LILY FAMILY. Liliaccac. 



There are three kinds of Xerophyllum. 



This is a magnificent plant, from two 

 to s * x ^ eet ^igh, ^^ a ver Y stout, leafy 

 Xerophyllum stem, springing from a very large tuft off 

 tlnax wiry, grass-like leaves, which spread out 



Whlte gracefully like a fountain. They are 



Northwest from one to two and a half feet long, dark- 



green on the upper side and pale-gray onj 

 the under, with rough edges. The imposing flower clus-j 

 ter is borne at the top of the stalk and is about a foot 

 long, broad at the base and tapering to a blunt point, 

 and composed of hundreds of fragrant, cream-white 

 flowers, each about half an inch across, with slender, 

 white pedicels, and so closely crowded together that the 

 effect is very solid, yet made feathery by the long stamens. 

 It is a fine sight to come across a company of these noble 

 plants in a mountain meadow, rearing their great shafts of 

 bloom far above their neighbors. They are very handsome 

 around Mt. Rainier. They are said to blossom only once 

 in five or seven years and then to die. The leaves are 

 used by Indians in making their finest baskets. Unfortu- 

 nately the size of this book does not admit of an illustration. 



There are two kinds of Maianthemum, an eastern one 

 and the following, which also grows in Europe and Asia. 

 This is a very attractive, woodland 



*Y ild ^ ily " of " plant, from four to fourteen inches tall,! 

 the- valley K 



Maianthemum Wlth handsome, glossy, rich green leaves! 

 bifdiium and a rather stout stem, bearing a pretty 



White cluster, two or three inches long, of many, 



Spring, summer ^ waxy . white flowers, with four divi- 



Wash., Oreg., Cal. . 



sions. Ihey have four stamens, witn 



thread-like filaments and small, yellowish anthers, the 

 stigma has two lobes and the berry is red. This grows 

 in rich soil in the mountains and is much handsomer than 

 its eastern relation and strongly sweet-scented. The 

 Latin name means "blooming in May." 



44 



