238 PRIMTJLACE.E. 



encircled by a band of yellow : anthers deep blue- purple, barely a line 

 long, linear-oblong, with broad retuse apex, at length divergent from 

 the style: capsule short-oblong or subglobose, circumscissile near the 

 summit. — Subsaline plains of the interior; abundant in the eastern 

 part of the Livermore Valley; also on the Oakland Hills, and Bernal 

 Heights, in a modified form. March, April. 



2. ANDROSACE, Mallhiolus. Diminutive herbs, with small rosulate 

 radical leaves, and slender scapes bearing an involucrate umbel of very 

 small white flowers. Corolla salverform, with constricted throat. Sta- 

 mens 5, included. Capsule subglobose, valvate-dehiscent; seeds few. 



1. A. acuta. Very slender, 1 — 4 in. high, rather densely hirsutulous 

 or almost hispidulous throughout: leaves linear-lanceolate, attenuate- 

 acute, entire, hispid-ciliolate, % — % in. long: bracts of involucre ovate- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, 3—4 lines long: umbel few-flowered, the filiform 

 pedicels % — \% in. long: calyx 2 — 3 lines high including the triangular 

 acuminate almost pungently acute and slightly recurving segments: 

 capsule not known. — Not rare on northward slopes of the hills of Contra 

 Costa and Alameda counties; but an obscure plant, known to us for 

 years, and hitherto mistaken for A. occidentalis. March. 



3. ALSINAJf THEMUM, Thalius. Low glabrous perennials, the sim- 

 ple stem, from a tuberous-thickened root or rootstock, bearing an 

 apparent whorl of ample leaves at summit, and among these a few fili- 

 form 1-flowered pedicels. Flowers 7-merous or 6-merous. Corolla 

 rotate, deeply parted, the divisions convolute in bud. Capsule dehiscent 

 by about 5 revolute valves. Seeds few, large, covered with a white 

 pellicle. 



1. A. Europaeum (L.), var. latifolium (Torr.). Stem naked below: 

 leaves oblong-obovate, mostly acute, 1% — 4 in. long, in a cluster of from 

 4 to 7 : corolla 5 — 6 lines broad, from pinkish to almost rose-red. — North- 

 ward slopes of hills, in shade of trees or thickets. May. 



4. ANAGALLIS, Diosc. Low annuals with opposite leaves, and 

 flowers in their axils on slender pedicels. Corolla rotate, 5-parted; the 

 rounded lobes convolute in bud. Stamens on base of corolla; filaments 

 pubescent. Capsule globose, circumscissile. 



1. A. abvensis, L. Glabrous, depressed; stem 6 — 10 in. long, leafy 

 and flowering throughout: leaves }£ in. long or more, ovate, sessile: 

 calyx-lobes narrow, almost equalling the scarlet, or sometimes bluish 

 corolla, this expanded only under a clear sky. — Very common; flowering 

 at all seasons except mid-winter. 



5. CEXTUNCULUS, Dilleuius. Diminutive glabrous annual, with 

 alternate leaves, and small inconspicuous flowers solitary in their axils. 



