POPCORN FLOWER (Pldgiobdthrys nothofulvus, Gray). Flow- 

 ers bright white, small, in little fist-like coiled clusters at the 

 summit of leafy stems a foot or so high. A bristly, hairy little 

 plant with narrow leaves, many of them basal, blooming from 

 February until May in grassy places from Southern California 

 to Washington. The juice of the plant imparts a noticeable 

 stain to one's fingers. 



The Popcorn Blower is one of the most familiar of Pacific 

 Coast spring flowers, and when growing in masses, one of the 

 most striking in its effect. So thickly does it dot meadows 

 and roadsides at times that the sight suggests a sprinkle of 

 snow, whence a pretty Spanish name for it and its nearly 

 related species Nievitas (nee-a-vee'tas), meaning "snow- 

 flakes." Its relationship to the Forget-me-not of cultivation 

 has given rise to another name, Wild Forget-me-not. 



The disagreeable name Plagiobothrys is made up from two 

 Greek words meaning "hollow at the side," an allusion to the 

 pitted face of the nutlets at the point of attachment. 



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