FAIRY BELLS. GOLD DROPS (Dtsporum Menziesii, Benth & 

 H.) . Flowers smallish, white, bell-shaped, few and all but hid- 

 den from sight, hanging singly or 2 together on slender, axillary 

 footstalks beneath the leaves, which spread like a roof above 

 them. The plant is perennial and its general habit suggests 

 the familiar Uvularia or Bellwort of the Atlantic Slope and, 

 like it, grows in the rich, moist woods of spring. The graceful 

 stems, rising from a slender rootstalk, spread out horizontally 

 into numerous branches, and the stalkless somewhat heart- 

 shaped leaves all lie in much the same plane with one another. 

 It is a trim, well-groomed looking plant, found from San Fran- 

 cisco to British Columbia. The popular name, GoldDrops, is 

 due to the bright salmon-colored pear-shaped berries, \ inch 

 long, that succeed the flowers. 



Scientists, like common folk, do not always agree upon a 

 Latin name acceptable to all for their plants, and instead of 

 Disporum there are botanists who prefer Porsartes, under which 

 name our flower is described in some books. There are 5 or 6 

 different species native to the Pacific Coast, all distinguished 

 by drooping, more or less hidden, axillary flowers, and bright- 

 colored berries. 



10 



