Part 8

The plants are erect, 12-16 inches high, and have few branches. The few leaves are oval, narrowed at the base, wavy-margined, and blunt or rounded at the apex. The forking flower clusters have one to five flowers open at the same time. The flowers do not last very long. Leaves and stem are often marked with red or purple.

The delicate, funnel-shaped corollas have five spreading lobes and are about two inches long. The four stamens are inclosed in the tube. The seed-capsules are nearly an inch long and turn brown as they mature.

This ruellia was formerly confused with _Ruellia tuberosa_, a tropical plant with tuberous roots. The ruellias belong to a large group of plants with about 200 species most of which are found in tropical South America. They are named for Jean de la Ruelle, an early French physician and botanist.

There are several other ruellias widely distributed in the wooded sections of the state. The hairy ruellia (_Ruellia ciliosa_) is abundant on the prairies in Texas and the Eastern States. Miss Eaton, in an article in the _National Geographic_ in 1925, reports that carpenter-bees use circular pieces of the corolla to plug off their nesting cells made in tunnels in soft wood. Drummond’s ruellia (_Ruellia drummondiana_) is found in woods in Central Texas. The flowers are rather small and are nearly hidden by the leaves.

PLANTAIN FAMILY (Plantaginaceae)

[Illustration: TALLOW-WEED RED-SEEDED PLANTAIN]

Herbs; leaves basal; calyx 4-lobed; corolla papery, 3-4-lobed; stamens 4, on corolla-tube; capsule (in ours) opening by a horizontal division.

Tallow-Weed. Wright’s Plantain (_Plantago wrightiana_) is a common plant on prairies from Texas to Arizona and blooms from April to June. It is called tallow-weed because cattle fatten on the plants. The stems are 6-8 in. high, and the numerous basal leaves are half as long, narrow, smooth, and dark green. The small 4-lobed flowers have a stiff, papery white corolla with spreading lobes. The small capsules open by a lid.

Red-Seeded Plantain or Ribwort (_Plantago rhodosperma_) has broad leaves, 3-5-ribbed, and narrow spikes of flowers. The leaf-rosettes are often a foot broad. The corolla lobes are erect and are closed over one another. The ribwort is a very common weed in sandy soil from Missouri to Texas and Arizona.

There are many other plantains in the state, all more or less abundant. The group has retained the old Latin name. Scilla-seed, a laxative in recent use, is obtained from a South American plantain. The seeds of the lance-leaved plantain are sold as food for birds.

MADDER FAMILY (Rubiaceae)

[Illustration: SMALL BLUET LEAST BLUET]

Leaves opposite or whorled; in ours, sepals and petals usually 4, but may be 4-10, calyx joining ovary wall; stamens 4-10, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior, 2-5-celled.

Small Bluet (_Houstonia patens_) has violet-blue flowers which are among the first blossoms of spring. They dot golf courses and sandy meadows from Texas to Virginia and Illinois in February and March. The bluets are also called innocence and angel-eyes.

Least Bluet (_Houstonia minima_) is a smaller plant than the small bluet, but the flowers are a little larger and are pale pink. They bloom at the same time of year and may often be found together. The least bluet ranges from Texas to Illinois and Kansas.

The madder-family is mainly tropical but is represented in Texas by nearly forty species. Nearly all of these have inconspicuous, 4-lobed white flowers and include many bedstraws and bluets, the button-weed, and button-bush. From some members of the family valuable commercial products—coffee, quinine, and a red dye—are obtained; the cape-jasmine or gardenia is a well-known ornamental plant.

[Illustration: BOUVARDIA BABY’S BREATH]

Baby’s Breath. Narrow-Leaved Houstonia (_Houstonia angustifolia_) is not the garden plant (_Gypsophila paniculata_) which is known as baby’s breath, but it is equally dainty. The stems grow from woody perennial roots and form erect clumps about a foot high. The small flowers are borne in flat-topped clusters and vary in color from white to pale pink or lavender. This plant is widely distributed on prairies from Illinois to Texas and Florida.

Bouvardia (_Bouvardia ternifolia_) is a low shrub, 2-6 ft. high, which grows in the mountains west of the Pecos River to Arizona and Mexico. The leaves are short and grow in whorls of 3’s or 4’s. The narrow, red tubular flowers are about one inch long. The Bouvardias were once popular as greenhouse plants but are little used now. This one was introduced into England more than one hundred years ago.

HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY (Caprifoliaceae)

[Illustration: CORAL HONEYSUCKLE]

Usually shrubs; leaves opposite; calyx joining ovary wall, 5-lobed; corolla 5-lobed, tubular and often 2-lipped; stamens 4-5, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior; fruit a fleshy berry.

Southern Woodbine. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle (_Lonicera sempervirens_) is quite common in the woods of East Texas and other Southern States, blooming in Texas in late March and continuing until fall. It is an evergreen vine that has been widely introduced into cultivation. The flowers are not so conspicuously two-lipped as in the white honeysuckle, the corolla-lobes being nearly equal. The scarlet berries are ¼ inch long, ripening in the summer. This is one of a number of plants which are commonly called woodbine. The group was named in honor of Adam Lonitzer, an early German botanist.

The black haw (_Viburnum prunifolium_) is very abundant in Texas woods. The showy ball-like clusters of white flowers appear with the leaves in April and May, following the dogwood and red haws. The American elder (_Sambucus canadensis_) is found along streams in Central and East Texas.

[Illustration: WHITE HONEYSUCKLE]

White Honeysuckle (_Lonicera albiflora_) is a straggling bush which usually grows in the shelter of a tree. The pale broad, oval leaves are opposite and united at their bases, the uppermost pair being cup-shaped and surrounding the cluster of flowers borne at the tip of the stem. The fragrant flowers are less than an inch long with a narrow tube and 5 lobes, the lower lobe long and narrow and the 4 upper shorter, very much like those of the common cultivated Japanese honeysuckle. The five spreading stamens extend conspicuously beyond the corolla.

This plant blooms in April and May. It is scattered throughout the central and western parts of the state, being especially abundant in the western mountains, and ranges to Arkansas and Arizona. The Japanese honeysuckle has escaped cultivation in places along the bayous of East Texas.

VALERIAN FAMILY (Valerianaceae)

[Illustration: LAMB’S LETTUCE]

Leaves opposite; calyx of several bristles or absent; petals 2-5, partly united; stamens usually 4, on corolla-tube; ovary inferior, 3-celled but only 1 cell fertile.

Lamb’s Lettuce. Texas or Dwarf Corn Salad (_Valerianella amarella_) is one of the first white-flowered spring plants, growing in such abundance that the prairies are white with the blooms. It is a much smaller plant than the dwarf Queen Anne’s lace which is so lovely late in April and May. In the field it is usually about 6 in. high but grows a little higher in cultivation when used as a border plant. It is easily identified by its flat-topped clusters of flowers grouped in squares at the end of the widely forking branches. The smooth foliage is yellow-green in color.

There are several corn salads which grow in moist places in the state. The dwarf corn salad may readily be distinguished from these, as its minute seed-pod is covered with woolly hairs. The European corn salad is cultivated, and the leaves are used for salad.

GOURD FAMILY (Cucurbitaceae)

[Illustration: WILD BALSAM GOURD]

Tendrils mostly present, stems often prostrate; flowers usually unisexual; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals united or separate; stamens usually 3, one anther always 1-celled, the other two 2-celled; ovary inferior.

Wild Balsam Gourd (_Ibervillea lindheimeri_) has bright scarlet balls about an inch in diameter and makes conspicuous spots of color on fences in the fall. The vine is slender, bearing small yellow flowers in the spring. The fruits are green at first, turning orange and then a scarlet red. Sometimes they are a little longer than broad and pointed at the end. The few leaves are thick and deeply 3-5-lobed. It ranges from Texas to California.

The garden balsam (_Impatiens balsamina_) bears no relation to this plant. The vines in cultivation known as balsam apple and balsam pear are, however, members of the gourd family and were introduced from the Old World tropics. Watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, and gourds are well-known members of the gourd family.

[Illustration: WILD GOURD]

Wild Gourd. Mock Orange (_Cucurbita foetidissima_) has long trailing stems which are often 15 feet long and may be 25 feet long. It is readily distinguished by its large gray-green triangular leaves which are somewhat 3-5-lobed. The leaf-blades are 4-12 inches long, and the leaf-stalk is about half the length of the blade. The star-shaped yellow flowers, about three inches broad, are almost hidden by the leaves, the staminate and pistillate flowers being borne on different plants.

The ovoid gourds, which at first are green variegated with a lighter green, turn quite yellow at maturity. The resemblance of the yellow fruit to oranges has given rise to the common name, mock orange. The gourds are about three inches long. They are not edible, as the pulp is fibrous and bitter. Mexicans use the plant as a soap substitute by mashing the gourds or the roots in water. They call it “chilicoyote” or “calabacilla.” The pumpkins and squashes, whose origin is somewhat obscure, are close relatives of the gourd.

BELL-FLOWER FAMILY (Campanulaceae)

[Illustration: VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS WESTERN VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS]

Juice usually milky; leaves alternate; calyx tube joined to ovary, 3-10-lobed; corolla tubular or bell-shaped, sepals and petals usually 5; stamens 5; ovary inferior, 2-10-celled.

Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia perfoliata_) is a very common American plant blooming in Texas in the early spring. Like the later flowers of many violets, the first flowers never open and are self-fertilized. The later flowers have a showy 5-lobed purple corolla about an inch long. The seeds are dispersed from a small opening in the lower part of the capsule. The leaves are small and clasping, usually broader than long.

Western Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia leptocarpa_) has flowers very much like the preceding, but the stamens and calyx lobes are longer. The long, slender capsules have the opening pore near the top. The showy flowers appear in late April and May. This plant is abundant on the northern prairies of Texas and ranges to Missouri and Montana.

[Illustration: PRAIRIE LOBELIA TEXAS HAREBELL]

Texas Harebell. Bluebell (_Campanula reverchonii_) is one of the rarer plants in the state, and care should be taken to preserve it. It is lovely against the granite rocks and boulders of Central Texas. The dainty, slender plants are often much branched and have blue flowers about half an inch long. The bluebell of Scotland is a renowned member of the group; Canterbury bells and the balloon-flower are well-known in gardens.

LOBELIA FAMILY (Lobeliaceae)

Juice often milky; sepals 5; corolla 1-2-lipped, united; stamens 5, anthers joined into a tube.

Prairie Lobelia (_Lobelia brachypoda_) grows on sandy prairies in Southern Texas and the adjacent part of Mexico. It is very abundant west of Falfurrias in March. The Texas lobelias may usually be recognized by the five united stamens which have gray anthers bearded at the top. The plants often have a milky sap containing a poisonous alkaloid which is used in medicine. The red cardinal flower (_Lobelia splendens_) is rather widely scattered in moist places throughout the state but is rare enough to need protection.

COMPOSITE FAMILY (Compositae)

[Illustration: BALDWIN’S IRONWEED]

Flowers crowded into heads surrounded by bracts; outer flowers often strap-shaped and are called ray flowers; inner flowers are tubular and are called disk flowers; sometimes flowers are all of one type; calyx usually modified into bristles or awns (pappus); petals united, tubular, 4-5-lobed; stamens 5, anthers united into a tube; styles 2-lobed; ovary 1-celled, inferior. (See p. xii.)

Baldwin’s Ironweed (_Vernonia baldwinii_) has broad, flat-topped clusters of purple heads. It forms a pleasing contrast to the abundant yellow flowers of the summer months. The plant is a hardy perennial and grows in ditches and river bottoms from Central Texas to Iowa. The stems are 3-4 feet high and conspicuously leafy. The ironweeds get their common name from the fact that the stems are very hard and difficult for farmers to chop down.

About one-fifth of the plants found in Texas belong to the composite family. It is generally divided into groups or tribes, the more important being the ironweed, mist-flower, aster, everlasting, sunflower, bitterweed, dog-fennel, and thistle groups. The composites in this book are grouped together in tribes in the above order, but the tribes are not separated or differentiated. Identification of composites is much easier if the resemblance to a particular group can be noted.

[Illustration: BLUE MIST-FLOWER BLUFF THOROUGHWORT]

Bluff Thoroughwort (_Eupatorium ageratifolium_) is a widely branched shrub of the rocky hillsides of Central and West Texas. The bushes are covered with flat-topped clusters of pale-pink or white flowers. The long, protruding styles, which are divided into two recurved parts, have given the name of mist-flower to this and other plants of the group.

Milk-sick plant (_Eupatorium ageratoides_) is a closely related plant which causes in cattle a disease called “trembles.” The milk from affected cows will cause sickness and death among humans. The late-flowering thoroughwort (_Eupatorium serotinum_) is very abundant in river bottoms throughout the state. Yankee-weed (_Eupatorium compositifolium_) grows in big feathery clumps often 10 feet high. It is a pernicious weed in East Texas and soon covers cut-over pine lands. The dried flower-tops of several species were used by pioneers as fever medicines. One of these plants was called Joe-pye weed in honor of the Indian doctor, Joe Pye.

Blue Mist-Flower (_Conoclinium coelestinum_) is sometimes called ageratum and is used for a summer and fall border plant. It grows in moist, shaded places from Central Texas to New Jersey.

[Illustration: PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR DWARF GOLDENROD TALL GOLDENROD]

Prairie Blazing Star. Button Snakeroot (_Laciniaria punctata_) is sometimes called liatris from the scientific group to which these plants are sometimes referred. A similar prairie blazing star is called gay-feather. On the dry prairies in the western part of the state the blazing star has short stems and short spikes of flowers; but where moisture is more abundant, the plants are one to two feet high. The plant does well in cultivation and is easily grown from the seed. It ranges from Southern Canada to Texas and New Mexico.

The stems are closely covered with the narrow leaves, which are marked with minute glandular dots. The spikes are densely covered with long, narrow heads of purple flowers. There are only a few star-shaped tubular flowers in a head. The seeds are widely scattered by their crown of plumose bristles. The lovely spikes are often dried for winter bouquets.

Many eastern blazing stars are found in the woods of East Texas, where they make showy displays from July to October. They are called snakeroots from their reputed property of curing snake-bites. A tea made from the plant will cause profuse perspiration; the perspiration was probably responsible for the reported snake-bite cures. They are also called devil’s bit or devil’s bite, because of the bitten-off appearance of the rootstock. The rootstock was considered such a powerful remedy for human ills that the devil bit off a part for spite.

Tall Goldenrod (_Solidago altissima_) grows 2-8 ft. high, has rough leaves which are sharply toothed and prominently triple-nerved, and is topped by dense clusters of yellow flowers. Most of the goldenrods are widely distributed in North America; the tall goldenrod is abundant in dry soil from Maine to Nebraska and Texas.

Gray, Field, or Dwarf Goldenrod (_Solidago nemoralis_) has flower heads all turned to one side of the branches which top the slender wand-like stems. The stems are one half to two feet high. This is one of the most abundant goldenrods in the central and western parts of the state from July to November and ranges from Canada to Florida and Arizona.

In Texas the goldenrods are usually found only in moist soil, many eastern species growing profusely in East Texas. The three-nerved goldenrod (_Solidago trinervata_) is the common one in Southwest Texas.

[Illustration: STIFF GOLDENROD]

Stiff or Hard-Leaved Goldenrod (_Solidago rigida_) is one of about thirty-five goldenrods found in the state. It belongs to the type which is responsible for the common name, as the yellow flowers are in heads arranged in rod-like clusters at the top of the stem. The scientific name of “Solidago,” meaning “to make whole,” had its origin in the healing properties of certain species.

The stiff goldenrod grows in dry rocky or sandy soil east of the Rocky Mountains from Southern Canada to Texas. It grows 1½-2 feet high and has broad leaves 1-2 inches long. Lindheimer’s goldenrod (_Solidago lindheimeriana_) is a similar stout, leafy-stemmed plant which is abundant in Central Texas and ranges to Kansas and Mexico. Bigelow’s goldenrod (_Solidago bigelovii_) is another species with rod-like clusters. It is found in the mountainous regions of West Texas and New Mexico.

[Illustration: BROOM-WEED]

Broom-Weed. Kindling-Weed (_Amphiachyris dracunculoides_) is a pasture pest in the southern part of the Great Plains region. The slender stem is unbranched near the base, but above the middle the numerous spreading branches form a flat-topped plant which bears many small heads of yellow flowers. The plants are often 2-4 feet high and grow in dense masses. It has been used as a broom by early settlers, Mexicans, and children at play. The resinous foliage of the dried plants was also highly valued for kindling fires.

The broom-weed is closely related to the rabbit-brush which is so abundant in West Texas and New Mexico. The Texas rabbit-brush (_Gutierrezia texana_) of West Texas is so much like the broom-weed that only a close observer can distinguish them. Both have 5-8 flowers with strap-shaped corollas in the outer part of the head and a few tubular flowers in the center; both bloom in the late summer and fall.

[Illustration: CAMPHOR DAISY TEXAS GUMWEED]

Camphor Daisy (_Heterotheca subaxillaris_), so called because of the camphor-like odor of the rough foliage, is a common summer pest to the farmer. The plants often grow 3 feet high and are much branched, bearing heads of golden-yellow flowers nearly an inch across. The upper leaves are broad and clasping, but the lower are narrowed at the base. The scientific name refers to the dissimilar fruits of the ray and disk flowers, those of the ray flowers having no bristles. It ranges from Delaware to Arizona and Mexico.

Texas Gumweed (_Grindelia texana_) belongs to a group easily recognized because of its sticky, bur-like heads and thick leaves. This one is common on rocky limestone slopes in Central Texas in the fall and ranges to Southwest Missouri. The wand-like stems, covered with the overlapping leaves, are topped by large heads of yellow flowers. Many gumweeds are found in Texas. Some of them were used to relieve colds, asthma, and rheumatism.

[Illustration: BIG GUMWEED]

Big Gumweed. Saw-Leaf Daisy (_Prionopsis ciliata_) is easily recognized by its straight, stiff stalks which are closely covered with broad oval leaves. Dense masses of the sentinel-like plants may be seen along fence-rows in North-central and West Texas in August and September. It ranges north to Kansas and Missouri. The stems are topped by short clusters of large heads, 2-3 inches broad. The leaves are thick, gummy, and closely beset with bristle-tipped teeth. Sometimes an injury to the stem may cause it to become widely branched.

The scientific name means “resembling a saw” and refers to the leaf-margins. It is not a true gumweed but has similar bur-like heads. It differs from the gumweeds in having several unequal hair-like bristles on the seed, whereas the seeds of gumweeds have 2-8 stiff bristles.

[Illustration: YELLOW SLEEPY DAISY]

Yellow Sleepy Daisy (_Xanthisma texanum_) is a yellow daisy with lazy habits, for the heads do not open until noon. It is close kin to the white lazy daisy (_Aphanostephus skirrobasis_), and the two may often be found growing in the same fields. The large heads of lemon-yellow flowers are quite showy and attractive, 1½ inches broad, solitary at the ends of the branches. The ray flowers are narrow, about one inch long, and conspicuously lance-shaped at the tips.

This plant blooms in the late spring and summer and is found on sandy prairies or open woods in Central Texas. It is an annual, the stem branched above, commonly about 1-1½ feet high. The leaves are glossy green, somewhat narrow, and one to two inches long. It has been introduced into cultivation in the North and East. The name is Greek, meaning “dyed yellow.”

[Illustration: BERLANDIER’S GOLDEN ASTER IRON FLOWER]

Berlandier’s Golden Aster (_Chrysopsis berlandieri_) is common on roadside banks and prairies of Central and West Texas. Growing from a perennial root, the branched stems sprawl in clumps about a foot broad and are thick with yellow heads soon after a heavy rain. The heads are nearly an inch broad, the flowers all yellow. The leaves are whitish and somewhat woolly. It blooms in the summer and fall.

Spiny-Leaved Yellow Aster. Iron Flower (_Sideranthus spinulosus_) has yellow heads much like the preceding, but the leaves are quite different, being divided into narrow segments which are bristle-pointed rather than spiny as the name indicates. “Sideranthus” means “iron flower.” It is very abundant on prairies and hills in the western part of the state and ranges to Canada and Mexico. It blooms from March to October. The iron flowers are often called gold daisies. The southern iron flower (_Sideranthus australis_) is common in Southwest Texas.

[Illustration: WHITE LAZY DAISY OAK-LEAVED FLEABANE DAISY]

White Lazy Daisy (_Aphanostephus skirrobasis_) grows very abundantly in sandy soil in spring and summer. It ranges from Kansas to Mexico and Florida. The morning traveller does not appreciate its beauty, for it is truly a lazy daisy, not opening its heads until nearly noon. The plants are usually branched and grow 6-18 inches high. The large, showy heads are 1-2 inches across and are usually long-stalked. Unlike those of many other daisies, the seeds are not topped by slender bristles but have an inconspicuous crown, as is denoted by the scientific name, which is Greek for “faint crown.”

Oak-Leaved Fleabane Daisy (_Erigeron quercifolius_) is very abundant in the spring in the East Texas woods and ranges through the Southern States. The lower leaves resemble oak leaves, but those on the stem are narrow and pointed. The numerous fleabane daisies in the state may be readily recognized by means of the many, very narrow ray flowers which are usually white, pale pink, or pale lavender. Kiss-me-and-I’ll-tell-you (_Erigeron annuus_) is a taller daisy and is very abundant in East Texas.

[Illustration: DWARF WHITE ASTER DWARF BLUE ASTER]

Dwarf Blue Aster (_Keerlia bellidiflora_) is a shade-loving, sprawling plant growing in moist soil in Central Texas. Its small heads, less than half an inch across, have the aster habit of closing at night and opening in bright light. The outer ray flowers are bluish-lavender, and the tubular inner flowers are yellow. It blooms from late March to May.

Dwarf White Aster (_Chaetopappa asteroides_) is a very small and wiry plant, growing two to ten inches high and becoming much branched with age. The small narrow heads with white rays and yellow disk flowers are less than half an inch broad. The leaves are narrow, commonly broader about the middle, and about half an inch long. The scientific name refers to the bristles on the seed. It is very abundant in sandy soil throughout the state and ranges to Missouri and Mexico. It blooms from March until early summer.

[Illustration: ROADSIDE ASTER. BLACKWEED]