1880.] A Botanist in Southern California. 493 
the vicinity of Los Angeles, the metropolis of Southern Califor- 
nia. Then the plains surrounding that city, the hills and the val- 
leys are one mass of gorgeous brilliant flowers. They are there 
by thousands upon thousands, and of almost endless variety. We 
shall attempt to enumerate some of them, and give a general idea 
of the appearance of the country in its season of beauty. 
Most conspicuous of all, both for its abundance and its color, 
is the California poppy (Zschscholtzsia californica Cham.). Never 
have I seen such a brilliant mass of color as was presented by this 
plant last spring. It covered acres of ground, and the bright 
golden yellow or orange of its flowers, conspicuous among the 
mass of other verdure, was visible for miles. I have one patch 
in my mind now which, seen on a bright clear day, was, with the 
- Sun shining full upon it, too dazzling for the eye to gaze upon. 
Truly it was the “ Field of the Cloth of Gold.” In places where 
the ground had been plowed, paths of it had been left, and they 
seemed like tongues of fire running over the ground. 
Two species of Alfillerilla, or pin clover (Erodium cicutarium 
L'Heer and Z. moschatum L'Heer), are very common. These are 
very valuable as forage plants, and without them it is hard to tell 
what the country would do. Both species are very similar, one 
having the leaves more finely dissected than the other. The 
flowers are small and of a bright purple. The seeds are peculiar. 
After the petals have fallen the pedicels become deflexed, but the 
seeds still stand upright. They are five in number, united toa 
stylus, and each one is furnished with an awn an inch or so in 
length, with hairs at the base. When the seeds ripen and dry, 
they split the capsule at the base, and each one begins to twist on 
its own account; when they get through, the awns of all are 
closely twisted together, and the seeds stick out on all sides. If 
One seed is separated from the others before it is fully ripe, and 
examined, the awn will be seen to twist. It drys very rapidly, 
and in the contraction turns the seed round and round till a close 
coil about half its length is formed, and this coil sticks out at - 
right angles from the seed. On wetting the awns again, they will 
untwist and become as straight as before. This seems to me to 
be a provision of nature for forcing the seed into the ground. Be 
that as it may, the seed itself is very hard and sharp pointed, and 
has a faculty of sticking very close to anything it gets into. 
The Sidalcea malveflora Gray, is one of the prettiest and com- 
