WILD FLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA 



49 



531. California Loose- 

 strife 



531a. 



Lvthrnm Californicum 



Lythrum hyssopifolia 



A tall perennial. Flowers 

 bright purple and pedi- 

 celled. Marshy places, 

 Sacramento Valley. 



Flowers nearly sessile, pale 

 purple or whitish. In- 

 troduced. Abundant in 

 swampy alkali lands that 

 have been partially under 

 cultivation. Weed. Coast 

 ranges and Sacramento 

 Valley. 



Sessile clasping leaves, and 

 Later these form conspicu- 



532. Red Stem Ammannia coccinea 

 Annual erect stems which turn red at maturity. 



one to five small purplish flowers clustered in the axils. 



ous globose capsules filled with powdery seeds. Interesting morphologically, as the 

 portion of the stem below the water line bursts and from it is produced a white, 

 spongy mass of tissue. 



Low, swampy lands of the interior valley. It has found ideal conditions for its 

 growth in the rice fields and is now a serious weed pest. 



533. Low Red Stem Ammannia humilis Similar but smaller and less 



aggressive and with peti- 

 oled leaves. Sacramento 

 Valley. 



WATER-MILFOIL FAMILY 



HALORAGEAE 



Distinctive acquatic plants with numerous leaves and insignificant inflorescence. 



534. Mare's Tail 



Hippuris vulgaris 



535. Water-Milfoil 



535a. 



Myriophyllum spicatum 



Myriophyllum hippuroides 



A striking plant as it grows 

 erect in the water with its 

 numerous whorls of sim- 

 ple leaves. Flowers minute 

 in the axils. Throughout 

 the State in cool, shallow 

 ponds or irrigation 

 ditches. 



Submerged leaves in whorls 

 and very finely divided, 

 or feather-like. Flowers 

 in a terminal slender 

 spike. Lakes and ponds, 

 Bay region. 



Similar, but with flowers in 

 the axils. Clear Lake and 

 Stockton. 



EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY 



ONAGRACEAE 



This family has come into unusual prominence during recent years on account 

 of its principal genus Oenothera being extensively grown by De Vries in Europe 

 and Gates and others in America in substantiation of the Mutation Theory of 

 Plants. Many of its members are ornamentals. They occur throughout the State 

 from the sandy deserts to the valleys, hills, ocean beaches and high mountains. 



536. Water Purslane 



537. 



California Water 

 Weed 



Ludwigia palustris 



Jussiaea Californica 



Marsh or water plants, flow- 

 ers in the axils. Coast 

 region and Sierra Valley. 



Muddy shores ; stems creep- 

 ing and rooting; flowers 

 yellow, about one -half 

 inch across. Sloughs, 

 coast and interior valleys. 



