CALIFORNIA PLANTS IN THEIR HOMES 



them far away from the parent tree. In the midst of our 

 deserts many, many miles from willow-bordered streams, 

 artesian wells are sometimes bored, and at once, as if by 

 magic, little willow trees begin to grow around the pools. 



The sycamore buds that we found during the summer 

 were snugly hidden within hollowed-out leaf stems. As 

 the old leaves fell we found that the buds had other cover- 

 ings of brown, varnished scales; and very good waterproof 

 coats these are, protecting from dry winds and cold as well 

 as from rain. The buds do not venture to discard their 

 coats until March or April, and then each leaf is seen to 

 be clad in thick, brown wool. There is a brown, woolly col- 

 lar, too, wrapped about every leaf, but this wrapping in- 

 stead of falling off, becomes bright green and helps in the 

 food-making. Some of the buds, as they unfold, hang out 

 little balls strung on slender stems. The balls are the 

 flower clusters. Find out for yourselves which provide 

 pollen, and which are the seed-makers. The sycamore has 

 both kinds of flowers on the same tree, and trusts to the 

 wind to carry pollen. The larger balls that have been 

 hanging on the trees all winter, were flower clusters just a 

 year ago, and now they are nearly ready to send their seeds 

 out into the world. Perhaps as you handle them, they 

 will suddenly crumble into a fluffy mass. On the trees 

 they break up so suddenly that they almost seem to ex- 

 plode, and the wind carries the seeds far and wide on their 

 downy floaters. 



The bud coverings of cotton woods, or poplars, are 

 much varnished, and the young leaves, too, prefer varnish 

 to woolly or silken coats. Notice how the leaves are 

 rolled in the bud. The alder leaves are folded like fans, 

 and they too have varnish enough to look very shining 

 and new as they unfold in the sunlight. Both of these 

 trees flower early, before the leaves appear, and the wind 

 carries pollen for them. 



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