BORAGE FAMILY 203 



5. HESPEROCHIRON. 

 Dwarf stemless perennials, 3 in. or less high, with leaves all 

 in a basal tuft. Flowers on simple naked stalks shorter than 

 the leaves. Stamens not exserted. Capsule 1-celled, 15 to 20- 

 seeded. 



1. H. californicus Wats. Leaves entire, elliptic, obtuse, 

 narrowed to a petiole, the whole 1 to 3 in. long. Corolla nearly- 

 white, about Yi in. long, cup-shaped, with distinct tube equal- 

 ling the lobes. — A rare plant, found in the Yosemite Valley. 

 Ours is the var. benthamianus Brand, distinguished by its gla- 

 brous peduncles. 



2. H. pumilus Porter. Similar but with very shallow cor- 

 olla-tube much shorter than the spreading lobes. — Moist soil 

 at Glacier Point and near Vernal Falls; occurs in the Sierra 

 Nevada at higher altitudes than no. 1. Our form has been 

 recently classified as var. vestitus f. hirtella Brand, because of 

 the pubescent upper surface of the leaves and the spreading 

 hairs of the peduncles. 



6. ERIODICTYON. 



1. E. californicum Greene. Yerba Santa. Leaves alter- 

 nate, thick, oblong or lanceolate, tapering to a short petiole, 

 toothed or wavy-margined, 2 to 6 in. long. Flowers borne on 

 coiled branches of a terminal panicle. Corolla white or pale 

 blue, narrow-funnelform, about l / 2 in. long, longer than the 

 stamens. Ovary nearly 2-celled, 4-valved, the two styles dis- 

 tinct. (E. glutinosum Benth.) 



Yerba Santa is a branched shrub, 2 to 6 ft. high, with 

 glutinous leaves which emit a pleasant odor when crushed. 

 They are often chewed and smoked like tobacco or made into 

 a thick syrup which is used as a remedy for colds and sore 

 throat. The shrub is abundant in the foothills and grows 

 on warm slopes to at least 5000 ft. alt. 



E. lobbii Greene, has been reported from near Yosemite. 

 It is a creeping, woolly shrub with narrow, entire leaves 2j^ 

 in. or less long. 



BORAGINACEAE. Borage Family. 

 Herbs with entire alternate leaves, or a few rarely opposite, 

 the flowers regular and mostly borne in 1-sided coiled spikes 

 or racemes. Stamens 5, inserted on the tube of the 5-lobed 

 corolla. Ovary superior, deeply 4-lobed (as in Labiatae), each 

 lobe becoming a seed-like nutlet, the single style rising from 



