18 AS CALIFORNIA FLOWERS GROW 



are of the loveliest crepe, plaited in softest folds, 

 around a central globe of crowded yellow stamens. 

 While the California has but two sepals and four 

 petals, the Matilija has three sepals and six petals. 

 They are following a rule of the large family to 

 which they belong, the Papavaraceae, that the parts 

 of the calyx shall be half as many as those of the 

 corolla. 



While the California Poppy springs up after the 

 first rains thrill the earth, Matilija does not bloom 

 until late spring or summer. Even then she fears 

 a cold snap, for she covers her sepals with warm 

 hairs for protection. However, when she is ready 

 to unfurl her snowy petals, she pushes off this hairy 

 calyx in the same way Californica does her smooth 

 one. The blossoms remain open several days, and, 

 as they wave aloft, they attract many visitors. One 

 glance at the heart of Matilija will show you that 

 they are richly rewarded for any services they ren- 

 der. The seed-case is constructed on the pepper- 

 shaker plan, and carried so high, it works most suc- 

 cessfully. 



The name "Matilija" is the Indian title for the 

 river in Ventura County along whose banks the 

 Spanish first found this Poppy. Its botanical name 

 is Romneya trichocalyx. Romneya is for an Irish 

 astronomer, Thomas Romney Robinson, of Armagh 

 Observatory. Trichocalyx refers to the calyx being 

 formed of three parts. 



