LILY FAMILY. Liliaceae. 



There are many kinds of Brodiaea, among the prettiest 

 western flowers. They have a small, solid bulb, coated 

 with brownish fibers. The stem bears a bracted, roundish 

 head of flowers at the top, the pedicels varying in length. 

 Their leaves, all from the root, are grasslike and soon wither 

 and the flowers dry up, become papery, and remain on the 

 stalk, sometimes keeping form and color for some time. 

 The stamens are in two sets and are attached to the flower- 

 tube, their filaments often winged. Sometimes three of the 

 stamens are without anthers and their filaments are broad- 

 ened, so that they look like small petals alternating with 

 the ordinary stamens. 



All through the spring these lovely 



flowers g row abundantly all over the hills 

 capitdia an d fields of California. The slender stalks 

 Blue, violet vary from a few inches to two feet tall. 



Spring Tlie fl owers are usually purplish-blue, but 



California f * . , , ,., 



vary from deep-violet to white and are 



rather translucent in texture. They measure over half an 

 inch across and grow in a cluster of seven or eight flowers, 

 with several membranous, purplish bracts at the base. 

 There are six anthers. The three inner stamens are winged 

 and form a crown in the throat of the flower-tube. These 

 Brodiaeas last a long time in water and are great favorites 

 everywhere. The little bulbs are edible and give the name 

 of Grass Nuts. There are several other names, such as 

 Cluster Lily and Hog-onion. The name Wild Hyacinth is 

 poor, as it does not resemble a hyacinth in character. J3. 

 capitata var. pauciflbra of Arizona is similar, except that 



the bracts are white. Covena is the Arizona 



name. 



Ookow Much like the last, except that only 



Brodiola congista t h ree of the stamens have anthers and the 



B ue, violet stem is sometimes as much as five feet tall, 

 bpnng, summer 



Wash.,Oreg., This grows on open hills in the Coast 



Cal. Ranges. 



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