CALIFORNIA PLANTS IN THEIR HOMES 



revenge on the Pentstemons for their exclusiveness. They 

 find the tubes too narrow, or else they are barred out from 

 the honey by the interlacing stamens, but they have dis- 

 covered that the corolla walls are thin, so they bite through 

 them, making neat little holes through which they, and 

 other short-tongued insects, can sup honey. Of course this 

 is stealing, for these insects touch neither anthers nor stig- 

 mas, and so do not carry pollen for the flowers. 



The mints, hoarhound, Salvias and sages, are bilabiate 

 flowers, and they are nearly related to the others we have 

 been studying ; but botanists put them in another family 

 because their ovaries separate into four parts. In the 

 valleys of Southern California, native mints are not com- 

 mon, and the hoarhound, being a sturdy weed, will be 

 studied later; but the Salvias and sages are abundant, and 

 are well worth considering now. Most of them have their 

 flowers arranged in compact heads scattered along the 

 stems. The flowers have but two stamens and one style. 



The Salvia of Fig. 56 is a very common one on gravelly 

 hillsides. Its flowers have deep blue corollas, but the 

 sharp pointed bracts and calyxes are much more conspicu- 

 ous, being a rich brownish red, sometimes nearly wine- 

 colored. The Indians call the plant the little chia, and 

 prize its seeds very highly for food. There is another 

 Salvia, the big chia, or the thistle -leaved Salvia. You 

 are sure to remember this plant if you have seen or handled 

 it, because of its beauty of color and its ability to defend 

 itself. Every point on leaf, bract and calyx, is tipped with 

 a sharp spine, yet the whole plant is clothed with the most 

 exquisite mantle of loosely spun, cobwebby hairs ; while, 

 standing out against this grey-green ground, are the airy 

 lavender flowers with their delicate slashes and frills. 



In Fig. 57 are two common sages of Southern Califor- 

 nia. No. i, the button sage, or black sage, No. 2, the 

 white sage, so famous as a bee plant. Both sages and 



146 



