INDIAN RHUBARB (Saxifraga peltata, Torr.). Flowers about 

 \ inch across, rose color or whitish, disposed in ample panicles 

 on fleshy, leafless scapes 1 to 3 feet tall; blooming in spring or 

 early summer out of bare earth. It occurs on the rocky bor- 

 ders' of rapidly flowing mountain streams, or even in the 

 water itself, from the Yosemite region northward in Cali- 

 fornia, at middle altitudes or in the foothills. 



The feature of the Indian Rhubarb which is most likely to 

 call attention to its presence, is the remarkable leaves. These 

 do not develop until after the flowers, which, indeed, by rea- 

 son of their early appearance, are often not seen at all by vis- 

 itors in the mountain regions which the plant frequents. The 

 leaves are all basal, from a foot to two feet in diameter, with 

 numerous lobes and cuttings at the edge, and a cup-like cavity 

 in the centre. They are borne on long stout leaf-stalks, and 

 both these and the flower-stalk are edible at least by In- 

 dians a fact to which the common name Indian Rhubarb is 

 attributable. 



