BUTTER AND EGGS (Orthocdrpus eridnthus, Benth.). Flow- 

 ers about an inch long, 2-lipped; the slender, straight upper 

 lip (which is slightly hooked at the tip) brownish-purple; the 

 lower lip inflated in the form of 3 conspicuous puffed-up sacs 

 which are deep sulphur yellow; the slender tube of the flower 

 white, and thrice the length of the calyx; borne in a many- 

 flowered, rather dense spike with pinnately divided bracts 

 that are more or less purplish. Leaves pinnately parted 

 above a broad base into thread-like divisions. A slender 

 much-branched annual with reddish stems, 4 to 10 inches tall, 

 blooming in the spring, from Central California northward to 

 Oregon, common on low grounds near the Coast. 



People who object to the prosy name of Butter-and-eggs 

 for this pretty flower (suggested by the mixture of white and 

 yellow in its composition) may prefer Johnny Tuck, another 

 popular appellative. The elfin look of the blossoms of the 

 more showy species of Orthocarpus seems to challenge the 

 fancy to provide them with affectionate nick-names. 



198 



