LORQUINIA 
Published by ihe Lorquin Natural History) Club 
(Organized— August 1913) 
Edited by Paul D. R. Riithling, 1051 West 23rd St., I,os Angeles. 
Volume 1. No. 4. Los Angeles, Cal., November 1916. Sub. $1 Pe 
p Year 
PLANT RESPONSE TO WEATHER CONDITIOINS 
It is very interesting to watch the native plants from season to 
season, especiahy from early spring till late autumn, and to notice 
the diflerence in appearance of the plants of the two seasonal extremes. 
These striking differences are the plants' responses to the changed 
weather conditions. Those of spring, or earlier, from January to the 
last of April, are subject to the expected rains and more or less cool 
weather ; with these latter conditions favorable, there is a luxuriant 
growth of wild flowers everywhere to attract the general population. 
If the individual specimens of this host be examined they will be 
easily seen to be more or less succulent, comparatively short-lived 
and delicate. They have a short and easy existence in the cool, moist 
days of the early part of the year. 
Beginning with the last of May and continuing until the cold 
weather and rains of December or later^ we find a group of plants 
termed xerophytes, which grow where the moisture is very deficient, 
and the air dry and warm or hot, and which have adopted means 
of various kinds to guard against too great a loss of moisture. To 
me, these plants are very much more interesting than the other group 
because of this sharp struggle with the hard environment which 
has brought out various and distinctive points in the plants' 
physiognomy. 
The general population seems to be unaware of this great variety 
of plant life during the dry season, and its interesting peculiarities, 
Just as soon as the conspicuous, luxuriant vegetation of spring com- 
mences to go, the would-be nature lover goes to sleep till next spring. 
There are various ways by which protection against evapora- 
tion is attained. Among the trees and shrubs, especially those with 
evergreen leaves, the latter are greatly reduced in size, or there is a 
