66 KEY AND FLORA 



A. platy'ceras Link. & Otto. Stems smooth under the dense white 

 prickles. Flowers 3-4 in. broad. Ovary densely covered with erect 

 prickles. Central and southern California. 



VL ROMNE'YA, Matihja (Matil'iha) Poppy 



Smooth, stout, perennial herbs, several feet high, with 

 colorless sap. Leaves alternate, pinnately cut or divided, 

 not spiny. Sepals S, each with a broad wing on the hack. 

 Petals 6, large, ivhite. Stamens many, with filaments dimin- 

 ishing towards the base. Ovary covered ivith h^istles. Pod 

 7-11-celled, the sides separating from the placenta. 



a. R. Courteri Harv. This beautiful plant is native in the south- 

 ern part of the state. It is now widely cultivated. The flowers are 

 sometimes 6 in. in diameter. The buds are smooth. This gi'ows in 

 southern California and is extensively cultivated. 



b. R. trichoca'lyx Eastwood. This is similar to the above, but the 

 buds are hairy and the stems are not so robust. The dissected leaves 

 are close under the flowers. This is the true Matilija poppy, since 

 it is the species found in the canon of that name. 



Vn. MECONOP'SIS, Poppy 



Annual herbs with yellow sap. Leaves variously cut into 

 linear divisions. Sepals 2. Petals red or orange. Stamens 

 numerous. Stigma 4—8-lohed, on a distinct, stout style. Pod 

 1-celled, with the valves separating as in Romneya. 



M. heterophyl'la Benth. Flaming Poppy. Smooth and slender 

 herbs with succulent stems and pale-green leaves. Flowers on long 

 slender peduncles, exceedingly variable, from less than 1 in. to 2 in. 

 in diameter, with pale-red petals becoming darker and more glow- 

 ing at the center. Throughout California. 



FUMARIA'CE^. Bleeding Heart Family 



Perennial herbs. Leaves compound, cut into many narrow 

 divisions. Flowers of peculiar shape. Sepals 2, petals 4, 

 stamens 6 in 2 sets, with the filaments of each set somewhat 

 united, the middle anthers 2-celled, the others 1-celled. Pod 

 1-celled, with the valves separating from the placenta. 



