CHAPTER XIV 



nearly related to the Umbelliferse, but they are not well represented 

 in California. The dogwood family, or Cornaceae, has a few species 

 along our streams ; the flowers are white, and grow in large cymose 

 clusters, the northern species being very handsome. The only 

 familiar representative of the other family is the English Ivy. The 

 edible fruits of the rose family are pretty thoroughly discussed in the 

 Supplement to Chapter VIII. The rose hip is a fleshy, urn-shaped 

 receptacle in which many hard akenes are borne, i. e., it differs from 

 the strawberry in having a concave instead of a convex receptacle. 

 The fruit of the California holly, also a member of the rose family, is 

 perhaps strictly a pome, but it is apparently a berry. The service 

 berry of the mountains, Amelanchier, has also a pome fruit. From 

 the children's list of Iveguminosae of economic value, the peanut 

 should not be omitted ; the nut is, of course, the legume ; the plant 

 naturally buries its fruit as a protective measure, and this habit is 

 preserved in cultivation. Among timber trees are a sort of rose wood, 

 many kinds of Acacia and the locust. The indigo plant of India is 

 a member of this family ; the dye is obtained from the macerated 

 leaves by a process that always interests children. 



Plants whose flowers have their petals united are now called Sym- 

 petalse, the old name was Garnopetalae or Monopetalae. The heath 

 group is a large one, including over two thousand species, some of 

 which adapt themselves well to rocky mountain slopes, others to 

 sandy plains, and still others to swamps and moorlands. The man- 

 zanita and madrone of our mountains are referred to in Chapter VIII; 

 the snow plant in Chapter XV; several other saprophy tic members of 

 this family are common in our high pine forests. Our beautiful 

 azalea, Rhododendron occidentalis, Gray, is found along mountain 

 streams in summer ; another Rhododendron, known as the rose bay, 

 is found in northern woods. We have a native huckleberry, but it is 

 not common. The introduced heaths of our gardens are mainly from 

 South Africa. The primrose group is also sparingly represented with 

 us. The Plumbago is common in gardens, and there are a few beach 

 species. The pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis, Linn., is common in the 

 vicinity of cultivation , and blooms the year round ; its little salmon- 

 colored flowers are very inhospitable, and must usually pollinate 

 themselves. 



The five families of sympetalous flowers that make up the group 

 Tubiflorse, have been fully considered already. The largest of these 

 families, the Solanacese, is the one of greatest economic value, includ- 

 ing as it does, the potato, tomato, egg plant, tobacco and some other 

 plants that yield narcotics. The sweet potato belongs to the 



8 113 



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