CALIFORNIA PLANTS IN THEIR HOMES 



ground, bearing many flowers and queer, twisted pods. 

 The primrose flower has usually a brown spot at the base 

 of each petal; it produces a little honey, and the brown 

 spots help the insects to find it, but the flower is not very 

 hospitable, and can pollinate itself. 



Really, this flower is not a true primrose; it belongs to 

 the evening-primrose family, and its botanical name is 

 CEnothera bistorta. There is an (Bnothera you are pretty 

 sure to find on the beaches; its full name is (Enothera 

 cheiranthifolia, variety suffruticosa, but notwithstanding its 

 ugly name, it is a pretty plant, with its silken, silvery leaves 

 and pale yellow flowers. It is a sturdy plant, too; in spite 

 of all the intense light and heat from the sand, it keeps its 

 leaves and goes on flowering all the year round. Can you 

 think why this is possible ? You are almost sure to meet 

 other handsome members of this family later on, and you 

 can always recognize them because of the inferior ovary 

 and the parts in fours. 



Now, if possible, make a collection of the following 

 flowers: Gilias, baby-blue-eyes, Phacelias, forget-me-nots, 

 both white and yellow, nightshade, and morning-glories. 

 The motto of this group of flowers might be, " In union 

 there is strength," for all of them have their petals united 

 into tubes, cups, funnels, wheels or something of the sort. 

 All of them, too, have the stamens growing on the corolla. 

 Notice the number of parts ; five always, until you come to 

 the pistil. Now, many of these plants are annuals, that is, 

 they live but part of a year ; so it is very necessary that 

 they make good seed, and all of them invite insects to carry 

 pollen. 



The Gilias have always one ovary, which is three- 

 celled, and one style, but three stigmas. There are more 

 than seventy kinds of Gilias in California. The slender 

 one in the picture, No. 2, Fig. 43, is Gilia multicaulis, which 

 means a Gilia with many stems. Its flowers are blue, 



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