Texas Flowers in Natural Colors
Part 1
TEXAS FLOWERS IN NATURAL COLORS
BY EULA WHITEHOUSE
Illustrations by the Author
Published by EULA WHITEHOUSE Dallas, Texas
Copyright 1936 and 1948, by
Eula Whitehouse Box 739, Southern Methodist University Dallas 5, Texas
Printed and bound in the United States of America
First Edition 1936 Second Edition 1948
TEXAS WILDFLOWERS
From the pine woods to the prairies, From the Panhandle to the sea, You’ll find the Texas wildflowers In marvelous carpetry.
Such magic tints of colors, Pale pinks and dainty blues, No artist’s palette can match them In all their radiant hues.
The Texas sun has kissed them; To Heaven they lift their eyes; Beauty and Peace it brings them, And Freedom under Texas skies.
—Gertrude Whitehouse
PREFACE
For more than a century the wild flowers of Texas have been a source of study and pleasure to scientists and flower lovers. The state can boast of a varied and interesting flora which has attracted numerous plant collectors since the first specimens were collected in the Texas Panhandle by Dr. Edwin James, naturalist accompanying the Long Expedition in 1820. Dr. Louis Berlandier, a French botanist, endured the hardships of the Teran Expedition for the exploration of the boundary region between Texas and Mexico between 1826 and 1834 in order to collect plants in Texas.
Berlandier’s first collection was instrumental, a few years later, in arousing the interest of Thomas Drummond, a Scotch botanist and collector. In 1833-34 Drummond visited Southeast Texas and collected 700 species of plants. In 1836, Ferdinand Lindheimer, a German botanist, moved to Texas and began his noteworthy study and collection of Texas plants. Charles Wright, a Yale graduate, came to Texas in 1837, first collecting plants in East Texas and later making important additions in Southwest Texas. Since the work of these early pioneers, many scientists have visited nearly all parts of the state and have added many new names to the list of native plants.
Today nearly five thousand species of flowering plants have been reported from the state. About half of these have showy, conspicuous flowers, and many of them are very limited in their distribution in Texas. If the reader will keep these figures in mind, perhaps he will not be disappointed at not finding some of his favorite flowers in the following pages. As such a limited number could be included, it was thought best to use those widely distributed throughout the state, omitting some of the well-known plants which have been frequently illustrated in previous publications.
The present manual is not intended as a guide to the flora of the state, but it is hoped that it will prove helpful in identifying some of the common flowers. A few rare and beautiful flowers have been included so that they may be recognized and protected. In order to include representatives of the more important plant families, it was impossible because of lack of space to add many widely distributed members of other families represented. For example, the pea family, which has about 300 showy members in Texas, had to be limited to ten representatives.
The water color paintings on which the manual is based were made by the author. In nearly all cases they were made from fresh specimens carefully checked with verified material in the University of Texas Herbarium; a few which could not be painted at the time of collecting were later drawn from pressed specimens and colored from notes and memory.
The flowers of Texas have been so very abundant that only recently has it been considered necessary to protect them. The Legislature of 1933 passed a law forbidding the picking of flowers and injury to trees and shrubs along highways. Even this protection is not sufficient for some plants. A few years ago the writer happened to visit the shop of a cactus fancier just after he had returned from a collecting trip and saw with amazement the large tow-sacks filled with rare and highly prized cacti. Wagon loads of the large and vivid-blooming ribbed cacti have been observed as they were brought in for market. The bluebell, or purple gentian, is in need of protection since florists have been buying them up in such large quantities. The picturesque bunches of sotol are being rapidly destroyed, as ranchmen are stripping them of their saw-toothed leaves and feeding the stalks to their cattle. Yaupon and American holly, both slow-growing plants, are being destroyed to supply the market with Christmas greens.
A few flower sanctuaries have been established in recent years, but many others are needed. 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.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many friends who have assisted me in the preparation of this volume. I deeply regret that it has been necessary to increase the list price of this edition. The first edition of three thousand copies did not pay for the cost of publication. That deficit, added to the increased costs of printing and paper, have made an increase imperative.
_September 1, 1948_ Eula Whitehouse
CONTENTS
PAGE _Texas Wildflowers_ v Preface vii Reference Books on Texas Flowers xi Plant Parts and Plant Names xiii Plant Distribution xvi Description of Plants 2 Finding Lists 194 Index 204
REFERENCE BOOKS ON TEXAS FLOWERS
For more detailed descriptions, description of other plants, flower uses, and flower legends and history, the following books will prove helpful:
Bailey, L. H., _The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture_. Benson, L. and Darrow, R. A., _A Manual of Southwestern Desert Trees and Shrubs_. Britton, N. L. and Brown, H. A., _An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions_. Cory, V. L. and Parks, H. B., _Catalogue of the Flora of Texas_. Coulter, John M., _Cop. Botany of Western Texas_ (_U. S. Nat. Herb. Contr._, 1892, out of print). Dorman, Caroline E., _Wild Flowers of Louisiana_. Fassett, N. C., _A Manual of Aquatic Plants_. Geiser, S. W., _Naturalists of the Frontier_. Southwest Press, Dallas. Jaeger, E. C., _Desert Wild Flowers_. Kearney, T. H. and Peebles, R. H., _Flowering Plants and Ferns of Arizona_. Parks, H. B., _Valuable Plants Native to Texas_. Preston, R. J., _Rocky Mountain Trees_. Quillan, Ellen Schulz, _Texas Wild Flowers_. Ranson, Nancy R., _Texas Wild Flower Legends_. Reeves, R. G., and Bain, D. C., _Flora of South-Central Texas_. Rydberg, P. A., _Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central N. A._ (out of print). Silveus, W. A., _Texas Grasses_. Slater, Elsie M., _A Hundred Flowers of the Mexican Border at El Paso_. Small, John K., _Flora of the Southeastern United States_, out of print; _Manual of the Southeastern Flora_. Standley, P. C., _Trees and Shrubs of Mexico_ (U. S. Nat Herb. Contr., 19—, out of print). Stemen, T. B. and Myers, W. S., _Oklahoma Flora_. Wooton, E. O. and Standley, P. C., _Flora of New Mexico_ (U. S. Nat. Herb. Contr. Vol. 19, out of print).
COROLLA LOBES SEPARATE STIGMA STAMEN PETAL SEPAL FLOWER-STALK (PEDUNCLE) COROLLA LOBES UNITED COROLLA LOBE STAMEN ANTHER (POLLEN-SAC) FILAMENT SEPAL PISTIL STIGMA STYLE OVARY CALYX-TUBE SEED STIGMA STAMEN SEPAL CALYX-TUBE CAPSULE BELL-SHAPE CALYX-TUBE TUBULAR FUNNEL FORM COMPOSITE FLOWER HEADS INVOLUCRE STIGMA STYLE STAMEN TUBE DISK COROLLA RAY COROLLA DISK FRUIT BRACT (FLORAL LEAF) FLORAL LEAF (BRACT) LEAF BLADE MIDRIB LEAF-STALK (PETIOLE) IRREGULAR LOBES FRUIT OF COMPOSITE (ACHENE) BRISTLES (PAPPUS) SEED SIMPLE LEAVES LINEAR LANCE-SHAPE OBLONG LANCE-OBLONG OVATE COMPOUND LEAVES ONCE-DIVIDED PALMATE or DIGITATE SHARPLY TOOTHED LEAFLETS LEAF-STALK (PETIOLE) STEM PINNATE TWICE-DIVIDED LEAFLET LEAF-STALK
PLANT PARTS AND PLANT NAMES
The diagram on the opposite page carries illustrations of most of the terms used in the following descriptions of plants. As it was intended that this manual should serve as a means of plant identification from illustrations, the descriptions have been made very brief. If the reader is interested in a more detailed description, technical books should be consulted. Some botanical terms are rather loosely used in the effort to avoid technical expressions; for example, the fruit of a daisy flower is known popularly as a seed but is an achene, a seed closely covered by the wall of the ovary.
The conspicuous parts of the flower commonly make up the corolla, each part being known as a petal; however, in some flowers the showy part is actually the calyx, as the outer whorl of parts around the stamens and pistil is always called. 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.
In order that botanists everywhere may make use of plant names and descriptions, these are written in Latin. The Latin name of the bluebonnet is _Lupinus texensis_, in which _texensis_ represents the name of a species and _Lupinus_ is the name of a genus, which is a group of closely related species. The plants making up the different species in a genus are usually so much alike in flower, fruit, and leaf characters that they can be recognized as belonging to the same group. Similar genera (plural of genus) are grouped together in families; the family name in Latin takes the ending -_aceae_. Thus while this book illustrates only 257 Texas plants, it is hoped that the reader will become familiar with many others which bear a close relationship.
Much effort has been expended to use scientific terminology in accordance with that preferred by experts on various plant groups, but continuing research changes many well known names. In this list the name used in the text is followed by the name now in good usage; the terms are not always synonymous. The authorities for the names are not given but can be checked in technical publications.
Aesculaceae Hippocastanaceae Allionia grayana Mirabilis grayana Amphiachyris dracunculoides Gutierrezia dracunculoides Argemone rosea Argemone sanguinea Argemone delicatula Argemone pinnatifida Asclepiodora decumbens Asclepias capricornu Baptisia bracteata Baptisia leucophaea Batodendron arboreum Vaccinium arboreum Capnoides montanum Corydalis aurea Capnoides curvisiliquum Corydalis curvisiliqua Carduus austrinus Cirsium sp. Carduus undulatus Cirsium undulatum megacephalum Cassiaceae Leguninosae Cebatha carolina Cocculus carolinus Cercis reniormis Cercis canadensis texensis Cochranea anchusaefolia Heliotropium amplexicaule Conoclinium coelestinum Eupatorium coelestinum Delphinium albescens Delphinium virescens Dendropogon usneoides Tillandsia usneoides Dichondraceae Convolvulaceae Dracopis amplexicaulis Rudbeckia amplexicaulis Epilobiaceae Onagraceae Erythraea Centaurium Fabaceae Leguminosae Filago prolifera Evax prolifera Filago nivea Evax multicaulis Geoprumnon mexicanum Astragalus caryocarpus pachycarpus Greggia camporum Nerisyrenia camporum Hamosa nuttalliana Astragalus Nuttallianus Hartmannia tetraptera Oenothera speciosa Hypoxis erecta Hypoxis hirsuta Ibidium gracile Spiranthes gracilis Jussiaea diffusa Jussiaea repens Keerlia bellidiflora Chaetopappa bellidifolia Krameriaceae Leguminosae Laciniaria punctata Liatris punctata Lepidium alyssoides Lepidium montanum alyssoides Leptoglottis uncinata Schrankia Nuttallii Leucophyllum texanum Leucophyllum frutescens Limodorum tuberosum Calopogon pulchellus Lithospermum linearifolium Lithospermum incisum Lithospermum gmelinii Lithospermum carolinense Megapterium missouriense Oenothera missouriensis Meriolix spinulosa Oenothera serrulata Drummondii Mimosaceae Leguminosae Nemastylis acuta Nemastylis geminiflora Nama ovatum Hydrolea ovata Nemastylis texana Nemastylis sp. Neopieris mariana Lyonia mariana Nuphar advena Nuphar advenum Oxytropis lamberti Astragalus Lambertii Parosela aurea Dalea aurea Parosela pogonathera Dalea pogonathera Pentstemon Penstemon Persicaria longistyla Polygonum longistylum Persicaria punctata Polygonum punctatum Phlox drummondii (purple variety) Phlox Goldsmithii (left, p. 107) Phlox drummondii (purple variety) Phlox McAllisteri (right, p. 107) Phlox helleri Phlox littoralis Phytolacca decandra Phytolacca americana Pleiotaenia nuttallii Polytaenia Nuttallii Ptiloria pauciflora Stephanomeria pauciflora Quamasia hyacinthina Camassia scilloides Rosa woodsii Rosa foliolosa Sabbatia Sabatia Senecio filifolius Senecio longilobus Sisyrinchium thurowi Sisyrinchium exile Sitilias multicaulis Pyrrhopappus sp. Sophia pinnata Descurainea pinnata Stenorrhyncus cinnabarinus Spiranthes cinnabarina Thrysanthema nutans Chaptalia nutans Thymophylla polychaeta Dyssodia polychaeta Thymophylla pentachaeta Dyssodia pentachaeta Toxicoscordion nuttallii Zygadenus Nuttallii Tradescantia bracteata Tradescantia ohiensis Verbena plicata Verbena Cloveri Vicia texana Vicia ludoviciana Yucca radiosa Yucca elata Yucca glauca Yucca campestris
PLANT DISTRIBUTION
The above map[1] gives the larger natural areas of the state. The prairie regions afford the most profuse display of wild flowers. In the wooded area of East Texas, the shortleaf pine is abundant in the northern part, the loblolly in the southwestern part, and the longleaf pine in the southeastern part of the area, while hardwoods are found in the river bottoms. The chief trees in the post oak strip are post oak and black jack oak. Among the mountain cedars, live oaks and Spanish oaks, so common in the limestone hill region, may be found scattered trees and shrubs of the chaparral. The chaparral region is often broken by prairies but in some places is densely covered with shrubs and small trees which are usually thorny. The mesquite is abundant in this region and is more or less scattered throughout the prairie regions.
_TEXAS FLOWERS_
Author’s Note: The family characteristics are placed immediately below the illustrations at the beginning of each family group and set in smaller type to distinguish them from the individual group descriptions.
DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES
WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY (Alismaceae)
Marsh or water plants; leaves mostly basal; sepals 3; petals 3, white or pink, tender; stamens 6 or more; pistils many, free; fruit a head of achenes.
Small Arrowhead (_Sagittaria papillosa_) is a common pond dweller in Texas and Louisiana. Like other arrowheads the flowers are borne in whorls, the upper having many stamens and the lower producing the seeds. It may be distinguished from other narrow-leaved forms by the rough (papillose) surface of the floral leaves.
Plains or Long-Lobed Arrowhead (_Sagittaria longiloba_) is common in shallow water on the plains from Nebraska to Mexico from April to October. The shape of the leaf of this and other species has given the common names of arrowhead and arrowleaf to this group. Like the water-plantain and bur-head the flowers have 3 tender white petals. The wapato duck potato (_S. latifolia_) may be found in East Texas. Growing in great abundance along the coast, the water potato or scythe-fruited arrowhead (_S. falcata_) is a showy plant 2-4 feet high with large lance-shaped leaves. The tubers and young shoots of both of these are considered excellent foods for ducks. Indians also valued the starchy tubers for food, and it was the duty of the women to grub in the mud for them.
PINEAPPLE FAMILY (Bromeliaceae)
Chiefly air-plants, some rigid-leaved land plants; floral leaves often conspicuous; 3 sepals; 3 petals; stamens 3-6; pistil 3-celled.
Spanish Moss (_Dendropogon usneoides_) has long zig-zag stems hanging in gray masses from the branches of many trees, especially live oaks, from the Coastal Plain of the United States to South America. Sometimes called Florida-moss, wool crape, crape-moss, and long moss, it has long been renowned in literature and industry. Indians and pioneers found many uses for it, and it is still used for padding, fodder for cattle, decoration, and the making of mattresses. The short leaves are scattered on the slender stem, which may be 1-6 yards long. The fragrant flowers are small and inconspicuous, being about ¼ inch long, blooming in early summer. The name means “tree-beard.”
Ball Moss. Bunch Moss (_Tillandsia recurvata_) has small and inconspicuous purple flowers which appear in the summer. Like the Spanish moss, it gets its nourishment from the air but may injure trees by crowding out the leaves. Both mosses bear no relation to the true mosses but belong to the same family as the pineapple. The ball moss is found on trees, wires, rocks, and other places. Bailey’s bunch moss is a large-flowered form growing in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
SPIDERWORT FAMILY (Commelinaceae)
Mostly succulent herbs with tuberous or fibrous roots; flowers arising from a cluster of leaf-like bracts; sepals 3; petals 3; stamens 6; ovary 3-celled; fruit capsular.
Giant Spiderwort (_Tradescantia gigantea_) grows in clumps of stout stems 2-3 feet high. The numerous flowers on short slender stalks hang out of a cluster of 2-3 upper leaves which have sac-like bases, velvety with soft hairs. The 3-petaled flowers vary in color from purplish-blue to rose or white and close at noon. The 6 stamens are adorned with lovely violet hairs. It is found in Central Texas in April and May.
The spiderwort group was named for Tradescant, gardener to Charles I. It is well represented in Texas, all of the many different species being easy to transplant and making attractive garden plants. The wandering jew, a well-known spiderwort in cultivation, is a native of South America.
Prairie Spiderwort (_T. bracteata_) is a smaller plant with bluer flowers. Ranging from Minnesota to Texas, it has its blooming season in Texas in April and May.
Curly-Leaved Dayflower. Widow’s Tears (_Commelina crispa_) has two large blue petals and a third, minute, white, and inconspicuous. The upper three stamens are 4-lobed and sterile, quite different from the 3 lower pollen-producing stamens, one of which is larger than the others. The petals are very tender and last only one morning. This dayflower may be distinguished from several others in the state by its crisped leaf-margins. It is very common on the South Central Plains from May to September. The name is given in honor of early Dutch botanists by the name of Commelyn.
Texas Dayflower (_Commelinantia anomala_) has two large petals like the dayflowers, but may be distinguished from them by their lavender color and by having the leaf around the flower-cluster more like the lower leaves in shape. The three upper stamens are bearded with violet hairs like those of spiderworts. It grows in rich moist soil in the limestone hills of the southern part of the state and the adjoining part of Mexico.
PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY (Pontederiaceae)
Aquatic plants; leaves alternate, often basal; sepals 3, petal-like; petals 3, sepals and petals partly united; ovary 3-celled.
Water Hyacinth (_Eichhornia crassipes_) is also called wampee, river raft, and water orchid. 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. Many streams, lakes, and canals along the coastal highway offer living pictures which will not soon fade from the memory. The plants float by means of the bulbous enlargement of the leaf stalk. The flowers are somewhat 2-lipped, the 3 sepals and 3 petals somewhat alike but with a yellow spot on the upper petal.
Pickerel Weed (_Pontedaria cordata_) may be found growing in the mud of inland waters along the coast. It is a taller plant than the water hyacinth, the spikes are narrower, the flowers are a deeper purple, and the leaves are narrower and have no float.
LILY FAMILY (Liliaceae)
Aquatic plants; leaves alternate, often basal; sepals 3, petal-like; petals 3, sepals and petals partly united; ovary 3-celled.
Nuttall’s Death Camass (_Toxicoscordion nuttallii_) is a common prairie bunch-flower from Texas to Tennessee and Kansas. The leaves, which are mainly basal, long, narrow, and curved, and the stout stems 1-2 feet high arise from a large black-coated bulb which is poisonous. Many cream-colored flowers are borne in a round-topped cluster. The 3 sepals and 3 petals are alike, and the 6 stamens have large yellow anthers. The 3-beaked capsules have numerous seeds. The flowers bloom in April and May. The poisonous bulb is responsible for the name, which is derived from the Greek meaning “poison-onion.”
Wild Hyacinth (_Quamasia hyacinthina_) is also called indigo-squill or meadow hyacinth. Growing from a deep-rooted edible bulb, a slender stalk 1-2 ft. high bears a spike-like cluster of hyacinth-blue flowers at the top. The flowers are about ½ inch broad and have a most delightful fragrance. It is widespread from Pennsylvania to Texas, common in Texas along railroads in April.