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.

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

Soapberry, Western Soapberry

Soapberry; Western Soapberry Sapindus drummondii Hook;. Soapberry can grow to be a branching crown tree in some areas, but in the DFW area it is normally a short, spindly, deciduous bush of the understory, rarely more than 4” in diameter.  The loose, light grey, extremely scaly bark is often tinged with yellow or orange lichens.  Light green shoots produce a new crop of oddly pinnate leaves which alternate in a spiral around the stems, the asymmetrical leaflets alternating along the ribs, rather than being arranged in opposite pairs.  Leaves turn bright yellow in the fall.  Flower panicles, 6-10” long, bud from the tips of new growths, bearing tiny (1/4”), fragrant, short-lived, white flowers with 5 papery thin petals.  Flowers have 8 or more stamen, each tipped with an off-white anther, which project out, far beyond the flower, giving the flower heads a fuzzy look.  Flowers convert to yellowish, translucent berries with a solid pit, which look similar to Chinaberry seeds.  When dried, the saponin rich berries can be vigorously rubbed in water to produce soap-suds.  Otherwise, the berries, though used in moderation as a purgative and antiseptic, are considered toxic.  Trees are parasitized by the Soapberry Borer beetle, which eats away the water carrying xylem layer under the bark.  (683-684) 5/28/15 – 6/5/17; 5/25/17 – 6/5/17; 5/25/18; 19 no record; 5/28/20

Western Soapberry habit; a spindly tree of the understory with grey, scaly bark, alternating pinnate leaves, and terminal panicles of tiny, white flowers which convert to round yellow berries.

Note; alternating spirals of pinnate leaves composed of an odd number of asymmetrical, lanceolate leaflets which alternate along the rib, rather than being arranged in opposite pairs.

Note; panicles of fragrant, but short lived, very small, white flowers grow from terminal buds of new growth

Note; tiny white, ball like buds that open to small white flowers with 5 papery petals and 10 filamentous stamen, each tipped with a yellow anther

Note; translucent, yellowish fruit with a large, hard pit visible inside, make suds when scrubbed in water

Note; asymmetric leaves are bulged to one side

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy; Poison Ivy Toxicodendron radicans L;.  A variable, noxious plant that grows as a clinging vine on tree trunks, or free-standing as a low, weak, or sprawling plant with reddish stems which sports coarsely toothed trifoliate leaves, and occasionally white berries.  Clusters of tiny (3/16”) green and yellow flowers, composed of 5 fleshy petals arranged around a yellowish disk of stamens and a white pistol, bud from old leaf scars, turning into smooth white berries, which some birds can eat without ill effects.  The glossy, compound leaves come in sets of three leaflets, each of which is deeply indented into three or five pointed lobes.  The leaves are generally small (2-3”) in upright plants, but much larger (4-6”) in the vine form.  Some vine forms have an extra set of leaves, arranged as a compound leaf of 5 leaflets. Vines attach to tree trunks with dense mats of roots, much like Virginia Creeper, but can be easily stripped off.  Rhizomes burrow through leaf litter, spreading underground.  The general rule, “Leaves of three, leave them be” was coined to warn people of the bad rash touching Poison Ivy leaves can induce.  Although there are other plants which bear leaves in sets of three (Ash, Hops, Skunk Berry), they are shaped differently.  Poison Ivy prefers acid soils around Juniper trees, reaching larger sizes near water.  Goats can graze the leaves with no ill effects.  Poison Ivy rash generally lasts two weeks, but lathering the rash with Burt’s Bees poison ivy soap can cut down on the itch and shorten the duration to days.  If exposed to leaves, wash with soap and cold water, as hot water may drive the poison into pores.  Do not attempt homeopathic remedies that involve drinking tea made from the leaves, for this has led to horrible reactions.  A few lucky individuals seem not to react to poison ivy.  Poison ivy cannot tolerate full sun, and is easy to eradicate by pulling runners out of the ground (guarding the skin with rubber gloves).  Do not burn dried plants, as the smoke can carry the toxic resin into the lungs. Leaves turn a dark red in the Fall.  (638-641) 4/13/15 – 5/15/15; 4/5/16; 3/10/17 – 4/10/17; 18 no obs; 4/1/19; 4/9/20;

Poison Ivy habit; a variable plant that may be a free standing, weak reddish stem, or a vine that climbs trees with short clinging roots, like Virginia creeper, or an Ivy, with trifoliate leaves and small greenish-yellow flowers that convert to white berries.

Note; glossy green leaves come in sets of three pointed, egg-shaped leaflets with coarsely toothed margins.  Some leaves have 5 leaflets.

Note; small spikes of greenish, fleshy flowers with five petals arranged around a ring of yellowish stamen, with a central, white pistol, are born from old leaf axils.

Note; flowers convert to greenish berries, which turn white when mature.

Note: leaves turn bright red in the fall

Oak; Texas Red Oak

Oak; Texas Red Oak Quercus texana Buckl; Most of Texas is too dry for the straight Northern Red Oak preferred by home-owners, and the sun is so intense it can sunburn its smooth bark.  Locally, Texas Oak takes the place of Red Oak, both in terms of the color of its wood, the shape of its acorns, and the shape of its leaves.  The deeply cut lobes of deciduous Texas Red Oak leaves, like the Red Oak, end in sharp points, but it grows from a heavy bulbous base (a drought tolerant feature), supporting multiple trunks, and its black, corky, ridged bark protects it from the sun.  The tree is subject to viral wilt which kills trunks of stressed trees at about 4’, turning their heart wood to mush.  New trunks sprout from the base, and new shoots grow from trunks, giving the tree a “shabby” look, but eventually the tree dies. Texas Red Oak reproduces via catkins of tiny flowers, which convert into clusters of blunted, egg-shaped, light brown held in a shallow, nearly flat cap.  Catkins bud from the tips of last year’s stems, just before new growth begins to bud in. Tiny wasps lay eggs between the layers of Q. texana leaves, which the tree surrounds, with a hard, seed-like coating, suspending it in white fibers, producing a green.  The local name “Red” Oak comes from the reddish color of the highly desired, straight grained,  heart-wood, which has a peculiar, though not unpleasant, sour smell when freshly split.  Acorn weevils drill pin-prick holes in the light brown acorns, and the grubs eat out the nut, emerging through holes the size of pencil lead, drilling into the soil where they finish molting.  Drilled acorns are filled with black crud and are not viable. (192-193) 4/1/15; 2/23/16; 3/8/17-3/20/17; 3/18/18; 3/20/19-4/1/19; 3/5/20 – 3/28/20;

Texas Red Oak habit; a deciduous, crown tree that often has multiple trunks rising from a bulbous base, sometimes with new suckers sprouting from it, bearing pinnate leaves cut by deep sinuses, each lobe with a sharp tip, and producing egg-shaped, brown acorns

Note; black, corky, deeply furrowed bark that gives Texas Oak protection from the sun and drought.

Note; the bulbous base shared by multiple trunks, which readily sprouts new shoots

Note; alternating, pinnate leaves cut by deep, rounded sinuses, each lobe with a sharp point

Note; brown, oval, egg shaped acorns lacking a sharp, terminal spike, with an exit hole from an Acorn Weevil larva

Note; warty, green leaf galls caused by a tiny wasp that lays an egg between the layers of the leaf, filled with white filaments that support a hard core.

Note; leaves turn dark red in the fall

 

 

Oak; Post Oak

Oak; Post Oak Quercus stellata Wangh,. The white to light grey bark of this slow growing, deciduous, irregular shaped tree comes in loose chips rather than deep fissures.  The bulbous base is often surrounded by shoots, forming an island of wispy suckers, a few of which can become secondary trunks, or the main trunk, should the trunk die.  The light green, irregular, three lobed leaves are rounded, rather than sharply pointed, like Red Oak.  Leaves are frequently infested with reddish or greenish fruit-like galls.  A grub lives in a small hard knot in this gall, suspended by a fibrous network inside.  Catkins (small spikes of tiny flowers) emerge from the ends of last year’s stems after new leaves have sprouted.  The small acorns are nearly round, with a sharp tip. Cut branches or trunks reveal the typical radiating pattern of oaks, but do not form the dark heart-wood of red oak.  Useless for lumber, the wood was most often split into fence posts and rails, lending the tree its scientific, and local name (rails/posts).  Locally it is most common along the chalky escarpment and slopes, often in a tangled, shrubby form, but it can grow to very large size over time.  Forests of this tree are common between Wichita Falls and Vernon Tx along 287. The stately, knurled Big Tree (on Big Tree Circuit), the largest tree on the ILC, is a Post Oak.  (154-155) 4/3/15; 3/25/16; 3/10/17-3/28/17; 3/25/18 – 4/10/18; 3/25/19 – 4/1/19; 3/25/20;

Post Oak habit; a slow growing, often knurled looking, deciduous oak with crooked branches, an irregular crown and scaly (rather than furrowed) bark that produces very small acorns

Note; light grey bark that is scaly, rather than furrowed

Note; often with multiple trunks, or at least islands of green wispy suckers growing around a bulbous base.

Note; leaves, arranged in an alternating spiral, have three to five smooth lobes with rounded tips.

Note; catkins emerge from last year’s stems after new leaves have grown in

 

Note; leaf galls, often red, called “cherry galls” are composed of a thin, warty shell surrounding a hard core suspended by radiating white filaments

Note; small, nearly round acorns with a sharp drip tip.

Oak; Live Oak

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Oak; Live Oak Quercus virginiana Mill;. Dallas is beyond the northern edge of the natural range of live oaks, but the trees grow here if planted and watered for the first few years.  The deeply furrowed, rough, black bark of this readily branching evergreen contrasts with the glossy dark green of its small (<2”) evergreen leaves, which depending on the variety, range from slightly curled with sharp holly-like points, to smooth and elongated ovals.  The leaves last for two or more years, older leaves shedding in the spring just before new leaves grow in (mid-March).  Live Oaks reproduce from catkins, tiny spikes of miniscule flowers, a few of which convert to acorns that are much longer than most oaks, often turning bronze in color after they fall.  The slow growth, spreading growth pattern, drought resistance and evergreen qualities make this tough, dense-wooded tree a favorite for large yards or campuses.  Though the long, drooping, habit of new growth gives this oak a scraggly look when young, it usually grows wider than tall, achieving a manicured, rounded profile.  The tough, dense, springy wood, favored by ship-builders, allows the branches to extend far outward, making them safe for kids to climb in without fear they will breaking.  The leaves and bark, are so heavy with tannin that they do not make good mulch.  The acorns, longer than other types of oak, end in a terminal spike, and held in exceptionally small caps, are green when they fall, but soon turn a rich brown.  They sprout easily, if they escape acorn weevils, and form an enlarged, woody, tuber-like base just underground which preserves young tree through dry periods.  Light brown, woody galls caused by tiny wasps, form on twigs. (170-171) 4/10/15; 3/26/16-4/15/17; 3/22/18 – 4/10/18; 3/25/19 – 4/20/19; 3/25/20 – 4/17/20;

Live Oak habit; a slow growing, evergreen oak that branches readily, with dark grey to black, deeply furrowed (or cubed), corky bark, and very dense, springy, hard wood that produces elongated, rich brown colored acorns.

Note; nearly black, deeply furrowed, corky bark, often broken into cubes, rather than ridges, with a spreading habit

Note; long, tough, dark green leaves, sometimes with tooth-like projections along the margins, which shed just before catkins and new growth appear in the spring

Note; fuzzy catkins which emerge just as the tree is budding new, wispy growth with fresh leaves

Note; grey stem galls caused by a tiny wasp.  These are not the fruit of the tree

Note; acorns are long and thin, with a sharp tip, and a very small cap, green when they fall, but turning a rich brown after a few days.

Note; rich brown color, extra small cap, elongated form, and tiny hole where a wevil larva exited.

Oak; Bur Oak

Oak; Bur Oak Quercus macrocarpa Michx;. A large, deciduous, relatively fast growing (for an oak!), open crowned tree with huge 2” acorns and gigantic (6-12”), undulating leaves that are deeply cut, each lobe having rounded corners rather than pointed tips.  The dark grey, corky bark is deeply furrowed, and the brown heart-wood is surrounded by 4” of tan sap-wood.  Oaks produce catkins, tiny spikes of miniscule flowers that look fuzzy, from the tips of last year’s stems, just as new shoots are budding.  Bur Oak bears the largest acorns of all oaks earning it the scientific name macro-carpa ‘big-fruit’. The deep acorn cap, fringed with stiff, burr-like curled fibers, enfolds over half the acorn, from which the common name ‘burr oak’ is derived.  Locally, the natural range of Bur Oak is the bottom lands or flood basins, where there is deeper soil and more water, but it will grow in shallow soils if watered for years.  It is an impressive tree, but due to its irregular shape, size and loose crown, is not commonly grown in yards. (148-149) 4/10/15; 3/25/16-? ; 18 no obs; 3/25/19-4/1/19; 3/25/20

Burr Oak habit; a large, open crowned tree native to moist bottom lands with deeply furrowed bark, huge acorns and long, undulating, rounded leaves.

Note; thick, deeply furrowed, dark grey, corky bark covers thick sap wood.

Note; gigantic (6-12”), undulating leaves with deep sinuses dividing lobes with rounded tips

Note; catkins bud from tips of last year’s stems just as new shoots are sprouting (March-early April)

Note; huge acorns up to 2” long, mostly concealed by a rough, scaly cap with a fringe of stiff, burr like hairs.