NATIVE CALIFORNIA SHRUBS 229 



The Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus parvifolius) is a pretty 

 shrub of rather spreading habit with small dark green leaves. The 

 flowers are quite small and inconspicuous, but the long feathery plumes 

 of its fruit are quite pretty. It is particularly valuable for planting in 

 dry places. 



False Mallow. A pretty flowering shrub belonging to the Malva 

 family and found in dry sandy washes is Malvastrum fasciculatum. 

 The flowers are closely set on long wand-like branches, are of deli- 

 cate texture, pale pink and fragrant. The anthers are golden brown 

 and with the pink petals contrast well against the grayish hoary foliage. 

 Another desirable species has larger flowers of a rose purple shade. 



California Flowering Ash (Fraxinus dipetala) is a deciduous shrub 

 growing five to fifteen feet high with light green foliage and white 

 flowers. 



Wild Honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata) is a climbing shrub par- 

 ticularly valuable on account of its great wealth of shiny green foliage. 

 The common California honeysuckle is Lonicera hispida var. cali- 

 fornica. This is the species which gives the beautiful red berries some- 

 times used in Christmas decorations. 



As Mr. Payne's observations, as above outlined (with some addi- 

 tions of our own) were chiefly made in the southern part of the state, 

 the resident in central or northern California might find his local native 

 shrubbery somewhat different and probably greater in extent and 

 variety, for the parts of the state with greatest rainfall are naturally 

 richest in native flora. But such flora will be found to include most 

 of those which Mr. Payne has emphasized as desirable, though other 

 shrubs may take the place of some which he mentions as found in the 

 interior, so-called "desert area," of southern California which is not 

 a desert but very fertile usually, as soon as its lack of moisture is sup- 

 plied by irrigation. 



Matilija Poppy. This plant, which is sometimes called California 

 tree poppy (Romneya coulteri) is often regarded as the greatest wild 

 flower of California, and it has figured honorably in the hands of our 

 local poets and painters. Culturally and descriptively, Mr. Leonard 

 Coates of Morganhill says of it: "Strictly speaking, it is a semi- 

 herbaceous shrub, growing wild on the hillsides and in the canyons of 

 Ventura County and down into Mexico. The flowers average six 

 inches in diameter, and sometimes measure seven to eight inches 

 across. The petals are pure white and of a crinkled, crape-like nature. 

 The numerous stamens form a glorious golden tassel in the center, 

 the flower exhaling a delicate fragrance which has been likened to that 

 of a ripe orange. The plant, under suitable conditions will, in a very 

 few years, reach a diameter of ten to twenty feet, and half the height. 

 They transplant with great difficulty, unless they have been shifted 



