Part 7

Purple Phacelia (_Phacelia patuliflora_) is a low, spreading annual growing on sandy prairies in the southern part of the state. “Patuliflora” means “spreading flower” and refers to the royal purple corollas which are widely spreading and nearly an inch broad. It is the handsomest phacelia among the fifteen or more species found in the state. It blooms from February to May.

Blue nama (_Nama ovatum_) is a water-leaf growing in ponds and streams of East Texas and blooming in the summer. It has lovely sky-blue flowers nearly an inch broad and spiny stems. Sand bells (_Nama hispidum_) has small, reddish-purple, bell-shaped corollas.

Blue Curls. Fiddle-Neck (_Phacelia congesta_) is also known as spider-flower, caterpillars, snail-flower, and wild heliotrope. It has curled flower clusters and lavender-blue flowers very much like those of some of the heliotropes and borages. A California borage is also called fiddle-neck. The flowers are tubular at the base with 5 broadly spreading lobes. The 5 spreading stamens extending from the flowers are responsible for the name of “spider-flower.”

The erect, unbranched stems may be seen on gravelly limestone slopes or in open woods from Central to Southwestern Texas. The large, thin leaves are finely divided and clothed with soft hairs. In woods the plants may grow 1½-2 ft. high, but on rocky slopes they are seldom more than a foot high. The flowers bloom in April and May, a long blooming season resulting from the numerous flowers which open as the curling stems unfold. It is an annual plant which does well in cultivation and makes a lovely addition to the flower garden.

Nearly a hundred phacelias are found in Western North America. The name is from the Greek meaning “cluster.” Most of them are showy plants, but few are known in cultivation.

BORAGE FAMILY (Borraginaceae)

Leaves usually alternate; flowers often in curled clusters; sepals 5; petals 5, united; stamens 5, on corolla-tube; ovary often deeply 4-lobed; fruit a drupe or of 4 nutlets.

Southern Heliotrope (_Cochranea anchusaefolia_) grows in limestone soil from Central Texas to Florida and tropical America. It may often be found from spring to fall in the shelter of mesquite or prickly pear. The white-flowered sea-heliotrope (_Heliotropium curassavicum_) is very abundant in saline soil in South and West Texas. Plains heliotrope (_Heliotropium tenellum_) does not have curled clusters of flowers but has a few small white ones borne on short branches. It is widespread in the South-central United States.

Bindweed Heliotrope (_Heliotropium convolvulaceum_) has white flowers quite similar to those of the bindweed, about one inch broad. It is found in sandy soil in South and West Texas to California and Nebraska from spring to fall. The plant has widely branching stems, about a foot long, and the foliage is somewhat rough-hairy. The heliotropes get their name from Greek words which mean “sunturning.”

Golden Puccoon. Narrow-Leaved Puccoon (_Lithospermum linearifolium_) is another harbinger of spring on the prairies. The scattered plants may be found throughout Texas to British Columbia and Indiana. Several slender stems grow from a long, thick black root. The plant gets its name from the Greek word meaning “stone-seed” and refers to the hard nutlets of the fruit. In the narrow-leaved puccoon, the nutlets are ovoid, white, shining, and more or less pitted. The flowers have a narrow tube with 5 spreading lobes which have crinkled margins.

Orange Puccoon (_Lithospermum gmelinii_) is a striking woodland plant of the Eastern States which is widespread in East Texas. It can be easily identified by its showy yellow-orange flowers. The clustered stems, 1-1½ feet high, grow from a deep root. It blooms in April and May.

Most of the puccoons have a red root from which a dye is obtained. Some of the European forms have blue flowers and are known in cultivation.

VERBENA FAMILY (Verbenaceae)

Branches often 4-angled; leaves opposite; flowers often whorled; calyx 5-lobed; petals 4-5, united; calyx and corolla often 2-lipped; stamens 4, on corolla-tube; ovary often 4-celled.

Slender Vervain (_Verbena halei_) was, until a few years ago, considered the same as the European vervain (_Verbena officinalis_), but it is now recognized as a different plant. Misty-looking purple patches on the roadside ahead usually turn out to be masses of the slender vervain. It is a perennial which takes on renewed blooming activity from early spring until fall, but usually only scattered plants bloom after June. It is very abundant in this state and other Southern States.

The flowers are small and scattered along the slender branches at the top of the stem. The upper leaves are narrow, those of the mid-stem divided; and the lower are broad and irregularly toothed.

Large-Flowered Vervain (_Verbena plicata_) shows some variation in color from white to lavender, the flowers commonly being a bluish-lavender. The flowers are about half an inch broad and grow in long showy spikes. The plants are perennial, and numerous stems form erect clumps 1-2 ft. high. It is especially handsome southwest of San Antonio and ranges into Mexico. It blooms from February to May.

Wild or Plains Verbena (_Verbena bipinnatifida_) is sometimes called sweet William, a name which properly belongs to the blue woodland phlox (_Phlox divaricata_) or to the clove pink. There is only a faint fragrance to the wild verbena.

Along highways and in the fields the wild verbena blooms in great profusion from spring until the plants are killed by a severe freeze. The flower stalks often grow quite long and are topped by a flat cluster of flowers around the new buds. The old calyx tubes surrounding the small nutlets remain on the stalk for many weeks. Children delight in pulling off the purple tubular corollas so that they can suck the abundant nectar from the tube and then string them together for a necklace, which they make by inserting the base of one tube into the throat of the adjoining corolla.

The wild verbena is a perennial plant with many prostrate branches. The leaves are thick, rough, and divided into narrow segments. It is one of the most familiar plants of the South Plains region, ranging from Missouri and Arizona to Northern Mexico. It is seldom used in gardens, but it is one of the plants used by the highway department for roadside planting. Where it has been used in gardens for low border mass effects, it has been a delight throughout the warm months with its showy, profuse blooms.

“Verbena” is the Latin name for a sacred plant. There are nearly one hundred species of verbenas, one of which is European and the others American. About twenty-five of these are found in Texas, part of them belonging to the vervain group. The plains verbena and the slender vervain are the ones most widely distributed. Among other very lovely verbenas found in the state are Wright’s verbena in West Texas and Lambert’s verbena in East Texas. A South American verbena (_Verbena venosa_), with brilliant purple flowers, has escaped cultivation in Southeast Texas.

Wright’s Verbena (_Verbena wrightii_) is quite similar to the plains verbena but has larger flowers of a reddish-purple color. The plants are larger, and the foliage is coarser.

Lambert’s Verbena (_Verbena canadensis_) has ovate leaves which are toothed or lobed but not divided. The flowers are a reddish-purple and have a white eye surrounded by a line of black. This is a handsome verbena which does well in cultivation but is little used. Garden hybrids have been reported from it. The origin of the common garden verbena is not definitely known.

French Mulberry (_Callicarpa americana_) is a low shrub 3-6 ft. high, also known as the Bermuda mulberry or sour-bush. It is easily recognized in the fall by the clusters of reddish-purple berries and large ovate leaves 3-6 in. long. The showy berries are responsible for the scientific name which means “beautiful fruit.” It grows in woods of sandy areas from Central Texas to Florida and Virginia, and also in the West Indies. The variety with white fruit is not so common as the purple-fruited variety. The flowers are inconspicuous, pale pink or white. The shrub is well-known in cultivation but is not so hardy as the Japanese callicarpa.

The verbena family includes many tropical and sub-tropical shrubs, some of which are widely cultivated in Texas. Lantana (_Lantana camara_) has orange and yellow flowers and is a profuse summer bloomer. The common lilac lantana in cultivation was introduced from Brazil, but there are two native lilac lantanas in Southern Texas. Lavender, or vitex, introduced from Europe, is an excellent shrub for summer bloom.

MINT FAMILY (Labiatae)

Stems usually 4-angled; leaves opposite; calyx 5-lobed, often 2-lipped; corolla 4-5-lobed, usually 2-lipped; stamens 4 or 2, on corolla-tube; fruit of 4 nutlets.

Prairie Skullcap (_Scutellaria resinosa_) turns its saucy flowers upward and covers the dense clumps with a purple glow. The tubular flowers are nearly an inch long and 2-lipped, with two short lobes forming the velvety, arched upper lip and with three broad lobes forming the spreading lower lip. The middle lobe is marked by a conspicuous white spot dotted with purple. Numerous stems grow from a woody, perennial root on rocky prairies and limestone slopes from Texas to Arizona and Nebraska.

The many skullcaps in the state are easily distinguished from other mints by the crest on the upper surface of the calyx. Most of them have small oval or rounded leaves, and all have purple flowers. They get their scientific name from the Latin word meaning “dish,” referring to the shape of the calyx.

The mint family is a large one, well represented in Texas. The European horehound (_Marrubium vulgare_) has become a pernicious weed in the pastures of Central Texas. Rosemary, sage, thyme, lavender, majoram, and the mints are familiar members of the mint family.

Slender Dragon-Head or Lion’s Heart (_Physostegia intermedia_) has spikes of delicate lavender flowers. The slender stems, 1-3 ft. high, grow from perennial roots in moist soil on prairies from Texas and Louisiana to Missouri and Kentucky from April to July. The physostegias are rapidly growing in favor as garden flowers, as different species will produce blooms throughout the season, if the flowering spikes are cut and not allowed to seed.

Brazos Mint (_Brazoria scutellarioides_) is a lovely little annual found on the plains of Central Texas. The plants are usually less than a foot high and seldom branched, but the dense spikes of lavender flowers make it quite conspicuous during favorable seasons. Although the name indicates a resemblance to the skullcap, it might be mistaken for a dwarf physostegia. The corollas have much the same delicate lavender coloring, but the flaring calyx more closely resembles that of the Texas salvia. It is also called twin-flower, wild lilac, and honey plant.

_Brazoria truncata_, with larger and paler flowers, is very abundant in sandy soil in Central Texas, being especially common in Gonzales County. This plant was first collected near the Brazos River, a fact commemorated in the scientific name of “Brazoria.”

Henbit. Dead Nettle (_Lamium amplexicaule_) is a troublesome weed on lawns everywhere in the state and in most of the United States. It is a winter annual introduced from Europe and Asia. The flowers often begin to bloom in December and continue until March or April. The stems branch from the base, and the flowers grow in stalkless clusters with the upper leaves.

Prairie Pennyroyal. Lemon Mint. Mexican Tea (_Hedeoma drummondii_) is a low perennial plant characterized by the lemon-like odor of the foliage, the narrow, tubular lavender corollas, and the bulging finely-ribbed tubular calyx. The flowers and leaves are about half an inch long. The low, bushy clumps grow on rocky plains and hillsides throughout Texas, the flowers blooming during the late spring and summer. A tea made from the foliage, either fresh or dried, is considered of value for its soothing effect. A few leaves in iced tea add a piquant flavor. The name is from the Greek and means “sweet smell.”

The American pennyroyal is _Hedeoma pulegioides_. The leaves and flowering tops are collected in July and August and dried. It yields an oil used in medicine.

Pale Wild Bergamot (_Monarda fistulosa mollis_) is a very lovely member of the horsemint group. The slender stems are branched at the top, each branch having a terminal cluster of lavender flowers. The flowers are tubular and two-lipped, 1-1½ in. long, the upper lip narrow and the lower broad and three lobed. The upper lip is clothed with soft hairs.

The wild bergamot grows in the states east of the Rocky Mountains, and several varieties are known. In Texas it grows in moist woods in the eastern part and along streams in North Texas. It is a perennial which is sometimes cultivated. The stems are usually about two feet high. The leaves are short-stalked and lance-shaped, the margins having a few short teeth. The leaves have a pleasant aroma and are used in flavoring tea. Medicinally they are used as a stimulant and as a remedy for colic pains.

The brilliant, scarlet-flowered Oswego tea (_Monarda didyma_) of the Eastern States is not native to Texas. It is used as a substitute for tea.

Green or White Horsemint (_Monarda punctata_) differs from the wild bergamot in having numerous clusters of flowers at the top of the stem. These clusters are surrounded by many short, drooping floral leaves which are blotched with white or occasionally have a purplish tinge. The yellow corollas are dotted with purple and are about an inch long. The calyx tube is ribbed, and the lobes are short and triangular. In growth habit and shape of leaves it is very much like the purple horsemint, but in flower it is readily distinguished by the yellow flowers and green and white floral leaves. The plants are perennial, much-branched, and somewhat downy. They are found in the Eastern and Central States and bloom in Texas from late May to July.

Dwarf Horsemint (_Monarda clinopodioides_) is another horsemint of sandy plains in Texas and Oklahoma. The plants are usually less than a foot high. They have white corollas, and the short bracts are purplish-brown with hairy margins. This horsemint is not so widespread as the green and purple horsemint.

Purple Horsemint. Lemon Monarda (_Monarda citriodora_) is lovely not only because of its dainty flowers but especially because of the floral leaves or bracts surrounding the flowers. These bracts take on a reddish-purple color and may be marked with white and green. The purple varies from rosy tints to a royal hue.

The flowers grow in whorls or rosettes at the top of the stem, new ones appearing with continued growth until there may be ten or more clusters on a stem. The corollas are narrow, tubular, and two-lipped, varying in color from lavender to white and commonly marked with small purple dots. The tubular calyx has five very narrow lobes, which are hairy and as long as the tube; the throat of the calyx is closed by a dense ring of white hairs.

Growing in erect clumps one to two feet high, the plants form conspicuous patches along highways and cover many pastures. The leaves are short-stalked and narrowed at both ends, the margins being sharply toothed. The purple floral leaves are oblong, with the midrib prolonged into a slender bristle or awn. These numerous bracts curve downward and overlap, the lower ones being longer.

The purple horsemint is common on plains from Mexico to Missouri and Kansas and ranges eastward to Florida. It blooms from May to August but is most profuse in June.

The monardas are North American plants named in honor of Nicolas Monardes, a Spanish physician and botanist. Some are valued for their perfume oils, and some have a slight medicinal value. The purple horsemint is rich in nectar, but the honey produced is not of the first quality. The dried plants are used in hens’ nests to drive off mites and fleas.

Plains Lemon Monarda (_Monarda pectinata_) is the common horsemint on the dry western plains in the state and ranges to Arizona and Nebraska. The flowers are pink or white but are not spotted with purple. The floral leaves are lance-shaped.

Prairie Sage (_Salvia pitcheri_) grows in scattered clumps throughout the central prairie region from Texas to Illinois and Minnesota. Because of its sky-blue, tubular, 2-lipped flowers, it is one of the plants most easily identified. The gray-green leaves have the characteristic sage odor and can be used for sage tea. The plants are two to three feet high and bloom from late spring to November.

Red Sage or Salvia. Indian Fire (_Salvia coccinea_) is a hardy plant in cultivation and blooms nearly all the year. It is native to the Gulf States, in Texas growing in woods near the coast. The red flowers are nearly an inch long.

There are nearly five hundred salvias known. Three European species are cultivated for their leaves, and many others are grown for ornamental purposes. The common bedding salvia is _Salvia splendens_, native of Brazil. The handsomest flower in the state is the red-flowered _Salvia regla_, found in a few mountain canyons in West Texas. Cancer weed (_Salvia lyrata_) is the common salvia of East Texas woods.

Blue Sage. Blue Salvia (_Salvia farinacea_) is a lovely plant which is native and abundant in the limestone regions of the state. It has long been known in cultivation, being especially adapted for rock gardens and highway plantings. It blooms with renewed activity after every rain from April to November. The corollas are usually purple but vary to blue and white. They have a narrow upper lip which is velvety with violet hairs on its outer surface. The calyx is velvety with violet-gray hairs. The stems grow from perennial roots and form clumps two to three feet high.

Texas Salvia. Texas Sage (_Salviastrum texanum_) blooms from March to May, growing in a low bushy clump 12-18 inches high on limestone hillsides from Central Texas to New Mexico. The spikes are densely covered with lavender flowers about an inch long. Unlike the true salvias, it has a flaring calyx which is densely bearded in the throat.

POTATO FAMILY (Solanaceae)

Leaves alternate; calyx 4-6-lobed; petals united, 5; stamens 5, on corolla-tube, anthers often opening by apical pores; ovary 2-celled; fruit a capsule or berry.

Purple Nightshade (_Solanum elaeagnifolium_) is sometimes called silver-leaved nightshade or “trompillo.” Although bearing lovely star-shaped lavender flowers, the purple nightshade is considered a pernicious weed in fields and gardens. It grows from deep, woody perennial roots and blooms profusely even in seasons of drouth from May to October. It is found on plains from Missouri to Texas and Arizona. The branched plants grow 1-3 ft. high and are more or less covered with prickles. The yellow fruits resemble small tomatoes and remain on the old stalks for months. They are said to be poisonous.

Torrey’s Nightshade (_Solanum torreyi_) is a plant similar to the purple nightshade, but it has broader, irregularly-toothed leaves and larger flowers and seldom grows as high.

The solanum group comprises nearly a thousand species and includes many well-known plants, among which are the Irish potato and the egg-plant. Bitter-sweet and Jerusalem cherry are cultivated for their showy fruits. Several members of the group are said to be very poisonous.

Buffalo-Bur. Yellow Nightshade (_Solanum rostratum_) is a common weed in waste places and on prairies from Tennessee to Mexico, but the spreading plants are often covered with their yellow star blossoms. Children call them sticker-weeds because of the vicious prickles on the foliage. They are also called tread-softly, Texas nettle, prickly potato, and bumble-bee bush, the latter name being given because of the numerous bee visitors. The name of buffalo-bur dates back to the days when buffaloes roamed the plains, the prickly fruits clinging to the shaggy coats of the huge beasts.

The yellow flowers which bloom from May to October resemble those of the purple nightshade in shape and size. The stamens of the nightshades shed their pollen through small openings at the top of the pollen-sac. The buffalo-bur has one stamen very much larger than the other four. The leaves are once or twice divided into broad rounded segments. The berries are enclosed in the enlarged and spiny calyx.

Low Ground Cherry (_Physalis mollis_) is a common weed throughout the state and ranges to Arkansas, Mexico, and California. The flowers and fruits are usually hidden beneath the leaves. The fruit, a berry very much like a small tomato, is enclosed in the enlarged sac-like calyx. The scientific name is from the Greek word meaning “bladder” and refers to the inflated calyx. Some ground cherries are cultivated for their fruits which are edible and are used for making preserves and pies.

Purple Ground Cherry (_Physalis lobata_) flaunts its gay purple flowers for all to see. The plant has low, spreading branches which are covered with purple blooms, one inch broad. It ranges from Mexico to Kansas and California, blooming in Texas from spring to fall.

The potato family includes the tomato and tobacco plants. Wild tobacco (_Nicotiana repanda_) is very abundant in the southern part of the state. The white flowers resemble those of the cultivated petunia, which also belongs to this family.

FIGWORT FAMILY (Scrophulariaceae)

Leaves alternate, opposite, or whorled; sepals, 4-5; corolla tubular, 4-5-lobed, 2-lipped; stamens often 4, in pairs on corolla-tube, sterile stamen often present; ovary 2-celled, superior.

Purple Paint-Brush (_Castilleja purpurea_) grows on limestone slopes and rocky prairies in North-central Texas. The low stems grow from a woody perennial root. The flowers and floral leaves are both conspicuously colored, varying from rose to purple. The divided leaves are a lovely ashy-gray.

Leucophyllum. White Leaf. Cenizo (_Leucophyllum texanum_) covers hillsides in the southern and southwestern parts of the state. The low bushes seldom grow more than three or four feet high. It is a startling and lovely sight to see a hillside which was a mass of gray transformed overnight into a delicate hue of lavender. This happens shortly after heavy rains, and for this reason the plant is sometimes called barometer bush. Leucophyllum has been widely introduced as a shrub in Texas gardens, where the ashy-gray leaves are quite effective against dark green shrubbery. The name is Greek and means “white leaf.”