
WILD PANSY 
(Viola pedunculata) 
The common blue violets, which in May are so abundant 
in the Eastern States, are not indigenous at allto California. A 
charming substitute, however, is the blue violet’s cousin with 
larger flowers, the Wild Pansy, with cheerful golden-yellow 
petals, two of which are dashed on the outside with warm brown. 
The blossoms are borne on slender, upright stalks, sometimes 
two feet in length. 
One finds the Wild Pansies sparingly as early as February 
and in abundance in April and May, in the meadows and on the 
edges of the barley fields, as well as in woodlands. 
MARIPOSA TULIP 
(Calochortus venustus) 
In late spring and early summer upon the fading grasslands 
and on the dry sunny slopes of the hills, the Mariposa Tulips 
set their long-stemmed chalices of delicate color. Bulbous plants 
of the lily family, they are frequently called Mariposa Lilies, but 
as a matter of fact their relationship is very near to the true tulips 
of the Old World, and like the latter, they have been extensive- 
ly introduced into cultivation both in this country and abroad. 
The petals are often conspicuously marked with lines and 
dots and eye-like spots in a manner that suggests the gay wings 
of a butterfly, whence the term ‘*Mariposa,’’? which is the 
Spanish word for that insect. 
WILD HELIOTROPE 
(Phacelia tanacetifolia ) 
The heliotrope color of the blossoms of this plant and their 
arrangement upon an uncoiling spiral, have given rise to the name 
by which it is popularly known, but the exquisite fragrance of 
its domesticated namesake is entirely lacking in the wild flower. 
It is so common from March till June throughout Southern 
California in almost all situations, as to be counted little better 
than a weed. ‘The bees are exceedingly fond of the nectar which 
the Howers secrete, and the plant ranks among the best of honey 
producers. 



