SAXIFRAGE FAMILY 



(Saxifragaceai) 



Shrubs and herbs, stamens and petals usually inserted on the 

 calyx as in the Rose Family, but distinguished from this usu- 

 ally by the absence of stipules and fewer stamens (5 to 10), 

 though in a few genera the stamens are very numerous. 



SYRINGA (Philadelphus Leicisii, var. calij 'ornicus, Gray). 

 Flowers fragrant and showy, about an inch in diameter, white, 

 of 4 or 5 petals, with a centre of conspicuous, very numerous 

 yellow stamens, in terminal panicles. A shrub about the 

 height of a man, sometimes twice that. Mountains of Cali- 

 fornia, Oregon, and Washington. 



The Syringa in bloom is one of the glorious sights of summer 

 in the Yosemite region and other mid-altitudes of the Sierra 

 Nevada, often forming thickets along streams. Its resem- 

 blance to the familiar Syringa of the gardens is marked and 

 makes it of easy recognition. 



There are four or five species and varieties of Philadelphus 



indigenous to the West, one being recognized as the Idaho 



state flower. The young, straight, pithy shoots of Philadelphus 



Gardonianus, Lindl., were used by the Indians for arrow shafts. 



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