ALPINE HEATHER.
Bryanthus Breweri, Gray. Heath Family.
Dwarf evergreens; six inches to a foot high; woody. Leaves.—Alternate; linear; three to seven lines long. Flowers.—Purplish-rose; on glandular pedicels. Calyx.—Five-toothed; small. Corolla.—Saucer-shaped; six lines or so across. Stamens.—Seven to ten. Anthers two-celled; opening terminally. Ovary.—Five-celled. Style slender. Stigma capitate. Hab.—The High Sierras.
This little plant, to which Mr. Muir fondly alludes in his charming book, "The Mountains of California," may be found blooming in July and August in the Sierras. Sometimes it nestles in rocky crevices in the cool drip of the snow-banks, and again it ventures boldly out into the openings, where it spreads its rich carpet, covered with a wealth of rosy bloom. From the abundance of this little heathling about its shores, one of our mountain lakes has received the name of "Heather Lake."
Silene Gallica, L. Pink Family.
Hairy. Stems.—Generally several. Leaves.—Spatulate; six to eighteen lines long. Flowers.—In terminal, one-sided racemes; four or five lines long; short-pediceled. Petals.—Pale rose-color or almost white; barely exceeding the calyx. (Flower-structure as in S. Californica.)
This little weed has come to us from Europe, and it is now so widely distributed, both near the sea and inland, that it is hard to believe it is not native. The slender racemes are from two to four inches long, and the little flowers vary from white to pale pink. They can boast none of the showy beauty of their relatives, the Indian pink and the Yerba del Indio.
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