In the fall the tall, pliant, widely branching stems of the "autumn willow-herb"—E. paniculatum, Nutt.—stand everywhere by the roadside. The small pink flowers, half an inch across, terminate the almost leafless stems, and later are replaced by the dry, curled remains of the opened capsules and the feathery down of the escaping seeds.

[GREAT WILLOW-HERB—Epilobium spicatum.]

ALPINE HEATHER.

Bryanthus Breweri, Gray. Heath Family.

Dwarf evergreens; six inches to a foot high; woody. Leaves.—Alternate; linear; three to seven lines long. Flowers.—Purplish-rose; on glandular pedicels. Calyx.—Five-toothed; small. Corolla.—Saucer-shaped; six lines or so across. Stamens.—Seven to ten. Anthers two-celled; opening terminally. Ovary.—Five-celled. Style slender. Stigma capitate. Hab.—The High Sierras.

This little plant, to which Mr. Muir fondly alludes in his charming book, "The Mountains of California," may be found blooming in July and August in the Sierras. Sometimes it nestles in rocky crevices in the cool drip of the snow-banks, and again it ventures boldly out into the openings, where it spreads its rich carpet, covered with a wealth of rosy bloom. From the abundance of this little heathling about its shores, one of our mountain lakes has received the name of "Heather Lake."

Silene Gallica, L. Pink Family.

Hairy. Stems.—Generally several. Leaves.—Spatulate; six to eighteen lines long. Flowers.—In terminal, one-sided racemes; four or five lines long; short-pediceled. Petals.—Pale rose-color or almost white; barely exceeding the calyx. (Flower-structure as in S. Californica.)