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;
Bamboo; Japanese Sacred Bamboo/Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina) Nandina domestica. This is not a bamboo at all, but the attractive, frond-like, compound pinnate leaves (up to 18” long), could remotely resemble bamboo. Like bamboo, Nandina stems do not branch, the leaf stems leaving sheath like debris behind, which eventually sloughs off, leaving a corrugated, but smooth stem. This invasive, shade loving, ornamental, Japanese evergreen shrub is now native to the DFW area as an understory plant in forests. New plants grow readily from soft, bright red berries, plants transplant readily, and new side stalks grow from a woody base. The flowers have no fragrance, and the leaves have a foul odor when cut or bruised, so the appeal is only visual. Dense terminal panicles bear showy, stiff, waxy, white flowers, each up to ¾” wide, with 6 white petals arranged around a white pistol ringed by 6 yellow-tan stamen. Closer examination reveals that the stamen look like a rosette of petals. Green berries turn bright red in the winter, lasting till spring. All parts of the plant are considered toxic. (not in book) 5/10/15; 4/26/16; 4/25/17; 5/14/18; 5/28/19; 5/10/20 – 5/30/20;
Japanese Sacred Bamboo habit; a woody undergrowth plant with cane like stems, and frond like compound pinnate leaves, growing in thick clumps, which bears panicles of white flowers converting to red berries
Note; the stiff, cane like stems retain sheaths of old leaves
Note; doubly compound pinnate leaves composed of sets of three smooth, lanceolate leaflets arranged in opposite pairs along stiff stems, which are also born in opposite pairs from a central leaf rib
Note; terminal panicles of waxy, white, stiff flowers with petal like yellow stamen; blooms in April-May
Note; pure white outer petals and a rosette of yellow-tan petal shaped stamen surrounding a central, fleshy white pistol
Note; panicles of green berries turn red in the Fall and Winter, lasting till Spring.
Note; all parts of the plant are considered toxic. Do not eat the berries
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
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
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
Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare. An invasive pest, this thick stemmed weed has sharp, stiff spines on every part of the plant; stalks, leaf margins, buds and stems included. The plant begins as a rosette of deeply pinnate, dark green, wavy leaves with sharp, stiff spines on every lobe, which rises from an underground, corm like root. As the flower stem grows, the thick, pithy stalk is sheathed in ridges that have spines, with leaves arranged in an alternating spiral. “Bull” comments on the stout, thick-stemmed growth habit, vulgare comments on its ubiquity, the “common thistle”. Each undivided stalk produces a dense cluster of squat, tapering flower-heads that take on a bowl shape as they open, a dense tuft of short, dark red-purple, hair like petals pushing its way out of the bud. Bull Thistle does not branch, unlike Nodding and Texas Thistles, unless the main stem is cut, in which case the plant will bud several side stalks. Black honey bees and small black and grey beetles, which can often be found wallowing in the flower heads, pollinate the flowers, which convert to heads of achenes. Finches each the seeds, tearing the seed apart in the process. Otherwise, achenes are carried off by the wind. (332) 4/20/15; 5/10/16; 4/17/17- ; 5/4/18; 19 no obs; 20 no obs
Bull Thistle habit; a squat, thick stemmed plant with grey-green, undulating, thorny leaves, bearing a dense terminal cluster of rose-red, hair like flower heads
Note; dark green, clasping, pinnate leaves, with a sharp thorn on the tip of every projection, arranged in an alternating spiral
Note, every surface of the plant has sharp spines, flower stems included
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
Telegraph Lettuce Lactuca floridana. A medium height (2-3’), hollow stalk with alternating, deeply lobed leaves with serrated edges. Leaves look much like Prickly Lettuce, except they do not clasp the stem, lack thorns, and are much softer, and the plant blooms much later. A multi-branched, terminal panicle, that becomes slightly tangled, has many small, aster like white flowers which open fully, converting to small blowballs. Young leaves can be eaten like lettuce, before they turn bitter. Found in shaded areas, along trails in forested areas or forest margins. Disturbed areas, roadsides, MK, CC, CA. (106) 9/15/15; 9/18/16- ; 9/10/17- ; 9/15/18; 19 no recrd;
Telegraph Lettuce habit; A medium height to tall plant with hollow stems and deeply cut, alternating leaves, sporting a terminal spike of small white flower.
Note; short lived, small, white, aster like flowers, open from tapering buds
Note; large, soft leaves with deep sinuses arranged in an alternating spiral around the hollow stems
Narrow-leaf Sundrop Oenothera fruticose. A pithy, erect, if straggling plant with very narrow, toothed, strap-like leaves arranged around the tough, reddish stems in a spiral. The leaves lack petioles but do not clasp the stems. Leaves of the similar Drummond’s Sundrop, Calyophus drummondianus, are nearly twice as wide. The elongated buds unfurl as they open into a showy flower with four somewhat narrow, crape like petals surrounding a prominent nectar tube that leads to the ovary. The 1” bright yellow flowers have a prominent three lobed stigma on an elongated pistol, and 8 shorter, light yellow anthers. The 3/4 ” seed capsules are dowel-like. Chalk flats along roads (158) 5/8/15-6/1/15; 5/10/16; 4/14/17- ; 4/25/18; 19 no obs; 5/5/20
Narrowleaf Sundrop habit; clumps of pithy, reddish stems with very narrow, sharply toothed, strap-like leaves, bearing bright yellow flowers
Note; bright yellow flowers with four, narrow petals arranged around a nectar tube.
Note; elongated pistols and stamen from the rim of the nectar tube
Note; clumps of pithy, reddish stems lined with very narrow, toothed, strap like leaves
Note; reddish, dowel like seed capsules
Drummond’s Sundrop (Square-bud) Calyophus drummondianus. A weak, straggling plant with toothed, strap-like leaves that radiate around the stem, lack petioles but which do not clasp the stem. Though narrow, the leaves are nearly twice as wide as Narrow Leaf Sundrop, Oenothera fruticose. The light green buds, also without peduncles, have 4 prominent edges (making them look ‘square’), which are lined with light purple. The 1” bright yellow, four petal flowers have a prominent three lobed stigma on an elongated pistol, and 8 shorter, light yellow anthers set within a cup of 4 petals. The 1” seed pods are stick-like. Chalk flats along roads (158) 5/8/15-6/1/15; 5/10/16; 4/14/17- ; 5/12/18; 4/22/19; 5/1/20
Drummond’s Sundrop habit; weak sprawling stems with straplike, toothed leaves arranged in a radial pattern around the stem, bearing square buds which open to bright yellow flowers
Note; bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers, up to 1” in diameter, each with four petals, emerge from buds with four ridges.
Note; beetle in the flower throat
Note; square buds with pronounced ridges, rimmed with purple.
Note; narrow leaves are lined with sharp looking, spine like teeth, which are harmless
Trail Trotter's Flower Guide 