KRAMERIA FAMILY (Krameriaceae)

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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.

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)

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.

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)

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)

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.

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)

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)

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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.

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)

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)

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.

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.

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.