Some Useful Plants of Southern California. 209 



apart and descending to the microscopic sizes. Each of the four- 

 petaled flowers was fully as large as a fifty -cent piece ; one almost 

 covered a silver dollar. The rich, clear yellow hue, and the regu- 

 larity of the petals and stamens, with the golden ball of the erect 

 pistils, formed a charming whole. Charles Howard Shinn. 



SOME USEFUL PLAXTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

 From Garden and Forest, \. 41-1.) 



Romneya Coulteri. — Few will ask why this magnificent flower 

 was made, after once seeing it in full bloom — for the delight of their 

 eyes will satisfy them. The Romneya poppy is one of the most 

 regal of our native flowers, and no flower yet introduced in our gar- 

 dens excels it. Growing along the water courses on our southern 

 border, southward to near San Ouintin bay, in Lower California, it 

 wastes its sweetness and pure white loveliness unseen and un- 

 known, except by a few. The wax-like flowers often exceed six 

 inches across, the white petals set off to advantage by a center of 

 golden stamens. The stems grow from four to fifteen feet in height, 

 rising above the surrounding brush, and when seen covering large 

 areas and in full bloom the plant is not readily forgotten. Not con- 

 tent to occupy the fertile valleys, it seeks the more secluded canyons 

 as well , and often dots the hillsides, climbing far up the mountain- 

 sides away from the reach of any but the most enthusiastic botan- 

 ists. It seems to delight in these high, sterile locations, where it is 

 thoroughly protected from the winds and is not likely to be dis- 

 turbed. In cultivation the flowers become much larger and more 

 wax-like, and it has been in demand in Europe, where it was very 

 early introduced. In addition to its horticultural attractions it 

 possesses strong qualities of great medicinal value, which may 

 secure for it a place in the materia medica when they are more fully 

 investigated. It has long occupied a place among the medicinal 

 herbs of the Indians of Lower California. 



Simmoxdsia Califorxica. — This is a very common shrub in the 

 southern part of the State, extending southward in the peninsula of 

 Lower California. It was found by Dr. Yeatch, on Cerros island, 

 and was figured from that locality in one of the bulletins of the 

 California Academv of Sciences. It forms low, oval bushes alonsr 

 the sea coast, often less than a foot in height when exposed to the 

 ocean winds, and with its stiff leaves and branches and dense 

 foliage forms impenetrable thickets in less exposed situations. The 

 foliage is of a glaucous hue, blending harmoniously with the reddish 



