California Trees and Flowers. 151 
rigid evergreen foliage, producing a pleasant edible nut. An orna- 
mental shrub, growing in rich valleys or on arid hills from the 
Pacific Ocean to the borders of the Colorado Desert. 
SISYRINCHIUM. 
S.BELLUM Watson. The Blue-eyed grass bears umbel-like clusters 
of small rotate flowers of a delicate shade of mauve, with canary yel- 
low centers. A profuse bloomer. Grows from a few inches to two 
feet high. A very pretty Ivis-like plant. 
TORREYA. 
T. CALIFORNICA Torr. The Californian Nutmeg is a tree fifty 
to seventy-five feet high, with slender drooping branches often grown 
for ornamental planting. 
UMBELLULARIA. 
U. CALIFoRNIcA Nutt. The California Laurel is a handsome 
shrub or tree, ten to seventy feet high, with thick evergreen leaves, 
better known in cultivation as Oreodaphne Californica. 
* 
WASHINGTONTA. 
W. FILIFERA Wendland. The Californian or Washington fan 
palm is too well-known to need description. It has become one of 
the most characteristic trees in Southern California and is a worthy 
memorial to the fame of the great Washington whose name it bears. 
W. RoBUSTA Wendland. <A robust variety (not specifically dis- 
tinct?) said to be more easily grown. None of the characters which 
are said to distinguish these two palms appear to be constant. 
YUCCA. 
An American genus of a few species of handsome and conspicu- 
ous ornamental plants, well known in cultivation. 
Y. BAccATA Torrey. The Wild Date, or Spanish Bayonet, is a 
stately plant, sometimes growing ten or more feet high, and produc- 
ing a pyramidal panicle of fragrant waxy, pure white flowers, or 
often marked with purple. The large, sweet edible fruit is sometimes 
ealled wild bananas. 
Y. BREVIFOLIA Lngelm. The Tree Yucca of the Mojave Desert. 
Y. WHIPPLE! Torrey. The flowers borne in a large panicle on 
a scape five to twelve feet high. The rigid serrulate leaves surround 
the base of the stem in a dense cluster. The flowers are waxy-white 
or purple tinged. The plant dies after blooming, while the preceding 
species live year after year. 
ZAUSCHNERIA. 
Z. CALIFORNICA Presl. The flowers of this plant are one to two 
inches long and three-quarters of an inch across, scarlet to scarlet 
