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Title: Texas Flowers in Natural Colors
Author: Whitehouse, Eula
Language: English
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[Illustration: TEXAS BLUEBONNET
THE STATE FLOWER]
TEXAS FLOWERS
IN
NATURAL COLORS
BY
EULA WHITEHOUSE
Illustrations by the Author
Published by
EULA WHITEHOUSE
Dallas, Texas
Copyright 1936 and 1948, by
Eula Whitehouse
Box 739, Southern Methodist University
Dallas 5, Texas
Printed and bound in the United States of America
First Edition 1936
Second Edition 1948
TEXAS WILDFLOWERS
From the pine woods to the prairies,
From the Panhandle to the sea,
You’ll find the Texas wildflowers
In marvelous carpetry.
Such magic tints of colors,
Pale pinks and dainty blues,
No artist’s palette can match them
In all their radiant hues.
The Texas sun has kissed them;
To Heaven they lift their eyes;
Beauty and Peace it brings them,
And Freedom under Texas skies.
—Gertrude Whitehouse
PREFACE
For more than a century the wild flowers of Texas have been a source of
study and pleasure to scientists and flower lovers. The state can boast
of a varied and interesting flora which has attracted numerous plant
collectors since the first specimens were collected in the Texas
Panhandle by Dr. Edwin James, naturalist accompanying the Long
Expedition in 1820. Dr. Louis Berlandier, a French botanist, endured the
hardships of the Teran Expedition for the exploration of the boundary
region between Texas and Mexico between 1826 and 1834 in order to
collect plants in Texas.
Berlandier’s first collection was instrumental, a few years later, in
arousing the interest of Thomas Drummond, a Scotch botanist and
collector. In 1833-34 Drummond visited Southeast Texas and collected 700
species of plants. In 1836, Ferdinand Lindheimer, a German botanist,
moved to Texas and began his noteworthy study and collection of Texas
plants. Charles Wright, a Yale graduate, came to Texas in 1837, first
collecting plants in East Texas and later making important additions in
Southwest Texas. Since the work of these early pioneers, many scientists
have visited nearly all parts of the state and have added many new names
to the list of native plants.
Today nearly five thousand species of flowering plants have been
reported from the state. About half of these have showy, conspicuous
flowers, and many of them are very limited in their distribution in
Texas. If the reader will keep these figures in mind, perhaps he will
not be disappointed at not finding some of his favorite flowers in the
following pages. As such a limited number could be included, it was
thought best to use those widely distributed throughout the state,
omitting some of the well-known plants which have been frequently
illustrated in previous publications.
The present manual is not intended as a guide to the flora of the state,
but it is hoped that it will prove helpful in identifying some of the
common flowers. A few rare and beautiful flowers have been included so
that they may be recognized and protected. In order to include
representatives of the more important plant families, it was impossible
because of lack of space to add many widely distributed members of other
families represented. For example, the pea family, which has about 300
showy members in Texas, had to be limited to ten representatives.
The water color paintings on which the manual is based were made by the
author. In nearly all cases they were made from fresh specimens
carefully checked with verified material in the University of Texas
Herbarium; a few which could not be painted at the time of collecting
were later drawn from pressed specimens and colored from notes and
memory.
The flowers of Texas have been so very abundant that only recently has
it been considered necessary to protect them. The Legislature of 1933
passed a law forbidding the picking of flowers and injury to trees and
shrubs along highways. Even this protection is not sufficient for some
plants. A few years ago the writer happened to visit the shop of a
cactus fancier just after he had returned from a collecting trip and saw
with amazement the large tow-sacks filled with rare and highly prized
cacti. Wagon loads of the large and vivid-blooming ribbed cacti have
been observed as they were brought in for market. The bluebell, or
purple gentian, is in need of protection since florists have been buying
them up in such large quantities. The picturesque bunches of sotol are
being rapidly destroyed, as ranchmen are stripping them of their
saw-toothed leaves and feeding the stalks to their cattle. Yaupon and
American holly, both slow-growing plants, are being destroyed to supply
the market with Christmas greens.
A few flower sanctuaries have been established in recent years, but many
others are needed. The decrease in our native flowers is primarily due
to increase in population with the accompanying increases in homesteads
and acres in cultivation, over-grazing, and improved facilities of
travel. The limestone hill region was formerly a flower paradise but has
been so heavily over-grazed by sheep in recent years that now the only
flowers to be found are the unattractive rabbit-tobacco, horehound, and
queen’s delight, or goatweed, so called because sheep and goats will not
eat it.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many friends who have assisted me
in the preparation of this volume. I deeply regret that it has been
necessary to increase the list price of this edition. The first edition
of three thousand copies did not pay for the cost of publication. That
deficit, added to the increased costs of printing and paper, have made
an increase imperative.
_September 1, 1948_
Eula Whitehouse
CONTENTS
PAGE
_Texas Wildflowers_ v
Preface vii
Reference Books on Texas Flowers xi
Plant Parts and Plant Names xiii
Plant Distribution xvi
Description of Plants 2
Finding Lists 194
Index 204
REFERENCE BOOKS ON TEXAS FLOWERS
For more detailed descriptions, description of other plants, flower
uses, and flower legends and history, the following books will prove
helpful:
Bailey, L. H., _The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture_.
Benson, L. and Darrow, R. A., _A Manual of Southwestern Desert Trees
and Shrubs_.
Britton, N. L. and Brown, H. A., _An Illustrated Flora of the Northern
United States, Canada and the British Possessions_.
Cory, V. L. and Parks, H. B., _Catalogue of the Flora of Texas_.
Coulter, John M., _Cop. Botany of Western Texas_ (_U. S. Nat. Herb.
Contr._, 1892, out of print).
Dorman, Caroline E., _Wild Flowers of Louisiana_.
Fassett, N. C., _A Manual of Aquatic Plants_.
Geiser, S. W., _Naturalists of the Frontier_. Southwest Press, Dallas.
Jaeger, E. C., _Desert Wild Flowers_.
Kearney, T. H. and Peebles, R. H., _Flowering Plants and Ferns of
Arizona_.
Parks, H. B., _Valuable Plants Native to Texas_.
Preston, R. J., _Rocky Mountain Trees_.
Quillan, Ellen Schulz, _Texas Wild Flowers_.
Ranson, Nancy R., _Texas Wild Flower Legends_.
Reeves, R. G., and Bain, D. C., _Flora of South-Central Texas_.
Rydberg, P. A., _Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central N. A._
(out of print).
Silveus, W. A., _Texas Grasses_.
Slater, Elsie M., _A Hundred Flowers of the Mexican Border at El
Paso_.
Small, John K., _Flora of the Southeastern United States_, out of
print; _Manual of the Southeastern Flora_.
Standley, P. C., _Trees and Shrubs of Mexico_ (U. S. Nat Herb. Contr.,
19—, out of print).
Stemen, T. B. and Myers, W. S., _Oklahoma Flora_.
Wooton, E. O. and Standley, P. C., _Flora of New Mexico_ (U. S. Nat.
Herb. Contr. Vol. 19, out of print).
[Illustration: PLANT PARTS]
COROLLA LOBES SEPARATE
STIGMA
STAMEN
PETAL
SEPAL
FLOWER-STALK (PEDUNCLE)
COROLLA LOBES UNITED
COROLLA LOBE
STAMEN
ANTHER (POLLEN-SAC)
FILAMENT
SEPAL
PISTIL
STIGMA
STYLE
OVARY
CALYX-TUBE
SEED
STIGMA
STAMEN
SEPAL
CALYX-TUBE
CAPSULE
BELL-SHAPE
CALYX-TUBE
TUBULAR
FUNNEL FORM
COMPOSITE FLOWER HEADS
INVOLUCRE
STIGMA
STYLE
STAMEN TUBE
DISK COROLLA
RAY COROLLA
DISK
FRUIT
BRACT (FLORAL LEAF)
FLORAL LEAF (BRACT)
LEAF BLADE
MIDRIB
LEAF-STALK (PETIOLE)
IRREGULAR LOBES
FRUIT OF COMPOSITE (ACHENE)
BRISTLES (PAPPUS)
SEED
SIMPLE LEAVES
LINEAR
LANCE-SHAPE
OBLONG
LANCE-OBLONG
OVATE
COMPOUND LEAVES
ONCE-DIVIDED
PALMATE or DIGITATE
SHARPLY TOOTHED
LEAFLETS
LEAF-STALK (PETIOLE)
STEM
PINNATE
TWICE-DIVIDED
LEAFLET
LEAF-STALK
PLANT PARTS AND PLANT NAMES
The diagram on the opposite page carries illustrations of most of the
terms used in the following descriptions of plants. As it was intended
that this manual should serve as a means of plant identification from
illustrations, the descriptions have been made very brief. If the reader
is interested in a more detailed description, technical books should be
consulted. Some botanical terms are rather loosely used in the effort to
avoid technical expressions; for example, the fruit of a daisy flower is
known popularly as a seed but is an achene, a seed closely covered by
the wall of the ovary.
The conspicuous parts of the flower commonly make up the corolla, each
part being known as a petal; however, in some flowers the showy part is
actually the calyx, as the outer whorl of parts around the stamens and
pistil is always called. The divisions of the calyx are known as sepals.
The stamens are made up of two parts—the anthers or small sacs which
bear the pollen grains, a necessary part to fertilization, and the
filaments or stalks which elevate the anthers so that the pollen grains
can be scattered. The ovules which develop into seeds after
fertilization are borne in the ovary, a part of the pistil. The pollen
is deposited on the stigma and carried down the style to the ovule.
Showy flower parts, nectar, and other devices attract insect visitors
which aid in the transfer of pollen from one flower to another.
In order that botanists everywhere may make use of plant names and
descriptions, these are written in Latin. The Latin name of the
bluebonnet is _Lupinus texensis_, in which _texensis_ represents the
name of a species and _Lupinus_ is the name of a genus, which is a group
of closely related species. The plants making up the different species
in a genus are usually so much alike in flower, fruit, and leaf
characters that they can be recognized as belonging to the same group.
Similar genera (plural of genus) are grouped together in families; the
family name in Latin takes the ending -_aceae_. Thus while this book
illustrates only 257 Texas plants, it is hoped that the reader will
become familiar with many others which bear a close relationship.
Much effort has been expended to use scientific terminology in
accordance with that preferred by experts on various plant groups, but
continuing research changes many well known names. In this list the name
used in the text is followed by the name now in good usage; the terms
are not always synonymous. The authorities for the names are not given
but can be checked in technical publications.
Aesculaceae
Hippocastanaceae
Allionia grayana
Mirabilis grayana
Amphiachyris dracunculoides
Gutierrezia dracunculoides
Argemone rosea
Argemone sanguinea
Argemone delicatula
Argemone pinnatifida
Asclepiodora decumbens
Asclepias capricornu
Baptisia bracteata
Baptisia leucophaea
Batodendron arboreum
Vaccinium arboreum
Capnoides montanum
Corydalis aurea
Capnoides curvisiliquum
Corydalis curvisiliqua
Carduus austrinus
Cirsium sp.
Carduus undulatus
Cirsium undulatum megacephalum
Cassiaceae
Leguninosae
Cebatha carolina
Cocculus carolinus
Cercis reniormis
Cercis canadensis texensis
Cochranea anchusaefolia
Heliotropium amplexicaule
Conoclinium coelestinum
Eupatorium coelestinum
Delphinium albescens
Delphinium virescens
Dendropogon usneoides
Tillandsia usneoides
Dichondraceae
Convolvulaceae
Dracopis amplexicaulis
Rudbeckia amplexicaulis
Epilobiaceae
Onagraceae
Erythraea
Centaurium
Fabaceae
Leguminosae
Filago prolifera
Evax prolifera
Filago nivea
Evax multicaulis
Geoprumnon mexicanum
Astragalus caryocarpus pachycarpus
Greggia camporum
Nerisyrenia camporum
Hamosa nuttalliana
Astragalus Nuttallianus
Hartmannia tetraptera
Oenothera speciosa
Hypoxis erecta
Hypoxis hirsuta
Ibidium gracile
Spiranthes gracilis
Jussiaea diffusa
Jussiaea repens
Keerlia bellidiflora
Chaetopappa bellidifolia
Krameriaceae
Leguminosae
Laciniaria punctata
Liatris punctata
Lepidium alyssoides
Lepidium montanum alyssoides
Leptoglottis uncinata
Schrankia Nuttallii
Leucophyllum texanum
Leucophyllum frutescens
Limodorum tuberosum
Calopogon pulchellus
Lithospermum linearifolium
Lithospermum incisum
Lithospermum gmelinii
Lithospermum carolinense
Megapterium missouriense
Oenothera missouriensis
Meriolix spinulosa
Oenothera serrulata Drummondii
Mimosaceae
Leguminosae
Nemastylis acuta
Nemastylis geminiflora
Nama ovatum
Hydrolea ovata
Nemastylis texana
Nemastylis sp.
Neopieris mariana
Lyonia mariana
Nuphar advena
Nuphar advenum
Oxytropis lamberti
Astragalus Lambertii
Parosela aurea
Dalea aurea
Parosela pogonathera
Dalea pogonathera
Pentstemon
Penstemon
Persicaria longistyla
Polygonum longistylum
Persicaria punctata
Polygonum punctatum
Phlox drummondii (purple variety)
Phlox Goldsmithii (left, p. 107)
Phlox drummondii (purple variety)
Phlox McAllisteri (right, p. 107)
Phlox helleri
Phlox littoralis
Phytolacca decandra
Phytolacca americana
Pleiotaenia nuttallii
Polytaenia Nuttallii
Ptiloria pauciflora
Stephanomeria pauciflora
Quamasia hyacinthina
Camassia scilloides
Rosa woodsii
Rosa foliolosa
Sabbatia
Sabatia
Senecio filifolius
Senecio longilobus
Sisyrinchium thurowi
Sisyrinchium exile
Sitilias multicaulis
Pyrrhopappus sp.
Sophia pinnata
Descurainea pinnata
Stenorrhyncus cinnabarinus
Spiranthes cinnabarina
Thrysanthema nutans
Chaptalia nutans
Thymophylla polychaeta
Dyssodia polychaeta
Thymophylla pentachaeta
Dyssodia pentachaeta
Toxicoscordion nuttallii
Zygadenus Nuttallii
Tradescantia bracteata
Tradescantia ohiensis
Verbena plicata
Verbena Cloveri
Vicia texana
Vicia ludoviciana
Yucca radiosa
Yucca elata
Yucca glauca
Yucca campestris
PLANT DISTRIBUTION
[Illustration: TEXAS]
The above map[1] gives the larger natural areas of the state. The
prairie regions afford the most profuse display of wild flowers. In the
wooded area of East Texas, the shortleaf pine is abundant in the
northern part, the loblolly in the southwestern part, and the longleaf
pine in the southeastern part of the area, while hardwoods are found in
the river bottoms. The chief trees in the post oak strip are post oak
and black jack oak. Among the mountain cedars, live oaks and Spanish
oaks, so common in the limestone hill region, may be found scattered
trees and shrubs of the chaparral. The chaparral region is often broken
by prairies but in some places is densely covered with shrubs and small
trees which are usually thorny. The mesquite is abundant in this region
and is more or less scattered throughout the prairie regions.
_TEXAS FLOWERS_
Author’s Note: The family characteristics are placed immediately below
the illustrations at the beginning of each family group and set in
smaller type to distinguish them from the individual group descriptions.
DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES
WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY (Alismaceae)
[Illustration: SMALL ARROWHEAD LONG-LOBED ARROWHEAD]
Marsh or water plants; leaves mostly basal; sepals 3; petals 3, white or
pink, tender; stamens 6 or more; pistils many, free; fruit a head of
achenes.
Small Arrowhead (_Sagittaria papillosa_) is a common pond dweller in
Texas and Louisiana. Like other arrowheads the flowers are borne in
whorls, the upper having many stamens and the lower producing the seeds.
It may be distinguished from other narrow-leaved forms by the rough
(papillose) surface of the floral leaves.
Plains or Long-Lobed Arrowhead (_Sagittaria longiloba_) is common in
shallow water on the plains from Nebraska to Mexico from April to
October. The shape of the leaf of this and other species has given the
common names of arrowhead and arrowleaf to this group. Like the
water-plantain and bur-head the flowers have 3 tender white petals. The
wapato duck potato (_S. latifolia_) may be found in East Texas. Growing
in great abundance along the coast, the water potato or scythe-fruited
arrowhead (_S. falcata_) is a showy plant 2-4 feet high with large
lance-shaped leaves. The tubers and young shoots of both of these are
considered excellent foods for ducks. Indians also valued the starchy
tubers for food, and it was the duty of the women to grub in the mud for
them.
PINEAPPLE FAMILY (Bromeliaceae)
[Illustration: SPANISH MOSS BALL MOSS]
Chiefly air-plants, some rigid-leaved land plants; floral leaves often
conspicuous; 3 sepals; 3 petals; stamens 3-6; pistil 3-celled.
Spanish Moss (_Dendropogon usneoides_) has long zig-zag stems hanging in
gray masses from the branches of many trees, especially live oaks, from
the Coastal Plain of the United States to South America. Sometimes
called Florida-moss, wool crape, crape-moss, and long moss, it has long
been renowned in literature and industry. Indians and pioneers found
many uses for it, and it is still used for padding, fodder for cattle,
decoration, and the making of mattresses. The short leaves are scattered
on the slender stem, which may be 1-6 yards long. The fragrant flowers
are small and inconspicuous, being about ¼ inch long, blooming in early
summer. The name means “tree-beard.”
Ball Moss. Bunch Moss (_Tillandsia recurvata_) has small and
inconspicuous purple flowers which appear in the summer. Like the
Spanish moss, it gets its nourishment from the air but may injure trees
by crowding out the leaves. Both mosses bear no relation to the true
mosses but belong to the same family as the pineapple. The ball moss is
found on trees, wires, rocks, and other places. Bailey’s bunch moss is a
large-flowered form growing in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
SPIDERWORT FAMILY (Commelinaceae)
[Illustration: GIANT SPIDERWORT PRAIRIE SPIDERWORT]
Mostly succulent herbs with tuberous or fibrous roots; flowers arising
from a cluster of leaf-like bracts; sepals 3; petals 3; stamens 6; ovary
3-celled; fruit capsular.
Giant Spiderwort (_Tradescantia gigantea_) grows in clumps of stout
stems 2-3 feet high. The numerous flowers on short slender stalks hang
out of a cluster of 2-3 upper leaves which have sac-like bases, velvety
with soft hairs. The 3-petaled flowers vary in color from purplish-blue
to rose or white and close at noon. The 6 stamens are adorned with
lovely violet hairs. It is found in Central Texas in April and May.
The spiderwort group was named for Tradescant, gardener to Charles I. It
is well represented in Texas, all of the many different species being
easy to transplant and making attractive garden plants. The wandering
jew, a well-known spiderwort in cultivation, is a native of South
America.
Prairie Spiderwort (_T. bracteata_) is a smaller plant with bluer
flowers. Ranging from Minnesota to Texas, it has its blooming season in
Texas in April and May.
[Illustration: TEXAS DAYFLOWER WIDOW’S TEARS]
Curly-Leaved Dayflower. Widow’s Tears (_Commelina crispa_) has two large
blue petals and a third, minute, white, and inconspicuous. The upper
three stamens are 4-lobed and sterile, quite different from the 3 lower
pollen-producing stamens, one of which is larger than the others. The
petals are very tender and last only one morning. This dayflower may be
distinguished from several others in the state by its crisped
leaf-margins. It is very common on the South Central Plains from May to
September. The name is given in honor of early Dutch botanists by the
name of Commelyn.
Texas Dayflower (_Commelinantia anomala_) has two large petals like the
dayflowers, but may be distinguished from them by their lavender color
and by having the leaf around the flower-cluster more like the lower
leaves in shape. The three upper stamens are bearded with violet hairs
like those of spiderworts. It grows in rich moist soil in the limestone
hills of the southern part of the state and the adjoining part of
Mexico.
PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY (Pontederiaceae)
[Illustration: WATER HYACINTH]
Aquatic plants; leaves alternate, often basal; sepals 3, petal-like;
petals 3, sepals and petals partly united; ovary 3-celled.
Water Hyacinth (_Eichhornia crassipes_) is also called wampee, river
raft, and water orchid. It grows so thick in places that water channels
may be blocked, and island-like masses may serve as rafts. With its
large spikes of lavender flowers and its broad shining leaves with their
curious bulbous floats, it is the queen of our water plants. Many
streams, lakes, and canals along the coastal highway offer living
pictures which will not soon fade from the memory. The plants float by
means of the bulbous enlargement of the leaf stalk. The flowers are
somewhat 2-lipped, the 3 sepals and 3 petals somewhat alike but with a
yellow spot on the upper petal.
Pickerel Weed (_Pontedaria cordata_) may be found growing in the mud of
inland waters along the coast. It is a taller plant than the water
hyacinth, the spikes are narrower, the flowers are a deeper purple, and
the leaves are narrower and have no float.
LILY FAMILY (Liliaceae)
[Illustration: NUTTALL’S DEATH CAMASS WILD HYACINTH]
Aquatic plants; leaves alternate, often basal; sepals 3, petal-like;
petals 3, sepals and petals partly united; ovary 3-celled.
Nuttall’s Death Camass (_Toxicoscordion nuttallii_) is a common prairie
bunch-flower from Texas to Tennessee and Kansas. The leaves, which are
mainly basal, long, narrow, and curved, and the stout stems 1-2 feet
high arise from a large black-coated bulb which is poisonous. Many
cream-colored flowers are borne in a round-topped cluster. The 3 sepals
and 3 petals are alike, and the 6 stamens have large yellow anthers. The
3-beaked capsules have numerous seeds. The flowers bloom in April and
May. The poisonous bulb is responsible for the name, which is derived
from the Greek meaning “poison-onion.”
Wild Hyacinth (_Quamasia hyacinthina_) is also called indigo-squill or
meadow hyacinth. Growing from a deep-rooted edible bulb, a slender stalk
1-2 ft. high bears a spike-like cluster of hyacinth-blue flowers at the
top. The flowers are about ½ inch broad and have a most delightful
fragrance. It is widespread from Pennsylvania to Texas, common in Texas
along railroads in April.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE ONION CROW POISON]
Prairie Onion (_Allium nuttallii_) has short flower stalks 4-6 inches
high growing from a very small bulb which has a brown, finely-woven
outer coat. The flowers are nearly half an inch broad and vary from pale
pink to a deep rose. _Allium_ is the Latin for “garlic,” and both the
cultivated garlic and onion are members of this group. There are nearly
twenty different wild onions in the state, many of which make lovely
garden plants. _Allium mutabile_, a taller onion with very numerous
white flowers, blooms in May. The prairie onion is the same as Heller’s
onion (_Allium helleri_) and blooms in April.
Crow Poison. False Garlic (_Nothoscordum bivalve_) is one of the first
flowers to appear in the spring on lawns, meadows, and roadsides
throughout the Southern States and may bloom again in the autumn. It
looks very much like the onions, but has fewer, larger flowers on long
stalks and does not have the onion odor. It grows from an onion-like
bulb. The name is from the Greek meaning “false garlic.”
[Illustration: FINE-LEAVED TREE-YUCCA SOAPWEED]
Beargrass. Fine-Leaved Tree-Yucca (_Yucca elata_) belongs to a group
widely represented in Texas by many different forms, those with thin
thready leaves being known as beargrass, soapweed, “palmillo,” and
Adam’s needle and those with thick, stiff, sharp-pointed leaves as
Spanish bayonet or dagger. All have creamy or greenish-white bell-shaped
drooping flowers borne in dense clusters on a long stalk growing out of
a rosette of leaves. The fine-leaved tree-yucca sometimes grows 20 ft.
high and is very abundant west of the Pecos River to Arizona. The
budding flower stalk is quite tender and palatable and was often used as
a food by early settlers. It is an excellent food for cattle, and they
keep the stalks stripped of budding shoots, making the absence of seed
pods quite conspicuous on the cattle ranges. Indians used the leaf
fibers for making sandals.
Soapweed (_Yucca glauca_), the common yucca of the Panhandle of Texas
and adjacent states, has an unbranched flower stalk. As in other yuccas,
the roots yield soap when the bark is removed and crushed in water. The
fruits of the stiff-leaved tree-yuccas are edible.
AMARYLLIS FAMILY (Amaryllidaceae)
[Illustration: SMALL RAIN LILY GIANT RAIN LILY]
Plants with bulbs or fibrous roots; leaves basal; sepals 3, petal-like;
petals 3, sepals and petals united into a tube below; stamens 6; ovary
inferior, 3-celled.
Small or Drummond’s Rain Lily (_Cooperia drummondii_) is known in
cultivation as evening star. It does not have a stalked seed pod like
the giant rain lily and has smaller flowers with much longer tube and
shorter and narrower leaves. It blooms in the late summer and fall.
The cooperias were named in honor of Joseph Cooper, an English gardener.
Drummond’s rain lily honors Thomas Drummond, a Scottish plant collector
who visited the southeastern part of Texas in 1833-34.
Giant Rain Lily (_Cooperia pedunculata_) has lovely fragrant white
flowers which last only a day or two. The tubular flowers appear
funnel-shaped for some hours after opening, but the six broad lobes
spread widely as the flowers mature. The leaves are all basal and grow
from a large black-coated bulb; they are about a foot long and nearly
half an inch wide. Shortly after heavy rains in spring and early summer,
lawns, meadows, and woods in Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico are covered
with the lovely blossoms. It is also called prairie lily, field lily,
crow poison, and fairy lily.
[Illustration: COPPER LILY YELLOW STAR GRASS]
Copper Lily. Texas Atamosco Lily. Stagger Grass (_Zephyranthes texana_)
is a copper-colored lily blooming in August and September in Central
Texas. The inner surface of the petals is yellow and shows a purple
veining. The flowers stalks are 6-12 inches long, growing from a cluster
of very slender leaves. The yellow atamosco (_Zephyranthes longifolia_)
has yellow flowers. It may be found in West Texas to Arizona and Mexico
in the late summer and fall.
Yellow Star Grass (_Hypoxis erecta_) has yellow flowers about an inch
broad. It is one of the earliest and commonest spring flowers in the
eastern pine woods, blooming in Texas in March and April.
The common century plant of the Big Bend is _Agave havardiana_. It is
not as large as the widely cultivated American century plant introduced
from Mexico. A candelabrum-like cluster of yellow flowers, which are
provided with a vast quantity of nectar, grows at the top of a stout
stalk, which is commonly 12-15 feet high. The stalk grows from a cluster
of broad gray leaves, 1-1½ feet long, bordered with recurved prickles
and ending in a sharp-pointed spine. Lecheguilla (_Agave lecheguilla_)
is a much smaller plant with narrow spikes of greenish-white flowers.
[Illustration: TEXAS SPIDER LILY]
Texas Spider Lily (_Hymenocallis galvestonensis_) grows in moist soil,
in ditches, or on the edges of ponds. It is particularly abundant on the
coastal prairie. A thick, fleshy flower stalk grows from a cluster of
strap-shaped leaves about an inch broad and bears 4—6 white flowers in a
cluster at the top of the stalk. The scientific name means “beautiful
membrane” and refers to the delicate white funnel-tube uniting the bases
of the 6 stamens. The 3 linear petals and the three similar sepals are
about 6 in. long, united at their lower half into a slender tube. The
upper half spreads, giving rise to the common name of spider lily. The
flowers bloom from March to May. It was long ago introduced into
cultivation and is considered quite hardy in the North.
Western Spider Lily (_Hymenocallis occidentalis_) has similar flowers,
but blooms in the summer after the leaves die back. It is found in moist
soil and on shaded hillsides from Northeast Texas to Indiana and
Georgia.
IRIS FAMILY (Iridaceae)
[Illustration: PLEATED-LEAF IRIS PRAIRIE CELESTIAL WOODLAND
CELESTIAL]
Perennial herbs with bulbs, corms, or rhizomes; leaves usually basal and
flattened at the sides; 3 sepals and 3 petals nearly equal; stamens 3;
ovary below the perianth; fruit a 3-celled capsule.
Pleated-Leaf Iris (_Herbertia caerulea_) has pleated leaves like the
celestials, but the flowers are quite different, the 3 sky-blue sepals
being large and spreading and the 3 petals small and inconspicuous. The
bases are white with violet markings. It is very abundant on the Coastal
Plain of Louisiana and Texas in April and May. The name is in honor of
William Herbert, a distinguished English botanist.
Prairie Celestial (_Nemastylis acuta_) has 6-parted sky-blue flowers
with the 3 sepals and 3 petals nearly equal, white at the base. The
2-branched thread-like styles, from which the name is derived, spread
horizontally between the 3 erect stamens. It grows on the prairies of
North Texas to Kansas and Tennessee.
Woodland Celestial (_Nemastylis texana_) with its steel-blue flowers is
more abundant in the southern part of the state in open post oak woods.
Like the pleated-leaf iris, the flowers of the celestials open late in
the morning and remain open only a few hours.
[Illustration: BLUE-EYED GRASSES
SWORD-LEAVED THUROW’S DWARF]
Sword-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass (_Sisyrinchium ensigerum_) is one of many
blue-eyed grasses in the state, most of which have purplish-blue
flowers, 6-parted and about half an inch broad, marked at the base with
yellow. The flower has 3 erect united stamens. The flowers hang on
thread-like stalks from two boat-shaped leaves about an inch long. The
stems are winged, sword-shaped or outcurved, and have very fine
saw-toothed edges. South-central to Northwestern Texas in April and May.
In East Texas the prairie blue-eyed grass (_Sisyrinchium campestre_) is
common. It has pale blue flowers, and the outer floral leaf is prolonged
to a slender point, being 1½-2 in. long.
Dwarf Blue-Eyed Grass (_Sisyrinchium minus_) has small reddish-purple
flowers and an oblong seed capsule. Coastal Plain, Louisiana to Texas.
Spring.
Thurow’s Blue-Eyed Grass (_Sisyrinchium thurowi_) is a very small plant
with small yellow flowers found in the southeastern part of the state in
damp places. Spring.
[Illustration: GIANT IRIS]
Giant Blue-Flag or Iris (_Iris giganticaerulea_) is a tall iris found in
swampy places in East Texas and Louisiana, blooming in late April and
May. The color of this iris is quite variable, ranging from dark violet
to lavender and white. The recurved spreading sepals are 3-4 inches
long, and the petals are shorter and erect. The capsules are 3-4 in.
long with 6 rounded ridges.
Narrow Blue-Flag (_Iris virginica_) has been confused with the Carolina
iris, according to Dr. Small of the New York Botanical Garden, who has
recently described many new irises from Louisiana. The narrow blue-flag
is colored similarly to the giant iris, but has shorter 3-angled
capsules, very narrow leaves, and zig-zag stems. It is abundant on the
Coastal Plain in early spring.
Red-Brown Flag (_Iris fulva_) is also found in the swamps in East Texas.
ORCHID FAMILY (Orchidaceae)
[Illustration: SLENDER LADIES’-TRESSES ROSE POGONIA]
Air plants or tuberous-rooted; leaves alternate, undivided; sepals 3;
petals 3, the middle one, or “lip,” often complex in structure; stamens
2 or 1, united to pistil; ovary below the perianth.
Slender Ladies’-Tresses (_Ibidium gracile_) is also called twisted-stalk
or corkscrew-plant because of the twisting of the flower-stalk. The
stems, which are 8 in. to 2 ft. high, grow from a cluster of tuberous
roots and have two broad leaves at the base. This flower ranges from
Texas to Nova Scotia.
Rose Pogonia. Snake-Mouth (_Pogonia ophioglossoides_) grows in swampy
places from Texas to Newfoundland. Pogonia is from the Greek, meaning
“bearded” and refers to the bearded lip.
Grass-Pink (_Limodorum tuberosum_) is a pink-flowered orchid of East
Texas and the Eastern States similar to the rose pogonia, but does not
have the short clasping leaf on the stem.
The orchid family is a large group of more than 15,000 species. Some
orchids are air-plants, attaching themselves to tree-trunks, but none of
these are found among the 25 orchids growing in Texas. Perhaps the
handsomest orchid in the state is the red-flowered flame orchid
(_Stenorrhynchus cinnabarinus_) found in the mountains of the Big Bend.
All the Texas orchids are rare enough to need protection.
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (Polygonaceae)
[Illustration: MANY-FLOWERED BUCKWHEAT]
Leaves usually alternate; sepals 3-6, sometimes petal-like; petals
absent; stamens usually 6-9; ovary 1-celled.
Many-Flowered Buckwheat (_Eriogonum multiflorum_) is also called
umbrella-plant because of its spreading clusters at the top of the stem.
It grows about 2 ft. high, being very abundant in sandy soil from
South-central Texas to Arkansas and Louisiana in the late summer and
fall. The name means “woolly knees,” referring to the jointed stems.
Buckwheat flour is made from the seeds of _Fagopyrum esculentum_, a
closely related plant, similar in size, white-flowered, and with large
3-angled seeds. Queen’s crown or wreath (_Antigonon leptopus_), a lovely
pink-flowered vine widely cultivated in Texas, is a member of the
buckwheat family.
Annual Buckwheat (_Eriogonum annuum_), similar to the many-flowered
buckwheat, but with leaves white-woolly on both sides and narrowed at
the base, is very abundant in the northwestern part into New Mexico and
Mexico. Acre after acre along the highways is often covered with it.
Many other white-, yellow-, and red-flowered buckwheats are found in the
mountains of West Texas.
[Illustration: SOUTHERN SMARTWEED]
Southern Smartweed (_Persicaria longistyla_), ranging from Mississippi
to New Mexico is also called gander-grass or knotweed. It grows in wet
places throughout the state and blooms in the late summer and fall. The
dense spikes of small pink flowers are very attractive, the flowers
having 5 pink sepals but no petals. The seeds are lens-shaped and
covered with a black shining coat. The seeds of many of the smartweeds
are considered good food for ducks.
Dotted Smartweed (_Persicaria punctata_) has scattered greenish-white
flowers and 3-angled seeds. The leaves are much narrower than those of
the Southern smartweed. Many other smartweeds are found in the state.
Curly-Leaved Dock (_Rumex crispus_), as well as several other docks, is
common in the state. The leaves of some of them are used for greens.
Canaigre is the dock of Western Texas and New Mexico, the roots of which
have furnished tannin for commercial purposes.
FOUR-O’CLOCK FAMILY (Nyctaginaceae)
[Illustration: SMALL-FLOWERED FOUR-O’CLOCK PINK FOUR-O’CLOCK]
Leaves opposite or alternate; flowers often surrounded by colored
bracts; calyx tubular, often petal-like; petals absent; stamens 1 to
many; ovary 1-celled.
Gray’s Umbrella-Wort. Pink Four-O’clock (_Allionia grayana_) has
delicate pink flowers which have no petals, but the 5 united sepals are
petal-like in appearance. The flowers are spreading or funnel-shaped and
open in the afternoon. Several flowers are borne together and are
surrounded at their bases by 5 short united floral leaves, forming a
pale green veiny involucre which is sometimes mistaken for the flower.
The clusters terminate the branches on a widely spreading plant about 2
ft. high.
Small-Flowered Four-O’clock (_Allionia incarnata_) is very abundant in
Southwestern Texas to Arizona and South America. It forms a low,
spreading plant, which is profusely covered with small pink blooms less
than half an inch broad.
Narrow-Leaved Sand-Verbena (_Abronia angustifolia_) is a low plant with
a dense head of pink flowers which are so fragrant that one plant will
perfume the air for some distance. In favorable seasons the hills around
El Paso are pink with the lovely blooms. It is called sand-verbena
because of the verbena-like clusters.
[Illustration: DEVIL’S BOUQUET ANGEL’S TRUMPET]
Devil’s Bouquet (_Nyctaginia capitata_) is also called skunk flower
because of its heavy, disagreeable odor. The head-like clusters of
scarlet flowers are very showy, being 2-3 in. broad. The 5-lobed flowers
resemble those of the umbrella-worts and likewise open in the
afternoons. The plants are low and scattered, but are quite common from
Central and Southern Texas to Mexico and New Mexico from May to October.
Angel’s Trumpet (_Acleisanthes longiflora_) grows from long spreading
stems with the long-tubed flowers sharply erect. The flowers are over an
inch broad with a tube 4-6 in. long. It is most abundant in the spring,
but may be found until October in the same range as the devil’s bouquet.
Jimson-weed (_Datura_) is also called angel’s trumpet.
Bougainvillea is a member of this family frequently cultivated in the
southern part of the state. The common four-o’clock is often seen in
gardens and in some places has escaped cultivation.
POKEWEED FAMILY (Phytolaccaceae)
[Illustration: ROUGE PLANT]
Leaves alternate, entire; sepals 4-5; petals absent; stamens 3 to many,
sometimes united at the base; ovary with 1 to many distinct or united
carpels.
Rouge Plant. Small Pokeberry (_Rivina vernalis_) was named for A. Q.
Rivinus, a botanist of Leipzig. It was known as _Rivina humilis_, the
latter name meaning low. It has small flowers, about ¼ in. broad, with 4
white or pink petal-like sepals and 4 stamens. The bright red berries
often occur on the stems while flowers are still present. The low
plants, a foot or more high, grow profusely in woods in Central Texas,
but may be found from Arkansas to the tropics. When vegetable dyes were
in common use, a red dye was obtained from the berries.
Ink-Berry. Large Pokeberry (_Phytolacca americana_) is a leafy, stout,
branched plant 3-9 ft. high, with large leaves and spike-like clusters
of white flowers and purple berries. It is a perennial that grows from a
poisonous root. With special care in the picking and preparation, the
young shoots are sometimes used for greens. The shoe-button-like berries
were used for ink in pioneer days. Maine to Texas. Summer and fall.
PURSLANE FAMILY (Portulacaceae)
[Illustration: LANCE-LEAVED PORTULACA SMALL-FLOWERED TALINUM]
Herbs or undershrubs, often succulent; sepals 2; petals 4-6, soon
falling; stamens few or many; ovary 1-celled; fruit a capsule opening by
valves or a transverse split.
Lance-Leaved Portulaca (_Portulaca lanceolata_) is a weed found in sandy
soil from Central and Southern Texas to Arizona. The flowers are less
than half an inch broad with 5 pinkish-yellow petals and 7-27 stamens.
It may be distinguished from other portulacas by the crown-like rim
around the capsule. Hairy rose moss (_Portulaca pilosa_) is more
abundant and showy, with purplish-red flowers nearly an inch broad,
greatly resembling the large-flowered rose moss in cultivation. The
capsule of the portulacas opens by a cap.
Small-Flowered Talinum (_Talinum parviflorum_) has small pink flowers
about ½ in. broad, which, like those of the portulacas, require bright
sunlight for opening. These dainty flowers grow on slender stalks from a
cluster of short, rounded leaves and may be found in rocky soil from
Minnesota to Texas during the summer months.
PINK FAMILY (Caryophyllaceae)
[Illustration: WESTERN CHICKWEED NUTTALL’S STARWORT]
Stems usually swollen at the joints; leaves opposite; sepals 4-5; petals
4-5, or absent; stamens usually 8-10; ovary usually 1-celled.
Western Chickweed (_Cerastium brachypodum_) is one of the early spring
flowers to be found throughout the state, ranging from Illinois to
Oregon and Mexico. The 5 small white petals are notched at the apex. The
name is derived from the Greek meaning “horny” and refers to the
horn-shaped capsule from which the seeds are scattered through the
opening at the top. Several other chickweeds are found in the state in
early spring.
Nuttall’s Starwort or Chickweed (_Stellaria nuttallii_) is a lovely
white-flowered chickweed found on moist sandy prairies or in open woods
in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana in March and April. The flowers are
about 1 in. broad, and the 5 broad petals are deeply notched at the
apex.
The pink family is well represented in cultivation, including the
carnation, sweet William, garden pink, baby’s breath, and others. The
red-flowered catch-fly (_Silene laciniata_), found in the mountains of
West Texas to Mexico and California, is known in cultivation.
WATER-LILY FAMILY (Nymphaeaceae)
[Illustration: BLUE WATER-LILY]
Aquatic herbs; leaves long-stalked, often floating; flowers solitary,
large; sepals 3-6; petals numerous; stamens numerous; carpels 8 or more.
Blue Water-Lily (_Nymphaea elegans_) is a common water-lily along the
coast of Texas and Mexico, particularly in the vicinity of Corpus
Christi. The flowers vary from nearly white to a purplish-blue or lilac
and are 3-6 in. broad. The floating leaves, about 7 in. broad, are dark
purple below and nearly round; sometimes they have a few scattered teeth
on the margins. The blooms last 3 days, opening about 8 o’clock in the
morning and closing shortly after noon.
Yellow Water-Lily (_Nymphaea flava_) is a yellow-flowered water-lily
found on the Texas and Florida coasts. The sweet-scented white
water-lily is abundant in the southeastern part of the state.
Spatter Dock. Yellow Pond Lily (_Nuphar advena_), with yellow cup-shaped
flowers 2-3 in. broad, is the common water-lily of slow streams and
ponds throughout the state and ranges to Labrador, Florida, and Utah.
The water-lilies form an important food and cover for fish; ducks and
muskrats feed upon the many seeds produced.
CROWFOOT FAMILY (Ranunculaceae)
[Illustration: SOUTHERN ANEMONE]
Perennials, annuals, or climbing soft-wooded plants; sepals 3 to many;
petals few to many; stamens and carpels usually many.
Southern Anemone or Windflower (_Anemone decapetala_) has 10-20 sepals
which resemble petals, varying from a greenish white and pink to the
common pale purplish-blue. The plants are commonly low, about 6 in. high
in flower, with a few leaves growing from a tuberous root. The leaves
are 3-parted, the segments lobed and toothed. The anemone is the Texas
harbinger of spring, appearing in late January, February, or March on
plains and prairies, and in the chaparral. It ranges from the Southern
United States to South America. The Carolina anemone, with bluer flowers
and more finely-divided leaves, is abundant in the woods of East Texas.
The crowfoot or real buttercup family (the yellow evening primrose is
also called buttercup) is considered by most botanists as the plant
family from which other plants have been derived. In many the fruits
look very much like the fruit head of the arrowleaf. The columbine is a
member of this family frequently cultivated in the gardens of the state,
but the few native ones are not very abundant.
[Illustration: WHITE LARKSPUR CAROLINA LARKSPUR]
White Larkspur (_Delphinium albescens_) is the common larkspur of
prairies and plains of Texas and ranges to Southern Canada. In Texas it
blooms most abundantly in May. The white flowers resemble rabbit faces
and are tinged with green and purple. It is the bane of ranchmen, for it
is poisonous to cattle.
Carolina Larkspur (_Delphinium carolinianum_) commonly has lovely deep
blue flowers, though white forms may be found. It is very abundant in
East Texas in March and April, growing 1½-2 ft. high. The plants have
few leaves, and these are 3-5 parted, each part being divided into
narrow linear lobes. It is very much like the Texas larkspur
(_Delphinium vimineum_), which has blue or white flowers, grows taller,
and is more leafy than the Carolina larkspur.
“Delphinium” is derived from the Latin meaning “dolphin,” so-called
because of the resemblance of the spurred flowers to a dolphin. The
common garden larkspur is native to Southern Europe. Some of the
larkspurs furnish drugs.
[Illustration: LARGE BUTTERCUP]
Large Buttercup (_Ranunculus macranthus_) has handsome, golden-yellow
flowers about 2 in. broad. There are 10-15 broad yellow petals which are
longer than the sepals and have a nectar pit at their base. The leaves
are mainly basal, long-stalked, and divided into wedge-shaped lobes. It
ranges from Central to Southwestern Texas and is most abundant in April.
It is a plant which does well in cultivation but requires plenty of
water; it blooms in the shade better than most garden plants.
Many of the buttercups grow in marshy places, a fact which is
responsible for the old Latin name meaning “little frog.” Many different
kinds are found along roadside ditches and in marshy places in East
Texas. Some members of the crowfoot family, including the wood-anemone
and the marsh marigold, common in the Northern States but not native to
Texas, yield poisonous honey.
[Illustration: OLD MAN’S BEARD]
Drummond’s Virgin’s Bower. Old Man’s Beard (_Clematis drummondii_) is a
vine growing in great profusion, covering shrubs and fences from Central
Texas to Arizona and Mexico. The 4 petal-like sepals are pale
greenish-yellow, almost white, narrow and thin with margins somewhat
crinkled, about ½ in. long. The flowers bloom in the summer, being
inconspicuous among the branching leafy stems. The stamen-bearing
flowers are on a separate vine from the seed-producing flowers. The
seeds mature in a few weeks, and soon the vine is covered with
iridescent masses of silky, feathery plumes, 2-4 in. long, which grow
out from the seed cover. These plumes are elongated, persistent styles
and are responsible for many common names given to the vine, including
grandfather’s beard, gray beard, goat’s beard, and love-in-the-mist.
Western Virgin’s Bower (_Clematis ligusticifolia_), with white flowers
and leaves with 5-7 leaflets, has been reported from the mountains of
West Texas.
[Illustration: SCARLET CLEMATIS PURPLE LEATHER FLOWER]
Texas Leather Flower. Scarlet Clematis (_Clematis texensis_) has maroon
or scarlet bell-shaped flowers about 1 in. long. It is a climbing vine
found along streams in Central Texas, growing 6-10 or more feet high.
The leaves are thickened, entire or lobed, ovate to rounded. This
clematis is a hardy climber, well known in cultivation, giving rise to
many hybrids when crossed with the marsh leather flower (_Clematis
crispa_), which is a low climber, 3-4 ft. high, with lavender
bell-shaped flowers. The leather flowers have no petals, the showy bells
being made up of 4 thickened sepals. The flattened fruits grow in
head-like clusters about an inch thick and have plumose tails 1-2 in.
long.
Purple Leather Flower (_Clematis pitcheri_), together with the marsh
leather flower, is often called blue bell. Except in color, the flower
is very much like the scarlet clematis. The leaflets are more frequently
3-lobed, and the tails on the fruits are silky but not plumose. It grows
in damp woods from Indiana to Mexico, beginning to bloom in Texas in
April and continuing into the summer.
BARBERRY FAMILY (Berberidaceae)
[Illustration: AGARITA]
Herbs or shrubs; leaves simple or compound; sepals 6, similar to petals;
petals 6; stamens 6, irritable, opening by valves; ovary 1-celled; fruit
a berry.
Agarita. Texas Barberry (_Berberis trifoliolata_), known also as agrito
(meaning “little sour”), chaparral berry, and wild currant, is an
evergreen shrub forming an important part of the chaparral in the
central and southwestern parts of the state and adjacent Mexico. The
thick gray-green leaves are divided into three leaflets which have 3-7
lobes ending in sharp spines. The stiff spreading branches form a
compact shrub 4-5 feet high.
The clusters of fragrant flowers are among the first spring blossoms to
appear in late February and March. With 6 spreading yellow sepals and 6
yellow petals forming a cup around the stamens and pistil, the small
flowers are somewhat like those of the narcissus. The acid berries ripen
in May and June, being used for jellies and wines; the flowers are an
important source of nectar; and the wood and roots furnish a yellow dye
which was used by Indians and pioneers.
May Apple. Mandrake (_Podophyllum peltatum_) is abundant in moist woods
in East Texas. The white flower growing in the fork of the stem is
overtopped by the two umbrella-shaped leaves.
MOONSEED FAMILY (Menispermaceae)
[Illustration: MOONSEED VINE]
Usually twining shrubs or small trees; flowers small, unisexual and
perfect; sepals 6; petals 6, or absent; stamens 6-12; carpels 3-6; fruit
berry-like, 1-seeded.
Moonseed Vine (_Cebatha Carolina_) is a vine with clusters of small red
berries. It is very abundant throughout the state in woods and on
fences, ranging north to Kansas and Virginia. It is also called
coral-bead, margil, coral-vine, and red-berried moonseed. “Cebatha,”
from the Greek, alludes to its climbing habit, while “moonseed” refers
to the curved seed of the fleshy red berries which ripen in the fall and
remain on the vines long after the leaves have fallen. The small white
flowers bloom during the summer and fall. The leaves are quite variable,
sometimes entire and sometimes distinctly 3-lobed and rarely 5-lobed,
being smooth above and downy beneath.
The berries of the Indian moonseed contain an acrid poison which is used
by the Chinese in catching fish, as it will temporarily stun or
intoxicate the fish.
POPPY FAMILY (Papaveraceae)
[Illustration: ROSE PRICKLY POPPY]
Annuals or perennials with colored juice; sepals 2-3; petals 4-6, rarely
more or wanting; stamens numerous; carpels 2 or more united; capsules
opening by valves or pores.
Rose Prickly Poppy (_Argemone rosea_) is one of the loveliest flowers of
South Texas. It is very abundant along the Rio Grande, extending into
Mexico and northward almost to San Antonio. The large flowers vary in
color from pale pink to rose and purple-rose and are more cup-shaped
than the white-flowered species. It has gray-green leaves conspicuously
blotched with white along the midribs, the slightly wavy margins being
armed with sharp spines. Like other prickly poppies, the flowers have 6
petals, the 3 outer a little different in shape from the 3 inner, and an
orange-colored sap. Long considered a variety of the western prickly
poppy (_Argemone platyceras_), which has very spiny leaves and stems and
white flowers, it may readily be separated because of its seed-pods,
which are about 2 in. long and decidedly broader above the middle.
_Argemone_ is from the Greek meaning an eye disease, supposedly cured by
the plant. The opium poppy (_Papaver somniferum_) has been widely
planted in gardens, and has escaped in places in the state.
[Illustration: ROUGH-STEMMED PRICKLY POPPY]
Rough-Stemmed or White Prickly Poppy (_Argemone hispida_) is a bushy,
leafy-stemmed plant growing about 2-3 ft. high. It is distinguished from
several other very abundant white-flowered poppies by the fact that it
has rough hairs as well as spines on the stem. The flowers as a rule are
larger, often being 4-6 inches broad. The unusual sepals of the prickly
poppies should be noted, as they sometimes cause the flower buds to be
confused with the fruits. There are usually 3 sepals, which are horned
or hooded, armed with spines, and snugly overlapping each other by a
narrow margin. In the rough-stemmed prickly poppy the horns are large
and triangular in shape. It ranges from Texas to Kansas and California.
Texas Prickly Poppy (_Argemone delicatula_) is not so branched or leafy
and has flowers somewhat smaller, 2½-3 in. broad. The stigmas are purple
instead of red, and the capsules are less than an inch long. This poppy
grows in dry soil in Central Texas. The prickly poppies bloom most
profusely in April, but scattered blooms appear throughout the summer
and fall.
[Illustration: YELLOW PRICKLY POPPY]
Yellow Prickly Poppy. Mexican Poppy (_Argemone mexicana_) is a common
weed in tropical America, extending into Southwest Texas in the vicinity
of Laredo and Del Rio, and has been introduced into many other
countries. It is also called bird-in-the-bush, devil’s fig, flowering or
Jamaica thistle, and Mexican thorn poppy. It has smaller flowers than
the white and rose prickly poppies. It blooms in Texas in March and
April and throughout the summer if the stems are cut. For cut flowers,
the stems should be burned immediately upon gathering; otherwise the
flowers soon wither.
The seeds of the Mexican poppy are valued for the painter’s oil obtained
from them. The oil from the seeds is also said to act as a mild
cathartic, the plant otherwise possessing emetic, anodyne, and narcotic
properties.
FUMITORY FAMILY (Fumariaceae)
[Illustration: GOLDEN CORYDALIS TEXAS CORYDALIS]
Leaves usually much divided; sepals 2; petals 4 in 2 series, outer
usually spurred, the 2 inner usually crested and united; stamens 4 or 6;
seeds shining.
Golden Corydalis. Plains Scrambled-Eggs (_Capnoides montanum_) is a
common plant throughout the central and western parts of the state,
ranging to Arizona and Montana, and blooming in Texas with the earlier
spring flowers in March and April. By some botanists it is placed in the
_Corydalis_ group, which was named because of the resemblance of the
flower spur to that of a lark. The pods are about an inch long, and the
seeds are black, smooth, and shining. The short-podded scrambled-eggs
(_Capnoides crystallinum_) comes into the northern part of the state
from Kansas and Missouri. The pods are over half an inch long, about ¼
in. broad, and covered with blisters.
Texas Corydalis or Scrambled-Eggs (_Capnoides curvisiliquum_) grows in
the sandy regions of the state. It is usually a more bushy plant than
the preceding ones, with longer 4-angled pods.
Dutchman’s breeches (_Dicentra cucullaria_), so called because of the
shape of the flower, does not come into the state. The plant in Texas
which is called Dutchman’s breeches from the shape of the seed case is
_Thamnosma texana_, a member of the rue family.
MUSTARD FAMILY (Cruciferae)
[Illustration: WHITLOW-GRASS PEPPERGRASS]
Annual or perennial herbs; sepals 4; petals 4, standing opposite each
other in a square cross; stamens, 4 long and 2 short; fruit a special
pod called a silique.
Wedge-Leaved Whitlow-Grass (_Draba cuneifolia_) is so small that it
might be overlooked if it bloomed at any other time than early spring.
Growing from a cluster of basal leaves, the stems are topped by the
cluster of small, alyssum-like flowers. It grows throughout the Southern
United States and Mexico.
Alyssum-Flowered Peppergrass (_Lepidium alyssoides_) is a low bushy
perennial plant with numerous clusters of small white flowers. It grows
in the western part of the state, ranging to Arizona and Colorado. Many
other peppergrasses are found in the state, some with inconspicuous
flowers, but all having the small, flat, roundish seed-pod which is
usually notched above. The foliage and pods have an aromatic-peppery
flavor. In some species the leaves are used for salad and the seeds for
bird food, but the seeds from some native species have been fed to
canaries with fatal results.
The mustard family is a large group well represented in Texas among the
early spring flowers and includes many of our vegetables, such as
mustard, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, and water-cress.
[Illustration: TANSY MUSTARD SLENDER BLADDER-POD]
Tansy Mustard (_Sophia pinnata_) grows in dry soil across the continent,
blooming in Texas in March and April. The narrow pods are about half an
inch long, erect or ascending. The flowers are small, the petals yellow.
In the southern part of the state it is very abundant and grows 2-3 ft.
high. The name was given because of medicinal properties accredited to
the plant.
Slender Bladder-Pod. Cloth-of-Gold (_Lesquerella gracilis_) can be
recognized by its bladder-like pods, which are responsible for its
common name of pop-weed. The yellow petals are narrowed at the base and
streaked with orange. The first flush of yellow on plains and prairies
is usually due to the bladder-pods. There are more than 20 species in
the state, most of them being very abundant. The scientific name is in
honor of Leo Lesquereux, a Swiss and American botanist.
The western wall-flower (_Erysimum asperum_), which grows in sandy areas
in West Texas, is one of the showiest yellow mustards in the state.
Several large-flowered purple mustards are common, including
_Streptanthus bracteatus_.
[Illustration: GREGGIA SPECTACLE-POD]
Greggia (_Greggia camporum_) is a white-flowered mustard which looks
like the yellow western wall-flower. The flowers are about half an inch
broad and sometimes tinged with purple. The stems are about a foot high
and almost concealed by the broad gray-green leaves. The woolly pods are
narrow, flattened, and about half an inch long. It is one of the
commonest flowers in Southwestern Texas, blooming in April, May, and
June.
Spectacle-Pod (_Dithyraea wislizeni_) is a common plant on sandhills and
gravelly mesas in Western Texas and ranges to Utah and Mexico. Any one
seeing the seed pods will think that the common name is most
appropriate. The plants grow 1-2 ft. high and are topped by the showy
clusters of white flowers. The leaves and flowers are very much like
those of greggia, but the fruits easily distinguish them. It was first
collected by Wislizenus in New Mexico in 1846.
PITCHER-PLANT FAMILY (Sarraceniaceae)
[Illustration: YELLOW PITCHER-PLANT]
Herbs with tubular leaves; flowers nodding; sepals 4-5; petals 5, or
absent; stamens numerous; style often umbrella-like; ovary 3-5-celled.
Yellow Pitcher-Plant. Trumpet-Leaf (_Sarracenia sledgei_) is also called
trumpets, water-cup, watches, and biscuits. The last two names are
suggestive of the broad, umbrella-shaped structure bearing the stigmas
and occupying the center of the flower. The other names refer to the
tubular, ribbed, trumpet-shaped leaves. The flowers are drooping at
maturity, with 5 fiddle-shaped yellow petals and 5 shorter yellow sepals
tinged with brown or red. It grows in swamps from East Texas to Alabama
and is quite similar to the eastern _Sarracenia flava_. April-May.
The pitcher-plant is a most efficient collector of insects. The upper
part of the leaf bends over, forming a lid whose inner surface is
covered with minute honey-glands attractive to insects. The upper part
of the tube is smooth, affording little foothold and causing the insect
to fall into and drown in the sticky fluid given off in the lower part
of the tube. Downwardly directed hairs prevent his escape. After a time
his body is dissolved and absorbed by the plant. An overdose of animal
food causes the browning and decay of the leaves.
ORPINE FAMILY (Crassulaceae)
[Illustration: PRAIRIE STONECROP]
Usually succulent herbs; leaves opposite or alternate; sepals 4-5;
petals 4-5; stamens 5 or 10; carpels 4-5, free.
Prairie or Nuttall’s Stonecrop (_Sedum nuttallianum_) is an annual with
forking branches covered with small yellow star-like flowers. The
succulent leaves are short and rounded. The sedums are characterized by
4-5 sepals and petals, 8-10 stamens, and 4-5 small spreading seedcases.
The prairie stonecrop grows in dry, open places from Missouri to Texas
and blooms from April to June. It makes an excellent carpeting plant
when used in sunny places.
The stonecrop belongs to a large group of plants, including live-forever
and many other cultivated favorites, most of which are used for
rockeries. Wright’s stonecrop (_Sedum wrightii_) is a white-flowered
plant, very much like the prairie stonecrop, found in the mountains in
the western part of the state, New Mexico, and Mexico. Sedum is from the
Latin meaning “to sit” and refers to the low growth habit. In the same
family are included the house-leeks, some of which are known as
hen-and-chickens, or old-man-and-woman, because of the detached
offshoots which form new plants.
ROSE FAMILY (Rosaceae)
[Illustration: WHITE PRAIRIE ROSE]
Trees, shrubs, or herbs; leaves simple or compound, stipules present;
sepals 5; petals 5; stamens numerous; carpels 1 or more; sepals and
petals borne on rim of calyx-tube.
White Prairie Rose or Woods’ Rose (_Rosa woodsii_) at first glance may
be confused with the dewberry because of the low, bushy creeping stems
and similar white flowers. The stems are 1-3 ft. high and are armed with
straight prickles, usually in pairs; the leaves have 5-9 oval leaflets
½-1½ in. long. The flowers bloom in late May and early June, the dark
red globe-shaped hips maturing in the late summer and fall. It may be
found from Texas to Minnesota and Colorado. The white flowers are
commonly two inches broad and very much like those of the McCartney
rose, but it is more closely related to the cinnamon rose.
The McCartney rose (_Rosa bracteata_), early introduced from China into
the Southern States and planted for windbreaks, is still very abundant
on the coastal prairie, often forming great mounds about 10 ft. high.
The thick evergreen leaves are divided into 5-9 oval leaflets, which are
bright green and shining above. The sepals and the broadened portion of
the stem below the white flower are densely silky.
[Illustration: PINK PRAIRIE ROSE]
Pink Prairie Rose or Climbing Rose (_Rosa setigera_) has climbing
branches 6-15 ft. long with straight scattered prickles. The leaves are
divided into 3-5 leaflets which are sharply pointed and 1-3 in. long.
The showy pink flowers, 2 in. broad, grow in terminal clusters. This
plant is considered one of the finest foods and covers for quail,
grouse, and other birds. Native from Ontario to Texas and Florida, it is
a hardy climber which has been widely introduced into other places,
Baltimore Belle being one of the early cultivated forms. It is
particularly abundant in Texas in the vicinity of Tyler, blooming in
late May and June.
The wild roses are fairly rare in the state, but many cultivated roses
are grown. Tyler has recently become a center of rose-growing, and
carloads of rose plants are shipped throughout the United States. The
scientific name retains the ancient Latin name.
[Illustration: SOUTHERN DEWBERRY]
Southern Dewberry (_Rubus trivialis_) has large white flowers very much
like those of the wild rose, but the petals are narrower, particularly
at the base. The fruit is a head of small, fleshy-seeded fruits,
purplish-black when ripe. The flowers bloom in March and early April,
the sweet and palatable berries ripening in the latter part of April.
The plant is an evergreen shrub with trailing or low climbing stems,
10-15 ft. long, heavily armed with prickles. Fences along the roadside
are often covered with dense masses of the stems.
Bush Blackberry (_Rubus argutus_) grows in moist woods in East Texas and
on through the Gulf States to New Jersey. The stems are 3-4 ft. high,
the branches erect. The flowers are white and grow in thick clusters.
The berries are somewhat dry, oblong, and edible, but not very
palatable.
MIMOSA FAMILY (Mimosaceae)
[Illustration: HUISACHE (Pronounced _wee satch_)]
Usually trees or shrubs; leaves mostly twice pinnate; flowers small, in
heads or spikes; sepals 5, calyx tubular; petals 5; stamens 5 or more;
ovary 1-celled; fruit a pod.
Huisache (_Acacia farnesiana_), also known as opoponax, popinac, cassie,
and sweet acacia, is a tropical shrub or small tree native to the
Americas but widely introduced in other countries. The wide-spreading,
graceful trees are almost evergreen, as the leaves are not shed before
new ones appear unless affected by the cold. The slender, sharp spines
occur in pairs at the base of the fern-like leaves, which are dark green
and have 2-5 pairs of divisions with 10-25 pairs of narrow leaflets
about ¼ in. long. The ball-like clusters of deep-yellow fragrant flowers
usually appear before the leaves. The clusters are over half an inch
broad, the many tubular flowers bearing numerous stamens, which give a
feathery appearance to the clusters.
Various products from the trees are in use in many countries—forage from
leaves, honey and perfume from the flowers, tannin from the bark and
fruit, ink from the fruit, and medicinal products from nearly every
part. In Southern Texas it is highly valued as a honey crop, the flowers
blooming from February to April as a rule, but occasionally as early as
December.
[Illustration: MESQUITE]
Mesquite (_Prosopis juliflora glandulosa_) is found on prairies
throughout the state but grows luxuriantly in the southwestern part. In
moister regions it is a graceful tree with lacy yellow-green leaves and
is armed with stout, vicious spines over an inch long, but in the drier
regions it is a spreading shrub with large underground roots which
Mexicans dig up for fuel. Spikes of greenish-white or cream flowers
appear at intervals during the warm months. Long beans, 4-8 in. long,
soon turning pale yellow, mature in a few weeks. The leaves have 2 or 4
widely spreading divisions and commonly bear 6-15 pairs of leaflets
about 1 in. long.
Like the huisache, the mesquite has many uses. The beans are edible, the
pulp containing 25-30 per cent grape sugar. The Indians used the beans
for a food, first grinding them into meal in holes in the rocks. They
form a valuable stock food in Hawaii, where the trees have been
introduced. The wood is hard and takes an excellent polish, but is
chiefly used for fence-posts, railroad ties, fuel, and paving blocks.
The honey produced from the flowers is not so good as huisache honey nor
is so much produced.
[Illustration: PINK SENSITIVE BRIAR]
Pink Sensitive Briar (_Leptoglottis uncinata_) is also called pink
mimosa and shame-vine, the latter name being given because of the leaf’s
habit of closing when touched. The vines sprawl on the ground, growing
out 2-4 ft. They are densely covered with small, recurved prickles. The
leaves are divided as in other mimosas, having 4-8 pairs of divisions
each bearing 8-15 pairs of short leaflets. The small, fragrant pink
flowers are borne in dense heads. The pods are nearly round, densely
covered with spines, and about 1½ in. long. It grows in dry soil from
Virginia to Mexico, blooming in Texas in April and May.
Yellow Sensitive Briar (_Neptunia lutea_) is very much like the pink
briar but has oblong heads of yellow flowers. The pods are smooth and
flat and markedly narrowed at the base. The yellow briar grows in sandy
soil from Oklahoma and Texas to Florida, blooming in June.
SENNA FAMILY (Cassiaceae)
[Illustration: TEXAS REDBUD]
Trees, shrubs, or rarely herbs; leaves usually once or twice pinnate;
flowers mostly showy; sepals 5; petals 5; stamens mostly 10; ovary
1-celled; fruit a pod.
Texas Redbud (_Cercis reniformis_) is one of the handsomest shrubs of
the limestone hill region of Texas and New Mexico. The pea-shaped
flowers appear on last year’s wood in February or March, often remaining
lovely for a month before the leaves appear. The leaves are a glossy
green above, rounded and sometimes deeply notched or kidney-shaped
(reniform), and usually 3-4 in. broad. The clusters of numerous red
seed-pods are very conspicuous in the summer and autumn. The flat pods
have a narrow wing on one side and are pointed at both ends, 2½-3 in.
long and over ½ in. broad.
The Canadian or eastern redbud is found in the northern and eastern part
of the state. It has smaller flowers and very pointed leaves. The
western redbud grows in the mountainous region of the state and has
similar leaves but smaller flowers.
The Asiatic redbud is called Judas-tree because Judas is supposed to
have hanged himself from one of the trees. Redbud flowers, served either
fried or pickled for salads, are sometimes eaten by people. It is an
excellent shrub or small tree for highway and garden planting.
[Illustration: TWO-LEAVED SENNA]
Two-Leaved Senna (_Cassia roemeriana_) gets its common name from the two
spreading leaflets into which the leaf is divided. They are 1-2 in. long
and have a slender stalk about the same length. The stems are commonly
about 8-12 in. high, growing from a woody perennial root. The
sparsely-flowered clusters of yellow flowers appear from spring until
fall. The seed-pods are about an inch long and half an inch wide. This
senna is very abundant from Central Texas into Mexico and New Mexico. It
bears the name of Roemer, a geologist sent from Germany to study the
geology of the grant made to the German colonists at New Braunfels. He
was in Texas from 1845 to 1847, visited and botanized with Lindheimer at
New Braunfels, and carried many new Texas plants back to Germany.
The senna group is very large and mainly tropical in distribution, many
species being noted for medicinal properties. The coffee senna (_Cassia
occidentalis_) and the American senna (_Cassia marilandica_) are common
weeds in the eastern part of the state. The velvet-leaved or
Lindheimer’s senna grows in the western part of the state.
[Illustration: PARTRIDGE PEA]
Partridge Pea. Prairie Senna (_Chamaecrista fasciculata_) is also called
large-flowered sensitive pea, dwarf cassia, and magoty-boy-bean. It
blooms in the summer months and is very abundant in sandy soil in
Central and Eastern Texas, ranging to Mexico and the northern part of
the United States. The oblong leaves have 8-14 pairs of linear leaflets
and a conspicuous orange or brown gland near the base. The flowers have
five yellow petals, somewhat unequal and irregular in shape. Several
buds grow on a short stalk between the leaves, but usually only one
flower on the stalk opens at a time. It is an erect annual plant growing
about 2½ feet high and often widely branched above. The pods are
flattened, about ¼ in. wide and 2 in. long.
Several shrubs of the senna family are popular in Texas gardens, among
them the bird-of-paradise (_Poinciana gilliesii_). It is a South
American plant with showy yellow flowers which have 10 long brilliant
red stamens protruding 3-5 inches from the flower.
[Illustration: RETAMA. HORSE BEAN]
Retama. Horse Bean (_Parkinsonia aculeata_) is also known as
Jerusalem-thorn, shower-of-gold, and palo verde, the latter meaning
“green timber” from the green trunk and branches. It forms a spiny shrub
or small tree with long, graceful, somewhat drooping branches, bearing
bundles of leaves and sprays of yellow flowers. The long divided leaves
are somewhat unusual. The leaf-stalks are green, broad, and flattened,
performing the functions of the small leaflets which often drop off
quite early. The 5 yellow petals are almost equal, but one bears a honey
gland at its base and soon becomes red, remaining on the stalk longer
than the others. The pods are 3-5 in. long, very narrow and constricted
between the seeds. It ranges from Central Texas to Mexico and tropical
America, bearing a profusion of blooms through the warm months after
rains.
Besides being a very ornamental shrub of value in landscaping, the plant
has various other uses. The seeds are edible and have long been used as
food by Indians, Mexicans, and many animals. Mrs. Quillin, author of
_Texas Wild Flowers_, reports the use in the treatment of diabetes of a
tea the Mexicans make from the branches and leaves.
KRAMERIA FAMILY (Krameriaceae)
[Illustration: PRAIRIE SAND-BUR]
Shrubs or perennials, leaves small; flowers irregular; sepals 4-5,
petal-like; petals 4-5, smaller than sepals; stamens 3-4, united at
base; fruit woody, armed with spines.
Prairie Sand-Bur. Linear-Leaved Krameria (_Krameria lanceolata_) is not
the sand-bur of the grass family with which all children of the South
are familiar; however, the burs are just as spiny, but are densely
covered with white hairs. The flowers and short silky leaves grow on
prostrate branches from a thick woody root. The 5 wine-red sepals may be
mistaken for the petals which are smaller than the sepals and tinged
with green, the 3 upper being united. The flowers are about an inch
broad. The plant is not conspicuous but is quite abundant in dry, rocky
soil from Kansas to Mexico, blooming from April to June.
Several shrubby kramerias grow in the southwestern part of the state.
The name is in honor of an Austrian physician, Johann Kramer. Medicinal
properties are reported for some of the species.
Chacate (_Kameria grayi_) is a densely branched shrub, 1-3 ft. high,
with purple flowers. The bark of the root is used by Mexicans in dyeing
leather a reddish-brown. It is found in the mountains of West Texas and
Mexico.
PEA FAMILY (Fabaceae)
[Illustration: TEXAS MOUNTAIN LAUREL]
Leaves simple or compound; flowers pea-shaped; sepals 5, united in a
tube; petals 5; stamens often 10 and united in 1 or 2 groups; fruit a
1-celled pod.
Texas Mountain Laurel (_Sophora secundiflora_) is an evergreen shrub or
small tree growing on limestone hillsides from Texas to New Mexico and
Mexico; it is particularly abundant in Southwest-Central Texas. The
dense clusters of violet-blue flowers, at their best in the latter part
of March but blooming earlier or later in different sections, are very
showy against the glossy dark-green, leathery leaves. Many variations in
color exist in nature from dark violet-blue to violet-tinged and white.
The flowers have a strong, heavy scent which is disagreeable to most
people. The brilliant scarlet beans, which mature in a few weeks,
contain a poisonous alkaloid.
The Texas mountain laurel is not at all related to the southern mountain
laurel (_Kalmia latifolia_), a rose-flowered shrub of the heath family.
The sophoras have retained the Arabian name and include in their group
many handsome ornamental shrubs, among which is the Japan pagoda tree.
The Texas sophora can be readily grown from seed but is seldom
successfully transplanted.
[Illustration: BUSH PEA]
Bush Pea. Large-Bracted False Indigo (_Baptisia bracteata_) is sometimes
called hen-and-chickens pea from the growth habit of the plant. The
clusters of cream-colored flowers grow downward and peep out from the
bushy leaf-growth. The flowers are about 1 in. long, and the 3
gray-green leaflets are 1-3 in. long. It grows on sandy slopes or moist
prairies from the eastern part of Texas to Minnesota and South Carolina,
blooming in Texas in April.
Texas Bluebonnet (_Lupinus texensis_) (see frontispiece) was widely
known in pioneer days as buffalo clover. It grows in great abundance on
limestone hillsides between the Brazos and Pecos Rivers from Dallas
southward into Mexico. Seed-houses sell the Texas bluebonnet under the
name of _Lupinus subcarnosus_, the bluebonnet of sandy areas. It has
narrower flower spikes and rounded leaf-tips. Several other lupines are
found in Texas but are not very common. The name is from the Latin
meaning “wolf,” because it was thought the plants ruined the fertility
of the soil. On the contrary, the lupines are excellent fertilizers, as
the small nodules on the roots contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria which
add to the soil nitrates. It blooms from March to early May. The
bluebonnet was adopted as the state flower in 1901.
[Illustration: INDIGO-PLANT]
Indigo-Plant. Scarlet Pea (_Indigofera leptosepala_) has prostrate
branches growing from a woody root. The short, erect spikes of scarlet,
pea-shaped flowers are borne near the ends of the branches, blooming
from early spring until late summer, their blossoms forming an
ever-increasing scarlet circle after each rain. The leaves are divided
into 5-9 leaflets, narrowed at the base and about half an inch long. A
small amount of indigo may be extracted from the foliage. While this is
not a very conspicuous plant, it is one of the most widely distributed
in the state and ranges to Mexico, Kansas, and Florida.
The indigo-plant belongs to a large group, mostly tropical, and many
species, as the name indicates, are indigo-bearing. Commercial indigo,
now a coal-tar product, was formerly obtained from a shrub (_Indigofera
tinctoria_) introduced for cultivation into South Carolina in 1742.
Several shrubby species of indigo-plants are found in the state, but
none of them are very abundant.
[Illustration: GOLDEN DALEA PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER]
Golden Parosela or Dalea (_Parosela aurea_) may not be recognized at
first glance as a member of the pea family, since the flowers grow in
dense clusters at the top of erect branches, 1-1½ ft. high, which grow
from a thick, woody root. The yellow flowers are small and pea-shaped,
with a calyx which has slender, silky-plumose lobes. It may be found on
chalky slopes of prairies from Texas to Missouri and South Dakota in
June and July.
Several shrubby paroselas, very handsome when in full bloom, are found
in the southwestern part of the state. Purple parosela (_Parosela
pogonathera_) is a vivid, reddish-purple flowered species of the
southwestern part.
Purple Prairie Clover (_Petalostemon purpurea_) is quite similar to the
golden parosela in its growth habit, narrow glandular leaflets, and
head-like flower clusters. It grows on prairies from Minnesota to Texas.
The white prairie clover (_Petalostemon multiflorum_), with ball-shaped
clusters of white flowers, is common on prairies from Kansas to Texas.
Both prairie clovers bloom in June and July.
[Illustration: LARGER GROUND PLUM]
Larger Ground Plum (_Geoprumnon mexicanum_) blooms with the first
flowers of spring, forming conspicuous clumps on prairies from Illinois
to Nebraska and Texas. The spreading prostrate branches grow 6-12 in.
long and are covered with spike-like clusters of pale-purple flowers.
The fleshy pods soon turn red and plum-like, maturing several weeks
after flowering. The pods are edible and may be found in prairie-dog
holes among the foods these animals have stored for the winter.
Loco Weeds are closely related to the ground plum, two of them being
found in Texas and causing much loss to stockmen. They cause a slow
poisoning of horses, sheep, and cattle but are particularly injurious to
horses. The poisoning is chiefly due to the barium salts in the plant
and is characterized by symptoms of staggering, some paralysis, and
emaciation. The woolly loco weed (_Astragalus mollissimus_) has woolly
leaves with 19-27 oval leaflets about half an inch long and spikes of
violet-purple flowers. The stemless loco weed (_Oxytropis lamberti)_ has
basal leaves with 9-19 nearly linear leaflets about an inch long. Both
are common on the plains, but the latter ranges into Southern Canada.
[Illustration: TEXAS CLIMBING VETCH NUTTALL’S MILK VETCH]
Nuttall’s Milk Vetch. Turkey Pea (_Hamosa nuttalliana_) is a low plant
with few-flowered clusters of small flowers. Although it is
inconspicuous, it is so common in yards and fields from Arkansas to
Arizona that many people are familiar with it. It blooms in March in the
southern part and May and June in the northern part of its range. The
narrow pods are slightly curved and nearly an inch long. There are
several hamosas with similar pods which are common in the state.
Texas Climbing Vetch (_Vicia texana_) has prostrate branches, 1-2 ft.
long, and divided leaves terminating in branched tendrils by which the
branches climb over the low plants with which they come in contact.
Clusters of the dainty, pale bluish-purple flowers appear in late March
and April, the plants forming masses of bloom along roadsides in the
sandy regions of the state from Central Texas to Arkansas and
Mississippi.
Many of the climbing vetches are planted for cover crops, and one is a
garden bean. Many of the garden beans belong to the _Phaseolus_ group,
among these being the tepary bean (_Phaseolus acutifolius latifolius_),
a native bean from West Texas to Arizona.
[Illustration: CORAL-BEAN]
Coral-Bean (_Erythrina herbacea_) grows in woods along the coast from
Texas to North Carolina. It has erect, herbaceous stems growing from a
woody root. The flowers appear before the leaves in spike-like clusters
at the ends of the branches. “Erythrina” is from the Greek, meaning
“red” and refers to the color of the flowers, which are over an inch
long and have the upper petal wrapped around the other petals. The
leaves are 6-8 in. long and slender-stalked; they are divided into 3
broad leaflets.
The coral-bean belongs to a group of highly ornamental tropical plants.
It does well in cultivation in Southern and Central Texas but is not
suitable for a cut-flower, as the flowers soon drop off. The red beans
are often used for necklaces. When the pods begin to open, the clusters
may be gathered for winter decorations. The coral-tree (_Erythrina
cristagalli_) from Brazil is common in cultivation and has broader and
showier flowers than the coral-bean.
GERANIUM FAMILY (Geraniaceae)
[Illustration: CRANE’S BILL STORK’S BILL]
Leaves simple or compound; sepals 4-5; petals mostly 5; stamens 5, 10,
or 15, more or less united at base; carpels 3-5, prolonged into styles.
Crane’s Bill. Texas Geranium (_Geranium texanum_) is very much like the
Carolina geranium. The small white flowers are inconspicuous, but the
seed capsules with their long beaks resembling the crane’s bill are very
noticeable. The scientific name is from the Greek meaning “crane.” The
Texas geranium differs from the Carolina geranium in having pitted seed
and fewer flowers. The cultivated geraniums belong to the Pelargonium
group.
Stork’s Bill. Pine Needle (_Erodium texanum_) has fruits similar to the
Texas geranium, but the beaks are much longer, 1-2 in. long. The
short-stalked flowers are quite showy while they are open, but they
close in the heat of the day. The wine-red petals are marked with
delicate purple veins. The low spreading branches are 2-12 in. long.
This plant grows on rocky limestone hillsides from Texas to California
and blooms in April and May.
Pin-Clover. Filaree. Alfilaria (_Erodium cicutarium_) has
finely-divided, lacy leaves and small pink flowers. It is used in some
places as a forage crop.
FLAX FAMILY (Linaceae)
[Illustration: BLUE PRAIRIE FLAX]
Leaves simple; sepals usually 5, free or united at base; petals usually
5, soon falling; stamens 5, united at base; styles 3-5, thread-like;
capsules 3-5-celled.
Blue Prairie Flax (_Linum lewisii_) has lovely sky-blue flowers, 1-1½
in. across. The petals are veined with purple and drop off in the heat
of the day or upon being disturbed. This flax is a slender, branched
plant with a perennial root. It is very abundant on the prairies in the
vicinity of Ft. Worth and Dallas, blooming there in May, and ranges to
Arizona and Southern Canada. It may grow 1-2 ft. high, but in Texas it
is often only about 8 in. high.
This flax is very much like the European perennial flax (_Linum
perenne_) and the cultivated flax (_Linum usitatissimum_), from which
flax fiber is obtained. “Linum” is the ancient Latin name for the flax
plants. Many of them are showy plants of horticultural importance; for
even though the flowers last only a few hours, the plants bear a
profusion of blooms. They are valuable for Texas gardens, as they do
best in sunny places. Flaxes may often be identified by the dropping off
of the petals.
[Illustration: YELLOW PRAIRIE FLAX]
Yellow Prairie Flax (_Linum sulcatum_) is a leafy, much-branched plant,
8-16 in. tall, with large yellow petals, orange-red and veined at the
base. The leaves are narrow, about 1 inch long. The flaxes have 5
styles, sometimes united, as in this plant, and sometimes separate, but
often remaining on the capsule until the seeds are shed.
The yellow flaxes are sometimes separated from the blue-flowered ones
and called _Cathartolinum_. There are many of them in the state, most of
them so closely related that only an expert can distinguish them. They
bloom from March until June. In the southern part the commonest one is
the dwarf flax (_Linum multicaule_), which has its stems densely covered
with short leaves. _Linum rigidum_ is a large-flowered flax with stiff
stems common on prairies from Texas to Southern Canada. It has been
reported as poisonous to sheep in the Pecos Valley.
WOOD-SORREL FAMILY (Oxalidaceae)
[Illustration: DRUMMOND’S WOOD-SORREL]
Leaves digitately or pinnately divided; sepals 5; petals 5; stamens 10,
slightly united at base; ovary 5-celled; styles 5, free; fruit a
capsule.
Drummond’s Wood-Sorrel (_Oxalis drummondii_) is also called sour-grass,
vinegar-grass, oxalis, and violet wood-sorrel. It grows in dry soil from
Central Texas to New Mexico, blooming in the late summer and fall. It
has flowers like the violet wood-sorrel with similar basal leaves
growing from a bulb. As a rule, the plants and flowers are larger and
the leaflets are crescent-shaped. Oxalis flowers usually open in bright
sunlight, and the leaves close at night.
Violet Wood-Sorrel (_Oxalis violaceae_) is very abundant in the woods of
East Texas and on into the Western United States. The plants are
generally about six inches high. Children often eat the leaves, but a
considerable quantity will cause violent convulsions. The poisoning is
due to the presence of oxalic acid crystals, which give a sour taste to
the leaves.
The bulbs of many wood-sorrels are potted in the fall to provide house
flowers in February and March. Drummond’s wood-sorrel makes an excellent
border plant.
[Illustration: YELLOW WOOD-SORREL]
Yellow Wood-Sorrel (_Oxalis texana_) is a large flowered wood-sorrel in
East Texas. The golden-yellow petals are about ¾ in. long. The flower
stalk is about twice the length of the stem and leaves. It differs from
the large-flowered wood-sorrel of the Southern States (_Oxalis
macrantha_) by having smooth instead of hairy stamen filaments.
Many of the yellow wood-sorrels are common weeds throughout the state.
There are many different species. The white or pink-flowered wood-sorrel
(_Oxalis acetosella_) is considered by many people as the shamrock of
Ireland; but others consider white clover (_Trifolium repens_) as the
true shamrock.
Dichondra-Leaved Wood-Sorrel (_Oxalis dichondraefolia_) is a low plant
of Southern Texas and Mexico which has pale yellow flowers like the
yellow wood-sorrels, but the leaflets differ in being rounded and entire
and resemble the leaves of the dichondras (see page 101).
MILKWORT FAMILY (Polygalaceae)
[Illustration: PINK MILKWORT WHITE MILKWORT PURPLE MILKWORT]
Flowers pea-shaped; sepals 5, the 2 inner larger and often petal-like;
petals 3 or 5, the lower concave, often fringed; stamens 8, united,
opening by apical pores; fruit a 2-celled capsule.
Pink or Bitter Milkwort (_Polygala polygama_) is a showy-flowered
milkwort growing in sandy woods in East Texas. It has erect branches
with slender clusters of pink flowers about ¼ in. long and horizontal
branches under the soil bearing closed flowers which are
self-fertilized. It blooms in Texas in April.
White Milkwort (_Polygala alba_) has densely-flowered spikes of
greenish-white flowers, the buds often tinged with purple. A drug
obtained from the dried root is used as an irritant. Like the closely
related Seneca snake-root (_Polygala senega_), it probably contains
saponin, which will dissolve the red blood-corpuscles. The roots of the
latter are used in medicine to produce vomiting and as an antidote for
snake-bite. The white milkwort is common on prairies and chalky slopes
from Montana to Mexico from April to July.
Purple Milkwort (_Polygala puberula_) grows in the mountains of West
Texas, Arizona, and Mexico. It has much larger seed capsules than the
two preceding. The capsule is one of the chief features for identifying
the milkworts, being 2-celled and flattened.
SPURGE FAMILY (Euphorbiaceae)
[Illustration: BULL NETTLE]
Flowers staminate and pistillate, often borne in an involucre; sepals
sometimes reduced or absent; petals usually absent; stamens 1 to 1,000;
styles free or united at base; fruit usually a 3-lobed capsule.
Bull Nettle (_Cnidoscolus texanus_), also called tread-softly,
spurge-nettle, and “mala mujer” (bad woman), is a vicious plant thickly
clothed with stinging hairs and bearing clusters of tubular white
flowers quite similar to the tuberose in appearance and fragrance. The
plants grow 2-3 ft. high. The upper flowers bear stamens, and the
flowers in the lower forks of the cluster produce seeds. The
seed-capsules resemble those of other members of the spurge family in
being nearly ball-shaped and deeply three-lobed. The seeds are large,
edible, and very palatable. The plants are very abundant in waste places
and sandy soil from Texas to Arkansas and Oklahoma, blooming from late
spring until fall.
Some familiar commercial products are obtained from members of the
spurge family; e.g., rubber, tapioca, and castor oil. In horticulture,
the cactus-like spurges and the Christmas poinsettia are well-known
favorites. The Chinese tallow-tree (_Sapium sebiferum_) is used as an
ornamental tree, its leaves being very decorative in the fall.
[Illustration: SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN]
Snow-on-the-Mountain. Ghost-Weed (_Euphorbia bicolor_) grows in great
abundance on the plains of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas,
being especially thick along dry creek margins. The plants are lovely in
late August and September, their showy appearance being due to the green
and white leaves surrounding the flower clusters. It bears rather
unusual flowers which yield a poisonous honey. The green calyx-like
structure is an involucre bearing numerous flowers, each consisting of a
single stamen or pistil. Around the top of the involucre are 4-5 small
glands each bearing a white appendage which is mistaken for the petals.
The cultivated snow-on-the-mountain (_Euphorbia marginata_) has broader
and shorter leaves. It is native on hillsides of Central Texas north to
Minnesota.
Texas Croton (_Croton texensis_) is a weed, 2-3 ft. high, growing in
conspicuous masses, particularly in the western part of the state. The
flowers are inconspicuous among the gray-green foliage, the widely
branched stems bearing numerous linear leaves. The fragrant leaves and
stems from some of the crotons are gathered and dried by the Mexicans to
use for tea or meat seasoning.
HOLLY FAMILY (Aquifoliaceae)
[Illustration: YAUPON]
Trees or shrubs, mostly evergreen; sepals 3-6; petals 4-5; stamens 4-5,
opposite petals; carpels 3 or more; fruit a drupe.
Yaupon. Cassine (_Ilex vomitoria_) with dark glossy evergreen leaves and
red berries forms lovely hedges along the highways and fields and is
scattered through woods in Central and East Texas, ranging to Virginia.
The berries, an excellent bird food, usually remain on the shrubs until
the small white flowers appear in late March or April. The plant forms a
dense widely-branched shrub, which is of slow growth and very desirable
for hedges. As the berries are produced on separate bushes from the
pollen-bearing flowers, care should be taken to plant those producing
berries if ornamental shrubs are desired. Cassine tea is made from the
leaves, but it is bitter and contains much caffein and tannin. Like the
American holly, which grows in East Texas, the yaupon is being
exterminated for Christmas decorations. The deciduous holly (_Ilex
decidua_) has larger leaves, which are shed in the early fall, and
larger orange-red berries, which remain on the shrub or tree until late
winter.
BUCKEYE FAMILY (Aesculaceae)
[Illustration: SOUTHERN BUCKEYE]
Leaves digitate; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals 4-5, unequal; stamens
5-8, inserted on disk; capsules leathery, usually 3-celled; seeds large,
shining.
Southern Buckeye (_Aesculus discolor_) is a handsome shrub or small tree
with showy spike-like clusters of deep red or yellow flowers. The
yellow-flowered shrub formerly known as _Aesculus octandra_ is now
called variety _flavescens_. The finely-toothed leaves are a glossy dark
green above and whitish beneath. The red flowers have a red tubular
calyx and 4 red petals, and the yellow variety has all-yellow flowers.
Seldom more than 2 large brown seed develop in the 3-lobed leathery
capsule.
The seeds and young shoots of buckeyes are usually considered poisonous,
those of the horse chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_) being especially
so. Soap may be obtained from the roots and a black dye from the wood.
Western Buckeye (_Aesculus arguta_) is a yellow-flowered buckeye with
leaves divided into 7-9 leaflets. It is found along streams in the
western part of the state north to Iowa and Missouri. The buckeyes bloom
in March or April. They shed their leaves quite early in the fall and
are conspicuous in the winter because of their large buds.
MALLOW FAMILY (Malvaceae)
[Illustration: INDIAN MALLOW LARGE-FLOWERED SIDA]
Leaves mostly palmately nerved; sepals 3-5, more or less united; petals
5; stamens numerous, united into a column; style branched above.
Indian Mallow (_Abutilon incanum_) is a much branched plant, commonly
2-4 ft. tall, with rather small ovate leaves, and yellow flowers nearly
an inch across. It is a profuse bloomer in the summer and fall. Like
other abutilons, it is sometimes called flowering maple because of the
maple-like leaves, and may be easily recognized by the seed-capsules,
which are about ½ inch high and divided into 7-9 cells. The flowers are
typical of the mallow group, having 5 separate petals and numerous
stamens united in a tube around the styles. The plants grow in dry soil
from Arkansas to Mexico and Arizona.
Large-Flowered Sida (_Sida texana_) is a common perennial plant in the
sandy regions of South Texas. The slender, erect stems bear a few
linear-oblong leaves, paler below, and long slender-stalked flowers. The
flowers are pale orange-yellow and have the irregularly-lobed petals
characteristic of the sidas.
The mallow family includes the commercial plants cotton and okra, and
numerous ornamentals, such as hibiscus, hollyhock, and althea.
[Illustration: COPPER MALLOW RED STAR-MALLOW]
Copper Mallow (_Sphæralcea pedatifida_) is often confused with the
following mallow, but may be distinguished by its thin leaves clothed
with a few star-shaped hairs, the 3 linear leaves (bractlets) under the
calyx, and the seed capsules, which have one seed in each division
completely filling the cell. Both have upper leaves divided into 5 parts
and lower leaves into 3 parts. This plant is a low, spreading perennial
which forms clumps about 1½ ft. broad. It grows in sandy or gravelly
soil, Southwestern Texas, in April and May. Several copper mallows are
very abundant in the Southwest.
Red Star-Mallow (_Malvastrum coccineum_) also has star-shaped hairs on
the leaves, but they are very dense and give the leaves a gray, scurfy
appearance. The cells are usually 1-seeded with an empty terminal
portion above. The plant is also called prairie mallow, red false
mallow, and rose moss. It grows in low clumps, spreading or erect, on
prairies from Texas to Southern Canada and blooms from May to August.
[Illustration: MEXICAN APPLE]
Mexican Apple. Turk’s Cap (_Malvaviscus drummondii_) is also called red
mallow. The showy red flowers somewhat resemble a Turkish fez. The broad
petals remain closely wrapped around one another at the base but
spreading above; the stamen column is conspicuously prolonged beyond the
petals. The red apple-like fruits are nearly an inch broad and half as
high. They have a delicious flavor and may be eaten raw or cooked. The
fruits ripen in the late summer and fall, a few weeks after the blooms
appear. They begin to dry soon after ripening and split into sections,
scattering the seeds which are borne in the center.
The plants are perennial, the leafy stems branching and spreading,
forming a clump which is commonly 2-3 feet high. Growing abundantly in
shade along streams in the central and southern parts of the state and
in moist woods in East Texas, it ranges from Florida to Mexico. It is a
desirable plant for cultivation and is hardier but not as showy, as the
large-flowered Turk’s cap (_Malvaviscus grandiflora_), a Mexican plant
now widely cultivated for ornamental purposes in South Texas.
[Illustration: WILD HOLLYHOCK WINE CUP]
Wild Hollyhock. Wine Cup. Fringed Poppy-Mallow (_Callirrhoë digitata_)
grows in dry soil from Illinois and Kansas to Texas, blooming in Texas
in April and May. It is a perennial, 1-1½ ft. high, with smooth, erect,
gray-green stems topped by the flower cluster. The cup-shaped flowers
are on slender stalks, the lower longer than the upper. The upper leaves
are divided into 1-3 linear divisions and the lower into 5-7 divisions.
The petals vary in color from cherry-red to pink and white, often being
quite fringed across the top. The slightly yellow stamens are borne in a
dense oblong column from which the 10 red styles appear after the flower
has been opened several days.
Wine Cup. Red Poppy-Mallow (_Callirrhoë involucrata_) is the common
poppy-mallow throughout the state and ranges from Minnesota to Mexico, a
solitary flower standing erect from a prostrate branch. The five-pointed
leaves are more or less divided or lobed, sometimes with very linear
divisions. Covering acres and acres of the southern coastal prairie in
March and April, and more or less common on the drier prairies, this
wine cup is a favorite flower. White and pink forms of it exist, but the
wine-red color is predominant.
[Illustration: ROCK ROSE. PAVONIA]
Rock Rose. Pavonia. Pink Mallow (_Pavonia lasiopetala_) has attractive,
deep-pink flowers, which are broadly spreading, about 1½ in. wide. The
plant is branching and shrubby, commonly growing about 2 ft. high, with
ovate or rounded leaves 1-2½ in. long. It is not extremely showy but
makes an excellent low shrub for the garden and will produce an
abundance of blossoms from late spring until fall. It is found in dry,
rocky woods from Central Texas to Mexico.
Pavonia gets its name from the botanist, J. Pavon, who worked
particularly with South American plants. Several South American species
are in cultivation. The Texas pavonia is being introduced in gardens and
rivals the shrubby althea as a summer bloomer, but the plants and
flowers are much smaller.
VIOLET FAMILY (Violaceae)
[Illustration: MISSOURI VIOLET LANCE-LEAVED VIOLET]
Small or leafy stipules on leaves; sepals 5; petals 5, the lower usually
larger and spurred; flowers often cleistogamous; fruit usually a
capsule.
Missouri Violet (_Viola missouriensis_) grows in low grounds and moist
woods from Missouri to Louisiana and Texas, the flowers blooming in
Texas in March and April. They are very much like the common cultivated
violet (_Viola odorata_) introduced from Europe.
Water or Lance-Leaved Violet (_Viola lanceolata_) is a small violet
found in swampy places in East Texas and north to Nova Scotia. It
resembles the white violet, _Viola vittata_, so abundant on the Coastal
Plain, which has narrower leaves and is taller.
About twenty different violets have been reported from the state, mostly
from the eastern part. The bird’s-foot violet (_Viola pedata_) comes
into East Texas. It has large flowers, 1-1¾ in. across, the 3 lower
petals much lighter than the dark purple upper ones. It resembles the
cultivated pansy, which, however, has been derived from _Viola tricolor_
of Great Britain. The native violets bloom from February to May.
LOASA FAMILY (Loasaceae)
[Illustration: PRAIRIE-LILY STIFF NUTTALLIA]
Usually herbs which are clothed with rough, bristly hairs; sepals
usually 5, calyx tube joined to ovary; petals usually 5; stamens
numerous, the outer petal-like; ovary inferior.
Prairie-Lily. Showy Mentzelia (_Mentzelia decapetala_) is a
handsome-flowered plant which ranges from the Panhandle to Southern
Canada. The large flowers, 3-5 inches across, greatly resemble those of
the cactus group and have the same tendency to open in the afternoon.
The stout, branching plant grows 2-2½ feet high. The stems are quite
conspicuous, as they soon become white and shining; the leaves are
noticeable because they cling very closely to the clothing by means of
barbed hairs. This clinging characteristic is responsible for the
Mexican name of “buena mujer” (good woman), applied to this and other
similar species.
Stiff Nuttallia (_Mentzelia stricta_) has smaller, paler flowers, but
otherwise it is very much like the showy mentzelia except for the small
leaves on the seed capsule. It grows in sandy soil, blooming in the
summer and fall. Other common names include stick-leaf, poor-man’s
patches, star flower, and good woman. _Bartonia aurea_ of garden culture
is a member of the group which was introduced from California.
[Illustration: LOW PRICKLY PEAR TEXAS PRICKLY PEAR]
CACTUS FAMILY (Cactaceae)
Succulent herbs and shrubs; stems usually spiny and leafless; sepals and
petals not differentiated, few or many; stamens many; ovary inferior;
fruit pulpy, often edible.
Devil’s Tongue. Low Prickly Pear (_Opuntia humifusa_) grows in dry,
rocky or sandy soil from Texas to Missouri, the flowers blooming in May
and June and the fruits ripening to a rose-red in the late summer and
fall. The flat-jointed stems are often oval but vary in shape and in the
number of large spines growing from the spine cushions scattered over
the stems. Sometimes no spines are present, but often 1-2 occur along
the margins. Numerous short leaves, which are present only in the spring
in this and other cacti, grow from the spine cushions. The spine
cushions also bear dense clusters of slender, short brown spines. The
flowers are yellow with red centers, 3-4 in. broad, widely spreading.
Like many other cacti, they open in bright sunlight. The plant is low
and has tuberous roots.
Texas Prickly Pear. Lindheimer’s Cactus (_Opuntia lindheimeri_) has
flowers which are yellow upon opening but which take on a lovely
saffron-red the next day. Flowers of both colors are often present on
the same joint. The large purple pear-shaped fruits are edible and ripen
in the summer and fall. The plants often grow in large clumps and attain
a great height. The spine cushions of the oval joints bear 2-3 rather
short, stout, stiff spines. It is the common prickly pear from Central
Texas south into Mexico.
The pencil cactus or tasajillo (_Opuntia leptocaulis_), conspicuous for
its small stems and bright red fruits, is abundant in the state and
Mexico. “Cholla,” or walking-stick cactus (_Opuntia imbricata_), with
long slender stems and purple flowers, is common on western plains.
The cactus family has numerous representatives in Texas, but drastic
legislation is needed to save some of the natural beauty spots of the
western part of the state. The showy “viznaga” or barrel-cactus, used in
making cactus candy, is almost exterminated in the vicinity of El Paso;
and cactus fanciers are making great ravages on many others. The fruits
of many are edible; the young leaves of the prickly pears are cooked for
greens; and the stems are used for cattle feed after the spines have
been burned.
LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY (Lythraceae)
[Illustration: LANCE-LEAVED LOOSESTRIFE]
Leaves opposite or whorled; sepals 4-6, united into a tube; petals 4-6,
or absent, attached on calyx tube; stamens few or many; ovary superior.
Lance-Leaved Loosestrife (_Lythrum lanceolatum_) grows in low grounds or
swamps from Texas to Oklahoma and South Carolina. The loosestrife family
is close kin to the evening-primrose family and has 4-6 petals borne
above the seed capsule. “Lythrum” is from the Greek meaning “gore” and
refers to the red-purple color of some of the flowers. The common name
of loosestrife comes from an old legend that they free from strife. The
plant has slender stems 2-4 ft. high and numerous flowers borne in loose
spikes. The short, narrow leaves are seldom more than 1-2 in. long. The
delicate petals are somewhat darker veined and do not last long. It
blooms in the late spring and summer.
Crape Myrtle (_Lagerstroemia indica_), native of China or India, is
widely cultivated in the state and is being planted along highways. It
has escaped cultivation in the woods in East Texas. It is a shrub or
small tree which is covered during the summer months with a profusion of
white, pink, lavender, or rose flowers.
EVENING-PRIMROSE FAMILY (Epilobiaceae)
[Illustration: ERECT EVENING-PRIMROSE]
Calyx joined to ovary and often produced beyond it; petals usually 4;
stamens usually 4 or 8; ovary inferior; seeds numerous.
Erect Evening-Primrose (_Œnothera heterophylla_) grows in sandy soil in
Florida and on the edge of post oak woods in South-central Texas. The
plants bloom in April and May. It is very much like the rhombic
evening-primrose (_Œnothera rhombipetala_) but has slenderer, shorter
stems and is not often branched. The petals are similar, and their
rhombic shape easily distinguishes both of these plants from other
evening-primroses. The rhombic primrose grows 2-3 feet high and is very
abundant throughout the sandy area of North-central Texas to Minnesota
and Indiana.
There are many yellow evening-primroses very much alike in flower which
are usually called buttercups, a name first applied to the crowfoots.
The flowers usually have four showy petals which last only a day,
opening in the late afternoons and closing in the heat of the following
day. The seed capsules are usually long and narrow and are borne below
the petals. The fireweed is a well-known member of this group. The water
evening-primrose (_Jussiæa diffusa_) is abundant in ponds in Central and
East Texas.
[Illustration: PINK EVENING-PRIMROSE]
Pink Evening-Primrose. Pink Buttercup (_Hartmannia tetraptera_) blooms
best in April, but a few scattered plants may continue to bloom through
the summer months. It is a perennial plant which does well in
cultivation. White, pink, blush, and other shades were introduced by
Childs in 1892 from seeds collected in Texas and were known as the
Mexican evening-primrose.
The earlier flowers are usually much larger than those which bloom late
in the season. The flowers are cup-shaped, 2-4 inches broad, with 4
broad petals marked with deeper-colored veining and greenish-yellow at
the base. The sepals are united into a narrow tube above the seed
capsule and below the petals. This tube is about as long as the capsule,
sometimes a little shorter. The sepals do not overlap, are slow about
splitting, and are pushed to one side of the flower by the opening
petals. The seeds are borne in a club-shaped capsule which is
prominently ridged, the slender base being as long as the enlarged
seed-bearing portion.
The stems are usually trailing and branched at the base, sometimes
forming clumps two or more feet broad. The leaves are quite variable in
shape but are generally oblong and narrowed at the base, with margins
ranging from entire to deeply lobed and divided.
The group name honors Emanuel Hartmann of Louisiana; “tetraptera” is
from the Greek meaning “four-winged” and refers to the shape of the
seed-capsule. The plants in this group are sometimes placed with the
yellow evening-primroses of the Œnothera group, but characteristics
other than color separate them.
Showy Primrose (_Hartmannia speciosa_) is a large-flowered white
primrose found on plains and prairies from North Texas to Missouri. The
seed-capsules are narrowed at the base but are not stalked, and the
calyx tube is longer than the capsule.
Rose Primrose (_Hartmannia rosea_) is a small-flowered primrose found in
Southern and Southwestern Texas and Mexico. The flowers are small, an
inch or more broad, with rounded deep-pink petals. The calyx tube is
much shorter than the long-stalked capsule.
[Illustration: FLUTTER-MILL]
Missouri Primrose. Flutter-Mill. Broad-Winged Evening-Primrose
(_Megapterium missouriense_) clings to the side of a gravelly cliff or
grows on rocky limestone hillsides from Missouri to Colorado and Texas.
The flowers bloom in Texas in April and May, opening in the afternoon
and closing the next morning. The plants grow in low clumps about a foot
high. Numerous flowers are borne on the stem along with the slender
leaves. Four broad yellow petals make up the cup-shaped portion of the
flower above the slender calyx-tube, which is 4-6 in. long. The
seed-capsules at the base of the flower develop four broad papery wings
and reach at maturity a width of 3 in. These broad wings are responsible
for the scientific name of the plant. The capsules are easily blown
about by the wind, and the seeds are widely scattered.
The evening-primroses usually produce large, thready masses of pollen.
Every child is initiated into a buttercup fraternity at some period in
his life by being invited to smell of the flower and having his nose
smeared with the profuse pollen.
[Illustration: SQUARE-BUD PRIMROSE]
Square-Bud Primrose. Day Primrose. Creamcups (_Meriolix spinulosa_) has
yellow cup-shaped flowers which last only twenty-four hours but which
are open during the day. It may readily be distinguished from other
evening-primroses by the slender woody stems which soon become reddish
or straw-colored. The stems grow 1-1½ ft. high with clusters of flowers
at the top. The flowers are nearly two inches broad and have four
petals. The short, broad sepals are winged on the back and make the buds
appear square and pointed.
Another distinguishing feature is the disk-shaped stigma which is
sometimes yellow and sometimes black or dark brown. In the
evening-primroses previously mentioned, the stigma is divided into four
narrow lobes. The plants grow on gravelly hillsides from Arkansas to
Mexico. The slender capsules are over an inch long. Several other day
primroses are found in the state. They are all sometimes grouped with
the œnotheras.
[Illustration: LARGE-FLOWERED GAURA WILD HONEYSUCKLE]
Large-Flowered or Lindheimer’s Gaura (_Gaura lindheimeri_) is, like
other members of this group, called kisses and wild honeysuckle because
of its sweet fragrance. Most of them produce an abundance of nectar and
make excellent honey plants. This is the handsomest member of the group
in Texas and is known in cultivation as a hardy plant. It is native to
the prairies of Southeast Texas and Louisiana and blooms from March to
May.
The four white petals have the group characteristic of turning fan-wise
toward the upper side of the flower, and the 8 long stamens and the long
style hang toward the lower part. Only a few flowers open at one time
around the spike, but numerous buds are densely crowded above the open
flowers. This plant has erect-ascending branches and grows 2-5 feet
high.
Prairie Gaura. Wild Honeysuckle (_Gaura brachycarpa_) sometimes grows
2-3 feet high, but is usually much lower. With favorable rains, the
flowering spikes grow quite long. This gaura may be recognized by its
stalkless 4-angled seed capsules. It blooms on Texas prairies in April
and May. Many other gauras are found in the state.
DOGWOOD FAMILY (Cornaceae)
[Illustration: FLOWERING DOGWOOD]
Leaves usually opposite; sepals usually 4, calyx tube joined to the
ovary; petals usually 4, or absent; stamens 4, alternate with the
petals; ovary inferior; fruit a drupe.
Flowering Dogwood (_Cornus florida_) grows from Massachusetts to
Ontario, Texas, and Mexico, but few people realize that it grows very
luxuriantly and is widespread in the woods of East Texas. The beauty of
the dogwood is not in the flowers, as one might expect, but in the four
broad white floral leaves (bracts) which surround the flower-cluster.
These bracts are a creamy white but are often tinged with pink. The
minute greenish-white flowers have four petals and bloom in March before
the leaves appear. The oblong scarlet fruits, about half an inch long,
ripen in the fall.
It is said that dogwood gets its name from the fact that the bark of an
English dogwood was used to treat mangy dogs. Another source for the
name is given in a recent magazine which shows a photograph of a section
of wood from a dogwood tree. By means of the growth rings of the tree,
the section depicted the head of a swimming dog. Among the useful
substances obtained from the tree are quinine from all parts, scarlet
dye from the bark, and wood for tools. Enough quinine is obtained by
chewing the twigs to ward off malarial fever.
[Illustration: SMALL-FLOWERED DOGWOOD]
Rough-Leaved Cornel. Small-Flowered Dogwood (_Cornus asperifolia_) is
hardly recognized as a dogwood because it does not have showy floral
bracts. The rough leaves become very lovely in the fall as the veins
take on a reddish-purple color. It is a very common shrub in thickets
along streams or in moist ground from Texas to Southern Ontario. The
flowers bloom in Texas from April to June, and the white fruits mature
in the fall. The fruits are about ¼ inch in diameter and contain 2 seeds
with a stony coat which is covered by a thin pulp.
The dogwood family includes several other trees and shrubs which are
common in Texas. Black gum (_Nyssa sylvatica_) has 2-3 blue oval fruits
about half an inch long in a cluster. It is one of the first trees in
East Texas whose foliage takes on an autumnal coloring. Lindheimer’s
garrya (_Garrya lindheimeri_), an evergreen shrub with thick leathery
leaves, is very abundant in the hills of Central and West Texas. It
bears dense clusters of small blue berries less than ¼ inch in diameter.
CARROT FAMILY (Umbelliferae)
[Illustration: PRAIRIE LACE]
Furrowed stems; leaves usually much divided, sheathing at the base;
sepals 5, calyx tube joined to ovary; petals 5; stamens 5; ovary
inferior; fruit 2-celled, prominently ribbed and often with resin
canals.
Prairie Lace. Dwarf Queen Anne’s Lace (_Bifora americana_) is the pride
of the North Texas prairie in late April and May. It is also found in
Oklahoma and Arkansas. In favorable seasons it grows in great masses
with the Indian blankets and the false coreopsis. The umbrella-clusters
of white flowers are very showy. The plants do not have oil tubes, as do
most members of the carrot family, and so lack the strong scent common
to many.
It usually grows about a foot high and is widely branched at the top.
The leaves are finely divided with numerous thread-like divisions. The
flowers are one-fourth inch broad and have five notched petals which are
broader than long. The fruits have two ball-shaped divisions, each about
one-eighth inch in diameter and faintly ridged.
[Illustration: FALSE PURPLE THISTLE. ERYNGO]
False Purple Thistle. Eryngo (_Eryngium leavenworthii_) is not a true
thistle, but it is popularly known as one. The ancient Greeks had the
same idea, for the name “Eryngium” is their name for a kind of thistle.
Correctly speaking it is a purple carrot, as it belongs to a large group
of the carrot family, some of which are widely cultivated abroad for
their striking purple foliage. The flowers are clustered in an oblong
head, quite different from the dainty flower clusters of Queen Anne’s
lace. Other common names of this group include sea-holly, rattlesnake
master, and button snake-root, the two latter from their accredited
property of curing snake-bites. Candelabrum plant is a name sometimes
given which is very appropriate because of its branching habit of
growth.
The plants grow one to three feet high, usually in dense masses along
roadsides and fields and on prairies from Central Texas to Kansas. In
August the gray-green foliage of the plants is quite conspicuous against
darker greens, but it gradually takes on a royal purple hue. Few plants
can rival it for beauty in late August and September. The dense heads of
purple flowers with their long, slender dark-blue stamens add to the
vividness. The dried plants are often kept for winter decoration, but
the purple does not remain so intense.
The stems are branched at the top, the flower heads growing on short
stalks in the forks of the branches. The deeply lobed leaves clasp the
stem, the leaf segments bearing many spiny-teeth. A tuft of small,
rigid, spiny leaves grows out of the top of the flower head.
Several eryngoes are found in the state. The yucca-leaved eryngo
(_Eryngium aquaticum_) grows in the summer in sandy areas or low grounds
from Texas to Minnesota and Connecticut. It bears little resemblance in
habit of growth or coloring to the purple thistle. Most of the long
leaves are clustered at the base, and a stout flower stalk bears at the
top several head-like clusters of white flowers.
The carrot family is a large group of plants, most of which have lacy,
fern-like leaves and dainty umbrella-clusters of small flowers and fruit
which separates into two ribbed 1-seeded divisions. The plants are
usually rich in oil tubes, and some contain deadly poisons.
[Illustration: BEGGAR’S TICKS]
Beggar’s Ticks. Seed-Ticks. Bird’s Nest Carrot (_Daucus pusillus_) is
probably more familiar in fruit than in flower. The clusters of seeds
resemble a bird’s nest. The fact that the seeds are covered with several
rows of barbed prickles makes them very difficult to remove from
clothing. Their presence in wool renders it inferior in quality. It is
very abundant throughout the state from April to June and occurs in most
of the Southern and Western States.
The small white flowers grow in a dense, lace-like cluster at the top of
slender stems 1-2 ft. high. The leaves are finely divided. The flower
cluster is long-stalked and is surrounded by a circle of the green
leaves; thus the flowers as well as the seeds have a nest-like
appearance.
Wild Carrot. Queen Anne’s Lace (_Daucus carota_), the ancestor of the
garden carrot, was introduced from Europe and may be found in scattered
places over the state. It is a larger plant than the beggar’s ticks,
with very wide-spreading and dainty flower clusters. It does not bloom
until summer.
[Illustration: WILD DILL]
Wild Dill. Prairie Parsley (_Pleiotaenia nuttallii_) is a conspicuous
plant on prairies throughout the state and ranges to Michigan and
Alabama. The flowers bloom in April and May, and the seeds mature and
fall in June and July. The stiff, stout stems, commonly two feet high,
become dry and brown but remain standing through the winter months. The
upper leaves are not divided so much as the lower, which are deeply
divided and have broad segments. The flowers are small and
greenish-yellow and grow in clusters about 2 inches broad.
The foliage and seeds were used for seasoning by pioneers. It is very
much like the cultivated dill (_Anethum graveolens_), a native of
Southeastern Europe. The latter is taller and has leaves with threadlike
divisions.
Other well-known members of the carrot family include the parsnip,
parsley, myrrh, chervil, caraway, and celery. The well-known poison
hemlock (_Conium maculatum_), by which Socrates met his death, is a
native of Europe but may now be found in North and South America. It
grows in great abundance along the streams of the Edwards Plateau
between Fredricksburg and Austin.
HEATH FAMILY (Ericaceae)
[Illustration: TREE-HUCKLEBERRY]
Herbs or shrubs; sepals 4-5; corolla urn-shaped or cylindric, 4-5-lobed;
stamens 8 or 10; anthers opening by terminal pores; ovary superior or
inferior.
Tree-Huckleberry. Farkleberry (_Batodendron arboreum_) is also known as
upland-huckleberry, sparkleberry, and gooseberry. The name is Greek and
means “blackberry tree.” The huckleberries are often placed in a family
separate from other heaths. The tree-huckleberry is a shrub or small
tree, very abundant in the woods of East Texas and the Southern States.
The dainty, drooping sprays of white bell-shaped flowers remind one of
the lily-of-the-valley. The shining oval leaves are short-stalked, 1-2
in. long. The black berries are not edible.
Well-known members of the heath family include the trailing arbutus,
cranberry, blueberry, bean-berry, winter-green, rhododendron, and
azalea. Thickets of the pink azalea or swamp-honeysuckle (_Azalea
nudiflora_) occur in a few places in East Texas. In the mountains of
Southwest Texas may be found the arbutus-tree, madroña, or naked Indian,
so called because of its red wood and scaling bark. Its small, red
fleshy fruits look like strawberries. Stagger-bush (_Neopieris mariana_)
is a common shrub in swampy places.
PRIMROSE FAMILY (Primulaceae)
[Illustration: TEXAS WATER-PIMPERNEL SHOOTING STAR]
Leaves often basal; sepals usually 5, often leafy; corolla tubular,
5-lobed; stamens 5, opposite the petals; ovary superior; fruit a
capsule.
Texas Water-Pimpernel. Brookweed (_Samolus cuneatus_) is a plant found
wherever springs or moist ledges occur in limestone hills of Texas. The
plants have a basal rosette of broad rounded leaves. The slender stems
are 6-12 inches high and bear a few leaves which are narrowed at the
base. The 5-lobed white flowers are short and bell-shaped and appear
from April to September. The pink water-pimpernel (_Samolus
ebracteatus_) grows in sandy soil along the coast.
Shooting Star (_Dodecatheon stanfieldia_) is a rare plant and should be
afforded protection. It is found in rich, moist soil from Central Texas
to Louisiana. The flowers are very much like those of _Dodecatheon
meadia_ but are larger and have broader petals.
The primrose family is represented in horticulture by many primroses
from Asia, cyclamens from Greece to Syria, and the cowslip from Europe.
The scarlet pimpernel (_Anagallis arvensis_) is found on sandy prairies
in South Texas in the spring.
EBONY FAMILY (Ebenaceae)
[Illustration: MEXICAN PERSIMMON]
Trees or shrubs; leaves usually leathery; calyx 3-11-lobed; petals
united, 3-7; stamens 6-14, or more; ovary superior.
Mexican Persimmon (_Diospyros texana_) is also called ’possum plum,
“chapote,” and black persimmon. It is a shrub or small tree found in
river-valleys and on limestone hills from Central Texas to Mexico. It
may be easily recognized by its smooth, light-gray bark, small leaves,
and creamy heath-like flowers. The bell-shaped flowers are in dense
clusters on the tree which has pollen-bearing flowers, whereas the
seed-bearing flowers, which grow on a separate tree, are larger and
fewer in number. The black fruits ripen in August, when the pulp becomes
juicy but somewhat insipid.
The black wood is hard and, like other species of ebony, takes an
excellent polish. It is used for making tools. The Mexicans use a black
dye obtained from the fruits in dyeing sheep-skins. The common persimmon
(_Diospyros virginiana_) is found wild from Connecticut to East Texas,
where the sprouts are vicious pests in plowed lands.
GENTIAN FAMILY (Gentianaceae)
[Illustration: MOUNTAIN PINK]
Leaves opposite; calyx usually tubular, 5-lobed; petals united at base,
4-12; stamens as many as petals; ovary superior.
Mountain Pink. Showy Centaury (_Erythraea beyrichii_) grows on gravelly
limestone hills in Texas and Arkansas. The stems are branched near the
base and often form hemispherical clumps a foot in diameter which are
covered with pink flowers in June. The plants are being rapidly
exterminated for ornamental purposes, for they are very showy and the
flowers will last two weeks or more. The flowers have a united tubular
corolla with 5 lobes.
The scientific name is from the Greek meaning “red.” The flowers of some
species are red, but those in Texas are pink. The Texan centaury
(_Erythraea texense_) is a very small plant with small flowers. It is
found from Texas to Missouri in June and July. Buckley’s centaury or
pink gentian (_Erythraea calycosa_) is found in moist soil in the
western part of the state. It is a tall, slender plant 1-2 ft. high. It
ranges from Missouri to Mexico. The centaury plants were formerly valued
as a medicine for fever. They were gathered and dried at flowering time.
[Illustration: PURPLE GENTIAN. BLUEBELL]
Purple Gentian. Bluebell (_Eustoma russellianum_) is also called
Russell’s eustoma, Texas bluebell, blue gentian, blue marsh lily, and
bosque blue gentian. The latter name is used in El Paso, where the
purple gentian grows on the flood plain of the Rio Grande River. It is
one of the loveliest flowers in the state, sometimes occurring in great
profusion on moist prairies from Mexico to Colorado and Louisiana. It is
especially abundant in Southeast Texas, where it is gathered in
wholesale quantities by florists. It is an excellent cut-plant, the
flowers lasting for several days and new buds continually opening.
Few people have had success in transplanting the purple gentian into
their gardens. Only recently has there been a report of seeds
successfully germinated. It is said that soaking for 48 hours in water
will produce germination. Each flower produces a number of very minute
seeds.
The large, bell-shaped flowers, 2-3 inches broad, are a bluish-purple;
in fading, they spread widely and take on more of the blue tinge. They
are constricted into a short narrow tube at the base. Inside, the
flowers are marked with yellow at the base and have purple markings in
the throat. The five stamens with large anthers are attached to the
corolla tube. At the time the pollen is shed, the anthers lie in a
horizontal position around the style. The stigmas are interesting. There
are two diamond-shaped lobes which are erect until they are ready to
receive pollen, and then they take a horizontal position. The calyx has
five linear lobes which are united at the base with a colorless
membrane. The oblong capsules are about half an inch long.
The plants are very smooth and are erect, with a few erect branches. The
leaves are ovate-oblong and are usually 1-2½ inches long.
“Eustoma” means “open mouth”, referring to the large throat of the
flower. The smaller bluebell in Southern Texas and Northern Mexico is
_Eustoma gracile_.
[Illustration: PINK TEXAS STAR]
Pink Texas Star. Prairie Sabbatia (_Sabbatia campestris_) is also known
as meadow pink, rose pink, pink prairie gentian, marsh pink, and sea
star. It ranges from Missouri and Kansas to Texas and is found on moist
prairies throughout Central Texas from April to June. It is particularly
abundant on southern coastal prairies where it makes a showy landscape
display with phlox, coreopsis, and other plants in March and April. The
sabbatias are named in honor of two Italian botanists, L. and C.
Sabbati.
The plants are low, 3-12 inches high, and have wing-angled stems and
short smooth leaves about ½-1¼ inches long. The flowers are about 1½
inches broad, much larger than those of the mountain pink, and more
cup-shaped. They are usually deep pink in color, but purplish-pink and
white forms may occasionally be noted. Around the throat are yellow,
star-shaped markings over the white base of the petals. The long, linear
calyx lobes are quite conspicuous when the flower is in bud or after the
corolla has wilted.
DOGBANE FAMILY (Apocynaceae)
[Illustration: BLUE TEXAS STAR]
Plants with milky juice; sepals usually 5; corolla tubular, 5-lobed;
stamens usually 5, inserted on corolla tube and alternate with the
lobes; ovary superior; fruit mostly of 2 spreading follicles.
Blue Texas Star. Texas Dogbane. Blue-Star (_Amsonia texana_) belongs to
a group named in honor of Charles Amson, a colonial physician. The stems
are usually unbranched, 8-12 inches high, and are covered with narrow
linear leaves. Like that of other amsonias, the tubular throat is lined
with white hairs. The name of twin-pods might be given to the amsonias.
The numerous seeds are borne in two narrow, erect pods which are united
at the base and split along the inner sides. The pods are 3-4 inches
long. The plant is perennial, growing in low clumps on limestone
hillsides of Texas. The plants in North Texas form a conspicuous
bluish-green line on low hills, when the flowers bloom in late March and
April.
The oleander, periwinkle, and vinca are well-known members of the
dogbane family. They all have a milky sap which is quite poisonous in
the oleander, Indian hemp, and others. “Bane” is the common word in
Northern Europe for “murderer” and is applied to poisonous plants.
MILKWEED FAMILY (Asclepiadaceae)
[Illustration: GREEN-FLOWERED MILKWEED]
Leaves usually opposite or whorled; sepals 5; petals 5, usually reflexed
and with a 5-lobed crown; stamens 5, the pollen united into 1 or 2 waxy
masses in each sac; carpels 2, free except for the united disk-like
stigma.
Green-Flowered Milkweed. Silkweed (_Asclepiodora decumbens_) is a
widespread plant from Arkansas to Utah and Northern Mexico. It is found
on the central and western plains, blooming in early spring and
sometimes again in the fall. The stout, leafy stems, topped by the
ball-shaped heads of flowers form conspicuous clumps about a foot high.
The flowers have a sweet nectar which draws many insect visitors. They
bloom in April and early May, and the large warty pods mature in a few
weeks. As the seeds bear a tuft of hairs at one end, they are easily
scattered by the wind and other agents. It is one of the first plants to
appear on burned-over areas.
The milkweeds get their name from the bitter milky sap. The flowers are
quite different from other flowers in that there is a crown between the
petals and the stamens. In many the pollen is borne in two pear-shaped
masses with a thread-like connection. In the green-flowered milkweed,
purple hoods are attached to the crown and hang over the pollen-sacs.
[Illustration: BUTTERFLY-WEED]
Butterfly-Weed. Pleurisy-Root (_Asclepias tuberosa_) is a well-known
plant in dry fields from Maine and Ontario to Northern Mexico. In Texas
it is found in the sandy areas of the eastern and central parts. It
blooms in the late spring and summer. Other common names include orange
milkweed, orange-root, Indian posy, and orange swallow-wort. The leaves
are poisonous to stock, but the honey is not considered poisonous. The
monarch butterfly is a voracious feeder on the plant. It was at one time
valued for its medicinal properties, but is now little used. Several
plants are known by the common name of “swallow-wort” and are so called
because they bloom in the spring when the swallows appear.
The leafy stems often grow one to two feet high. At the top of the stem
are several clusters of small orange-colored flowers. The petals hang
down when the pollen is ready to be shed. There is a crown of five
erect, orange-colored hoods around the flat stigma.
DICHONDRA FAMILY (Dichondraceae)
[Illustration: CAROLINA DICHONDRA PRETTY DODDER]
Herbs with creeping stems; sepals 5; corolla bell-shaped, 5-lobed;
stamens 5; carpels 2, separate.
Carolina Dichondra. Ground Ivy (_Dichondra carolinensis_) is, of course,
not even kin to the ivy, but it does form a green carpet over the ground
in places. It is widely scattered in the state and in many other
localities. The greenish-white flowers are small and inconspicuous under
the round leaves and are almost buried in the soil. The leaves are about
an inch broad and are slender stalked. The plant is a perennial which is
often hard to remove from lawns. The silvery-leaved dichondra
(_Dichondra argentea_) occurs in West Texas.
DODDER FAMILY (Cuscutaceae)
Pretty Dodder. Love Vine. Strangle-Weed (_Cuscuta indecora_) may be
noted in conspicuous orange or gold masses covering other plants. It is
a leafless parasitic vine bearing small clusters of white flowers. The
flowers are less than one fourth inch broad and have the petal-tips
turned inward. There are many dodders in the state, and each kind is
parasitic only on certain plants. The pretty dodder attacks the wild
verbena and other herbs and low shrubs from Illinois to Texas and other
parts of America.
MORNING-GLORY FAMILY (Convolvulaceae)
[Illustration: TEXAS BINDWEED PURPLE MORNING-GLORY]
Plants twining or erect; sepals 5; corolla mostly funnelform, 5-lobed;
stamens 5, on corolla tube; ovary superior; fruit usually a ball-shaped
capsule separating into 2-4 lobes.
Texas Bindweed (_Convolvulus hermannioides_) has small white
morning-glory flowers with a dark-red center. They are seldom more than
an inch broad. The spreading or twining vines reach a length of several
feet. The leaves are very variable in shape and often have spreading
lobes at each side of the base like the hoary bindweed (_Convolvulus
incanus_). Both grow on Texas plains, but the hoary bindweed is widely
distributed from Kansas and Arkansas to Mexico. The Texas bindweed may
be distinguished by the ear-like projections at the base of the sepals.
The flowers bloom from April to August.
Purple Morning-Glory. Bindweed. Tie-Vine (_Ipomoea trifida_) is a lovely
but pernicious vine of Texas, Mexico, and tropical America. The roots
are perennial and very difficult to eradicate from cotton and corn
fields. It blooms from spring to fall, the flowers opening only in the
morning. The morning-glory group is very large, and many showy forms are
found in Texas. The sweet potato (_Ipomoea batatas_) and others are
valued for their tuberous roots.
[Illustration: STANDING CYPRESS BLUE GILIA WHITE GILIA]
PHLOX FAMILY (Polemoniaceae)
Mostly annual and perennial herbs; calyx 5-lobed; corolla tubular,
5-lobed; ovary usually 3-celled; style often 3-parted; stamens 5,
inserted on corolla-tube; capsules small.
Standing Cypress. Red Gilia (_Gilia rubra_) might also be called torch
flowers, for the tall spikes with their masses of red tubular flowers
make flaming spots of color on the edges of the post oak woods in May
and June. It is sometimes known as Indian plume, Texas plume, or red
Texas star.
The plants are usually unbranched and grow two to three feet high;
however, if the top of the stem is removed or injured near the time of
flowering, it will branch into several flowering spikes. The stems are
pale green and quite leafy with the finely dissected leaves. The narrow
tubular flowers are over an inch long and have broad spreading lobes
which, on their inner surface, are a pale orange-red dotted with a
darker red. The flowers, which resemble those of the cypress vine, are
closely clustered on the stem, those at the top opening first. The
capsules are nearly an inch long and contain numerous papery seeds.
Blue Gilia. Golden Eye (_Gilia rigidula_), differing markedly from the
red gilia in the shape of the flowers, has a short, broadly flaring
corolla with a conspicuous yellow center. The flowers are nearly an inch
broad. The plants are perennial and are often widely branched at the
base, forming clumps nearly a foot broad. The blue gilia is found on
hills and stony plains from Central Texas to Mexico and New Mexico and
blooms from March to October.
White Gilia. Long-Flowered Gilia (_Gilia longiflora_) has slender, erect
stems, 1-2 feet high, terminated by a flat-topped cluster of tubular
white flowers. The flowers have a narrow tube, about 1½ inches long, and
5 broad, spreading lobes. The leaves have threadlike divisions. The
plants are very showy when they are in bloom and are especially abundant
in sandy regions of Northwest Texas in the late summer and fall.
Few flower groups show such a decided red, white, and blue as the
gilias. The group is a large one, mostly of Western North America, and
is named in honor of the Spanish botanist, Philipp Salvador Gil. Some of
the gilias are known in cultivation and are considered hardy plants of
easy culture. The standing cypress may be grown from seeds planted in
August or September, or plants may be transplanted in the spring.
[Illustration: DRUMMOND’S PHLOX]
Drummond’s Phlox (_Phlox drummondii_) has rightly been called “Texan
pride.” A drive late in April through the post oak sandy region east of
Austin to the Brazos River and southeast to Victoria will disclose it in
all its glory. The seeds were collected by Thomas Drummond in 1834 and
sent to W. J. Hooker in the spring of 1835. Hooker, an eminent botanist,
described it from the plants grown from those seeds in the Kew Gardens
in London. According to his description, the plants were mostly of a
brilliant rose-red with more or less purple in the flowers of some
plants and darker red eyes in nearly all. It is quite probable that
Drummond collected his seeds in the vicinity of Gonzales, the western
limit of his Texas trip, where today wild phloxes which match his
description occur in great profusion. The seeds collected may have
included some from hybrid plants, as red phloxes with a white eye are
found on the eastern edge of the red-phlox area, and the dark-eyed
purple and red are found on its western limits in close proximity to the
“phlox purple” variety.
The plant has long been a horticultural favorite, and more than 200
varieties have been described, few of which excel the native varieties
in size or coloring.
[Illustration: PURPLE PHLOX]
Purple Phlox (_Phlox drummondii_-purple varieties) grows in sandy soil
in Central Texas. The variety with the white throat and red-star eye is
common in the southeastern part of the state. It is especially abundant
in Wilson and Karnes Counties, where extensive masses of purple may be
noted in open sandy places among mesquite and post oak trees. This is a
very vigorous phlox and produces large stems and flowers. Studies are
being made to determine whether these purple phloxes are varieties of
Drummond’s phlox or should be called by other names.
The variety with the purple throat and the two white marks at the base
of each corolla lobe grows northwest of the range of the red-flowered
Drummond’s phlox. It blooms from April to June and seems to withstand
cold better than any of the annual phloxes except the dwarf phlox.
[Illustration: HELLER’S PHLOX BERLANDIER’S PHLOX THARP’S PHLOX]
Berlandier’s Phlox (_Phlox glabriflora_) differs from Drummond’s phlox
in many particulars. The flowers are usually a bluish-lavender which at
a distance suggests the wild verbena. Like the other phloxes on this
page, it has both stem and leaves clothed with scattered, long, soft
hairs. The large corolla is marked with white at the base of the lobes
and has a short, smooth tube. The vigorous plants branch profusely and
often form masses two and three feet broad. This phlox may be found on
sandy prairies south of Kingsville and west of Hebbronville in the
winter and spring months but is at its best in February and March. It
was first collected by Louis Berlandier at several places along the
southern coast in 1828 and 1829.
Heller’s Phlox (_Phlox helleri_) is a close relative of Berlandier’s
phlox but has a hairy corolla-tube, smaller flowers, and shorter leaves.
It is found from March to May in sand near the coast around Copano,
Aransas, and Nueces bays.
Slender Phlox (_Phlox tharpii_) has a long, hairy corolla-tube, and the
slender stems are usually unbranched. Only four flowers are borne in a
cluster. It is very abundant in Frio and Dimmit Counties in April.
Theodore Roosevelt, in describing a peccary hunt south of Uvalde in
April, 1904, mentions these fields of purple.
[Illustration: ROEMER’S PHLOX DWARF PHLOX]
Roemer’s Phlox (_Phlox roemeriana_) has lovely flowers which vary in
color from deep rose to phlox purple or pink. It is the only annual
phlox marked with yellow around the eye or throat. Its large capsule,
containing 12 or 15 seeds, is another conspicuous feature and shows its
relationship with the perennial phloxes of West Texas. It forms a lovely
display with bluebonnets and low prairie spider-worts in the limestone
hill region in April and early May.
Dwarf Phlox (_Phlox tenuis_) is the smallest and most widely distributed
of the annual phloxes, ranging from the south-central coast to Louisiana
and into Southern Oklahoma. It is found on the coastal prairie and in
sandy soil along the edges of post oak woods from March to May. The
plants are usually six to eight inches high and unbranched, but branched
varieties are known. The flowers are about half an inch broad, with
narrow lobes which are marked with two reddish-purple lines at their
base.
[Illustration: LARGE-FLOWERED PRAIRIE PHLOX PRAIRIE PHLOX]
Prairie Phlox. Prairie Sweet William (_Phlox pilosa_) has a delightful
fragrance common in lesser degrees to many of the phloxes. The
widespread prairie phlox was named in 1753 from plants taken to France
from Virginia. The stems are low and have a few opposite leaves which
are pointed and widely spreading. The flat-topped clusters of pale pink,
blue, white, or purple flowers bloom in March and April in Texas. The
stems and flower clusters are clothed with soft hairs.
Large-Flowered Prairie Phlox (_Phlox villosissima_) grows in a strange
environment for a phlox. Charles Wright found it in 1849 on the gravelly
bars of the Nueces River, where it still grows. It is also found on
other rivers in Southwest Texas. It has long, woody roots reaching
toward the necessary moisture. The flowers are very large, and only a
few are open at a time. It differs from the prairie phlox in its shorter
and more numerous leaves, its larger flowers with their broader lobes,
and alternate branches in the flower cluster. The prairie phloxes are
perennial and are easily grown in Southwest gardens.
WATER-LEAF FAMILY (Hydrophyllaceae)
[Illustration: BABY BLUE-EYES PURPLE PHACELIA]
Flowers usually in curled clusters; calyx deeply 5-lobed; petals united,
usually 5; stamens 5, on corolla-tube; ovary superior; styles 2.
Baby Blue-Eyes. Flannel Breeches (_Nemophila phacelioides_) forms a
lovely carpet on banks and in moist woods near the prairie regions of
Texas and Arkansas. The dainty flowers are about one inch broad, with 5
broadly-spreading lobes of lavender, paler at the base. The leaves are
divided into 5-9 broad segments which are irregularly toothed. It is not
known in cultivation, but a similar plant from California is used to
cover beds in which bulbs are planted.
Purple Phacelia (_Phacelia patuliflora_) is a low, spreading annual
growing on sandy prairies in the southern part of the state.
“Patuliflora” means “spreading flower” and refers to the royal purple
corollas which are widely spreading and nearly an inch broad. It is the
handsomest phacelia among the fifteen or more species found in the
state. It blooms from February to May.
Blue nama (_Nama ovatum_) is a water-leaf growing in ponds and streams
of East Texas and blooming in the summer. It has lovely sky-blue flowers
nearly an inch broad and spiny stems. Sand bells (_Nama hispidum_) has
small, reddish-purple, bell-shaped corollas.
[Illustration: BLUE CURLS]
Blue Curls. Fiddle-Neck (_Phacelia congesta_) is also known as
spider-flower, caterpillars, snail-flower, and wild heliotrope. It has
curled flower clusters and lavender-blue flowers very much like those of
some of the heliotropes and borages. A California borage is also called
fiddle-neck. The flowers are tubular at the base with 5 broadly
spreading lobes. The 5 spreading stamens extending from the flowers are
responsible for the name of “spider-flower.”
The erect, unbranched stems may be seen on gravelly limestone slopes or
in open woods from Central to Southwestern Texas. The large, thin leaves
are finely divided and clothed with soft hairs. In woods the plants may
grow 1½-2 ft. high, but on rocky slopes they are seldom more than a foot
high. The flowers bloom in April and May, a long blooming season
resulting from the numerous flowers which open as the curling stems
unfold. It is an annual plant which does well in cultivation and makes a
lovely addition to the flower garden.
Nearly a hundred phacelias are found in Western North America. The name
is from the Greek meaning “cluster.” Most of them are showy plants, but
few are known in cultivation.
BORAGE FAMILY (Borraginaceae)
[Illustration: SOUTHERN HELIOTROPE BINDWEED HELIOTROPE]
Leaves usually alternate; flowers often in curled clusters; sepals 5;
petals 5, united; stamens 5, on corolla-tube; ovary often deeply
4-lobed; fruit a drupe or of 4 nutlets.
Southern Heliotrope (_Cochranea anchusaefolia_) grows in limestone soil
from Central Texas to Florida and tropical America. It may often be
found from spring to fall in the shelter of mesquite or prickly pear.
The white-flowered sea-heliotrope (_Heliotropium curassavicum_) is very
abundant in saline soil in South and West Texas. Plains heliotrope
(_Heliotropium tenellum_) does not have curled clusters of flowers but
has a few small white ones borne on short branches. It is widespread in
the South-central United States.
Bindweed Heliotrope (_Heliotropium convolvulaceum_) has white flowers
quite similar to those of the bindweed, about one inch broad. It is
found in sandy soil in South and West Texas to California and Nebraska
from spring to fall. The plant has widely branching stems, about a foot
long, and the foliage is somewhat rough-hairy. The heliotropes get their
name from Greek words which mean “sunturning.”
[Illustration: GOLDEN PUCCOON]
Golden Puccoon. Narrow-Leaved Puccoon (_Lithospermum linearifolium_) is
another harbinger of spring on the prairies. The scattered plants may be
found throughout Texas to British Columbia and Indiana. Several slender
stems grow from a long, thick black root. The plant gets its name from
the Greek word meaning “stone-seed” and refers to the hard nutlets of
the fruit. In the narrow-leaved puccoon, the nutlets are ovoid, white,
shining, and more or less pitted. The flowers have a narrow tube with 5
spreading lobes which have crinkled margins.
Orange Puccoon (_Lithospermum gmelinii_) is a striking woodland plant of
the Eastern States which is widespread in East Texas. It can be easily
identified by its showy yellow-orange flowers. The clustered stems, 1-1½
feet high, grow from a deep root. It blooms in April and May.
Most of the puccoons have a red root from which a dye is obtained. Some
of the European forms have blue flowers and are known in cultivation.
VERBENA FAMILY (Verbenaceae)
[Illustration: LARGE-FLOWERED VERVAIN SLENDER VERVAIN]
Branches often 4-angled; leaves opposite; flowers often whorled; calyx
5-lobed; petals 4-5, united; calyx and corolla often 2-lipped; stamens
4, on corolla-tube; ovary often 4-celled.
Slender Vervain (_Verbena halei_) was, until a few years ago, considered
the same as the European vervain (_Verbena officinalis_), but it is now
recognized as a different plant. Misty-looking purple patches on the
roadside ahead usually turn out to be masses of the slender vervain. It
is a perennial which takes on renewed blooming activity from early
spring until fall, but usually only scattered plants bloom after June.
It is very abundant in this state and other Southern States.
The flowers are small and scattered along the slender branches at the
top of the stem. The upper leaves are narrow, those of the mid-stem
divided; and the lower are broad and irregularly toothed.
Large-Flowered Vervain (_Verbena plicata_) shows some variation in color
from white to lavender, the flowers commonly being a bluish-lavender.
The flowers are about half an inch broad and grow in long showy spikes.
The plants are perennial, and numerous stems form erect clumps 1-2 ft.
high. It is especially handsome southwest of San Antonio and ranges into
Mexico. It blooms from February to May.
[Illustration: PLAINS VERBENA]
Wild or Plains Verbena (_Verbena bipinnatifida_) is sometimes called
sweet William, a name which properly belongs to the blue woodland phlox
(_Phlox divaricata_) or to the clove pink. There is only a faint
fragrance to the wild verbena.
Along highways and in the fields the wild verbena blooms in great
profusion from spring until the plants are killed by a severe freeze.
The flower stalks often grow quite long and are topped by a flat cluster
of flowers around the new buds. The old calyx tubes surrounding the
small nutlets remain on the stalk for many weeks. Children delight in
pulling off the purple tubular corollas so that they can suck the
abundant nectar from the tube and then string them together for a
necklace, which they make by inserting the base of one tube into the
throat of the adjoining corolla.
The wild verbena is a perennial plant with many prostrate branches. The
leaves are thick, rough, and divided into narrow segments. It is one of
the most familiar plants of the South Plains region, ranging from
Missouri and Arizona to Northern Mexico. It is seldom used in gardens,
but it is one of the plants used by the highway department for roadside
planting. Where it has been used in gardens for low border mass effects,
it has been a delight throughout the warm months with its showy, profuse
blooms.
“Verbena” is the Latin name for a sacred plant. There are nearly one
hundred species of verbenas, one of which is European and the others
American. About twenty-five of these are found in Texas, part of them
belonging to the vervain group. The plains verbena and the slender
vervain are the ones most widely distributed. Among other very lovely
verbenas found in the state are Wright’s verbena in West Texas and
Lambert’s verbena in East Texas. A South American verbena (_Verbena
venosa_), with brilliant purple flowers, has escaped cultivation in
Southeast Texas.
Wright’s Verbena (_Verbena wrightii_) is quite similar to the plains
verbena but has larger flowers of a reddish-purple color. The plants are
larger, and the foliage is coarser.
Lambert’s Verbena (_Verbena canadensis_) has ovate leaves which are
toothed or lobed but not divided. The flowers are a reddish-purple and
have a white eye surrounded by a line of black. This is a handsome
verbena which does well in cultivation but is little used. Garden
hybrids have been reported from it. The origin of the common garden
verbena is not definitely known.
[Illustration: FRENCH MULBERRY]
French Mulberry (_Callicarpa americana_) is a low shrub 3-6 ft. high,
also known as the Bermuda mulberry or sour-bush. It is easily recognized
in the fall by the clusters of reddish-purple berries and large ovate
leaves 3-6 in. long. The showy berries are responsible for the
scientific name which means “beautiful fruit.” It grows in woods of
sandy areas from Central Texas to Florida and Virginia, and also in the
West Indies. The variety with white fruit is not so common as the
purple-fruited variety. The flowers are inconspicuous, pale pink or
white. The shrub is well-known in cultivation but is not so hardy as the
Japanese callicarpa.
The verbena family includes many tropical and sub-tropical shrubs, some
of which are widely cultivated in Texas. Lantana (_Lantana camara_) has
orange and yellow flowers and is a profuse summer bloomer. The common
lilac lantana in cultivation was introduced from Brazil, but there are
two native lilac lantanas in Southern Texas. Lavender, or vitex,
introduced from Europe, is an excellent shrub for summer bloom.
MINT FAMILY (Labiatae)
[Illustration: PRAIRIE SKULLCAP]
Stems usually 4-angled; leaves opposite; calyx 5-lobed, often 2-lipped;
corolla 4-5-lobed, usually 2-lipped; stamens 4 or 2, on corolla-tube;
fruit of 4 nutlets.
Prairie Skullcap (_Scutellaria resinosa_) turns its saucy flowers upward
and covers the dense clumps with a purple glow. The tubular flowers are
nearly an inch long and 2-lipped, with two short lobes forming the
velvety, arched upper lip and with three broad lobes forming the
spreading lower lip. The middle lobe is marked by a conspicuous white
spot dotted with purple. Numerous stems grow from a woody, perennial
root on rocky prairies and limestone slopes from Texas to Arizona and
Nebraska.
The many skullcaps in the state are easily distinguished from other
mints by the crest on the upper surface of the calyx. Most of them have
small oval or rounded leaves, and all have purple flowers. They get
their scientific name from the Latin word meaning “dish,” referring to
the shape of the calyx.
The mint family is a large one, well represented in Texas. The European
horehound (_Marrubium vulgare_) has become a pernicious weed in the
pastures of Central Texas. Rosemary, sage, thyme, lavender, majoram, and
the mints are familiar members of the mint family.
[Illustration: SLENDER DRAGON-HEAD BRAZOS MINT]
Slender Dragon-Head or Lion’s Heart (_Physostegia intermedia_) has
spikes of delicate lavender flowers. The slender stems, 1-3 ft. high,
grow from perennial roots in moist soil on prairies from Texas and
Louisiana to Missouri and Kentucky from April to July. The physostegias
are rapidly growing in favor as garden flowers, as different species
will produce blooms throughout the season, if the flowering spikes are
cut and not allowed to seed.
Brazos Mint (_Brazoria scutellarioides_) is a lovely little annual found
on the plains of Central Texas. The plants are usually less than a foot
high and seldom branched, but the dense spikes of lavender flowers make
it quite conspicuous during favorable seasons. Although the name
indicates a resemblance to the skullcap, it might be mistaken for a
dwarf physostegia. The corollas have much the same delicate lavender
coloring, but the flaring calyx more closely resembles that of the Texas
salvia. It is also called twin-flower, wild lilac, and honey plant.
_Brazoria truncata_, with larger and paler flowers, is very abundant in
sandy soil in Central Texas, being especially common in Gonzales County.
This plant was first collected near the Brazos River, a fact
commemorated in the scientific name of “Brazoria.”
[Illustration: HENBIT PRAIRIE PENNYROYAL]
Henbit. Dead Nettle (_Lamium amplexicaule_) is a troublesome weed on
lawns everywhere in the state and in most of the United States. It is a
winter annual introduced from Europe and Asia. The flowers often begin
to bloom in December and continue until March or April. The stems branch
from the base, and the flowers grow in stalkless clusters with the upper
leaves.
Prairie Pennyroyal. Lemon Mint. Mexican Tea (_Hedeoma drummondii_) is a
low perennial plant characterized by the lemon-like odor of the foliage,
the narrow, tubular lavender corollas, and the bulging finely-ribbed
tubular calyx. The flowers and leaves are about half an inch long. The
low, bushy clumps grow on rocky plains and hillsides throughout Texas,
the flowers blooming during the late spring and summer. A tea made from
the foliage, either fresh or dried, is considered of value for its
soothing effect. A few leaves in iced tea add a piquant flavor. The name
is from the Greek and means “sweet smell.”
The American pennyroyal is _Hedeoma pulegioides_. The leaves and
flowering tops are collected in July and August and dried. It yields an
oil used in medicine.
[Illustration: PALE WILD BERGAMOT]
Pale Wild Bergamot (_Monarda fistulosa mollis_) is a very lovely member
of the horsemint group. The slender stems are branched at the top, each
branch having a terminal cluster of lavender flowers. The flowers are
tubular and two-lipped, 1-1½ in. long, the upper lip narrow and the
lower broad and three lobed. The upper lip is clothed with soft hairs.
The wild bergamot grows in the states east of the Rocky Mountains, and
several varieties are known. In Texas it grows in moist woods in the
eastern part and along streams in North Texas. It is a perennial which
is sometimes cultivated. The stems are usually about two feet high. The
leaves are short-stalked and lance-shaped, the margins having a few
short teeth. The leaves have a pleasant aroma and are used in flavoring
tea. Medicinally they are used as a stimulant and as a remedy for colic
pains.
The brilliant, scarlet-flowered Oswego tea (_Monarda didyma_) of the
Eastern States is not native to Texas. It is used as a substitute for
tea.
[Illustration: GREEN HORSEMINT]
Green or White Horsemint (_Monarda punctata_) differs from the wild
bergamot in having numerous clusters of flowers at the top of the stem.
These clusters are surrounded by many short, drooping floral leaves
which are blotched with white or occasionally have a purplish tinge. The
yellow corollas are dotted with purple and are about an inch long. The
calyx tube is ribbed, and the lobes are short and triangular. In growth
habit and shape of leaves it is very much like the purple horsemint, but
in flower it is readily distinguished by the yellow flowers and green
and white floral leaves. The plants are perennial, much-branched, and
somewhat downy. They are found in the Eastern and Central States and
bloom in Texas from late May to July.
Dwarf Horsemint (_Monarda clinopodioides_) is another horsemint of sandy
plains in Texas and Oklahoma. The plants are usually less than a foot
high. They have white corollas, and the short bracts are purplish-brown
with hairy margins. This horsemint is not so widespread as the green and
purple horsemint.
[Illustration: PURPLE HORSEMINT]
Purple Horsemint. Lemon Monarda (_Monarda citriodora_) is lovely not
only because of its dainty flowers but especially because of the floral
leaves or bracts surrounding the flowers. These bracts take on a
reddish-purple color and may be marked with white and green. The purple
varies from rosy tints to a royal hue.
The flowers grow in whorls or rosettes at the top of the stem, new ones
appearing with continued growth until there may be ten or more clusters
on a stem. The corollas are narrow, tubular, and two-lipped, varying in
color from lavender to white and commonly marked with small purple dots.
The tubular calyx has five very narrow lobes, which are hairy and as
long as the tube; the throat of the calyx is closed by a dense ring of
white hairs.
Growing in erect clumps one to two feet high, the plants form
conspicuous patches along highways and cover many pastures. The leaves
are short-stalked and narrowed at both ends, the margins being sharply
toothed. The purple floral leaves are oblong, with the midrib prolonged
into a slender bristle or awn. These numerous bracts curve downward and
overlap, the lower ones being longer.
The purple horsemint is common on plains from Mexico to Missouri and
Kansas and ranges eastward to Florida. It blooms from May to August but
is most profuse in June.
The monardas are North American plants named in honor of Nicolas
Monardes, a Spanish physician and botanist. Some are valued for their
perfume oils, and some have a slight medicinal value. The purple
horsemint is rich in nectar, but the honey produced is not of the first
quality. The dried plants are used in hens’ nests to drive off mites and
fleas.
Plains Lemon Monarda (_Monarda pectinata_) is the common horsemint on
the dry western plains in the state and ranges to Arizona and Nebraska.
The flowers are pink or white but are not spotted with purple. The
floral leaves are lance-shaped.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE SAGE RED SAGE]
Prairie Sage (_Salvia pitcheri_) grows in scattered clumps throughout
the central prairie region from Texas to Illinois and Minnesota. Because
of its sky-blue, tubular, 2-lipped flowers, it is one of the plants most
easily identified. The gray-green leaves have the characteristic sage
odor and can be used for sage tea. The plants are two to three feet high
and bloom from late spring to November.
Red Sage or Salvia. Indian Fire (_Salvia coccinea_) is a hardy plant in
cultivation and blooms nearly all the year. It is native to the Gulf
States, in Texas growing in woods near the coast. The red flowers are
nearly an inch long.
There are nearly five hundred salvias known. Three European species are
cultivated for their leaves, and many others are grown for ornamental
purposes. The common bedding salvia is _Salvia splendens_, native of
Brazil. The handsomest flower in the state is the red-flowered _Salvia
regla_, found in a few mountain canyons in West Texas. Cancer weed
(_Salvia lyrata_) is the common salvia of East Texas woods.
[Illustration: TEXAS SAGE BLUE SAGE]
Blue Sage. Blue Salvia (_Salvia farinacea_) is a lovely plant which is
native and abundant in the limestone regions of the state. It has long
been known in cultivation, being especially adapted for rock gardens and
highway plantings. It blooms with renewed activity after every rain from
April to November. The corollas are usually purple but vary to blue and
white. They have a narrow upper lip which is velvety with violet hairs
on its outer surface. The calyx is velvety with violet-gray hairs. The
stems grow from perennial roots and form clumps two to three feet high.
Texas Salvia. Texas Sage (_Salviastrum texanum_) blooms from March to
May, growing in a low bushy clump 12-18 inches high on limestone
hillsides from Central Texas to New Mexico. The spikes are densely
covered with lavender flowers about an inch long. Unlike the true
salvias, it has a flaring calyx which is densely bearded in the throat.
POTATO FAMILY (Solanaceae)
[Illustration: PURPLE NIGHTSHADE]
Leaves alternate; calyx 4-6-lobed; petals united, 5; stamens 5, on
corolla-tube, anthers often opening by apical pores; ovary 2-celled;
fruit a capsule or berry.
Purple Nightshade (_Solanum elaeagnifolium_) is sometimes called
silver-leaved nightshade or “trompillo.” Although bearing lovely
star-shaped lavender flowers, the purple nightshade is considered a
pernicious weed in fields and gardens. It grows from deep, woody
perennial roots and blooms profusely even in seasons of drouth from May
to October. It is found on plains from Missouri to Texas and Arizona.
The branched plants grow 1-3 ft. high and are more or less covered with
prickles. The yellow fruits resemble small tomatoes and remain on the
old stalks for months. They are said to be poisonous.
Torrey’s Nightshade (_Solanum torreyi_) is a plant similar to the purple
nightshade, but it has broader, irregularly-toothed leaves and larger
flowers and seldom grows as high.
The solanum group comprises nearly a thousand species and includes many
well-known plants, among which are the Irish potato and the egg-plant.
Bitter-sweet and Jerusalem cherry are cultivated for their showy fruits.
Several members of the group are said to be very poisonous.
[Illustration: BUFFALO-BUR]
Buffalo-Bur. Yellow Nightshade (_Solanum rostratum_) is a common weed in
waste places and on prairies from Tennessee to Mexico, but the spreading
plants are often covered with their yellow star blossoms. Children call
them sticker-weeds because of the vicious prickles on the foliage. They
are also called tread-softly, Texas nettle, prickly potato, and
bumble-bee bush, the latter name being given because of the numerous bee
visitors. The name of buffalo-bur dates back to the days when buffaloes
roamed the plains, the prickly fruits clinging to the shaggy coats of
the huge beasts.
The yellow flowers which bloom from May to October resemble those of the
purple nightshade in shape and size. The stamens of the nightshades shed
their pollen through small openings at the top of the pollen-sac. The
buffalo-bur has one stamen very much larger than the other four. The
leaves are once or twice divided into broad rounded segments. The
berries are enclosed in the enlarged and spiny calyx.
[Illustration: LOW GROUND CHERRY PURPLE GROUND CHERRY]
Low Ground Cherry (_Physalis mollis_) is a common weed throughout the
state and ranges to Arkansas, Mexico, and California. The flowers and
fruits are usually hidden beneath the leaves. The fruit, a berry very
much like a small tomato, is enclosed in the enlarged sac-like calyx.
The scientific name is from the Greek word meaning “bladder” and refers
to the inflated calyx. Some ground cherries are cultivated for their
fruits which are edible and are used for making preserves and pies.
Purple Ground Cherry (_Physalis lobata_) flaunts its gay purple flowers
for all to see. The plant has low, spreading branches which are covered
with purple blooms, one inch broad. It ranges from Mexico to Kansas and
California, blooming in Texas from spring to fall.
The potato family includes the tomato and tobacco plants. Wild tobacco
(_Nicotiana repanda_) is very abundant in the southern part of the
state. The white flowers resemble those of the cultivated petunia, which
also belongs to this family.
FIGWORT FAMILY (Scrophulariaceae)
[Illustration: PURPLE PAINT-BRUSH CENIZO]
Leaves alternate, opposite, or whorled; sepals, 4-5; corolla tubular,
4-5-lobed, 2-lipped; stamens often 4, in pairs on corolla-tube, sterile
stamen often present; ovary 2-celled, superior.
Purple Paint-Brush (_Castilleja purpurea_) grows on limestone slopes and
rocky prairies in North-central Texas. The low stems grow from a woody
perennial root. The flowers and floral leaves are both conspicuously
colored, varying from rose to purple. The divided leaves are a lovely
ashy-gray.
Leucophyllum. White Leaf. Cenizo (_Leucophyllum texanum_) covers
hillsides in the southern and southwestern parts of the state. The low
bushes seldom grow more than three or four feet high. It is a startling
and lovely sight to see a hillside which was a mass of gray transformed
overnight into a delicate hue of lavender. This happens shortly after
heavy rains, and for this reason the plant is sometimes called barometer
bush. Leucophyllum has been widely introduced as a shrub in Texas
gardens, where the ashy-gray leaves are quite effective against dark
green shrubbery. The name is Greek and means “white leaf.”
[Illustration: SCARLET PAINT-BRUSH]
Scarlet Paint-Brush (_Castilleja indivisa_) is also called Indian
paint-brush, painted-cup, entire-leaved paint brush, and Indian pink.
One of the most inspiring landscape displays of native flowers is formed
by the scarlet paint-brush. It is found in sandy soil from the
northeastern to southwestern parts of the state and blooms from March to
May but is at its best in April. The paint-brush display of red is
equalled or excelled only by that of two other wild-flower favorites—the
red Drummond’s phlox in south-central sandy regions and the beautiful
gaillardia of black land prairies.
The intense scarlet-red is due to the coloring of the broadened floral
leaves (bracts) at the tip of the stem. These bracts almost hide the
inconspicuous cream-colored flowers which are about an inch long. The
bracts are oblong, the tips being broader than the base and deeply
stained with scarlet.
The scarlet paint-brush is an annual plant, commonly six to twelve
inches high, and is sometimes branched at the base. The leaves are
rough-nerved and wavy-margined. Occasionally the leaves have two linear
basal lobes somewhat like those of the eastern or swamp scarlet
paint-brush (_Castilleja coccinea_), which has similar flower clusters
but grows in swampy places.
The castillejas are mostly Western American plants, some being parasitic
on the roots of other plants. They are named in honor of D. Castillejo,
a Spanish botanist. In addition to the scarlet and purple paint-brushes,
several other castillejas are found in the state. Lindheimer’s
paint-brush (_Castilleja lindheimeri_) is very much like the purple
paint-brush, but it has red or orange bracts. It is a perennial plant
which grows on limestone hillsides of Southwest-central Texas. The
woolly-stemmed paint-brush (_Castilleja lanata_) has woolly-gray stems
and leaves and red flower clusters. It may be noticed in chaparral
thickets and canyons in West Texas.
[Illustration: TEXAS TOAD-FLAX SMALL-FLOWERED BEARD-TONGUE]
Small-Flowered Pentstemonor or Beard-Tongue (_Pentstemon laxiflorus_)
grows in the sandy soil of post oak woods in Central and East Texas. The
slender stems are 1-2 ft. high and are topped by slender-stalked flower
clusters. The corollas are a pale lavender, about an inch long. This is
a very common plant in the state and has been given various names by
botanists, the latest one being _laxiflorus_. It is a close relative,
probably a variety, of the slender beard-tongue (_Pentstemon gracilis_)
of moist prairies from Minnesota to Oklahoma.
Texas Toad-Flax (_Linaria texana_) has pale blue flowers similar to
those of the Canada toad-flax. The corollas have a slender spur about
half an inch long. The slender stems are 1-2 feet high, growing from a
cluster of basal leaves which are finely divided into somewhat rounded
segments. It is widespread in sandy soil from Florida to California and
blooms early in the spring.
Many other figworts are found in the state. The nearest relative to the
garden snapdragon is the climbing snapdragon (_Maurandia
antirrhiniflora_). Mullein is widespread in the state. The common
monkey-flower is _Mimulus glabratus_.
[Illustration: LARGE-FLOWERED BEARD-TONGUE]
Large-Flowered Beard-Tongue or Pentstemon (_Pentstemon cobaea_) is also
known as false foxglove, dew flowers, fairy thimbles, wild belladonna,
and balmony. It was called “balmony” by early settlers, who made a tea
from the leaves to be used as a laxative. Several erect stems from
perennial roots grow on the rocky slopes of prairies from Texas to
Missouri and Kansas. It blooms in Texas in April and May.
The flowering spikes of bell-shaped flowers are large and showy. The
corollas are usually pale, tinged with reddish-purple and marked with
darker lines. The fifth stamen is sparingly bearded. The stems are 1-1½
feet high, and the flowers are 1½-2 inches long. The leaves are broad
and partly clasping at the base, the margins usually indented with sharp
teeth. It is thought that the common garden pentstemon is a hybrid
derived from this beard-tongue and Hartwig’s pentstemon, a Mexican
plant.
[Illustration: SCARLET PENTSTEMON]
Scarlet Pentstemon or Beard-Tongue. Murray’s Pentstemon (_Pentstemon
murrayanus_) is a very lovely plant growing in sandy soil in post oak
woods of Central and East Texas and Arkansas. The plants are three feet
high, the reddish stems having a few opposite, clasping leaves, those on
the upper part being united and cup-shaped. The foliage is very smooth
and has a somewhat downy covering.
The flowering upper portion of the stem is often over a foot long and
bears a profusion of tubular scarlet flowers about an inch long. The
stamens extend beyond the corolla, and the fifth stamen is not bearded.
The long slender style remains on the capsule long after the corollas
have fallen away. The flowers usually bloom the latter part of March in
South Texas and the middle of April in North Texas. The plants are quite
hardy and may be successfully transplanted or grown from seeds, but
should be planted in sandy soil.
“Pentstemon” is Greek meaning “five stamens.” Nearly all members of the
figwort family have only four stamens, but the pentstemons have five;
however, the fifth stamen does not bear a pollen-sac and is often
bearded. “Beard-tongue” refers to this bearded stamen. There are nearly
a hundred and fifty species of pentstemons, about thirty of them being
found in Texas. With the exception of one found in Southeastern Asia,
they are all North American plants.
Murray’s pentstemon is quite similar to two red-flowered pentstemons of
the mountains of West Texas. These two are likewise tall, vigorous
plants and have showy clusters of flowers. Torrey’s pentstemon
(_Pentstemon barbatus torreyi_) has narrow pointed leaves, and the
superb pentstemon (_Pentstemon superbus_) has broad oblong leaves. The
common blue-flowered pentstemon in West Texas is _Pentstemon fendleri_,
with leaves nearly as broad as long.
TRUMPET-CREEPER FAMILY (Bignoniaceae)
[Illustration: DESERT WILLOW]
Leaves opposite, mostly compound; flowers showy, often 2-lipped; calyx
tubular, 5-lobed; petals 5, united; stamens 4 or 2, in pairs on
corolla-tube; capsules often long, with winged seeds.
Desert Willow (_Chilopsis linearis_), also called flowering willow,
willow-leaved catalpa, and “mimbre,” is a common shrub along water
courses from West Texas to Southern California and Northern Mexico. When
it is not in flower or fruit, it may be mistaken for the black willow
(_Salix nigra_), which has similar leaves. The delicate, lavender,
trumpet-shaped flowers are about two inches long. White and
pale-lavender forms occur. It is a shrub or small tree frequently
cultivated for ornament in Texas and California. It blooms from May
through the summer months. Mexicans use the wood for fence-posts and the
branches for baskets. A tea made from the flowers is used as a remedy
for heart and lung diseases.
Several other members of this family are native to the state and are
well-known in cultivation. Among these are the red-flowered
trumpet-creeper (_Campsis radicans_), the yellow-red cross-vine
(_Bignonia capreolata_), the catalpa found in East Texas woods, and the
yellow-elder (_Tecoma stans_) in South Texas and the mountains of West
Texas.
ACANTHUS FAMILY (Acanthaceae)
[Illustration: FLAME ACANTHUS]
Leaves opposite; calyx 4-5-lobed; sepals 5; petals 5, united, sometimes
2-lipped; stamens on tube, 2 or 4 in 2 pairs; fruit a capsule, often
club-shaped, opening elastically.
Flame Acanthus (_Anisacanthus wrightii_) is covered with scarlet flowers
from early summer until frost. It is a low, widely branched shrub, about
2 feet high, found in rocky soil of the mountains of West Texas. The
corollas have a narrow tube and five narrow, spreading lobes which are
nearly equal but somewhat 2-lipped. The two stamens and the style extend
beyond the corolla. The small leaves are ovate-lanceolate in shape and
are 1-2 inches long.
The flame acanthus is an excellent garden shrub for dry regions and has
been known in cultivation for some time. This species is named in honor
of Charles Wright, an early collector of Texas plants and one of the
first teachers in the state. Wright was a Yale graduate who collected
plants in Texas from 1837 to 1852 for Dr. Asa Gray of Harvard
University. He accompanied a baggage train to El Paso in 1849, and in
1851 he joined the Graham Boundary Survey. On both of these trips he
collected many plants not previously known to science.
[Illustration: WILD PETUNIA]
Wild Petunia. Ruellia (_Ruellia nudiflora_) has flowers very much like
those of the cultivated petunia, a member of the potato family. It is a
very common plant in Central and South Texas, growing in open woods or
on rich prairies. It frequently takes possession of lawns and flower
beds.
The plants are erect, 12-16 inches high, and have few branches. The few
leaves are oval, narrowed at the base, wavy-margined, and blunt or
rounded at the apex. The forking flower clusters have one to five
flowers open at the same time. The flowers do not last very long. Leaves
and stem are often marked with red or purple.
The delicate, funnel-shaped corollas have five spreading lobes and are
about two inches long. The four stamens are inclosed in the tube. The
seed-capsules are nearly an inch long and turn brown as they mature.
This ruellia was formerly confused with _Ruellia tuberosa_, a tropical
plant with tuberous roots. The ruellias belong to a large group of
plants with about 200 species most of which are found in tropical South
America. They are named for Jean de la Ruelle, an early French physician
and botanist.
There are several other ruellias widely distributed in the wooded
sections of the state. The hairy ruellia (_Ruellia ciliosa_) is abundant
on the prairies in Texas and the Eastern States. Miss Eaton, in an
article in the _National Geographic_ in 1925, reports that
carpenter-bees use circular pieces of the corolla to plug off their
nesting cells made in tunnels in soft wood. Drummond’s ruellia (_Ruellia
drummondiana_) is found in woods in Central Texas. The flowers are
rather small and are nearly hidden by the leaves.
PLANTAIN FAMILY (Plantaginaceae)
[Illustration: TALLOW-WEED RED-SEEDED PLANTAIN]
Herbs; leaves basal; calyx 4-lobed; corolla papery, 3-4-lobed; stamens
4, on corolla-tube; capsule (in ours) opening by a horizontal division.
Tallow-Weed. Wright’s Plantain (_Plantago wrightiana_) is a common plant
on prairies from Texas to Arizona and blooms from April to June. It is
called tallow-weed because cattle fatten on the plants. The stems are
6-8 in. high, and the numerous basal leaves are half as long, narrow,
smooth, and dark green. The small 4-lobed flowers have a stiff, papery
white corolla with spreading lobes. The small capsules open by a lid.
Red-Seeded Plantain or Ribwort (_Plantago rhodosperma_) has broad
leaves, 3-5-ribbed, and narrow spikes of flowers. The leaf-rosettes are
often a foot broad. The corolla lobes are erect and are closed over one
another. The ribwort is a very common weed in sandy soil from Missouri
to Texas and Arizona.
There are many other plantains in the state, all more or less abundant.
The group has retained the old Latin name. Scilla-seed, a laxative in
recent use, is obtained from a South American plantain. The seeds of the
lance-leaved plantain are sold as food for birds.
MADDER FAMILY (Rubiaceae)
[Illustration: SMALL BLUET LEAST BLUET]
Leaves opposite or whorled; in ours, sepals and petals usually 4, but
may be 4-10, calyx joining ovary wall; stamens 4-10, on corolla-tube;
ovary inferior, 2-5-celled.
Small Bluet (_Houstonia patens_) has violet-blue flowers which are among
the first blossoms of spring. They dot golf courses and sandy meadows
from Texas to Virginia and Illinois in February and March. The bluets
are also called innocence and angel-eyes.
Least Bluet (_Houstonia minima_) is a smaller plant than the small
bluet, but the flowers are a little larger and are pale pink. They bloom
at the same time of year and may often be found together. The least
bluet ranges from Texas to Illinois and Kansas.
The madder-family is mainly tropical but is represented in Texas by
nearly forty species. Nearly all of these have inconspicuous, 4-lobed
white flowers and include many bedstraws and bluets, the button-weed,
and button-bush. From some members of the family valuable commercial
products—coffee, quinine, and a red dye—are obtained; the cape-jasmine
or gardenia is a well-known ornamental plant.
[Illustration: BOUVARDIA BABY’S BREATH]
Baby’s Breath. Narrow-Leaved Houstonia (_Houstonia angustifolia_) is not
the garden plant (_Gypsophila paniculata_) which is known as baby’s
breath, but it is equally dainty. The stems grow from woody perennial
roots and form erect clumps about a foot high. The small flowers are
borne in flat-topped clusters and vary in color from white to pale pink
or lavender. This plant is widely distributed on prairies from Illinois
to Texas and Florida.
Bouvardia (_Bouvardia ternifolia_) is a low shrub, 2-6 ft. high, which
grows in the mountains west of the Pecos River to Arizona and Mexico.
The leaves are short and grow in whorls of 3’s or 4’s. The narrow, red
tubular flowers are about one inch long. The Bouvardias were once
popular as greenhouse plants but are little used now. This one was
introduced into England more than one hundred years ago.
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY (Caprifoliaceae)
[Illustration: CORAL HONEYSUCKLE]
Usually shrubs; leaves opposite; calyx joining ovary wall, 5-lobed;
corolla 5-lobed, tubular and often 2-lipped; stamens 4-5, on
corolla-tube; ovary inferior; fruit a fleshy berry.
Southern Woodbine. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle (_Lonicera
sempervirens_) is quite common in the woods of East Texas and other
Southern States, blooming in Texas in late March and continuing until
fall. It is an evergreen vine that has been widely introduced into
cultivation. The flowers are not so conspicuously two-lipped as in the
white honeysuckle, the corolla-lobes being nearly equal. The scarlet
berries are ¼ inch long, ripening in the summer. This is one of a number
of plants which are commonly called woodbine. The group was named in
honor of Adam Lonitzer, an early German botanist.
The black haw (_Viburnum prunifolium_) is very abundant in Texas woods.
The showy ball-like clusters of white flowers appear with the leaves in
April and May, following the dogwood and red haws. The American elder
(_Sambucus canadensis_) is found along streams in Central and East
Texas.
[Illustration: WHITE HONEYSUCKLE]
White Honeysuckle (_Lonicera albiflora_) is a straggling bush which
usually grows in the shelter of a tree. The pale broad, oval leaves are
opposite and united at their bases, the uppermost pair being cup-shaped
and surrounding the cluster of flowers borne at the tip of the stem. The
fragrant flowers are less than an inch long with a narrow tube and 5
lobes, the lower lobe long and narrow and the 4 upper shorter, very much
like those of the common cultivated Japanese honeysuckle. The five
spreading stamens extend conspicuously beyond the corolla.
This plant blooms in April and May. It is scattered throughout the
central and western parts of the state, being especially abundant in the
western mountains, and ranges to Arkansas and Arizona. The Japanese
honeysuckle has escaped cultivation in places along the bayous of East
Texas.
VALERIAN FAMILY (Valerianaceae)
[Illustration: LAMB’S LETTUCE]
Leaves opposite; calyx of several bristles or absent; petals 2-5, partly
united; stamens usually 4, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior, 3-celled but
only 1 cell fertile.
Lamb’s Lettuce. Texas or Dwarf Corn Salad (_Valerianella amarella_) is
one of the first white-flowered spring plants, growing in such abundance
that the prairies are white with the blooms. It is a much smaller plant
than the dwarf Queen Anne’s lace which is so lovely late in April and
May. In the field it is usually about 6 in. high but grows a little
higher in cultivation when used as a border plant. It is easily
identified by its flat-topped clusters of flowers grouped in squares at
the end of the widely forking branches. The smooth foliage is
yellow-green in color.
There are several corn salads which grow in moist places in the state.
The dwarf corn salad may readily be distinguished from these, as its
minute seed-pod is covered with woolly hairs. The European corn salad is
cultivated, and the leaves are used for salad.
GOURD FAMILY (Cucurbitaceae)
[Illustration: WILD BALSAM GOURD]
Tendrils mostly present, stems often prostrate; flowers usually
unisexual; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals united or separate; stamens
usually 3, one anther always 1-celled, the other two 2-celled; ovary
inferior.
Wild Balsam Gourd (_Ibervillea lindheimeri_) has bright scarlet balls
about an inch in diameter and makes conspicuous spots of color on fences
in the fall. The vine is slender, bearing small yellow flowers in the
spring. The fruits are green at first, turning orange and then a scarlet
red. Sometimes they are a little longer than broad and pointed at the
end. The few leaves are thick and deeply 3-5-lobed. It ranges from Texas
to California.
The garden balsam (_Impatiens balsamina_) bears no relation to this
plant. The vines in cultivation known as balsam apple and balsam pear
are, however, members of the gourd family and were introduced from the
Old World tropics. Watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, squashes,
pumpkins, and gourds are well-known members of the gourd family.
[Illustration: WILD GOURD]
Wild Gourd. Mock Orange (_Cucurbita foetidissima_) has long trailing
stems which are often 15 feet long and may be 25 feet long. It is
readily distinguished by its large gray-green triangular leaves which
are somewhat 3-5-lobed. The leaf-blades are 4-12 inches long, and the
leaf-stalk is about half the length of the blade. The star-shaped yellow
flowers, about three inches broad, are almost hidden by the leaves, the
staminate and pistillate flowers being borne on different plants.
The ovoid gourds, which at first are green variegated with a lighter
green, turn quite yellow at maturity. The resemblance of the yellow
fruit to oranges has given rise to the common name, mock orange. The
gourds are about three inches long. They are not edible, as the pulp is
fibrous and bitter. Mexicans use the plant as a soap substitute by
mashing the gourds or the roots in water. They call it “chilicoyote” or
“calabacilla.” The pumpkins and squashes, whose origin is somewhat
obscure, are close relatives of the gourd.
BELL-FLOWER FAMILY (Campanulaceae)
[Illustration: VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS WESTERN VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS]
Juice usually milky; leaves alternate; calyx tube joined to ovary,
3-10-lobed; corolla tubular or bell-shaped, sepals and petals usually 5;
stamens 5; ovary inferior, 2-10-celled.
Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia perfoliata_) is a very common American
plant blooming in Texas in the early spring. Like the later flowers of
many violets, the first flowers never open and are self-fertilized. The
later flowers have a showy 5-lobed purple corolla about an inch long.
The seeds are dispersed from a small opening in the lower part of the
capsule. The leaves are small and clasping, usually broader than long.
Western Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia leptocarpa_) has flowers very
much like the preceding, but the stamens and calyx lobes are longer. The
long, slender capsules have the opening pore near the top. The showy
flowers appear in late April and May. This plant is abundant on the
northern prairies of Texas and ranges to Missouri and Montana.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE LOBELIA TEXAS HAREBELL]
Texas Harebell. Bluebell (_Campanula reverchonii_) is one of the rarer
plants in the state, and care should be taken to preserve it. It is
lovely against the granite rocks and boulders of Central Texas. The
dainty, slender plants are often much branched and have blue flowers
about half an inch long. The bluebell of Scotland is a renowned member
of the group; Canterbury bells and the balloon-flower are well-known in
gardens.
LOBELIA FAMILY (Lobeliaceae)
Juice often milky; sepals 5; corolla 1-2-lipped, united; stamens 5,
anthers joined into a tube.
Prairie Lobelia (_Lobelia brachypoda_) grows on sandy prairies in
Southern Texas and the adjacent part of Mexico. It is very abundant west
of Falfurrias in March. The Texas lobelias may usually be recognized by
the five united stamens which have gray anthers bearded at the top. The
plants often have a milky sap containing a poisonous alkaloid which is
used in medicine. The red cardinal flower (_Lobelia splendens_) is
rather widely scattered in moist places throughout the state but is rare
enough to need protection.
COMPOSITE FAMILY (Compositae)
[Illustration: BALDWIN’S IRONWEED]
Flowers crowded into heads surrounded by bracts; outer flowers often
strap-shaped and are called ray flowers; inner flowers are tubular and
are called disk flowers; sometimes flowers are all of one type; calyx
usually modified into bristles or awns (pappus); petals united, tubular,
4-5-lobed; stamens 5, anthers united into a tube; styles 2-lobed; ovary
1-celled, inferior. (See p. xii.)
Baldwin’s Ironweed (_Vernonia baldwinii_) has broad, flat-topped
clusters of purple heads. It forms a pleasing contrast to the abundant
yellow flowers of the summer months. The plant is a hardy perennial and
grows in ditches and river bottoms from Central Texas to Iowa. The stems
are 3-4 feet high and conspicuously leafy. The ironweeds get their
common name from the fact that the stems are very hard and difficult for
farmers to chop down.
About one-fifth of the plants found in Texas belong to the composite
family. It is generally divided into groups or tribes, the more
important being the ironweed, mist-flower, aster, everlasting,
sunflower, bitterweed, dog-fennel, and thistle groups. The composites in
this book are grouped together in tribes in the above order, but the
tribes are not separated or differentiated. Identification of composites
is much easier if the resemblance to a particular group can be noted.
[Illustration: BLUE MIST-FLOWER BLUFF THOROUGHWORT]
Bluff Thoroughwort (_Eupatorium ageratifolium_) is a widely branched
shrub of the rocky hillsides of Central and West Texas. The bushes are
covered with flat-topped clusters of pale-pink or white flowers. The
long, protruding styles, which are divided into two recurved parts, have
given the name of mist-flower to this and other plants of the group.
Milk-sick plant (_Eupatorium ageratoides_) is a closely related plant
which causes in cattle a disease called “trembles.” The milk from
affected cows will cause sickness and death among humans. The
late-flowering thoroughwort (_Eupatorium serotinum_) is very abundant in
river bottoms throughout the state. Yankee-weed (_Eupatorium
compositifolium_) grows in big feathery clumps often 10 feet high. It is
a pernicious weed in East Texas and soon covers cut-over pine lands. The
dried flower-tops of several species were used by pioneers as fever
medicines. One of these plants was called Joe-pye weed in honor of the
Indian doctor, Joe Pye.
Blue Mist-Flower (_Conoclinium coelestinum_) is sometimes called
ageratum and is used for a summer and fall border plant. It grows in
moist, shaded places from Central Texas to New Jersey.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR DWARF GOLDENROD TALL GOLDENROD]
Prairie Blazing Star. Button Snakeroot (_Laciniaria punctata_) is
sometimes called liatris from the scientific group to which these plants
are sometimes referred. A similar prairie blazing star is called
gay-feather. On the dry prairies in the western part of the state the
blazing star has short stems and short spikes of flowers; but where
moisture is more abundant, the plants are one to two feet high. The
plant does well in cultivation and is easily grown from the seed. It
ranges from Southern Canada to Texas and New Mexico.
The stems are closely covered with the narrow leaves, which are marked
with minute glandular dots. The spikes are densely covered with long,
narrow heads of purple flowers. There are only a few star-shaped tubular
flowers in a head. The seeds are widely scattered by their crown of
plumose bristles. The lovely spikes are often dried for winter bouquets.
Many eastern blazing stars are found in the woods of East Texas, where
they make showy displays from July to October. They are called
snakeroots from their reputed property of curing snake-bites. A tea made
from the plant will cause profuse perspiration; the perspiration was
probably responsible for the reported snake-bite cures. They are also
called devil’s bit or devil’s bite, because of the bitten-off appearance
of the rootstock. The rootstock was considered such a powerful remedy
for human ills that the devil bit off a part for spite.
Tall Goldenrod (_Solidago altissima_) grows 2-8 ft. high, has rough
leaves which are sharply toothed and prominently triple-nerved, and is
topped by dense clusters of yellow flowers. Most of the goldenrods are
widely distributed in North America; the tall goldenrod is abundant in
dry soil from Maine to Nebraska and Texas.
Gray, Field, or Dwarf Goldenrod (_Solidago nemoralis_) has flower heads
all turned to one side of the branches which top the slender wand-like
stems. The stems are one half to two feet high. This is one of the most
abundant goldenrods in the central and western parts of the state from
July to November and ranges from Canada to Florida and Arizona.
In Texas the goldenrods are usually found only in moist soil, many
eastern species growing profusely in East Texas. The three-nerved
goldenrod (_Solidago trinervata_) is the common one in Southwest Texas.
[Illustration: STIFF GOLDENROD]
Stiff or Hard-Leaved Goldenrod (_Solidago rigida_) is one of about
thirty-five goldenrods found in the state. It belongs to the type which
is responsible for the common name, as the yellow flowers are in heads
arranged in rod-like clusters at the top of the stem. The scientific
name of “Solidago,” meaning “to make whole,” had its origin in the
healing properties of certain species.
The stiff goldenrod grows in dry rocky or sandy soil east of the Rocky
Mountains from Southern Canada to Texas. It grows 1½-2 feet high and has
broad leaves 1-2 inches long. Lindheimer’s goldenrod (_Solidago
lindheimeriana_) is a similar stout, leafy-stemmed plant which is
abundant in Central Texas and ranges to Kansas and Mexico. Bigelow’s
goldenrod (_Solidago bigelovii_) is another species with rod-like
clusters. It is found in the mountainous regions of West Texas and New
Mexico.
[Illustration: BROOM-WEED]
Broom-Weed. Kindling-Weed (_Amphiachyris dracunculoides_) is a pasture
pest in the southern part of the Great Plains region. The slender stem
is unbranched near the base, but above the middle the numerous spreading
branches form a flat-topped plant which bears many small heads of yellow
flowers. The plants are often 2-4 feet high and grow in dense masses. It
has been used as a broom by early settlers, Mexicans, and children at
play. The resinous foliage of the dried plants was also highly valued
for kindling fires.
The broom-weed is closely related to the rabbit-brush which is so
abundant in West Texas and New Mexico. The Texas rabbit-brush
(_Gutierrezia texana_) of West Texas is so much like the broom-weed that
only a close observer can distinguish them. Both have 5-8 flowers with
strap-shaped corollas in the outer part of the head and a few tubular
flowers in the center; both bloom in the late summer and fall.
[Illustration: CAMPHOR DAISY TEXAS GUMWEED]
Camphor Daisy (_Heterotheca subaxillaris_), so called because of the
camphor-like odor of the rough foliage, is a common summer pest to the
farmer. The plants often grow 3 feet high and are much branched, bearing
heads of golden-yellow flowers nearly an inch across. The upper leaves
are broad and clasping, but the lower are narrowed at the base. The
scientific name refers to the dissimilar fruits of the ray and disk
flowers, those of the ray flowers having no bristles. It ranges from
Delaware to Arizona and Mexico.
Texas Gumweed (_Grindelia texana_) belongs to a group easily recognized
because of its sticky, bur-like heads and thick leaves. This one is
common on rocky limestone slopes in Central Texas in the fall and ranges
to Southwest Missouri. The wand-like stems, covered with the overlapping
leaves, are topped by large heads of yellow flowers. Many gumweeds are
found in Texas. Some of them were used to relieve colds, asthma, and
rheumatism.
[Illustration: BIG GUMWEED]
Big Gumweed. Saw-Leaf Daisy (_Prionopsis ciliata_) is easily recognized
by its straight, stiff stalks which are closely covered with broad oval
leaves. Dense masses of the sentinel-like plants may be seen along
fence-rows in North-central and West Texas in August and September. It
ranges north to Kansas and Missouri. The stems are topped by short
clusters of large heads, 2-3 inches broad. The leaves are thick, gummy,
and closely beset with bristle-tipped teeth. Sometimes an injury to the
stem may cause it to become widely branched.
The scientific name means “resembling a saw” and refers to the
leaf-margins. It is not a true gumweed but has similar bur-like heads.
It differs from the gumweeds in having several unequal hair-like
bristles on the seed, whereas the seeds of gumweeds have 2-8 stiff
bristles.
[Illustration: YELLOW SLEEPY DAISY]
Yellow Sleepy Daisy (_Xanthisma texanum_) is a yellow daisy with lazy
habits, for the heads do not open until noon. It is close kin to the
white lazy daisy (_Aphanostephus skirrobasis_), and the two may often be
found growing in the same fields. The large heads of lemon-yellow
flowers are quite showy and attractive, 1½ inches broad, solitary at the
ends of the branches. The ray flowers are narrow, about one inch long,
and conspicuously lance-shaped at the tips.
This plant blooms in the late spring and summer and is found on sandy
prairies or open woods in Central Texas. It is an annual, the stem
branched above, commonly about 1-1½ feet high. The leaves are glossy
green, somewhat narrow, and one to two inches long. It has been
introduced into cultivation in the North and East. The name is Greek,
meaning “dyed yellow.”
[Illustration: BERLANDIER’S GOLDEN ASTER IRON FLOWER]
Berlandier’s Golden Aster (_Chrysopsis berlandieri_) is common on
roadside banks and prairies of Central and West Texas. Growing from a
perennial root, the branched stems sprawl in clumps about a foot broad
and are thick with yellow heads soon after a heavy rain. The heads are
nearly an inch broad, the flowers all yellow. The leaves are whitish and
somewhat woolly. It blooms in the summer and fall.
Spiny-Leaved Yellow Aster. Iron Flower (_Sideranthus spinulosus_) has
yellow heads much like the preceding, but the leaves are quite
different, being divided into narrow segments which are bristle-pointed
rather than spiny as the name indicates. “Sideranthus” means “iron
flower.” It is very abundant on prairies and hills in the western part
of the state and ranges to Canada and Mexico. It blooms from March to
October. The iron flowers are often called gold daisies. The southern
iron flower (_Sideranthus australis_) is common in Southwest Texas.
[Illustration: WHITE LAZY DAISY OAK-LEAVED FLEABANE DAISY]
White Lazy Daisy (_Aphanostephus skirrobasis_) grows very abundantly in
sandy soil in spring and summer. It ranges from Kansas to Mexico and
Florida. The morning traveller does not appreciate its beauty, for it is
truly a lazy daisy, not opening its heads until nearly noon. The plants
are usually branched and grow 6-18 inches high. The large, showy heads
are 1-2 inches across and are usually long-stalked. Unlike those of many
other daisies, the seeds are not topped by slender bristles but have an
inconspicuous crown, as is denoted by the scientific name, which is
Greek for “faint crown.”
Oak-Leaved Fleabane Daisy (_Erigeron quercifolius_) is very abundant in
the spring in the East Texas woods and ranges through the Southern
States. The lower leaves resemble oak leaves, but those on the stem are
narrow and pointed. The numerous fleabane daisies in the state may be
readily recognized by means of the many, very narrow ray flowers which
are usually white, pale pink, or pale lavender.
Kiss-me-and-I’ll-tell-you (_Erigeron annuus_) is a taller daisy and is
very abundant in East Texas.
[Illustration: DWARF WHITE ASTER DWARF BLUE ASTER]
Dwarf Blue Aster (_Keerlia bellidiflora_) is a shade-loving, sprawling
plant growing in moist soil in Central Texas. Its small heads, less than
half an inch across, have the aster habit of closing at night and
opening in bright light. The outer ray flowers are bluish-lavender, and
the tubular inner flowers are yellow. It blooms from late March to May.
Dwarf White Aster (_Chaetopappa asteroides_) is a very small and wiry
plant, growing two to ten inches high and becoming much branched with
age. The small narrow heads with white rays and yellow disk flowers are
less than half an inch broad. The leaves are narrow, commonly broader
about the middle, and about half an inch long. The scientific name
refers to the bristles on the seed. It is very abundant in sandy soil
throughout the state and ranges to Missouri and Mexico. It blooms from
March until early summer.
[Illustration: ROADSIDE ASTER. BLACKWEED]
Blackweed. Roadside Aster (_Aster exilis_) is probably the least showy
of the asters but is very abundant in Texas. It ranges from Kansas to
Texas and Florida. The white, daisy-like heads may be noted against the
dark-green foliage in roadside ditches, or it may appear as a violet
haze along the highway. Although it is considered one of the common lawn
pests in the fall, yet even there it is a thing of beauty; for when the
slender stems are cut, numerous branches spread out from the base, and
soon the grass is studded with the tiny white or lavender heads. Keepers
of bees on the coastal prairie highly prize it as the source of their
most palatable honey.
Spiny Aster (_Aster spinosus_) is quite similar to the roadside aster
and has inconspicuous leaves which are sometimes reduced to spines. The
flower heads are less than an inch broad with white outer flowers. It
forms dense growths in river bottoms and along irrigation ditches and is
especially abundant in the vicinity of El Paso.
[Illustration: LATE PURPLE ASTER TANSY ASTER]
Late Purple Aster (_Aster patens_) shows its lovely heads in October and
November along the edges of post oak woods throughout the state. It is
easily recognized by the short, broad, and roughened leaves on the
wand-like stems. The illustration given is that of variety _gracilis_
which is abundant in the vicinity of Fort Worth. Many asters are found
in the state, but very few make a conspicuous floral display except
along the coastal plain and river bottoms.
Tansy Aster. Dagger-Flower (_Machaeranthera tanacetifolia_) has leaves
much like those of the spiny-leaved yellow aster, but the
purple-flowered heads are much larger and very showy, 1-2 inches broad.
The heads are surrounded by bracts with green spreading tips. The inner
tubular flowers are yellow but soon turn reddish-brown. It ranges from
Nebraska to Mexico and California. This is one of the loveliest flowers
on the western plains, blooming from May to October.
[Illustration: OIL WILLOW]
Narrow-Leaved Baccharis. Oil Willow (_Baccharis angustifolia_) looks
very much like the black willow, to which, however, it bears no
relationship. The leaves of baccharis have a resinous texture, and the
flowers appear in the late summer and fall. The pollen-bearing flowers
are not borne on the same shrub with the seed-bearing flowers. The
flowers, all small, inconspicuous, whitish, and tubular, are borne in a
narrow head of ovate bracts which soon turn brown.
It is called the oil willow by some of the older residents because it is
said to be an indicator of oil, just as the black willow is said to be a
good indicator of water. It is also called brittle willow, false willow,
and resin willow. It grows in brackish marshes throughout the state and
may be found eastward to North Carolina. The soft white plumy bristles
on the seed give the shrub the feathery appearance of the Yankee-weed.
Along the coast in the southeastern part, the groundsel-tree or
pencil-tree (_Baccharis halimifolia_) is a lovely sight in the fall.
[Illustration: LARGE RABBIT TOBACCO SMALL RABBIT TOBACCO]
Large Rabbit Tobacco (_Filago prolifera_) is a low plant less than six
inches high with a few short branches at the top of the stem and
sometimes a few at the base. The flowers are small and inconspicuous,
being borne in woolly, rather flattened heads which are about half an
inch broad. It blooms from January to June and ranges from Texas to
South Dakota.
Small Rabbit Tobacco (_Filago nivea_) is a smaller plant but is more
densely clothed with woolly hairs. The minute, ball-like heads are
clustered together. Both of these plants are also known as poverty-weed,
chewing gum, and ladies’ tobacco. Poverty-weed is a suitable name for
them in the sheep-grazing section of Central Texas which has been
heavily over-grazed. In many pastures they take the place of grasses as
a ground cover. The leaves may be chewed for gum. The rabbit tobacco is
closely related to the cudweeds and everlastings. The plantain-leaved
everlasting grows in moist woods in East Texas.
[Illustration: SOUTHERN MARSH FLEABANE]
Southern Marsh Fleabane (_Pluchea purpurascens_) grows only in marshes
or in continually moist places. The flowers are more rose-colored than
purplish, as the name would indicate, and the tawny bristles on the
seeds soon give a brownish tint to the heads. It often grows in pleasing
combination with the blue mist-flower. It ranges from Texas to Florida
and tropical America and blooms in the summer and fall.
The plants are commonly about two feet high, the stems being unbranched
below and very leafy. The broad leaves are pointed at the tip and
narrowed into stalk-like bases except on the upper part of the stem. The
leaf-margins are irregularly toothed. The fragrant flowers are borne in
small oblong heads in a flat-topped cluster.
The cudweeds are closely related to the marsh fleabane. They are
particularly abundant in the mountains of West Texas, the loveliest one
being Wright’s cudweed or everlasting (_Gnaphalium wrightii_), which has
white flowers and foliage.
[Illustration: ROCK DAISY BLACKFOOT DAISY]
Prairie Blackfoot Daisy. Mountain Daisy. Rock Daisy (_Melampodium
cinereum_) is very abundant on limestone slopes and in dry soil from
Texas to Arkansas, Kansas, and Arizona. The scientific name is from the
Greek words meaning “black foot” and refers to the blackened roots and
stalks.
Blackfoot Daisy (_Melampodium ramosissimum_) grows from a black woody
base and has many branched stems which form a dense rounded mound one to
two feet broad. After sufficient rainfall from early spring until
winter, this mound is covered by the saucy heads of white daisy-like
flowers. The heads are about three-fourths inch across and have an outer
row of 8-11 broad white ray-flowers. This is the most vigorous one of
the blackfoot daisies and makes an excellent plant for the rock garden.
It grows in Southwest Texas. The seeds are enclosed in a thickened
cornucopia-like floral bract which has a flaring rim and many warty
projections.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE ZINNIA TEXAS STAR DAISY]
Texas Star Daisy. Lindheimer’s Daisy (_Lindheimera texana_) shows its
star-like flower heads early in the spring while the plants are low and
the leaves are closely clustered. By June the plants are tall and widely
branched above. This plant honors by its name Ferdinand J. Lindheimer,
an early settler of New Braunfels and editor of the “Neu Braunfelser
Zeitung.” Lindheimer began his collection of Texas plants in 1836 and
continued until his death in 1879. With the assistance of Dr. George
Engelmann of St. Louis and Dr. Asa Gray of Harvard University,
Lindheimer’s collections between 1842 and 1852, representing more than
1400 species of plants, were classified and distributed to the leading
herbaria of Europe and America. A part of this collection is owned by
the University of Texas Herbarium.
Prairie Zinnia (_Zinnia grandiflora_) grows in low, rounded clumps from
Kansas to Mexico and Arizona and blooms from June to September. The
bright yellow ray flowers are nearly round and remain on the seeds. With
age they become papery, and the yellow disk flowers turn reddish-brown.
The common zinnia in cultivation was introduced from Mexico.
[Illustration: CUT-LEAVED DAISY. ENGELMANN’S DAISY]
Cut-Leaved Daisy. Engelmann’s Daisy (_Engelmannia pinnatifida_) is
closely related to the sunflowers but has the daisy habit of closing the
flower heads at night and opening them in bright sunlight. It is one of
the commonest plants on prairies from Kansas to Louisiana and Arizona
and grows in dense patches along roadsides and pastures from April to
July.
The rough, hairy plants grow one to three feet high and are topped by
broad clusters of long-stalked, showy yellow heads which are 1½-2 inches
broad. The divided leaves are short-stalked on the lower part of the
stem and on the upper part have clasping basal lobes.
This daisy honors the name of Dr. George Engelmann, an eminent botanist
of St. Louis, who died in 1884.
[Illustration: NIGGERHEAD]
Niggerhead. Thimble Flower (_Ratibida columnaris_) is also called
Mexican hat, niggertoe, “gallitos,” long-headed or prairie cone-flower,
and black-eyed Susan, though the last term is erroneously used. It is a
very handsome plant, which is widely distributed on plains from Southern
Canada to Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee. In South Texas it is at its
best in April and May; in North Texas it is lovely in late May and June.
Numerous erect stems grow from a woody perennial root and are commonly
two to two and a half feet high. The long-stalked heads terminate the
branches. The leaves are finely divided into long narrow segments, both
leaves and stem being somewhat rough.
The showy flowers have drooping, velvety rays which are entirely yellow
or reddish-brown or partly colored yellow and brown. The small tubular
flowers are brown and are borne on a thimble-shaped or columnar disk
which varies greatly in size on different flowers, sometimes being
nearly two inches long, but it is usually about an inch long. The disk
is gray-green before the flowers open.
The dwarf niggerhead (_Ratibida tagetes_) is quite similar to the large
niggerhead in growth habit and coloring, but it is a smaller plant and
has smaller flowers. It is found from Kansas to Mexico on dry plains and
blooms a month later than the large niggerhead.
The niggerhead belongs to a small group of showy American plants. It was
introduced into European gardens many years ago, whence it later made
its way back to American gardens. The niggerhead group is closely
related to the black-eyed Susan and other cone-flowers. Several giant
yellow-flowered cone-flowers grow in East Texas.
[Illustration: CLASPING-LEAVED CONE-FLOWER BLACK-EYED SUSAN]
Clasping-Leaved Cone-Flower (_Dracopis amplexicaulis_) makes a showy
display in roadside ditches from Central Texas to Louisiana and
Missouri. It is a handsome plant with smooth branched stems one to two
feet high. The slightly drooping rays commonly have brown spots at the
base but may be all yellow. It is often called niggerhead or black-eyed
Susan, but it may be distinguished from the latter by the thimble-shaped
heads, which are green before the brownish disk flowers open. In South
Texas it is at its best the latter part of April, but in North Texas
June is its best month.
Black-Eyed Susan (_Rudbeckia hirta_) is a common daisy of the plains
region from Southern Canada to Texas and Florida. It is a rough, hairy
plant which grows from one to three feet high. Closely resembling it is
_Rudbeckia bicolor_, which has shorter ray flowers marked with a
reddish-brown base. The ray flowers of _Rudbeckia hirta_ may also show a
dark base. Both are widely cultivated. The group was named in honor of
Claus Rudbeck, a Swedish botanist.
[Illustration: SAMPSON’S ROOT. PURPLE CONE-FLOWER]
Sampson’s Root. Narrow-Leaved Purple Cone-Flower (_Echinachea
angustifolia_) is easily recognized by the spreading or somewhat
drooping rose-colored rays. The heads terminate the stiff, unbranched
stems which, like the narrow leaves, are very rough and bristly. The
stems grow one to two feet high and are scattered on limestone hillsides
but may occasionally be found in dense patches along the roadsides. The
leaves have three prominent nerves.
The scientific name is derived from the Greek and refers to the stiff
reddish-brown chaff on the flower head. This chaff obscures the brown
disk flowers and remains on the heads long after the seeds have fallen.
This plant is hard to distinguish from the pale purple cone-flower
(_Echinachea pallida_), which grows in the woods in the eastern part of
the state. The latter has longer and more drooping ray flowers. The
purple cone-flowers are well known in cultivation.
[Illustration: RAGWEED. LYRE-LEAVED PARTHENIUM]
Ragweed. Lyre-Leaved Parthenium (_Parthenium lyratum_) blooms from early
spring until fall in Southwest Texas. This is a smaller plant than the
common parthenium (_Parthenium hysterophorus_), which is widespread in
the Gulf States and tropical America. The latter is a widely branched
plant two to three feet high and grows in dense masses. They have
similar flower clusters with small heads of greenish-white flowers.
Neither of these is the ragweed or bloodweed commonly associated with
hay fever; however, the common parthenium is listed as a poisonous
plant. Wild quinine or feverfew (_Parthenium integrifolium_), used as a
pioneer drug to relieve fever, has been reported from the state.
Several shrubby partheniums are found in West Texas. The most important
member of the group is the silver-leaved guayule or rubber plant
(_Parthenium argentatum_), found in West Texas and Mexico. It is a
commercial source of rubber but is not yet profitable, as the plants are
of slow growth.
[Illustration: COMMON SUNFLOWER]
Common Sunflower (_Helianthus annuus_) has been known in cultivation for
many years but is considered native from Minnesota to Texas and Mexico.
It is the state flower of Kansas. The stout, erect stems are widely
branched above the base and are very sticky, 2-10 feet high. The flower
heads, 3-6 inches broad, have many yellow ray flowers about an inch long
and numerous tubular disk flowers. It is grown commercially for its
fiber and seeds. The seeds make an excellent food for poultry and
furnish an oil used in making soap, candles, and salad dressing.
Two other sunflowers are widely distributed in the state. The orange
sunflower (_Helianthus cucumerifolius_) grows in the sandy post oak
belt, and the blue-weed (_Helianthus ciliaris_) is very abundant in West
Texas. The latter is a low, branching perennial which is poisonous to
sheep.
[Illustration: TEXAS COREOPSIS GOLDEN WAVE CALLIOPSIS]
Texas Coreopsis (_Coreopsis nuecensis_) was first described from plants
found on the lower part of the Nueces River. It is quite widespread on
the southern coastal prairie from March to May. It may be distinguished
from other annual species of coreopsis by the circle of reddish-brown
marks near the base of the yellow rays. The leaves are mostly basal and
long-stalked.
Golden Wave. Drummond’s Coreopsis (_Coreopsis drummondii_) has showy,
long-stalked heads, about 2 in. broad. They are borne on widely branched
plants about a foot high. The leaves are divided into broad segments,
and both leaves and stems have scattered soft hairs. It is very abundant
on sandy coastal prairies in April and May and is well known in
cultivation.
Calliopsis. Prairie Coreopsis (_Coreopsis cardaminefolia_) is a
late-blooming annual plant, the flowers appearing in North Texas about
the middle of June. It ranges from Kansas to Mexico and Louisiana. This
plant greatly resembles the golden coreopsis (_Coreopsis tinctoria_),
which is abundant on the coastal prairies in March and April.
“Coreopsis” is derived from the Greek, meaning “bug-like,” and refers to
the seed. The plants are often called tickseeds.
[Illustration: FALSE COREOPSIS]
False Coreopsis. Fine-Leaved Thelesperma (_Thelesperma trifidum_) is
sometimes erroneously called black-eyed Susan. It closely resembles the
coreopsis when the flowers are in the bud stage. The flowers may readily
be distinguished from those of the coreopsis because the ray flowers are
not marked with a brown spot at the base and are divided into three
equal lobes at the tip. The ray flowers of the coreopsis are commonly
divided into four lobes, the two lateral being shorter than the two
middle lobes. The leaves are finely divided into long, narrow segments.
This is one of the most widely distributed plants on the prairies from
Mexico to Colorado, South Dakota, and Missouri. The yellow of Central
Texas landscapes in late April and May is due to thelesperma. Scattered
plants continue to bloom through the summer and fall. The plants grow
1-2 feet high and become widely branched. The disk flowers are a
reddish-brown.
[Illustration: PLAINS PAPER-FLOWER]
Plains Paper-Flower (_Psilostrophe villosa_) is another western plant
which has foliage covered with a dense white woolly coat of hairs. This
hairy coat is a plant device for enabling it to withstand dry growth
conditions. There are only three or four ray flowers which are much
broader than long and are conspicuously three-lobed. The heads are
densely clustered on short branches at the top of the stems, which are
from six inches to two feet high.
Near El Paso is found the lovely western paper-flower or Cooper’s
psilostrophe (_Psilostrophe cooperi_). It grows in spreading clumps
about two feet broad and bears long-stalked heads over an inch wide. As
the flowers are bright yellow and remain lovely for months, they are
often gathered for winter bouquets. Eventually they become white and
papery. _Psilostrophe tagetinae_ has somewhat larger flowers than the
plains paper-flower and is probably the most abundant paper-flower in
the state. When cattle graze upon it for several weeks, they suffer a
slow poisoning. The marigold is a close relative, both the African and
French marigolds being derived from Mexican plants introduced into
cultivation about 1573.
[Illustration: FOUR-NERVED DAISY SILVER-LEAF DAISY]
Actinella Daisy. Four-Nerved Daisy (_Tetraneuris linearis_) grows with
small tufts of narrow leaves from a woody perennial root. The heads,
which are borne on stalks 2-8 inches long, close at night. The plants
often bloom throughout the year in Central and South Texas. They grow on
rocky limestone hillsides in Texas and New Mexico. The broad,
four-nerved ray flowers form a close border around the conic disk, which
is covered with small yellow tubular flowers. The veins of the outer
flowers, which give rise to the scientific name, are sometimes purplish.
Silver-Leaf Daisy (_Bahia dealbata_) is common in the western part of
the state into Arizona and Mexico. It grows 1-2 feet high from a woody
perennial root and often blooms throughout the year. The long-stalked
heads are a little over an inch broad with 9-12 yellow ray flowers. On
the silvery-gray stem the few leaves are commonly opposite, broad and
short-stalked, with a pair of lateral lobes near the base.
[Illustration: HUISACHE DAISY BITTERWEED]
Huisache Daisy (_Amblyolepis setigera_) is so called because it often
forms a carpet of gold under huisache (pronounced _wee satch_),
mesquite, or other chaparral bushes in Southwest-central Texas from
March to June. It is also called honey or butterfly daisy and
clasping-leaved bitterweed. It has the strong scent common to the
bitterweed, but is fragrant in drying. The plants are often loosely
branched, growing 6-12 inches high, and the yellow heads are about 1½
inches broad.
Sneezeweed. Fine-Leaved Bitterweed (_Helenium tenuifolium_) is often
found in pastures which have been over-grazed. It has a strong-scented
foliage which gives milk a bitter flavor. The ball-shaped mound of
disk-flowers (reminding one of camomile) and the few drooping ray
flowers, which have a broad 3-toothed edge and a narrow base, are
characteristic of the group. The seeds are small and are said to cause
sneezing when they are thrown into the air. The bitterweed blooms from
May to October and ranges from Texas to Virginia.
[Illustration: INDIAN BLANKET]
Indian Blanket. Firewheel. Beautiful Gaillardia (_Gaillardia pulchella_)
is the pride of Texas prairies. The landscape becomes a vivid red and
yellow in April, May, and early June when the firewheels are in bloom.
It is a highly-prized cultivated plant, and many varieties have been
developed. There are several species of gaillardias and many of them are
native to Texas. The beautiful one is the most widespread, ranging from
Texas to Louisiana, Nebraska, Arizona, and Mexico. The gaillardias are
named for a French botanist, Gaillard.
The heads are usually two or three inches across and are long-stalked.
Each head has 10-20 broad ray flowers which are sometimes all red but
usually are marked with a brilliant yellow across the three lobes. The
upper leaves are lance-shaped, and the lower are oblong and marked with
a few teeth or lobes. It is an annual plant which is widely branched and
grows one to one and a half feet high.
[Illustration: TINY TIM]
Tiny Tim. Spreading Thyme-Leaf (_Thymophylla polychaeta_) is found on
sandy prairies from South Texas to Mexico and New Mexico. There are
several thyme-leaf species in the state. They may be recognized by their
scented foliage and the cup-like base of the flower heads, the bracts of
the head being marked with large yellow or orange glands. There is
something appealing about the tiny Tim, as the name would indicate. The
branching stems with their lacy green leaves form rosettes which are
dotted with the yellow daisy-like flowers.
Dwarf Thyme-Leaf. Tiny Tim (_Thymophylla pentachaeta_) clings to cliffs
and rocky hillsides. It is a perennial plant with short stems four to
six inches high. The leaves are short and needle-like and are borne in
dense clusters around the stem. The flower heads are about half an inch
broad. Tiny Tim ranges from Texas to Arizona and Mexico.
[Illustration: DOG’S CAMOMILE]
Dog Fennel. Mayweed. Dog’s Camomile (_Anthemis cotulla_) is a
strong-scented herb widely scattered in America, naturalized from
Europe. It is very abundant in sandy soil in the eastern part of the
state. The plants are widely branched and bear numerous heads about an
inch broad. The rays are broad and wide and the disk flowers are yellow.
It begins to bloom in Texas in March, but the plants are at their best
in May and June. It is close kin to the European camomile, which is used
medicinally, a soothing tea being made from the dried ball-shaped heads
of yellow flowers.
Closely related to camomile and yarrow are the artemisias, which include
many species known as dusty miller, wormwood, sage-brush, and purple
sage. The silvery wormwood or thread-leaved sage-brush (_Artemisia
filifolius_) is very abundant in the sandy areas of West Texas and
throughout the Rocky Mountain States and Mexico. It blooms from July to
October.
[Illustration: YARROW]
Yarrow. Woods Milfoil (_Achillea millefolium_) was named in honor of
Achilles, to whom is attributed the discovery of its healing properties.
It is supposed to stop bleeding, relieve spasms, produce sweating, and
act as a tonic. The woods milfoil is widely distributed in woods in the
United States, Europe, and Asia. It makes a nice garden plant, for the
lacy fern-like leaves remain green all winter. The stems grow one to two
feet high and are topped by the flat flower-cluster. The ray flowers are
white or sometimes pale pink or lavender, and the disk flowers are pale
yellow.
Plains Yarrow. Woolly Milfoil (_Achillea lanulosa_) grows in moist
places on the plains from Texas to Canada, Mexico, and California. It is
very much like the woods yarrow but differs in that it has fewer
gray-green leaves and round-topped flower clusters. Its blooming season
is a little later than that of the woods yarrow, which blooms in April
and May.
[Illustration: TEXAS SQUAW-WEED]
Texas Squaw-Weed. Clasping-Leaved Groundsel (_Senecio ampullaceus_) is
an annual plant which grows so abundantly on the sandy prairies of Texas
that it forms a carpet of gold for miles and miles. It is one of the
earliest spring flowers to bloom in such showy profusion. The plants
commonly grow 1½-2 feet high, being branched above and forming
flat-topped flower-clusters which are often a foot broad. When quite
young, the plants are densely white-woolly but become smooth and shining
with age. The irregularly toothed leaves are 3-6 inches long and have a
broad clasping base. The groundsel belongs to one of our largest groups
of plants, some 1200 species being widely distributed over the earth.
Fine-leaved or woolly groundsel (_Senecio filifolius_) has woolly leaves
divided into narrow segments. The large heads are often in bloom
throughout the year in West Texas and New Mexico.
[Illustration: AMERICAN STAR THISTLE]
American Star Thistle. Basket Flower (_Centaurea americana_) is often
called spineless thistle because the leaves do not bear spines as do the
leaves of its close relative, the purple thistle. It is also known as
powder puffs, sweet sultan, and “cardo del valle.” It is a hardy annual
which is widely cultivated. Basket flower is the name under which it is
known in cultivation—a name which refers to the stiff, straw-colored
bracts of the flower head. These bracts are not spiny but are divided at
the tip into finger-like projections.
Before the flowers are fully opened, the heads resemble a shaving-brush,
and this is a common name frequently applied to this and other thistles.
All the flowers are tubular and divided into five long narrow lobes. In
one variety the fully-opened flower cluster has an outer border of
numerous lavender flowers with cream-colored flowers in the center.
There is another variety which has outer flowers a deep rose or reddish
purple and center flowers pale pink or rose; sometimes there is little
difference in shade between the inner and outer flowers.
The stems are usually branched and grow about two feet high. They are
marked with wing-like ridges and are covered with the overlapping,
ascending leaves. In Texas the flowers begin to bloom in May and
continue into June, being at their best the first week in June. After
the flowering season, the foliage becomes yellow and dried, and the old
stalks remain conspicuous in the fields for several months. The star
thistle is found on plains from Missouri to Louisiana, Mexico, and
Arizona. The variety which has reddish-purple flowers is very abundant
in the vicinity of Waco and Fort Worth.
The scientific name meaning “of the Centaurs” refers to the use by the
Centaurs of certain species for healing. The cornflower or bachelor’s
button (_Centaurea cyanus_) is a well-known garden annual.
[Illustration: WAVY-LEAVED THISTLE PURPLE-THISTLE]
Wavy-Leaved Thistle (_Carduus undulatus_) is the common prairie thistle
and is particularly abundant in the vicinity of Fort Worth. It grows
only 1-2 feet high, and the upper leaf-surfaces are yellow-green. The
heads are nearly twice as large as those of the purple thistle, and the
flowers are a lovely lavender color. It ranges from Southern Canada to
Texas and Arizona and blooms in Texas from April to June.
Purple Thistle (_Carduus austrinus_) is the common thistle in the
south-central part of the state. It is a tall, much branched plant, 3-4
feet high, with long-stalked heads of purple flowers. The stems are
white-woolly, and the leaves are white-felty beneath and dark-green
above, wavy-margined, lobed or divided, the segments being tipped with
spines. The heads are about 1½ inches high and broad. The numerous light
purple flowers are all tubular with narrow lobes. The thistles belong to
a large group, its most renowned representative being the Scotch
thistle.
[Illustration: NODDING THISTLE]
Nodding Thistle. Silver Puffs. Sunbonnet Babies (_Thrysanthema nutans_)
lacks the spines of the true thistles, but other characters show that
this interesting little plant is closely related to the thistle group.
The leaves form a basal rosette from which grows the slender, leafless
flowering stalk bearing the nodding flower head. The lyre-shaped leaves
are wavy-margined, dark-green above and white-felty below, 2-4 inches
long. The stalk is sometimes 15 inches long but is commonly about 8
inches high. The creamy-white flowers are rather inconspicuous, but as
the seeds mature, the soft white bristles spread into a showy whorl. The
plants are found in scattered places in rich soil from Central Texas to
Mexico.
Closely kin to the nodding thistle is the desert holly (_Perezia nana_),
which has salmon-pink flowers and holly-like leaves. It is a low plant
seeking the shelter of creosote bush, yucca, and other shrubs in West
Texas.
CHICORY FAMILY (Cichoriaceae)
[Illustration: PURPLE DANDELION]
Plants with milky juice; all flowers strap-shaped, in dense heads,
surrounded by involucral bracts; corolla 5-lobed; stamens 5; ovary
inferior.
Purple Dandelion. Flowering Straw (_Lygodesmia texana_) can nearly
always be found in the prairie sections of the state from spring to
fall, but the lovely flowers seldom make a showy display along the
roadsides. Only one head blooms at a time on the slender forking stems,
and that remains open only in the mornings. The heads are made up of
8-12 pale purple strap-shaped corollas, with the lavender styles
conspicuously erect in the center. The tip of the corolla is divided
into five minute lobes. The stems are almost leafless but have a cluster
of short-lobed, narrow gray-green leaves at the base.
Small-Flowered Straw (_Ptiloria pauciflora_) is a white-flowered chicory
with low spreading stems. It is abundant in West Texas and New Mexico.
[Illustration: FALSE DANDELION]
Many-Stemmed False Dandelion (_Sitilias multicaulis_) has lemon-yellow
flower heads which closely resemble those of the true dandelion, but the
plants grow much taller and are often widely branched. From early spring
through June, the false dandelion is very abundant on the coastal and
western prairies. The heads are made up of several rows of strap-shaped
corollas. The fruits are narrow and have attached a spreading tuft of
bristles which makes the head in fruit look like a puff ball of lace.
This tuft is a parachute device for scattering the seeds far and wide.
White Dandelion (_Pinaropappus roseus_) has flower heads very much like
those of the yellow dandelions, but the flowers vary in color from white
to pale pink, and the heads are larger. It is very abundant in March and
April in Southwest-Central Texas.
Several garden plants belong to the chicory family, among them being
lettuce, salsify, and chicory. The orange hawkweed is often cultivated
for ornament.
FINDING LISTS
The following lists are given to assist the reader in identifying
plants. Several special groupings are first given according to
conditions and habit of growth. If the plant sought does not qualify for
these lists, then the longer seasonal and color lists should be
consulted. Several wide-spread plants which the author had to omit
because of lack of space have been mentioned in the lists; these may be
recognized by the absence of a page reference. Several related species,
not mentioned in the text and which may be recognized as close relatives
of those illustrated although they may differ in color and season of
growth, have been included in the lists.
Opposite each name is given the number of the page on which the plant is
described and a symbol which designates the place of growth. The section
of the state is not given in the lists, as prairie plants are much the
same throughout the state as are the plants in the sandy soil of post
oak woods. However, climatic conditions of moisture and temperature
limit the range of many plants, and the text should be consulted for the
distributional range.
The time of flowering in Central Texas has been taken as the basis for
listing the plants according to seasonal distribution. Quite frequently
the season in North Texas will be a month later than that of Central
Texas, and in South Texas it will be a month earlier. Hence it may be
necessary to consult the lists for adjoining seasons if the desired
plant is not found in the first list to be checked. Some plants,
especially many herbaceous perennials on the western plains, have
flowering seasons in both spring and fall; others bloom throughout the
warmer months after heavy rains. If a plant cannot be located in the
fall list, the spring list should be consulted.
The month of April shows the greatest profusion of flowers in nearly all
parts of the state. At some of the wild flower exhibits held at the
University of Texas, nearly 500 species from Central and Southeast Texas
have been shown at one time. Therefore the reader is warned not to
expect to find every flower he picks up among the 257 illustrations
given in these pages.
The plants are listed in the following color groups: red and orange,
pink and rose, blue, white, yellow, purple, and green. Under white
flowers are grouped those delicately tinted with green, yellow, blue,
pink, or lavender. Blue flowers are seldom a true blue but are usually a
combination of blue and purple which may be interpreted by some people
as blue and by others as purple. Hence if a plant considered as
blue-flowered cannot be found in the blue list, then the purple list
should be consulted.
FINDING LISTS
The reader may find the following distribution of pages and symbols
helpful in identifying plants:
2-16 Mostly lily-like, succulent plants.
17-91 Petals of flowers usually not united.
92-151 Petals usually united into tubular, bell-shaped,
funnelform, or salverform corollas.
152-193 Composites: many tubular flowers, often of two types,
growing in a head-like cluster.
P Prairies.
Pc Coastal prairies.
Ps Sandy prairies.
Pb Blackland prairies.
L Limestone hills.
W Woods and thickets.
Wo Post oak woods.
Wp Pine woods.
M Water or moist places.
C Chaparral.
T Trans-Pecos or mountainous region.
(See map p. xvi)
AIR PLANTS
Spanish moss
Ball moss
WATER PLANTS
RED
Iris, 15
PINK
Pogonia, 16
Smartweed, 18
BLUE
Iris, 15
Water lily, 24
Nama, 111
WHITE
Arrowhead, 2
Spider lily, 12
Water lily, 24
Violet, 74
Water pimpernel, 93
Water pennywort
Water mist-flower
Bur-head
YELLOW
Spatterdock, 24
Water lily, 24
Buttercups, 27
Pitcher-plant, 39
Sedum, 40
Water primrose, 79
Bur-marigold
Bladderwort
Yellow-eyed grass
PURPLE
Water hyacinth, 6
Pickerel-weed, 6
Iris, 15
Bladderwort
Mud-plantain
SHRUBS OR SMALL TREES
RED
Buckeye, 68
Indigo plant, 54
Coral bean, 58
Flame acanthus, 139
Bouvardia, 144
Coral honeysuckle, 145
Mexican apple, 71
PINK
Prairie rose, 42
Redbud, 47
Dalea, 55
Pavonia, 73
Mexican buckeye
BLUE
Texas mountain laurel, 51
WHITE[2]
Yucca, 9
Rose, 41
Dewberry, 43
Mesquite, 45
Yaupon, 67
Dogwood, 85, 86
Tree-huckleberry, 92
Mexican persimmon, 94
French mulberry, 118
Honeysuckle, 146
Mist-flower, 153
False willow, 166
YELLOW
Agarita, 30
Buckeye, 68
Huisache, 44
Retama, 50
Porophyllum
Sea ox-eye
Flourensia
Gymnolomia
Damiana
Creosote bush
Yellow elder, 138
PURPLE
Texas mountain laurel, 52
Walking-stick cactus, 81
Cenizo, 131
Desert willow, 138
Dalea, 55
Eve’s necklace
EARLY SPRING
RED AND ORANGE-RED
Buckeye, 68-W
Poppy mallow, 72-P
Copper mallow, 70-Pb
PINK AND ROSE
Mexican buckeye, L, T
Redbud, 47-W, L
Pink prairie star, 98-Ps, M
Least bluet, 143-Ps
BLUE
Anemone, 25-W, P
Mountain laurel, 52-L
Small bluet, 143-Ps, M
Lobelia, 151-Ps
WHITE
Anemone, 25-W, P
Acacia, C
Blackfoot daisy, 169-L, P
Dwarf white aster, 163-W, Ps
Spanish bayonet, 9-CT
Peppergrass, 36-P
Crow-poison, 8-P
Whitlow-grass, 36-P
Chickweed, Ps, W
Violet, 74-M, Pc
YELLOW
Agarita, 30-LC
Scrambled eggs, 35-P
Huisache, 44-C
Buckeye, 68-W, L
Small squaw-weed, P
Tansy mustard, 37-P
Dwarf flax, 61-Ps
Golden puccoon, 114-Pb
Bladderpod, 37-P
Four-nerved daisy, 181-P, L
Big squaw-weed, 187-Ps
Lindheimer’s daisy, 170-Pb
Huisache daisy, 182-Ps
PURPLE
Anemone, 25-W, P
Mountain laurel, 52-LC
Ground plum, 56-Pb
Purple wood-sorrel, 62-W
Poppy mallow, 72-Pb
Violet, 74-Wp, M
Small bluet, 143-Ps
Venus’ looking-glass, 150-P
SPRING
RED AND ORANGE-RED
Buckeye, 68-W
Poppy mallow, 72-Pb
Copper mallow, 70-Ps
Red star-mallow, 70-P
Cross-vine, 138-Wp
Coral bean, 58-W
Leather flower, 29-W
Standing cypress, 104-Wo
Paint brush, 132-Ps
Red sage, 126-W
Gaura, Ps
Beard-tongue, 137-Wo
Indian blanket, 183-Pb
Sand-bur, 51-Pb
Red-brown iris, 15-M
Coral honeysuckle, W
Butterfly weed, 100-Wo, Ps
Scarlet pimpernel, 93-Ps
PINK AND ROSE
Sensitive briar, 46-Pb
Purple paint-brush, 131-Pb, L
Wild onion, 8-Pb
Pogonia, 16-M
Prickly poppy, 32-Ps
Pink milkwort, 164-W
Pink buttercup, 81-Pb
Pink prairie star, 98-Pc, M
Prairie phlox, 110-W
Lemon mint, 121-M
Baby’s breath, 144-Pb
Purple coneflower, 175-W, L
Sand verbena, 19-Ps
BLUE
Carolina larkspur, 25-W
Celestial, 13-P, Wo
Bluebonnet, 53-P, L
Blue gilia, 105-P, L
Spiderwort, 4-Pb, W
Dayflower, 5-P, W
Psoralea, P
Blue-eyed grass, 14-P, W
Blue Beard-tongue, 137-P
WHITE
Larkspur, 25-Pb
Wild rose, 41-Pb, W
Dewberry, 43-W
Blackberry, 43-W
Poppy mallow, 72-Pb
Beggar’s ticks, 90-Pb
Camomile, 185-W, Ps
Prairie lace, 87-Pb
Death camass, 7-Pb
Beargrass, 9-P, T
Spanish bayonet, 9-CL
Arrowhead, 2-M
Chickweed, 23-Ps
Peppergrass, 36-P, W
Violet, 74-W, M, Pc
Dogwood, 85-W
Cornel, 86-W
Rain-lily, 10-W, P
Spider-lily, 11-M
Ladies’-tresses, 16-M, W
Angel trumpet, 20-P
Prickly poppy, 32-33-P
Greggia, 38-T
White milkwort, 64-Pb, L
Plantain, 142-P
Baby’s breath, 144-L, Pb
Honeysuckle, 146-L, T
Blackfoot daisy, 169-L, Pb
Dwarf white aster, 169-P, W
Lazy daisy, 162-Ps
Fleabane daisy, 162-W, Pc
Lamb’s lettuce, 147-Pb, L
Lobelia, 151-Pc
Rabbit tobacco, 167-P
Nodding thistle, 191-W
Water pimpernel, 93-M
Farkleberry, 92-W
Gaura, 84-P
Evening primrose, 81-P
Mexican persimmon, 94-L
Yaupon, 67-W
YELLOW
Wild dill, 91-Pb
Two-leaved senna, 48-Pb, L
Retama, 50-M
Bush pea, 53-Wo, P
Niggerhead, 173-Pb
Englemann’s daisy, 171-Pb
Tansy mustard, 37-P
Coreopsis, 178-Ps, Pc
False coreopsis, 179-Pb
Buttercups, 27-M
Evening primroses, 79-P
Square-bud primrose, 83-Pb, L
Flutter-mill, 82-L
Coneflower, 174-P
Blackeyed Susan, 174-Ps
Flax, 61-P, L
Yellow star grass, 11-Wp
Pitcher-plant, 39-M
Mexican poppy, 34-P
Bladderpod, 37-P
Stonecrop, 40-L, P
Dwarf blue-eyed grass, 14-M
Squaw-weed, 187-Ps
Ground cherry, 130-W, P
Wild balsam, 148-W, Pb
Huisache daisy, 182-Ps
Indian blanket, 183-Ps
False dandelion, 193-Pb
PURPLE
Leather flower, 29-W
Marsh leather flower, 29-Pc
Milk vetch, 57-Pb
Climbing vetch, 57-Ps
Poppy mallow, 72-Pb
Wood-sorrel, 62-W
Purple paint-brush, 131-Pb, L
Blue sage, 127-Pb, L
Texas sage, 127-Pb, L
Ground cherry, 130-Pb
Large beard-tongue, 135-P, L
Small beard-tongue, 134-W, Pc
Toadflax, 134-P, W
Venus’ looking-glass, 150-P
Lobelia, 151-Pc, Ps
Purple coneflower, 175-W, L
Purple thistle, 190-P, M
Purple dandelion, 192-Pb, L
Spiderwort, 4-P, W
Dayflower, 5-L, M
Wild hyacinth, 6-M
Pickerel-weed, 6-M
Wild onion, 8-P
Blue-eyed grass, 14-P, W
Virginia iris, 15-M
Rose poppy, 32-P
Stork’s bill, 59-L, Pb
GREEN
Milkweed, 100-P
LATE SPRING AND SUMMER
RED AND ORANGE-RED
Copper mallow, 70-Pb
Leather flower, 29-W
Standing cypress, 105-Wo
Paint-brush, 133-Ps
Red sage, 126-W
Gaura, 84-Ps
Beard-tongue, 137-Wo, T
Indian blanket, 183-Pb
Sand-bur, 51-Pb
Coral honeysuckle, 146-W
Devil’s bouquet, 20-P, L
Bouvardia, 144-T
Anisacanthus, 139-T, L
PINK AND ROSE
Sensitive briar, 46-P
Pink prairie rose, 42-W
Pogonia, 16-M
Grass pink, 16-M
Rouge plant, 21-W, L
Prickly poppy, 32-P
Pavonia, 73-L
Pink buttercup, 81-P
Mountain pink, 95-L
Phlox, 107-110-L, P, W
Baby’s breath, 144-Pb
Purple coneflower, 175-W, L
Star thistle, 189-Pb
BLUE
Giant iris, 15-M
Water lily, 24-M
Blue flax, 60-Pb
Prairie sage, 126-Pb
Blue gilia, 105-L
Harebell, 151-T
Dwarf blue aster, 163-W
WHITE
Wild rose, 41-W, Pb
Milfoil, 186-W, P
Poppy mallow, 72-Pb
White gilia, 105-Ps
Camomile, 185-W, Ps
Prairie lace, 87-Pb
Mesquite, 45-P, W, C
Parthenium, 176-P
Soapweed, 9-P
Yucca, 9-P, L, T
Arrowhead, 2-M
Peppergrass, 36-P
Heliotrope, 113-P
Cornel, 86-W
Rain-lily, 10-W, P
Spider-lily, 10-M
Angel trumpet, 20-P
Prickly poppy, 32-P
Greggia, 38-T
Spectacle-pod, 38-Ps
Bull nettle, 65-Ps
Moonseed, 31-W
Nuttallia, 75-Ps
Milkwort, 64-Pb, L
Dodder, 102-P
Tie-vine, 103-P
Baby’s breath, 144-Pb, L
Honeysuckle, 146-L
Blackfoot daisy, 169-Pb, L
Dwarf white aster, 169-W, Ps
Lazy daisy, 162-Pb
Fleabane daisy, 162-Pb
Milfoil, 186-W, Pb
Ragweed, 176-P
Water pimpernel, M, L
French mulberry, 118-W
Horsemint, 125-Ps
Gaura, 84-P
Evening primrose, 81-P
PURPLE
Leather flower, 29-W
Prairie clover, 55-P, L
Milk vetch, 57-P
Climbing vetch, 57-P
Phlox, 107-110-P, W
Giant iris, 15-M
Water hyacinth, 6-M
Prickly poppy, 32-P
Loosestrife, 78-P, M
Bluebell, 97-P
Phacelia, 111-112-L, P
Skullcap, 119-W, P, L
Verbena, 117-W, P
False dragon-head, 120-M
Nightshade, 128-P
Ground cherry, 127-P
Paint-brush, 131
Desert willow, 138-T
Tansy aster, 165-P
Purple thistle, 190-P
Star thistle, 189-P
Purple dandelion, 192-P
Pennyroyal, 121-P, L
YELLOW
Two-leaved senna, 48-Pb, L
Partridge pea, 49-Ps
Wild dill, 91-Pb
Retama, 50-M
Golden parosela, 55-L
Bush pea, 53-W, P
Yellow-elder, 138-T
Engelmann’s daisy, 171-Pb
Spiny-leaved aster, 161-P, T
Thyme-leaf, 184-Ps, T, L
Niggerhead, 173-Pb
Coreopsis, 178-Pb
False coreopsis, 179-Pb
Yellow nightshade, 129-P
Ground cherry, 130-W
Yellow sleepy daisy, 160-Ps
Bitterweed, 182-P
Indian blanket, 183-Ps
Squaw-weed, 187-T
Zinnia, 170-P
Berlandier’s aster, 161-Pb, L
False dandelion, 193-P
Coneflower, 174-P
Blackeyed Susan, 174-Ps
Sunflower, 177-Pb
Orange sunflower, 177-Ps
Paper flower, 180-P, T
Bahia, 181-T
Four-nerved daisy, 180-P, T, L
SUMMER
RED AND ORANGE-RED
Copper mallow, 70-P, T
Standing cypress, 105-Wo, T
Trumpet creeper, 138-W
Leather flower, 29-W
Red sage, 133-W
Gaura, 84-Ps
Indian blanket, 183-P, Wo
Devil’s bouquet, 20-P
Bouvardia, 144-T
Anisacanthus, 139-L, T
Butterfly weed, 100-Wo
Turk’s cap, 71-W
PINK AND ROSE
Dwarf four o’clock, 19-P, T
Rouge plant, 21-L, W
Talinum, 22-P, L
Pavonia, 73-L
Mountain pink, 95-L
Baby’s breath, 144-P, L
Marsh fleabane, 168-M
Rose aster (Polypteris), P, W
Loosestrife, 78-M
Smartweed, 18-M
BLUE
Water lily, 24-M
Prairie sage, 126-Pb
Blue sage, 127-Pb, L
Harebell, 151-T
Bluebell, 97-P, M
Nama, M
WHITE
Grandfather’s beard, 28-L, T
White gilia, 105-Ps
Mesquite, 45-P
Parthenium, 176-P
Stenosiphon, P, L
Yucca, 9-T
Arrowhead, 2-M
Heliotrope, 113-Ps, L
Rain-lily, 10-P, W
Spider-lily, 11-W, M
Prickly poppy, 32-P
Bull nettle, 65-Ps
Moonseed, 31-W
Spectacle-pod, 38-Ps
Nuttallia, 75-T, Ps
Dodder, 102-P, M
Tie-vine, 103-P
Snow-on-the-mountain, 66-P, L
Baby’s breath, 144-Pb, L
Parthenium, 176-P
YELLOW
Retama, 50-M
Golden parosela, 55-L
Niggerhead, 173-Pb
Yellow elder, 138-T
Spiny-leaved aster, 161-Pb, T
Thyme-leaf, 184-P, T
Coreopsis, 178-P
False coreopsis, 178-Pb, L
Evening primrose, 79-Ps
Wild gourd, 149-Pb
Broomweed, 157-P
Indian blanket, 183-P
Sleepy daisy, 160-Ps
Camphor daisy, 158-P
Bitterweed, 182-P
Squaw-weed, 187-T
Berlandier’s aster, 161-Pb, L
Zinnia, 170-P
Sunflower, 177-Pb
Paper flower, 180-P, T
Bahia, 181-T
Four-nerved daisy, 181-T
Nuttallia, 75-P, T
Horsemint, 123-Ps
Purslane, 22-P
Copper lily, 11-L, Pb
PURPLE
Leather flower, 29-W
Prairie clover, 55-P
Wood sorrel, 62-Pb, L
Water hyacinth, 6-M
Blazing star, 155-P, W
Eryngo, 89-Pb
Horsemint, 125-Pb
Bluebell, 97-P, M
Morning-glory, 103-P
Verbena, 117-P
Tansy aster, 165-P, T
Blue sage, 127-Pb, L
Nightshade, 128-P
Ground cherry, 130-P
Desert willow, 138-T
Wild petunia, 141
Ironweed, 152-P, W, L
Polypteris, P, W
Diapedium, L
LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL
RED AND ORANGE-RED
Copper mallow, 70-P
Trumpet creeper, 138-W
Unicorn plant, T
Red sage, 126-W
Gaura, 84-Ps
Devil’s bouquet, 20-P
Bouvardia, 144-T
Anisacanthus, 139-T
Turk’s cap, 71-W
PINK AND ROSE
Smartweed, 18-M
Four-o’clock, 19-P, T
Rouge plant, 21-W, L
Pavonia, 73-L
BLUE
Water lily, 24-M
Prairie sage, 126-P
Mistflower, 153-W, M
Blue sage, 127-P, L
Nama, 111-M
WHITE
Grandfather’s beard, 28-L, T
White gilia, 105-Ps
Mesquite, 45-P
Parthenium, 176-P, T
Crow-poison, 8-P
Arrowhead, 2-M
Heliotrope, 113-P
Rain lily, 10-P, W
Ladies’ tresses, 16-P
Buckwheat, 17-Ps
Spectacle-pod, 38-Ps
Bull nettle, 65-P
Moonseed, 31-W
Nuttallia, 75-P, T
Tie-vine, 103-P
Baby’s breath, 144-Pb, L
Blackweed, 164-P, M
Resin willow, 166-W, M
Thoroughwort, 153-M, L, W
Frost-weed, W, M
Parthenium, 176
Asters, 164-W, M
YELLOW
Retama, 50-M
Thyme-leaf, 184-P, T
Two-leaved senna, 48-L, Pb
Nuttallia, 75
Broomweed, 157-P
Camphor daisy, 160-Ps
Bitterweed, 182-P
Squaw-weed, 187-T
Berlandier’s aster, 161-Pb, L
Zinnia, 170-P
Sunflower, 177-Pb
Paper flower, 180-P, T
Bahia, 181-T
Four-nerved daisy, 181-T
Copper lily, 11-L, Pb
Partridge pea, 49-Ps
Goldenrod, 155-W, M
Big gumweed, 159-Pb
Iron flowers, 161-W, P, T
Maximilian’s sunflower, 178-P
Barnyard daisy, P
Gumweed, 158-P, L
PURPLE
Wood-sorrel, 62-Pb, L
Blazing-star, 155
Blackweed, 164-P, M
Wild petunia, 141-W, P
Desert willow, 138-T
Purple nightshade, 128-P
Blue sage, 138-Pb, L
Water hyacinth, 6-M
Pickerel weed, 6-M
False purple thistle, 89-Pb
Morning-glory, 103-P
Verbena, 117-Pb
Ironweed, 152-P, M
Gerardia, P, W, M
FALL
RED AND ORANGE-RED
Copper mallow, 70-P, T
Trumpet creeper, 138-W
Red sage, 126-W
Anisacanthus, 139-T
Turk’s cap, 71-W
PINK AND ROSE
Parosela, L, T
Smartweed, 18-M
Rouge plant, 21-W, L
Pavonia, 73-L
Marsh fleabane, 168-M
Polypteris, P, W
Blazing star, 155-P, W
Four-o’clock, 19-W, P
BLUE
Mist flower, 153-W, M
Blue sage, 127-P, L
Prairie sage, 126-Pb
WHITE
Crow-poison, 8-P
Heliotrope, 113-P, W
Rain-lily, 10-P, W
Ladies’-tresses, 16-P
Buckwheat, 17-Ps
Spectacle-pod, 38-Ps
Parthenium, 176-P
Milkwort, 64-P
Tie-vine, 103-P
Blackfoot daisy, 169-Pb, L
Asters, 164-P, W
Blackweed, 164-P
Thoroughwort, 153-W, M, L, T
Frostweed, W, M
Ragweed, 176-P
YELLOW
Broomweed, 157-P
Camphor daisy, 160-Ps
Bitterweed, 182-P
Squaw-weed, 187-T
Zinnia, 170-P
Sunflower, 177-Pb
Paper flower, P, T
Bahia, 181-T
Four-nerved daisy, 181-T
Goldenrod, 155-W, M
Iron flowers, W, P, T
Maximilian’s sunflower, 178-P
Barnyard daisy, P
Gumweeds, 158-P, L
PURPLE
Tansy aster, 165-P
Asters, 164-W, P, M
Blazing star, 155-W, P
Wild petunia, 141-W, P
Purple nightshade, 128-P
Blue sage, 138-Pb, L
Morning glory, 103-P
Verbena, 117-Pb
Gerardia, P, W, M
Polypteris, P, W
INDEX
A
Abronia, 19
Abutilon, 69
Acacia, 44, xiv
Acanthaceae, 139-141
Acanthus family, 139-141
Achillea, 186
Acleisanthes, 20
Actinella, 181
Adam’s needle, 9
Aesculaceae, 68
Aesculus, 68, xiv
Agarita, 30
Agave, 10
Ageratum, 153
Agrito, 30
Alismaceae, 2
Allionia, 19
Allium, 8, xiv
Alsinopsis, 23, xv
Amaryllidaceae, 10
Amaryllis family, 10
Amblyolepis, 182
American star thistle, 189
Ammiaceae, 87
Amphiachyris, 157
Amsonia, 99
Anemone, 25
Angel’s trumpet, 20
Anisacanthus, 139
Anthemis, 185
Aphanostephus, 162
Apocynaceae, 99
Argemone, 32
Arrowhead, 2
Artemesia, 185
Asclepiadaceae, 100-101
Asclepias, 101
Asclepiodora, 100
Aster
Dwarf blue, 162
Dwarf white, 163
Golden, 161
Late purple, 165
Roadside, 164
Spiny, 164
Tansy, 165, xiv
Yellow, 161
Astragalus, 56
Atamosco, 11, xv
Azalea, 92
B
Baby blue-eyes, 111
Baby’s breath, 144
Baccharis, 166
Bahia, 181
Ball moss, 3
Balmony, 135
Balsam, 148
Baptisia, 53, xiv
Barberry family, 30
Barometer bush, 131
Barrel-cactus, 77
Basket flower, 189
Bean, tepary, 57
Beard-tongue, 135
Beargrass, 9
Beggar’s ticks, 90
Bellflower family, 150
Berberis, 30, xiv
Bergamot, 122
Berlandier, 108, vii
Bifora, 87
Bignonia, 138, xiv
Bindweed, 103
Bird-of-paradise, 49
Bird’s nest carrot, 90
Biscuits, 39
Bitterweed, 182
Blackberry, 43
Black-Eyed Susan, 174, 179
Blackfoot daisy, 169
Blackgum, 86
Blackweed, 164
Bladder-pod, 37
Blazing star, 154
Bluebell, 29, 97, 151
Bluebonnet, 53
Blue-curls, 112
Blue-eyed grass, 14
Blue-flag, 15
Blue gentian, 97
Blue marsh lily, 97
Blue star, 99
Bluets, 143, 144
Blueweed, 177
Borage family, 113
Borraginaceae, 113
Bosque blue gentian, 97
Bouvardia, 144, xiv
Brauneria, 175, xiv
Brayodendron, 194, xiv
Brazoria, 120
Brazos Mint, 120
Brookweed, 93
Broomweed, 157
Buckeye, 68
Buckwheat, 17
Buckwheat family, 17
Buena mujer, 75
Buffalo-bur, 129
Buffalo-clover, 53
Bull nettle, 65
Bumble-bee bush, 129
Bunch moss, 3
Bush pea, 53
Buttercups, 27, 79-84
Butterfly weed, 101
Button snakeroot, 89, 154
C
Cactaceae, 77
Cactus family, 77
Calabacilla, 149
Callicarpa, 118
Callirrhoe, 72
Camass, 7
Campanula, 151
Campanulaceae, 150-151
Campsis, 138
Cancer-weed, 126
Candelabrum plant, 89
Cardo del valle, 189
Carduus, 190
Carrot, 90
Carrot family, 87-91
Caryophyllaceae, 23
Cassia, 48, 49
Cassie, 44
Cassine, 67
Catalpa, 138
Catch-fly, 23
Caterpillar flower, 112
Cathartolinum, 61
Cebatha, 31
Celestial, 13
Cenizo, 131
Centaurea, 189
Centaury, 95, xiv
Century plant, 11
Cerastium, 23
Cercis, 47
Chacate, 51
Chaetopappa, 163
Chamaecrista, 49
Chaparral berry, 30
Chapote, 94
Chaptalia, 191, xv
Chewing gum, 167
Chickweed, 23
Chilicoyote, 149
Chilopsis, 138
Cholla, 77
Chrysopsis, 161
Clematis, 28, 29, xiv
Cloth-of-gold, 37
Cnidoscolus, 65
Commelina, 5
Commelinaceae, 4-5
Commelinantia, 5
Compositae, 152-193
Composite family, 152-193
Coneflower, Purple, 175
Coneflower, Yellow, 173-174
Conium, 91
Convolulaceae, 103
Convolvulus, 103
Cooperia, 10
Copper mallow, 70
Coral bead, 31
Coral bean, 58
Coral vine, 31
Coreopsis, 178
False, 179
Corkscrew plant, 16
Cornaceae, 85-86
Cornel, 86
Corn salad, 147
Cornus, 85-86, xiv
Corydalis, 35
Crane’s bill, 59
Crape-moss, 3
Crape myrtle, 78
Crassulaceae, 40
Creamcup, 83
Cross-vine, 138
Croton, 66
Crowfoot family, 25-29
Crow poison, 8, 10
Cruciferae, 36
Cucurbita, 149
Cucurbitaceae, 149
Cudweed, 168
Cuscuta, 102
Cuscutaceae, 102
Cynoxylon, 85, xiv
Cypress, 105
D
Dagger-flower, 165
Daisy
Cut-leaved, 171
Fleabane, 162
Four-nerved, 181
Huisache, 182
Mountain, 169
Saw-leaf, 159
Silver-leaf, 181
Texas star, 170
White lazy, 162
Yellow sleepy, 160
Dalea, 55
Dandelion
Pink, 193
Purple, 192
White, 193
Yellow, 193
Daucus, 90
Dayflower, 5
Dead nettle, 121
Delphinium, 26
Dendropogon, 3, xiv
Desert holly, 191
Desert willow, 138
Devil’s bit, 155
Devil’s bouquet, 20
Dewberry, 43
Dew flowers, 135
Dicentra, 35
Dichondra, 102
Dichondraceae, 102
Dicrophyllum, 66, xiv
Diospyros, 94, xiv
Dithyraea, 38
Dock, 18
Dodder, 102
Dodecatheon, 93
Dogbane, 99
Dogbane family, 99
Dog fennel, 185
Dog’s camomile, 185
Dogwood, 85, 86
Draba, 36
Dracopis, 174
Dragon-head, 120
Drummond, 10
Drummond’s phlox, 106
Dutchman’s breeches, 35
E
Ebenaceae, 94
Ebony family, 94
Echinachea, 175, xiv
Eichhornia, 6, xiv
Engelmannia, 171
Epilobiaceae, 79-84
Ericaceae, 92
Erigeron, 162
Eriogonum, 17
Erodium, 59
Eryngium, 89
Eryngo, 89
Erysimum, 37
Erythraea, 95, xiv
Erythrina, 58
Eupatorium, 153
Euphorbia, 66, xiv
Euphorbiaceae, 65-66
Euplocca, 113, xiv
Eustoma, 97
Evening primrose family, 79-84
Evening star, 10
F
Fabaceae, 52
Fairy lily, 10
Fairy thimbles, 135
False foxglove, 135
False indigo, 53
False purple thistle, 88-89
Farkleberry, 92
Fiddle-neck, 112
Field lily, 10
Filago, 167
Firewheel, 183
Flag, 15
Flannel breeches, 111
Flax
Blue, 60
Yellow, 61
Fleabane daisy, 162
Fleabane, marsh, 168
Florida moss, 3
Flutter-mill, 82
Four-o’clock, 19
French mulberry, 118
Fumariaceae, 35
Fumitory family, 35
G
Gaillardia, 183
Gallitos, 173
Garlic, false, 8
Garrya, 86
Gaura, 84
Gay feather, 154
Gentian
Family, 95-98
Pink, 95, 98
Purple, 96-97
Geoprumnon, 56
Geraniaceae, 59
Geranium, 59
Geranium family, 59
Ghost-weed, 66
Gilia, 104-105
Gnaphalium, 168
Goat’s beard, 28
Golden eye, 105
Goldenrod, 155
Golden wave, 178
Gooseberry, 92
Gourd, 149
Gourd family, 148-149
Grandfather’s beard, 28
Grass-pink, 16
Gray-beard, 28
Greggia, 38
Grindelia, 158
Ground cherry, 130
Ground plum, 56
Groundsel, 166
Groundsel-tree, 166
Guayule, 176
Gumweed, 158-159
Gutierrezia, 157
H
Hamosa, 57
Harebell, 151
Hartmannia, 80-81, xiv
Haw, black, 145
Heath family, 92
Helenium, 182
Helianthus, 177
Heliotrope, 113
Hemlock, poison, 91
Henbit, 121
Herbertia, 13
Heterotheca, 158
Holly, desert, 191
Holly family, 67
Hollyhock, 72
Honeysuckle
Coral, 145
Family, 145-146
White, 146
Honeysuckle primrose, 84
Horehound, 119
Horsebean, 50
Horsemint
Dwarf, 123
Green, 123
Purple, 124-125
Houstonia, 143-144, xiv
Huckleberry, 92
Huisache, 44
Huisache daisy, 182
Hyacinth, wild, 7
Hydrophyllaceae, 111
Hymenocallis, 12
Hypoxis, 11, xiv
I
Ibervillea, 148
Ibidium, 16
Ilex, 67
Indian
Blanket, 183
Fire, 126
Mallow, 69
Pink, 133
Plume, 105
Indigo-plant, 54
Indigo squill, 7
Ink-berry, 21
Ipomoea, 103
Iridaceae, 13
Iris, 15
Pleated-leaf, 13
Iron flower, 161
Ironweed, 152
J
Judas-tree, 47
Jerusalem thorn, 50
K
Keerlia, 163
Kindling weed, 157
Kisses, 84
Kiss-me-and-I’ll-tell-you, 162
Krameria, 51, xiv
Krameriaceae, 51
Krameria family, 51
L
Labiatae, 119-127
Laciniaria, 154-155, xiv
Ladies’-tresses, 16
Lagerstroemia, 78
Lamb’s lettuce, 147
Lamium, 121
Lantana, 118
Larkspur, 26
Leather flower, 29
Lechuguilla, 11
Lemon mint, 121
Lemon monarda, 125
Lepidium, 36
Leptoglottis, 46, xiv
Lesquerella 37
Leucophyllum, 131
Liatris, 155
Liliaceae, 7
Lily family, 7-9
Limodorum, 16
Linaceae, 60
Linaria, 134
Lindheimer, Ferdinand, 170
Lindheimera, 170
Linum, 60, 61
Loasaceae, 75
Loasa family, 75
Lobelia, 151
Lobelia family, 151
Long moss, 3
Lonicera, 145-146
Loco-weeds, 56
Loosestrife, 78
Love-in-the-mist, 28
Love-vine, 102
Lupine, 53
Lupinus, 53
Lygodesmia, 192
Lythraceae, 78
Lythrum, 78
M
Machaeranthera, 165, xiv
Madder family, 143
Magoty-boy-bean, 49
Mahonia, 30, xiv
Mallow family, 69
Malo mujer, 65
Malvaceae, 69-73
Malvastrum, 70
Malvaviscus, 71
Mandrake, 30
Margil, 31
Marrubium, 119
Marsh fleabane, 168
Marsh pink, 98
May apple, 30
Mayweed, 185
Meadow pink, 98
Megapterium, 82
Melampodium, 169
Menispermaceae, 31
Mentzelia, 75, xiv
Meriolix, 83
Mesquite, 45
Mexican
Apple, 71
Hat, 173
Persimmon, 94
Poppy, 34
Primrose, 81
Tea, 121
Milfoil, 186
Milk vetch, 57
Milkweed family, 100-101
Milkweed, green-flowered, 100
Milkwort, 64
Mimbre, 138
Mimosa, 46
Mimosa family, 44-46
Mimosaceae, 44-46
Mistflower, 153
Mock orange, 149
Monarda, 122-125, xiv
Moonseed, 31
Morongia, 46, xiv
Morning-glory family, 103
Morning-glory, purple, 103
Mountain daisy, 169
Mountain laurel, 52
Mountain pink, 95
Mulberry, French, 118
Mustard family, 36-38
N
Nama, 111
Nemophila, 111
Neopieris, 92
Neptunia, 46
Niggerhead, 172-173
Niggertoe, 173
Nightshade, purple, 128
Nightshade, yellow, 129
Nothoscordum, 8
Nuphar, 24, xiv
Nuttallia, 75
Nyctaginia, 20
Nymphaea, 24, xiv
Nymphaeaceae, 24
O
Odostemon, 30, xiv
Oenothera, 79, xiv
Oil willow, 166
Old man’s beard, 28
Onion, prairie, 8
Opoponax, 44
Opuntia, 76-77
Orchidaceae, 16
Orchid family, 16
Orpine family, 40
Ovalidaceae, 62
Oxalis, 62
Oxytropis, 56
P
Paint-brush, purple, 131
Paint-brush, scarlet, 132-133
Painted-cup, 132-133
Palmillo, 9
Palo verde, 50
Papaveraceae, 32
Paper flower, 180
Parkinsonia, 50
Parosela, 55
Parsley, prairie, 91
Parthenium, 176
Partridge pea, 49
Pavonia, 73
Pea family, 52-58
Pea, indigo, 54
Pencil-tree, 166
Pennyroyal, 121
Pentstemon, 134-137, xiv
Peppergrass, 36
Perezia, 191
Persicaria, 18, xiv
Persimmon, common, 94
Persimmon, Mexican, 94
Petalostemon, 55
Petunia, wild, 140-141
Phacelia, 111-112
Phlox, 106-110
Phlox family, 104-110, xiv
Physalis, 130, xiv
Physostegia, 120
Piaropus, 6, xiv
Pickerel-weed family, 6
Pimpernel, 93
Pinaropappus, 193
Pineapple family, 3
Pine needle, 59
Pink family, 23
Pink prairie gentian, 98
Pitcher-plant, 39
Plantain family, 142
Plantago, 142
Pleiotaenia, 91, xiv
Pluchea, 168
Pleurisy-root, 101
Podophyllum, 30
Pogonia, 16
Poinciana, 49
Pokeberry, 21
Pokeweed family, 21
Polygala, 64
Polytaenia, 91, xiv
Pontedariaceae, 6
Popinac, 44
Poppy mallow, 72
Portulaceae, 22
’Possum plums, 94
Potato family, 128-130
Poverty-weed, 167
Powder puffs, 189
Prairie clover, 55
Prairie-lily, 10, 75
Prairie lace, 87
Prairie rose, 41-42
Prairie stonecrop, 40
Prickly pear, 76-77
Prickly poppy, 32
Prickly potato, 129
Prionopsis, 159
Primulaceae, 93
Primrose, 93
Primrose family, 93
Prosopis, 45
Psilostrophe, 180
Ptiloria, 192
Puccoon, 114
Purslane family, 22
Purslane, lance-leaved, 22
Purple thistle, 190
Purple thistle, false, 88-89
Q
Quamasia, 7
Queen Anne’s lace, 87, 90
Queen’s crown, 17
Queen’s wreath, 17
R
Rabbit tobacco, 167
Ragweed, 175
Rain-lily, 10
Ranunculaceae, 25-29
Ranunculus, 27
Rattlesnake master, 89
Redbud, 47
Retama, 50
Resin willow, 166
Rhododendron, 92
Ribwort, 142
Riverraft, 6
Rivina, 21
Rose moss, 22
Rose family, 41-42
Rose, pink prairie, 42
Rose, white prairie, 41
Rouge plant, 21
Rubber plant, 176
Rubiaceae, 143-144
Rubus, 43
Rudbeckia, 174
Ruellia, 141, xiv
Rumex, 18
S
Sabbatia, 98
Sagebrush, 185
Sagittaria, 2
Salvia, 126-127
Salviastrum, 127, xv
Samolus, 93
Sampson’s root, 175
Sand-bells, 111
Sand-bur, 51
Sand verbena, 19
Sarracenia, 39, xv
Sarraceniaceae, 39
Scarlet pea, 53
Scrambled eggs, 35
Scrophulariaceae, 131-137
Sea-holly, 89
Sea-star, 98
Sedum, 40
Seed-ticks, 90
Senecio, 187
Seniso, 131
Senna, 48
Senna family, 47-50
Sensitive briar, 46
Sensitive pea, 49
Shame vine, 46
Shaving brush, 189-190
Shooting-star, 93
Sida, 69, xv
Sideranthus, 161
Silene, 23
Silkweed, 100
Silver puffs, 191
Sisyrinchium, 14
Sitilias, 193
Skullcap, 119
Skunkflower, 20
Smartweed, 18
Snail-flower, 112
Snake-mouth, 16
Snapdragon, 134
Sneezeweed, 182
Snow-on-the-mountain, 66
Soapweed, 9
Solanum, 128-129
Solidago, 154-156
Sophia, 37
Spanish bayonet, 9
Spanish dagger, 9
Spanish moss, 3
Sparkleberry, 92
Specularia, 150
Spectacle-pod, 38
Sphaeralcea, 70
Spider-flower, 112
Spider-lily, 12
Spiderwort, 4
Spiderwort family, 4-5
Spurge family, 66-66
Spurge-nettle, 65
Squaw-weed, 187
Stagger-bush, 92
Standing cypress, 104-105
Star-mallow, 70
Stenorrhyncus cinnabarinus, 16
Stellaria, 23, xv
Stickerweed, 129
Stonecrop, 40
Stork’s bill, 59
Strangle-weed, 102
Straw, flowering, 192
Straw, milk, 192-193
Sunbonnet babies, 191
Sunflower, 177
Svida, 86, xiv
Swamp honeysuckle, 92
Sweet sultan, 189
T
Tansy aster, 165
Tansy mustard, 37
Talinum, 22
Tallow-weed, 142
Tassajillo, 77
Tecoma, 138
Tetraneuris, 181
Texas nettle, 129
Texas pride, 106
Texas star, blue, 99
Texas star daisy, 170
Texas star, pink, 98
Texas star, red, 105
Thamnosma, 35
Thelesperma, 179
Thimble flower, 173
Thistle, American star, 189
Thistle, nodding, 191
Thistle, purple, 89, 190
Thistle, spineless, 189
Thoroughwort, 153
Thrysanthema, 191, xv
Thyme-leaf, 184
Thymophylla, 184
Tie-vine, 103
Tillandsia, 3, xiv
Tiny Tim, 184
Toad-flax, 134
Toxicoscordion, 7, xv
Tradescantia, 4
Tread-softly, 65, 129
Tree-huckleberry, 92
Trumpet-creeper, 138
Trumpet-creeper family, 138
Trumpets, 39
Turkey pea, 57
Turk’s cap, 71
Twisted-stalk, 16
U
Umbrella-plant, 17
Umbrella-wort, 19
V
Vachellia, 44, xiv
Valerianella, 147
Valerian family, 147
Venus’ looking-glass, 150
Verbena, 115-117, xv
Verbenaceae, 115-118
Verbena family, 115-118
Vervain, 115
Vetch, 57
Viburnum, 145
Vicia, 57
Violaceae, 74
Violet, 74
Violet family, 74
Viorna, 29, xiv
Virgin’s bower, 28
Viznaga, 77
W
Walking-stick cactus, 77
Wampee, 6
Wapato duck potato, 2
Watches, 39
Water cup, 39
Water-leaf family, 111-112
Water hyacinth, 6
Water lily, 24
Water lily family, 24
Water plantain family, 2
Water potato, 2
Water pimpernel, 93
Wedelia, 19, xiv
White-leaf, 131
Whitlow-grass, 36
Wild belladonna, 135
Wild carrot, 90
Wild currant, 30
Wild dill, 91
Wild balsam, 148
Wild gourd, 149
Wild heliotrope, 112
Wild petunia, 141
Wild quinine, 176
Willow, flowering, 138
Willow, oil, 166
Willow, resin, 166
Windflower, 25
Wine-cup, 72
Woodbine, Southern, 145
Wood-sorrel, 62-63
Wool-crape, 3
Wright, Charles, 139
X
Xanthisma, 160
Xanthoxalis, 63
Y
Yankee-weed, 153, 166
Yarrow, 186
Yaupon, 67
Yellow-elder, 138
Yellow star grass, 11
Yucca, 9, xv
Z
Zephyranthes, 11, xv
Zinna, 170
Zygadenus, 7, xv
FOOTNOTES
[1]Outline and localities used by permission of the _Texas Almanac_.
[2]There are numerous white-flowered shrubs in the state, but only those
illustrated are included here.
Transcriber’s Notes
--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
--Corrected a few palpable typographical errors.
--Added heading “FINDING LISTS” corresponding to Table of Contents.
--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
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