Part 4

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.

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.