146 Field Notes at San Emidio. [ZOE 
Eschscholtzia Californica so glows with the sunbeams caught 
in its chalice that it diffuses light upon the other flowers and the 
grass. It will not shine unless the sun beams upon it but folds 
itself up and goes to sleep. It is fertilized in the bud. 
Platystemon Californicus offers some unknown attraction to 
the bees. They ignore every other flower in their attentions to 
this creamy beauty. It, too, is fertilized in the bud. The 
petals and stamens persist until the pods are quite large. 
Gilia tricolor, that most attractive little plant whose flowers 
the children call ‘‘ Birds’-Eyes,” has such a bright, cheerful look, 
such dainty coloring, so sweet a perfume, that none of the other 
blossoms can equal it in charm. When the light breezes pass 
over them they dance along the grass, look up so brightly and 
nod and smile. The flower is not fertilized in the bud but may 
be self-fertilized afterwards. The stigmas surpass the anthers, 
and when the blue pollen is being discharged the style branches 
are short and do not spread much. Later, they grow very long 
and curve around so as to meet the anthers. 
At about four o’clock in the afternoon Gz/éa dichotoma begins 
to whiten the hillsides. Before expansion the flowers are hardly 
noticeable; the dull pink of the edges which are not covered in 
the convolute corolla hides their identity and makes the change, 
which takes place when they unveil their radiant faces to the 
setting sun, the more startling. They intend to watch all night 
and by sunset all are awake. In the morning they roll up their 
petals again when daylight comes on, and when the sun is well 
up all are asleep, tired out with the vigil of the night. The 
_ odor is most sickening. I watched them in the afternoon, at 
night, and in the early morning, and saw no insect approach. 
The stamens and pistil are deep down in the long tube of the 
corolla and it must generally be self-fertilized. The same flower 
opens several times and grows larger as it grows older. 
Now, in the early morning, when Gila dichotoma is about 
to retire, it is time for Cinothera bistorta to awaken and act as 
sentinel through the day. It is not fertilized in the bud, but 
= self-fertilization is possible, though the style is longer than the 
stamens. As the style is deflexed towards the lower part of the 
flower which faces the sun and is not erect until mid-day, it can 
