SUPPLEMENT 



CHAPTER XV. 



SOME SUMMER FLOWERS. 



From May until the autumn rains, the prevailing brownness of the 

 California landscape is likely to mislead one into laying aside all 

 study of living plants, and so into missing some of nature's most in- 

 teresting pages. The soap-root, Chlorogalum pomeridia mini, Kunth., 

 is one of the earliest plants to respond to the autumn rains, as noted 

 in Chapter V. This plant is very widely distributed, and it is easily 

 studied, since its flowers expand nearly on time when the clusters are 

 kept in water indoors. 



The larkspur, Delphinium, belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. 

 The species are many and are difficult to identify, especially the blue 

 ones. The one in the illustration is D. Parryi, Gray, common on 

 hillsides in the vicinity of I^os Angeles; there are also earlier species, 

 and in the mountains in summer there are blue larkspurs with ex- 

 ceedingly tall, handsome clusters. The scarlet larkspur of the south, 

 D. cardinalis, Hook., is larger and handsomer than the north- 

 ern, D. nudicaule; it is a magnificent plant, takes kindly to cultiva- 

 tion, and deserves more recognition than it has received. Only 

 larger bees, the carpenter and the bumble-bee, seem able to get the 

 honey from the blue larkspurs that I have observed. It will be noted 

 that larkspurs use exactly the same device as the cultivated nastur- 

 tium in holding their anthers before the entrance to the honey during 

 their dehiscence, afterwards replacing them with matured stigmas. 

 Individual flowers last from a week to ten days, and the clusters are 

 of very long duration. 



The milkweed of the illustration is Asclepias eriocarpa, Benth , 

 very common in June in sandy wastes in the south. A. Mexicana, 

 Cav., a more slender plant with smooth leaves and smaller flowers, is 

 common throughout the state; several other milkweeds are likely to 

 be encountered, but their story of pollination is substantially the 

 same. Within the honey sacs are horn-like appendages that are 

 prominent in some species, and probably help to keep the parts of 



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