i u . PESERT LILY (Hesperocallis undidatus, Wats.). This is a 

 ''charming spring flower of the southwestern desert region, oc- 

 Qurrjng i lrom the Sal ton Sink, California, eastward into Ari- 

 zona; and southward into Mexico. Its crinkly basal leaves, a 

 foot Song and about half an inch wide, are characteristic. 

 From their midst rises a stalk to the neight of one or two feet 

 bearing a few short leaves and an open raceme of 6 to 30 white, 

 funnel-shaped flow r ers suggesting Easter Lilies. These expand 

 from the buds on successive days until all have had their taste 

 of life. The buds are so tenacious of this privilege that they 

 will even open on severed stalks, as I noticed once when I threw 

 some stems with their unopened buds into a waste corner of 

 my garden. There, many days later, I discovered them bloom- 

 ing quite cheerfully an example for the disheartened. 



The deep-seated bulbs of the Desert Lily used to form an 

 item of importance in the diet of the Desert Indians. It is, 

 indeed, closely related to the edible Camass, and a no-distant 

 cousin to the onion. Dr. D. T. MacDougal has recorded that 

 the plant is reputed responsible for the name of the Ajo Moun- 

 tains in Southwestern Arizona ajo, the Spanish for garlic, 

 being also the term locally applied to the He e perocallis, which 

 is very abundant in that vicinity. 

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