Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 51.djvu/367

Rh In open, rocky places one is apt to come across the downy, pink and white "pussy's paws" (Spraguea umbellata), together with clumps of gorgeous lupines—lilac, yellow, or rose-color—and patches of golden coreopsis, purple pentstemons, and lovely gilias, godetias, and Indian pinks; while tall columbines, larkspurs, and wild roses peep from the tangled shrubbery. The beautiful Mariposa lily, or "butterfly tulip," a member of the calochortus family, derives its name from the large dark spots on the petals and through June delights the eye with its yellow, violet, or snow-white chalices.

In the early spring the wild flowers run riot everywhere, carpeting sunny, open spots with a veritable crazy quilt of bloom, chief among them being the large, purple-spotted Nemophila, or "baby-eyes," the white forget-me-not, the blue, white, and yellow violets, the wild agapanthus, the yellow iris, the wild strawberry blossom, and the far-famed Eschscholtzia, or California poppy, the emblem of the State. In these mountains there are a good many varieties of old-fashioned

herbs, which have been used medicinally for ages, and are sacred to the memories of the spicy garrets of New England country farms. The chamomile and the aromatic peppermint and pennyroyal head the list; then come the aconite, or monk'shood, the flannely-leaved mullein, useful for lung troubles of man or beast, the woodsy yarrow, the yellow tansy, the wintergreen, and the Brunella, or self-heal—a cure for quinsy and all sorts of wounds.

On the outskirts of the Mount Shasta meadows, where the plowman stands knee deep in rolling billows of red clover, timothy, and redtop, there grows a singular floral torch, known as the California veratrum. This plant is a member of the lily family.