112 Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 



covered it. It was first described to science, in 1906, by Elmer, a 

 graduate student of that university. Its existence is said to be 

 endangered by the proximity of its hiding place to a popular camping 

 ground. 



The name Pedicularis is Latin for Lousewort. The genera is 

 frequently called Lousewort in science. The ancients, who be- 

 stowed the name, believed that sheep became infected with Pediculis 

 (tiny lice) by feeding on these plants. Strange to say, sheep will 

 not eat the plants because of their acrid juices. The flowers of this 

 family, many of them, captivate the fancy and illustrate the peculiar 

 habits of their genus by curiously imitating the appearance of ani- 

 mals, and assuming other unique and fantastic forms which popular- 

 ize them with children. P. ornithorhyncha, the quaint little Duck's 

 Bill, grows in Washington and Oregon, and the small blossoms on 

 its pink and purple spikes, which rise from amongst fern-like foliage, 

 bear a striking resemblance to a duck's head and are ever a delight 

 to youngsters. Then there is the ''Parrot's Head" and the "Walrus 

 Head," and such strange varieties, to be found in other sections. 



The Figwort Family, to which the Pedicularis belong, is also 

 known as the Scrophulariaccae. During the Middle Ages the acrid 

 juice of certain plants of this family was considered a cure for 

 scrofula; and one species, the Wood Betony, is famous in history, 

 so great an importance did the ancients attach to its wonderful 

 remedial values. A common saying of those days was : "May you 

 have more virtues than Betony." The Romans had another well- 

 known saying: "Sell your coat and buy Betony," which is supposed 

 to allude to its great value as a cure-all. "Antonius Musa, physician 

 to the Emperor Augustus, claimed that Betony was an invaluable 

 cure for not less than forty-seven ills. Franzins, in his "History 

 of Plants," speaks of its value to wild animals and he says of the 

 stag: "When he is wounded with a dart, the only cure he hath is 

 to eate some of that herbe called Betony," which he further claimed 

 would not only "stanch the wound," but "withdraw the dart." The 

 Alpine Betony, Pedicularis cenir anther a, grows in dry, rocky soil in 

 high altitudes in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, but has never 

 been reported in California. In appearance it is characteristic of 

 the Pedicularis group, having bronze-colored, fern-like foliage and 

 short spikes of quaint little flowers. An important medicinal plant 

 of the Figwort Family at the present time is the common Foxglove, 

 Digitalis purpurea', it is a European plant, but has escaped from 

 cultivation in California, and is now growing wild in the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains. I have found it growing near Bull Springs, a few miles 

 east of the State Redwood Park on the road to Saratoga. It has 

 been reported from other localities. 



The Figwort Family, or Scrophulariaceae, is a very large one 

 and contains many of our most popular plants. The handsome 

 Pentstemons are included among the groups, and are widely dis- 

 tributed in many varieties ; also the popular Monkey Flowers, or 

 Mimulus, both red and yellow varieties, are scattered about the 

 State. Snap-dragon, Toad-flax, Moth-mullein, and the Popcorn 

 Flowers (or Johnny Tuck) and other posies, bearing similarly odd 



