, 1910-05-07

sandy seashOre and is known as C0&tIe
@9naljS.
Probably most people here know the
wild mustard. 1t has rather small yell
low flowers in racemes, and the fruit isl pod
containing the small round seeds on each
side of a partition, central along the length
of the pod.
TIL pepper-grass IS a common little weed,
growing everywhere, Its flowers are re-
markable for being exceptional III having
commonly t20O SfGnlenS only, instead OF the
usual six. These two stamens are arched
over inwards and meet above the stigma,
which rises up, as the ovary grows, and
pushes itself between the two anthers, from
which it cannot fail to take pollen, and thus
to f~ertilize the ovary. This is an admirable
provision to secure the setting of the seeds,
for the flower is 40 minute that it does not
seem likely that it possesses any attraction
for insects to transfer the pollen from flower
to flower. The fruits resemble small scales,
which fact gives the genus it's name Lepjd5-
an (the little scale plant), our particular
species being distinguished as Leplaia'n
Hjrginjca4nu (the little scale plant of Vir-
ginia). Looking at the small fiat fruits
we should naturally suppose that they would
open as two thin plates disclosing one fiat
seed between them but this is not the case,
they open across the scale from top to bot
tom into two tiny half cases leaving u narrow
partition in the middle, TO each side of which
a very small fiat yellow seed is attached.
The last plant TO be named is Cdkje
HQuakis pronounced with the accent On the
second syllable and the i lOng). Asa Gray
says that Cakile is al Arabic name. In the
absence apparently of any local name, there
is no alternative but to use the other. The
plant is a small one growing here and there
on the sandy seashore, and having, like most
plants growing in such plnces, rather thick
heshy leaves. The corolla is white with a
blush OF purplish cast, and the fruits are
small pods consisting Of two joints, which
are not of the same length, the upper one
being the longer, but are Of the same thick
ness. which perhaps is why the plant bears
its second pane g~Quol@8, or the reference
may be to the petals.
Among the plants Of the Order cul-
tiynted in Santa Cruz are several va
rieties CT cabbage (BraSSjca oIerace0). the
most suitable of which for our climate seems
to be the variety known as Flat Datch. It
is doubtful whether the cabbage would seed
here, rs it is a biennial, that is to say it
lasts for taco gears, and in the second year it
flowers and bears seed. This very valuable
plant, according to Asa Gray, has "originated
IN a s%es-coast plant Of Europe, with thick
and hard stem and pretty large pale yellow
flowers. Cauljfowor and broccoli are vori-
cites that do not appear to have been sue
c~essfulIy cultivated here. But Kohlrabi,
q variety with a turnip-like enlargement Of
the stem, is easily grown in our climate.
Turnips, radishes and mustords also glow
we'll.
Although the name Cruciferg, crosS~bear-
ers, is a good one for this Order, all OF the
plants in which have the calyx and corolla
consisting each Of four parts, yet there are
other plants in which the floral envelopes are
likewise i'll tours, as for example those two
belonging to the order Phytoloccoce@ which
formed the subject of a recent article i'll this
paper, but the addition Of the tetradyno-
NOUS character of the stamens clearly marks
out this interesting order from all others.
CCTTDJDC