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.
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.
Western Wheat Grass; Agropyron smithii, a perennial grass with deep roots that builds sod, while also producing a wheat like head with small, edible grains. Modern wheat is an annual that dies every year, the plump heads held up on stiff hollow stems that allow them to be harvested mechanically. Wheat grass produces a head somewhat like wheat, but the stems are more fragile, and the grain shatters off the head easily when struck by rain-drops, tossed by the wind, or bumped by the paddles of harvesters, the better for propagating the plant. Wheat grass grows back from the roots every year, and sends roots down as deep as 15 feet, helping it endure drought, and helping hold the soil together, resisting erosion. Natural propagation scatters the seeds widely, giving it a measure of protection against crop pests like aphids and rust, which cannot travel far. The grass makes good grazing, but once it begins to flower, much of the nutrients value goes into the grain, the straw being left with reduced nutritional value. Wheat grass is currently being bred with wheat in hopes of producing a perennial, drought tolerant food crop.
Western Wheatgrass habit; a perennial, deep rooted grass that grows in a tight clump, producing a compact head of grain that looks like wheat.
Note; flower heads produce a head of grains, each protected by a bract and a “beard hair” that keeps birds from eating the seeds.
Note; the heads, when dry, look like wheat, except that the grains easily “shatter”, releasing the seeds when hit by rain or buffeted by wind
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
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
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
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.
Trail Trotter's Flower Guide 