Field Book of Western Wild Flowers

BORAGE FAMILY. Boraginaceae

A large family, widely distributed, chiefly rough-hairy herbs, without stipules; usually with alternate, toothless leaves; flowers usually in coiled, one-sided clusters; calyx usually with five sepals; corolla usually symmetrical, with five united petals, often with crests or appendages in the throat; stamens five, inserted in the tube of the corolla, alternate with its lobes; ovary superior, with a single, sometimes two-cleft, style, and usually deeply four-lobed, like that of the Mint Family, forming in fruit four seed-like nutlets. Mature fruit is necessary to distinguish the different kinds. These plants superficially resemble some of the Waterleaf Family, but the four lobes of the ovary are conspicuous.

There are many kinds of Lappula, chiefly of the north-temperate zone; leaves narrow; corolla blue or white, salver-form or funnel-form, with a very short tube, the throat closed by five short scales, the stamens, with short filaments, hidden in the tube; ovary deeply four-lobed; style short; nutlets armed with barbed prickles, forming burs, giving the common name, Stickseed, and the Latin name, derived from "bur." Some of them resemble Forget-me-nots, but are not true Myosotis.

White Forget-me-not

Láppula subdecúmbens

White

Spring, summer

Northwest

Though the foliage is harsh, this plant is so graceful and has such pretty flowers that it is most attractive. It is from ten to eighteen inches tall, with several yellowish, hairy stems, springing from a perennial root and a cluster of root-leaves, the stem-leaves more or less clasping at base, all bluish-green, covered with pale hairs, with prominent veins on the back and sparse bristles along the edges. The flowers form handsome, large, loose clusters and the hairy buds are tightly coiled. The calyx is hairy, with blunt lobes, and the corolla, about half an inch across, is pure white, or tinged with blue, often marked with blue, with two ridges on the base of each petal, and the throat closed by five yellow crests, surrounded by a ring of fuzzy white down. This grows on dry plains and hillsides, sometimes making large clumps.

White Forget-me-not – Lappula subdecumbens.

Wild Forget-me-not

Láppula velùtina

Blue

Summer

California

Beautiful flowers, resembling true Forget-me-nots, but larger, with velvety, often reddish stems, from one to two feet tall, velvety leaves, and flowers in handsome, loose, somewhat coiling clusters. The corolla is about half an inch across, sky-blue, the most brilliant blue of any flower in Yosemite, with five, white, heart-shaped crests in the throat; the buds pink. This is rather common in the Sierra Nevada at moderate altitudes. L. nervòsa, of high altitudes, is similar, but with smaller flowers, the leaves rough-hairy, but green. This has very prickly nutlets, which stick in the wool of sheep and are dreaded by shepherds. L. floribúnda, also growing in the mountains of California and Oregon, has similar, small, blue flowers, sometimes pink, and hairy, gray foliage. L. Califórnica, of the northern Sierra Nevada mountains, has small white flowers.

There are many kinds of Lithospermum, chiefly of the northern hemisphere; with reddish, woody roots, hairy leaves, without leaf-stalks, and flowers crowded in clusters, mixed with leaves and leafy bracts; corolla funnel-form or salver-form, the throat often hairy or crested; stamens with short filaments, not protruding from the throat of the corolla; ovary four-lobed, with a slender style, stigma with a round head or two lobes; nutlets usually white and smooth. The Greek name means "stony seed." Puccoon is the Indian name, and these plants are also called Gromwell, and sometimes Indian Dye-stuff, because the Indians made dye from the roots, which yield a beautiful delicate purple color.

Hairy Puccoon

Lithospérmum pilòsum

Yellow

Spring, summer

Northwest, Utah, etc.

A rather pretty plant, about a foot tall, with several, stout, yellowish-green stems, covered with white hairs and very leafy, springing from a thick perennial root. The leaves are bluish-gray green and downy, harsh on the under side, and the flowers are numerous and pleasantly scented, with a very hairy calyx and a salver-form corolla, about three-eighths of an inch across, silky outside, the throat downy inside, but without crests. The flowers are yellow, an unusual shade of pale corn-color, and harmonize with the pale foliage, but are not conspicuous, and the flower cluster is so crowded with leaves and leafy bracts that it is not effective. This grows in dry fields, as far east as Nebraska, and sometimes makes pretty little bushes, over two feet across.

Hairy Puccoon – Lithospermum pilosum.

Wild Forget-me-not – Lappula velutina.

Pretty Puccoon

Lithospérmum angustifòlium

Yellow

Spring

West, etc.

These are pretty flowers, but have a disagreeable smell. They are perennials, with a deep root and hairy or downy, branching stems, from six inches to two feet high, and hairy or downy leaves, which are rather grayish green. The flowers are in terminal leafy clusters and are of two sorts. The corollas of the earlier ones are very pretty, clear bright yellow, sometimes nearly an inch and a half long, with toothed lobes, which are charmingly ruffled at the edges, and with crests in the throat, but the later flowers are small, pale, and inconspicuous. This grows in dry places, especially on the prairies, and is very widely distributed in the western and west central states.

Gromwell

Lithospérmum multiflòrum

Yellow

Summer

Ariz., Utah, etc.

This has a rough, hairy stem, about a foot tall, and dull green, rough, hairy leaves, with bristles along the edges. The yellow flowers are half an inch long and form rather pretty coiled clusters. This grows in open woods at the Grand Canyon, and is found as far east as New Mexico and Colorado.

There are a good many kinds of Amsinckia, natives of the western part of our country and of Mexico and South America. They are rather difficult to distinguish, rough, hairy or bristly, annual herbs, the bristles usually from a raised base, and with yellow flowers, in curved, rather showy, clusters. The corolla is more or less salver-form, without crests, but with folds; the stamens and pistil not protruding, the stigma two-lobed. In order to insure cross pollination by insects, in some kinds the flowers are of two types, as concerns the insertion of the stamens on the corolla and the length of the style. Several of these plants are valuable in Arizona for early spring stock feed, and the leaves of young plants are eaten by the Pima Indians for greens and salads.

Pretty Puccoon – Lithospermum angustifolium.

Gromwell – L. multiflorum.

Saccato Gordo, Fiddle-neck, Buckthorn Weed

Amsínckia inlermèdia

Yellow

Spring, summer

West

This has bright flowers, but the foliage is dreadfully harsh. The stem is from one to three feet tall, often widely branching, with white bristles scattered over it, and the leaves are dull green and bristly. The flowers are pretty, about half an inch long, with narrow sepals and bright orange corollas, with five bright red spots between the lobes. The nutlets are roughened with short, hard points. These plants are very common and sometimes form rank thickets in fields and waste places. They are very abundant in southern Arizona and are valued as a grazing plant for stock and are therefore known as Saccato Gordo, which means "fat grass."

There are many kinds of Cryptanthe, most of them western and difficult to distinguish. They are slender, hairy plants, with small flowers, which are usually white, in coiled clusters; the calyx bristly; the corolla funnel-form, usually with five crests closing the throat; the nutlets never wrinkled. These plants resemble white Forget-me-nots and are sometimes so called. The Greek name means "hidden flower," perhaps because of the minute flowers of some kinds.

Nievitas

Cryptánthe intermèdia

White

Spring

Cal., Ariz.

A rather attractive little plant, but inconspicuous except when it grows in patches, when it powders the fields with white, like a light fall of snow, and suggests the pretty Spanish name, which is a diminutive of "nieve," or snow. The slender, roughish stem is about ten inches tall, the light green leaves are hairy, with fine bristles along the edges, and the pretty little flowers are white, about a quarter of an inch across, with yellow crests in the throat. Popcorn Flower, Plagiobòthrys nothofúlvus, of the Northwest, is also called Nievitas, as it often whitens the ground with its small, fragrant, white flowers, which are very much like the last.

Nievitas – Cryptanthe intermedia.

Saccato Gordo – Amsinckia intermedia.

There are a good many kinds of Mertensia, natives of the northern hemisphere. They are handsome perennials, never very hairy and sometimes perfectly smooth all over, with leafy stems and broad leaves, sometimes dotted, the lower ones with leaf-stalks. The pretty, nodding flowers are in clusters and have a purple, blue, or white corolla, often turning pink, more or less trumpet-shaped, the lobes not spreading much, the throat open, with or without crests; the ovary deeply four-lobed, with a threadlike style and one stigma; the nutlets wrinkled. These plants are all commonly called Lungwort.

Languid Lady, Lungwort

Merténsia Sibírica

Blue

Summer

Northwest

A very attractive and graceful mountain plant, with pretty flowers and fine foliage. The stems are hollow and usually smooth, from one to five feet tall, and the leaves are rather thin and soft in texture, usually smooth, with a "bloom." The flowers are in handsome loose clusters, most of them drooping, and have a corolla over half an inch long, which is a beautiful shade of bright light blue, often tinged with pink, with white crests in the throat, and the style is long and protruding. The buds are bright pink, contrasting well with the blue flowers. This grows near streams, in the higher mountains. It is often called Mountain Bluebell, but that name belongs to Campanula and is therefore misleading. (This has recently been "separated" into several species.)

Lungwort

Merténsia brevístyla

Blue

Spring, summer

Utah, Col., Wyo.

This is an attractive plant and looks a good deal like a Forget-me-not. It grows from four to ten inches tall and has dull bluish-green leaves, which are downy on the upper side and smooth on the under, and graceful clusters of pretty little flowers. The buds are pinkish-purple and the flowers are small, with hairy calyxes and brilliant sky-blue corollas, the stamens and style not protruding. This grows in mountain canyons, up to an altitude of seven thousand feet.

Mertensia – M. brevistyla.

Languid Lady – Mertensia Sibirica.

There are many kinds of Heliotrope, widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions; ours have small, white or blue flowers, in coiled spikes; the corolla salver-form or funnel-form, without crests or hairs; the stamens not protruding, the filaments short or none, the anthers sometimes joined by their pointed tips; the ovary not four-lobed, but sometimes grooved, with a short style, the stigma cone-shaped or round.

Sea-side Heliotrope, Chinese Pusley

Heliotròpium Curassávicum

White

Summer, autumn

Cal., Oreg., etc.

This is not a pretty plant and is rather insignificant because of its dull coloring. It forms low, branching, straggling clumps, with thickish stems and leaves, which are succulent and perfectly smooth, with a "bloom," and the flowers are small, the corolla white or pale lilac, with a yellow "eye" which changes to purple, forming crowded coiled spikes, mostly in pairs, without bracts. The fruit consists of four nutlets. This is widely distributed, in moist, salty or alkaline places, growing also in the East and in South America and the Old World.

There are several kinds of Oreocarya, natives of western North America and Mexico, coarse, hairy, perennial or biennial herbs, with thick woody roots; the leaves narrow, alternate or from the root; the flowers small, mostly white, in clusters, with a funnel-form or salver-form corolla, usually with crests and folds in the throat; the stamens not protruding; the style usually short. The name is from the Greek, meaning "mountain-nut," which does not seem very appropriate.

Oreocarya

Oreocàrya multicàulis

White

Spring

Ariz., Utah, etc.

A rather pretty plant, about six inches tall, not rough and harsh like most kinds of Oreocarya, for the pale grayish-green stem and leaves are covered with white down. The flowers are quite pretty, about three-eighths of an inch across, with white corollas, with yellow crests in the throat. This is found as far east as southern Colorado and New Mexico. O. setosíssima is quite tall, growing in the Grand Canyon, and has a large cluster of small white flowers and is harsh and hairy all over, covered with such long stiff white hairs as to make it conspicuous and very unpleasant to touch.