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.