192 



Descriptive Flora 



Monniera monniera (L.) Britton. 



Smooth, fleshy-stemmed plants creeping in mud on banks of 

 streams and waterholes. Leaves opposite, simple, fleshy, 14 to 

 y 2 " long, entire, largest above the middle and rounded at the tip. 

 Flowers pale blue, 5-lobed, about %" across. Corolla 5-lobed, 

 upper lobes often notched. Flowers on slender, axillary peduncles 

 longer than the leaves. Calyx unequally 5-lobed, three large, the 

 two outer ones very small. Stamens 4, 2 long, 2 short. Blossoms 

 continuously from spring to fall. 



Mercardonia peduncularis (Benth.) Small. 



Low plants with spreading branches, opposite leaves and 

 small, flattened, 2-lipped yellow flowers, commonly growing in 

 depressions of cracks of flattened limestone rocks in creek beds 

 or on low ledges above the creek. Leaves simply opposite, less than 

 1" long, 1 main vein at base, ovate, saw-toothed. Flowers solitary 

 on slender axillary pedicels, 1 to 2" long. Sepals 5, not alike in 

 size, and longer than the corolla-tube. Corollas yellow, lined with 

 darker veins, flattened, 2-lipped, 4-lobed, the lower lobe broad 

 and slightly notched. Stamens 4. Pods contain numerous seeds, 

 so small that they look like pin points. Blossoms as early as 

 J anuary. The early plants are often killed by frost. 



Veronica peregrina L. Speedwell. Brooklime. 



This smooth, rarely sticky hairy plant grows 4 to 12 inches 

 high, has a tiny, white flower in the axil of each of the upper 

 leaves and is found in wet ditches, along brooks or in damp, 

 shaded soil. Leaves simple, opposite. Blades entire or shallowly 

 toothed, y 2 to I14" long, slightly fleshy, blunt tipped. Corolla 

 4-lobed, white. Stamens 2. Fruits small, broader than long, 

 flattened, notched at the apex, and set in 4 leaflike sepals. 

 Spring to fall. Named for St. Veronica. 



Castilleja lindheimeri A. Gray. Indian Paint-brush. 



Indian Blanket. 



Stout-stemmed, gaudy-colored plants, 6 to 14 inches high, 



