The pinkish or red flowers of the Scarlet Gaura grow on slender plants 6 in.-2 ft. tall and bloom in spring and summer. They may be found on plains and prairies at 4000-5500 ft. Meriolix Meriolix serrulata Plate 32, fig. 3 Meriolix grows 6-15 in. tall and bears yellow flowers that bloom in spring and summer. They are found on plains and hills at 4000-8000 ft. Evening Primrose Onagra biennis Plate 32, fig. 4 The fragrant yellow flowers of the Evening Primrose open in the evening and wither the next morning. They bloom all summer and are visited frequently by the pink night moth in search of nectar. The plants grow 1-3 ft. high and are found in valleys and on plains at 4000-10000 ft. They were formerly cultivated in kitchen gardens in England for their edible roots. When boiled these are very nutritious and wholesome, but they have been eaten very little as a table vegetable since the use of the potato became general. They are sweet to the taste, somewhat resembling parsnips. A drug made from the Evening Primrose is used for coughs, colds and asthmatic troubles, and an ointment for skin affections is also obtained. MENTZELIA FAMILY Evening Star Mentzelia multiflora Plate 32, fig. 5 As the name indicates, the yellow flowers of the Evening Star open in the evening and close in the morning. They bloom all summer and are found on branching plants 8 in.-2 ft. high. These occur on dry plains and gravel-slides at 7000-9000 ft. CACTUS FAMILY Prickly Pear Opuntia humifusa Plate 32, fig. 6 The Prickly Pear bears yellow flowers on low branching spiny stems. As in all the members of the cactus family, the plants are leafless, the stems having been modified into food-making and water-storing organs that take the place of foliage. The flowers bloom in midsummer on prairies and plains at 4000-7000 ft. The fruit of the Prickly Pear is sometimes used as food, being collected and sold in the markets in some localities. The juice is used for coloring confectionery, and in Mexico a drink called “Colinche” is prepared from it. The old, fibrous parts of the joints are made into commercial articles when hard and firm. _Opuntia cochinellifera_ is extensively cultivated in Mexico for the purpose of breeding the cochineal insect from which the finest crimson dye is produced. Purple Cactus Cactus viviparus Plate 32, fig. 7 The many-petalled, starry blossoms of the Purple Cactus grow in groups on ball-like fleshy stems which are but a few inches tall and covered with radiating brown and yellow spines. They dot the prairies and foothills at 3000-7000 ft. and bloom in midsummer. PARSLEY FAMILY