78 AS CALIFORNIA FLOWERS GROW 



The Snow Plant's calyx holds fast to the seed- 

 case and forms a roundish nut, with the filament 

 hanging out of the center. As soon as the flowers 

 are fertilized, the Snow Plant loses its sparkle and 

 its red becomes a darker shade, but the red persists 

 even after the plant is dried. 



The botanical name describes the appearance of 

 the plant Sarcodes, the Greek for "fleshy," and 

 sanguinea, from the Latin for "blood." The Span- 

 ish Californians called it Sangre de Cristo, the 

 "blood of Christ." They evidently believed, as 

 many people do today, that the red flower rises 

 directly from the white snow, and they saw the 

 appropriate compari- 

 son of the magic of 

 Christ's blood making 

 the world pure. 



A Sierran plant that 

 announces the Spring 

 earlier than does the 

 S n o w P 1 a n t is the j 

 Anemone. O n e d a y 

 you gaze at a bank of 

 snow on a sunny hill- 

 slope. It is shining 

 white, but motionless. 

 The very next day, as 

 as your eyes linger on ANEMONE 



