California Trees and Flowers. 79 



rigid evergreen foliage, producing a pleasant edible nut. An orna- 

 mental shrub, growing in rich valleys or on arid hills from the 

 Pacific Ocean to the borders of the Colorado Desert. 



SISYKINCHIUM. 



S. bellum Watson. The Blue-eyed grass bears umbel-like clusters 

 of small rotate flowers of a delicate shade of mauve, with canary yel- 

 low centers. A profuse bloomer. Grows from a few inches to two 

 feet high. A very pretty Iris-like plant. 



TOEEEYA. 



T. Californica Torr. The Calif ornian Nutmeg is a tree fifty 

 to seventy-five feet high, with slender drooping branches often grown 

 for ornamental planting. 



UMBELLULAEIA. 



U. Californica Nutt. The California Laurel is a handsome 

 shrub or tree, ten to seventy feet high, with thick evergreen leaves,, 

 better known in cultivation as Oreodaphne Californica. 



WASHINOTONIA. 



W. filifera Wendland. The Calif ornian or Washington fan 

 palm is too well-known to need description. It has become one of 

 the most characteristic trees in Southern California and is a worthy 

 memorial to the fame of the great Washington whose name it bears. 



W. robusta Wendland. A robust variety (not specifically dis- 

 tinct?) said to be more easily grown. None of the characters which 

 are said to distinguish these two palms appear to be constant. 



YUCCA. 



An American genus of a few species of handsome and conspicu- 

 ous ornamental plants, well known in cultivation. 



Y. baccata Torrey. The Wild Date, or Spanish Bayonet, is a 

 stately plant, sometimes growing ten or more feet high, and produc- 

 ing a pyramidal panicle of fragrant waxy, pure white flowers, or 

 often marked with purple. The large, sweet edible fruit is sometimes 

 called wild bananas. 



Y. brevifolia Engelrn. The Tree Yucca of the Mojave Desert. 



Y. Whipplbi Torrey. The flowers borne in a large panicle on 

 a scape five to twelve feet high. The rigid serrulate leaves surround 

 the base of the stem in a dense cluster. The flowers are waxy- white 

 or purple tinged. The plant dies after blooming, while the preceding 

 species live year after year. 



ZAUSCHNERIA. 



Z. Californica Presl. The flowers of this plant are one to two 

 inches long and three-quarters of an inch across, scarlet to scarlet 



