Magnolia; Southern Magnolia

Magnolia; Southern Magnolia Magnolia grandiflora L;.  Dallis is considerably west of the natural range of Magnolia, and too dry for it to go native, but it is commonly planted as an ornamental tree, where it thrives if watered.  The large, thick, stiff, evergreen leaves are dark, glossy green above, rust-brown to purple on the underside, beginning as ‘pig-tails’ that unfurls as they open. If grown in full sun it attains a conical shape, the lower branches spreading out radially from the smooth, dark grey trunk, and drooping slightly.  Large, white, cone shaped buds open up into huge (5-8”), fragrant (lemony smell), brilliant white flowers, the cupped petals arranged radially around a central, fleshy cone, from which white anthers protrude.  The petals fade to cream, then brown two days before falling off.  The fleshy cone turns reddish, then brown as bright orange-red seeds mature and poke out of the cone bracts.  Beetles pollinate this flower. The flowering season can last into Fall if the summer is cool and the Fall mild. (280-281) 4/29/15; 4/26/16-; 5/2/18; 5/6/19; 5/1/20;

Southern Magnolia habit; a slow growing conical, evergreen tree of eastern forests with large, crisp, dark green leaves, bearing huge, pure white, fragrant flowers

Note; the long, wide, glossy green leaves, which are maroon on the underside, unfurl from ‘pig-tails’ in an alternating spiral

Note; the trunks are smooth, with slightly scaly bark that does not form corky ridges or warts

Note; the large white flowers are composed of 13-15 cupped petals surrounding a fleshy column stippled with white pistols

Note; flowers have an intense lemony fragrance, but last only 3 days or so

Note; petals drop off, leaving a green column with red seeds embedded in the deep bracts

Buckeye; Mexican Buckeye

Buckeye; Mexican Buckeye Ungnadia speciosa Endl;.  A deciduous bush with many leggy, smooth barked trunks, which forms dense clumps of small arching, boughs nver more than 3″ in diameter, growing from a central woody knot just under ground level.  Common on chalky limestone, it reaches tree proportions in some areas with deeper soil.  Clusters of attractive, pale pink, fragrant, peach-like flowers about ½” across bud directly from nodes on trunks and old stems, new growth coming in after the flowers have bloomed.  Each flower has 5 petals, the curved anthers and pistol protruding beyond them.  A deciduous plant, the flowers emerge shortly before the compound leaves bud out, each with 5-7 leaflets, on new, fast growing stems.  Blooming in mid-March, U speciosa overlaps somewhat with Redbud.  The fruit is a three lobed, pear-shaped, internally divided capsule, each of which has a single, shiny, black, slightly toxic seed about ½ across and ¾” long, with a pronounced white spot on one end.  Archaeological evidence of stashes of seeds mixed with Mountain Laurel (Mescal) seeds in remote caves suggests that Amerinds did not devise a method to detoxify the seeds for food, but used them in conjunction with Mountain Laurel as a ritual stimulant (686) 3/28-4/17/15; 3/23/16-4/20/16; 3/11/17-3/30/17; 3/22/18-4/15/18; 3/20/19-4/14/19; 3/17/20 – 3/27/20;

Mexican Buckeye habit; multiple, leggy, arching, small, smooth trunks growing from a common base bear clumps of pink flowers directly off of old stems before foliage emerges

Note; clumps of flowers bud directly from old leaf nodes on trunks and older stems.

Note; showy, pink, fragrant flowers with curved pistol and stamen that protrude out beyond the 5 petals

Note; three lobed seed capsules, each with three large, lustrous, black, oval seeds that rattle when the boughs are shaken.

Note; compound leaves do not emerge until flowers have bloomed

Winecups

Winecups (Purple Poppymallow) Callirhoe involucrate. A low, pithy perennial with deeply cleft, narrow, palmate leaves arranged along the creeping stems in an alternating spiral.  The plant freezes back every winter, but buds anew from a deeply rooted tap-root, growing out in a multi-branched radial pattern.  The plant is inconspicuous until the flowers open, the bright red catching the eyes, even from a distance.  Chalice-like, deep burgundy-red flowers up to 1.5” across are born singly on long (4”) upright stems arising from leaf axils, the petals becoming white toward the center. Curly stamens sprout from the sides of a central pistol, with curled, filament like stigma, like other mallows.  Seed capsules are a round, wheel-like structure framed by the stiff bud sepals. Intolerant of shade, Winecups are found scattered widely in open country, even lawns, where their stems grow out over surrounding vegetation. (238) 4/10/15-; 3/20/16-6/6/16; 3/21/17- ; 4/22/18; 4/3/19; 4/11/20;

Winecups habit; stiff sprawling plant of open grassy areas, with palmate leaves and deep burgundy flowers born on long, slender stems

Note; five fingered, palmate leaves with narrow, deeply cut lobes held aloft on long, smooth stems bud off the main stem in an alternating spiral

Note; open, loose spikes of flowers bud off of leaf axils, each flower born aloft on long, smooth stems

Note; the five stiff sepals crack open, allowing the burgundy petals to unfurl.

Note; single born, chalice like 5 petal, rose-purple flowers, fading to white in the center

Note; curly stamens tipped with orange to yellow anthers bud directly off the central pistol, like other mallows

Note; hard, round wheel like seed capsule framed by the 5 stiff sepals

Veronica; Birdseye Speedwell

Veronica; Birdseye Speedwell Veronica persica. This branched, creeping, lawn plant is characterized by soft stems with opposite, heart-shaped, fuzzy, clasping leaves, with lobed edges. The blue and white flowers, each with four petals, are 3/16” across, and are born singly from leaf axils.  Three petals are light blue and rounded, with heavy dark blue veining clustered around a white center.  The fourth petal is a light blue and elongated, like a lip.  Two hooked anthers arc over the central, spike-like pistol. Common in lawns and road margins, preferring shade, and intolerant of hotter weather. [Not in book] (354 related) 3/12/15-4/28/15 Rain and cool weather prolonged 5/20/15; 2/14/16-6/1/16; 2/23/17-4/?; 3/5/18; 2/8/19 – ; 2/8/20 – 5/29/20;

Veronica Speedwell habit; cool season, shade loving ground cover and lawn plant with rounded, clasping leaves bearing single, bright blue and white flowers.

Note; opposite pairs of rounded leaves clasp the creeping, soft stalks

Note; blue flowers with white centers are born singly from leaf axils

Note; low growing habit as an early season ground cover, common on lawns and margins

Note; rounded, lobed, opposite leaves with no petiole.

Note; three bright blue petals, one light blue to white petal.

Note; 4 white stamen arc over the central  spike-like pistol

Sundrop, Drummond’s Sundrop

Drummond’s Sundrop (Square-bud) Calyophus drummondianus. A weak, straggling plant with toothed, strap-like leaves that radiate around the stem, lack petioles but which do not clasp the stem.  Though narrow, the leaves are nearly twice as wide as Narrow Leaf Sundrop, Oenothera fruticose. The light green buds, also without peduncles, have 4 prominent edges (making them look ‘square’), which are lined with light purple.  The 1” bright yellow, four petal flowers have a prominent three lobed stigma on an elongated pistol, and 8 shorter, light yellow anthers set within a cup of 4 petals.  The 1” seed pods are stick-like. Chalk flats along roads (158) 5/8/15-6/1/15; 5/10/16; 4/14/17- ; 5/12/18; 4/22/19; 5/1/20

Drummond’s Sundrop habit; weak sprawling stems with straplike, toothed leaves arranged in a radial pattern around the stem, bearing square buds which open to bright yellow flowers

Note; bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers, up to 1” in diameter, each with four petals, emerge from buds with four ridges.

Note; beetle in the flower throat

Note; square buds with pronounced ridges, rimmed with purple.

Note; narrow leaves are lined with sharp looking, spine like teeth, which are harmless

Milkweed, Snow on the Prairie

Snow on the Prairie (Smoke on the Prairie) Euphorbia bicolor. A tall (2’ – 3’), slender, pithy, variegated (green and white) milkweed which branches into 3 stems, and the flower heads into three bunches. The narrow, lance shaped, light grey-green leaves are arranged in a spiral around the stems.  Like all Euphorbia, stems and leaves bleed white irritating sap when cut or bruised.  Long (2” – 3”), narrow, showy, variegated green petal like bracts with white fringes are not part of the flower, just bracts that frame the small (3/8”), round, cream flowers that are composed of 5 white petals arranged around a central yellow pistol. When in bloom, the showy bracts literally make the prairies look white, or hazy.  Flowers convert to hairy, three lobed capsules.  Like other milkweed, this plant serves as food for Monarch Butterfly caterpillars, the bitter sap making them unpalatable to birds and other insectivores. PDU, CC, SWk, PL (74) 8/15/14; 8/20/15-; 16 not recrd; 8/?/17; 18 not recrd; 19 not recrd;

Snow on the Prairie habit; a tall, pithy milk weed that branches into sets of three, with alternating, lance-like grey-green leaves, and showy green and white bracts.

Note; long, showy, variegated green and white flower bracts frame the round, white flowers

Note; small, flat flowers have 5 white petals arranged around a central, yellow pistol and anthers

Note; stems branch into threes, repeatedly, each stem lined with lanceolate, stemless, oblong leaves

Note; light grey-green leaves bleed white sap when cut or broken

Note; three lobed, hairy seed capsules.

Sida, Spreading Fanpetal Sida

Spreading Fanpetal Sida Sida abutifolis (filicaulis).  A tough-stemmed, sprawling weed that invades lawns and heavily mowed areas, with narrow, lance-shaped, deeply veined, leaves with rounded, toothed margins.  Buds and seed capsules are five cornered pyramids.  Light yellow flowers have 5 irregular petals, the left-most lobe being longer than the right, giving the flowers a shape reminiscent of an electric fan blade, earning it the moniker, “Fan-Petal Sida”.  Like the related mallows and hibiscus, the anthers form a bottle brush around the upper end of the pistol, near the stigma.  Flowers are easily confused with Three Lobed False Mallow M coromandelianum, except that plant is strongly upright.  Common on Lawn, mowed roadsides, and short grasses, this Sida cannot compete with taller growing plants. (166) 5/12/15; 6/1/16; 4/22/17- ; 4/22/18; 19 no obs; 20 no obs;

Spreading Fanpetal Sida habit; a sprawling plant with narrow, toothed, lance shaped leaves, and yellow flowers with lopsided petals.

Note; anthers form a brush around the upper end of the pistol.

Note; one lobe of each petal is larger than the others, like a fan blade

Note; pyramidal, five sided bud

Sida, Heartleaf Sida

Heartleaf Sida (Flannel Weed) Sida cordatifolia.  A slightly fuzzy perennial with drooping, soft, pointed, heart-shaped leaves with a toothed margin, arranged in an alternating pattern around a stalk more fibrous than pithy.  The short hairs on the soft leaves cause them to cling to a flannel-graph board, earning it the moniker “flannel weed”.  Small clusters of round, yellow, flattened flowers, ½” across, each with 5 spatula shaped petals, are born singly on filamentous spikes from leaf axils or terminal buds.  Flowers open in slow succession, converting to green, ribbed seed capsules ¾” long, by ½” wide.  Like the related mallows (Hibiscus), the central pistol bears a brush of yellow anthers. The roots contain traces of ephedrine, a stimulant, while a tea made from the seed capsules is common naturopathic medicinal herb reported to ease bronchitis. (not in book, see166) 5/14/15; 6/15/16; 4/20/17- ; 5/18/18; 19 not recrd; 5/14/20;

Heart-leaf Sida habit; smooth, fibrous stems lined with alternate, fuzzy, heart shaped leaves, with small, yellow flowers born singly on filamentous pedicles, converting to ridged seed capsules

Note; alternating, fuzzy, heart shaped leaves with a toothed margin, tapering to a pointed drip tip, cling to flannel fabric

Note; round yellow flowers, each with 5 spatula shaped petals surrounding an upright pistol with a “brush” of anthers toward the end

Note; ridged, pleated seed capsule coated with tiny hairs.

Primrose, Pink Ladies

Pink Ladies (Showy Evening Primrose) Oenothera speciosa. This short (10-15”), pithy, thin stemmed annual has alternating, lance shaped leaves, the older leaves pinnate towards the stem, while younger leaves have a smooth margin.  The 4 petals of the large (2-3”), paper thin, pink flowers unfurl in slow succession from tightly rolled buds arranged on a drooping, terminal spike. The rounded petals are deeply veined with red, while the color of the petals shifts to yellow around the nectar tube in the center.  Eight long stamens, each holding a pair of yellow anthers, rise from the inner rim of the petals.  A filamentous pistol, with a cross-shaped stigma, emerges from the central tube.  Occasionally growing in full sun, the plant prefers partial shade, such as forest margins Flowers begin white, blushing pink over their short (2-3 day) life.  Roadsides, PDU, PL (278) 4/6/15-5/5/15; 3/27/16; 3/15/17-6/5/17; 3/25/18; 4/7/19; 3/28/20;

Pink Ladies habit; fibrous stems with alternating lance-shaped leaves, and terminal spikes of large, white to pink flowers

Note; deep red veining in the 4 petals, with a yellow zone in the center around the nectar tube,

 

Note; pistol in central nectar tube has an X shaped stigma

Note; 8 filamentous stamen on the rim of the hollow, yellow nectar tube have two anthers per stamen,

Mallow, Wheel Mallow

Wheel Mallow Modiola caroliniana. A small (10”), sprawling, tough plant with small (1-2”), alternate, maple-like leaves with 3-5 deeply cut lobes.  Miniature (3/8”), brick-orange, hibiscus-like flowers grow from leaf axials, singly, or in small clusters.  Five short, rounded petals surround a thick, prominent pistol from which sprout brush like filamentous anthers, and a terminal stigma.  Flowers convert to a thick walled, grooved, circular seed capsules that look like a wheel, giving the plant its moniker.  The seed capsule turns black when mature. Common on shaded lawns. Due to its tough nature, is often used as a coarse broom for sweeping yards. (288) 4/11/15-5/10/15; 4/10/16-6/1/16; 3/26/17- ?; 4/?/18; 19 no recrd; 4/9/20;

Wheel Mallow habit; smooth leaves with 5 deeply cut lobes, arranged alternately around a tough stem, and bearing apricot-orange flowers

Note; the central green disk, surrounded by 5 small, rounded, orange-apricot petals.

Note; the central pistol has anthers sprouting along its end.

Note; flower buds look like a red button emerging from green bracts

Note the deeply cut 5 lobes of the leaves.

Note; round, ribbed, wheel-like seed capsule.