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;
Branching Broomrape Orobanche ramosa. A leafless, parasitic plant whose stems tap into the roots of other plants, like Tobacco, Potatoes, or Mint, which sends up branching clumps of dark colored stems which bear light lavender tube flowers with a white mark on the lip. Under the ground the plant forms a bulb like nodule around the roots of some plant, then sends up a short, stout stalk that branches at the surface. Not able to produce chlorophyll, Broomrape has no leaves, parasitizing other plants. Locally uncommon, this pest can form colonies which are not noticed, since they are very short, and get quickly overgrown after they bloom. In Europe this species is harvested and prepared like asparagus. SWk, Not in Book, 3/25/19 – 5/4/19; 3/28/20 – 5/?/20;
Branching Broomrape habit; a leafless parasitic plant producing clumps of light blue tube flowers.
Note; Broomrape does not produce any leaves, tapping into the roots of other plants
Note; branching clumps of leafless stalks, each bearing slightly arched, blue flowers with a white spot on the lip and into the throat.
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
Bluet; Rose Bluet Hustonia rosea (Hedyotis rosea). A tiny, early blooming plant common in lawns, or spaces where vegetation suffers winter die back. The entire plant grows no more than 2” high, each stalk bearing a single, upright, cup-shaped flower with four petals ranging from bright blue to pale lavender to white. Each flower appears to have a yellow cross in the middle, where the stamen form. The tiny, rounded leaves, born in opposite pairs along thin stems, are slightly succulent, and lacking petioles, clasp the soft stems. the weakly upright, weakly branching stems loosely grow between stems of dormant grass. New buds emerge from the crown of the plant as it grows. Lawns (Not in Book) 2/12/19 – ; 2/18/20 – 3/22/20;
Note; light blue, four petal flowers born singly on very short stems
Mistletoe; Christmas/American Mistletoe Phoradendron flavescens Nutt;. There are dozens of varieties of mistletoe, in some cases one specific mistletoe parasitizing only one specific species of tree, or type of tree. The most common mistletoe in central Texas, with a number of distinct varieties, P flavescens afflicts a range of plants, especially Cedar Elm and Hackberry. Mesquite and cedars, and to a lesser degree, oaks are immune from this particular mistletoe, as they have their own. Green all year long, mistletoe provides green foliage in the winter, producing translucent, white, round berries born in whorls on stems that rise from leaf axils. The thick, leathery, oblong leaves arranged in opposite pairs, range from dark green to yellowish green, giving it its descriptive Latin species name, flava “yellow”. Mistletoe are powerful abortatives in cattle, and are generally considered poisonous, though symptoms in humans are mostly stomach upset, nausea, dizziness, etc. Passing through the digestive tracts of certain song-birds, Mistletoe sprouts from seeds, wrapped in a sticky coating which land on a branch, then drives wedge-like spikes through the bark and into the wood of its host tree. Intercepting plant juices and eventually taking over the branch it is on, it can kill the part further away from the trunk. Pruning infected branches off is the most effective mechanical way of keeping mistletoe out of trees, for even if the brittle mistletoe twigs are snapped off they will grow back from the infection site. 17 not recrd; 18 no obs; 19 not recrd;
Note; an infestation of mistletoe makes a winter dormant Cedar Elm look green
Note; clumps of evergreen mistletoe.
Christmas Mistletoe habit; clumps of thick, oval leaves hanging from mature branches of trees, mostly Elm, Hackberry and Osage Orange, evergreen, with small white berries
Note; thick, oval leaves born in opposite pairs, each pair rotating 90 degrees, stay green all winter long
Note; small, round, white berries eaten by birds, bud in whorls from leaf axils, the seeds sticking to branches they fall on when expelled from birds that eat them
Currant; Snowberry/Indian-Currant/Coralberry Symphoricarpus orbiculatus Moench. A low-growing, evergreen ground-cover with smooth, oval leaves arranged in opposite pairs along reddish stems wrapped with loose, fibrous bark. The plant spreads primarily by stolons, root-like growths that hug the ground, then take root at rough nodules in the leaf litter of forested areas. Small (3/16”) greenish, bell-like flowers with pinkish blush, appear only on years marked by ideal moisture and temperature, hanging in short racimes from the underside of this year’s stems. Though called ‘snowberry’, they do not tolerate frost once new growth begins. Flowers give rise to crowded, irregular clumps of soft, hollow, coral red fruit that lasts through winter, providing food for many birds, including turkeys, giving the plant its moniker; turkey-bush. (947-948) 6/20/15-; 6/10/17- ; 18 no obs; 19 no obs; 20 no obs;
Snowberry (Currant) habit; a low growing, evergreen ground cover in forested areas, spreading by runners which take root at nodule like growths along stolons, and bearing tiny bell like flowers that convert to coral red berries
Note; opposite pairs of oval leaves with smooth margins, which usually last through the winter
Note; pendulant racimes of tiny, bell like, green flowers with a pink blush hanging from new growths
Note; clumps of hollow, coral red fruit that hang on plants through the winter
Torrey Yucca Yucca torreyi. Rising from a fibrous corm, which divides both under the ground and above, this member of the Amaryllis family first forms a flattened, untidy rosette of narrow, fibrous, lance-like leaves, up to 12” long. The pithy flower stem can grow very tall, branching to form a complex spray, unlike Y pallida, which remains as an unbranched spike, bearing flowers 2-4” across that, unusual for yucca, open fully and face outward, rather than drooping. Each flower has 6 identical, elliptical petals arranged around a fleshy pistol, and 6 narrow stamen with a conspicuous, outward crook. The narrow pods are more bean like than the peanut shaped pods of Y pallida. Y torreyi is more common in drier parts of West Texas, but a few are attested in the ILC area. Amerinds once used the fibrous leaves for cordage, after scraping the thin layer of pulp off, ate the corms and young flower stalks, and used to saponin laced corm to create a sudsing soap to bathe, or wash their hair in. (55) 5/10/15-5/25/15; 5/1/18-5/20/18; 5/5/19; 5/1/20 – 5/15/20;
Torrey Yucca habit; growing from a thick, fibrous corm, from which sprout multiple trunk like stems, this yucca forms an untidy rosette of narrow, fibrous, lance like leaves which produce a thin, branching flower panicle bearing large, cream flowers that open fully
Note; Torrey’s Yucca is more slender and taller than Pale Yucca, and the fibrous leaves less tidy looking
Note; the large, cream flowers open fully, the 6 petals broader than the sepals, all surrounding a fleshy pistol and 6 slender stamen
Note; Torrey’s flowers are more slender, more upright, and open wider than Pale Yucca flowers
Pale Yucca (Shiners Yucca, Soap Weed) Yucca pallida/arkansana/louisianensis/freemanii. Born from a thick, fibrous root or corm, this trunkless rosette of spine-like, grey-green leaves, 1’ or more long, often forms branching clumps. A flower spike with prominent nodes, growing up to 5’ tall bears large, waxy, nodding, cream colored flowers, which rarely open completely. 6 identical, linear veined petals enfold a fleshy pistol with 6 thick, bent stamen. Flowers are pollinated by sphinx moths, which lay their eggs on the pistol. The infant larva eat most of the seeds, exiting the pods in their first molt. Intolerant of shade, Yucca are found on open grassy or rocky areas, like power-lines or pastures. The fibrous leaves were used as a source of cordage by Amerinds. The thick roots contain saponins, which suds like soap, so Yucca are sometimes called ‘soap weed’. The flower spikes can be eaten like asparagus when first growing. (57-66) 4/28/15-5/28/15; 4/25/16; 4/7/17-5/28/17; 5/1/18-5/26/18; 4/28/19; 5/5/20
Pale Yucca habit; rising from a corm like stem, a rosette of long, flat, grey-green, spike like leaves grows a flower spike with prominent nodes at regular intervals, bearing large, nodding, cream colored flowers
Note; nodding, waxy, cream colored flowers, each with 6 sepals and petals, that do not open fully, are arranged in an alternating spiral around the flower spike
Note; new seed capsules, which turn woody with age, have a figure 8 shape
Note; old seed capsules are dark grey, splitting along three sutures to release flattened seeds
Pringle’s Woolyleaf Eriophylum pringlei. This miniaturized, fuzzy, grey-green plant of roadsides or heavily mowed areas rarely looks like a succulent and is rarely more than 3” tall. Several stems arise from the same rhizome like root system, rarely branching, but retaining a crowded, compact form. The short, elliptical leaves are densely clustered around the soft stems in a tight spiral, the uppermost leaves surrounding a dense cluster of tiny yellow-white flowers. Seed capsules are tiny pods with 3-4 holes, like salt shakers, from which the miniscule seeds are shaken out when struck by rain drops or disturbed by passing feet. (206 Soccer, roads, path edges, PL.) 4/28/15-5/20/15; 4/15/16; 17 not recrd; 4/22/18; 4/7/19; 20 not recrd;
Pringle’s Wooleyleaf habit; very short, grey-green, fuzzy miniature that tolerates mowing, the alternating spiral of thick leaves supporting a compact head of tiny, yellowish flowers
Note; dense clusters of small, fuzzy, elliptical, grey green leaves which end in terminal bunch of flowers
Note; the thick leaves resemble a succulent
Note; dense bunches of tiny yellow flowers embedded in rosettes of fuzzy leaves
Note; seed capsules are punctuated with 3-4 tiny holes, like salt shakers
Trail Trotter's Flower Guide 