Popular Studies of California Wild Flozvers 19 



in the Coast Range. There is also a frilly white Lupine, quite fre- 

 quently seen, and a false yellow Lupine which comes early on our 

 hills. But fairest of all is our lovely canon Lupine, L. cytisoides 

 Agardh., with its long racemes of deep pink and magenta flowers. 

 It grows on the creek banks and in damp places of the cool, quiet 

 woods. Perhaps it is partly because of its pleasant environment that 

 it seems to possess a sweeter and more enduring beauty than its 

 sisters of the same family. 



The yellow beach Lupine, a large, shrubby variety, growing 

 from three to ten feet high and found along the coast from Central 

 California southward, is considered by many to be quite the hand- 

 somest of all. It is known botanically as L. arboreus, and it has 

 very pretty foliage and long racemes of showy, delightfully fragrant 

 yellow flowers. Moreover, it has something besides beauty and 

 charm to recommend it to Californians. Its memory will live as 

 long as San Francisco stands guarding the Golden Gate. 



The roots of L. arboreus reach down through their sandy home 

 for a depth of twenty feet or more, forming natural sand binders. 

 The discovery of this important fact was of tremendous value in the 

 upbuilding of Golden Gate Park. A number of shifting, wind-swept 

 sand dunes were converted into solid ground by planting great 

 quantities of this yellow Lupine with barley until the Lupines had 

 secured a strangle hold on the ground. Later, many varieties of 

 trees were planted successfully on the land. In such manner was 

 built up one of the most attractive parts of this world-famous park. 



The foliage of several species of Lupine furnish nutritious 

 forage for stock, particularly sheep. But the ripened seeds of certain 

 varieties are poisonous and have caused serious losses among stock. 

 A disease known as "Lupinosos" to veterinarians is caused by ani- 

 mals eating these seeds. A certain yellow variety, L. luteolus 

 Kellogg, growing in the northern part of the State, known locally 

 as Butter Flowers, because of the color, is considered a serious pest 

 by farmers through its habit of monopolizing their fields. 



The Indians utilized the seeds of Lupines for food after boiling 

 them to extract the poison. They also used the young plants for 

 greens, boiling or roasting them by methods of their own. 



1 here is a quaint little Alpine Dwarf, L. danaus Gray, pinkish 

 white in color, found above timber line in the Yosemite, and reported 

 from near Mount Dana, at an altitude of 12,500 feet. 



A beautiful and fragrant purplish blue Lupine, L. Grayi Wats., 

 which frequently covers whole hillsides in the open pine forest of 

 the Yosemite, is sometimes called Gray's Lupine, in honor of that 

 distinguished and eminent American botanist, Dr. Asa Gray. 



Several varieties of California Lupines are cultivated in Euro- 

 pean gardens. But they can never be half so beautiful "Over There" 

 as they are at home a-gypsying down our sun-washed beaches, 

 rioting over the mesas, or clambering up the mountain steeps to 

 wave in triumph from the high Sierras. Associated with the Golden 

 Poppies, they form a characteristic feature of California landscapes. 



