CACTI, SHRUBS, AND FLOWERS 67 



In the neighborhood of Palm Springs and in Deep 

 Caiion I have seen it at its best, but every one who 

 sees it in a good season will agree that it is a splen- 

 did, strange, and wonderful flower. 



One other notable flower must be mentioned, the 

 so-called desert verbena, Abrofiia aurila. This, like 

 all desert plants, varies greatly in its show of blos- 

 som according to rainfall and other conditions ; but 

 when the season is propitious the verbenas make a 

 never-to-be-forgotten impression. The rosettes of 

 blossom, of a color between pink and purple, are 

 crowded together in solid acres, almost miles, of 

 bloom, so closely as to be crushed at every step. The 

 gentian meadows of the Sierra and the golden poppy 

 carpets of our few yet unploughed foothills are 

 matched and outdone by these rosy purple verbena 

 plains of the desert. My little sleeping-tent, six feet 

 by three, pitched where the ground was freest of 

 blossoms, enclosed scores of the clusters, and the 

 scent within was like that of an orchid house. 



It would be impossible to give here even a brief 

 reference to all the desert growths that are interest- 

 ing for their uses, strange in their characteristics, or 

 beautiful in their flowering: for instance, the odd 

 sandpaper plant, Petalonyx thurberi, whose name 

 indicates its peculiarity to the touch ; the dye weed, 

 Parosela emoryi, that announces itself too late by a 

 deep yellow stain on your hands or clothing; and a 

 great number that the Indians value for medicinal 

 or other purposes. My notebook shows over a hun- 

 dred plants that I found remarkable. Some of them 

 will be spoken of in the chapter on Indian lore. 



