WILD FLOWERS OF THE CALIFORNIA ALPS. 353 



pink and white blossoms, on the ends of the long, fleshy flower 

 stalks, ripen in June into little double seed pods, which, when 

 shaken in the hand or brushed against by accident, produce a 

 sound much like that of the dreaded rattlesnake. Sometimes 

 these plants domesticate themselves upon submerged rocks, the 

 leaves floating on the surface of the current like those of a water 

 lily, while the masses of tangled roots threaten to trip up heed- 

 less fishermen. Though many varieties of saxifrage are found in 

 different parts of the State, none equal, either in size or pictur- 

 esqueness, these beautiful border plants of the northern Sierra 

 streams. 



At irregular intervals along the banks grow tall thickets of 

 fragrant azaleas, or rhododendrons, reflecting their bright green 

 leaves and pink and cream- white flowers in the limpid water be- 

 low ; and behind them are terraces of feathery purple or white 

 ceanothus, or mountain lilac, beloved by deer and honeybees. 



Then come the dogwoods, flaunting their showy white bracts 

 full fifteen feet in air, and mingling their spreading boughs with 

 those of the laurel, the alder, the cottonwood, the wild hawthorn, 

 and syringa. At their feet appear the freckled faces of the 



GIANT SAXIFRAGE OF SACRAMENTO RIVER. 



tawny tiger-lilies, the largest of which is the Humboldt, as tall 

 as a good- sized man and with from four to six whorls of leaves, 

 each whorl ten to twenty leaves in number ; and rivaling them 

 in attractiveness are the stately Washington lilies, with their 

 satiny-white chalices, flecked with black and gold, suggestive of 

 the Bermuda or Easter lilies of gardens and greenhouses. 



