Another species--_H. Californicus_, DC.--found from San Francisco Bay southward, along streams, has something the same habit as the above, but may be known from it by its slender, smooth stems, leafy to the top, the long, sprawling, awl-shaped bracts of its involucre, and its more delicate flowers, about two and a half inches across. The disk-corollas are slightly pubescent below. This species has a rather strong balsamic odor.
_Pterospora andromedea_, Nutt. Heath Family.
_Stems._--One to three feet high. _Bracts._--Crowded at base; scattered above. _Calyx._--Five-parted. _Corolla._--Three lines long; yellowish. _Stamens._--Ten. Anthers tailed; opening lengthwise. _Ovary._--Five-celled. Style short. Stigma five-lobed. _Hab._--Throughout California, and across the continent.
In our walks in the mountains, we occasionally encounter the flesh-colored wands of this curious plant. The colorless leaves are reduced to mere bracts, and the stems are densely clothed above with the little yellowish waxen bells. The whole plant is very viscid and disagreeable to handle.
Though rare, it is found all across the continent. In the East it grows only under pine-trees, upon whose roots it is supposed to be parasitic, while in California it is said to be found under both oaks and pines.
There is but a single species in this genus. The seed is furnished with a broad membranous wing, which has given rise to the name _Pterospora_, derived from two Greek words, meaning _wing_ and _seed_.
[Illustration PINE-DROPS--_Pterospora andromedea_.]
_Hemizonia luzulæfolia_, DC. Composite Family.
Glandular, strong-scented plants. _Stems._--Loosely branching; slender; six inches to two feet high. _Leaves._--Linear; very small above; elongated and withering early below. _Flower-heads._--White or light yellow; composed of ray- and disk-flowers. _Rays._--Six to ten; two to five lines long; three-lobed. _Scales._--of the involucre each clasping a ray. _Hab._--Common throughout the western part of the State.
Under the common designation of "tarweed," plants belonging to two different genera--_Madia_ and _Hemizonia_--and comprising thirty or forty species, may be found. They are mostly annuals or biennials, with viscid, heavily scented foliage, which make themselves conspicuous in late summer and through the autumn. The _Hemizonias_ are distinctively Californian; while the _Madias_ we have in common with Chile. Their viscid exudation is particularly ruinous to wool and clothing, but alcohol is a solvent for it, and will generally remove it.