The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits

by Mary Elizabeth Parsons

MOUNTAIN HEART'S-EASE.

Viola Beckwithii, Torr. and Gray. Violet Family.

Leaves.—Broadly cordate in outline; three-parted; the divisions cleft into linear or oblong segments. Peduncles.—About equaling the leaves. Petals.—Four to seven lines long; very broad; the upper deep purple, the others lilac, bluish, or white, veined with purple, with a yellowish base; the lateral bearded; the lowest emarginate. Stigma.—Bearded at the sides. Capsule.—Obtuse. (Otherwise as V. pedunculata.) Hab.—The Central Sierras.

"By scattered rocks and turbid waters shifting,
By furrowed glade and dell,
To feverish men thy calm, sweet face uplifting,
Thou stayest them to tell

"The delicate thought that cannot find expression—
For ruder speech too fair,—
That, like thy petals, trembles in possession,
And scatters on the air."

The poet, with a delicate insight, has made this mountain flower the reminder to the rugged miner of home and scenes far away. But the vision lasts but for a moment only; then, as he brushes away a tear, his uplifted pick—

"Through root and fiber cleaves—
And on the muddy current slowly drifting
Are swept thy bruised leaves.

"And yet, O poet! in thy homely fashion,
Thy work thou dost fulfill;
For on the turbid current of his passion
Thy face is shining still."

POP-CORN FLOWER.

WHITE FORGET-ME-NOT. NIEVITAS.

Borage Family.

The wild white forget-me-nots are among our most welcome flowers. Though not showy, taken singly, they often cover the fields, presenting the appearance of a light snowfall, from which fact the Spanish-Californians have bestowed the pretty name "nievitas," the diminutive of nieve, snow.

Their chief charm often lies in their pure, delightful fragrance, which recalls the days of our careless, happy childhood. Children are keen observers of flowers, and are among their most appreciative lovers, and with them these modest, chaste little blossoms are special favorites.

There are many species, and even genera, and their determination is beset with serious difficulties. It requires endless study and patience to disentangle the facts about any one of them. They are comprised under several genera, Krynitzkia, Plagiobothrys, Eritrichium, Piptocalyx, etc. Some have fragrant flowers and some have not. Children of the south call them "pop-corn flowers."

[WHITE FORGET-ME-NOT.]