96 AS CALIFORNIA FLOWERS GROW 



on the same stalk, but the happy medium is more 

 often found. 



The buds of Alpine Lily have the tips of the seg- 

 ments meeting together. As the sun warms them, 

 the sides swell out a little; then, just below the top, 

 they split apart; this split proceeds upward, until 

 finally the tips separate; then the upper part of the 

 segment curves backward, while the rest of the 

 perianth remains funnel-shaped. The bud is rather 

 pale, and the outside of the perianth never gains the 

 rich glow of the interior. That is a gorgeous vel- 

 vety orange or reddish orange or burnt orange, with 

 spots and veins of wine and maroon and brown. At 

 the base, each segment is stained with its wealth of 

 nectar, and down the segment from tip to base runs 

 a "nectariferous groove" to direct the visitors. The 

 six stamens rise above the curve of the perianth, and 

 the anthers sway loosely on their tops. The style is 

 long and its stigma spreads into three lobes. The 

 hummingbird and the butterfly find it a pleasant 

 place to call ; and for their entertainment they repay 

 Alpine Lily by carrying pollen to the next blossom. 

 The capsule has three cells and in it are ripened 

 many little seeds. Alpine Lily holds her three- 

 cornered seed-case up straighter than she does her 

 blooms. She knows that the hummingbird and the 

 butterfly have a purpose of their own in seeking her 

 company and that they will find her bell at whatever 



