FIRECRACKER FLOWER.
Brodiæa coccinea, Gray. Lily Family.
Leaves.—Grasslike, a foot or two long. Scape.—One to three feet high; six- to fifteen-flowered. Perianth.—An inch or two long; rich crimson; the limb of six green or yellowish oblong lobes. Stamens.—Three; on the perianth. Filaments adnate to its tube. Anther tips exserted. Staminodia.—Three; broad; short; white; on the throat of the perianth, alternating with the stamens. Ovary.—Three-celled. Style exserted. Stigma three-lobed. Syn.—Brevoortia coccinea, Wats. Hab.—The mountains from Mendocino County to Shasta County.
When our northern valleys have become parched by the first heat of summer, many beautiful flowers are still to be found in deep cañon retreats, where the streams, overarched by great shadowing oaks, gush downward through leafy copses of hazelwood and thimble-berry by beds of moss and fern. Upon the walls of such charming gorges the firecracker flower rears its slender stem and shakes out its bunch of brilliant crimson blossoms. These are a prophetic symbol of our national holiday rather than an aid to its celebration—for they have often passed away before the Fourth of July.
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