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

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.

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

Pecan

Pecan; Pecan Carya illinoensis Koch. Better known for the commercially grown Paper-Shell Pecan, which have larger nuts with thin shells, native Pecan (known as Nueces in Mexico) tend to be a smaller tree, which have smaller nuts with hard shells.  Pecans are a tall, deciduous tree with lanky, brittle branches, lined with flaking rather than corky bark.  The compound pinnate leaves have an odd number of elliptical leaflets with smooth margins, the leaflets arranged in opposite pairs along a central rib, with a single leaflet at the tip.  The wood is soft and brown, and has a strong odor.  Catkins appear in spring, budding from the leaf axils of new growth.  The fruit begin as oblong, green ovals with four ridges, nuts ripen in October-November as the fibrous casques ripen, turn black and split along the seams, allowing the nut to fall out, or be shaken out.  Nuts with the husks still attached are usually spoiled.  Though no wild Pecans grow in the ILC, they are plentiful in other forested areas, constituting an important winter food source for rodents and wild boar.  Many domesticated trees, grafted from Paper-Shell cultivars, have been planted on the ILC.  (127-128 Vines) 5/1/20

Pecan habit; a very tall, leggy tree with scaly rather than corky bark, bearing alternating, compound pinnate leaves and reproducing through catkins which convert to clusters of edible nuts

Note; catkins are produced from new growth after the leaves have budded out

Note; compound pinnate leaves arranged in an alternating pattern around stems have an odd number of lanceolate leaflets with finely serrated margins, arranged as opposite pairs with one terminal leaflet

Note; green, oblong fruit, in clusters of 3-5, are composed of a fibrous casque, split by four seams, surrounding a thin shelled nut.

Note; husks turn black and split along seams, allowing the smooth, brown nuts to fall out

China-berry

China-berry; China-Berry/ Neem/Umbrella Tree Melia azedarch L;.  It is illegal to intentionally plant this invasive, soft, fast growing, deciduous tree, which germinates easily from ½” pulpy, yellow seeds, for it crowds out local vegetation.  The dark blueish-green trunk is smooth with light furrowing when young, becoming somewhat rough when older, but never deeply furrowed.  China-berry loses its leaves in the fall, growing new clusters of long, compound serrate leaflets on the ends of long branches every spring.  Clusters of pleasantly fragrant, lavender and purple flowers, each with 5 narrow petals surrounding a purple central tube, bud from the axils of new leaves in March, making a nice centerpiece while they last.  The leaves have a strong odor, and when crushed and immersed in water are used as insecticide elsewhere.  In some places the fruit is pulped in water to make medicine for round worms, but the fermented fruit itself can be poisonous. Medicinal uses refer to the tree as Neem, or Arobaini (40 in Arbic), for the reputed 40 applications, while those who plant it for shade refer to is Umbrella Tree for its rounded canopy.  Common in disturbed forests, especially where there is ample moisture. (602) 4/16/15-5/10/15; 4/10/16; 3/20/17-4/15/17; 4/15/18-5/10/18; 4/21/19; 4/9/20 – 5/9/20;

China-berry habit; a fast growing, invasive tree with soft wood, relatively smooth, greenish bark, and a rounded, open canopy, bearing fragrant, lavender flowers which convert to oval, yellow berries.

Note; clumps of coarsely toothed, compound pinnate leaves, each leaflet deeply toothed, are arranged in an alternating spiral, budding from the ends of long stems each spring,

Note; panicles of attractive, if small, heavily fragrant, lavender and purple flowers bud from this the axillary nodes of this year’s leaves

Note; five narrow, lavender petals surrounding a frilled, purple central tube that houses pistol and stamen, tipped with cream anthers

Note; round, green fruit surrounding a single seed, which turns yellow when ripe, falling in the spring

Note; fall colors yellow, with yellow berries

Yarrow, Common Yarrow

Common Yarrow (Milfoil) Achillea millefolium. This tall stemmed, somewhat pithy plant with slightly grooved, fuzzy stalks rises from a rosette of compound pinnate, fern-like leaves that are rounded, rather than pointed on the ends.  Leaf petioles clasp the stalk, a filamentous sheath wrapping around the entire node.  The stalk is divided at conspicuous nodes, stems arranged in an alternating spiral at each node.  Pithy stems terminate in a compound umbel of small, white flowers, nestled in a rosette of pinnate, bract like leaflets.  Each flower is composed of 5 white petals and 5 stamen tip with white anthers, all centered around a bare yellow disk with a towering, smooth pistol.  Each petal is divided in two.  Flowers convert to a mass of sticky (Velcro) seed capsules that cling to hair or clothing, but which are much larger than Hedge Parsley.  Lawns, PDU, PL (108) 4/20/15-5/20/15; 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 no obs;

Common Yarrow habit; beginning as a rosette of fine, compound pinnate leaves with rounded tips, stem leaves arranged in an alternating spiral around the grooved, hairy stalk, terminating in a compound umbel of small white flowers

Note; compound umbels of small, white flowers and stamen tipped with white anthers, arranged around a bare yellow center

Note; each petal is split in two

Note; fine compound pinnate leaves clasp the grooved stems, a filamentous sheath wrapped around the leaf nodes

Note; dense cluster of stick-tight seed capsules, nestled in a rosette of fine, pinnate leaflets

Threadleaf

Threadleaf (Bishop’s weed) Ptilimnium capillaceum. A short (10-12”), fibrous plant that derives its name from its thread-like, compound pinnate leaves which divide into many threads per petiole, this annual blooms early, before it gets crowded out by taller vegetation.  The leaves clasp the slightly ribbed stems, the petioles wrapping them in a transparent sheath.  The weakly upright stems would sprawl if not supported by surrounding vegetation.  The flowers head are composed of tiny white flowers, born in a compound umbel, much like Hedge Parsley, each flower composed of 5 spatula shaped petals arranged around a yellow center.  Flowers convert to smooth, elongated seeds with slight “winglike” projections.  The plant differs from Hedge Parsley (Torilis arvensis) in the shape of the leaf, the season, and that flowers do not form sticky “velcro” seeds like Hedge Parsley. PDU, DK, PL (60) 4/22/15-6/5/15; 4/14/16-6/25/16; 3/27/17- ; 5/10/18; 4/1/19; 3/18/20

Threadleaf habit; low growing masses of soft, fibrous stems, with thread-like leaves, and bearing umbels of small white flowers

Note; each stem ends in a compound umbel of 5 spatula shaped petals arranged around yellow centers

Note; five, tiny basal stamen bear yellow anthers above the flower head, making them look slightly fuzzy

Note; low growing, soft, feathery, thread like leaf pattern

Note; compound pinnate leaves with thread-like leaflets which clasp the fibrous, ribbed stems,arranged in an alternating spiral

Note; leaf petiole clasps the stem, wrapping it in a sheath

Note; a low growing spread of Threadleaf, (and taller Delphinium)

Texas Plume

Texas Plume (Standing Cedar) Ipomopsis rubra.  A biannual, the first year is spent as a low rosette of lacy, deeply cut compound pinnate, thread-like leaves.  The second year the tall (3-4’), pithy stem grows up out of the rosette, lined with increasingly smaller leaves, producing a spike like panicle of tubular, trumpet shaped, bright orange-red flowers with darker orange spots.  Unexpectedly, the 1” long by ½” wide flowers begin blooming from top down, small side branches producing dense clusters of orange flowers, .  Filamentous anthers and an even longer pistol protrude beyond the lip of the central nectar tube, which splits into five petals.  Seed capsules are tucked in the thread-like leaves, turning tan as they mature.  Plants grow readily from seed, especially in garden soil.  SWk. (312) 5/6/15-; 4/29/16-7/1/16; 4/22/17- ; 5/3/18; 5-6-19; 5/1/20

Texas Plume habit; a tall, pithy stalk lined with lacy, pinnate, thread like leaves culminating in a spike of bright orange red flowers, which begin opening from the top

Note; thread like, deeply cut, compound pinnate leaves arranged in a rotating spiral around the tall pithy stalk

Note; bright, orange-red, trumpet flowers opening up to a 5 petal corolla, with red specks on the petals.

Note; the 5 basal stamen, tipped with white anthers and a split pistol, originating within the nectar tube, protrude beyond the flower corolla.

Note; seed capsules embedded in lacy leaves turn tan when mature

Storksbill, Redstem Storksbill

Redstem Storksbill (Filaree) Erodium cicutarium. 3-11 14. This low growing ground cover with hairy, compound, finely pinnate leaves that branch alternately off of red, hairy stems, begins as rosette of leaves.  One of the first plants to bloom, the furry coating helps protect leaves from frost.  Small, loose sprays of hairy buds open in rapid succession to reveal tiny (1/4”) lavender-pink flowers, each with 5 linear, elliptical petals.  The central pistol is surrounded by 5 stamen with purple anthers, the pistol dividing into a five pointed star.  Flowers produce a linear cluster of straight, needle shaped seed capsules that imaginatively resemble a stork’s bill, giving the plant its moniker. Blooming continues until hot weather, then may pick up again in the fall.  Road-sides, lawns, disturbed soil. (292) 2/8/16-; 2/8/17- ; 2/10/18; 2/8/19 – ; 1/16/20

Redstem Storksbill habit; a rosette of fine, compound pinnate, hairy leaves arranged alternately along red stems, which produce umbels of tiny pink flowers, which convert into needle like seed capsules.

Note; loose spray of small lavender 5 petal flowers with purple stamen.

Note; flowers convert to long, straight, needle shaped seed capsules said to resemble storks’ bills.

Vetch, Spring Vetch

Spring Vetch (Garden Vetch) Vicia sativa. This early blooming, sprawling legume grows thick bunches of compound pinnate, frond-like leaves that alternate along the short, vine like stem.  Each leaf is comprised of 8 paired leaflets on a mid-rib, which ends with a forked climbing tendril.  Foliage resembles Locoweed, or Milk Vetches except that only Spring Vetch has climbing tendrils on the ends of leaves.  Pairs of small, pea-like, lavender and pink flowers are born on three inch stems that branch directly off central stalks, opposite the leaves.  Seed pods are round and bean-like, turning black before they crack and curl open.  Vetches bloom until the weather turns hot.  Common on all open spaces, but ceasing to bloom when the weather gets hot, and going dormant as other vegetation outgrows them. (324) 2/12/14; 3/19/15 – 5/5/15; 2/25/16; 2/27/17-5/2/17; 3/5/18; 3/23/19 ; 1/27/20 – 4/?/20;

Spring Vetch habit; dense clumps of vine-like stems with alternating, pinnate (frond-like) leaves, each ending with a forked tendril, bearing pairs of pink, pea like flowers

Note; alternating, pinnate (frond-like) leaves, each ending with a forked tendril, form sprawling clumps

Note; bean-like seed pods that turn black and curl, expelling the bean like seeds

Note; pairs of small lavender and pink, pea like flowers, born on 3” stems, branching off vines opposite the leaves

Note; each flower is composed of a large, flat, banner petal, and two perpendicular wing petals that house the pistol and stamen