W, Y and Z is for...

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   Okay so if I was stopped by the cops and given a field sobriety test I would fail the alphabet. Blame it on sleep deprivation. I do know that W comes before X... honest I do.

   Well here is the misplaced W. W has 2 flowers I couldn't decide between. The first one is "Winecup"  Callirhoe involucrata. I just love the name and the look of these little flowers. They are everywhere in the spring. They bloom through out the state, except in far West Texas, from February to June.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

    The second W is "Wild Azalea"  Rhododendron canescens. You see many cultivated Azalea through out Texas, Houston even has the Azalea Trails every spring. But there are also 2 native Azalea plants in the east Texas woods. This one blooms in early spring before or just as the leaves start to emerge. Look for the flowers from February to May.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

   For Y I had to pick this showy flower..."Yellow Lotus"  Nelumbo lutea. This plant has completely round leaves. The fruit and center of the flower actually look like shower heads. It is also relation of the sacred lotus of Asia, and can be found in muddy quite ponds in Eastern and Northern Texas. This lotus puts on its show from May through August.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

  And for my last wildflowers of Texas, I present the Zinnias. There are actually 2 in Texas "Desert Zinnia"  Zinnia acerosa and "Plains Zinnia"  Zinnia grandiflora. Both are relitives of the fimiliar garden zinnia. The Plains Zinnia is found in the western half of Texas and starts its blooming period in June, a month earlier than it cousin. The Desert Zinnia can be found in far West Texas and the southern tip of Texas. The Zinnia bloom from July through November.

Plains Zinnia

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Desert Zinnia

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

  This concludes our wildflower trip in Texas. I hope you have enjoyed and learned as much as I have. I have just touched on the Wildflowers of Texas. There are over 120 different flowering plants, not to the mention flowering trees through out the state. So next time you come don't forget to take a closer look at all the things around you.... you just might find something wonderfully unexpected.

  There are many great sites out there for wildflowers the one I used the most was from the University of Texas check out there Wildflowers of Texas site here. Another great site for wildflowers, not only Texas ones, is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, you can find it here.

U, V and X are for....

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   I am so far behind, that I will have to do multiple letters. Jack has been back in the hospital. So I was there too. No computer... well no to get to the flowers.

  U is for "Unicorn Plant"   Proboscidea louisianica  subsp.  Fragrans. When you hear the name you might think of this guy or gal...

Click here to getImages &

Unicorns In Water Pictures - Pictures

 But this flower is actually a member of the common "Devil's Claw". The seed pods of this plant when rip will split in half and hook themselves on to the clothes or fur of anything passing by. The plant grows in West Texas and though an annual it can form clumps up to 6 feet wide. The foliage is sticky and unpleasant smelling with blooms from June through September.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

    V is for "Violet Ruellia"   Ruellia nudiflora  var.  nudiflora.  This pretty little flower can be found in central and southeastern Texas. It grows anywhere including yards, where it is considered a weed, though a very pretty one. The ruellia blooms from February to November, but more abundently in the early summer. It is sometimes called a wild petunia, but it is not related to the petunia plant at all. The deer love the leaves and bobwhite quail eat the seed of this plant.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

   No for X. First let me explain when I started these post I decided to use common names instead of scientific. That has worked out great....until now. There is no x common name, so I took a little liberty to post Xtra pictures that I have taken of wildflowers around my area.

Stinging Nettle... I stood waaay back for this one.

This little flower only blooms at night, I had to head out with the flashlight for this one.

  If you would like to see others I have taken check out this blog post... Signs of Spring

Since this is the last day I have another post scheduled for 1:30pm central time so that I may actually finish with everyone else.

T is for....

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   Today I have 2 more plants that are edible. One you probably already know about and one you may not. The first is "Texas Thistle" Cirsium texanum. This plant grows through out the state, except the Panhandle and the Pineywoods. The young leaves can be eaten raw in a salad or cooked. The tap root is also edible, and I read that when cooked the flavor resembles the artichoke. The stem fibers of the thistle plant can also be used as thread. 

   The Texas Thistle blooms from April through October.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

  As you can see others think it pretty good food too.                                  

Photo by Melody Lytle of Travis.Tx

   The second edible plant on today's list is "Texas Prickly Pear"   Opuntia engelmannii  var.  lindheimeri. The Prickly Pear is one of the most well recognized of all the plants in Texas. It grows abundantly through out most of the state. The flowers on this castus can be yellow or orange. The orange being the most common in south Texas. During droughts it can also be used as emergency food for cattle. The prickly pear or tuna of the plant is delicious and the flat succulent leaves when the spines are removed are cooked as "nopalitos". Beware that older pads contain oxalic acid and may cause oxalic acid poisioning if eaten to excess.

   The cactus blooms from March through July, and is a feast for the eyes.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Photo by Melody Lytle of Travis.Tx

Photo by Joseph Marcus of Austin, Tx

S is for....

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   Okay S is a really hard one for me. Not because it is hard to find an S plant, but because there are too many interesting S plants. But one of the most interesting has to be the "Spanish Dagger"   Yucca treculeana. Not because it is a beautiful flower, even if it is, but because of its unique relationship with its pollinator the Yucca Moth. Their relationship is such that one cannot live without the other.  The small short lived moth does not have a long tongue like other moths and butterflies, but has testicles under its chin. The adult life is so brief they don't eat. After emerging from their cocoon, the male and female meet and mate in the blooms of the plant. The female then scraps up pollen from the flower of the Yucca and holds it under her chin. She then flies to another flower on another plant and searches for a flower in the right stage of bloom. She checks to make sure no eggs are already laid in the flowers ovary. The females can smell the scent of other females. If another female has laid eggs, she moves on to another flower. If too many eggs are laid in a blossom the plant will get rid of the flower and the eggs will die. So the female make sure of the survival of her offspring by laying only a limited number of eggs per flower. After she has laid the eggs, she goes to the stigma of the flower and spreads the pollen she collected on it to ensure pollination. 

   The flowering months of the "Spanish Dagger" is only 2 months March and April. The plant grows in the deep south of Texas.

Picture from the Wasowski Collection at Wildflower.org

Tegeticula sp. Photo by M.J. Hatfield, BugGuide.net

   One other very interesting plant in S is the "Spotted Beebalm"   Monarda punctata  var.  lasiodonta. All the Beebalms have a strong fragence when brushed or crushed (Lemon Beebalm can be used to repel mosquitoes). This version of the Beebalm or Horsemint has a strong fragrance of thyme and has the antiseptic compound thymol. This compound has been used in cough syrups and in the past has been used for the commercial source. This plant can be found in most of Texas except the extremly dry areas of West-central, West and Deep South Texas. The Beebalms bloom from April through August.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

   I had to show the pictures of these beauties as well. The information can be looked up on the UT Library here.

Southern Lady's Slipper   Cypripedium kentuckiensis 

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Strawberry Cactus   Echinocereus stramineus 

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Silky Camellia  Stewartia malacodendron

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

R is for....

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   Today I have a couple of hardy souls. Both grow in limestone with very little soil. The first one is "Rock Rose" Pavonia lasiopetala. Despite the name this little flower is not a member of the rose family, it is a close relative of the hibiscus family. It naturally grows in the crevices of limestone and the dry areas of the Edwards Plateau, West Texas and south Texas. But the wildlife and cattle like it so much, that it is easier to find it transplanted into gardens. The drought tolerance and long bloom times make it a popular choice. This plant blooms from February all the way through November.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

   The next one is "Rock Daisy" Perityle lindheimeri. There are 15 varieties of "Rock Daises" in Texas that grow on the limestone cliffs, only one variety grows in dirt. The "Lindheimer's Rock Daisy" grows on the cliffs in the Edward's Plateau and blooms off and on through out the year, from April through September.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Q is for....

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      Q is for "Quartervine"   Bignonia capreolata also known as "Crossvine". This woody vine was originally found in East Texas but has now naturalized in many parts of the state. The vine can grow to 50 feet. Around my house, you can find these flowers by looking up... way up in the trees. The flower colors have variations from bright red and yellow to solid orange, red and others. 

Picture by Pamela Jo

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Photographer: Marcus, Joseph A of Austin Texas

P is for....

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   For P I have another vine. "Pasionaria"   Passiflora incarnata or "Passionflower". This plant is also known as "Apricot Vine" and "Maypop". This vine can be found all over the eastern half of Texas. Beside the showy flowers this vine also produces an edible fruit. In his book "Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf" by John Muir. He states the apricot vine has "the most delicious fruit I have ever eaten."  

   The fruit ripens from yellowish to light brown. The pulp of the Passionflower is sweet and fruit when ripe. But, if it gets over ripe it has a fermented foul taste.

   There has been discoveries that suggest the Native Americans use to cultivate the vine for the fruit as well as medicinal use. Even today the dried and fresh whole plant is used in Germany, France and other European countries for nervous anxiety.

    I find this one around my house a lot, but I have never tried the fruit. I think I will this summer. Isn't the A to Z great I am learning new things everyday.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

Picture for Wikipedia

O is for....

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   O is for "Obedient plant"   Physostegia digitalis. This flowering plant get its name from the fact that when you move the flower to the side it will stay in that position. (I could think of some people and dogs I wish this worked on.) 

   This plant grows 3 to 5 feet high. This showy flower is found in the open, often wet area of East Texas. It has also been cultivated for gardens and with these beauties I can see why. As I am sure you already guessed the butterflies and hummingbirds like these flowers as well. The blooms show up from June through August.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

N is for...

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   Can you beleive we are now over the halfway point on the A to Z? Yes we are on the downhill side, but we also have some of the toughest letters coming up. V, U, X and Z. I have them all covered but one. I leave it to you to figure out which one it is.

  Today is the letter N and n is covered. N stands for "Net-vein Milkvine"  Matelea reticulata. I love the little star flowers of this plant. They do look like the netting from tutus with a little pearl attached to the middle (or is that just my dance background speaking). This milkvine is the most common on in the Edwards Plateau in Texas, but can also be found in far West Texas, as well as south, and central Texas. The plant gives off an unpleasant odor when brushed and, as the name suggests, has a milky sap. The vine blooms from April all the way through October. 

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

   Oh and you might be wondering what the Edwards Plateau is. Well it is a raised plateau of mostly limestone with very little soil. It is bordered on 2 sides by the that is bordered on 2 sides by the Balcones Fault. That is speculated to be the end of the Ouachita Mountains that run through Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

M is for....

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   This bush is another one of my favorites..."Texas Mountain Laurel" Sophora secundiflora. The flower on this plant smell just like grape Kool-ade, but be warned the bright red seeds are poisonous. This small tree or shrub likes it dry. It happily grows in the limestone areas of Central, Southern, and West Texas. An early bloomer, this plant puts on a show from February to April.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

L is for....

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   This flower is called "Living Rock Cactus" or Ariocarpus fissuratus . This plant grows in the dry Big Bend area of west Texas. It blooms in late summer and fall.

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Center

   In this picture you can see why it is called a rock cactus... how many do you see?

(Hint ... not all of them are blooming.)

Picture from Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Want more information check out The Lacy Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and The Plant Resource Center at University of Texas Libraries.

K is for...

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   Today's wildflower is the "Kansas Gayfeather"   Liatris pycnostachya. I get a kick out of one of its other names "Hairy Button-snakeroot", but I already had an H. This is a tall drink of water, growing 2-5 feet high. It is also very showy, half of the height is covered in blooms. There are 14 other gayfeather plants found in Texas, but this one prefers the wetlands or damp sand. The others prefer more dry areas. Part of the name of this plant comes from the Greek word for crowded. That perfectly describes the flowers on this plant, that bloom from the top down. Kansas likes to show off it's blooms from June all the way through October. This plant is another favorite of the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. 

t

Picture from University of Texas Plant Resource Guide