Eula Whitehouse

“ 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 11⁄2-2 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ YELLOW WOOD-SORREL
Yellow Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis texana) is a large flowered wood-sorrel in East Texas. The golden-yellow petals are about 3⁄4 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”