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)

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.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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)

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.

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.

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)

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)

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.

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.

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)

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)

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.