Part 8

Scarlet Paint-Brush (_Castilleja indivisa_) is also called Indian paint-brush, painted-cup, entire-leaved paint brush, and Indian pink. One of the most inspiring landscape displays of native flowers is formed by the scarlet paint-brush. It is found in sandy soil from the northeastern to southwestern parts of the state and blooms from March to May but is at its best in April. The paint-brush display of red is equalled or excelled only by that of two other wild-flower favorites—the red Drummond’s phlox in south-central sandy regions and the beautiful gaillardia of black land prairies.

The intense scarlet-red is due to the coloring of the broadened floral leaves (bracts) at the tip of the stem. These bracts almost hide the inconspicuous cream-colored flowers which are about an inch long. The bracts are oblong, the tips being broader than the base and deeply stained with scarlet.

The scarlet paint-brush is an annual plant, commonly six to twelve inches high, and is sometimes branched at the base. The leaves are rough-nerved and wavy-margined. Occasionally the leaves have two linear basal lobes somewhat like those of the eastern or swamp scarlet paint-brush (_Castilleja coccinea_), which has similar flower clusters but grows in swampy places.

The castillejas are mostly Western American plants, some being parasitic on the roots of other plants. They are named in honor of D. Castillejo, a Spanish botanist. In addition to the scarlet and purple paint-brushes, several other castillejas are found in the state. Lindheimer’s paint-brush (_Castilleja lindheimeri_) is very much like the purple paint-brush, but it has red or orange bracts. It is a perennial plant which grows on limestone hillsides of Southwest-central Texas. The woolly-stemmed paint-brush (_Castilleja lanata_) has woolly-gray stems and leaves and red flower clusters. It may be noticed in chaparral thickets and canyons in West Texas.

Small-Flowered Pentstemonor or Beard-Tongue (_Pentstemon laxiflorus_) grows in the sandy soil of post oak woods in Central and East Texas. The slender stems are 1-2 ft. high and are topped by slender-stalked flower clusters. The corollas are a pale lavender, about an inch long. This is a very common plant in the state and has been given various names by botanists, the latest one being _laxiflorus_. It is a close relative, probably a variety, of the slender beard-tongue (_Pentstemon gracilis_) of moist prairies from Minnesota to Oklahoma.

Texas Toad-Flax (_Linaria texana_) has pale blue flowers similar to those of the Canada toad-flax. The corollas have a slender spur about half an inch long. The slender stems are 1-2 feet high, growing from a cluster of basal leaves which are finely divided into somewhat rounded segments. It is widespread in sandy soil from Florida to California and blooms early in the spring.

Many other figworts are found in the state. The nearest relative to the garden snapdragon is the climbing snapdragon (_Maurandia antirrhiniflora_). Mullein is widespread in the state. The common monkey-flower is _Mimulus glabratus_.

Large-Flowered Beard-Tongue or Pentstemon (_Pentstemon cobaea_) is also known as false foxglove, dew flowers, fairy thimbles, wild belladonna, and balmony. It was called “balmony” by early settlers, who made a tea from the leaves to be used as a laxative. Several erect stems from perennial roots grow on the rocky slopes of prairies from Texas to Missouri and Kansas. It blooms in Texas in April and May.

The flowering spikes of bell-shaped flowers are large and showy. The corollas are usually pale, tinged with reddish-purple and marked with darker lines. The fifth stamen is sparingly bearded. The stems are 1-1½ feet high, and the flowers are 1½-2 inches long. The leaves are broad and partly clasping at the base, the margins usually indented with sharp teeth. It is thought that the common garden pentstemon is a hybrid derived from this beard-tongue and Hartwig’s pentstemon, a Mexican plant.

Scarlet Pentstemon or Beard-Tongue. Murray’s Pentstemon (_Pentstemon murrayanus_) is a very lovely plant growing in sandy soil in post oak woods of Central and East Texas and Arkansas. The plants are three feet high, the reddish stems having a few opposite, clasping leaves, those on the upper part being united and cup-shaped. The foliage is very smooth and has a somewhat downy covering.

The flowering upper portion of the stem is often over a foot long and bears a profusion of tubular scarlet flowers about an inch long. The stamens extend beyond the corolla, and the fifth stamen is not bearded. The long slender style remains on the capsule long after the corollas have fallen away. The flowers usually bloom the latter part of March in South Texas and the middle of April in North Texas. The plants are quite hardy and may be successfully transplanted or grown from seeds, but should be planted in sandy soil.

“Pentstemon” is Greek meaning “five stamens.” Nearly all members of the figwort family have only four stamens, but the pentstemons have five; however, the fifth stamen does not bear a pollen-sac and is often bearded. “Beard-tongue” refers to this bearded stamen. There are nearly a hundred and fifty species of pentstemons, about thirty of them being found in Texas. With the exception of one found in Southeastern Asia, they are all North American plants.

Murray’s pentstemon is quite similar to two red-flowered pentstemons of the mountains of West Texas. These two are likewise tall, vigorous plants and have showy clusters of flowers. Torrey’s pentstemon (_Pentstemon barbatus torreyi_) has narrow pointed leaves, and the superb pentstemon (_Pentstemon superbus_) has broad oblong leaves. The common blue-flowered pentstemon in West Texas is _Pentstemon fendleri_, with leaves nearly as broad as long.

TRUMPET-CREEPER FAMILY (Bignoniaceae)

Leaves opposite, mostly compound; flowers showy, often 2-lipped; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals 5, united; stamens 4 or 2, in pairs on corolla-tube; capsules often long, with winged seeds.

Desert Willow (_Chilopsis linearis_), also called flowering willow, willow-leaved catalpa, and “mimbre,” is a common shrub along water courses from West Texas to Southern California and Northern Mexico. When it is not in flower or fruit, it may be mistaken for the black willow (_Salix nigra_), which has similar leaves. The delicate, lavender, trumpet-shaped flowers are about two inches long. White and pale-lavender forms occur. It is a shrub or small tree frequently cultivated for ornament in Texas and California. It blooms from May through the summer months. Mexicans use the wood for fence-posts and the branches for baskets. A tea made from the flowers is used as a remedy for heart and lung diseases.

Several other members of this family are native to the state and are well-known in cultivation. Among these are the red-flowered trumpet-creeper (_Campsis radicans_), the yellow-red cross-vine (_Bignonia capreolata_), the catalpa found in East Texas woods, and the yellow-elder (_Tecoma stans_) in South Texas and the mountains of West Texas.

ACANTHUS FAMILY (Acanthaceae)

Leaves opposite; calyx 4-5-lobed; sepals 5; petals 5, united, sometimes 2-lipped; stamens on tube, 2 or 4 in 2 pairs; fruit a capsule, often club-shaped, opening elastically.

Flame Acanthus (_Anisacanthus wrightii_) is covered with scarlet flowers from early summer until frost. It is a low, widely branched shrub, about 2 feet high, found in rocky soil of the mountains of West Texas. The corollas have a narrow tube and five narrow, spreading lobes which are nearly equal but somewhat 2-lipped. The two stamens and the style extend beyond the corolla. The small leaves are ovate-lanceolate in shape and are 1-2 inches long.

The flame acanthus is an excellent garden shrub for dry regions and has been known in cultivation for some time. This species is named in honor of Charles Wright, an early collector of Texas plants and one of the first teachers in the state. Wright was a Yale graduate who collected plants in Texas from 1837 to 1852 for Dr. Asa Gray of Harvard University. He accompanied a baggage train to El Paso in 1849, and in 1851 he joined the Graham Boundary Survey. On both of these trips he collected many plants not previously known to science.

Wild Petunia. Ruellia (_Ruellia nudiflora_) has flowers very much like those of the cultivated petunia, a member of the potato family. It is a very common plant in Central and South Texas, growing in open woods or on rich prairies. It frequently takes possession of lawns and flower beds.

The plants are erect, 12-16 inches high, and have few branches. The few leaves are oval, narrowed at the base, wavy-margined, and blunt or rounded at the apex. The forking flower clusters have one to five flowers open at the same time. The flowers do not last very long. Leaves and stem are often marked with red or purple.

The delicate, funnel-shaped corollas have five spreading lobes and are about two inches long. The four stamens are inclosed in the tube. The seed-capsules are nearly an inch long and turn brown as they mature.

This ruellia was formerly confused with _Ruellia tuberosa_, a tropical plant with tuberous roots. The ruellias belong to a large group of plants with about 200 species most of which are found in tropical South America. They are named for Jean de la Ruelle, an early French physician and botanist.

There are several other ruellias widely distributed in the wooded sections of the state. The hairy ruellia (_Ruellia ciliosa_) is abundant on the prairies in Texas and the Eastern States. Miss Eaton, in an article in the _National Geographic_ in 1925, reports that carpenter-bees use circular pieces of the corolla to plug off their nesting cells made in tunnels in soft wood. Drummond’s ruellia (_Ruellia drummondiana_) is found in woods in Central Texas. The flowers are rather small and are nearly hidden by the leaves.

PLANTAIN FAMILY (Plantaginaceae)

Herbs; leaves basal; calyx 4-lobed; corolla papery, 3-4-lobed; stamens 4, on corolla-tube; capsule (in ours) opening by a horizontal division.

Tallow-Weed. Wright’s Plantain (_Plantago wrightiana_) is a common plant on prairies from Texas to Arizona and blooms from April to June. It is called tallow-weed because cattle fatten on the plants. The stems are 6-8 in. high, and the numerous basal leaves are half as long, narrow, smooth, and dark green. The small 4-lobed flowers have a stiff, papery white corolla with spreading lobes. The small capsules open by a lid.

Red-Seeded Plantain or Ribwort (_Plantago rhodosperma_) has broad leaves, 3-5-ribbed, and narrow spikes of flowers. The leaf-rosettes are often a foot broad. The corolla lobes are erect and are closed over one another. The ribwort is a very common weed in sandy soil from Missouri to Texas and Arizona.

There are many other plantains in the state, all more or less abundant. The group has retained the old Latin name. Scilla-seed, a laxative in recent use, is obtained from a South American plantain. The seeds of the lance-leaved plantain are sold as food for birds.

MADDER FAMILY (Rubiaceae)

Leaves opposite or whorled; in ours, sepals and petals usually 4, but may be 4-10, calyx joining ovary wall; stamens 4-10, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior, 2-5-celled.

Small Bluet (_Houstonia patens_) has violet-blue flowers which are among the first blossoms of spring. They dot golf courses and sandy meadows from Texas to Virginia and Illinois in February and March. The bluets are also called innocence and angel-eyes.

Least Bluet (_Houstonia minima_) is a smaller plant than the small bluet, but the flowers are a little larger and are pale pink. They bloom at the same time of year and may often be found together. The least bluet ranges from Texas to Illinois and Kansas.

The madder-family is mainly tropical but is represented in Texas by nearly forty species. Nearly all of these have inconspicuous, 4-lobed white flowers and include many bedstraws and bluets, the button-weed, and button-bush. From some members of the family valuable commercial products—coffee, quinine, and a red dye—are obtained; the cape-jasmine or gardenia is a well-known ornamental plant.

Baby’s Breath. Narrow-Leaved Houstonia (_Houstonia angustifolia_) is not the garden plant (_Gypsophila paniculata_) which is known as baby’s breath, but it is equally dainty. The stems grow from woody perennial roots and form erect clumps about a foot high. The small flowers are borne in flat-topped clusters and vary in color from white to pale pink or lavender. This plant is widely distributed on prairies from Illinois to Texas and Florida.

Bouvardia (_Bouvardia ternifolia_) is a low shrub, 2-6 ft. high, which grows in the mountains west of the Pecos River to Arizona and Mexico. The leaves are short and grow in whorls of 3’s or 4’s. The narrow, red tubular flowers are about one inch long. The Bouvardias were once popular as greenhouse plants but are little used now. This one was introduced into England more than one hundred years ago.

HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY (Caprifoliaceae)

Usually shrubs; leaves opposite; calyx joining ovary wall, 5-lobed; corolla 5-lobed, tubular and often 2-lipped; stamens 4-5, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior; fruit a fleshy berry.

Southern Woodbine. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle (_Lonicera sempervirens_) is quite common in the woods of East Texas and other Southern States, blooming in Texas in late March and continuing until fall. It is an evergreen vine that has been widely introduced into cultivation. The flowers are not so conspicuously two-lipped as in the white honeysuckle, the corolla-lobes being nearly equal. The scarlet berries are ¼ inch long, ripening in the summer. This is one of a number of plants which are commonly called woodbine. The group was named in honor of Adam Lonitzer, an early German botanist.

The black haw (_Viburnum prunifolium_) is very abundant in Texas woods. The showy ball-like clusters of white flowers appear with the leaves in April and May, following the dogwood and red haws. The American elder (_Sambucus canadensis_) is found along streams in Central and East Texas.

White Honeysuckle (_Lonicera albiflora_) is a straggling bush which usually grows in the shelter of a tree. The pale broad, oval leaves are opposite and united at their bases, the uppermost pair being cup-shaped and surrounding the cluster of flowers borne at the tip of the stem. The fragrant flowers are less than an inch long with a narrow tube and 5 lobes, the lower lobe long and narrow and the 4 upper shorter, very much like those of the common cultivated Japanese honeysuckle. The five spreading stamens extend conspicuously beyond the corolla.

This plant blooms in April and May. It is scattered throughout the central and western parts of the state, being especially abundant in the western mountains, and ranges to Arkansas and Arizona. The Japanese honeysuckle has escaped cultivation in places along the bayous of East Texas.

VALERIAN FAMILY (Valerianaceae)

Leaves opposite; calyx of several bristles or absent; petals 2-5, partly united; stamens usually 4, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior, 3-celled but only 1 cell fertile.

Lamb’s Lettuce. Texas or Dwarf Corn Salad (_Valerianella amarella_) is one of the first white-flowered spring plants, growing in such abundance that the prairies are white with the blooms. It is a much smaller plant than the dwarf Queen Anne’s lace which is so lovely late in April and May. In the field it is usually about 6 in. high but grows a little higher in cultivation when used as a border plant. It is easily identified by its flat-topped clusters of flowers grouped in squares at the end of the widely forking branches. The smooth foliage is yellow-green in color.

There are several corn salads which grow in moist places in the state. The dwarf corn salad may readily be distinguished from these, as its minute seed-pod is covered with woolly hairs. The European corn salad is cultivated, and the leaves are used for salad.

GOURD FAMILY (Cucurbitaceae)

Tendrils mostly present, stems often prostrate; flowers usually unisexual; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals united or separate; stamens usually 3, one anther always 1-celled, the other two 2-celled; ovary inferior.

Wild Balsam Gourd (_Ibervillea lindheimeri_) has bright scarlet balls about an inch in diameter and makes conspicuous spots of color on fences in the fall. The vine is slender, bearing small yellow flowers in the spring. The fruits are green at first, turning orange and then a scarlet red. Sometimes they are a little longer than broad and pointed at the end. The few leaves are thick and deeply 3-5-lobed. It ranges from Texas to California.

The garden balsam (_Impatiens balsamina_) bears no relation to this plant. The vines in cultivation known as balsam apple and balsam pear are, however, members of the gourd family and were introduced from the Old World tropics. Watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, and gourds are well-known members of the gourd family.

Wild Gourd. Mock Orange (_Cucurbita foetidissima_) has long trailing stems which are often 15 feet long and may be 25 feet long. It is readily distinguished by its large gray-green triangular leaves which are somewhat 3-5-lobed. The leaf-blades are 4-12 inches long, and the leaf-stalk is about half the length of the blade. The star-shaped yellow flowers, about three inches broad, are almost hidden by the leaves, the staminate and pistillate flowers being borne on different plants.

The ovoid gourds, which at first are green variegated with a lighter green, turn quite yellow at maturity. The resemblance of the yellow fruit to oranges has given rise to the common name, mock orange. The gourds are about three inches long. They are not edible, as the pulp is fibrous and bitter. Mexicans use the plant as a soap substitute by mashing the gourds or the roots in water. They call it “chilicoyote” or “calabacilla.” The pumpkins and squashes, whose origin is somewhat obscure, are close relatives of the gourd.

BELL-FLOWER FAMILY (Campanulaceae)

Juice usually milky; leaves alternate; calyx tube joined to ovary, 3-10-lobed; corolla tubular or bell-shaped, sepals and petals usually 5; stamens 5; ovary inferior, 2-10-celled.

Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia perfoliata_) is a very common American plant blooming in Texas in the early spring. Like the later flowers of many violets, the first flowers never open and are self-fertilized. The later flowers have a showy 5-lobed purple corolla about an inch long. The seeds are dispersed from a small opening in the lower part of the capsule. The leaves are small and clasping, usually broader than long.

Western Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia leptocarpa_) has flowers very much like the preceding, but the stamens and calyx lobes are longer. The long, slender capsules have the opening pore near the top. The showy flowers appear in late April and May. This plant is abundant on the northern prairies of Texas and ranges to Missouri and Montana.

Texas Harebell. Bluebell (_Campanula reverchonii_) is one of the rarer plants in the state, and care should be taken to preserve it. It is lovely against the granite rocks and boulders of Central Texas. The dainty, slender plants are often much branched and have blue flowers about half an inch long. The bluebell of Scotland is a renowned member of the group; Canterbury bells and the balloon-flower are well-known in gardens.

LOBELIA FAMILY (Lobeliaceae)

Juice often milky; sepals 5; corolla 1-2-lipped, united; stamens 5, anthers joined into a tube.

Prairie Lobelia (_Lobelia brachypoda_) grows on sandy prairies in Southern Texas and the adjacent part of Mexico. It is very abundant west of Falfurrias in March. The Texas lobelias may usually be recognized by the five united stamens which have gray anthers bearded at the top. The plants often have a milky sap containing a poisonous alkaloid which is used in medicine. The red cardinal flower (_Lobelia splendens_) is rather widely scattered in moist places throughout the state but is rare enough to need protection.

COMPOSITE FAMILY (Compositae)

Flowers crowded into heads surrounded by bracts; outer flowers often strap-shaped and are called ray flowers; inner flowers are tubular and are called disk flowers; sometimes flowers are all of one type; calyx usually modified into bristles or awns (pappus); petals united, tubular, 4-5-lobed; stamens 5, anthers united into a tube; styles 2-lobed; ovary 1-celled, inferior. (See p. xii.)

Baldwin’s Ironweed (_Vernonia baldwinii_) has broad, flat-topped clusters of purple heads. It forms a pleasing contrast to the abundant yellow flowers of the summer months. The plant is a hardy perennial and grows in ditches and river bottoms from Central Texas to Iowa. The stems are 3-4 feet high and conspicuously leafy. The ironweeds get their common name from the fact that the stems are very hard and difficult for farmers to chop down.

About one-fifth of the plants found in Texas belong to the composite family. It is generally divided into groups or tribes, the more important being the ironweed, mist-flower, aster, everlasting, sunflower, bitterweed, dog-fennel, and thistle groups. The composites in this book are grouped together in tribes in the above order, but the tribes are not separated or differentiated. Identification of composites is much easier if the resemblance to a particular group can be noted.

Bluff Thoroughwort (_Eupatorium ageratifolium_) is a widely branched shrub of the rocky hillsides of Central and West Texas. The bushes are covered with flat-topped clusters of pale-pink or white flowers. The long, protruding styles, which are divided into two recurved parts, have given the name of mist-flower to this and other plants of the group.

Milk-sick plant (_Eupatorium ageratoides_) is a closely related plant which causes in cattle a disease called “trembles.” The milk from affected cows will cause sickness and death among humans. The late-flowering thoroughwort (_Eupatorium serotinum_) is very abundant in river bottoms throughout the state. Yankee-weed (_Eupatorium compositifolium_) grows in big feathery clumps often 10 feet high. It is a pernicious weed in East Texas and soon covers cut-over pine lands. The dried flower-tops of several species were used by pioneers as fever medicines. One of these plants was called Joe-pye weed in honor of the Indian doctor, Joe Pye.

Blue Mist-Flower (_Conoclinium coelestinum_) is sometimes called ageratum and is used for a summer and fall border plant. It grows in moist, shaded places from Central Texas to New Jersey.