he 
226 GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER. 
with a dense growth of mountain cedar! and stunted evergreen oaks. Elms, mesquit, 
hack-berry, and pecan trees, various oaks and cotton woods are the prevailing trees 
in the river and creek valleys. In company of my friend, Mr. P. H. Oberwetter, of 
Austin, we start some fine day early in May in a north-western direction. About four 
miles from Austin we reach Mount Bonnell, lifting its kead several hundred feet above 
the Colorado River, which here leaves the mountains and enters the undulating prairie 
and post oak country. It is only half of a mountain, half of it being torn away by 
the Colorado in past ages. Arriving at the summit we have a splendid view in all’ 
directions. Cedar thickets abound almost everywhere. No large forest trees are 
noticed, but a beautiful evergreen shrub, Sophora speciosa, arrests our attention near 
where we stand. The spikes of violet-blue flowers are powerfully fragrant. But 
what plant is yonder gray-leaved bush, which selected its abode on and between the 
clefts of rocks overhanging the steep precipice? It is Leucophyllum Texanum, a shrub 
from five to ten feet high, with evergreen, wooly, bluish-green leaves. It is very beau- 
tiful, flowering from May to October. A bush, loaded with thimble-shaped rosy-purple 
flowers is a beautiful obje&t to behold. Close by, in clefts of rocks, we notice a mau- 
randia, hanging down in graceful festoons, loaded all summer with light blue flowers. 
The shooting star’ seems to find its southern limit in this region. In the shade of the 
cedars we find a beautiful terrestrial orchid, indeed, the most beautiful orchid of Texas, 
Bletia aphylla. The flower stalk grows about twelve inches high, half of its length 
being densely covered with beautiful flowers of the peculiar shape of all orchids. The 
color is deep purple with yellow or bronze lines. Members of the cactus family are very 
common. On ledges of rock and in moist shady places we find another beautiful orchid, 
Epipactis gigantea. It grows about one to two feet high and has a leafy stem which 
terminates in a spike of about twelve flowers of a yellow color streaked with purple. 
On the foot of the mountain we notice a shrub® six to ten feet high, with white sweet- 
scented flowers in summer. One of the most gorgeous plants, Lisianthus Russellianus, 
is sometimes found here, too, but more abundantly in the prairies in wet places, where 
it lifts up its panicle of splendid violet flowers from June to September. Pentstemons‘ 
open their exquisite, large bluish flowers later in the season. A small, tuberous rooted 
commelyna, growing in sandy places, has rosy-purple flowers with the fragrance of 
heliotrope. An evening primrose® is very showy, having large golden yellow flowers. 
In many places we meet with Lantana camara and the Mexican mulberry* The bird 
pepper’, relished by birds, grows on the mountain-side. The popinac® produces its 
globular yellow flowers in March, which perfume the whole neighborhood. The cardinal 
flower® is abundant where it is sufficiently moist. On this mountain we also find a 
species of dasylirion, and in the cafion in the vicinity the pretty Clematis coccinea. 
Clematis Viorna is also present, but not in the same places with the last. On our way 
home we notice the bluish, two-ranked leaves of a spider lily”. Cooperias" are also 
very common. In the sandy post oak soil around Austin a pretty little flower, bright 
yellow inside and purplish-brown outside, attra&ts our attention. It is the yellow fairy- 
lily”. All these bulbous plants belong to the royal order of Amaryllidacee. 
1 Juniperus montana, 2% Dodecatheon Meadia. 3 Lippia lycioides. 1 Pentstemon Cobsa, digitalis, Murryanum. 
5 CEnouthera macrocarpa. 6 Callicarpa Americana, 7 Capsicum fruticosum. 8 Acacia Farnesiana, ® Lobelia Mexicana. 
10 Hymenocallis lacera, 11 Cooperia Drummondii and C. pedunculata. 12 Zephyranthes Texana. 
