44 AS CALIFORNIA FLOWERS GROW 



top of long, naked stems so that no leaves will hide 

 them. Does that mean that the visitors will come on 

 wings? Note how each blossom hangs its head, and 

 how weak its little stem is. Is it likely birds try 

 to get its honey? 



Observe the leaves. See how they are dissected. 

 Bleeding Heart does not care for much warmth. 

 She makes her leaf surface smaller by cutting it into 

 fern-like divisions. They absorb less sunshine than 

 if they were spread out their original breadth. 

 Does Bleeding Heart thrive in the sun or in the 

 shade? Does she die when her blossoms and leaves 

 have disappeared? 



The botanical name of our Bleeding Heart is 

 Dicentra formosa. ^Dicentra" is from two Greek 

 words, "twice" and " a spur"; and u formosa" means 

 beautiful. A sister, also a native of California, is 

 Dicentra chrysantha, the Golden Dicentra. While 

 not so beautiful as the Bleeding Heart in the wild 

 gardens, this becomes handsome under cultivation. 

 A relative in the Eastern States is commonly known 

 as "Dutchman's Breeches," from the shape of the 

 corolla. 



Another California plant that bears a Greek name 

 and that has evolved an odd corolla, is the Cyno- 

 glgssum grande. The common name, Hound's 

 Tongue, .is an exact translation of the Greek Cyno- 

 glossum, and they are derived from the shape and 



