Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-01
THE BOTANY OF THIS SECTION
Wealth of Wild Flowers of
Southern California.
Flowery Kingdom of the American
Continent.
PIuclxing Spring Flowers When the
Eastern Man Is Prepared for a Bo-
rean Siege Facts About
Buds and Blossoms.

"
found in this part OF California. AL
months of the year find the plains anC
hills covered with flowers of Thousand
hues. A botanist of note here writes
about them SO follows:
I'm the early winter, when the East
ern man has buried his cabbage and po-
tatoes, housed his plants, bunkered his
coal, barricaded his barns and reigned
himself for the Borean siege, we begin
here to pluck our first spring flowers.
"By February the hills are-what
shall l say ?-literally -vardened
with buttercups, viols ts, dodecatheons,
gilias, nemophilss and the like. And
yet these are the mere skirmish line of
the mighty invading hosts whose uni
forms surpass the kingly robes of Solo,
mon, and whose banners OF crimson and
yellow and purple will soon wave on
every hilltop and in every valley.
"In April and May the lover Of nature
may pass into the seventh heaven Of
botanical delight. Then in favored Sec
tions the display reaches a gorgeousness
and a profusion that surpass both de-
scrlption and imagination.
The blue phacelias. growing in large
tracts, are mistaken in the distance for
lakes of water.
"The feecy gnaphsliums look like
lakes of silver.
"The golden petaled Eschscholtzias,
in compact masses of hundreds of acres,
flashing back the rays Of the morning
sun give the hill slopes of the Sierras
the appearance of molten gold.
"But the best of all are the happy
surprises they have for you.
Rounding the sharp angle OF hill
you suddenly find yourself in the midst
| of -bewilderment of loveliness and
beauty, that, like the Mount of Trans
figuration to the disciples of old, imme-
diately suggested tabernacle. They
seem all to be here, 'tenting on the old
campground.' Lovingly growing to-
gether you may find gilias, calochor-
fuses, nemophilas, Collinsias, phacelias,
@notheras, bloomerias, baerias, layies,
lupines, godetias, delphinums and many
more all on the same little half acre.
zone OF the peculiarities of our Pa
c'fic beauties is that they stubbornly re-
fuse to be classified or identified by
means of an eastern botany. When put
upon the witness stand and asked about
their family relations they become recall
citrant and refuse to answer any and all
questions unless propounded from a
botany specially for their use. If you
do not believe this just try it, as thou
sands of eastern people just arrived
haves.And to their disgust.
Approach one of our little gilias with
Woods Botany, and the spunky little
thing won't say John Doe.
"While the bulk of the flowers perish
with the grass in the early summer the
botanist need not lose his occupation by
any means.
"The summer and fall months have. a
flora peculiar to themselves, and very
interesting. During this time the COM
posit9 predominate.
SIN the month of July in short trip
to Antelope valley, in this county, the
writer collected at least $50 species. ia
of which were new to him.
"Of these the most abundant and in
teresting were the eriogonums and Choir
izanthes.
'It is not the eastern people alone
that are coming to enjoy our climate;
the flowers are coming, too.
"If you should be passing along the
streets, and are botanist, you will OBJ
serve, at the edge of the sidewalk, a
to the amaranth family, and comes all
the way from Florida.
s'The thorny solanum, solanum rosta-
tum, has crossed the great Rockies from
Mississippi, and settled near Santa
Monica. 1t has learned also, like the
most of our summer wild flowers, to sub
sist on climate. ] will now make up q
bouquet of 25 choice California flowers /:
"Pentstemon spectabilis, delphinum
cardinale, calochortus splendens, calo-
chortus aurea, godetia botte, nemophila
insignis, mentzelia levicaulis, zauch-
neria California;, Collinsia tricolor,
gilia dianthoides, lilium Humboldt,
mimulus glutinosus, Clarkia elegans,
layia platyglossa, phacelia whitlava,
lobelia spendens, castilleia latifolia,
Eschscholtzia California;. brodj@a, min
or, platystemon California;, fritillaria
bifora, eriogonum declinatum, monolo-
pia major, helianthus Oliveri.'
CALIFORNIA BULBS.
J. II. Denham of the Germain Fruit
company furnishes the following on CAL
ifornia bulbs:
"The bloomeria and blodi@ have two
grassy leaves from the ground, and a
slender, leafiess stem, with umbels or
heads of delicate, lily like flowers; the
bloomeria au1e has an umbel of yellow
| flowers on a stem to Is inches high (;
the brodiea capitata, purple head on
short stems; the brodi@a capitata var.
alba, same, but waxy white; brodi@a
coccinea vegetable firecracker), umbel
of crimson pendent flowers, tipped with
peagreen, stem one to four feet high,
very showy; the brodi@a congesta, stem
one to two feet high, head cf purple
flowers; the brodi@a grandifora, stem
6 to 10 inches, umbel of very briiliant,
waxy, purple flowers; brodiaa ixioides,
like the well known milla bifora, but
yellow; brodi@a lactea, umbels pure
white, with greenish centers, six to
eight inches high; the brodiea multi
flora, one to two feet high, stem slender
head of purple flowers; brodi@a stel.
laris, one to three inches high, brilliant
purple, with pure center, forming 8
many -howered, star-like cluster; bro
diaa terrestris, similar, but taller.
"Calochortus (sec. u Mariposa tulips
erect. cup-like flowers of the most bril-
liant colors, borne on stiff, slender
stalks to 10 inches high, from few tC
15 or 20 to stalk. This is among the
most brilliant flowers grown, and is nov
a great favorite in Europe calochortui
lutens, clear yellow; calochortus splen
dens, lustrous purple; calochortus ven
ustus oculatus, white ground inside
with eye.like spots, richly colored, red
dish brown outside; calochortus venus
fms cttripuo Soma hut citrou-val lou