Johnny-Jump-Up (Wild Pansy) Viola tricolor

Johnny-Jump-Up Violet (Wild Pansy) Viola tricolor. This soft stemmed plant is occasionally perennial, but in most zones is a self-seeding annual. An immigrant from the Mediterranean, this violet ranges in color from solid yellow to dark purple, the most common pattern being painted, purple lip with yellow stripes, the petals split between yellow and lavender. The elongated leaves, which have coarsely toothed margins, alternate along a squared, somewhat trailing stem.  The parent stock of commercial pansies, V tricolor produces viable seeds.  This wild stock bears 3/8” flowers on long stems, one at a time.  An uncommon visitor, this wild pansy escaped cultivation, and no occasionally blooms along forest margins, like Sunset Walk.  Not in books. 3/15/19-3/29/19; 20 no obs;

Note; Johnny Jump Up, or Wild Pansy, single 3/8″ blue flowers with white stripes radiating from a yellow center, born in slow succession on long stems

Note; elongated, coarsely toothed leaves alternating along squared, slightly trailing stems

Note; blue, 5 petal flowers born singly in slow succession.

note; buds forming within deep bracts at leaf nodes

Sage; Texas Sage

Sage; Texas Sage, Leucophyllum frutescens.  This hardy, evergreen shrub from the Chihuahua desert sports light grey, rounded leaves, and bright purple tube flowers which are intensely fragrant.  A popular flowering hedge, Texas Sage tolerates trimming, is drought resistant, prefers full sun, and blooms when nothing else will.  The light grey, slightly fuzzy, oval leaves are attractive in their own right, and smell only slightly of sage.  The grey color and hairs give the shrub protection from both the hot sun, and cold desert nights.  The plant blooms irregularly, breaking out into full blooms several days after a rain, all the sage plants in an area blooming so vigorously that the shrub is covered with light purple tube flowers that open to a 5 petal corolla.  Flowers bud singly from the node of each leaf, covering new growths with blossoms.  Honey bees swarm to the heavily pungent flowers for the few days they are open.  This shrub will reach 10 – 15 feet in height if watered, but is usually shorter, preferring to spread out in a dense, compact, naturally rounded shape that needs little maintenance.  It does not propagate naturally in the DFW region, but does well when planted.  Most plants are found in yards, hedges around shopping centers, or boulevard medians.

Texas Sage; a compact shrub with light grey, fuzzy leaves which blooms periodically with masses of purple tube flowers.

Note; oval, slightly pointed, light grey leaves are densely arranged in an alternating whorl.

Note; all Texas Sage shrubs in an area will burst into flower at the same time, covering the plant with pungent, lavender blooms.

Note; lavender tube flowers, the throats speckled with orange or red, open up to a corolla of 5 lobes, two pointing up, three pointing down.

Bluet; Rose Bluet

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

Peach Tree

Peach; Peach Tree Prunus persica;.  Peaches originated in the “Mediterranean” climate of western China and eastern Persia, as the scientific name persica indicates.  Wild Peaches will sometimes grow  from pits of hybrid peaches, but otherwise they do not naturally propagate in this area.  Called “clings”, the flesh clings to the seeds of wild peaches, rather than separating easily, as commercial hybrids do.  However, the flowers and leaves look similar.  Trees have smooth to scaly bark, and the long limbs tend to droop when laden with fruit, or sometimes even split apart from the trunk.  The leaves are slightly folded, long and narrow, with very short petioles, with a pronounced drip-tip, and are born alternately along stems.  Flowers form before new growth emerges, budding from leaf scars on last year’s stems.  Dark red bud sepals open, allowing the five showy, pink petals to unfold, which like other members of the Rosacea family, sport a dome of filamentous stamen, each tipped with an anther, surrounding a central pistol.  Fruit are hairy, scored by a central cleft, and have one hard, flattened pit with a convoluted surface.  The sweet fruit are eaten by birds and wasps alike if left on trees too long.  Like Almonds, the seed inside is laced with cyanide, making them taste bitter, and potentially poison if too many are eaten.  (406-407) 3/5/16; 2/25/17 – 3/15/17; 18 no obs (drupe 5/24/18); 2/28/19 – 3/23/19 (drupe 6/22/19); 2/18/20 – 3/15/20 (drupe 6/12/20);

Peach habit; a readily branching, short tree with smooth to scaly bark.

Note; large, showy five petal, pink flowers with multiple filamentous stamen.

Note; flowers convert to fleshy drupe scored by a cleft, with a flattened, rough seed inside.

Note; alternating, narrow, deciduous, elongated leaves with finely serrated, slightly undulating margins partly obscure fruit

Note; the large fruit on short stems, bud directly from nodes along last years growth.  hard, and reddish, and covered with fine fuzz, peaches will ripen and turn soft if picked when fully grown.

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

Pepper, Bush Pepper

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

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

Violet, Missouri Violet

Missouri Violet (Wood Violet) Viola missouriensis. The only violet native to the ILC, this herbaceous perennial sprouts a cluster of deeply notched, cordate (heart-shaped) to arrow-shaped leaves.  Each flower stem produces a single, short-lived flower composed of two upright, light blue sepals, two lower, deep violet-blue petals, and a central, modified petal called a lip that sports three or four darker purple streaks.  The petal is modified into a small opening leading to a short, rounded nectar tube, just large enough for insects to insert their tongues.  Flowers convert to thin seed capsules full of tiny, dust like seeds.  Blooming season lasts 2-3 weeks.  Locally it is found only in shaded areas along forested trails where there is deeper, moist soil, but occasionally in yards, where it tolerates mowing.  Only found in low areas of MK trace, CC, SWk (378) 3/15/15-4/7/15; 3/10/16-4/1/16; 2/22/17-4/5/17; 3/15/18-4/2/18;

Missouri Violet habit; clumps of lightly toothed, heart-shaped leaves with single blue and white flowers born on short stems.

Note; glossy, smooth, heart shaped leaves with a lightly toothed, rounded margins, born on slender stems 3-4”long

Note; two upright, lavender petals, two darker purple petals that point down, a central, purple lip petal streaked with dark purple

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

Venus’ Looking Glass

Clasping Venus’ Looking Glass Triodanis perfoliata. The lower, alternately spaced, coarsely toothed leaves of this weakly upright, soft-stemmed plant do not have a petiole, or stem, but clasp the slightly grooved stalk, giving the plant its descriptive name.  Stems rarely branch, the plant consisting of increasingly long stems which eventually fall over.  Bright blue flowers are born singly from the cup of each leaf, each consisting of five elliptical petals with 3 linear veins.  Flowers open in slow succession from bottom to top.  Petals surround a green pistol and 5 purple stamen. Common in open to slightly shaded portions of PDU, CA, CC and DORBA (370) 4/22/15-5/20/15; 4/20/16-6/1/16; 4/20/17- ; 5/25/18, 5/4/19; 4/24/20 – 5/25/20;

Venus’ Looking Glass habit; long, soft stems with alternating leaves which clasp the ribbed stems, bearing bright blue, singly born flowers

Note; clasping leaves are arranged in an alternating spiral around the stems

Note; Blue flowers with 5 petals, streaked with darker blue veins, surround a central pistol surrounded by 5 basal stamen, each tipped with white anthers

Note; flowers are born singly on short peduncles from leaf axils

Note; heart shaped, coarsely toothed leaves have no petioles,  but clasping the grooved stem