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 Ton. & 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. serpyllifo'lia Pers. Annual with prostrate or ascending 

 sterns, 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. 



