STONECROP FAMILY 



(Crassulacece) 



Ours, fleshy perennial herbs, sepals, petals and pistils of the 

 same number, stamens twice as many. 



HEX-AND-CHICKENS (Cotyledon pulvendenta, Benth & H.). 

 Flowers reddish, corolla cylindrical from the upright habit 

 of the five close-set petals, about \ inch long, clustered at the 

 top of a stout, rather leafy scape, a foot or more high, rising 

 from a large, flattened rosette of succulent but thinnish leaves 

 the whole plant covered with a conspicuous white-mealy 

 "bloom." Common in the chaparral belt of Southern Cali- 

 fornia on rocky slopes. Blooms in summer. 



There are several species of Cotyledon, but they are a crit- 

 ical genus and it requires careful analysis to determine them. 

 The genus itself is readily enough recognized, however, and all 

 species go indiscriminately with the non-professional, as Hen- 

 and-chickens, from their habit of surrounding themselves with 

 young off-sets which nestle in a circle close to the parent. 

 The plants are often found in arid situations, and the succulent 

 leaves make a grateful temporary substitute for water with 

 thirsty travelers, whence the name, Hunter's Rock Leek. 

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