LILY FAMILY. Liliaceae. 
Ww 
TwiningBrodiata This isa strange, rather grotesque-look- 
Brodiata volabilis. 4g plant, with its slightly roughish, leafless, 
(Stropholirion reddish stem contorted into curious curves, 
Californicum) —_ occasionally quite short but usually enor- 
eee mously long, sometimes as much as eight 
Summer <P 2 , 
California feet, and twining awkwardly in a snake- 
like way around and over the bushes in its 
neighborhood. There are sometimes a few long narrow 
leaves lying on the ground, but when the flower blooms 
they usually seem to have withered away. The flower- 
cluster is quite compact, sometimes six inches across, com- 
prising from eighteen to twenty flowers, with several, large, 
pink, papery bracts. The flowers are rather pretty, dull 
pink outside but paler inside, the buds are deeper and more 
purplish pink, both of dry papery texture. The flowers are 
over half an inch across, their tubes and buds are six-angled, 
and they have three stamens with anthers and wings, al- 
ternating with three, notched, petal-like stamens, without 
anthers. In the spring the stem grows rapidly for several 
weeks and then the flower cluster begins to come out at the 
tip. If the stem is broken off the flower comes out just the 
same and the stem keeps on growing, even if it is brought 
into the house. These curious plants are found in the foot- 
hills of the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada Mountains 
and may be seen in open sunny places along the stage route 
from Yosemite to Wawona. In the woods near Wawona 
I saw it twining around a very tall white larkspur and the 
combination was exceedingly pretty. The capsule is egg- 
shaped and pointed, the seeds black and angled. 
Ww 
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