Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia

Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia. A thicket forming, twiggy bush which has sharp thorns along the branches, this fruit tree is common on open land along water courses and road sides.  Blooming later than P umbellate, which produces umbels of flowers on the ends of stems, Chickasaw Plum produces white flowers along the full length of stems, making a display of total white “bottle brushes”.  The ½” fruit begins green, turns red, then yellow when it is ripe.  The leaves are soft and serrated along the edges, but longer and thinner than P umbellate.  Like other members of the cherry and plum family, the leaves are toxic to livestock and rabbits.  Each individual, sweetly fragrant flower is composed of 5 oval petals surrounding a central pistol with many filamentous stamen.  Known clumps are most prevalent under the power lines along the DORBA trails. (401) 3/21/19; 20 no obs;

3/21/19

Note: Chickasaw Plum blooming with masses of fragrant, white flowers from nodes along entire stems

Note; thicket forming habit of Chickasaw Plum

Note; dense masses of blooms along entire stems

Note; leaf bearing twigs can form into long, sharp thorns along the small, twiggy trunks.

Texas Blue Grass

Texas Blue Grass; Poa arachnifera.; comprising the largest family of grasses, the Bluegrasses are characterized by slender stems, thick mats of rhizomes, and narrow, slightly folded leaves.  Kentucky Blue Grass is actually a European introduction brought over to feed horses, but over 50 species of Poa are indigenous to the USA.  As the name arachnifera (spider like) implies, Texas Blue Grass grows outward from a dense center of roots, rhizomes reaching out in every direction.  But when crowded, the stems and leaves grow upright, forming dense stands of soft green leaves and thin, jointed flower stalks.  Tiny white flowers are widely spaced along thin spikes, the miniscule seeds hidden deep within tough bracts.  Native to prairies, Blue Grass occurs mingled in with other vegetation, as long as taller plants are kept mowed back.  Buffalo, then cattle, originally kept prairies mowed down, but where there are no large grazers, or periodic fires, shorter grasses like Blue Grass get shaded out.

Blue Grass habit; a relatively low growing grass that radiates out from a dense, central root clump, sending up flower stems ending in a loose spike of tiny, white flowers.

Note; medium height, jointed stalks amidst slightly folded, blunt tipped grass blades interspersed with other prairie vegetation.

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

Viburnum, Rusty Blackhaw

Viburnum; Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum Viburnum rufidulum Raf;.  A small, understory, evergreen tree with cubed, but not ridged, corky bark, V rufidulum yearly produces new sprigs of glossy green, oval leaves with a very finely toothed margin, arranged in opposite pairs along the stems, completely lacking any drip-tip.  New stems, often long arching suckers off of the main trunk and branches, have a slight layer of rusty colored fuzz, giving the plant its descriptive name. Panicles of small, white, tube flowers that are mildly fragrant, bud from the ends of new growth.  The short tube ends in a corolla of 5 petals, with five white stamen, each tipped with a yellow anther, protruding beyond the profile of the flower, giving the bunches a slightly fuzzy look. The fruit are oblong, dark blue drupe with a single seed. Viburnum cultivars are popular in hedges, both for their yearly bloom of large, showy bunches of white flowers, and their glossy, evergreen foliage. (957-958) 3/30 – 4/15/15; 3/15 – 4/5/16; 3/22/17 – 4/7/17; 3/28/18; 19 no obs; 3/25/20;

Note; terminal bunches of white tube flowers that unfold into a corolla with 5 petals, the white stamen tipped with yellow anthers protrude beyond the profile of the flowers, giving the bunches a fuzzy look

Rusty Blackhaw habit; an evergreen, understory shrub with dark, corky bark, glossy foliage, and showy bunches of white flowers that convert to oblong blue drupes

Note; the dark bark is corky and divided into cubes, not furrowed ridges.

Note; bright, evergreen, glossy, oval leaves with very fine serration along the margins, are arranged in opposite pairs along stems, completely lacking any drip-tip

Sumac; Prairie and Smooth Flame-Leaf Sumac

Sumac; Prairie and Flame-Leaf/Smooth Sumac Rhus copallina L;. As the name implies, the leaves of this woody, deciduous shrub turn bright red in the fall.  The trunks have low, rough, corky knobs, but are otherwise smooth and unfurrowed.  Long (10-14”) pinnate leaves bear opposite pairs of slightly asymmetric, lance shaped leaflets. Terminal clusters of tiny greenish-white, fragrant flowers bud from the ends of this year’s growth, each with 5 petals arranged around a central disk.  Flowers convert to heavy stalks of hard, dark red berries (some varieties are white).  Though small and inconspicuous, sumac has many uses.  The resin of this Sumac has a copal like property, and can be burned as an incense, earning it the scientific species name copallina.  The stems and bark contain high levels of tannin, used for curing hides, and Amerindians crushed the berries to make lime-laced water taste palatable.  The berries are a rich source of food for birds migrating through DFW in the early spring. Two nearly identical varieties grow in the area, the Prairie Flame Leaf has toothed edges on the leaves, but lacks wings on leaf stems, while the flower petals are longer, and whiter.  The Smooth Flame-Leaf has a smooth, untoothed leaf margins, with flattened wings on leaf stems, while the flowers are more rounded, and have a darker colored disks, but both varieties are considered one species.  (632-633) 5/10/15; 5/30/16; 5/15/17 – 5/30/17; 6/2/18; 19 no obs. 5/20/20

Note; flowers convert to dense panicles of dark red (or white), hard berries, readily eaten by migrating birds in the spring

Flame Leaf Sumac habit; a densely branching, deciduous tree with relatively smooth bark, bearing alternating, compound pinnate leaves and panicles of white flowers that convert to dense clusters of dark red berries.

Note; the relatively smooth bark lacks ridges, or scales, but has corky rough protuberances

Note; Smooth Flame Leaf Sumac have compound pinnate leaves with an odd number of asymmetrical leaflets with smooth margins, and flattened ‘wings’ between leaflets

Note; Prairie Flame Leaf Sumac have compound pinnate leaves with an odd number of nearly symmetrical leaflets with coarsely toothed margins, lacking ‘wings’ between leaflets

Note; dense terminal panicles fragrant flowers, each with five white, elongated petals arranged around a dark central disk

Note; Prairie Flame Leaf Sumac flowers have longer, thinner petals with pointed tips

Note; Smooth Flame Leaf Sumac flowers have shorter, rounded petals

Note; leaves turn a bright, dark red in the fall, remaining on the plants for some time, earning this Sumac the nick-name Flame Leaf Sumac.

Privet; Glossy Privet

Privet; Glossy/Japanese Privet Ligustrum lucidum var. macrophyllum Ait;. Much bigger, more upright, and less aggressive than L sinense (Chinese privet), this vigorous, invasive, hardy, evergreen, ornamental from south-eastern Asia is more of an understory tree than bush.  The smooth, light grey bark of the trunks, often mottled with lichens, bear large (2-4”), glossy green, pointed leaves that are arranged in opposite pairs along long (6’+) arching stems.  More upright, L lucidum is an understory tree with 3-6 trunks, and though the stems might take root if they touched the ground, they rarely do. Terminal panicles of fragrant, white flowers, each with 4 rounded petals, grow out from the axils of new leaves and the ends of last year’s stems.  Flowers convert to blue-black, oblong fruit which remain on the bush through the winter, providing spring food for migrating birds.  L lucidum is common both in the thin soils of limy high ground and the deep soils of lowland flood plains. (856) 5/28/15- ; 16 not recrd; 17 not recrd; 5/26/18; 19 no obs; 5/10/20;

Glossy Privet habit; an upright, evergreen bush with tree like trunks, often mottled with lichens, which bears large, opposite, glossy, oval leaves, and terminal panicles of showy, white flowers

Note; the trunks are smooth, lacking the knobs of L sinense (Chinese privet)

Note; opposite, glossy, dark green, pointed, egg shaped leaves with a sharp drip-tip stay on the plant for several years

Note; terminal panicles of showy, white flowers with a mild fragrance, each flower composed of four rounded petals, stamen and pistol emerging beyond the flower profile

Note; each shallow tube flower has four rounded petals, two white, filamentous stamen tipped with cream colored anthers extending beyond the flower face

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy; Poison Ivy Toxicodendron radicans L;.  A variable, noxious plant that grows as a clinging vine on tree trunks, or free-standing as a low, weak, or sprawling plant with reddish stems which sports coarsely toothed trifoliate leaves, and occasionally white berries.  Clusters of tiny (3/16”) green and yellow flowers, composed of 5 fleshy petals arranged around a yellowish disk of stamens and a white pistol, bud from old leaf scars, turning into smooth white berries, which some birds can eat without ill effects.  The glossy, compound leaves come in sets of three leaflets, each of which is deeply indented into three or five pointed lobes.  The leaves are generally small (2-3”) in upright plants, but much larger (4-6”) in the vine form.  Some vine forms have an extra set of leaves, arranged as a compound leaf of 5 leaflets. Vines attach to tree trunks with dense mats of roots, much like Virginia Creeper, but can be easily stripped off.  Rhizomes burrow through leaf litter, spreading underground.  The general rule, “Leaves of three, leave them be” was coined to warn people of the bad rash touching Poison Ivy leaves can induce.  Although there are other plants which bear leaves in sets of three (Ash, Hops, Skunk Berry), they are shaped differently.  Poison Ivy prefers acid soils around Juniper trees, reaching larger sizes near water.  Goats can graze the leaves with no ill effects.  Poison Ivy rash generally lasts two weeks, but lathering the rash with Burt’s Bees poison ivy soap can cut down on the itch and shorten the duration to days.  If exposed to leaves, wash with soap and cold water, as hot water may drive the poison into pores.  Do not attempt homeopathic remedies that involve drinking tea made from the leaves, for this has led to horrible reactions.  A few lucky individuals seem not to react to poison ivy.  Poison ivy cannot tolerate full sun, and is easy to eradicate by pulling runners out of the ground (guarding the skin with rubber gloves).  Do not burn dried plants, as the smoke can carry the toxic resin into the lungs. Leaves turn a dark red in the Fall.  (638-641) 4/13/15 – 5/15/15; 4/5/16; 3/10/17 – 4/10/17; 18 no obs; 4/1/19; 4/9/20;

Poison Ivy habit; a variable plant that may be a free standing, weak reddish stem, or a vine that climbs trees with short clinging roots, like Virginia creeper, or an Ivy, with trifoliate leaves and small greenish-yellow flowers that convert to white berries.

Note; glossy green leaves come in sets of three pointed, egg-shaped leaflets with coarsely toothed margins.  Some leaves have 5 leaflets.

Note; small spikes of greenish, fleshy flowers with five petals arranged around a ring of yellowish stamen, with a central, white pistol, are born from old leaf axils.

Note; flowers convert to greenish berries, which turn white when mature.

Note: leaves turn bright red in the fall

Plum; Flatwoods Plum

Plum; Flatwoods Plum Prunus umbellate Ell;. Southern forests host many variable, similar scraggly, deciduous, understory plums with distinctive, dark scaly bark and twigs that end in a sharp, hard thorn.  Oval shaped leaves with a finely serrated margin and prominent drip-tip, alternate along short stems, which become a sharp thorn when the leaves drop.  Plums are the first fruit trees to flower in the spring (late Feb to early March), umbels of fragrant, white blossoms ½ – ¾” across (no pix) budding from last year’s twigs before new leaves develop. Each flower is composed of 5 oval petals surrounding a central pistol and a dome of filamentous stamen.  Early blooms risk late frosts or ice-storms, in which case the tree may produce a second, smaller bloom. The small ( ½ – ¾ ”), light purple, pulpy fruit, ripening between June and July, are somewhat dry and tart, but are sweet enough to be eaten.  The pit is round and flattened. The wood is a dark brown with slightly darker striations.  It is common on shallow lime-stone soil, but grows well in deeper, moist bottom lands too. Also known locally as Chickasaw Plum. (401) 3/5 – 27/15; 2/22/16 – 3/14/16 (fruit 6/15/16); 2/18/17 – 3/15/17; 3/6/18 – 3/20/18; 2/18/20 – 3/10/20;

Note; umbels of white fragrant flowers with multiple stamen budding from leaf nodes on last year’s twigs

Flatwoods Plum habit; a slightly scraggly understory tree with distinctive, scaly bark and long, woody thorns, bearing soft, alternating, oval leaves with finely serrated margins, producing umbels of fragrant, white flowers composed of 5 petals arranged around a dome of stamen.

Note; the scaly bark is nearly black in color, mottled with dark grey

Note; younger stems have smooth, light grey bark which peels away revealing a mahogany color

Note; the alternating leaves are an elliptical oval with a finely serrated margin and a prominent drip tip.

Note; Flatwood Plum bear flowers in loose clusters

Mesquite; Honey Mesquite

Mesquite; Honey Mesquite Prosopis juliflora var. glandulosa Cockerell;. A variable, medium sized, drooping, deciduous tree with fine, leathery leaflets, Mesquite is the favored wood for barbecues, but a curse for ranchers.  Mesquite drops long seed pods and thorny stems, disqualifying it as a lawn tree. However, the frond like pinnate leaves, composed of leathery, strap like leaflets arranged in opposite pairs, produce a pleasant, light shade.  A short, sharp spine projects from each leaf node along the twigs. The deeply furrowed bark, dark when young, lightening with age, is heavy with tannin, staining the soil and any water it falls in. The wood is brittle and heavy, dark reddish-brown streaked with black, but rarely straight enough for lumber or furniture.  It decays above ground, but is impervious to rot underground, so stumps do not rot out.  Old trunks are invariably hollow, but continue to live, as long as live wood grows on the outer perimeter.  The elongated fluffy, greenish white flowers are fragrant, but short lived, converting to long (4-9”), slightly flattened pods, with small flattened seeds.  Amerind people ground and leached the beans to make a thick flour.  The leaflets are nutritious and moist, and though protected by thorns, make excellent fodder.  It is the first tree to colonize overgrazed range-land, so its range spread following over-grazing and the Dustbowl.  Mesquite grow upright on long arching suckers, which continue to droop each year, till nearly prone.  They are nearly impossible to eradicate, as they resist fire and sprout back from roots, but because the tree does not grow upright it is soon crowded out by oaks, juniper and elm.  Mesquite prairies extend from Mexico to Oklahoma, dominating a belt that runs from Mexico through San Antonio, Stephenville and Vernon.  Green wood is often burned in –BQ or grills, for it burns slow and produces steam, which keeps meat from drying out.  Local lore claims that once mesquite blooms there is no longer danger of frost.  The three named varieties, (glandulosa, velutina and torreyana) are difficult to distinguish.  (515-516) 4/20/15 – 5/1/15; 4/25/16; 3/28/17- ; 4/15/18; 19 not recrd; 4/24/20;

Honey Mesquite habit; a sprawling tree with deeply furrowed, coarse bark, sharp spines, and leathery leaflets, bearing fluffy greenish white flowers which convert to light colored bean pods

Note; deeply furrowed, fibrous, grey bark is laced with tannins, staining water a dark red

Note; arching new growth slowly droops towards the ground till nearly prone

Note; pinnate, frond like leaves, composed of opposite pairs of strap-like, leathery, light green leaves

Note; long columnar spikes of flowers, made up of many tiny flowers, are lightly fragrant

Note; sharp spines at each leaf node along the twigs

Note; long been pods

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