It has never been my good fortune to find this rare and exquisite little orchid, but beautiful specimens have been sent from the redwoods of Sonoma County and from Oregon. The books speak of it as growing in bogs; but I am told by those who gathered them that the little plants sit lightly upon the layer of needles that carpet the forest-floor. The roots scarcely penetrate the soil, so that the plants are easily disengaged without digging.
Nature produced a perfect work when she fashioned this little plant, so simple, so charming in every way, with its one dainty leaf and one unique blossom. The form of the column is peculiarly interesting, being that of a curving concave petal, bearing the anther, in the shape of a hollow hemisphere, on its upper edge.
![[CALYPSO—Calypso borealis.]](#3624944100741987669_f073.png.id-1012514844779410100.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
WILD PORTULACA.
Calandrinia caulescens, HBK.; var. Menziesii, Gray. Purslane Family.
Decumbent, branching herbs, mostly smooth. Leaves.—Alternate; linear to oblanceolate; one to three inches long. Flowers.—In loose racemes; rose-color or magenta; about an inch across. Sepals.—Two; keeled. Petals.—Mostly five. Stamens.—Four to eleven. Ovary.—One-celled. Style slender. Stigma three-cleft. Seeds black, shining, lens-shaped. Hab.—From Lower California to Vancouver Island.
The wild portulaca is very abundant, and in seasons favorable to its development is a very noticeable little plant. Its succulent stems have a spreading habit and bear many satiny flowers of a deep purplish-pink, which open in the bright sunshine. The petals, which are veined with a slightly darker color, become white toward the center, and the little anthers are full of orange-colored pollen. These blossoms have a delicate, somewhat musky perfume.
Cattle are fond of the herbage, and the plants are considered excellent as potherbs and for salads. The seeds, which are a favorite food of the wild dove are very pretty, being lens-shaped, black and shining, with a granular surface.