GARDENS OF THE SEA 241 



a day in the little forest. Its peculiar restriction or 

 limited area is one of the real wonders of California. 



I can but hint at the ferns and luxuriant growth of 

 the canons of nearly all the islands, especially Santa 

 Cruz and Santa Rosa. Here great ferns and brakes 

 rise everywhere in forests, and as at Santa Catalina 

 rare and interesting forms are seen. Nearly all the 

 islands have many of the common California plants, 

 the wild cherry, the cacti, and the sumach. Here the 

 elder is a good-sized tree. In Avalon canons I have 

 seen a scarlet honeysuckle almost covering a tall 

 alder, forming a vivid splash of color. Over the 

 cactus runs the Chile cothte (Echnocystis fabacca), 

 sometimes climbing tall trees, again creeping along 

 the ground. The snow of the islands, in June, is the 

 white blossom of the greasewood {Adenostoma) , just as 

 the snow of the Southern California mainland is the 

 orange petals that whiten the ground. 



