CHAPTER XV 



(heart-shaped) leaves, is common in the south, and is well worth 

 watching, from the time it sends out new shoots after the first rains, 

 as noted at length in the Supplement to Chapter V, until it unfolds its 

 brilliant flowers in early summer. It is an excellent example of 

 weaving plants, that is of plants that clamber up through more 

 woody underbrush ; the different disposition of the flowers as well as 

 of the leaves on the branches, which are sometimes vertical, sometimes 

 horizontal, looped or pendent, are interesting subjects for out of door 

 study. The pollination of this and other scarlet Pentstemons men- 

 tioned later on among mountain flowers, is, on the whole, similar to 

 that of the scarlet Pentstemon noted in Chapter XI, but in the details 

 there are interesting differences that can be easily discerned in field 

 work. The anthers and stigmas of Pentstemons always lie against 

 the upper lip, or roof, of the flower and in most scarlet species well out 

 to the tip, where they are sure to be struck by the bird's bill or head 

 as he enters ; by a downward curve of the style, the stigma is so placed 

 that it is struck first. 



There are several species of large, rose, violet or purple-hued 

 Godetias that bloom in May and June, the most common species in 

 the vicinity of L/os Angeles being G. Bottcs, Spach., the one of the 

 illustration. Little tufts of hairs near the base of the petals form a 

 ring about the style, and exclude the less desirable guests. Dehis- 

 cence of pollen goes on very slowly, and the four-lobed stigma does 

 not unfold and expose the stigmatic surface until the pollen is nearly 

 or quite shed. In newly opened flowers, the style keeps the closed 

 stigma out of the way, sometimes quite outside the corolla, but by 

 executing an elaborate movement it finally places the exposed stigma 

 in the way of entering guests. Clarkia elegans, Lindl., of the same 

 illlustratidn, is rather local in the south, but is more abundant and 

 attains greater size in the north. 



The Indian pink illustrated in the Reader, is Silene ladniata, Cav. ; 

 it is said to be less handsome than its northern cousin 6*. Calif ornica, 

 but it is a brilliant posy, and is sought out by hummingbirds, although 

 the plants do not grow in masses. As in the Pentstemon, anthers and 

 stigmas, when mature, are above the entrance to the honey, and situ- 

 ated where they will strike the bird's head. The stamens spread out 

 fan-like, a few anthers dehiscing at a time ; finally, the styles lengthen 

 and put the stigmas in the place of the now fallen anthers. The wild 

 fuchsia, Zauschneria Californica, is another example of a choripet- 

 alous flower made exclusive by united sepals. The pollination of 

 this flower has been already described in the Supplement to 

 Chapter III. 



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