BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 121 



remarkable and interesting forms of vegetable life, and those which 

 are not known to the east of the mountains. 



Eschscholtzia Ca/ifornica, Cham., the Californian Poppy, is one of 

 the commonest plants in some localities. Where it grows in large 

 patches, as it very frequently does, the blossoms make the ground 

 appear of a most intense golden color, and when the sun is shining 

 brightly upon them, the eye is dazzled by the blaze It is a very 

 variable species, and its synonomy as given in "Watson's Index" is 

 very large. It does not seem to occur at all east of the Wasatch 

 mountains, but is very common in California, especially in the neigh- 

 borhood of Los Angeles. 



Platystcmon Californicinn, Benth. A species peculiar to California, 

 and commonly known as Cream Cups, trom the color and shape of 

 the flowers. These are quite large, at the top of naked hairy pedun- 

 cles. The leaves are all linear and mostly radical. It is very com- 

 mon near Los Angeles. 



Thysanocarpus curvipes, Hook. Remarkable for the curious pods 

 which terminate the slender, drooping pedicels. The flowers are 

 small, white and inconspicuous. One of the forms has the wing of 

 the orbicular pod perforated, and it is, therefore, known as the Lace 

 pod. It grows on rocky banks and in dry soil 



/somen's arbona, Nutt. This is another strictly western plant. It 

 is a tall half woody shrub, with three parted leaves, clusters of yellow 

 flowers, and inflated bladdery pods. It belongs to the Capparidacece 

 and is quite common near San Diego, and on the Colorado desert. 



Sidalcca tnalvacflora, Gray Found as far eist as Colorado. It 

 grows 1 all and slender; long petioled, crenate, heart shaped leaves, 

 and flowers large, bright purple, and arranged in a loose raceme. 



Erodiiim moschadiin, L'Her. , and E. ciciifarium, L'Her. The 

 former of these two species is tlie more common, and is of a larger 

 and more vigorous growth than the latter. The seeds are the most 

 remarkable feature ot the plant, and these I have described in the 

 Gazette for September, 1879. The common name of Pin Clover is 

 given from the seeds. 



Schimts Molle, Linn. The Pepper Tree. This is one of the 

 shade trees of Southern California, and is one of the prettiest of trees. 

 The flowers are small, greenish white in long racemes. The fruit is 

 globular, of a deep red color, and hangs in long bunches, contrasting 

 beautifully with the pinnate leaves. It is hot and peppery to the 

 taste, and in Mexico, where the tree is native, it is known as Chili 

 pepper. From the broken leaves and branches exudes a white gummy 

 substance, which is also peppery. Generally not very tall, it branches 

 some eight or ten feet from the ground. The bark is rough and 

 scaly, but the long pendulous branches and pinnate leaves are hand- 

 some. Blossoms twice a year, and is an evergreen, the branches 

 never being bare of leaves. It is extensively planted in Southern 

 California, but the climate of San Francisco is not very suitable for its 

 full development. 



R/n/s divcrsiloba, Torr. and Gr. is the Poison Ivy or Oak of Call- 



