94 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



on the broad floor of the canyon bottom. As we clambered 

 up the sides we found a fern that is un frequent on the main- 

 hmd, l)ut is very common on the Island — the viscid gold back 

 we may call it for lack of an English name. Its Latin appella- 

 tion is, at the present time, Pityrograuuna viscosa. Higher 

 up, in open grassy places, we found many Mariposa lilies which 

 we did not identify as to species, and in the same locality there 

 w'ere quantities of golden stars {Bloomcria crocca). On this 

 hillside we came upon a single bush of Solmamiui IJ'allacei, 

 which, with its large clusters of deep violet flowers, presented 

 a most striking appearance. This was the only plant of this 

 beautiful species that we saw. 



Next morning we started out along the stage road to the 

 Isthmus. This took us more on the seaward side of the hills 

 we had slightly penetrated the afternoon before. The vegeta- 

 tion was much the same in some respects, there being many 

 grassy slopes with the gold back fern and a maidenhair fern, 

 {Adiantuui Jordani). Along this road we found a sticky mon- 

 key flower {Diplacus puuiccus), and a beautiful "California 

 lilac" (CcanotJnis arborciis). Among the plants of the pea 

 family .were a large bush lupine, having long spikes of beauti- 

 ful blue flowers, which we referred to Lupimis longifolius, a 

 broom-like plant with large clusters of small, yellow flowers, 

 Syrmatium dcndroidciiin, and a low trailing plant with round 

 heads of yellow flowers, Syniiatiiiin oniif/iopuiii. 



One of the plants most interesting to us. from the fact 

 that this is the type locality, is one that has until recently been 

 placed in the buttercup family, but which is given a family all 

 by itself in the new Flora of North America. It is a shrub or 

 small tree with rather large wliite flowers and seed i)ods some 

 what resembling those of Paeonia. The family consists of this 

 single genus and the genus of only two .species, this. C'r(;.s-- 

 sosunia Cdiformcum, being insular in its habitat and the other 

 C. Biijclcnni. of the desert. 



