Brodiæa coccinea, Gray. Lily Family.

Leaves.—Grasslike, a foot or two long. Scape.—One to three feet high; six- to fifteen-flowered. Perianth.—An inch or two long; rich crimson; the limb of six green or yellowish oblong lobes. Stamens.—Three; on the perianth. Filaments adnate to its tube. Anther tips exserted. Staminodia.—Three; broad; short; white; on the throat of the perianth, alternating with the stamens. Ovary.—Three-celled. Style exserted. Stigma three-lobed. Syn.—Brevoortia coccinea, Wats. Hab.—The mountains from Mendocino County to Shasta County.

When our northern valleys have become parched by the first heat of summer, many beautiful flowers are still to be found in deep cañon retreats, where the streams, overarched by great shadowing oaks, gush downward through leafy copses of hazelwood and thimble-berry by beds of moss and fern. Upon the walls of such charming gorges the firecracker flower rears its slender stem and shakes out its bunch of brilliant crimson blossoms. These are a prophetic symbol of our national holiday rather than an aid to its celebration—for they have often passed away before the Fourth of July.

[FIRECRACKER FLOWER—Brodiæa coccinea.]

GODETIA. FAREWELL TO SPRING.

Godetia viminea, Spach. Evening-Primrose Family.

Stems.—One to three feet high; sometimes stout. Leaves.—Linear to linear-lanceolate; entire; an inch or two long; distant. Flowers.—Nodding in the bud. Calyx-tube.—Two to four lines long. Petals.—Deep rose-color, sometimes yellowish at base with a dark spot; nine to fifteen lines long. Capsules.—Smoothish; eight to eighteen lines long; its sides two-ribbed; sessile or short-pediceled. (See Godetia.) Hab.—From the Columbia River southward to Ventura.

In early summer the rosy flowers of this Godetia make bright masses of color along dry banks and hill-slopes. Its blossoms are very variable as to marking. Sometimes the petals have a bright crimson blotch at the base and sometimes they are without it, both forms often occurring upon the same plant. In some seasons all the flowers are without the blotch.

G. grandiflora, Lindl., found in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, is probably the most showy species we have. The plants are a foot or two high and covered all over with the wonderful flowers, which are often four inches across. These are delicate pink, blotched with rich crimson.