GOLDEN STABS (Bloomeria aurea, Kellogg.) This is a 

 charming, bulbous plant bearing a showy umbel of sometimes 

 as many as 60 star-like flowers (orange-yellow with a dark 

 double mid-rib and sometimes an inch across) topping a scape 

 6 to 18 inches high. It is frequent on the mesas and foothills 

 of Southern California from April to June, and might be mis- 

 taken on first acquaintance for a Brodisea. The essential 

 difference between Bloomeria and Brodieea, however, is that 

 the 6 stamens of Bloomeria arise from a tiny hairy cup formed 

 by cohering, short appendages attached to the base of the 

 filaments. It is a plant very economical of foliage, one long, 

 grass-like leaf being sufficient for its needs. The bulb from 

 which it springs was formerly an item in the diet of 

 Southern California Indians. 



In San Diego County, California, a kindred species, B. 

 Clevelandi, Wats., is found, but is readily distinguished from 

 B. aurea by its numerous slenderer leaves and the green nerves 

 of the flowers. Neither is it so showy. 



The name Bloomeria was given in honor of a pioneer bot- 

 anist of San Francisco, H. G. Bloomer. 



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