Leaves.—Six to twelve inches long; three fourths as wide; obtuse; deeply cleft at base; floating or erect. Flowers.—Floating; three to five inches across. Sepals.—Eight to twelve; petaloid; bright yellow, sometimes greenish without. Petals.—Twelve to eighteen; small; about equaling the stamens, and resembling them. Stamens.—Numerous; red; recurved in age; pollen yellow. Ovary.—Large; eight- to twenty-celled. Stigma button-shaped; many-rayed; four lines to an inch across. Hab.—From Colorado to Central California, and northward to Alaska.
Most of us are familiar with the yellow water-lily, and have seen its pretty shield-shaped leaves floating upon the surface of some glassy pond, starred with its large, golden flowers. The latter are sometimes five inches across and quite showy. Sometimes entire marshes are covered with the plants. The large seeds are very nutritious, and form an important article of diet among the northern Indians.
HUMBOLDT'S LILY. TIGER-LILY.
Lilium Humboldtii, Roezl and Leichtlin. Lily Family.
Bulbs.—Large; often weighing over a pound; with scales two or three inches long. Stems.—Stout; purplish; three or four feet high; eight- or ten-flowered, or more. Leaves.—Wavy-margined; roughish; Flowers.—Large; six to eight inches in diameter; golden yellow; spotted with pale purple, turning to red or brown. Segments.—Having papillose prominences near the base. (Otherwise like L. pardalinum.) Hab.—The foothills of the Sierras; southward to San Diego.
This wonderful lily, at first glance, resembles the common leopard- or tiger-lily—L. pardalinum—and it is found sometimes in the same regions as the latter, but never in the same kind of localities. It affects the loose soil of dry, upland woods, but never grows in wet or boggy places. Its flowers are larger than those of L. pardalinum, and have more of a golden hue and less of red in them.
By July this lily is in full bloom and a magnificent sight. A plant was once known which had fifty buds and blossoms, thirty of which were open at once!
COMMON SUNFLOWER.
Helianthus annuus, L. Composite Family.
Hispid, coarse plants. Stems.—Several feet high. Leaves.—Mostly alternate; petioled; deltoid-ovate to ovate-lanceolate; acuminate; three to seven inches long; three-ribbed at base. Flower-heads.—Large; three or four inches across, including the rays; solitary; composed of yellow ray-flowers and purple-brown, tubular disk-flowers. Involucre.—Of several series of imbricated, ovate, acuminate scales. Disk.—An inch or so across. Hab.—Throughout California.