Branching Broomrape Orobanche ramosa

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.

Buffalo Grass

Buffalo Grass; Buchloe dactyloides; growing by tough stolons which take root at every node, and by seeds that are born at ground level, Buffalo Grass can form thick, dense mats of smooth grass where the surrounding vegetation is kept cut down.  Locally it only grows 4-6″ tall, the short, narrow blades curling under when the weather is dry, it is able to withstand prolonged drought, even though it only has fine, fibrous, wiry roots.  Root mats of Buffalo Grass were so dense sod houses were once made from prairie turf.  It endures fire, intense grazing, and drought, but cannot stay inundated for long.  It turns a dun or tan color with the first killing frost, so some do not find it appealing for lawns, but it is hardy, rarely needs mowed, and forms a smooth, even mat if given full sun and watered occasionally.  Male flowers are born on short, filamentous shafts, all the tiny white flowers pointing the same direction, making the dense spikes look feathered, or lopsided.  Female flowers are carried at nearly ground level in sparse, but dense clusters, protecting the burr like seeds from being burnt or eaten by grazers like cattle or Buffalo.  Buffalo Grass is common on mowed surfaces that are not watered heavily, and abundant on the paths across open land, where the taller vegetation is mowed down, but it does not spread quickly, making propagation slow if mowed land is not seeded.

Buffalo Grass habit; a low growing, spreading grass of open areas that forms dense mats of closely spaced clumps sprouting from tough rhizomes or stolons, and bears short spikes of tiny white flowers

Note; all the male flowers, carried above the leaf blades point the same direction, the seed forming female flowers budding at ground level

Note; Buffalo Grass can form wide, dense mats of short, hardy turf where taller vegetation is kept cut back

Bunch Grass

Bunch Grass; thick clumps of jointed stems and long, narrow blades form compact lumps on the prairie, making the surface uneven.  Bunch Grass does not spread by rhizomes, but stays in a tight clump, forming a solid, deep root mass.

 

Big Bluestem Grass

Big Bluestem Grass; Andropogon gerardi, a late season stem grass that sends up long, (around 24″ tall) jointed stems from a dense mat of short rhizomes, this grass seems to grow little until late summer.  Then it sends up many fast growing, jointed flower spikes that divide into four sprigs, each 3-4″ long, lined with tiny flower.  The leaves are narrow and of medium length, growing directly from rhizomes that creep so slowly the grass seems to be a bunch grass.  This grass does not give even coverage, resulting in a rough  surface, and seems dormant most of the summer.  It is the most noticeable grass on the PDU during Fall and early Winter, when it sends up flower spikes.  It is common in lawns and road sides, making it necessary to mow lawns even when other grasses have gone dormant.

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Big Bluestem habit; a bunchgrass growing from wide clumps dense with short rhizomes that sends up tall, jointed flower spikes during Fall and Winter.

Note; the flower spikes, which divide into 4 flower racimes, turn the prairies smoky grey during the Fall blooming season

Note; until it blooms, Bluestem is characterized by medium length blades of grass growing from tightly packed, short rhizomes.

Note; the jointed flower spikes, up to 24″ tall, divide into 4 flower sprigs 3-4″ long

Saw Grass

Saw Grass; Cladium sp; grasses belonging to a wide ranging genre which grow from a thick rhizome or corm, marked by very long, thin leaves armed with tiny, sharp teeth.  When stroked with the direction of the teeth the blade feels smooth, but when stroked against the teeth they can cut through the skin.  Most common in open areas that stay wet, the grass may not be noticed unless one is walking in cut-offs, or barefoot.  The branching flower stalks are stiff, like twigs, bearing dense clumps of tiny flowers, each with 6 petals.  Blades of grass are a smoky grey, often turning reddish toward the ends.

Saw Grass habit; dense clumps of smoky grey leaves, armed with tiny saw like teeth, often turning reddish toward the ends, which rise from thick underground rhizomes.

Yucca, Torrey Yucca

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

Yucca, Pale Yucca

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

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

Woolywhite

Woolywhite (Old Plainsman) Hymenopappus artemisiifolius. A pithy stemmed flower over 2” tall, which begins as a rosette of coarse, narrow, compound pinnate leaves in which the pointed end leaflet is longer and more lance-like than side leaflets.  Leaves have no stem but do not clasp the stiff stalk.  As the smooth stalk grows, the leaves are arranged in an alternating spiral around it, becoming less complex toward the top.  The loose inflorescence branches frequently from leaf nodes in a spiral pattern, dividing into sprays of small flower heads.  Each head is composed of tiny, white, papery flowers with yellow centers,  so tightly clustered they look like one large, complex flower.  Pistols and stamen protrude beyond the flowers.  PL, PDU (100) 4/17/16-6/15/16; 4/7/17- ; 4/22/18; 4/28/19; 4/11/20

Wooleywhite habit; a rosette of deeply pinnate leaves that produces a tall, pithy stalk with alternate, pinnate leaves, turning into a branching flower spike composed of clusters of small, papery, white flowers

Note; the inflorescence branches readily at leaf axils, each side spike bearing dense heads of  tiny, white flowers

Note; narrow, deeply pinnate leaves in which the center lobe much longer than the side lobes, arranged in an alternating spiral around smooth, pithy stems

Note; sprays divide into stems tipped with tight flower head, which look like a complex flower, but which are composed of papery, white flowers with yellow centers

Note; pistol and stamen protrude beyond the ends of the tiny flowers

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