Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia

Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia. A thicket forming, twiggy bush which has sharp thorns along the branches, this fruit tree is common on open land along water courses and road sides.  Blooming later than P umbellate, which produces umbels of flowers on the ends of stems, Chickasaw Plum produces white flowers along the full length of stems, making a display of total white “bottle brushes”.  The ½” fruit begins green, turns red, then yellow when it is ripe.  The leaves are soft and serrated along the edges, but longer and thinner than P umbellate.  Like other members of the cherry and plum family, the leaves are toxic to livestock and rabbits.  Each individual, sweetly fragrant flower is composed of 5 oval petals surrounding a central pistol with many filamentous stamen.  Known clumps are most prevalent under the power lines along the DORBA trails. (401) 3/21/19; 20 no obs;

3/21/19

Note: Chickasaw Plum blooming with masses of fragrant, white flowers from nodes along entire stems

Note; thicket forming habit of Chickasaw Plum

Note; dense masses of blooms along entire stems

Note; leaf bearing twigs can form into long, sharp thorns along the small, twiggy trunks.

Sage; Texas Sage

Sage; Texas Sage, Leucophyllum frutescens.  This hardy, evergreen shrub from the Chihuahua desert sports light grey, rounded leaves, and bright purple tube flowers which are intensely fragrant.  A popular flowering hedge, Texas Sage tolerates trimming, is drought resistant, prefers full sun, and blooms when nothing else will.  The light grey, slightly fuzzy, oval leaves are attractive in their own right, and smell only slightly of sage.  The grey color and hairs give the shrub protection from both the hot sun, and cold desert nights.  The plant blooms irregularly, breaking out into full blooms several days after a rain, all the sage plants in an area blooming so vigorously that the shrub is covered with light purple tube flowers that open to a 5 petal corolla.  Flowers bud singly from the node of each leaf, covering new growths with blossoms.  Honey bees swarm to the heavily pungent flowers for the few days they are open.  This shrub will reach 10 – 15 feet in height if watered, but is usually shorter, preferring to spread out in a dense, compact, naturally rounded shape that needs little maintenance.  It does not propagate naturally in the DFW region, but does well when planted.  Most plants are found in yards, hedges around shopping centers, or boulevard medians.

Texas Sage; a compact shrub with light grey, fuzzy leaves which blooms periodically with masses of purple tube flowers.

Note; oval, slightly pointed, light grey leaves are densely arranged in an alternating whorl.

Note; all Texas Sage shrubs in an area will burst into flower at the same time, covering the plant with pungent, lavender blooms.

Note; lavender tube flowers, the throats speckled with orange or red, open up to a corolla of 5 lobes, two pointing up, three pointing down.

Rose of Sharon Hibiscus

Rose of Sharon Hibiscus; Habiscus syriacus.  Several hibiscus are cold hardy enough to tolerate Dallas’ weather.  H syriacus is originally from southern China, but was collected from Syrian gardens, hence the species name.  Although it will not propagate locally, this medium sized, pink to lavender hibiscus is locally perennial, adding a dash of color during summer months.  The tough, slightly rough, narrow, but miltilobed leaves alternate along woody stems, sprouting again from leaf nodes in late spring.  The five lavender to soft pink, or even blue petals have a darker basal spot where they connect to the long pistol, which like other hibiscus, sprouts short stamen tipped with white anthers toward the tip.  The ovaries ripen into dry capsules that crack into 5 sections, allowing the seeds to disperse.  Although it can tolerate full sun, this hibiscus does best where the afternoon sun is dappled by shade trees, but it will not do well in dense shade.  Mature “trees” have several erect, somewhat leggy, weakly branching ‘trunks’.

Note; a weakly branching, erect, woody tree like bush with narrow, deeply lobed, rough, alternating leaves, producing pink to lavender flowers with a darker basal spot.

Note; alternating leaves with somewhat narrow, deeply cut leaves.

Lantana, Calico Lantana

Lantana; Calico Lantana Lantana urticoides/horrida. A native of central and south Texas, this deciduous, invasive plant quickly spreads onto poor, overgrazed, or disturbed soil.  A first generation succession plant, it can provide ground cover to reduce erosion, and can help stabilize leaf litter and add humus to the soil.  However, its leaves have a pungent smell, it stalks are lined with tiny, stiff, and sharp spines, and its juicy blue-black berries are poisonous to most animals, making it unpalatable to most livestock, hence the alternative species name, horrida.  Locally, Lantana is a deciduous perennial, but it cannot withstand severe freezes of northern clines.  Mildly fragrant, clustered flower heads begin as yellow, but turn lavender, purple, and red over time, hence the name ‘calico’.  Sphinx moths pollinate the flowers in the warm air of summer evenings, and several green orb spiders set up their webs for smaller fair that are attracted to the flowers.  Unlike many Texas natives which flower before leafing, Lantana blooms from new shoots that leaf out first.  The large, folded leaves, born in opposite pairs, have coarsely toothed margins.  DFW is in the extended range of Lantana, so while it will survive if planted and watered, it does not propagate locally, and so is restricted to gardens and flower beds.

Note; dense heads of 5 petal tube flowers begin as yellow, turning lavender with age.

Note; stiff, woody stems lined with ridges of small, stiff, sharp thorns

Note; days old flowers turn lavender with red centers around a nectar tube.

Note; bunches of juicy, blue black berries are strong smelling, and poison to most animals, though some birds eat them

Willow; Western Black Willow

Willow; Western Black Willow Silax nigra var. vallicola Dudley;. A fast growing, tall, thin tree found along stream beds or ponds, with narrow, strap-like leaves up to 3” long with a finely toothed margin.  S. nigra does not produce the long switches, such as those put out by weeping willow, but brittle twigs.  Trunks are covered in grey, shaggy, papery bark, which give cover for many small critters, so the name ‘black’ is a misnomer, as the wood is white.  It flowers in catkins covered with soft yellow hair, female trees soon producing strings of fluffy cotton pods which carry the tiny seeds on the wind. Normally deciduous, turning bright yellow in the fall, leaves can remain if it does not frost. The wood rots quickly, so even large limbs break easily, and even large dead trunks topple easily.  (95-96) 15 no obs (cotton 5/30/15); 3/28/17- ; 18 no obs (cotton 5/20/18); 5/1/19 (cotton 6/10/19); 4/25/20 (cotton 6/10/19);

Willow; Sand-Bar Willow

Willow; Sand-Bar Willow Silax interior Rowley;.  Untypical of willows, this Silax is a low growing, tough, scraggly bush with narrow, leathery, toothed leaves alternating along straight, brittle stems.  This willow reproduces from roots as well as seeds, forming expanding clumps.  Although it prefers alluvial sand and gravel along stream beds and road-side ditches, it is often found on bare limestone, even where there is no shallow water table.  New shoots can bud from nodes along old stems or trunks, giving it a brushy, bristly appearance.  Plants are either male or female.  Both produce catkins, but female catkins are much larger (2-3”) and are the only ones to convert, in the fall, to masses of white, fibrous achenes that carry seeds on the wind.  (96) 4/22/17- ; 18 no obs (achenes 10/20/18); 19 no obs; 20 no obs;

Sandbar Willow habit; a scraggly, arching bush found along road ditches, alluvial gravel beds or bare limestone, with long, narrow, toothed foliage and tiny catkins, which in female plants, convert to tufted, fibrous achenes.

Note; new shoots grow from old trunks, making them look scraggly and rough

Note; the dark grey bark is rough and thin, but lacks corky ridges

Note; long, strap like leaves with coarsely toothed margins are born alternately along new stems

Note; fall flush of achenes turn female plants white with what look like flowers

Note; panicles of tuft like achenes

 

Eastern Black Walnut

Walnut; Eastern Black Walnut Juglans nigra L;. A large, low branching, slow growing, deciduous forest tree, with thick, deeply furrowed, black to dark grey, corky bark, Walnuts are more common in Eastern Forests where there is abundant rainfall.  DFW is on the margins of Walnut habitat, a few specimens growing along the north facing slopes of water cut canyons along the MK Trace.  The compound pinnate leaves, over a foot long, each have up to 17 slightly toothed, lance shaped leaflets, born in opposite pairs, with a final solo leaflet.  Catkins are produced in April off the ends of last year’s stems, at the same time new leaves are budding.  Catkins, which look like strings of warty knobs, convert into round, green nuts up to 2” in diameter, which turn black after they fall.  Inside this fibrous husk (3/16” thick), lies a very hard, round, nut 1″ to 1½”  in diameter, with deep convolutions, that can only be cracked open with a hammer (rock or iron).  The flesh of the nut is lobed like an English Walnut, but is somewhat spicy, once commonly used to flavor ice-cream.  Tiny maggots eat much of the pulp away from the seed as it rots on the forest floor.  Black Walnut wood is dense, dark brown with nearly black grain, but often bored through by wood beetles.  Texas black walnut (Juglans microcarpa), found west of DFW, has much smaller seeds, as the name micro– implies. (123-124) 4/18/15; 4/22/16; 3/28/17 – 4/10/17; 4/17/18; 4/20/19; 4/13/20 – 4/20/20;

Eastern Black Walnut habit; a large, readily branching canopy tree with a loose crown, long compound pinnate leaves, and dense, dark brown heart-wood with black veining, bearing very hard nuts encased in fibrous casques

Note; deeply furrowed, thick, black to dark grey, corky bark

Note; long compound pinnate leaves with odd numbers of leaflets, opposite pairs and a final lone tip leaflet, each lance shaped with a slightly serrated margin

Note; pendulant catkins that look like strings of warty knobs bud from the ends of last year’s twigs as new leaves are growing out

Note; large, round, green fruit which turn black after they fall, composed of a thick, fibrous rind surrounding a very hard, thick nut with spicy, white meat.

Note; the hard, convoluted nut embedded within an inedible, fibrous casque, green when it falls, turning black with age

Viburnum, Rusty Blackhaw

Viburnum; Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum Viburnum rufidulum Raf;.  A small, understory, evergreen tree with cubed, but not ridged, corky bark, V rufidulum yearly produces new sprigs of glossy green, oval leaves with a very finely toothed margin, arranged in opposite pairs along the stems, completely lacking any drip-tip.  New stems, often long arching suckers off of the main trunk and branches, have a slight layer of rusty colored fuzz, giving the plant its descriptive name. Panicles of small, white, tube flowers that are mildly fragrant, bud from the ends of new growth.  The short tube ends in a corolla of 5 petals, with five white stamen, each tipped with a yellow anther, protruding beyond the profile of the flower, giving the bunches a slightly fuzzy look. The fruit are oblong, dark blue drupe with a single seed. Viburnum cultivars are popular in hedges, both for their yearly bloom of large, showy bunches of white flowers, and their glossy, evergreen foliage. (957-958) 3/30 – 4/15/15; 3/15 – 4/5/16; 3/22/17 – 4/7/17; 3/28/18; 19 no obs; 3/25/20;

Note; terminal bunches of white tube flowers that unfold into a corolla with 5 petals, the white stamen tipped with yellow anthers protrude beyond the profile of the flowers, giving the bunches a fuzzy look

Rusty Blackhaw habit; an evergreen, understory shrub with dark, corky bark, glossy foliage, and showy bunches of white flowers that convert to oblong blue drupes

Note; the dark bark is corky and divided into cubes, not furrowed ridges.

Note; bright, evergreen, glossy, oval leaves with very fine serration along the margins, are arranged in opposite pairs along stems, completely lacking any drip-tip

Treebine

Treebine; Cissus incisa Desmoul;. This soft stemmed, vine like, readily branching, deciduous plant that is a member of the grape family, Vitis, zig-zags between leaf nodes.  Three lobed, crisp, almost succulent leaves, with coarse, pointed teeth and drip tips on each lobe, bud from each node, alternating sides, a climbing tendril grows opposite each leaf.  Umbels of tiny green flowers which, like grapes, lack petals, bud from the ends of new growth, converting to loose bunches of black, juicy berries that look like grapes, but generally are not eaten.  Treebine grows abundantly in well watered areas, though its tuberous root stores water, making it drought tolerant.  It is usually found clamoring over other plants, but is often out of sight, as it readily climbs into the crowns of surrounding trees in search of light. (709) 6/10/17; 5/18/18; 19 no obs; 20 no obs;

Treebine habit; a woody, but soft vine-like plant that zig-zags between nodes, bearing coarsely toothed trifoliate leaves and umbels of tiny flowers that convert to juicy, black berries.

Note; crisp, succulent trifoliate leaves with coarse, pointed teeth on each leaflet, alternating along the soft stems, climbing tendrils growing opposite leaves at each node

Note; umbels of tiny greenish flowers lacking petals bud from the ends of new growth

Note; loose bunches of black, juicy, grape-like drupes, generally inedible, but not poisonous

Sumac; Prairie and Smooth Flame-Leaf Sumac

Sumac; Prairie and Flame-Leaf/Smooth Sumac Rhus copallina L;. As the name implies, the leaves of this woody, deciduous shrub turn bright red in the fall.  The trunks have low, rough, corky knobs, but are otherwise smooth and unfurrowed.  Long (10-14”) pinnate leaves bear opposite pairs of slightly asymmetric, lance shaped leaflets. Terminal clusters of tiny greenish-white, fragrant flowers bud from the ends of this year’s growth, each with 5 petals arranged around a central disk.  Flowers convert to heavy stalks of hard, dark red berries (some varieties are white).  Though small and inconspicuous, sumac has many uses.  The resin of this Sumac has a copal like property, and can be burned as an incense, earning it the scientific species name copallina.  The stems and bark contain high levels of tannin, used for curing hides, and Amerindians crushed the berries to make lime-laced water taste palatable.  The berries are a rich source of food for birds migrating through DFW in the early spring. Two nearly identical varieties grow in the area, the Prairie Flame Leaf has toothed edges on the leaves, but lacks wings on leaf stems, while the flower petals are longer, and whiter.  The Smooth Flame-Leaf has a smooth, untoothed leaf margins, with flattened wings on leaf stems, while the flowers are more rounded, and have a darker colored disks, but both varieties are considered one species.  (632-633) 5/10/15; 5/30/16; 5/15/17 – 5/30/17; 6/2/18; 19 no obs. 5/20/20

Note; flowers convert to dense panicles of dark red (or white), hard berries, readily eaten by migrating birds in the spring

Flame Leaf Sumac habit; a densely branching, deciduous tree with relatively smooth bark, bearing alternating, compound pinnate leaves and panicles of white flowers that convert to dense clusters of dark red berries.

Note; the relatively smooth bark lacks ridges, or scales, but has corky rough protuberances

Note; Smooth Flame Leaf Sumac have compound pinnate leaves with an odd number of asymmetrical leaflets with smooth margins, and flattened ‘wings’ between leaflets

Note; Prairie Flame Leaf Sumac have compound pinnate leaves with an odd number of nearly symmetrical leaflets with coarsely toothed margins, lacking ‘wings’ between leaflets

Note; dense terminal panicles fragrant flowers, each with five white, elongated petals arranged around a dark central disk

Note; Prairie Flame Leaf Sumac flowers have longer, thinner petals with pointed tips

Note; Smooth Flame Leaf Sumac flowers have shorter, rounded petals

Note; leaves turn a bright, dark red in the fall, remaining on the plants for some time, earning this Sumac the nick-name Flame Leaf Sumac.