100 KEY AND FLORA 



styles 3, each with 2 stigmas. Involucre 4-5-lobed, the lobes 

 alternating with crescent-shaped or colored and petal-like 

 glands. 



a. E. albomargina'ta Torr. & Gray. Stems numerous, forming a 

 prostrate mat. Leaves small, almost round, cordate with a narrow 

 whitish edge. Stipules united into a triangular, white, membranous 

 scale. Glands of the involucre 4, brownish orange with white or rose- 

 color, petal-like appendages with entire margins. Seeds 4-angled. 

 This grows in southern California. 



b. E. serpyllifolia Pers. Annual with prostrate or ascending 

 stems, smooth. Leaves with the base unequal, oblong, 1-6^- in. long, 

 the margins with some very fine teeth. Stipules bristle-like or 

 ragged. Involucres generally solitary. Seeds 4-angled, somewhat 

 pitted. The glands are small and the margins narrow, whitish, cre- 

 nate. This is widely distributed and is often found along roads 

 and railroad tracks. It blooms in summer and turns reddish 

 towards fall. 



c. E. crenula'ta Engelm. Annual or biennial, erect with one or 

 several leafy stems from the root, generally branching above with 

 2-forked branches. Leaves about an inch long, spatulate. Invo- 

 lucres with crescent-shaped glands and no petal-like appendages. Seeds 

 gray, covered with dark-colored pits. This blooms early and is 

 widely spread. 



H. EREMOCAR'PUS, Turkey Mullein, Yerba del Pescado 



Stems branched from the base, prostrate, forming a mat. 

 Flowers monoecious, clustered in the axils of the leaves 

 without an involucre. Staminate flowers with a 5 or 

 6 parted perianth ; pistillate flowers, naked. Capsule 1-celled 

 and 1-seeded. 



E. setig'erus Benth. Grayish green, covered with white hairs 

 and a stellate pubescence. Leaves 3-nerved, ovate, obtuse, round 

 at base, on long petioles. Flowers inconspicuous. This is called 

 " turkey mullein " because turkeys are fond of the seeds. The 

 name given by the early settlers is " yerba del pescado " because 

 it was used by the Indians in catching fish. The effect of the 

 leaves thrown into a fish stream is to stupefy the fish so that they 

 can be caught by hand. Common in middle California and inclined 

 to cover waste places. Summer and fall. 



