IMPORTANT PLANT FAMILIES AND GENERA

[To avoid too long technical descriptions in the body of the work, a few of the more important plant families and genera have been inserted below, to which reference has been made in the technical descriptions.]

FAMILIES

Cruciferæ. Mustard Family.

Herbs with pungent, watery juice. Leaves.—Alternate; without stipules; entire or divided. Flowers.—Generally in racemes. Sepals.—Four. Petals.—Four; usually with narrowed base or claw; the blades spreading to form a cross. Stamens.—Six; two of them shorter than the other four. Ovary.—Two-celled; rarely one-celled. Style undivided, or none. Stigma entire or two-lobed. Fruit.—A silique—i.e. a capsule, in which the walls separate upward away from a central partition.

The Mustard family is a very large one, comprising over a hundred and seventy genera, and containing between one and two thousand species. It is widely distributed over all parts of the world, but is most abundantly represented in the cooler or temperate regions. It furnishes us with many useful plants; such as the mustard, horseradish, radish, cabbage, turnip, cauliflower, etc.

The genera of this order are very closely allied, and very difficult of discrimination. The fruit, as well as the flower, is necessary in the study of any given species.

Leguminosæ. Pea Family.

The order Leguminosæ is divided into three well-marked sub-orders—the Pea family proper, the Brasiletto family, and the Mimosa family. But as all our genera, save Cercis, fall under the first, we shall describe that only.

Papilionaceæ. Pea Family proper.

Herbs, shrubs, or trees. Leaves.—Usually alternate; compound; with stipules; the latter sometimes transformed into thorns or tendrils. Flowers.—Seldom solitary; usually in spikes, racemes or umbels. Calyx.—Five-toothed; often bilabiate. Corolla.—Irregular; of five petals; papilionaceous—i.e. the two lower petals more or less coherent, forming the keel; the two lateral ones often adherent to the keel, called the wings; the upper petal called the standard or banner. Stamens and pistil inclosed in the keel. Stamens.—Ten; their filaments either coherent into a tube surrounding the pistil; or nine of them united into a sheath, open above, the tenth lying in front of the cleft; or rarely all distinct. Ovary.—Superior; one-celled. Style.—Simple and incurved. Stigma.—Simple. Fruit.—A two-valved pod, of which the garden pea is typical.

The Pea family, including its three sub-orders, is one of the most important plant-families known. It is distributed over almost the entire world, and furnishes some of the most valuable products to man. The Judas-tree, the numerous acacias, and the sweet pea, are well known in our gardens; while among our most valuable vegetables are the bean, the pea, and the lentil. The clover and alfalfa are extremely important forage plants.

The order furnishes several important timber-trees, in different parts of the world, such as the Rosewood, the Laburnum, and the Locust; and yields numerous products of economic importance, such as licorice, senna, gum Senegal, gum Arabic, gum tragacanth, balsam of copaiba, balsam of Tolu, indigo, logwood, red sandalwood, etc.

Compositæ. Composite Family.

Herbs, rarely shrubs. Leaves.—Usually alternate; without stipules. Flowers.—In a close head on a common receptacle, surrounded by an involucre, whose divisions are called scales or bracts. Calyx-tube.—Adnate to the one-celled ovary; its limb (called a pappus) crowning its summit in the form of bristles, awns, scales, teeth, etc.; or cup-shaped; or else entirely absent. Corolla.—Either strap-shaped or tubular; in the latter chiefly five-lobed. Stamens.—Five (rarely four); on the corolla; their anthers united in a tube. Style.—Two-cleft at the apex. Fruit.—An akene. Flowers with strap-shaped corollas are called ray flowers or rays. The tubular flowers compose the disk.

The Composite family is the largest of all plant-families, numbering twelve thousand species and upward, and is widely distributed over the world. In the cooler parts of the world the plants are mostly herbaceous, but toward the tropics they gradually become shrubs, and even trees. In North America they comprise about one sixth of all the flowering plants.

For so large a family there are comparatively few useful plants found in it. Among the products of the order, may be mentioned chicory, lettuce, the artichoke, the vegetable oyster, arnica, chamomile-flowers, wormwood, absinth, elecampane, coltsfoot, taraxacum, oil of tansy, etc. But our gardens owe to this family innumerable beautiful and showy plants such as the China aster, the chrysanthemum, the cosmos, zinnia, dahlia, ageratum, gaillardia, coreopsis, sunflower, etc., etc.

The plants of this family are quickly recognized by the flowers being always borne in a head and surrounded by an involucre, and presenting the appearance of a single flower. The heads are sometimes made up entirely of one kind of flower. The dandelion and the chicory are examples of a head made up entirely of ray-flowers, while the thistle consists of tubular flowers only. The more common arrangement, however, is the mixed one, comprising both tubular disk-flowers and strap-shaped rays, as in the daisy. The seeds are usually furnished with silken down or a delicate parachute to waft them abroad.

The identification of the flowers of this order is a very difficult matter, even for experienced botanists.

Labiatæ. Mint Family.

Herbs with square stems. Leaves.—Opposite; usually aromatic. Flowers.—Axillary, or often in whorls or heads. Corolla.—Bilabiate (rarely regular). Stamens.—Four (or only two). Ovary.—Deeply four-lobed; becoming four seedlike nutlets. Style single; arising from the midst of the lobes.

The plants of this order are easily recognized by the traits in the above description. But some of these traits are shared by the plants of the Figwort family, which have also the bilabiate corolla. The distinguishing character, however, is always to be found in the four-lobed ovary for the Figworts have a two-celled ovary.

This order is a large one; and there are no noxious or poisonous plants to be found in it. On the contrary, it comprises many useful plants, too well known almost to need enumeration—such as the lavender, peppermint, sage, horehound, thyme, spearmint, horsemint, pennyroyal, etc.

GENERA

Ceanothus, L. Buckthorn Family.

Shrubs or small trees, sometimes spinescent. Leaves.—Opposite or alternate; petioled; variously toothed or entire. Flowers.—Blue or white; small, usually not more than two or three lines across; borne in showy thyrsoid or cymose clusters. Calyx.—Petaloid; with short tube and five-cleft border, the lobes acute and connivent. Petals.—Five; long-clawed; hooded; inserted on the calyx-tube. Stamens.—Five; opposite the petals; long exserted. Ovary.—Three-lobed; three-celled. Style short; three-cleft. Fruit.—Dry; consisting of three dehiscent nutlets; sometimes crested.

The genus Ceanothus is mainly a Western one. Of its thirty or more species, two thirds are found in the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

In California we have about twenty species; and these all hybridize to such an extent, that often the determination of any given species is a very difficult matter. The genus reaches its culmination in the mountains of Santa Cruz County, where there are many beautiful species. Many of the species are commonly known as "California lilac."

Lupinus, Catullus. Pea Family.

Leaves.—Palmately divided, with from one to sixteen leaflets; stipules adnate; seldom conspicuous. Leaflets.—Entire; sessile. Flowers.—In terminal racemes, whorled or scattered. Calyx.—Deeply bilabiate; upper lip notched; lower usually entire, or occasionally three-toothed or cleft. Corolla.—Papilionaceous. Standard.—Broad, with sides reflexed. Wings.—Falcate; oblong; commonly slightly united at the tip in front of and inclosing the falcate, usually slender, pointed keel. Stamens.—With their filaments united in a tube; of two forms; five with longer and basifixed anthers; the alternate five with shorter and versatile ones. Pod.—Compressed; straight; two-valved. Style slender. Stigma bearded.

The Lupines are mostly plants of Western America. In fact, they are so abundant between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean that that territory is known among botanists as the "Lupine Region."

The species, which are very numerous, are difficult of determination, requiring very long technical descriptions, which cannot be given in a work like the present. For this reason we have been able to give but a few of the more easily recognized.

We have in California upwards of forty species. They are of little economic importance, although one or two species have been found very useful in the reclaiming of sand-dunes. Several species have been cultivated for ornament. The leaves are often beautiful and the flower-clusters showy.

The generic name is supposed to come from the Latin lupinus, a wolf, and to have been given because of the voracity evinced by the species in exhausting the soil.

Astragalus, Tourn. Pea Family.

Herbs, or sometimes plants woody at base. Leaves.—Alternate; with stipules; unequally pinnate. Flowers.—Rather small; chiefly in simple axillary spikes or racemes, upon a commonly elongated peduncle; papilionaceous. Calyx.—Five-toothed. Corolla and its slender-clawed petals usually narrow. Keel not pointed. Stamens.—Nine united; one free. Ovary.—One-celled; sometimes apparently two-celled. Pod.—Very various; commonly inflated. Seeds.—Few to many on slender stalks; generally small for the size of the pod.

The genus Astragalus is a very large one, comprising many species in most parts of the world, save Australia and South Africa. About two hundred species are native of North America, most of which are found in the region west of the Mississippi River. Of these several are known as "loco-weed," and are poisonous to sheep and cattle.

Very few species of this genus have any economic value. A. gummifer and some other similar species of Western Asia, low, spiny shrubs, yield the gum tragacanth of commerce.

Œnothera, L. Evening-Primrose Family.

Herbs, or plants sometimes woody at the base. Leaves.—Alternate. Flowers.—Axillary or in spikes or racemes. Calyx-tube.—More or less prolonged above the ovary with four reflexed segments.

Petals.—Four; obcordate to obovate; sessile; yellow to white, often tinged with red or turning red in fading. Stamens.—Eight; equal; or those opposite the petals shorter. Anthers perfect; two-celled; versatile. Ovary.—Four-celled; many ovuled. Style filiform. Stigma four-lobed or capitate. Fruit.—A capsule with the seeds in one or two rows in each cell.

The name Œnothera is from two Greek words, meaning wine and a hunt, or pursuit. Mr. Gray tells us that it was given in ancient times to some plant whose roots were eaten to provoke a relish for wine.

This is a large genus, containing a hundred or more species, which are mostly confined to America, about a quarter of them being Californian. Many of them are very beautiful and have long been favorites in gardens. The flowers are yellow or white, and are commonly designated as "evening primroses," as many of them open upon the edge of evening.

Godetia, Spach. Evening-Primrose Family.

The genus Godetia is closely allied to that of Œnothera; but is distinguished from the latter in several points. Its flowers are purple, lilac, or rose-colored—never yellow; the anthers are basifixed—i.e. fixed by their bases—not versatile; and the stigma, instead of being capitate, has four linear lobes.

The plants of this genus were formerly included under Œnothera; but it has been thought best to put them into a separate genus, which has been named for a Dr. Godet.

There are numerous species, many of them very beautiful and showy. They vary a great deal under different conditions and in different seasons, and are not well understood by botanists as yet.

The genus is confined to the western coast of North America, and is most largely represented in California.

The species flower mostly in late spring and early summer, which has given rise to the pretty name of "farewell to spring" for the plants of this genus.

Gilia, Renz. and Pav. Phlox or Polemonium Family.

Herbs or plants somewhat shrubby at base. Leaves.—Opposite or alternate; simple or compound; without stipules. Many species with showy flowers. All the parts of the flower five, except the pistil, which has a three-celled ovary and a three-lobed style. Calyx.—Imbricated in the bud. Corolla.—Regular; funnel-form, salver-form, or sometimes short campanulate or rotate; convolute in the bud. Stamens.—Five; on the corolla alternate with its lobes; distinct. Filaments mostly slender; sometimes unequal in length; not bearded at base.

This genus was named in honor of Philip Gil, a Spanish botanist. In America the name is pronounced jil'i-a, though according to the rules of the Spanish language he'li-a would be the correct pronunciation.

This is a comparatively large genus, comprising about a hundred species, most of which are native to the western parts of the United States. The flowers are often showy and beautiful, and some of them closely resemble the phloxes. A number are cultivated under the botanical name of Ipomopsis or Leptosiphon.

Phacelia, Juss. Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family.

Herbs, mostly branched from the base and hairy. Leaves.—Alternate; the lower sometimes opposite; simple or compound. Flowers.—Usually in one-sided scorpioid racemes. Calyx.—Deeply five-parted; without appendages. Corolla.—From almost rotate to narrowly funnel-form; five-lobed; with ten vertical plates or scales at the base within. Stamens.—Five; equally inserted low or at the base of the corolla. Ovary.—One-celled. Styles two; or one which is two-cleft. Fruit.—A capsule.

The name Phacelia is from a Greek word signifying a fascicle, or bunch, and refers to the fascicled or clustered flower-racemes.

This genus is closely allied to Nemophila, but differs from it in several points. The calyx is not furnished with appendages at the sinuses; the corolla is imbricated in the bud—i.e. the lobes overlap one another in the manner of bricks in a wall,—and is not convolute, or rolled up, as in Nemophila.

This is mainly a North American genus, having about fifty species, about thirty of which are Californian. Many of the species have beautiful and showy flowers, and are cultivated in gardens. The blossoms are blue, violet, purple, or white, but never yellow (save sometimes in the tube or throat).

Mimulus, L. Figwort Family.

Leaves.—Opposite; simple. Flowers.—Axillary on solitary peduncles; sometimes becoming racemose by the diminution of the upper leaves to bracts. Calyx.—Tubular or campanulate; mostly five-angled and five-toothed. Corolla.—Funnel-form; bilabiate; the upper lip erect, two-lobed; the lower three-lobed; a pair of ridges, either bearded or naked, running down the lower side of the throat. Stamens.—Four. Anthers often near together in pairs, with divergent cells. Ovary.—Superior; two-celled. Style filiform. Stigma two-lipped, with the lips commonly dilated and petaloid.

The genus Mimulus is so named from the shape of the corolla, which is supposed to resemble the gaping countenance of an ape. It comprises forty or fifty species, and affords us some of our most beautiful flowers. The greater number of species and the handsomest are Pacific, and several of our Californian species are especially prized in cultivation.

The plants of the genus are all known as "monkey-flowers." They exhibit an interesting character in the structure and movements of the stigma. It is usually composed of two somewhat expanded lips. These are extremely sensitive, and when touched, or when pollen has been received by them, they close quite rapidly.

Orthocarpus, Nutt. Figwort Family.

Low herbs; almost all annuals. Leaves.—Mainly alternate; sessile; often cut into from three to five filiform divisions; the upper passing into the bracts of the dense spike and usually colored, as are the calyx-lobes. Calyx.—Short-tubular or oblong-campanulate; evenly four-cleft, or sometimes cleft before and behind and the divisions again cleft. Corolla.—Tubular; the upper lip, or galea, little or not at all longer than the lower; small in comparison with the large, inflated, one- to three-saccate lower one, which usually bears more or less conspicuous teeth. Stamens.—Four; inclosed in the upper lip. Ovary.—Two-celled. Style long. Stigma capitate. Fruit.—A capsule.

The genus Orthocarpus is mainly Californian, comprising within our borders something less than twenty species. Most of them are to be found from San Francisco northward and in the mountains.

They are closely related to the Castilleias, and resemble them closely in habit. The difference between the two genera lies in the relative sizes of the upper and lower lips of the corolla. In Castilleia the upper lip is the larger and more prominent; while in Orthocarpus the lower is much more conspicuous, often consisting of three inflated sacs.

The species are quite difficult of determination.

"Owl's clover" is a common English name for the plants of this genus.

Pentstemon, Mitchell. Figwort Family.

Perennial herbs, or rarely shrubby. Leaves.—Opposite, rarely whorled; the upper sessile or clasping; the floral gradually or abruptly reduced to bracts. Flowers.—Usually red, blue, purple, or white, rarely yellow; in raceme-like panicles. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—With a conspicuous and mostly elongated or ventricose tube; the throat swelling out on the lower if on either side; the limb more or less bilabiate, with the upper lip two-lobed and the lower three-cleft, recurved, or spreading. Stamens.—Four perfect; a fifth with a bearded filament only. Anther cells mostly united or running together at the summit. Ovary.—Two-celled. Style long. Stigma entire.

The name Pentstemon is from two Greek words, signifying five and stamen. It was bestowed upon this genus because the fifth stamen is present, though sterile.

The genus is a large one, comprising seventy species, most of which are North American, though a few are Mexican. It is most abundantly represented in the Pacific States and the States west of the Mississippi. California has over twenty species, many of them very beautiful, a number of them being in cultivation.

"Beard-tongue" is the common English name for the plants of this genus.

From so many charming species it has been very difficult to select; and if the reader finds some beautiful flower of this genus which is unnamed in these pages, he is advised to consult the technical botanies.

Calochortus, Pursh. Lily Family.

Stem.—Branching; from a membranous-coated, sometimes fibrous-coated corm. Leaves.—Few; linear-lanceolate; the radical one or two much larger than those of the flexuous or erect stem. Flowers.—Few to many; showy; terminal or axillary, or umbellately fascicled. Perianth.—Deciduous; of six more or less concave segments; the three outer lanceolate, greenish, more or less sepal-like; the inner (petals) mostly broadly cuneate-obovate, usually with a conspicuous glandular pit toward the base, which is apt to be hidden by long hairs. Stamens.—Six. Anthers erect; basifixed. Ovary.—Three-celled; three-angled. Stigmas three; sessile; recurved. Capsule.—Three-angled or winged.

The Calochorti are the most widely diffused of all the liliaceous plants of the Pacific Coast, and comprise some of the most beautiful flowers in the world. "On the north they reach British America; one species is to be found as far east as Nebraska; and several are natives of Northern Mexico; and within these limits no considerable section of country is destitute of some species."[1] They are so closely allied to the true tulips that the common designation of them as "tulips" is not at all amiss.

The name Calochortus signifies beautiful grass. The members of the genus fall naturally into three general groups:—

First—The Globe Tulips, which have flexile stems, sub-globose, nodding flowers, and nodding capsules. Of these there are three—C. albus, C. pulchellus, and C. amœnus.

Second—The Star Tulips, having low, flexile stems, erect, starlike flowers, with spreading petals, and nodding capsules. They comprise C. Benthami, C. Maweanus, C. cœruleus, C. apiculatus, C. elegans, C. Tolmei, C. umbellatus, etc.

Third—The Mariposa Tulips, which are usually tall, fine plants, with stiff, erect stems, having erect, cup-shaped or open-campanulate flowers, usually large and handsome, followed by erect capsules.

They have a few narrow, grasslike, radical leaves, which have usually dried away by the time of flowering, which is in early summer, after the ground has become dry and hard. These inhabit our dry, open hillsides and grassy slopes, loving a stony, clayey, sandy, or volcanic soil. They comprise over thirty different known forms, and others are constantly being discovered.

They have a tendency to hybridize, and the various forms sport and vary, and run into one another in such a wonderful manner that the exact determination of all the species is an impossible task to all but a few experts—and even they are not certain about them all yet. We have given only a few of the commonest or best-characterized species.

Mariposa is the Spanish word meaning butterfly, and was applied on account of the marvelous resemblance of the markings of the petals of some of the forms to the wings of that insect.

FOOTNOTE