GENTIAN FAMILY. Gentianaceac. 



of its luxuriant size and pale foliage, and if Mr. Burbank 

 could make the flowers clear white or purple it would be 

 magnificent. It grows in the western mountains, as far 

 east as Dakota and New Mexico. The finest I ever saw 

 were on an open slope, in a high pass in the Wasatch 

 Mountains, where they reared their pale spires proudly far 

 above the surrounding herbage. 



Quite a pretty plant, too colorless to be 

 Small Columbo . 

 Frdsera niiida effective at a distance, but not coarse, 



Bluish-white with a smooth, pale stem, over a foot tall, 

 Summer and smooth, dull, bluish-green leaves, 



Cal., Oreg. slightly stiffish. prettily bordered with 



white, mostly in a clump near the base. The flowers are 

 about half an inch across, shaped like the last ; with bluish- 

 white petals, specked with dull-purple, with a green line 

 on the outside, with one green gland near the center, 

 fringed all around; large whitish anthers, becoming 

 pinkish, and a white pistil. 



There are a good many kinds of Erythraea, widely dis- 

 tributed, usually with red or pink flowers; calyx with five or 

 four, narrow lobes, or divisions; corolla salver-form, with 

 five or four lobes; anthers twisting spirally after shedding 

 their pollen ; stigmas two, oblong or fan-shaped. The Greek 

 name means "red" and the common name, Centaury, 

 from the Latin, meaning "a hundred gold pieces," alludes 

 to the supposedly valuable medicinal properties of these 

 plants. 



From three to twelve inches tall, with 



Canchalagua, apple-green leaves, mostly on the stems, 



California 



Centaury smooth and thin in texture, and flowers 



Erythrata venusta an inch or more across, a very vivid shade 

 (Centaurium) o f purplish-pink, with a yellow or white 



"eye," bright yellow anthers and green 

 Spring, summer . . 

 California pistil. These are attractive, because they 



look so gay and cheerful, but the color is a 

 little crude. The flowers are not so large in Yosemite as 

 they are in some places, such as Point Loma, but are very 

 numerous and cover large patches with brilliant color. 

 These plants are called Canchalagua by Spam'sh-Califor- 

 j who use them medicinally. 



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