GOLDEN STARS.
Bloomeria aurea, Kell. Lily Family.
Bulb.—Six lines in diameter. Leaf.—Solitary; about equaling the scape; three to six lines broad. Scape.—Six to eighteen inches high. Flowers.—Yellow; fifteen to sixty in an umbel. Perianth.—About an inch across. Stamens.—Six; with cup-shaped appendages. Ovary.—Three-celled. Style club-shaped. Stigma three-lobed. Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from Monterey to San Diego.
Just as the floral procession begins to slacken a little before the oncoming of summer, the fields suddenly blossom out anew and twinkle with millions of the golden stars of the Bloomeria. These plants are closely allied to the Brodiæas, and by some authorities are classed as such. They are especially characterized by the structure of the stamens, which rise out of a tiny cup. Under a glass this cup is seen to be granular, somewhat flattened, and furnished with two cusps, or points. The anthers are a very pretty Nile or peacock green.
[GOLDEN STARS—Bloomeria aurea.]
![[GOLDEN STARS—Bloomeria aurea.]](#3624944100741987669_f054.png.id-597570432154441485.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
Another species—B. Clevelandi, Wats.—is easily distinguished from the above by its numerous narrow leaves and its green-nerved perianth. This is found at San Diego, upon the mesas in midspring, growing abundantly in spots which, earlier in the season, have been mud-holes. Its open flowers are so outnumbered by the numerous undeveloped green buds, that, even though it grows in masses, it is not very showy, but makes the ground a dull yellow. But its flower-clusters are feathery and delicate.
There is another plant which closely resembles the Bloomerias. This is the "golden Brodiæa"—Brodiæa ixioides, Wats. But the filaments, instead of having a cuplike appendage, are winged, with the little anthers swinging prettily upon their summits. This is found in the Coast Ranges, from Santa Barbara northward, also in the Sierras. It is a beautiful flower; especially when seen starring the velvet alpine meadows in August.
Another plant—Brodiæa lactea, Wats.—the "white Brodiæa" has flowers similar to the above, but pure white (sometimes lilac), with a green mid-vein. This is common in late spring from Monterey to British Columbia.