Broadleaf Plantain Plantago major. The broad, (2”) cross-hatched 7 veined leaves are up to 10” long, bearing large bare flower spike (396) The flower spike is short (3-4”), the flower head cylindrical (not cone shaped) and the white anthers barely project beyond the profuse bracts that hide the miniscule, green flowers, giving the bloom head a scaly look. Most common along paths, PDU, PL, roadsides (396) no pix 4/10/15-5/20/15; 4/17/16- ; 17 no obs; 4/?/18; 19 no obs; 20 no obs;
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 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
Texas Blue Grass; Poa arachnifera.; comprising the largest family of grasses, the Bluegrasses are characterized by slender stems, thick mats of rhizomes, and narrow, slightly folded leaves. Kentucky Blue Grass is actually a European introduction brought over to feed horses, but over 50 species of Poa are indigenous to the USA. As the name arachnifera (spider like) implies, Texas Blue Grass grows outward from a dense center of roots, rhizomes reaching out in every direction. But when crowded, the stems and leaves grow upright, forming dense stands of soft green leaves and thin, jointed flower stalks. Tiny white flowers are widely spaced along thin spikes, the miniscule seeds hidden deep within tough bracts. Native to prairies, Blue Grass occurs mingled in with other vegetation, as long as taller plants are kept mowed back. Buffalo, then cattle, originally kept prairies mowed down, but where there are no large grazers, or periodic fires, shorter grasses like Blue Grass get shaded out.
Blue Grass habit; a relatively low growing grass that radiates out from a dense, central root clump, sending up flower stems ending in a loose spike of tiny, white flowers.
Note; medium height, jointed stalks amidst slightly folded, blunt tipped grass blades interspersed with other prairie vegetation.
Foxtail Grass; Setaria viridis (Green Foxtail/Bristlegrass); a short to mid-sized annual bunch-grass that produces clumps of thin, jointed stems lined with wide, relatively short blades, producing spikes of very fuzzy looking, dense seed-heads. This species was introduced from Europe, and is closely related to finger millet, as can be guessed from the rounded seeds and the short beard hairs that protect the spikes from birds. It is too short, and lacks the deep roots to compete with native grasses, but readily colonizes disturbed ground or open soil. The seeds are readily consumed by birds, if they can get to them without the beards poking them in the eyes. The wide, soft green blades, and the fluffy seed heads make this grass a fun looking plant.
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Green Foxtail Grass habit; a medium height bunch grass with short, wide, soft green blades that produces fluffy spikes of round seeds that droop.
Note; tight bunches of stems produce a brush of bristly seed heads
Bush Pepper; Capsicum frutescens. The genus Capsicum has been divided into four species, each with multiple varieties. The best known species is C annum, which includes Bell Peppers and Jalapenio, is the most mild, ranging from 0-10,000 in terms of hotness. Capsicum frutescens is a small, hot pepper hardy to North Texas, and one of the few pepper plants which is indigenous to the southern USA. A medium height (less than 2’), pithy stemmed member of the tomato family that branches regularly in a rigid angular pattern from each node, with lance shaped leaves, somewhat clammy to the touch, so broad they are almost heart shaped. Tiny white, forward pointing flowers, blooming in late summer, are born singly on stems that point upward, looking somewhat like White Nightshade flowers, except that they do not nod, and lack the prominent, yellow, fused anthers. The fruit are tiny (3/8”) peppers which turn yellow, then red-orange when ripe. It has been rated at 30,000-70,000 in terms of Scoville hotness, (2,500,000 is the max). Forested areas, or forest margins on SWk. (907-908 Vines) 8/28/18; 19 not recrd;
Bush Pepper habit; a medium height, regionally perennial pepper with broadly lanceolate leaves on long, alternating stems, bearing solitary, white flowers that convert to small, oval peppers that are mildly hot
Note; leaves are mildly clammy, the smooth stems zig-zag, and the leaves are held in an alternating pattern within a single plain
Note; the small, white flowers are born singly from leaf axils, the peduncles pointing up, the five petals only slightly nodding.
Note; the 5 stamen are fused to the pistol, not held on free stamen
Note; oval, cherry like peppers are held aloft on short, upright stems
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
Blue (Tall) Vervain Verbena hastata. A tall (1-3’), stringy, perennial with strongly upright, weakly branching, slightly grooved stems off of which leaves with deeply pinnate lobes are arranged in opposite pairs. Sparse, tiny, blue, tube flowers bud directly off long terminal spikes, deeply enough embedded within shallow bracts so that no peduncle (stem) can be seen. The tube opens into a corolla of 5 petals, each cleft with a small wedge. Although it tolerates full sun to partial shade, this plant is widely scattered in yards, as well as open fields, since it is tall enough to compete with other leggy plants. Though tiny, flowers attract many butterflies. PDU, CC and CA (372) 4/10/15; 4/18/16; 3/21/17- ; 4/22/18; 4/20/19; 3/25/20
Blue (tall) Vervain habit. Note; very leggy, branching plant with tall, erect, grooved stems, lined with very narrow, deeply pinnate leaves in opposite pairs, bearing terminal spikes of tiny blue tube flowers.
Note; tiny, blue tube flowers deeply embedded in smooth, terminal flower spikes.
Note; tube flowers open to a five lobed corolla, each petal with a wedge shaped cleft.
Texas Thistle Cirsium texanum. A lanky thistle with long, ribbed, pithy stems, and dusty green, deeply pinnate leaves lined with only 4-5 spines per side of leaf. This is the most common thistle on the ILC. Rising from one pithy tap root, the main stem soon branches into multiple stems which are slightly grooved, but lack spines, like Nodding Thistle (C nutans). Branching does not follow a symmetric pattern, and each long (6-10”) flower stalk bears only one elongated, slightly tapering flower-head, lined with prickly scales. The lavender to rose-purple, hair-like petals are longer than Bull Thistle. Not as robust or squat as Bull Thistle, Texas Thistle has shorter spines, does not have as sharp or thick of spines on stems, has much longer flower stalks, lacks spines on flower stalks, is a lighter lavender color, has longer hair-like petals, and has longer, more tapered buds. However, it is only slightly less noxious. (332) 4/28/15; 5/1/16, 4/17/17- ; 5/4/18; 4/28/19; 4/25/20
Texas Thistle habit; a lanky, readily branching annual with alternating, pinnate leaves bearing multiple, smooth flower stems, each capped with a single, lavender head of thread like petals on a tapering, scaly bud.
Note; lavender to rose globe flowers have longer filaments than Bull Thistle or Nodding Thistle
Note; prickly scales lining the elongated buds
Note; thin, pinnate leaves with only a few, short spines on each leaf are arranged in an alternating spiral around slightly grooved flower stems
Note; flower stems are smooth, lacking spines, like those of Nodding or Bull Thistle
Spiny Sow Thistle Sonchus asper. An early (April) blooming annual, Sow Thistles begin as rosettes of deeply cut, thistle like leaves which look spiny, but are soft and harmless. Leaves bleed a slightly bitter, but harmless milky sap when cut. The pinnate, clasping leaves, which have deep, rounded sinuses, are arranged in an alternating spiral around smooth, hollow stems. The rosette of leaves stays low as long as the weather is cold, but quickly grows up when it warms, culminating in a compact clump of small, short lived, green buds, invariably coated with a white powder. Stems can be trampled down, but continue to grow, arching back up and producing flowers. Yellow ray flowers emerge from the tapering buds. If cut back, the hollow stem quickly sends out new stalks. The ray petals are squared at the ends, surrounding a yellow disk flower fuzzy with yellow anthers. Flowers transform into coarse blow-balls of wind- blown achenes, and the plants wither soon after the plant goes to seed. Common along partially shaded paths. (222) 3/25/15-5/20/15; 3/10/16; 2/25/17- ; 2/8/19 – ; 20 not recrd;
Spiny Sow Thistle; A soft plant with hollow stems and leaves which look spiny but are soft and harmless, bearing compact bunches of tapering buds that open to yellow ray flowers.
Note; pinnate, thistle like leaves with deep, rounded sinuses, look spiny but are soft and harmless
Note; leaves clasp the otherwise smooth, hollow stems
Note; plants end in a tight bunch of tapering buds, invariably coated with a grey powder
Note; flowers convert to blowball achenes
Note; tapering buds
Trail Trotter's Flower Guide 