Calochortus pulchellus, Dougl. Lily Family.

Stems.—Somewhat flexuous, with spreading branches; two inches to a foot or more high. Radical leaf.—Equaling or exceeding the stem; four to twelve lines broad. Sepals.—Greenish or yellow; eight to twelve lines long. Petals.—Yellow; strongly arched; glandular ciliate. Gland.—A deep pit, conspicuously prominent on the outside of the petals, covered within by appressed hairs. (See Calochortus.) Hab.—Coast Ranges, from Monterey to Mendocino County.

[DIOGENES' LANTERN—Calochortus pulchellus.]

We have no more charmingly graceful flower than the yellow globe-tulip. A single, long, grasslike leaf precedes the flexuous stem, with its quaintly arched and delicately fringed blossoms. There is a certain quizzical look about these flowers—something akin to the inquiring look of Diogenes, as he thrust his lantern into all sorts of out-of-the-way places in broad daylight. The margins of the petals look as though they had been snipped into a very fine, delicate fringe, unlike the slender, tapering hairs of C. alba.

The Indians are fond of the bulbs, which they eat with great relish, calling them "Bo."

YELLOW SAND-VERBENA.

Abronia latifolia, Esch. Four-o'clock Family.

Stems.—Prostrate; rubbery. Leaves.—Opposite; unequal; roundish; an inch or so across; petioled; leathery; gummy. Flowers.—Yellow; five or six lines long; in dense clusters, subtended by an involucre of five distinct bracts. Perianth.—Salver-shaped. Tube green; its base strongly angled or winged. Limb yellow; four or five-lobed. Stamens.—Mostly five, within the perianth. Ovary.—One-celled. Style filiform. Stigma club-shaped. Hab.—The seashore from Vancouver Island to Monterey.

The fragrant blossoms of the yellow sand-verbena may be found upon the beach at almost any time of year. The stout root, which often becomes several feet long, is sometimes eaten by the Indians.