120 AS CALIFORNIA FLOWERS GROW 



from three to five feet. Its leaves are long, narrow, 

 stiff, leathery and sticky; they are edged with rigid 

 teeth, and are covered underneath with a fine wool, 

 through which the prominent veins protrude. As 



if all these precautions 

 were not enough to repel 

 animals, Yerba Santa 

 makes her leaves bitterly 

 aromatic. The corollas 

 are funnel-shaped and 

 vary in color from white 

 to violet. The leaves are 

 said to be a good substi- 

 tute for tobacco, either 

 for smoking or for 

 chewing. For exporting 

 to the druggists, the 

 whole plant is cut, stalks 

 and all. The botanical 

 name of Yerba Santa is 

 Eriodictyon, from the Greek, referring to the wool 

 and the netted veins of the leaves. The species 

 shown here, calif ornicum, is not so wooly as its sis- 

 ters. 



The Grindelia is sometimes called the Gum 

 Plant, the Resin Weed, or the August Flower. It 

 grows from two to four feet high, and its bright 

 yellow flowers, which appear in summer, are similar 



YERBA S'ANTA 



