[BLAZING-STAR—Mentzelia Lindleyi.]

M. Lindleyi, Torr. and Gray, is one of the most brilliantly radiant of all our flowers. Its charming blossoms, which open on the edge of evening, are of a delicate silken texture, and of the richest gold. When the flowers first open, the stamens lie flat upon the petals; but they gradually rise up, forming a large tuft in the center of the flower. The faded sepals crown the long seed-vessel, like the flame of the conventional torch seen in old pictures. This grows in the Monte Diablo Range; and Niles and Alum Rock are convenient places to find it. It is cultivated in Eastern gardens under the name of Bartonia aurea.

STONECROP.

Sedum spathulifolium, Hook. Stonecrop or Orpine Family.

Leaves.—Alternate; fleshy; spatulate; six to ten lines long; sessile; crowded in rosettes at the ends of the decumbent branches. Scapes.—Four to six inches high. Flowers.—In compound, one-sided, loose cymes; their parts four or five; pale-yellow. Sepals.—United at base. Petals.—Lanceolate; three lines long. Stamens.—Twice the number of the petals. Pistils.—Equaling the number of the petals; attenuate into the short styles. Ovaries.—One-celled. Hab.—Middle California to Vancouver Island.

Blooming somewhat earlier than the "hen-and-chickens," but in similar situations, the stonecrop often clothes rock-masses with beautiful color. The common name, "orpine," was given on account of the yellow, or orpine, flowers; and the name "stonecrop," from its always growing in stony places.

PRICKLY-PEAR. TUNA.

Opuntia Engelmanni, Salm. Cactus Family.

Erect, bushy, spreading shrubs without leaves, with flattened stems produced in successive, compressed oval Joints. Joints.—Six to twelve inches long; studded sparsely with bundles of stout spines. Flowers.—Solitary; sessile; yellow or red; about three inches across. Sepals, petals, and stamens numerous in many series, their cohering bases coating the one-celled ovary and forming a cup above it. Petals.—Spreading. Style one, with several stigmas. Fruit.—Purple; oval; pulpy; juicy; two inches long. Hab.—Southern California, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc.

The genus Opuntia is divided into two sections, consisting respectively of flat-stemmed and cylindrical-stemmed plants, the former commonly known as "prickly-pear," or "tuna," the latter as Cholla cactus.