CLINTONIA.
Clintonia Andrewsiana, Torr. Lily Family.
Leaves.—Radical; oblong; six inches to one foot long; two to four wide. Flower-stem.—One or two feet high; with one leafy bract. Flowers.—Pink; many; in a terminal compound cluster on pedicels an inch or less long. Perianth.—Campanulate; four to seven lines long. Segments.—Six; gibbous at the base. Stamens.—Six. Ovary.—Two- or three-celled. Fruit.—Beautiful, large, dark-blue berries. Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from Santa Cruz to Humboldt County.
This is one of the most distinguished-looking plants of our deep coast woods. Its large leaves, of a rich polished green, arrange themselves symmetrically around the short stem, seeming to come from the ground—and so fine are they, that if no blossom appeared, we should feel the plant had fulfilled its mission of beauty. But in April a blossom-stalk shoots up from their midst, bearing upon its summit a cluster of deep rose-colored, nodding bells. These are succeeded later by a bunch of superb dark-blue berries, which might be made of lapis lazuli or the rarest old delft china. I remember a beautiful spot upon the Lagunitas Creek, where the stream, flowing over a brown, pebbly bottom, passes among the redwoods where their tall shafts make dim cathedral aisles,—
. . . "forest-corridors that lie In a mysterious world unpeopled yet."
Here little yellow violets and the charming wood-sorrel carpet the ground, the fetid adder's-tongue spreads its mottled leaves, while groups of the lovely Clintonia put the finishing touches to an already beautiful scene.