From several inches to a foot or two high. Leaves.—Three or four inches long; denticulate; the upper mostly rounded at base. Petals.—Yellow; four to seven lines long; with usually a brown spot at the base. Stigma.—Large and spherical. Capsule.—Four to nine lines long; a line or so wide; attenuate upward; contorted. (See Œnothera.) Hab.—Ventura to San Diego.

This is a very common species of evening primrose in the south, and may be found blooming until June. It is very variable in its manner of growth. In moist, shaded localities it becomes an erect plant a foot or two high; while upon open, exposed plains it is often only two or three inches high, but seems almost to emulate the "sunshine" in its attempt to gild the plain with its bright blossoms. It frequently grows in gravelly washes. Its flowers have a peculiarly clean, brilliant, alert look, and may usually be known by the brown spot at the base of the petals. The specific name is in reference to its twice-twisted capsule.

The "beach primrose," Œ. cheiranthifolia, var. suffruticosa, Wats., often grows in great beds upon the dry sands of the seashore, from Monterey to San Diego. Its decumbent stems are thickly clothed with small, ovate, stemless leaves, and its silvery foliage makes a beautiful setting for its large golden flowers.

FAWN-LILY. DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET. CHAMISE-LILY.

Erythronium giganteum, Lindl. Lily Family.

Corm.—Usually elongated. Leaves.—Oblong; six to ten inches long; dark green, usually mottled in mahogany and dark brown. Scape.—One- to many-flowered. Perianth.—Broadly funnel-form, with six deciduous segments; at length revolute to the stem. Segments.—Straw-color, with orange base, with often a transverse, brownish band across the base; broadly lanceolate; eighteen lines or so long. Stamens.—Six. Filaments filiform. Anthers basifixed. Ovary.—Three-celled. Style slender. Stigma three-lobed. Hab.—The interior of the Coast Ranges, from Sonoma County to the Willamette Valley.

[FAWN-LILY—Erythronium giganteum.]

The dog's-tooth violets expand into larger, finer creations upon our shores than were ever dreamed of elsewhere. They seem to imbibe new vigor in the sweet life-giving air of our Coast Range forests. In Southern Oregon, they reach their maximum development, manifesting themselves in numerous beautiful species. With us the common title becomes still more inappropriate than for the Atlantic species—for nothing could be farther from a violet than these large pale flowers, which in reality look far more like lilies. Indeed, in Mendocino County they are commonly known as "chamise-lilies." Another name is "Adam and Eve," bestowed because the plant often bears a large and a small flower at the same time.

Personally, I am inclined to favor Mr. Burroughs' suggestion of "fawn-lily." It is both appropriate and pretty. The two erect leaves are like the ears of a fawn; their beautiful mottling is not without a hint of the fawn's spots; and the blossom is lily-like. The plant is shy, too, keeping to the seclusion of our deep cañons. In such situations we may find them in groups of a few, or occasionally in beds of hundreds. No more delightful surprise could be imagined than to come suddenly upon such a garden far from the habitations of man. The pale flowers, with orange centers, when fully open, roll their petals back to the stem, like those of the leopard-lily; but in cloudy weather they often maintain a campanulate outline. Plants have frequently been seen with from eight to sixteen flowers upon a stem, the flowers three or four inches across!