England's coat one-half is cut away."
The roots of these plants were esteemed during the Middle Ages
for their supposed medicinal qualities and were used in the prepara-
tion of about forty different remedies, guaranteed to cure ailments
ranging from sore throat to broken bones and the disorders of
teething babies. A perfumed oil was obtained from some varieties,
and in Italy and Japan they make perfumes and face powders that
are much valued at the present time. Orris-root is obtained from
the Florentine Iris of Italy. Nothing seemed to escape the Indian
of California when he depended upon nature for a livelihood, and
it is not surprising that he found the stout fibers in our Iris leaf and
drew them out to fashion ropes, nets and snares.
The Iris has been called the "poet's flower" and has had a large
place in the literature of the past. But they have not always found
favor with writers, for Thoreau, that great lover of flowers, for
some strange reason disliked them, and said: "They are too showy
and gaudy, like some women's bonnets." In strong contrast are the
following rich lines from an unknown poet :
"The iris grown between- my place and the neighbors
Is just burnishing in its deepest color and glory;
I wish that some one would come and see it
Before it withers away, and returns to the dust."
Mary Austin, in her "Land of Little Rain," found the Iris tint-
ing the fields with a fine touch of color, but in that region it was "a
sketchy flower," a thing of little beauty in the individual blossoms.
But along the coast and in more favored regions the flowers are
quite stately enough to merit the lines of Holmes :
"It blooms in May and June.
O'er her tall blades,
The crested fleur-de-lis,
Like blue-eyed Pallas,
Towers erect and free."
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
55
Johnny- Jump-Up (Viola pedunculata)
"Some plants, in gardens only found,
Are raised with pains and care;
God scatters violets all around,
They blossom everywhere."
G. J. CLARKE.
56 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Violets (Violaceae)
Johnny- Jump-Up and Others
By Roland Rice
Of the myriads of wonderful wild flower things which carpet
the fields and woods of California in the springtime, there is one
family whose members are always recognized by their surpassing
loveliness and dainty ways ; their beauty always makes one pause ;
we have but one genus of this plant, Viola, which is an old Latin
word, first used by Virgil.
According to Greek legends, the violet was first created by
Jupiter, and it was later dedicated to Venus, being much appreciated
by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The violet was called "lo" by
the Greeks and was as cherished a device of the Ionic Athenians as
are the Fleur-de-lis of France and the Rose of England.
In the Middle Ages, the flowers were given by ladies to their
knights as symbols of faithfulness, and later, the first Napoleon and
his followers adopted it as their secret emblem. Napoleon was
styled "Pierre La Violette," and the flowers worn by a Frenchman
denoted faithfulness of the wearer to the fallen chieftain's cause.
Because violet is the name of a lavender or purple shade, many
people think that this is the predominating color of the flowers ; but
this is not the case. In California, there are quite as many yellow
varieties, as well as those having varied colors. Indeed, all violets
are said to have once been white; one variety, some legends say,
became purple because the forlorn and sorrowing Venus in seeking
Adonis was wounded by an impious thorn which pierced her foot.
The violets, with reverence and sympathy, bowed their pallid heads
and caught the drops of divine blood. Shakespeare gives another
version, as told by Oberon, King of the Fairies, to Puck, wherein
he relates that Cupid loosed a love-shaft at a vestal virgin :
"Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell ;
It fell upon a little ivestern flower
Before, milk-white; now purple with love's wound
And maidens call it 'Love-in-Idleness.' }:
It was Shakespeare alone who could create the exquisite pas-
sage to be found in "Twelfth Night," where, while listening to the
plaintive music, the Duke desires :
"That strain again; it had a dying fall;
Oh, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odor."
Shakespeare, as the chief of poets, has immortalized the flower
in many ways and mostly as a symbol of modesty and maidenhood.
He puts Ophelia in her grave with the words: "Lay her i' the
earth, and from her fair and unpolluted flesh, may violets spring."
Almost every poet has indulged his fancy with the pretty
flowers. Keats often wrote of "violet beds nestling in sylvan
bowers." Shelley, Sir Walter Scott, Goethe, Herrick, Tennyson,
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 57
and a host of others, from the times of Homer and Virgil to the
present day, have sung their praises of these blooms. Of the violets
to be found in California, the one known as "Mountain Heart's
Ease" has been celebrated in a poem by Bret Harte.
There are many varieties of violets, native to California, and
they may be found blooming almost all over the State in spring and
summer, but are rapidly disappearing, in some localities, which is
a fact that we regret, and we might say with John Fletcher in the
"Queen of Corinth" :
"Violets plucked, the sweetest rain
Makes not fresh nor grow again!'
Some of our California violets are especially lovely and many
of them are rare. There are seventeen or more species, blooming-
through a wide range of colors. The beautiful "Dog Tooth Violet"
(Erythronium) is not a member of the genus, but belongs to the
Lily Family. There is a Dog Violet, Viola canina, growing in the
Coast Range and in the Sierras, which is a violet color turning to
a reddish purple. Many of the rest, like "Johnny-Jump-Up," have
yellow as the prevailing color. A few are conspicuous with white,
purple or violet markings.
While yellow is the predominating shade for California violets,
it is not surprising, for this is the land whose golden wealth is sup-
posed to have nurtured the Golden Poppy; and so, too, it seems
that little "Johimy-Jump-Up" and his companions have made free
with these riches for their fine colors.
"Johnny- Jump-Up" (Viola pedunculata) is a fairy-winged,
brownish-yellow flower, which is found throughout the Coast Range
and its valleys. No flower is more loved by the children. Some
people may think it more proper to call this little blossom a pansy ;
but the word "pansy," which is from the French word "pensee,"
only makes a distinction, in a popular sense, of these larger flow-
ered and less fragrant violets. So it is not surprising that these
large, golden violets, with the upper petal, which has the dark
brown color on the back, and the lower petals, with hairy lines of
a purplish color at the base, inside, are often called the Yellow
Pansy. The stems of this flower are from three to six inches tall ;
the blossom bends over at the spur, and the doubled petal gives one
the impression that a host of little fairies robed in purest gold, with
soft brown wings, have assembled on the grass tips of some sylvan
glade to hear the message of a buzzing bumble-bee or to dance in
the clear sunshine with the gentle winds. They are seen but to be
loved, and though they be called Violets, Pansies, Johnny- Jump-Up,
or by the Spanish children's name of "Gallitos" (which mean?
"Little Roosters"), we may unite with the sentiments of James
Whitcomb Riley, who sang:
"Pansies! Pansies! How I love you, Pansies!
Jaunty faced, laughing lipped and deivey eyed with glee;
Would my song might blossom out in little five-leafed stanzas
As delicate in fancies
As your beauty is to me."
58 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
In the language of flowers, the Yellow Violet stands for "rural
happiness"; the Blue Violet means "faithfulness," and the Pansy
means "thoughts." Perhaps one might say of the "Johnny-
Jump-Up" that it fulfills its part for the rural happiness which it
brings in its haunts on the open fields, and is faithful in returning
with the seasons, when it may still give thoughts for the poet who
is to be found in all of us. It seems to have been the special pur-
pose of violets to delight the poets, for many volumes could be
compiled of the writings concerning them. Aside from the Rose,
perhaps no flower has been more written about.
I have found the little Redwood Violet growing in the depths
of those mighty forest areas, where the filtered beams of sunlight
give a warm glow to the great columnar trunks of the monarchial
trees, whose vast height is lost in their purple shadows and their
crowns of hazy green. There is a majesty and grandeur in their
dim cathedral aisles which makes one reverent; and finding these
little yellow violets growing about the forest floor, one wonders if
they, too, have come down through the centuries with the giant
trees. Their flowers are pale yellow and the sparsely leafed plants
multiply vegetatively by their filiform root stocks. The larger
flowers of these plants, while they secrete honey, are often sterile,
for violets are not obliged to depend upon insects for pollenization.
They have little buds, sometimes hidden under the foliage, which
are without petals, and abundantly fertile, and do not open until
the seeds are ready to be ejected.
Among the rare species of violets to be found in California are
Hall's Violet, of Humboldt County, which is yellow and deep violet
in color, and whose leaves are three-parted ; and Viola cuneata, of
Humboldt County, which is deep purple and white. And then there
is the small White Violet ( Viola blanda) , which is white, delicately
veined with purple, and occasionally found in the wet places of the
Sierras; and Shelton's Violet (Viola sheltonii), which is yellow,
veined with purple, and found but rarely in the middle ranges of the
Sierras. Among. other California violets may be mentioned Beck-
with's Violet or the "Mountain Heart's Ease," which is similar to
Shelton's in coloring, but with leaves much dissected ; it is often
found growing among the sagebrush in open places of the central
and eastern Sierras. Nuttall's Violet (Viola nutallii) is a large,
yellow, brown and purple violet found in Northern California, from
Humboldt to Modoc County; and in the eastern Sierras one some-
times finds Viola cucullata. In color it is a deep, clear lavender to
purple. Then there is that moisture-loving variety, Viola glabella,
bright yellow and purple veined, growing in wet places in woods of
the Coast Range and Sierras. The Cut Leaf Violet, Violet doug-
lasi, is widely distributed on the open hillsides of Coast Range and
Sierras. Its leaves are much dissected, and the flowers are large,
orange-yellow and brownish-purple in color. It was named for that
noted botanist and collector of nearly a century ago, and for whom
many of our finest flowers and trees are named. This variety is
now cultivated in English gardens ; while the Blue English Violet
has escaped from California gardens and covers many waste places
Popular Studies of California Wild Ploivers 59
about San Francisco and Oakland. This blue violet is the one from
which perfume is manufactured. It came originally from Asia, but
was improved in Europe.
The Pine Violet, Viola lob at a, is common in the coast moun-
tains north of San Francisco. Its yellow and purple blossoms
furnish a joy of the out-of-doors when found carpeting the shaded
woods.
The Western Heart's Ease is to be found in the Redwood dis-
trict and in the shady woods of the Coast Range. It has two upper
white petals, violet purple on the outside ; the other petals are white,
and the lateral with a deep purple spot at the base, which probably
gave it the specific name in science, V. ocellata, which means "spot-
ted with little eyes." It certainly merits its more popular name,
"Heart's Ease," for the comforting presence of these shy exquisites
thickly sown amid the ferny carpets of the wooded hills lend a joy
to the out-of-doors such as more showy but less loved blossoms are
unable to give.
Herrick called violets "Maids of Honor to the Spring," and
they seem to find a place to proclaim her presence everywhere, for
they grow in the small crevices of the towering cliffs on the high
Sierras and over the open fields near the coast and in the depths
of the shady woods. Some may be found growing in open spaces
among the sagebrush of the drier and more arid regions, in moist
places and in dry spots.
Lord Byron sang:
"The morning star of all the flowers.
The pledge of daylight's lengthen d hours.
And 'mid the roses, ne'er forget
The virgin, virgin violet."
60
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
m
THE WESTERN THISTLE
Po pillar Studies of California Wild Flozvers 61
Thistles
By Roland Rice
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth
to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the fields!'
GENESIS iii-18.
It seems to be in the Bible that the first mention of Thistles is
to be found, and they are mentioned as a part of the primal curse.
But perhaps few other flowers are loved as the Scotch love their
Thistle, and few other blooms have so many legends concerning
them. The Thistles are, however, interesting not alone for their
legends, but for their variety and habits, while some are of unusual
beauty. There are many types of these plants and most of them
belong to the largest of the plant groups, the Compositae, with
names such as Carduus, Centaurea, Cnicus, etc. The name
"Thistle," however, is sometimes applied to plants belonging to
other genera because of their spiny leaves and stems. We have
the "Thistle-sage," "Thistle-poppy," and others.
There are at least nineteen native Thistles in this State, not
counting the globe-trotting varieties which have come here from
Europe and Asia. They may be found blooming in a wonderful
array of colors. Most of them secrete a very sweet honey nectar
and are favorites with bees and butterflies. The California Thistle,
Carduus calif ornicus, is a branching plant, from two to six feet
tall, and has many dark, bluish-green leaves, and flowers nearly
three inches across, creamy-white, or purplish at times, in color. It
is common in the Sierras, including the Yosemite. The Western
Thistle, Carduus occidentalis, is frequent in the Bay Region and
quite well distributed all over the State. It is about three feet tall,
with large, spiny leaves. The flower is about two inches long,
about as thick, the base tipped with brown spines and the top with
tubular, red or wine-colored blooms. Some of the native Thistles
are very decorative in appearance and should find a place in our
gardens.
To indicate that there are still interesting plants to be found
that have not yet been described, we might cite the instance of a
new Thistle recently discovered in the Berkeley Hills, by Miss
Walker, of the University of California Herbarium. The colors of
Thistles vary according to the conditions of their locality. It is
unfortunate that some of these plants have become such a nuisance
in our fields. But the trouble makers are mostly aliens, I believe,
and should not be considered as our native wildings.
The so-called Russian Thistle, Salsola tragus, which is related
to the Saltwort, and called a thistle because of its spiny leaves and
stems, has found its way here and is very troublesome in our fields ;
so that we may almost believe the Russian peasant tale which tells
us that the devil often sowed thistle seeds among the good seeds
of the grain fields, thereby causing much hardship to the farmers.
62 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Certain varieties of Thistles, long cultivated in the gardens of
Mediterranean regions, have emigrated to this country and now
occupy vacant lots in our cities to the exclusion of all other vegetation.
They spread rapidly and are considered among our worst weeds.
One of these is the Milk Thistle, Silybnm marianum, which was
introduced to San Francisco, about 1853, from southern Europe,
where it was cultivated for its roots, which were used like Salsify
or "vegetable oysters," and the leaves for salads or pot herbs. It
is this plant which has a pretty legend concerning it. On the jour-
ney to Egypt, we are told, when the holy family were fleeing from
Herod, the Virgin Mary stopped to nurse the Infant. Growing all
around were thistles with large green leaves and purple blossoms
(the one called Silybum marianum after the Virgin). Some drops
of milk fell on the leaves, spotting them white. For this honor, all
of the plants of this thistle afterwards appeared with white-blotched
leaves.
Others there are, of these weedy pests, which are of interest
because of the history connected with their names. Such an one,
known as the "Napa Thistle," C: melitensis, with spiny yellow
flowers, is abundant everywhere in the State. The Spanish people
called this thistle "Tocalote." It is sometimes called the "Star
Thistle," although there are two others which are also popularly
known by that name. These belong to the genus Centaur ea, being
named for one of the centaurs of Grecian mythology who was said
to have used it for healing purposes. The specific name melitensis
might naturally be thought to allude to its militant appearance
and treatment of those unfortunate enough to handle it. It is well
able to protect itself. However, this is not the case, for the name
means "Maltese." The popular name, "Star Thistle," has also
been handed down from the dark days of the -Middle Ages, when
it was likened to a popular weapon known as a "Morning Star,"
which was a war club of sharp spikes set in a metal ball, mounted
on a long handle and well calculated to make one "see stars."
Some legends go back to the days of the Picts in order to trace
the origin of the adoption of the Thistle by the Scots as a national
emblem ; but it is about the middle of the fifteenth century that it
was first used as a symbol and placed on the banner of Scotland.
The principal legend places the time of its adoption about the year
1263. Since that time, "Ye maunt med'le wi me!" is a favorite
saying with the Scotch when they see their national flower. When
the Danes were at war with'the Scots, an army of Norsemen landed
on the shores of Scotland. Finding that the Scots were encamped
at a little distance, they resolved to surprise them. Stealthily ad-
vancing upon their enemies' camp during the night, they nearly
effected their purpose, and victory seemed already within their grasp,
when one of the barefooted soldiers stepped upon a thistle. He was
unable to suppress a cry of pain. This aroused the Scots, who, worn
with fatigue, were asleep. They flew to arms and routed their
enemy. In gratitude to the plant that guarded their sleeping camp,
it was chosen to be the emblem of Scotland. This thistle may some-
times be found beside the road in California, it is said, where per-
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers .63
chance it may have escaped from the care of some Scotch gardener.
For the protection it has given the hare, one plant has been
given the name of "Hare's Palace." Gerarde, the old herbalist of
the days of Queen Elizabeth, tells us that "if the hare come under
it he is sure no beast can touch him." "Hare's Lettuce" is another
folk-name, because, according to the ancients, "when hares are
overcome with heat, they eat of an herb called Hare's Lettuce or
Sow Thistle; . . . there is no disease in this beast, the cure
whereof it does not seek in this herb." This thistle is known as
Sonchus in the language of science, and is to be found in about
three varieties flowering at all seasons of the year and scattered all
over the State. The flowers are yellow, the heads swollen at the
base "like a two-handled jug."
The Thistles have an attendant known as the "Thistle Butter-
fly." It has a long tongue capable of reaching into the deep tubular
little flowers on the flower-head, and is the favored insect upon
which the plants depend for pollenization. There is a thistle-bird
(the Green-backed Goldfinch), which seems to have a happy lot
if one may judge by its song. It feeds on the thistle seeds and makes
a lining for its nest with the fluffy down which is attached to the
seeds.
There is an old saying that first loves float from the memory
like thistle-down in a breeze. And to be as "light as thistle-down"
is a common saying and shows how these plants send their seeds,
like the dandelion, floating with their fluffy balloon upon the vagrant
winds ; and the shining fleets of its seeds may be seen cruising over
fields and towns, across rivers and everywhere as winged hopes.
When the seeds germinate, they send up a little rosette of leaves the
first season, and the next year the stems spring up and the blooms
mature seeds, then the plant dies, being a biennial.
In the language of flowers, the common thistle stands for
Austerity, the Fuller's Thistle means Misanthropy, and the Scotch
Thistle is for Retaliation. In dreams it is considered a good omen
to dream of being surrounded by thistles. But agriculturists still
consider them as a part of the primal curse.
64
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 65
Cactus (Cactaceae)
By Roland Rice
There are about thirty-seven species of the four tribes or
genera of the Cactus Family to be found in California, and they
are mostly confined to the desert areas of the southeastern part of
the State. This plant family, which has about a thousand members,
is native to North and South America, with the exception of a few
African species of Rhipsalis. While they are generally considered
to be desert plants, there are many kinds which grow in the moist
tropics and a few, such as the Rhipsalis, grow on trees like mistletoe,
and some kinds may be found as far north as Canada.
The Cactus is one of the youngest and latest developments in
plant types and it is a splendid example of the way Mother Nature
enables her children to meet the requirements of different localities.
The stems are thickened into various shapes and contain the green
coloring matter, chlorophyll, in little cells under the skin ; for they
are mostly leafless plants. They are armed with every conceivable
kind of big and little spines or thorns to protect themselves from
animals, and the skin is thickened and has but few pores to prevent
the evaporation of moisture which the plant hoards within itself.
In California the Cactus flourishes in common with the rest of
the Mexican element of plant types, growing in what is known as
the Sonoran life zone. This Sonoran zone comes up from the
Mexican deserts in two belts. The upper Sonoran zone comprises
our chaparral belt of the foothill regions and the lower zone com-
poses the desert regions of the south and extends up through the
low plains of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys.
It is in the short season of spring on the desert that the odd
forms of Cacti suddenly bear flowers of surprising beauty in varying
shades of white, pink, red, yellow, and sometimes tinged with
green. One plant, Opuntia ramosissima, which is seldom seen, has
a small brown flower, which is an unusual color for flora. Some
of these flowers open only during the day, others at night. They
have various arrangements with insects for cross pollenization, for
some depend upon night-flying moths, while others lure the honey
bees or are content with the attention of flies.
There are many plants of the desert region which are popu-
larly known as Cactus, but have no relation to that family. The
requirements of the region have given them somewhat similar habits
of thickened, leaf-like stems protected with many sharp thorns.
Among these, the Agaves, akin to the Century Plants of our gar-
dens, may be found in three varieties on the desert. They are
members of the Amaryllis Family and are related to the lilies, as
also are the Yuccas and strange Joshua Trees.
The curious forms of Cacti give to the Land of Little Rain an
appearance which is peculiarly fascinating. Their gorgeous color
display of large and showy blooms is enhanced perhaps by the lack
of foliage. This sudden flash of ephemeral beauty is but a promise
to the desert people of the rich harvest to come with the abundance
65 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
of its ripened fruit. The Cactus has a character wholly different
from its exterior appearance, and the Indians performed ancient
ceremonies to honor the Good Spirit of certain kinds at the season
of their harvest. The fruit of these plants was always a staple
food with the Indians and is much used at the present time by Mexi-
can peons. The fruits called Tunas are the ones most used, and
are usually pulpy and quite sweet, but contain many small, hard
seeds, which were also used by Indians, being ground into a meal
and cooked as a mush.
The Cacti not only supplied food to the desert people, but were
famous as a water supply in those arid regions ; and at least three
varieties (Echinocactus cylindracus, etc.) are known as bisnagas
or vegetable water barrels. These barrel-like plants have a pulpy
interior, which, when macerated, yields a quart or more of refresh-
ing, acid-like liquor, which has saved the lives of many wanderers
in that lonely land. The half wild horses of the desert regions
knew this secret and would kick these fiercely barbed melons to
pieces to obtain the pulpy mass of the interior, which was both food
and drink to them. This species (although it is not the most im-
portant of the genera by any means) plays many parts in the life
of the desert. It formed the favorite cooking utensil of desert
Indians, who hollowed out the large, cylindrical plants, in which
they cooked with the aid of hot stones and water, if it could be
obtained, or with the cactus liquid, the various cacti seeds which
they had ground into a meal and which was often a staple article
of diet with them. The pulp of this cactus, which resembles green
watermelon, now furnishes the basis of the famous cactus candy, a
favorite confection of the southland. In bloom, the Barrel Cactus
(Echinocactus} is crowned with a circlet of pretty greenish yellow
(or sometimes reddish green), cup-shaped flowers, which have
found for them a common name of "Turk's Head" or "Turban
Cactus."
There are still remnants of the ancient cactus hedges which
were planted around the old missions by the Franciscan Friars for
protection from the hostile Indians. Perhaps the good Friars
learned this excellent usage from certain small denizens of the
desert, who gather the fallen prickly joints of some of the Opuntia
species to form a barricade around their burrows to discourage
snakes, wildcats, coyotes and other enemies.
The jointed Cactus (Opuntia) is the largest group of the plant
family to be found in the State and numbers about twenty species
growing from the sea coast inland through the southland and north-
ward along the eastern Sierras into Oregon. There are two kinds,
most commonly distinguished as the Nopal or Tuna, which has
flattened, leaf-like joints, and- the Cholla (pronounced choy'a), which
has cylindrical joints, and fruit which is seldom used, because of
the unpleasant taste. The next in number are the globe-shaped and
vertically ribbed Indian Melons (Echinocactus), which have about
seven species from the coast to the interior. The name Echino is
Latin and is derived from the Greek, meaning a prickly thing like
a hedgehog or sea urchin. The word Cactus is also from the Greek
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 67
K act os, meaning a prickly plant. The word Echino is sometimes
combined with Cereus to designate a species closely related to the
Cereus type of cacti. There are about six species of Cereus to be
found in the same range as the others. The name is Latin for
"Candlestick" from the resemblance of one of the members to the
columnar form of a wax candle. Some of the Cereus forms were
highly prized for their fruit, and all bear handsome flowers, which
might be expected, as they are closely related to the widely known
and esteemed Night Blooming Cereus. The small Bird's-nest Cacti
(Mamillaria) are limited to about four species of small oval or
cylindrical, spine-bearing plants, which are recognized by their
appearance, which gives them their scientific name and also a com-
mon one. Mamillaria is well translated by the English "Nipple
Cactus," because of the protruding little nipples which cluster on
the plant.
The many kinds of cacti are interesting aside from their beau-
tiful flowers and economic uses, because of the abundance of bird
life which they sustain. They are the refuge of many birds and
small animals from that evil spirit, the coyote, and other foes. They
furnish food and are the water reservoirs of the desert, so we may
excuse these good plants for their forbidding appearance and learn
to know them as they truly are, one of Nature's most instructive
and useful flowering plants.
A Cactus is figured as a part of the Mexican coat-of-arms and
has an important place in the legend of the founding' of the capital,
Mexico City, by the ancient Aztecs, who were told by their sooth-
sayer to seek for a place where an eagle, a snake and a cactus were
to be found, and there they established themselves.
68
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 69
The Western Azalea, Rhododendron occidentals Gray
By Roland Rice
The Western Azalea grows along stream borders and the edges
of meadows and woodlands in many sections of the Coast Range
and in the Sierras. Unlike its more colorful relative, the Rhodo-
dendron or Rose Bay, it is delightfully fragrant; the spices and
perfumes of the Orient and Arabia can never be as sweet to a Cali-
fornian. Its perfume lingers in one's memory forever as a pleasing
"nepenthe" of vacation days, reminiscent of pleasant places, mossy
boulders, the calm pools and foaming riffles of trout-haunted
streams, and these fragrant shrubs, with their glorious buff and
white blossoms massed amid the rich green foliage. The banks of
towering trees and wooded hills form a wonderful background for
these beautiful flowers.
The Azalea-blossomed banks of the upper San Lorenzo River,
with its trout, is one of the best remembered pictures of my child-
hood. Although I visited those regions but infrequently, the cool
glory of their fragrant, flowery banks is indelibly impressed upon
my memory. Mountain lovers always cherish such visions of
loveliness, and John Muir, in his book "My First Summer in the
Sierras," records his delight in these bushes. "The Western Azalea,
R. occidentale," he writes, "is very showy and fragrant and every-
body must like it, not only for itself, but for the shady alders and
willows, ferny meadows and living water associated with it." These
lovely flowers are a common sight in the Yosemite during the sum-
mer months. Visitors to that great playground of the Sierras will
find Azalea thickets offering incense from the abundant blooms like
a dream of the tropics.
A botanist who frequents Mt. Tamalpais has stated that Azaleas
may be found in bloom on some favored slope of that region during
any month of the year. Such cases are an exception. In the Bay
Regions the pale-flowered Azaleas are found in the shady depths of
the canons ; while on sunny slopes, a pink-flowered variety may be
seen. Their blossoms are somewhat funnel-shaped and are two or
three inches long, with one of the spreading lobes having a blotch
or stripe of color, which is variously described as buff, yellow,
salmon, apricot, or sulphur-colored, and occasionally pink. The
colors vary slightly according to locality. The loosely branching
shrubs are from two to twelve feet tall ; the leaves are a smooth,
rich green, about four inches long, with sharply pointed tips, and
cluster on the ends of the twigs with the splendid flowers, whose
profusion of bloom frequently all but screens the foliage. When
the light frosts of autumn touch the deciduous leaves, a later glory
is added to the Azalea thickets, by their tints of flaming scarlet and
crimson. But this "glory of the mountains" has its detractors, and
in common with its close relative, the handsome Rhododendron, the
Azalea comes under the ban of the bee keepers. Cattle will not
eat the shrub, but sheepmen have learned to fear its poison. John
Muir wrote that sheepmen had a different name for these bushes;
70 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
they called them "sheep-poison" and wondered "what the Creator
was thinking of when he made them," and John Muir adds, "so
desperately does sheep business blind and degrade, though supposed
to have a refining influence." Poisonous characteristics are all too
common with Azalea or Rhododendrons ; its relative, R. chrysan-
t hum, of Siberia, contains one of the most active narcotics known.
In some parts of the State, and more particularly in Oregon,
the flowers are erroneously called honeysuckle; but they are not
related to that plant. The flowers are loved by bees and they depend
largely upon these insects for fertilization. Modern scientists are
prone to scout the centuries-old belief (which lingers even today),
that disastrous effects are apt to follow the eating of honey gathered
by bees from these flowers. Certainly we have not heard of such
fatalities in California, but they are not popular with bee men.
The lovely Azalea, which seems to be a water-loving plant in
our State, was so named by the Greeks, because it was supposed to
prefer dry ground, and the name translated indicates dryness.
However, its specific name occidental means western, and our
Western Azalea haunts the moist regions and stream banks of our
mountains.
The Azalea is classed as a Rhododendron with most botanists,
and so California has two Rhododendrons, Rhododendron occi-
dentale, which is our Western Azalea, and Rhododendron califor-
nica, the Rose Bay. Some botanists place the Azalea in a separate
genus because its leaves are deciduous, while Rhododendron, or
Rose Bay, are evergreen; but in spite of the noticeable difference
in the plant and its blossoms, the botanic distinctions are difficult
to establish.
These handsome and ornamental shrubs suffer greatly from
rough handling, and motorists and campers have greatly retarded
their growth and attractive appearance in many localities. Only a
few members of the Heath Family, to which these plants belong,
have any important economic values, but they are among the most
interesting and delightful of growing things to Nature lovers. In
the language of flowers, the Azalea represents Temperance.
"The old woods how I have loved it! The sweetest memo-
ries of life are entwined back there among the grasses and the
grapevines and oaks and beeches. Its beauty and silence and the
wild life in it were the unsolved mystery, of boyhood, and its deeper
study in later years has been a very great delight and inspiration.
I think I gain, by familiarity with its life, something of its vitality,
at least in spirit. The long vistas of the great trees, the sunshine
mottling the leaves and filling the open spaces beneath with beau-
tiful light, the immeasurable canopy and the shade, the birds singing
their loves and their joys, the squirrels frisking among the acorns,
and the atmosphere of age which pervades it, all have filled my mind
with never-to-be-forgotten impressions of the beauty and loveliness
of the old vvoods, and a memory abides that is a perpetual dream." -
HUSTON.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 71
Rose Bay (Rhododendron calif ornicum)
72 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Rhododendron or Rose Bay (R. calif or nicum)
By Roland Rice
The Rhododendron or Rose Bay is a native of the Redwood
belt and is found in the Coast Mountains from Santa Cruz County
northward into Oregon and Washington, where it has been honored
as the State flower. It seems to prefer the rugged mountainsides,
where its shrubs, from ten to fifteen feet high, often form dense
thickets of magnificent colorful bloom. The evergreen leaves are
from three to ten inches long, and are a smooth, rich green, but not
shiny. These decorative leaves spread out around the base of the
flower clusters in such a way as to set them off to advantage. The
flowers are over two inches across and are usually set in clusters of
five or six. The beautifully shaded pink petals are speckled on the
upper side, with green or gold-brown spots and strange arrowhead
markings. The blossoms are lacking in perfume, but the leaves are
pleasantly fragrant. The sight of these glowing masses of gorgeous
bloom is worth going far to see. John Muir, in his famous essay,
"Bee Pastures," says: "To the northward, in Humboldt and adja-
cent counties, whole hillsides are covered with Rhododendrons,
making a glorious melody of bee-bloom in the spring; and the
Western Azalea, hardly less flowery, grows in massy thickets from
three to eight feet high around the edges of groves and woods as
far south as San Luis Obispo."
A belief that Rhododendrons furnished bees with a poisonous
nectar for their honey seems not to have been taken into considera-
tion by Muir. Such a tradition has been handed down from the
days in ancient history, when Xenophon wrote of the retreat of the
ten thousand, saying: "The camp soon looked like a battlefield
covered with the slain, where the men fell stupefied from the effects
of wild honey gathered by bees from Rhododendrons." The com-
mon evergreen shrub of Europe, Rhododendron ponticum, is said
to have been the plant, but there is a difference of opinions ; some
believe that Azalea ponticum was the source of the trouble, for
similar effects from honey poison occurred in places where the true
Rhododendron did not grow. Perhaps the ancients were speaking
of a different plant. The name Rhododendron, meaning rose-tree,
was used in classic times to designate the oleander.
Most botanists place the Rhododendron and Azalea in the same
genus. There are several members of this interesting group in
North America. It is quite a large family and many of its members
are found in Asia and in tropical countries, where, as in Java, they
are confined to the highlands. Some are epiphytic in character,
growing on trees like mistletoe ; these grow in the tropic islands of
the East Indies. Several varieties are found in the hilly regions
of China, Japan, and the Malay Peninsula. The largest is a good-
sized tree growing on the lower slopes of the lofty Himalayas in
India. It is used for lumber.
The California Rose Bay is highly prized in Europe. It has
been hybridized with the Himalayan and other species, and a variety
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 73
of gorgeous colors have been produced. It .seems strange that the
flower has not been more extensively cultivated in our own land,
for it is a very handsome and decorative shrub.
When it is ''Rhododendron time" in Golden Gate Park, San
Francisco, it is said that John McLaren, the superintendent of this
world-famous park, feels uneasy, and has policemen guard the
flowers day and night, past experience having taught the necessity
of this precaution. These celebrated gardens are the pride of San
Francisco and the great delight of all who visit the city by the
Golden Gate. Many rare hybrids of great .beauty, as well as our
exquisite native Rhododendrons, are found growing side by side
under the watchful care of the park's wizard a widely known and
justly famed Scotch gentleman.
Our Rose Bay, the Rhododendron californiciim, seems to be
irresistible to those who see it in bloom for the first time ; and in some
sections, notably about Mt. Tamalpais, the exquisite flowers of this
shrub have been nearly exterminated by those who evidently think
that to loot and plunder nature's gardens is a proper thing to do,
forgetting that other people have the same right to enjoy the beauties
of the out-of-doors.
Emerson, the "Sage of Concord," wrote one of his finest poems
about a close relative of our Rhododendron, the "Rhodora," of
Massachusetts, and his lines might as easily be applied to our
flower :
"Rhodora! if the sages ask thee zvhy
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, if eyes were made for seeing,
Then beauty is its own excuse for being."
The Rhodora is called "Emerson's Flower."
Rhododendrons first attracted wide attention in America at the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where fine exhibits were
made. It is difficult for some people to believe that our beautiful
bloom is really a native wilding. It is more like the triumph of
hot-house cultivation. Rhododendron, in the ancient language of
flowers, meant danger beware.
74 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
The Blazing Star (Mentzelia Laevicaulis)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 75
"Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee." COLERIDGE.
Blazing Star, Mentzelia laevicaulis (Loasa Family)
By Bertha M. Rice
After "Wild-Flower Time," those fragrant, colorful days of
the springtime have departed, and are replaced by the warm brown
tones of summer, our California fields and hillsides assume a drearier
aspect to those unfamiliar with these seasonal changes. The East-
ern and Middle Western people are apt to associate the good old
summertime with flower-starred meadows, watered by happy
streams, where pond lilies dream and blue-flags challenge ; where
cattle stand knee deep in waving grasses or contentedly chew cuds
amid bordering fragrant woodlands.
The disappointed Easterner looks with disapproval upon our
straw-colored fields and sun-scorched hills, devoid of that summer-
time color and rain-washed freshness characteristic of his territory.
But Californians love it. The exuberance of colorful charm and
infinite variety has been theirs in abundance during that season
which transformed the whole of California into a rich and flowery
wilderness. Then the desert "blossomed as the rose" ; then colors
ran riot everywhere, from the seas of blossoming orchards to the
outlying districts, massed with wild flowers in such profusion that,
familiar as they are to dwellers by this sea coast, yet so dazzle and
bewilder the stranger as to make him wellnigh incredulous, at
times, as to whether these gardens are really of Nature's planting.
It is not that one ever tires of this dreamful, splendid beauty; but
as long dwellers in the land, Californians have learned to know and
love the rich and varied charms of her seasonal changes. It is not
always springtime ; mellow tones hint of harvest days to come, and
likewise veil much loveliness and happy surprises of canons and
woodlands. Wee-flowering, dainty things spring up by dusty road-
sides, spray through tall, dry grasses, and crop out unexpectedly
from the large waste places.
It is in summer, when most flowers have disappeared, that the
Blazing Star, Mentzelia laevicaulis, suddenly blooms with a bril-
liancy and beauty that is amazing when first seen. Its appearance
justifies its name. The blooms are star-shaped, of a pale, clear
yellow, with multitudes of long, soft-colored stamens, radiating from
the center like beams of starlight, and producing a strangely beau-
tiful effect. These plants haunt dry stream beds and sandy borders,
and have a gray appearance before blooming, blending well with
their surroundings. They are rather tall, branching plants, with
pale, shining, brittle stems ; and it is astonishing to discover, some
day, magnificent flowers crowning their lifeless-looking branches.
The blossoms are from three to five inches across, and their loveli-
ness is one of Nature's compensations for our long, dry summers.
There are at least eight species of Mentzelia in California ; some
are smaller and inconspicuous, but all have the same general appear-
ance. They belong to the small and rather aristocratic Loasa
76 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Family. The Mentzelias were named for Dr. C. Mentzel, a German
botanist of the seventeenth century. The specific name of M. laevi-
caulis means smooth-stemmed. It is a biennial plant and blooms
only during daylight hours, blossoming earlier in the southland,
where it is of quite frequent occurrence in dry washes and the
interior valleys and canons of that section. Farther north, it may
be found blooming in dry, gravelly stream-beds, throughout the
Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills, from July until Sep-
tember. Its golden blossoms are open all day, but close at eventide.
Mentzelia lindleyi, the Evening Star, is a slender annual, quite
similar and possibly handsomer in appearance, but is one of the
vespertine flowers, so called because they bloom at vesper time.
From sunset until sunrise, night-flying moths may flit from its deli-
cately silken, golden blooms. Its sharply tipped petals are a more
golden yellow than those of M. laevicaulis, and are stained with
vermilion at their base. They have a more limited range, but are
found in May and June in the inner Coast Ranges of the Bay Region.
The Spanish-Calif ornians called the plant "buena mujer" (good
woman), because its leaves are barbed with little hooked bristles
which cling tightly to one. The name of "stick-leaf" is sometimes
used by Americans. Rough or stinging hairs are characteristic
features of the Loasa Family, of which we have three genera in
California. The family name, Loasa, is apparently from a native
name for a South American species. But the Mentzelias are all
Western flowers. We have two other genera listed as having one
species each, Eucnide urens and Petalonyx thurberi, natives of the
southeastern desert and its borders.
For some reason, Blazing Stars are not as plentiful now as in
the past, and from many localities there are complaints from nature
lovers that they cannot find these blossoms.
"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own
beauty, and in the same Held, it beholds, every hour, a picture which
was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again!'
EMERSON.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
77
The Clematis ( Ranunculaceae )
By Bertha M. Rice
Gracefully, gayly, the wild Clem-
atis climbs and drapes and embow-
ers its lovely way among the wild
gardens of the Coast Range and
Sierra Nevada foothills, swinging
its gladsome sprays in careless
abandon from the low branches of
trees or tall shrubbery where it has
persistently entwined itself. Its
fleecy clusters of rich, creamy or
ecru-tinted flowers add a blithe-
some note to the landscape. I have
seen its velvety blossoms massed in
such splendid profusion over em-
bankments or underbrush as to
completely camouflage the more
humble growing things which had
enabled it to shoulder its way up to
the sunlight ; for this vine is not, in
the proper sense of the word, a
twining vine ; climbing far more
correctly defines its nature, which
it does in a curious fashion, by
means of its leaf stalks. The stems
put forth no tendrils ; the leaf peti-
oles do all the work. They coil
around twigs, branches, and what-
ever else offers a hold for their
resistless energy.
Darwin, who studied the move-
ments of plants, was especially in-
terested in Clematis, because of its
sensitive nature. He made many
experiments with the vine. The
young shoots of the Clematis leaf-
stalks follow the course of the sun.
Darwin recorded that one such shoot revolved, describing a broad
oval, in five hours and thirty minutes, and another one in six hours
and twelve minutes. The leaves will fold over if rubbed on the
under side and then straighten out again in a few hours if there is
nothing to hold onto. A common name for the plant, in Kent,
England, was "crocodiles."
All plants have their own peculiar ways of doing their life work,
and aside from their aesthetic qualities are deeply interesting to the
true plant lover for these reasons. Plants do not always adapt them-
selves with a good grace to their surroundings, but endeavor by
every means in their power to better their conditions in life ; and so
CLEMATIS
78 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
the Clematis, in persistent fashion, climbs, and reaches, and finds
its place in the sun, where, rejoicing in its success, it spreads forth
in the happy sunlight its many-flowered panicles of creamy loveliness,
to greet and cheer each passer-by.
The vine is almost a constant ornament to the woodland ; unlike
other plants of its blossoming season, it is most showy in the autumn
months, when its seeds are plumed with their long silken sails ready
to go adventuring. These long-tailed carpels become a beautiful
silvery white as autumn advances, and clothe the vines with masses
of feathery plumes, that are conspicuous at a long distance against
a wooded background. The curious seed vessels often remain on
the bushes for a long time. One almost rejoices to know that some
day they will sail away through the fragrant air ; for there is an
appealing quality about this vine's persistent seeking for sunlit
regions which causes one to fancy it to be possessed of a soul that
yearns to sever itself from its earthly moorings
"and then exhale
A little fragrant soul on the soft gale,
To float ah! whither?"
The Clematis has many common names, the more popular one
being Virgin's Bower, given to it by Gerarde, of the sixteenth cen-
tury. It is generally supposed that the name was given in honor
of the Virgin Mother ; but more probably the famous old herbalist
was alluding to Queen Elizabeth. He wrote of it as "fitting to be
a bower for maidens," and again as "worthy to be so called by reason
of the goodly shadow which the branches make with their thick
bushing and climbing, as also for the beauty of their flowers, and the
pleasant scent and savour of the same." The Virgin's Bower of
England is closely related to our Clematis, and our plant is more
frequently called by this name. In some parts of England, Clematis
is called "tambaca" and "smoking-cane," while in Germany the plant
is assigned to the evil one and is called "devil's thread." "Old Man's
Beard" is a name commonly applied to the vine at seed time. "Trav-
eler's Joy," another Old World name, is frequently applied to our
California species, and one does not wonder, for in some localities
it billows and clambers over rocks, bushes and trees until whole
hillsides are illuminated with its glory.
Clematis is from the ancient Greek Klema, the name of a twig.
The Clematis belongs to the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup Family,
sometimes called the Crowfoot Family. There is much ancient
literature pertaining to the vine. From an early calendar of English
flowers this bit of verse has been found :
"When Mary left us here belowe,
The Virgin's Bower was full in blowe."
The family name is taken from the Latin word Ranunculus,
meaning a little frog, as some species are aquatic, growing where
frogs are found. The Ranunculaceae is a large family and its mem-
bers are scattered all over the world ; but not commonly so in trop-
ical regions. So varied in appearance are its members that it would
be difficult for the amateur to believe that they were related or even
nearly related species. All are herbs but the Clematis, which is a
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 79
shrubby vine with weak, woody stems. Among its relatives are the
lovely little Anemones or wind flowers, growing in mountains among
the Redwoods; and the Meadow Rues, graceful and delicate herbs,
also growing in mountains, with leaves resembling Maiden Hair
Fern ; the Mouse Tail, frequent in alkaline soils of the great interior
valley, and elsewhere ; many varieties of buttercups, common every-
where ; the showy Columbines and Larkspurs, familiar to all ; the
Wild Peony, the Monk's Hood, the Bane Berry, the Marsh Marigold,
Bug Bane, and others.
Like numerous other members of its family, the acrid juice of
the stems of Clematis have no favor with stock. This is one of
nature's methods of protecting certain delicate plants from animals
by making them unpalatable. This same juice found favor with the
Spanish-Californians, who used it to make a wash for dressing
wounds, such as barbed-wire cuts on animals. They called Clematis
lignsticifolia by name of Yerba de Chivato. This seems to be in
contradiction of the belief of the plant's virtues in Europe, where
the name "Beggar's Vine" was applied to it, because mendicants used
it to rub into cuts and sores to irritate and keep them practically
incurable in order that they might impose upon the charitably
inclined.
There are a hundred or more varieties of Clematis scattered
over the northern hemisphere. California has at least four of these
species. The Iigiisticifolia is the most widely distributed, and in
some parts of the State it has a local name of "pepper-vine," where
its leaves and stems are chewed as a remedy for sore throat.
The more showy variety of Clematis, but somewhat less com-
monly distributed, is C. lasiantha, not easily distinguished by the
amateur from the preceding variety, for both vines have much beauty
both in flower and in seed. A local name for C. lasiantha, in some
localities, is Pipe Stem. The C. paiiciflora, frecmently called the
rope vine, seems to be peculiar to Southern California, where it
climbs trees and clambers over the scenery in true Clematis fashion.
In an annotated list of the wild flowers of California, prepared by
Dr. P. B. Kennedy, of the University of California, in connection
with our third annual State wild flower exhibit, held at the Fairmont
Hotel in San Francisco in 1917, four varieties of Clematis are listed,
but the distribution of the remaining variety, C. verticillaris, is not
given. The first three varieties, I am pleasantly acquainted with,
but have no information at present regarding the fourth named
variety.
Indian women were partial to the trailing Clematis vines and
twined its flowers in their black hair and wreathed it about them as
they chanted weird songs in their wild dances. In the ancient
language of flowers, Clematis means mental beauty.
'In all places, then, and in all seasons,
Flowers expand their light and soul-like wings;
Teaching us, by most persuasive reasons,
How akin they are to human things." LONGFELLOW.
80
Popular Studies of California Wild Floivers
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 81
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
By Roland Rice
The shy Bleeding Heart, Dicentra formosa, seems to seek the
seclusion of the cool, cloistered woods, where from the rich, moist
soil it lifts its slender little branches with many pendant rose-colored,
heart-shaped blooms. Ihe pale green leaves are cut and lobed and
add much to the delicate beauty and graceful appearance of the
plant, which is about two feet high. There is no legend from the
olden times concerning these flowers, because they have not been
known to man for long. But perhaps they would have given Omar
Khayyam another illustration for his fancy concerning flowers, had
he known them. It was he who sang :
"I sometimes think that never blozvs so red
The rose as where some buried Caesar bled."
Indeed, when finding these flowers, one feels that there must
be tales concerning them ; for the blooms are most striking in ap-
pearance and appropriately named for their heart shape. The simple
English translation of the Greek and Latin names are quite descrip-
tive of the blossoms, but the popular fancy easily takes Bleeding
Heart as the best name for them. The Greek word Dicentra means
double-spurred, and a Latin name, Bicuculla, which is preferred by
some botanists, means double-hooded. The word formosa means
beautifully formed. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch
long, in pendant rows upon the little branches, and sometimes make
quite a beautiful effect by their numbers. They grow in Marin
County and northward from the Bay Region, and are to be found in
the Sierra Nevadas during April-June.
There are several other members of the Fumitory Family to be
found growing in various parts of the State. Some botanists have
classed these beautiful flowering plants with the Poppy Family
because of the similarity of the plan of the flowers, although they
have not the least similarity in outward appearance. The name
Fumitory seems to be taken from the characteristics of other species
which are said to have a smoky odor, whence their name Capnoides
in Greek, meaning "smoke-like," which is usually applied to the
types having but one spur on the flower. It is a small family, though
widely distributed over North America and Asia. The Bleeding
Heart of our gardens was imported from the island of Sakhalin
near Japan, and was brought to this country early in the last century.
Our native Bleeding Heart, Dicentra formosa, is much smaller than
its imported relative, but is quite as beautiful.
Another interesting member of the Bleeding Heart Family is
the Golden Ear Drops, Dicentra chrysantha, which grows on the
high, dry ridges of the inner Coast Ranges and in the southern part
of the State. It is not common, and is one of the few plants which
wait until the hot, dry season is at its height, when it may be found
blooming in late July. I have found this kind growing amid the
chaparral of my hills as tall as six feet, with pale green, fern-like
foliage, smooth stems, rather coarse, and bearing softly shaded yel-
82 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
low flowers having a heavy narcotic odor like poppies. Its heart-
shaped blossoms are inverted, not drooping, but erect ; and the spurs
on either side make an easy landing place for the bees, for they are
honey flowers and take this particular season for blooming when
they are more certain of the attention of honey bees searching for
nectar.
Dicentra ochroleiica Engelm. is much like the Golden Ear Drops
in habits and has a touch of purple on the tips of the inner petals,
and as its specific name, ochroleuca, indicates, it is yellowish-white
in color.
The Steer's Head, D. uniflora Kell., is an Alpine flower of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains, and may be found lifting its one little
flesh-colored flower beside the receding snows during the summer.
It is a tiny plant but a few inches high and the flower about half an
inch long. It is sometimes called "squirrel's corn," which is the
common name of a relative to this plant growing in the Eastern
States. These flowers, like the Bleeding Heart, are apt to be
variable in appearance and may sometimes have a white or purple
coloring.
Wild Flowers
'7 knozv that I can never be
So happy as when I wandered free
With the wild flowers for my company,
That elfin dancer of the wood,
The larkspur in her scarlet hood,
Her sister in a bonnet blue,
The baby-eyes of heavenly hue,
The jewel-flower, the four o' clocks,
The lupines in their purple smocks,
The poppies in their golden frocks^
The woodland star in polar white,
The sun-cup with her chalice bright,
Aye! even the weeds that deck a clod
Breathe tender loving thoughts of God!'
EDITH ELLERY PATTON.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
83
Matilija Poppy (Romneya Coulteri)
84 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
The Matilija Poppy (Romneya Coulteri)
By Bertha M. Rice
The most regally handsome poppy in the world is the giant
white poppy, the stately Matilija, Romneya coulteri, which is native
to the southern part of the State. This blossom is a famous one
in European gardens, where it was early transplanted. In its native
habitat it may be found occasionally from Santa Barbara south-
ward into Lower California. It is acknowledged by those who
have studied the flower to be a plant of very catholic tastes ; for
while it evidently prefers stream borders and steep, almost inacces-
sible canon sides, it is also found growing on open hillsides, in dry
stream beds, or even in the fertile valleys. It is not a common
plant, but is probably more plentiful in the Ojai Valley, Ventura
County, and in the extreme southern part of the State.
While journeying over the Santa Fe lines en route to San
Diego, about three years ago, I had my first glimpse of these tower-
ing white poppies luxuriating in their native surroundings. It was
early morning and we passed a field of these beautiful golden-
hearted blossoms shaking out their great diaphanous petals to the
morning breezes. It was a glorious sight and I have never for-
gotten it. I do not remember the locality, but it was several hours
before our train reached Los Angeles. While in San Diego, with
my friend, Miss Kate Sessions, the widely known and well-beloved
botanist, I examined more closely some exceedingly fine specimens
of the Romneya. It is a smooth, stout, perennial-rooted plant,
somewhat bushy in nature, and grows anywhere from two to ten
or twelve feet high, according to the nature of its habitat. It has
handsome gray-green foliage and its wonderful, fragrant blossoms
are from three to as many as nine inches in diameter. Its crepe-
like petals are a pure glistening white and the greenish-white pistil
is surrounded by hundreds of closely packed, bright yellow stamens,
forming a huge golden center, which sets off proportionately well
the enormous blossoms. In Lower California, the plant is prized
by the Indians for remedial purposes.
The first scientist to discover this giant poppy was Dr. Thomas
Coulter, who after several years of exploratibn in Mexico came to
Monterey, California, in November, 1861. He was the first botanist
to cross the desert to the Colorado River. He remained in Cali-
fornia about three years and collected a thousand or more specimens.
The magnificent white poppy he dedicated to his friend T. Romney
Robinson, a noted Irish astronomer of Armagh Observatory. Thus
we have the genus Romneya and the species coulteri, named for
its discoverer. Apropos, at this time, while speaking of Dr. Coulter's
poppy, an incident may be related which I am sure will be enjoyed
by all who are interested in historical matters pertaining to our far-
famed wild flowers. It concerns Dr. Coulter and that indefatigable
Scotch explorer, David Douglas, who was in California at the time
collecting seeds for the Royal Horticultural Gardens of England.
The two scientists met in Monterey. Of this meeting, David Doug-
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 85
las wrote to a friend: "I assure you from the bottom of my heart,
Dr. Hooker, that it is a terrible pleasure to meet a really good man,
one with whom I can talk on plants." It was a happy accident that
brought together these two enthusiastic souls, on similar missions
bent, in this far wilderness of the Pacific Coast, surrounded as they
must have been by an unfriendly people.
The Matilija acquired its Indian name from the canon of the
Matilija River in Ventura County, where it is said to have been
quite abundant at one time ; but since the terrible floods of 1914, the
blossoms are seldom found in that locality.
There is a pretty tradition attached to this wonderful bloom,
which was incorporated by Emory E. Smith in his splendid book,
"The Golden Poppy" (now out of print). Mr. Smith told me quite
recently that the legend was related to him by an old Mexican
Indian, near Santa Barbara, about twenty-seven years ago, and that,
being a newcomer to the Golden West, it had interested him par-
ticularly at the time because these plants seemed to favor the most
difficult canon fastnesses of that region. According to tradition,
this great, snowy flower with its heart of gold" had won from the
Spanish Californians the name of the "Love Flower," owing to its
unusual popularity with the Spanish senoritas. The gallants of
those days were wont to visit the steep cliffs in the early spring,
where they might find the earliest "Love Flower" of the year. When
two suitors sought the same maiden's hand, and she was unable to
decide, it was the one who brought to her the first "Love Flower"
who was accepted. There are, of course, tales of treacherous deeds,
when contestants met on overhanging cliffs in the lonely mountains,
and it is even whispered that one spring a "Love Flower" bloomed
a blood-red, marking the spot where a worthy lover had battled
valiantly against great odds, but lost the flower and his life. That
was in the long ago, before the "Gringo" came.
When the Stjite flower was adopted by the California Legisla-
ture, in 1903, the Matilija Poppy was favored by quite a few people;
but the Golden Poppy was chosen because it was more widely dis-
tributed over the State and its color more symbolical, while the giant
white poppy (which belongs to the same family) was restricted to
a few canons and localities in the southland.
R. coulteri was long supposed to be the only species of Rom-
neya, but Miss Alice Eastwood discovered and described another
variety, R. trichocalyx Eastwood. The two plants are very similar
in appearance, but a difference between them is clearly recognized
by experts and' the latter is considered somewhat handsomer, being
the true Matilija, which once commonly inhabited the canon of that
name.
One often sees Matilija Poppies growing under cultivation, and
it is somewhat surprising to learn that many people in California
are not aware of the fact that these truly magnificent blossoms
belong to our California wildings.
86
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Shooting Stars. Dodocath^on
(Primulaceae)
By Roland Rice
The Shooting Star or Dodocatheon seems to have more popular
names than most of the other wild plants ; it is a great favorite with
children. The blossoms are unusual in appearance and catch the
imaginative fancy ; for when Linnaeus gave them the name Dodoca-
theon he did so because he fancied the group of flowers to be an
assemblage of divinities and called them "Twelve Gods," as the
Greek word is translated. (The Primrose Family is supposed to
be under the care of the deities.) But children seem to have no
room for the long Greek name in their vocabulary and so have
invented rather pert little names to suit themselves (and incident-
ally to suit the flowers). The most common of these are Shooting
Stars, Mad Violets, Mosquito Bills, Sailors' Capes, Rooster Heads,
and Prairie Pointers. The flower has also been called American
Cowslip, Wild Cyclamen, Cupid's Quiver, and various other names.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 87
The plant is related to the cultivated Cyclamen of our gardens,
which it somewhat resembles in appearance.
The plants are from a few inches to a foot and a half tall ; the
leaves are in a tuft at the base, and the four or five smooth stems
are crowned with umbels of from five to fifteen flowers. The petals
are usually white, flushed with pink, and a band of yellow sets off
the tapering point of violet or purple colored stamens and pistils.
One can easily catch the meaning of the name "Mad Violets,"
for the flower is somewhat like a violet that has laid its petals back
in anger. The name of "Rooster Heads" came with a sporting
game of little boys, who hooked the flower heads together and then
pulled to see which came off, with as much zest as though they were
having a rooster fight. A rather unlovely name by which the plant
was known to old settlers was that of "Sow's Bread." This may
be due to the fact that swine were fond of digging and eating the
tender roots. (The ancients called the common Cyclamen "Sow's
Head.")
Shooting Star seems a pretty and poetic name for these inter-
esting little blossoms, although Wild Cyclamen is much in favor as
a popular title. They are among the earliest wild flowers to be
found in the Coast Range and valleys. The Dodocatheon hender-
soni is the one most common in the Bay Region. It blooms from
the middle of February until late in May. Later in the summer
season the wet meadows of the high Sierras are colored with masses
of another and larger species, Dodocatheon jeffreyi, which is much
admired by visitors to the Yosemite.
The Dodocatheons are widely distributed in many varieties
over the North American continent and Asia. There are many
species named in California, but botanists have found it hard to
systematize them because there seem to be no clean-cut differences
between varying forms.
This flower is among the few wild blooms recorded as having
appealed more particularly to the aesthetic taste of the Indian
women, whose artistic natures were revealed in their wonderful
basketry and other rare handicraft. The utilitarian side of plant
life, such as those yielding food, fiber, medicines, soap and other
economic values, naturally were prized by the wild people, as they
furnished them with most of the comforts of their nomad lives.
The roots and leaves of the Dodocatheon were roasted in ashes by
the Indian tribes of Mendocino County and considered a great
delicacy. Medicinal properties, also, I believe, were attributed to
the plant. But the blossoms are said to have been exceedingly
popular with the squaws and were frequently used by them for self-
adornment, especially at their dances. In the language of flowers,
Cyclamen means diffidence.
88
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
"And, oh, my heart has understood
The spider's fragile line of lace,
The common meed, the zvoody place!"
GALE.
Miner's Lettuce (Purslane Family)
By Bertha M. Rice
One of the plants which the miners in the days of "Forty-nine"
learned to regard with favor is the one now known as "Miner's
Lettuce" (Montia perfoliata). It was known as Squaw's Cabbage
or Indian's Lettuce to those hardy pioneers, who were tempted to
try it as a substitute for the more familiar cultivated vegetables
which were not to be had in the wilderness. It was noticed that
the Indians were exceedingly fond of these succulent plants, which
they used both green as salads and boiled like greens or spinach.
The wild people had one quaint way of seasoning these plants as
related by Stephen Powers. They gathered the tender stems and
leaves in quantities and placed them on the red-ant hills ; the ants
swarmed over the plants, and when the Indian was satisfied that
these insects had sufficiently seasoned his salad with the vinegar
flavor of the formic acid, he shook them off.
Miner's Lettuce is an annual plant from six to twelve inches
high. There are probably a dozen varieties and one very minute
form. It is variable in appearance and is widely distributed through-
out the State. It is a member of the Purslane Family, closely re-
lated to the Red Maids (one of the popular spring flowers) and
the Pussy Paws (a common plant in the Yosemite Valley and else-
where in the Sierras at high and low elevations), and is also related
to the Spring Beauty, several varieties of which are to be found in
Popular Studies of California Wild F lowers 89
.different sections of the State, such as the Claytonia lanceolaia, in
the Alpine regions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which some-
what resembles and is closely related to the popular Eastern Spring
Beauty (Claytonia virginica) and Claytonia umbellata, which grows
in the desert mountains of Northeastern California ; also the large-
flowered Claytonia mibigena, to be found on Mount Diablo and in
Marin County.
The several species of Montia, Claytonia, and several other
flowers are so variously treated by the different authors that it has
caused much confusion in the literature concerning them. But they
are all members of the Purslane Family or Portulacaceae, of which
the common "Pusley," Portulaca oleracea, is the type. This weed,
common in gardens, was first introduced from Europe. One member
of the family, commonly known as "Bitter-root," Lewisia rediviva,
is the State flower of Montana (and after which the Bitter Root
Mountains were named). Their large, handsome, rose-colored
flowers, often two inches across, are frequently found in the eastern
Sierras and only occasionally on the high peaks of our Coast Ranges.
It grows in sterile, rocky soil and has very scanty leafage, but its
stout roots were formerly relished by Indians for food. In California
this plant is more commonly called by its scientific name, "Lewisia,"
which was bestowed in honor of Captain M. Lewis, of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition, and was first collected and described on their
memorable trip. across the continent in 1803-06.
A striking and attractive feature of our interesting little plant,
the Miner's Lettuce, is furnished by the two-stemmed leaves, which
unite directly under the blossoms, forming a perfect saucer in shape ;
in fact, I have known children to call them the "saucer flowers."
These leaves and the stems are richly tinted with bronzed-green and
reddish hues. The little flowers are ordinarily white, but sometimes
have a pinkish-yellow cast, especially in dry, exposed places, but the
species is more plentifully distributed in orchards and vineyards,
where they are companions of the "Red Maids," which make a brief,
colorful dance in the early springtime and which are members of
the same family. It is a matter of surprise to some people to see
ho'w persistently these tender, succulent little plants will continue to
appear in cultivated places where they were apparently eradicated.
The Miner's Lettuce may be found blooming from February until
July, not only in the orchards and vineyards, but along the roadways
in the lower valleys and in the open woods of the mountains.
These plants have long been cultivated in many foreign coun-
tries, including Cuba, for salads and pot herbs, under the name of
Winter Purslane.
Early settlers are wont to look most kindly upon this plant, not
so much because of its olden time economic value to them, perhaps,
as because of its friendly ways, its familiar face like something
one has always known ; and indeed it has most companionable char-
acteristics as well as dainty, pretty blossoms.
90
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Gum Plant (Grindelia)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 91
Gum Plant Grindelia (Compositae)
By Roland Rice
As we pass the humble Gum-Plant, beside the road, we are apt
to pay but little attention to its dust-covered flowers. But when. we
have truly made the acquaintance of this useful wilding, we know
it to be a very interesting member of the plant world ; and were the
flowers not, as a usual thing, covered with dust, they w r ould be quite
as pretty as daisies.
There are several varieties of Grindelia to be found in the State,
but some of the species are rather difficult of determination. Grin-
delia is the true name of the Gum-Plant. The name is in honor of
H. Grindel, a Russian botanist who taught at Riga and Dorpat nearly
a century ago. Grindelias belong to the large plant family of the
Compositae, of which the sunflower is the representative type, and
which has more than 12,000 members scattered throughout the
world. The Grindelia has been called the August Flower ; it blooms
usually in the late summer season, although I have found its
blossoms in March.
The flowers are yellow, with conspicuous rays about an inch
and a half across, and are mostly solitary or in few-flowered clusters
at the end of the leafy branches on the somewhat shrubby plants,
which are as a rule from two to four feet tall. The common Gum-
Plant, G. robusta Nutt., is to be found along the coast as well as in
the Coast Range and valleys. The salt marshes are sometimes gay
during the summer months with the vivid, yellow G. cuneifolia,
which is to be found along the coast and in the interior Bay Region.
The desert Gum-Plant, G. camporum, is found in the San Joaquin
Valley and south ; while the red-stemmed Gum-Plant, G. rubricaulis,
prefers the high, dry ridges and hillsides of the Coast Range. The
rest are mostly weedy or inconspicuous desert plants, easily recog-
nized by the flower buds exuding that peculiar sticky white gum
which found them the name of "Resin-Weeds" from the early
settlers.
These Gum-Plants were an important part of the Indians' medi-
cine and are well known in the white man's drug store today. The
dried flower heads and leaves of Grindelia are gathered annually in
great quantities and tons of them are shipped East, where they are
manufactured into the medicine usually known as Grindelia, used for
asthma, bronchitis, and other troubles, which is the same purpose the
Indians used it for, and the gum dissolved in alcohol is used as a cure
for Rhus poisoning (Poison Oak) and other skin troubles.
Many valuable medicines derived from humble growing things
are a heritage from the despised aborigine.
92 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
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Floral Fire-Cracker (Brevoortia idamayi)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 93
Floral Fire-Crackers (Lily Family)
By Bertha M. Rice
One of the oddest and most attractive blooms to be found is
the Fire-Cracker flower, a member of the lily family. It has had
an interesting career at the hands of the botanists, partly because
of the pretty sentiment which has clung to it for more than half a
century of years. It was first discovered to the botanical world by
Dr. Alfonso Wood, in 1867, who believed the plant to be of a new
genus. The unusual little blossom was pointed out to him by a
stage driver in the mountains of Trinity County, who explained to
the man of science that, his small daughter was so fond of the
flower that they had always called them "Ida May's Fire-Crackers."
Dr. Wood was pleased at finding such an interesting new specimen,
and he bestowed the name of Brevoortia ida-maia upon the plant,
partly in honor of the little girl and also because it was first gath-
ered on the "ides" (May 15th). He dedicated the plant to his
friend J. Carson Brevoort, of 'Brooklyn, New York, naturalist and
patron of science. Later botanists placed the plant in the genus
Brodiaea, changing its name to "Brodiaea coccinea Gray," and this
prosaic title bids fair to all but erase a fine bit of sentiment which
might brighten scientific discussions of our beautiful native plants.
The flowers hang in clusters of from six to a dozen or more,
on dainty, grass-like stems, from plants ranging from one to three
feet high. They grow on open wooded hillsides and in rocky
canons, blooming from May until July. Their habitats range from
Mendocino County northward into Oregon ; they are confined to the
Pacific Coast, and are more plentiful in Mendocino and Humboldt
Counties. Floral 'Fire-Crackers are not common, and because of
their great attraction they have been practically exterminated in
certain localities where they formerly bloomed. The plant presents
an unusually quaint appearance, so strangely like small Chinese fire-
crackers are their blooms. The effect is increased by their drooping,
pendant position upon the delicate, leafless stems. They are bright
red in color, tubular in shape, about an inch or more long, tipped
with pale green, and with bits of yellow stamens protruding from
the end.
The plant is frequently found growing in gardens in Southern
California. It adapts itself well to cultivation, but loses much, to
our fancy, from its wild mountain surroundings, where it furnishes
ever a joyful surprise to those fortunate enough to chance upon it.
I was once surprised while riding on the Mount Tamalpais and
Muir Woods Railway in Marin County, when glancing up at some
jagged rocks directly over my head, where a gay bunch of floral
firecrackers waved in triumph, tantalizingly removed from covetous
hands. They are said to have been quite frequently found in Marin
County, in the long ago ; but if so they have wandered away from
the Tamaplais regions, or were sacrificed by those whose love for
flowers reckoned not of others. Several botanists familiar with
that locality tell me that they have never found this flower on
Tamalpais.
94
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)
The specific names of two of our three species of Wild Ginger,
A. hartwegii Wats, and A. lemmonii Wats., were conferred in honor
of two eminent scientists ; the former, an early explorer to the coast,
and the latter, J. G. Lemmon, of Oakland. Of the other species,
A. caudatum Lindl., the specific name caudatum pertains to the
tail-like appendages of its blossoms. It was first described by
Lindley.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 95
Wild Ginger (Aristolochiaceae)
By Roland Rice
Growing under the dim light of the mighty Redwood trees and
in the cool places of the forests of the Coast Range and Sierras, the
Wild Ginger creeps out of the ground in the late spring and early
summer to unfurl its strange blooms. It seems as though Nature
had tried to camouflage these flowers by making them look like big
spiders lurking under the large, beautiful, heart-shaped leaves. The
leaves are a rich, dark green and have a mottled appearance.
Both the leaves and the creeping root stocks are fragrant and
spice-like when crushed in the hands, and so the plants may be
recognized when the flowers are gone. They are stemless plants,
and the beautiful leaves grow from the root stock. The flower
buds spring from the axils of the leaves. The name Wild Ginger
was given to the plants because of their spice-like taste and fra-
grance ; it is not related, however, to the ginger of commerce. The
latter is a perennial reed-like plant from three to four feet high and
has been cultivated in India and China since the beginning of his-
tory. Our plants, Asamm caudatum, etc., are members of the
Aristolochiaceae or Birthroot family. The word Asamm is of
obscure and doubtful origin, but the family name, Aristolochia, is
Latin, and means a plant useful in childbirth. The many plants of
this family group are scattered throughout the world and some, were
formerly used medicinally. Our plants seem to have no medicinal
qualities, but it has been suggested that a sachet powder could be
made from the creeping rootstocks. Fortunately this has not been
done commercially, and we hope that the 'quaint little plant with its
beautiful leaves and strange, spider-like blooms will always delight
those fortunate in finding it in the seclusion of the forest depths,
where it plays its humble part in the life of Nature and its ways.
There are three species of Asamm, or Wild Ginger, to be found
in California. A. caudatum Lindl. grows in the coast Redwood
district from Monterey northward. A. hartwegii Wats, is found
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and throughout the yellow pine
belt at four to seven thousand foot elevations. A. lemmonii Wats,
is a rare species found growing near the fallen logs of the giants
in the Merced Grove of the Big Trees. The flowers of the last are
smaller and the leaves have a lighter coloring than the others. The
flowers of the three species are pale chocolate or purplish-brown in
color, and are quite a novelty.
Children have found the delightfully quaint phrase, " Little
Brown Jugs," appropriate for naming these blossoms. The calyx
lobes of the blooms have three tail-like appendages, which may be
from one to two and a half inches long ; so the children's thimble-like
"Jugs" would have three handles.
96
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
The False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina Amplexicaulis)
(The true Solomon's Seal does not grow in California. The two plants
are related and in Eastern -States are frequently found growing side by side
and almost giving the impression of having sprung from the same root. The
blossoms of the true Solomon's Seal are small, greenish-white, bell-shaped
flowers, nodding in pairs along the stem under the leaves. Its berries when
ripened are blue black; ivhile those of its handsomer cousin, the False Solo-
mon's Seal, are red.)
Popular Studies of California Wild Floivers 97
False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina amplexicaulis)
By Roland Rice
The False Solomon's Seal grows best in the cool woods of the
mountain slopes, where its fine green leaves and plumed flower
head are often found. The tiny flowers have a most elusive, pleas-
ant perfume, and the graceful green leaves, set alternately on the
zigzaggy slem, are very decorative and beautiful. The flowers are
cream white in color and form a fitting termination to the leafy
stalk, which is usually about two feet tall.
There are three varieties of Smilacina to be found in the State.
They grow in very rich soil, sometimes so thick they hide the ground
from view. The Star Flowered .Solomon's Seal (Smilacina sessili-
folia) has few flowers, but larger, star-shaped, cream white, on the
angled stem, and is found in the shady woods of the Coast Range
mountains. The False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina amplexicaulis)
is found in the same range and also in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
One that is found only in the vicinity of the Truckee River is Smila-
cina stellata. The False Solomon's Seal is the most common of
these plants. They belong to the Lily family, and bloom in the early
spring from March until late in May or June.
The reason why these plants are called False Solomon's Seal
is not quite plain. It is said that the true Solomon's Seal has a
mark upon its roots like the imprint of a seal upon wax, and that
this mark is lacking upon the other plants.
We may suspect that Gerard, Parkinson and other old herbalists
were responsible for* the plant's name, for they passed it down with
some quaint notes as to its virtues. It seems that they claimed the
wisdom of Solomon, who, it is said, wrote a flora which embraced
all the plants from Cedars to Hyssop, dealing probably with the
healing virtues of the plants. Gerard, of the sixteenth century, says
of the Solomon's Seal :
"The roots are excellent good for to scale or close up green
wounds, being stamped and laid thereon ; wherefore it is called
Sigillum Solomonis, of the singular vertue that it hath in sealing or
healing up wounds, broken bones, and such like. The root of Sol-
omon's Scale, stamped while it is fresh, and greene and applied,
taketh away in one night, or two at the most, any bruise, blacke or"
blew spots gotten by falls or woman's willfulness in stumbling upon
their hasty husband's fists. That which might be written of this
herbe as touching the knitting of bones, and that truly, woulde
seeme unto some incredible; but common experience teacheth that
in the worlde there is not to be found another herbe comparable
to it for the purposes aforesaid."
We do not know whether our "False Solomon's Seal" has any
of the virtues of the humorous old herbalist's excellent "herbe."
But it seems wrong to call our charming plant "false." For this
graceful flower in the spring is quite beautiful enough to deserve
a name of its own. In the fall of the year, perhaps, we may find
a few of their pretty berries which the birds and the chipmunks have
not as yet taken.
98
Popular Studies of California Wild Flower
The Little Alpine or Small Leopard Lily
'To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, of add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish
Is icasteful and ridiculous excess."
SHAKESPEARE.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 99
"The time when lilies blow
And clouds are highest in the air!'
The Little Alpine or Small Leopard Lily (L. parvum)
By Roland Rice
The little Alpine or small Leopard Lily, L, parvum, grows in
the wild, free places of higher altitudes, in springy places and along
the edges of swamps or stream banks. It is far more fragile appear-
ing than its showy relative, L. pardalinum, the larger Leopard Lily,
buf seems abundantly able to take care of itself and seeks less shel-
tered places for its haunts. These plants vary somewhat in appear-
ance in different localities, but are frequently found in profusion at
altitudes ranging from six or seven thousand to as high as eleven
thousand feet; they grow from a foot and a half to eight or nine
feet tall, and bear from half a dozen to thirty or forty small, brilliant
lily bells. The flowers are usually about an inch and a quarter long,
funnel-shaped, or recurved only at the tips of the petals. They are
bright orange-yellow in color, spotted with purple. The slender,
beautiful plant rocks and sways with gentle dignity in the mountain
breezes. During their blossoming season, these brilliant lilies con-
stitute a real glory of the Alpine regions.
The Leopard Lily is always associated with quiet places in the
hills ; perhaps beside some rushing stream where one rests upon a
bank for a moment from the quest of trout in the foaming riffles.
The tall, graceful plant often exceeds six feet in height, and is
crowned with many blooms, which are three or four inches across.
The sight of a colony of several hundred of these colorful blossoms
towering above the green ferns and grass on the moist bank of
stream or spring is enchanting. The petals are usually recurved
from the base, and are pale orange-yellow on the outside and a deep
orange color within, spotted with maroon and tipped with scarlet.
The long anthers hanging down are purplish or brown, surrounding
the bright green pistil. The leaves, six or seven inches long, are
in whorls on the long green stalks.
The Leopard Lily is widely distributed along the Coast Range
Mountains near the seas, and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains below
the three thousand foot elevations. It grows in the rich, wet earth
of shaded places in the canons. Over thirty blossoms and buds
have been counted on a single stalk, and often twelve or more are
in bloom at one time. But six or seven flowers are the usual num-
ber. The bulbous roots are scaly and often are matted together.
The Humboldt Lily (Lilium humboldtii) is often mistaken for
the Leopard Lily, and both are sometimes called Tiger Lilies, which
is wrong, as the "Tiger Lily" is a native of China and is often cul-
tivated in our gardens. Leopard Lily seems more appropriate for
Lilium pardalinum, as the spots are so clearly marked on it. The
Humboldt Lily is a larger flower, and has a more golden coloring
without the reddish tints. It grows on the dry hillsides. Both
flowers bloom in the summer, usually in July.
100 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Clarkia elegans
Popular Studies of California Wild Flower s_ , ,^ ,101
Clarkia
(Evening Primrose Family)
By Bertha M. Rice
A piquant and graceful little flower is the Clarkia, a friendly
wayside flower of the spring and summer months. No other native
bloom can claim so strange a combination of varying shades of red,
pink and purple colors ; in some instances these bright hues pre-
dominate even in the foliage and seed vessels, consequently, as one
writer humorously expresses it, "suggests a blushing disposition."
Clarkia elegans Dougl. is the most widely distributed of the
five or six varieties to be found in California. It sometimes forms
glowing masses of color in the lower foothill regions of both the
Sierra and Coast Range Mountains, from Mendocino County south-
ward. Its brilliant hues are almost sure to attract the attention of
the passer-by. When the foliage is red, as it frequently is, the effect
is almost startling. Sometimes the flowers have rather a ragged
appearance as they creep nearer the dusty roadsides ; but when
found in more favorable surroundings, they have an individual
beauty and a quaint sort of dignity which suits their name, C. elegans
(Elegant Clarkia).
Clarkia elegans is a member of that most interesting plant
family which has given scientists many striking examples of mor-
phological differences to support their mutation theory of plants.
It belongs to the Evening Primrose Family, and in keeping with
that family's traditions may be found growing through a wide range
of variations in size and appearance. It grows from a few inches
to five or six feet tall, according to soil, moisture, exposure, etc.
Its flowers may be either large or small and the stems smooth or
hairy. These flowers are easily recognized by their slender, long-
clawed petals and their purple, pink and reddish hues.
The Clarkias were named in honor of Captain Clark of the
famous Lewis and Clark Expedition, which made the first explora-
tion trip across the continent to the Pacific in 1803-06. Captain
Clark gathered a wonderful collection of plants on this trip, which
he took back with him and presented to -the American Philosophical
Society, of Philadelphia, of which he was a member. An attractive
little flower, said to have been a great favorite with this celebrated
explorer, was named in his honor Clarkia pulchella and is known
to the children of the Northwest as "Pink Fairies." The scientific
name pulchella is pleasingly descriptive when translated; it means
"Little Beauty." This particular variety, I am sorry to say, is not
found growing in California except under cultivation. It grows in
Washington and Oregon and wanders eastward almost to the Rocky
Mountains. Another variety, and a very charming one, is com-
monly called "Beautiful Clarkia" (C. concinna Greene). In appear-
ance, it is somewhat like the famous Clarkia pulchella, and is even
more gay in color. It has rose-pink petals and a reddish-pink
calyx. Its alluring "Airy Fairy Lillian" type of beauty shows off
102 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
to the best advantage along shaded, tree-lined banks and amid ferns
and brakes, whose companionship it seems greatly to appreciate.
The little flower is especially captivating amid such delicate green-
ery. Clarkia concinna Greene is not abundant, but quite widely dis-
tributed in the middle altitudes of the Coast Range Mountains.
This plant is described by some botanists as Eucharidium concin-
num Gray (concinnum means beautiful), supposed to be closely
related to the Clarkia; but the majority of the botanists assign it to
the genus Clarkia.
A rare variety, somewhat localized in distribution, found on
the Mt. Diablo Range, and reported from a few other localities, is
Clarkia breweri Greene or E. breweri Gray, for some botanists con-
sider this species also entitled to generic distinction and designate
it Eucharidium breweri Gray, closely related to the Clarkia. This
variety has fan-shaped petals, the loveliest imaginable pink in color ;
its filaments and style are colored like the petals, but the anthers are
brick-red and the stigmas white. It usually grows but a few inches
high and its presence is often indicated by its sweet fragrance akin
to that of the old-fashioned honeysuckle which grew in our grand-
mothers' gardens. Its name, "Breweri," was given in honor of
William H. Brewer, botanist of the California Geological Survey.
The species designated by botanists as Clarkia rhomb old ea is
not especially abundant, but is widely distributed in the Yosemite
and the lower foothill regions of both the Sierra and Coast Range
Mountains. This plant is not so conspicuous, but is delicate in
appearance, with slender, smooth, branching stems, from one to
three feet tall ; it has smooth leaves, mostly alternate, nodding buds,
and a few pretty little flowers about three-quarters of an inch across.
Clarkias are frequently found in cultivation in the Northwest
and in Californian gardens, as well as in European countries, where
they are especially popular.
What I wish to bring out particularly does not concern the
enrichment of botanical and zoological knowledge, greatly important
as I regard this, but rather the enlarging and liberalizing influences
which Nature has on the public mind generally. DR. WILLIAM E.
RITTER.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 103
The Pitcher Sage Wood Balm
104 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
The Pitcher Sage. Wood Balm
Sphacele calycina (Mint Family)
By Bertha M. Rice
There is a quaint little flower on my summer hills which inter-
ests me greatly. When other blooms are failing, the wild honey-
bees, ever in search of nectar for their winter stores, its fragrant
blossoms bid them halt to feast a-plenty. It looks something like
the Monkey flower, but is purplish-white in color.
Pitcher Sage it is called, because the flowers resemble in minia-
ture a white porcelain pitcher, and the 'name Sage is suggested by
its fragrance. The leaves are wrinkled and rough like the Garden
Sage. It certainly looks and smells like Sage, but the botanist says
we are wrong, and then adds that this plant is the only one of its
kind on the North American continent. The rest of this particular
genus live down in South America. It belongs to the Mint Family,
however, and is related to the Sage. We have many of the Mint
tribe in this State, but only this member of the genus to which the
Pitcher Sage belongs ; and it is found only in the foothill regions of
Central and Southern California. It varies slightly in appearance in
different parts of the State, but only experts can detect a difference.
It grows on the dry hillsides among the chaparral in the late spring
and summer months, and is one of our most desirable plants, for it
furnishes the honey bee with nectar.
The wild flowers of the chaparral furnish most of the honey for
commerce, as well as supplying the wild bees with needful nectar.
The black and white sage plants, however, furnish most of the sage
honey, which is so well known. But it is good to know the Pitcher
Sage, for its spicy fragrance adds pleasure to the out-of-doors, and
it is not lacking in attractive qualities.
I have found its purplish-white flowers quite late in summer
on dry hillsides ; it was a beautiful sight to see the wild bees feasting
busily, laying up their winter stores and strengthening themselves
for the lean months. These flowers at times seem to be about the
only honey-flowers in bloom amid the chaparral, and we know that
Mother Nature has taken this way of arranging for her children.
During the "rush season," the bees have so many flowers that they
might easily overlook the scattered Pitcher Sage plants. Later, when
they are in need of replenishing their supplies, particularly if they
have been robbed, as they once were, by grizzly bears, and now by
man, who takes their honey for commerce, these nectar-laden flowers
must seem to be a very "oasis in the desert."
I have seen the humming-birds sipping the nectar of these
flowers also, and they seemed greatly to appreciate the sweetly laden
"pitchers" so advantageously arranged for them. Nature is a kind
and thoughtful mother, spreading delectable wayside feasts for her
wandering children, where man sees only belated blossoms and sun-
scorched hills.
The scientific name of this blossom is quite descriptive. Spha-
cele is from the Greek, meaning "sage," as the plants have sage-like
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
105
foliage and smell', though its blossoms are different ; calycina means
"cup-like." The shrub grows from five to six or seven feet high.
The loose calyx in which the "pitcher" sits is an interesting feature of
the plant. It is basin-shaped, and after the blooms have faded they
become inflated and look much like hazel nuts on the bushes; are
pale green and purple-veined in color, and quite conspicuous.
Its family name Mint is one of the sweetest of all plant names.
It brings to mind scents of the woodland, favorite walks, and happy
surprises of the season the bird songs, and all the pleasures of the
out-of-doors. The Mint family is a very large one and contains
many of our most interesting and valuable plants : The Tule Mint, the
Peppermint, Spearmint, Pennyroyal, Catnip, Self-Heal, the various
Sages, and Horehound, Blue-Curls, and the quaint and famous little
plant, Yerba Buena (Micromeria chamissonis), which grows in the
woods near tne coast, from Humboldt County to Southern Califor-
nia. Yerba Buena is Spanish for Good Herb, and from which they
made a tea, which was used as a beverage, as a febrifuge, and as a
remedy for colic. It was first used by the Indians for such purposes.
When San Francisco was a. little Spanish hamlet, it was known as
Yerba Buena, because of the prevalence of this aromatic, creeping
herb in that locality.
Mint is from the Greek word Menthe, the name of a nymph
fabled to have been changed into a Mint. The woods are full of
fairy-like beings, and it is pleasant to make their acquaintance. I
like the name applied to Sphacele calycina by the mountaineers.
They call it "Wood Balm."
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower.
How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labors hard to store it zvell
With the sweet food she makes.
ISAAC WATTS.
106 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Creamcups (Platystemon calif ornicus )
"For 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes."
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 107
Creamcups
(Platystemon californicus)
By Roland Rice
The Creamcups are a part of the trembling tints and star-
scattered jewels of wild flowerdom on the green hills and plains in
the spring, when, after the late winter rains, myriads of annual
flowering plants spring out of the soil. It is due to the absence of
sod-forming grasses that these annual flowers are able to take such
a large part of the land at the favored season when they can best
mature their seeds before the drought of summer overcomes them.
Creamcups are cousins to the poppies and companions of the
Baby Blue Eyes. They are delicate little flowers about an inch
across, with hairy stems from a plant about six to fourteen inches
high. The drooping buds are covered with dainty bright green caps
like the poppies, which are doffed when it is time for them to bloom.
Then the blossom lifts its laughing face to the sun. They are sun-
loving plants, and seem to grow best in the south-central part of
the State, where their flowers are largest and at their best.
Their name, Platystemon californicus, is given them because of
the flattened filaments to the stamens. There is another flower,
Platystigma californicum, which is similar in appearance, but has
flattened stigmas instead. This is called the "False Creamcup."
Both flowers are sometimes stained with bright yellow on the tips
of their petals and sometimes at their base. The centers are a deli-
cate cream color.
The Creamcups are among the beautiful wildings which
changed the gardens of Europe, \\here there were but few annuals
before David Douglas and those other intrepid explorers introduced
our California flowers to the Old World.
It is well to remember that these pretty flowers were a part of
those wondrous fields which Edwin Markham described years ago
in his exquisite verse :
"Miles beyond miles of every sovereign hue
And trembling tint the looms of Arras knew
A flowery pomp as of the dying day,
A splendor where a god might take his way."
The time was when these blooms took possession of whole fields
and covered the land for miles. But they are passing away from
their former haunts. The cultivation of the fields and the hand of
the flower vendor have driven them far from the cities. Now they
are more frequently found in some secluded spot or a sprinkling of
them beside the trail or road.
We may rejoice if we see a few of these exquisite, fair Cream-
cups beside the way. It is- a pleasure to know them. They are
quite generally distributed throughout the State, growing in sandy
soils, along roadsides, in fields, or in the foothill regions ; but they
are seldom seen above the three thousand foot altitude and are
usually in company with the Baby Blue Eyes.
108 Popular Studies of California Wild Floi
vers
Cone Flower (Rudbeckia calif ornica )
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 109
The Cone Flower (Rudbeckia calif ornica Gray)
Composite Family
By Bertha M. Rice
The Cone Flower (Rudbeckia calif ornica) is a peculiarly dis-
tinctive member of the Composite family of plants, and is a type
which is native only to North America.
Its habitats are the wet meadows of the Sierra Nevada Moun-
tains, where in summer time its unique solitary flower head nods
gracefully upon the long-stemmed plant, which is usually from two
to four feet high. The long, pure yellow rays droop prettily around
the purplish-brown disk, which lengthens into a cone, with age,
until it frequently becomes from an inch to two inches or more long.
It is this cylindrical disk or cone that won for these blossoms their
common name, Cone Flower, although school children, with that
pertinacity so often characteristic of youth, have found another and
an amusingly descriptive name for them that of "Hay Stacks."
There is an exceedingly odd species of this plant, R. occiden-
talis Nutt, having a similar tall cone, but its plain solitary disk
stands aloof. The handsome yellow rays are lacking. This vari-
ety is found in the mountains of Northern California and in Oregon
and eastward to the Rocky Mountains.
The Rudbeckias are named for two Swedish scientists, Claud
Rudbeck and his son, pioneers in the science of botany, who pre-
ceded Linnaeus, in the University of Upsala.
Several species of Rudbeckia have long been cultivated in Euro-
pean gardens, and some varieties have a wanderlust which must
be pleasing to many people who have a fondness for these quaint
blossoms. The most popular of these is the one known as "Black
Eyed Susan" (Rudbeckia hirta), which grows in tufts with several
flowers in bloom at the same time. They are yellow-rayed and the
small .disk .becomes conical as the seeds mature, but its cone does
not exceed three-fourths of an inch in height. There is no after-
bloom of pappus, as in Rudbeckia californica. The Black Eyed
Susans are lovers of hot, sunny fields. This variety is a native of
the Mississippi Valley, but has migrated both eastward and west-
ward, with the commerce of baled hay, presumably. It is now
found quite frequently in this State, and is becoming abundant in
the Yosemite Valley, where it is very showy during the months of
August and September. There is more than a suspicion that some
person has purposely introduced these Black Eyed Susans into our
national park, along with other interesting plants, which do not
naturally belong in that district. Although undoubtedly furnishing
a pleasant surprise to many, particularly tourists, to find the friendly
flower faces in our Yosemite, it is sometimes confusing to Western
botanists to have their ideas regarding the natural distribution of
certain species of plants so strangely upset.
In the language of flowers, Rudbeckia stands for Justice.
110 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Elephant Heads (Pedicularis grocnlandica)
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 111
Elephant Heads, Pediclaris groenlandica (Lousewort)
Scrofulariaceae (Figwort Family)
By Roland Rice
The Elephant Heads are among the strange and exquisite
posies that star the meadows bordering the Alpine heights of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains. Their warm pink color and delicate
fragrance first attract the attention, and an examination of the
flower spikes furnish a delightful surprise. An elephant's large,
flapping ears at the sides of the forehead, the long, slender, curved
trunk, and a suggestion of tusks are to be seen in miniature, in each
of the tiny blossoms.
The plant is about a foot high, with bronze-green, fern-like
foliage, clustered at the base of the smooth, purple stems, and topped
by these long, densely flowered, pink spikes.
A similar variety, Pedicularis attolens Gray, is also called Ele-
phant Heads ; but the little beak is more abrupt, and the flower
spikes smaller, and densely clothed with white hairs. Both species
are frequently found growing together, although the latter is com-
moner in slightly lower altitudes. Their glowing colors are en-
hanced by the varying hues of other bright blossoms, which make
these upland meadows the fairest of all natural gardens.
The Elephant Heads range from the far northern shores of
Hudson Bay and across the continent to our lofty Sierras, where
it is but a few miles to' orange groves and flowering plants of a
warmer clime. There are but a few other species of Pedicularis
listed in California. P. scniibarbata Gray, growing on dry ridges
and in the open woods of the Sierras, is widely distributed and
forms pretty rosettes of fern-like foliage, with little spikes of rather
attractive, yellowish blossoms, slightly tinged with purple, the upper
lip being hooded but not continued into a beak. P. racemota is
reported from Sierra Valley and northward. P. densiflora, the
handsome Indian Warrior, is included in this group and is one of
the best known and most popular flowers we have. It grows among
low, wooded foothills from the central part of the State to Oregon.
The Yuki Indian children called this friendly flower the "wai-mok,"
which means Yellows-Hammer Flower, and so called because these
birds extract the sweets from its nectar-laden flower tubes. Per-
haps the name Indian Warrior, so popular with white children, was
given because they saw in its gay, wine-colored blooms a semblance
of the flowing feathers of an Indian's war-bonnet.
An extremely interesting variety of Pedicularis, because of its
rarity, only known to have been collected from a single locality, near
Pescadero, is P. dudleyi Elmer. It is an odd little denizen of the
Santa Cruz Mountains, hidden away in the depths of the mighty
Sequoia sempervirens, and resembling somewhat the Indian War-
rior, P. densiflora, but is smaller and fewer flowered, and pinkish
white in color. It was named after the revered and widely known
scientist, Dr. W. R. Dudley, of Stanford University, who first dis-
112 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
covered it. It was first described to science, in 1906, by Elmer, a
graduate student of that university. Its existence is said to be
endangered by the proximity of its hiding place to a popular camping
ground.
The name Pedicularis is Latin for Lousewort. The genera is
frequently called Lousewort in science. The ancients, who be-
stowed the name, believed that sheep became infected with Pediculis
(tiny lice) by feeding on these plants. Strange to say, sheep will
not eat the plants because of their acrid juices. The flowers of this
family, many of them, captivate the fancy and illustrate the peculiar
habits of their genus by curiously imitating the appearance of ani-
mals, and assuming other unique and fantastic forms which popular-
ize them with children. P. ornithorhyncha, the quaint little Duck's
Bill, grows in Washington and Oregon, and the small blossoms on
its pink and purple spikes, which rise from amongst fern-like foliage,
bear a striking resemblance to a duck's head and are ever a delight
to youngsters. Then there is the ''Parrot's Head" and the "Walrus
Head," and such strange varieties, to be found in other sections.
The Figwort Family, to which the Pedicularis belong, is also
known as the Scrophulariaccae. During the Middle Ages the acrid
juice of certain plants of this family was considered a cure for
scrofula; and one species, the Wood Betony, is famous in history,
so great an importance did the ancients attach to its wonderful
remedial values. A common saying of those days was : "May you
have more virtues than Betony." The Romans had another well-
known saying: "Sell your coat and buy Betony," which is supposed
to allude to its great value as a cure-all. "Antonius Musa, physician
to the Emperor Augustus, claimed that Betony was an invaluable
cure for not less than forty-seven ills. Franzins, in his "History
of Plants," speaks of its value to wild animals and he says of the
stag: "When he is wounded with a dart, the only cure he hath is
to eate some of that herbe called Betony," which he further claimed
would not only "stanch the wound," but "withdraw the dart." The
Alpine Betony, Pedicularis cenir anther a, grows in dry, rocky soil in
high altitudes in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, but has never
been reported in California. In appearance it is characteristic of
the Pedicularis group, having bronze-colored, fern-like foliage and
short spikes of quaint little flowers. An important medicinal plant
of the Figwort Family at the present time is the common Foxglove,
Digitalis purpurea', it is a European plant, but has escaped from
cultivation in California, and is now growing wild in the Santa Cruz
Mountains. I have found it growing near Bull Springs, a few miles
east of the State Redwood Park on the road to Saratoga. It has
been reported from other localities.
The Figwort Family, or Scrophulariaceae, is a very large one
and contains many of our most popular plants. The handsome
Pentstemons are included among the groups, and are widely dis-
tributed in many varieties ; also the popular Monkey Flowers, or
Mimulus, both red and yellow varieties, are scattered about the
State. Snap-dragon, Toad-flax, Moth-mullein, and the Popcorn
Flowers (or Johnny Tuck) and other posies, bearing similarly odd
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 113
or affectionate nicknames, are among our best known varieties.
Very popular are the little Chinese Houses, Collinsia bicolor (there
are fifteen or more species), quite common throughout California,
one variety of which is called Innocence. The name Collinsia is
commemorative of Zaccheus Collins, a Philadelphia botanist of a
century past. The California Bee-plant is afflicted with Scrophu-
laria calif ornica Cham, as a scientific appellation (which we admit
is a long name for these Pixey-like blossoms of dull green and
reddish hue), but as the popular name would indicate, they are
famous honey flowers and well distributed in California. Masses
of bright red Indian Paint Brushes, Castilleias, are to be seen on
hillsides and meadowlands in various localities. The popular scien-
tific name, Castilleia, commemorates a noted Spanish botanist Cas-
tillejo. In form, these flowers strongly resemble their relative, the
Indian Warrior ; but they are looked upon with suspicion by scien-
tists, as developing vampire ways and being more or less parasitic
in nature. The Owl's Clover or Cream Sacs, Orthocarpus, which
color the landscapes in early spring with their pretty pink and
magenta blooms, w r ere known to the Spanish as Escobita, meaning
"little broom." There are many varieties of this favorite flower ;
more commonly, they are pinkish-purple in color, but others are
almost white ; and a certain yellowish variety was known to Indian
children as "Coyote Tails."
Closely related, and in the same group with the Orthocarpus
and the Pedicularis, are the singular and interesting Adenostegias,
of which the little Bird's Beak, Adenostegia rigida Benth., is the
type ; and familiar to school children, who doubtless conferred this
name upon the plant because of the odd little beak or tip of its
corolla. The tiny, purplish-colored flowers, like birds in their nests,
are almost enveloped in the green calyx. The blossoms would hardly
be noticed but for the prevalence of the little gray-green bushes
throughout our chaparral regions. The plants prefer dry habitats
and often mass themselves in such profusion along mountain road-
sides as to be a conspicuous feature of the landscape. Indians valued
the plant as an emetic. The genus is confined to the West and is
characteristic of California and the Great Basin. Of the twenty-one
described species, all but five are in California and nine are confined
to this State. Five of these varieties were first described by Mrs.
Roxana Ferris, director of the famous Dudley Herbarium, at Stan-
ford University. The most interesting of these species is a quaint,
grayish little denizen of tule lands, Adenostegia pahnata Ferris,
known as the Ferris Adenostegia, which has been collected but
rarely, and was discovered by Mrs. Ferris near College City, Colusa
County. It somewhat resembles Owl's Clover, Orthocarpus, but
has an unusual, grayish color.
One could go on indefinitely discussing interesting members of
the Figwort Family. But not the least of these are the odd, fra-
grant, little rose-red Elephant Heads of our Alpine heights.
114
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
The Washington Lily
The. literature of the ages knew nothing of the Washington Lily
of California. Today it ranks among the most beautiful of the
world's lilies. No other flower has so many religious associations
as the Lily. It stands for purity and majesty. Almost every poet
from Homer to Tennyson has sung its praises; none more so than
Julia Ward Howe, in her "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
"In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With the glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on!'
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 115"
The Washington Lily
By Bertha M. Rice
Our beautiful, fragrant mountain lily, Lilium zvashingtoniannm,;
must be, I think, the most beautiful of all our Western lilies. It is
said to be the only pure white American lily.
In all this world there could hardly be a sweeter, fairer flower.
There is something singularly impressive about the tall, straight
plant, with its handsome whorls of polished, wavy-margined, dark
green leaves and its smooth, stout, purple stem, crowned with a radi-
ance of glistening white blossoms. The whole attitude of the plant
is one of quiet dignity and grace. A feeling of reverence must fill
the heart when one is permitted to gaze upon its perfect flowers.
Never shall I forget the sudden joy which took possession of
my soul when my first Easter Lilies unfurled their fragrant chalices
of light. They furnished the subject, I believe, of almost my only
accepted and published poem ; and the thoughts of those sweet blos-
soms have remained with me throughout my whole life, a sacred ,
and fragrant memory. Since then, I have found this white moun-;
tain lily even more impressively beautiful. In our heavenly Father's
gardens are blossoms infinitely fairer and finer than were ever
planted by mortal man. Up there on the rugged mountainside,
towering, head-high, in the wilderness, above the tangled protective
shrubbery surrounding it, and swinging its fragrant censers in the
glad breezes, grows the real jewel of all wild-flowerdom the fairest,
sweetest flower in all the wild gardens of the wide world.
The Washington Lily is never found in the Coast Range. It is
rather widely distributed, but not abundant, in the, Sierra Nevada
Mountains, and has been discovered as far south as the mountains
in San Diego County, and through mountainous regions northward
to the Columbia River. The plants grow from three to eight feet
high and bear from a dozen to thirty or forty waxen, white blossoms
from three to four inches long, set off by yellow anthers and a green-
ish pistil, and are exceedingly fragrant. Very beautiful ones are
found in the Yosemite region and near Lake Tahoe. They grow in
chaparral thickets and open pine woods up to an altitude of 7,500
feet. Small woodland creatures, such as chipmunks and squirrels
will eat its young and tender stalks, while bears and Indians have
delighted in its large edible bulbs. The Indians, for all their wild
natures, exercised discretion and good sense in gathering the choice
bulbs from their wild gardens, taking care to leave stock for the next
year's harvest. It is our so-called civilized people of today who are
carelessly and thoughtlessly destroying the fine wild life about us.
Reports come in from all about the State regarding the destruction
and unnecessary waste of our native plants ; and I quote from a letter
received a few months ago from Dr. Douglas R. Campbell, head of
the Botany Department of Stanford University, who says : "I hope
something may be done to check the reckless destruction of so many
of our choicest wild flowers, such as the Washington Lily. The
difficulty is the lack of care in gathering the flowers. If the stalks
116 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
were cut, so as to leave most of the leaves below the flower, the
bulbs would not be materially damaged, but when the stalks are cut
close to the ground or still worse, pulled up the bulb is either
killed outright or so weakened that it will not recover for several
years."
The Washington Lily was christened "The Lady Washington"
by the miners of '49, which goes a long way to prove that the gold
diggers were not altogether a bad lot, wholly devoid of sentiment
and appreciation of the finer things of life. Dr. Kellogg, who first
described this beautiful lily to science, preserved to posterity the
semblance of its original and patriotic American name by calling it
Lilium zvashingtonianum. Of recent years it is called the Wash-
ington Lily. The Shasta Lily, which is more plentiful than the
Washington, is really a variety of L. washingtonianuni, but it has
a smaller bulb. The Lemon Lily, L. parryi, often called Parry's
Lily, found in the southern part of the State, has flowers similar in
form, but of a clear yellow color, dotted with darker spots. In the
Coast Range we have the wonderful Ruby Lily, Lilium rub esc ens,
a truly magnificent plant, with whorls of rippling green leaves and
gorgeous blossoms of pink and ruby shades, and widely famed as the
most deliciously fragrant flower in the world. It is a strange, elusive
flower, choosing for its habitats the wildest and most inaccessible
mountain fastnesses, and but seldom seen, even by those who live
in close proximity to its hiding places. Out-door people, familiar
with its fragrance, are ofttimes guided to its presence by the spice-
like odor of its blooms. Henry Van Dyke says of this flower :
"Searching and strange in its sweetness,
It steals like a perfume enchanted
Under the arch of the forest, and all who
Perceive it are haunted,
Seeking, and seeking forever, till sight of
The lily is granted."
In different localities the Ruby Lily is called the Chaparral Lily.
It is also called the Redwood Lily. Botanists claim that L. rub esc ens
and L. zvashingtonianum are closely related. The white Washington
Lily, in age, frequently assumes a purplish cast. The Ruby Lily
is a taller and handsomer plant, with larger and more fragrant
blossoms ; but no flower that blooms can compare with the chaste
and spiritual charm of the Washington Lily. It seems almost to
have borrowed some ethereal quality from the gardens of paradise.
The aspect of Nature is devout.
Like the figure of Jesus, she stands with bended
head, and hands folded upon the breast.
The happiest man is he zvho learns from Nature the
lesson of worship.
EMERSON.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
117
Toyon or Christmas Berry
( Heteromeles arbutifolia Roemer)
By Bertha M. Rice
The beautiful Toyon or Christmas Berry tree is one of the most
singularly attractive and characteristic features of California, giving
a rich flame of color to our otherwise flowerless roadsides at this
season of the year. The cheerful scarlet berries, which contrast so
beautifully with their evergreen foliage, are frequently called Cali-
fornia Holly and prove almost irresistible to the crowds of hikers
and automobilists, who have wellnigh exterminated the bushes in
certain localities. This important phase of the subject is taken up in
considerable detail in the next chapter.
Toyon comes from
the Mexican pronun-
ciation of the -Spanish
tollon. The plant is
a member of the Rose
Family and is a cousin
to the roses, plums,
peaches, apples, cher-
ries, almonds, straw-
berries, blackberries,
of cultivation, and to
the wild varieties. It
is related to the Oso
berry, chokecherry,
service berry, thimble
berry, salmon berry,
western mountain ash,
mountain mahogany,
meadow sweet, bitter-
brush, nine-bark, pur-
ple avens, ladies' man-
tle, and the famous
chamisel or grease-
wood. The Toyon
bushes are practically
confined to California.
They are more com-
mon to the chaparral
belt of the Coast
Ranges and may be found from Southern California to Humboldt
County and are occasionally met with in Oregon. They are also
found in the Sierras. The bushes grow from five to twenty or
more feet high, and when unmolested often become very shapely
small trees. In remote districts they sometimes attain a height of
twenty-five or more feet. The largest Toyon tree that we have any
record of is a magnificent specimen, to the left of the palm driveway
at Stanford University. It is quite as large as an oak tree.
118 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
Our shrub was introduced into England more than one hundred
years ago, where it is called the California May-bush, because it
resembles a species of hawthorn called "The May" in England.
The two plants are related, belonging to the same family, and so the
English name is not so improperly applied as our more common
term of "California Holly." These plants are in no way related to
the holly trees. There is a resemblance between the berries, but the
less attractive foliage in no way resembles the striking, glossy holly
leaves of cultivation. Vendors of Toyon berries at Christmas-tide,
realizing this deficiency, usually mingle these bright scarlet berries
with our beautiful wild cherry leaves and those of the scrub oak,
which are exceedingly glossy and handsome in appearance. The
oblong, saw-toothed leaves of the Toyon are rigid and leathery and
slightly glossy, but do not compare with the brilliant leaves of
certain other shrubs. The plant was early called Photinia arbuti-
folia on account of its resemblance to the Chinese Photinia, or
Hawthorn, which also has red berries. The berries are edible,
although they have an acid taste. The Spanish-Californians used
them in making a pleasant drink, and in their season they formed a
regular part of the diet of Indians, who ate them both roasted and
boiled, or dried, and ground into a meal. The band-tailed pigeon
and the western robin are exceedingly fond of these berries, as are
also the shy hermit thrushes, and other birds.
Late in the season, according to locality, from May until Aug-
ust, these bushes are covered with abundant panicles of small white
flowers, not particularly pretty, but fragrant, with a spicy woodsy
odor, and are among our most celebrated of honey flowers. During
their season of bloom the woods are melodious with the humming
of bees, busy at their harvesting. Their late blooms, when so many
of the nectar-bearing flowers are gone, are accordingly prized by
bee-keepers. The Toyons grow slowly, which makes the destruction
of these bushes all the more lamentable. They are handsome in
cultivation and make attractive hedges. If a few well-selected,
ripened berries are gathered and planted in tin cans, with proper
care, in a year or so they may be transplanted to gardens, and very
soon one would have plenty of Christmas berries for home decora-
tion and to spare, without robbing the mountain wild birds or mar-
ring the scenic beauty of our highways and foothills. . The trees
usually bear abundant fruit. It is rough handling which endangers
the trees, whereas careful pruning or cutting of modest bunches of
berries from the delicate Toyons might not be injurious to their
growth. Heavy pruning is sometimes recommended by horticultur-
ists, but must be done with intelligence and care. These berries, if
left on the trees,, furnish valuable food for the flocks of wild birds
that frequent California mountains in the winter time when other
food is scarce.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 119
Urgent Need of Protection for Toyon Berries
By Bertha M. Rice
California has her fish and game preserves, her State and
national parks, and forests, and other valuable safeguards of the
wild. But there are no laws to protect our beautiful wild flowering
shrubs and interesting native plants, many of which have become
candidates for extermination. The population of California is in-
creasing with such rapidity and the cultivation of the land in vast
areas is so extensive, that, together with the cutting down of forests
and forest fires, the irrigation of deserts, and drainage of marshes,
and the numerous grazing herds, they have all but erased the once
bewilderingly beautiful gardens of wild blooms. The balance of
nature has been sadly disturbed by the rapidity with which the
progress of agriculture, the growth of the cities and the ''sub-
divisions" have changed the fair landscapes of the Golden State;
and the birds and the bees as well as the flowers have been having
rather a hard time of it. However, it is not so much the inevitable
for which we grieve as it is for the more thoughtless and wholly
unnecessary destruction which now threatens practical extermination
of some of the more cherished species of our native plants.
The highways and byways of California, once adorned with
multitudinously tinted and fragrant wild blooming things, are being
desolated and marred by the throngs of automobilists and out-door
enthusiasts, whose appreciation of beauty seems sadly misdirected,
to say the least.
The Toyon, or Christmas Berry, sometimes called wild holly,
comes in for more than its share of this sort of vandalism. It is no
infrequent sight on Sundays and holidays to see hundreds of auto-
mobiles and hikers literally loaded down with branches from these
beautiful trees. In their haste to gather and be gone, people fre-
quently cut down the trees or twist and hack huge branches from
their delicate trunks, thus sadly marring their beauty, if not per-
manently injuring the growth. From reports gathered in various
localities, we learn that the Toyon trees have been almost obliterated
in places, and while there seems to be at present a plentiful supply
of red berries in the more remote districts, the increased demand
for them, and for other wild shrubs, for holiday decorations, threat-
ens in time even these vast reserves. Vendors of wild holly and
greenery are having shipped to them daily, and in immense quan-
tities, such material from various parts of the State. If this demand
increases, and is not regulated, it will, added to the thoughtless exter-
mination carried on by motorists and other unthinking people, prac-
tically exterminate some of California's most attractive features.
The birds will miss the berries and the bees will miss the
flowers, and the landscape will lack its flame of color to cheer us,
and something beautiful will have gone out of our lives something
we cannot regain unless we safeguard before too late these happier
features of our wild life.
120 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
It will be remembered by many people that our Wild Flower
Conservation League conducted a vigorous and justified campaign
last year for the better protection and conservation of the Christmas
Berry tree. As a direct result of these efforts, a great deal of
splendid sentiment was aroused and in several counties and localities
throughout the State the supervisors or local magistrates adopted
measures (and enforced them also) prohibiting people from wan-
tonly gathering, destroying or injuring trees. In a number of in-
stances, where such vandalism was particularly lawless and unneces-
sary, quite severe penalties were imposed ; and, indeed, became neces-
sary, if the people of California desire to retain any semblance of
the colorful charm these beautiful trees impart to our autumn land-
scapes and scenic highways. It is encouraging to know that excel-
lent support to this movement has been rendered by leading and
influential citizens of the State, including many distinguished scien-
tists and educators, whose sentiments at this time are well worth
quoting. They should prove invaluable in strengthening the interest
already created in this work, and assist in crystallizing sentiment into
action, such as will eventually bring about protective legislation.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, DEC. 16, 1919.
I am especially interested in your efforts to protect the Tollon or Christ-
mas Berry, which is now being so ruthlessly slaughtered among the mountains
and beside our streams. It is a noble plant, one of our most beautiful native
trees, but it has little chance to show what it might be if the branches are torn
off in the wanton fashion in which I see them carried about every day. Some
one ought to be encouraged to cultivate the Christmas Berry for the sake of
its ornamental fruits.
Very truly yours,
DAVID STARR JORDAN.
SANTA ROSA, DEC. 16, 1919.
Our beautiful wild trees, shrubs and flowers should be preserved. It may
not be evident to all, yet it is of far more importance than the preservation
of the game birds and almost ranks with the preservation of our Yosemites
and Big Trees, for when once carelessly destroyed, these beautiful wildings
can never be replaced in their wild, refreshing, native beauty.
Twenty-five years ago great stretches of the bay shore were lighted up
for months with the brilliant scarlet of the Toyon or "Christmas Berries"
(Hetcromeles) and now the hillsides of Sonoma County are being robbed of
all these. Automobile, trailer and truck loads of these and Christmas trees
and other wild greenery pass on the State highway at this season, mostly for
commercial purposes, and while dwellers in the cities deserve and should have
a taste of wild nature, yet the wholesale destruction of the most shapely and
graceful trees will be sadly lamented, not only in the ravaged countryside, but
by city dwellers, also. It is time to think of saving some of our most beautiful
trees, shrubs and flowering plants from extermination.
LUTHER BURBANK.
KENTFIELD, MARIN COUNTY, MARCH 8, 1920.
I am deeply and personally interested, as you know, in the preservation
of the native flora of California. Tamalpais is being denuded of huckleberry,
rhododendron and especially of Christmas berries and also fern. Our home
place has been practically stripped.
We have long been trying to teach decent country manners to city people,
but there is an idea that "forest plunder" is justified. Indeed, there appeared
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 121
an editorial in one of the San Francisco papers about two years ago to this
effect.
I believe there should be legislation passed making it an offense over and
above a trespass to take any wild flowers, Christmas berries, ferns or other
decorative vegetation from any property without specific permission of the
owner, and furthermore to protect all such things along county roads and
State highways. The laws against trespass can never be enforced and special
legislation is needed in this particular the same as in game preservation.
The difference between game and these other things is that the game
under the old English tradition is the property of the State, whereas the
flowers, etcetera, belong to the owners of the land. So in drafting legislation,
this should be carefully taken into account. I shall try to see what can be
done to prevent such depredation in the Tamalpais region, especially on the
grounds of the Public Water District. Rigid attention is paid to preservation
in Muir Woods and the mountain railway has usually assisted in preventing
the carrying out of such plunder.
The Christmas berry and fern fiends are a pestilence on our home place
at the holiday time.
You are starting a splendid movement and should get a lot of assistance
through the aid of the Sierra Club, Tamalpais Conservation Club, the Alpine
Club and other out-door associations.
Yours truly,
WILLIAM KENT.
BERKELEY, DECEMBER 3, 1919.
I agree with you that something should speedily be done to save from
practical extermination, along our highways and roadsides, some of the highly
decorative flowering shrubs and plants that are one of the glories of Cali-
fornia scenery. This is especially true of the Christmas Berry or Toyon
(Heteromeles) and the California wild currant. The number and omni-
presence of automobiles on all roads have increased the ensuing devastation
twenty-fold within the last ten years and unless legal measures are taken
soon the next generation will know only from hearsay the loveliness of wild
tangle-brush roadsides of California in spring and autumn.
A good part of the destruction is to be charged to foreigners, who go
out with trucks to strip the hillsides for purely commercial purposes at the
holiday season. There is no more reason for allowing this class of persons
to enrich itself by robbing a community of its commonwealth of beautiful
shrubs and plants, than in allowing them to smother the songs of thrushes
and meadow larks by slaughtering them for the market. We punish the
latter, as an act of injury to the community, and plant robbers for the market
should be treated in the same manner.
It has long beee customary in Europe to gauge the level of a country's
culture by the foresight with which it has preserved and fostered the natural
human instinct for landscape beauty, and tourists, it was afterwards found,
speedily and willingly brought their tributes of gold to the fortunate culti-
vators of a beautiful natural environment. We do not build Parthenons and
preserve Yosemite for the lining of our pocketbooks, but because they min-
ister strength, nobility, and refinement to the human spirit. Yet no com-
munity should overlook the fact that the enhancement of its landscape beauty
adds potentially to its material wealth, and that the diminution of its out-
door art assets entails a corresponding loss in dollars and cents.
Wishing you all possible success, I am,
Sincerely yours,
WILLIAM FREDERIC BADE,
President, Sierra Club.
DECEMBER 20, 1919.
Though the Tamalpais Conservation Club has been organized primarily
to conserve things animate and inanimate in Marin County, California, and
particularly preserve the scenic beauties and fauna of Mt. Tamalpais, its
spurs and slopes, it of course is in sympathy with the wider conservation
movement.
122 _ Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers _
It occurs to us that the ends sought by the "California Wildflower Con-
servation League" deserve the support of all, particularly those individuals
who seek recreation in the country. It is for them to rally to the support of
an organization such as that which you represent, and endeavor to put an
end to the wanton destruction of wild flowers and shrubs, that has been going
on the past few months.
Congratulating you for the work accomplished and wishing you greater
success, I am,
R. F. O'ROURKE,
President Tamalpais Conservation Club.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., DEC. 20, 1919.
I am very happy to note that excellent publicity is being given to your
effort in conserving the wild flowers of California. I feel satisfied that once
it is realized that many of our wild flowers and shrubs are threatened with
extinction, public opinion will be a great aid in the enactment of necessary
laws and regulation and their enforcement. It is unfortunate that much of
the destruction that now takes place is committed by persons of ability and
means, by persons one naturally feels should take a pride in being found in
the vanguard of the conservation movement, that means so much for Cali-
fornia and involves nothing but the sacrifice of a bit of selfish enjoyment in
the interest of the public welfare. California is a wonderful out-door play-
ground and I sincerely hope that through the efforts of yourself and associ-
ates the playground may be kept ever beautiful and not stripped of all its
color. To this end, one may profitably devote both time and energy and feel
assured that the work is not in vain.
Very truly yours,
W. C. FANKHAUSER,
Vice-President, Tamalpais Conservation Club.
DECEMBER 5, 1919.
I am very glad indeed to know that your association is interesting itself
in the preservation of the Christmas Berry bush (Heteromeles arbutifolia).
I have noticed the ruthless manner in which the ordinary person is inclined
to gather Christmas berries. Large limbs are frequently torn from the bush,
which seriously maims it and tends to interfere with its fruiting ability.
The National Forests are administered under the policy that all of their
resources can and should be conservatively and wisely put to use. For ex-
ample, we sell several hundred million feet of stumpage annually to the
various lumber companies throughout the State, but our contracts specify
that only the mature trees are to be cut, that the logging shall be carefully
conducted so as not to injure young growth or trees remaining, and that the
brush and refuse resulting from cutting shall be properly disposed of so as
not to create a continuous fire menace. We feel that Christmas berries con-
tribute largely to the cheerfulness of homes during the holiday season, and
that the gathering of these berries should not be prohibited, but should be
wisely regulated as we regulate the cutting of timber on our National Forests.
It is suggested that if all owners of land where this shrub is found would
co-operate in a campaign of public education, much good could be accom-
plished along this line. The berries should be gathered by cutting the ter-
minal branches cleanly with a knife, taking care, at the same time, not to
mangle the tree by the breaking off of large limbs. We would be exceedingly
glad to co-operate with your League in educating the public along this line
and I am, today, calling this matter to the attention of our officers on the
National Forests.
As you know, our forests are generally situated some distance from the
large centers of population where the problem is not as vital a one as it is
near such centers where the larger part of this collecting of Christmas berries
is going on.
Very sincerely yours,
(Signed) T. D. WOODBURY,
Assistant District Forester.
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 123
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., Nov. 24, 1919.
DEAR MRS. RICE:
I certainly hope you will meet with complete success in the movement to
save the California Holly.
Sincerely yours,
EDGAR T. CUTTER,
Superintendent the Associated Press.
DECEMBER 10, 1919.
Yours is indeed a very noble work, and one in which the Scouts and we
Scout men are interested. Certainly something should be done to protect the
Christmas berries. So many folks when picking flowers and berries in the
woods are not satisfied to simply pick them, but very often tear down, break
and carelessly destroy the trees and shrubbery, with no thought that those
following might have desire to enjoy that which they so selfishly are doing
away with.
We shall be most happy to co-operate with you in endeavoring to do
away with this type of vandalism.
Very sincerely yours,
CHAS. N. MILLER,
Acting National Field Scout Commissioner.
PASADENA, CALIF., DEC. 10, 1919.
. . . It seems to me a great deal of the destruction of the Toyon may
be traceable to the hacking and breaking down of the plants by people who
put the branches on sale at holiday times. If this could be stopped and a
campaign of education through the schools and elsewhere inaugurated to teach
people to gather for their domestic needs by decent cutting off with knife or
scissors as they do with flowers in their own gardens, I think it would be a
good thing. There is a certain usefulness in bringing wild flowers and berry-
bearing branches into the home, if it can be done with suitable regard to the
life of the wild plant.
With all good wishes,
Yours faithfully,
CHARLES FRANCIS SAUNDERS.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, PALO ALTO, CALIF., JAN. 29, 1920.
Climate and scenery are two of California's important assets. But do
Californians appreciate how much of the State's peculiar charm is due to her
native plants? Wipe cut the noble redwoods, the Sierra forests, and the
beautiful oaks of the rolling foothills and valleys, and California would be
converted into a bleak waste that would have little attraction for the tourist.
Fortunately the principal forests are receiving attention and will be protected,'
but many of the most attractive wild flowers and shrubs are being ruthlessly
destroyed. The Toyon and huckleberry should be preserved, and I heartily
approve of your efforts to accomplish that end.
The wholesale gathering of native bulbs and other plants for commercial
purposes should be prohibited by law, as is the selling of wild game. Nursery-
men, as some are already doing, should be require^ to grow their native plant
material. By so doing they not only would cease destroying plants in their
native haunts, but would develop through selection strains adapted to garden
conditions.
Very sincerely yours,
L. R. ABRAMS.
It is a particularly encouraging sign to have the bird lovers
join this war against the indiscriminate and ruthless slaughter of
berry bushes, which they feel will materially affect the bird popula-
tion of the Bay Region. The following excellent letters received
124 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers
over a year ago from such authorities as Dr. Harold C. Bryant,
economic ornithologist of the University of California, and director
of research education for the Fish and Game Commission of Cali-
fornia ; and Dr. Joseph Grinnell, director of the Museum of Verte-
brate Zoology of the University of California, and one of the most
noted authorities on bird life in America ; also Dr. Frederick W.
D'Evlyn, president of the Audubon Association of the Pacific and
head of the National Children's Pets Exhibitions Association of
America, will be of value as authoritative statements from reliable
sources :
BERKELEY, Nov. 14, 1919.
I am greatly interested in your timely endeavor to conserve the flora of
our State. We have heard much of the conservation of forests, water power,
and fish and game, but practically nothing about the conservation of other
of our natural resources. Certain outstanding resources are signaled out
for attention and others are apparently overlooked. Laws protect our
national forests; but, as you have wisely pointed out, no laws protect the
Toyon berry, huckleberry, or other shrubs, which are fast disappearing be-
cause of ruthless destruction ; nor has public sentiment been sufficiently
aroused to take cognizance of the threatened extermination of these shrubs
and some of the medicinal herbs. Surely our State is awakening to the real
values which pertain to our natural resources and which emphasize the con-
servation of them. Wtih such a realization should come the desire to save
many areas in their natural state. Needless to say, this would mean the
careful protection of every form of life within the area, both plant and
animal. Only through this method can we expect to retain the flora and
fauna intact. Both from a scientific standpoint and from a sentimental stand-
point we must save a breeding stock of native plants and animals.
Here is to the day when an awakened public sentiment will demand a
conservation of all natural resources, that we ourselves and future generations
also may be benefited.
Very truly yours,
H. C. BRYANT.
BERKELEY, DEC. 15, 1919.
You have my warmest sympathy in your efforts toward securing pro-
tection of native shrubbery against annihilation within the area adjacent to
our large centers of population. I feel sure that your line of work is just
what is needed, namely, the setting forth of the facts and dangers; with a
knowledge of these, I believe that popular sentiment will shortly come to
disapprove so strongly of the custom of unchecked despoliation that the
problem will solve itself. Here, as with game conservation and songbird
protection, it is a matter of education.
The question of berry supply for the part of our bird population which
depends upon such food is an important one here in the Bay Region, where
at best berry-producing shrubs are not very plentiful. I am quite sure that
a reduction in the sum total of birds would follow upon the complete eradi-
cation of these plants upon which the birds depend at a time of the year when
food suitable to them is scarcest.
I think this is a perfectly valid reason in itself for the strict conserva-
tion of our native Toyon, elderberry and the like, in the Bay Region.
Very truly yours,
J. GRINNELL.
SAN FRANCISCO, DEC. 19, 1919.
Few incidents in active service create a more profound realism than the
roll call after battle. The silence, the unanswered name. That blankless
moment that officially records something that is no more, an entity that has
now only the heritage of a memory. In our wild life, and its struggles for
its rights to exist, a roll call would oftentimes reveal an equally arresting
Popular Studies of C_^forni}g Wild Flowers 125
silence, an absence indicative of things that are no more, things that once
were in full battalion strength. Strange, if we were to amplify the story,
we should find that in both battles, man himself had been the most guilty
factor, the most sinister enemy of all forces combined.
At this festive season, the behavior of this thoughtless and deadly ver-
tebrate in his "industry and ethics" towards certain types of wild life is_so
gruesomely active that it becomes a serious menace. The wanton destruction
and persistent pilfering of the berry-bearing shrubs is so much in evidence
that the woods are in danger of being despoiled of their claims and attrac-
tions, while their rightful dependents the birds are robbed of their food
supplies and vandalized of their home-lots and shelter.
It is simply unpardonable to have truck and autocar loads of these
berries and branches stolen from our suburbs and foothills, season after
season, until many sections are absolutely destroyed, or so seriously injured
that several years of closed protection would be necessary to restore their
former productiveness.
The intimate relationshp of these "berry-bearers" in their conservation
of bird life as an asset of urgent welfare to our agricultural and allied neces-
sities, is too imperatively associated to be ignored without manifest penalty.
It is high time that intelligent legislation be secured and utilized in the con-
servation and proper farming of these valuable shrubs. The present reck-
lessness is simply the death warrant to a native wild life that has State
claims of beauty; utility and service, which we should be loyal enough to
respect and intelligent and thrifty enough to utilize.
Respectfully yours,
FREDERICK W. D'EVLYN.
An impressive editorial on this subject appeared in the San
Francisco Bulletin in December, 1919, from which I have extracted
the following paragraphs :
Her wonderfully bright berries are the pride of the Golden State at this
time of the year. We write about them in books, magazine articles, tourist
advertisements and letters to friends in all parts of the world. Christmas in
California has been the theme of many beautiful poems, and in nearly all of
them you will find a glorification of far-famed Toyon berries. But soon,
very soon, we may have nothing but the poems left to tell the story of a
land once so beautiful at this season. The vandal who rides in an auto is
again abroad and taking not merely an armful, but branches and even whole
trees ; ... to the artist, a spray of berries is more effective than a
branch, while a whole tree is the very poster of vandalism and vulgarity.
Happily the Wild Flower Conservation League has the hope of securing
suitable legislation at the next session of the State Legislature, and among
its provisions there will be the power to arrest, fine and perhaps imprison
all persons guilty of wanton destruction of the crowning beauty of our
Christmas season. Certainly something should be done to curb those bar-
barians who destroy trees.
I want to incorporate in this book an excerpt from a fine edi-
torial appearing in the San Francisco Call, last season :
Christmas is coming; ... we have another reminder in -the bright
red berries the street florists sell, and the great branches of Madrone and
Toyon berries festooning the automobiles that come from the country. The
sight of these berries is pleasant. They symbolize Christmas to all of us;
. . . but lovers of the country are pained by the sight of these branches
of berries, particularly of the Toyon. They see beauty destroyed where it is
most charming. Both the commercial florists and the wandering motorist
rarely pick these berries carefully and considering the future. They tear
them down in great branches, carelessly and ruthlessly, and destroy the tree
when it would be almost as easy to pick them unselfishly and insure beautv
for another year. . . . Soon there will be no more berries at all to remind
us of Christmas. Even now there are great stretches of hills where once the
Toyon grew in abundance and now the berries cannot be found.
126 Pof r -VHd Flowers
"The annual - s is un in Tuolumne County," the
Sonora Democrat says, "but by reason of the ruthless methods of gathering
of previous years the crop is small. The methods largely obtaining here
have been such that the bush has been almost entirely taken in the harvest,
and two or three years are required for it to again become productive."
The following" dispatch was sent to the San Francisco Chronicle
from Livermore, California, December 6th :
That the Toyon, the famous wild holly of California, is doomed to ex-
termination is the cry sent up by the people of Livermore. Vandals in care-
less search of clusters of the pretty red berries are destroying the trees and
hauling away their spoils in automobiles and trucks. That destruction of
these trees is general rather than local is disclosed by a statement from the
head of the California Wild Flower Conservation League in a report filed
with the trustees.
At a meeting of the Supervisors in San Mateo County last
season, Supervisor William H. Brown of San Mateo quoted from a
Bulletin editorial and suggested that something be done to protect
the red berry trees of San Mateo County, which were being torn to
pieces by autoists.
The owners of Hillsborough estates announce that the picking
of red berries will not be tolerated unless a permit from property
owners has first been obtained. The chief of the Hillsborough police
was instructed to arrest persons found picking the berries. For
several years, Mrs. W. H. Crocker permitted berry picking on the
Crocker estate, but instead of breaking or cutting off the small
branches containing the berries, the pickers often broke a limb a yard
or two long. Hence came the announcement of no more berry
picking. Ranchers in the Santa Clara hills have complained of tres-
passers who broke off and carried away whole bushes upon which
the berries grew. Trees are frequently badly damaged or ruined by
the breaking or splitting off of the main branches. It is no uncom-
mon sight on Sundays and holidays to meet a continual procession
of autoists returning to the city with their machines decorated or
piled high with large branches from these bushes.
A Pleasanton, Calif., dispatch to the Oakland Tribune of Dec.
20, 1919, stated :
There is considerable local feeling in connection with the way red berry
trees have been stripped this year by Bay City automobile parties and florist
shops. It is charged that they are not content with taking what they can
use, but must proceed to destroy the tree. Unless some precaution is taken
by the community, these berry trees will all be destroyed.
The Press-Democrat, of Santa Rosa, stated :
Thousands of wild holly berry bushes in Marin County and in the vicinity
of San Mateo highway have been destroyed by careless seekers of holly
berries to decorate their homes. Mt. Tamalpais is practically dnuded and
county authorities are now arresting all persons caught picking the berries.
The wanton destruction is also working a hardship on the birds, that depend
upon these berries for food at this time of the year, it is claimed.
i
The Mill Valley Record took up the fight in earnest and pub-
lished many strong editorials on the subject. The following para-
graphs are quoted from an editorial appearing in that paper on
Dec. 20, 1919 :
The campaign for the preservation of the red berry and other natural
ornamental shrubs is steadily growing in vigilance and extent. The man-
Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 127
ager of the Marin municipal water district has directed the putting up of
new signs of warning on the trails about Mt. Tamalpais. These signs are
to be placed on the trails on all sides of the mountain. . . . Mill Valley
is by no means exempt from the difficulty of depredators as yet. It is
reported that a dooryard in Blythedale Canyon. was entered last Sunday,
and in the absence of the owner, a lusty red berry bush was chopped down
with an ax. . . . It is the opinion generally expressed that the prevalence
of pleasure seekers in automobiles, flying about the country, has given rise
to the wholesale destruction of the native shrubs in all the Bay Region. The
Sheriff of Contra Costa County is putting deputy officers on the roads for
the purpose of saving the shrubs in his territory. Other such officers are
being placed down San Mateo way. A protest against this wanton destruc-
tion and pleas for the protection of California's shrubs is slowly but steadily,
filtering through the press. The "Fresno Republican recently published a
lengthy article on the subject. Contra Costa County papers are taking it
up as well as the San Francisco dailies. . . . The leading genius of the
movement for the saving of the shrubs and native flowers as well is con-
stantly on the warpath in her quiet though effective way; and the press
notices in regard to her cause indicate where she is working. She predicts
that it may be necessary to pass new State laws for the protection of the
native flora and that the next session of the Legislature is likely to see such
a law enacted. Her work is in line with that of the "Save the Redwoods
League."
The following is quoted from the Stockton Record:
We are all deprecating the ruthless destruction of the Toyon or Cali-
fornia holly berry, on our hills ; but Dr. Jordan has said something sensible
and constructive in suggesting that people should be encouraged to cultivate
it. If any one doubts that it can be done successfully in Stockton, he should
drive past Mr. John Willy's place at the corner of North San Joaquin and
Acacia Streets and notice one growing in the yard. It is a glorious specimen,
the bunches of berries really larger and fuller than those grown in a wild
state, and there it glows week after week instead of just for a little while
at Christmas time. Planting a "red" berry bush in the yard would make a
hit with anyone who saw this noble one in the Willy place.
Californians will be glad to save not only their "Mighty Red-
woods," celebrated as among the greatest wonders of the world, but
other well-beloved features of a scenic and economic value and
importance to their Commonwealth.
The instances cited herewith are only a few of the numerous
editorial comments and protests against the wholesale vandalism
which threatens to seriously mar and destroy much of that wildwood
beauty which is the natural heritage, and should be a lasting joy and
pride, of Californians. We might very well close this article with
the pertinent suggestions of Dr. P. B. Kennedy in his "Annotated
List of California Wild Flowers," prepared for our Annual State
Exhibit ; of the Toyon berries he remarks : "A well-known and beau-
tiful shrub, characteristic of California. Let us be merciful when
picking it, and use it, but not abuse it. A well-s elected spray will
bring us as much cheer as an automobile load, and yet leave some for
future generations."
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