CHAPTER XIV 



and buttercup are considered in Chapter VII ; the larkspur and col- 

 umbine in Chapter XV. Clematis and meadow rue, common in 

 canons, have no corolla, and some species have unisexual flowers. 

 The calyx of the clematis is showy, being white in our native species, 

 purple in some introduced species; the fruits with their long plume- 

 like appendages (the styles) are conspicuous in autumn. The leaves 

 of the meadow rue are tri-compound, and are somewhat like the 

 maiden hair fern ; the flowers are greenish, and are adapted to wind 

 pollination. The barberry, while not rare in California mountains, is 

 not commonly known. The laurel or bay, Umbellularia Calif ornica, 

 Nutt.,is a handsome tree, common not far from water in mountain 

 canons; it belongs to the laurel family and is nearly related to the 

 bay or laurel of Southern Europe, whose leaves, formerly used to 

 crown heroes, are now put to more prosaic uses, such as flavoring 

 gravies, puddings, dried figs and the like. Nutmeg is the seed of an 

 P^ast Indian tree; mace is the envelope of this seed; cinnamon is the 

 bark of a tree of Ceylon ; cassia bark and buds are also from 

 Ceylon ; camphor is the gum of a tree of China and Japan ; sassafras 

 is a common shrub in our Eastern States. 



The magnolia, and several other ornamental and timber trees, 

 belong to this group. There are several aquatic families in this group, 

 but they have few representatives in California. The lotus, Nelum- 

 bium, is common in the ponds of our parks ; its nut-like fruits are 

 imbedded in a top-shaped receptacle. The Victoria tegia of the 

 Amazon valley is noted for the size of its leaves and flowers ; the 

 leaves frequently exceed six feet in diameter, and the flowers are 

 sometimes a foot across. 



The mustard and poppy families have been pretty fully treated in 

 Chapter IX and its Supplement ; the opium poppy is extensively 

 cultivated in India, the crude opium being the juice that exudes 

 from slits cut in the green capsules. The caper family, Capparida- 

 cese, very nearly related to the Cruciferae, has a few representatives 

 in California ; one of them, Isomeris arborea, Nutt., is alow, strongly 

 scented shrub, common near the sea ; it has yellow flowers and 

 inflated pods on stipes ; the capers of commerce are the unopened 

 flower buds of a European species. The Dicentras, " bleed ing hearts," 

 and golden ear-drops, belong to another nearly related family, but 

 they are rather rare in California. 



Violets and mignonette belong to this group ; also some very inter- 

 esting insectivorous plants, the sundew, the Venus fly-trap and 

 pitcher plants. The sundew, Drosera, and a very remarkable 

 pitcher plant, Darlingtonia Calif ornica, are found in remote moun- 



111 



