Part 9

Blackweed. Roadside Aster (_Aster exilis_) is probably the least showy of the asters but is very abundant in Texas. It ranges from Kansas to Texas and Florida. The white, daisy-like heads may be noted against the dark-green foliage in roadside ditches, or it may appear as a violet haze along the highway. Although it is considered one of the common lawn pests in the fall, yet even there it is a thing of beauty; for when the slender stems are cut, numerous branches spread out from the base, and soon the grass is studded with the tiny white or lavender heads. Keepers of bees on the coastal prairie highly prize it as the source of their most palatable honey.

Spiny Aster (_Aster spinosus_) is quite similar to the roadside aster and has inconspicuous leaves which are sometimes reduced to spines. The flower heads are less than an inch broad with white outer flowers. It forms dense growths in river bottoms and along irrigation ditches and is especially abundant in the vicinity of El Paso.

[Illustration: LATE PURPLE ASTER TANSY ASTER]

Late Purple Aster (_Aster patens_) shows its lovely heads in October and November along the edges of post oak woods throughout the state. It is easily recognized by the short, broad, and roughened leaves on the wand-like stems. The illustration given is that of variety _gracilis_ which is abundant in the vicinity of Fort Worth. Many asters are found in the state, but very few make a conspicuous floral display except along the coastal plain and river bottoms.

Tansy Aster. Dagger-Flower (_Machaeranthera tanacetifolia_) has leaves much like those of the spiny-leaved yellow aster, but the purple-flowered heads are much larger and very showy, 1-2 inches broad. The heads are surrounded by bracts with green spreading tips. The inner tubular flowers are yellow but soon turn reddish-brown. It ranges from Nebraska to Mexico and California. This is one of the loveliest flowers on the western plains, blooming from May to October.

[Illustration: OIL WILLOW]

Narrow-Leaved Baccharis. Oil Willow (_Baccharis angustifolia_) looks very much like the black willow, to which, however, it bears no relationship. The leaves of baccharis have a resinous texture, and the flowers appear in the late summer and fall. The pollen-bearing flowers are not borne on the same shrub with the seed-bearing flowers. The flowers, all small, inconspicuous, whitish, and tubular, are borne in a narrow head of ovate bracts which soon turn brown.

It is called the oil willow by some of the older residents because it is said to be an indicator of oil, just as the black willow is said to be a good indicator of water. It is also called brittle willow, false willow, and resin willow. It grows in brackish marshes throughout the state and may be found eastward to North Carolina. The soft white plumy bristles on the seed give the shrub the feathery appearance of the Yankee-weed. Along the coast in the southeastern part, the groundsel-tree or pencil-tree (_Baccharis halimifolia_) is a lovely sight in the fall.

[Illustration: LARGE RABBIT TOBACCO SMALL RABBIT TOBACCO]

Large Rabbit Tobacco (_Filago prolifera_) is a low plant less than six inches high with a few short branches at the top of the stem and sometimes a few at the base. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, being borne in woolly, rather flattened heads which are about half an inch broad. It blooms from January to June and ranges from Texas to South Dakota.

Small Rabbit Tobacco (_Filago nivea_) is a smaller plant but is more densely clothed with woolly hairs. The minute, ball-like heads are clustered together. Both of these plants are also known as poverty-weed, chewing gum, and ladies’ tobacco. Poverty-weed is a suitable name for them in the sheep-grazing section of Central Texas which has been heavily over-grazed. In many pastures they take the place of grasses as a ground cover. The leaves may be chewed for gum. The rabbit tobacco is closely related to the cudweeds and everlastings. The plantain-leaved everlasting grows in moist woods in East Texas.

[Illustration: SOUTHERN MARSH FLEABANE]

Southern Marsh Fleabane (_Pluchea purpurascens_) grows only in marshes or in continually moist places. The flowers are more rose-colored than purplish, as the name would indicate, and the tawny bristles on the seeds soon give a brownish tint to the heads. It often grows in pleasing combination with the blue mist-flower. It ranges from Texas to Florida and tropical America and blooms in the summer and fall.

The plants are commonly about two feet high, the stems being unbranched below and very leafy. The broad leaves are pointed at the tip and narrowed into stalk-like bases except on the upper part of the stem. The leaf-margins are irregularly toothed. The fragrant flowers are borne in small oblong heads in a flat-topped cluster.

The cudweeds are closely related to the marsh fleabane. They are

## particularly abundant in the mountains of West Texas, the loveliest one

being Wright’s cudweed or everlasting (_Gnaphalium wrightii_), which has white flowers and foliage.

[Illustration: ROCK DAISY BLACKFOOT DAISY]

Prairie Blackfoot Daisy. Mountain Daisy. Rock Daisy (_Melampodium cinereum_) is very abundant on limestone slopes and in dry soil from Texas to Arkansas, Kansas, and Arizona. The scientific name is from the Greek words meaning “black foot” and refers to the blackened roots and stalks.

Blackfoot Daisy (_Melampodium ramosissimum_) grows from a black woody base and has many branched stems which form a dense rounded mound one to two feet broad. After sufficient rainfall from early spring until winter, this mound is covered by the saucy heads of white daisy-like flowers. The heads are about three-fourths inch across and have an outer row of 8-11 broad white ray-flowers. This is the most vigorous one of the blackfoot daisies and makes an excellent plant for the rock garden. It grows in Southwest Texas. The seeds are enclosed in a thickened cornucopia-like floral bract which has a flaring rim and many warty projections.

[Illustration: PRAIRIE ZINNIA TEXAS STAR DAISY]

Texas Star Daisy. Lindheimer’s Daisy (_Lindheimera texana_) shows its star-like flower heads early in the spring while the plants are low and the leaves are closely clustered. By June the plants are tall and widely branched above. This plant honors by its name Ferdinand J. Lindheimer, an early settler of New Braunfels and editor of the “Neu Braunfelser Zeitung.” Lindheimer began his collection of Texas plants in 1836 and continued until his death in 1879. With the assistance of Dr. George Engelmann of St. Louis and Dr. Asa Gray of Harvard University, Lindheimer’s collections between 1842 and 1852, representing more than 1400 species of plants, were classified and distributed to the leading herbaria of Europe and America. A part of this collection is owned by the University of Texas Herbarium.

Prairie Zinnia (_Zinnia grandiflora_) grows in low, rounded clumps from Kansas to Mexico and Arizona and blooms from June to September. The bright yellow ray flowers are nearly round and remain on the seeds. With age they become papery, and the yellow disk flowers turn reddish-brown. The common zinnia in cultivation was introduced from Mexico.

[Illustration: CUT-LEAVED DAISY. ENGELMANN’S DAISY]

Cut-Leaved Daisy. Engelmann’s Daisy (_Engelmannia pinnatifida_) is closely related to the sunflowers but has the daisy habit of closing the flower heads at night and opening them in bright sunlight. It is one of the commonest plants on prairies from Kansas to Louisiana and Arizona and grows in dense patches along roadsides and pastures from April to July.

The rough, hairy plants grow one to three feet high and are topped by broad clusters of long-stalked, showy yellow heads which are 1½-2 inches broad. The divided leaves are short-stalked on the lower part of the stem and on the upper part have clasping basal lobes.

This daisy honors the name of Dr. George Engelmann, an eminent botanist of St. Louis, who died in 1884.

[Illustration: NIGGERHEAD]

Niggerhead. Thimble Flower (_Ratibida columnaris_) is also called Mexican hat, niggertoe, “gallitos,” long-headed or prairie cone-flower, and black-eyed Susan, though the last term is erroneously used. It is a very handsome plant, which is widely distributed on plains from Southern Canada to Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee. In South Texas it is at its best in April and May; in North Texas it is lovely in late May and June.

Numerous erect stems grow from a woody perennial root and are commonly two to two and a half feet high. The long-stalked heads terminate the branches. The leaves are finely divided into long narrow segments, both leaves and stem being somewhat rough.

The showy flowers have drooping, velvety rays which are entirely yellow or reddish-brown or partly colored yellow and brown. The small tubular flowers are brown and are borne on a thimble-shaped or columnar disk which varies greatly in size on different flowers, sometimes being nearly two inches long, but it is usually about an inch long. The disk is gray-green before the flowers open.

The dwarf niggerhead (_Ratibida tagetes_) is quite similar to the large niggerhead in growth habit and coloring, but it is a smaller plant and has smaller flowers. It is found from Kansas to Mexico on dry plains and blooms a month later than the large niggerhead.

The niggerhead belongs to a small group of showy American plants. It was introduced into European gardens many years ago, whence it later made its way back to American gardens. The niggerhead group is closely related to the black-eyed Susan and other cone-flowers. Several giant yellow-flowered cone-flowers grow in East Texas.

[Illustration: CLASPING-LEAVED CONE-FLOWER BLACK-EYED SUSAN]

Clasping-Leaved Cone-Flower (_Dracopis amplexicaulis_) makes a showy display in roadside ditches from Central Texas to Louisiana and Missouri. It is a handsome plant with smooth branched stems one to two feet high. The slightly drooping rays commonly have brown spots at the base but may be all yellow. It is often called niggerhead or black-eyed Susan, but it may be distinguished from the latter by the thimble-shaped heads, which are green before the brownish disk flowers open. In South Texas it is at its best the latter part of April, but in North Texas June is its best month.

Black-Eyed Susan (_Rudbeckia hirta_) is a common daisy of the plains region from Southern Canada to Texas and Florida. It is a rough, hairy plant which grows from one to three feet high. Closely resembling it is _Rudbeckia bicolor_, which has shorter ray flowers marked with a reddish-brown base. The ray flowers of _Rudbeckia hirta_ may also show a dark base. Both are widely cultivated. The group was named in honor of Claus Rudbeck, a Swedish botanist.

[Illustration: SAMPSON’S ROOT. PURPLE CONE-FLOWER]

Sampson’s Root. Narrow-Leaved Purple Cone-Flower (_Echinachea angustifolia_) is easily recognized by the spreading or somewhat drooping rose-colored rays. The heads terminate the stiff, unbranched stems which, like the narrow leaves, are very rough and bristly. The stems grow one to two feet high and are scattered on limestone hillsides but may occasionally be found in dense patches along the roadsides. The leaves have three prominent nerves.

The scientific name is derived from the Greek and refers to the stiff reddish-brown chaff on the flower head. This chaff obscures the brown disk flowers and remains on the heads long after the seeds have fallen. This plant is hard to distinguish from the pale purple cone-flower (_Echinachea pallida_), which grows in the woods in the eastern part of the state. The latter has longer and more drooping ray flowers. The purple cone-flowers are well known in cultivation.

[Illustration: RAGWEED. LYRE-LEAVED PARTHENIUM]

Ragweed. Lyre-Leaved Parthenium (_Parthenium lyratum_) blooms from early spring until fall in Southwest Texas. This is a smaller plant than the common parthenium (_Parthenium hysterophorus_), which is widespread in the Gulf States and tropical America. The latter is a widely branched plant two to three feet high and grows in dense masses. They have similar flower clusters with small heads of greenish-white flowers. Neither of these is the ragweed or bloodweed commonly associated with hay fever; however, the common parthenium is listed as a poisonous plant. Wild quinine or feverfew (_Parthenium integrifolium_), used as a pioneer drug to relieve fever, has been reported from the state.

Several shrubby partheniums are found in West Texas. The most important member of the group is the silver-leaved guayule or rubber plant (_Parthenium argentatum_), found in West Texas and Mexico. It is a commercial source of rubber but is not yet profitable, as the plants are of slow growth.

[Illustration: COMMON SUNFLOWER]

Common Sunflower (_Helianthus annuus_) has been known in cultivation for many years but is considered native from Minnesota to Texas and Mexico. It is the state flower of Kansas. The stout, erect stems are widely branched above the base and are very sticky, 2-10 feet high. The flower heads, 3-6 inches broad, have many yellow ray flowers about an inch long and numerous tubular disk flowers. It is grown commercially for its fiber and seeds. The seeds make an excellent food for poultry and furnish an oil used in making soap, candles, and salad dressing.

Two other sunflowers are widely distributed in the state. The orange sunflower (_Helianthus cucumerifolius_) grows in the sandy post oak belt, and the blue-weed (_Helianthus ciliaris_) is very abundant in West Texas. The latter is a low, branching perennial which is poisonous to sheep.

[Illustration: TEXAS COREOPSIS GOLDEN WAVE CALLIOPSIS]

Texas Coreopsis (_Coreopsis nuecensis_) was first described from plants found on the lower part of the Nueces River. It is quite widespread on the southern coastal prairie from March to May. It may be distinguished from other annual species of coreopsis by the circle of reddish-brown marks near the base of the yellow rays. The leaves are mostly basal and long-stalked.

Golden Wave. Drummond’s Coreopsis (_Coreopsis drummondii_) has showy, long-stalked heads, about 2 in. broad. They are borne on widely branched plants about a foot high. The leaves are divided into broad segments, and both leaves and stems have scattered soft hairs. It is very abundant on sandy coastal prairies in April and May and is well known in cultivation.

Calliopsis. Prairie Coreopsis (_Coreopsis cardaminefolia_) is a late-blooming annual plant, the flowers appearing in North Texas about the middle of June. It ranges from Kansas to Mexico and Louisiana. This plant greatly resembles the golden coreopsis (_Coreopsis tinctoria_), which is abundant on the coastal prairies in March and April. “Coreopsis” is derived from the Greek, meaning “bug-like,” and refers to the seed. The plants are often called tickseeds.

[Illustration: FALSE COREOPSIS]

False Coreopsis. Fine-Leaved Thelesperma (_Thelesperma trifidum_) is sometimes erroneously called black-eyed Susan. It closely resembles the coreopsis when the flowers are in the bud stage. The flowers may readily be distinguished from those of the coreopsis because the ray flowers are not marked with a brown spot at the base and are divided into three equal lobes at the tip. The ray flowers of the coreopsis are commonly divided into four lobes, the two lateral being shorter than the two middle lobes. The leaves are finely divided into long, narrow segments.

This is one of the most widely distributed plants on the prairies from Mexico to Colorado, South Dakota, and Missouri. The yellow of Central Texas landscapes in late April and May is due to thelesperma. Scattered plants continue to bloom through the summer and fall. The plants grow 1-2 feet high and become widely branched. The disk flowers are a reddish-brown.

[Illustration: PLAINS PAPER-FLOWER]

Plains Paper-Flower (_Psilostrophe villosa_) is another western plant which has foliage covered with a dense white woolly coat of hairs. This hairy coat is a plant device for enabling it to withstand dry growth conditions. There are only three or four ray flowers which are much broader than long and are conspicuously three-lobed. The heads are densely clustered on short branches at the top of the stems, which are from six inches to two feet high.

Near El Paso is found the lovely western paper-flower or Cooper’s psilostrophe (_Psilostrophe cooperi_). It grows in spreading clumps about two feet broad and bears long-stalked heads over an inch wide. As the flowers are bright yellow and remain lovely for months, they are often gathered for winter bouquets. Eventually they become white and papery. _Psilostrophe tagetinae_ has somewhat larger flowers than the plains paper-flower and is probably the most abundant paper-flower in the state. When cattle graze upon it for several weeks, they suffer a slow poisoning. The marigold is a close relative, both the African and French marigolds being derived from Mexican plants introduced into cultivation about 1573.

[Illustration: FOUR-NERVED DAISY SILVER-LEAF DAISY]

## Actinella Daisy. Four-Nerved Daisy (_Tetraneuris linearis_) grows with

small tufts of narrow leaves from a woody perennial root. The heads, which are borne on stalks 2-8 inches long, close at night. The plants often bloom throughout the year in Central and South Texas. They grow on rocky limestone hillsides in Texas and New Mexico. The broad, four-nerved ray flowers form a close border around the conic disk, which is covered with small yellow tubular flowers. The veins of the outer flowers, which give rise to the scientific name, are sometimes purplish.

Silver-Leaf Daisy (_Bahia dealbata_) is common in the western part of the state into Arizona and Mexico. It grows 1-2 feet high from a woody perennial root and often blooms throughout the year. The long-stalked heads are a little over an inch broad with 9-12 yellow ray flowers. On the silvery-gray stem the few leaves are commonly opposite, broad and short-stalked, with a pair of lateral lobes near the base.

[Illustration: HUISACHE DAISY BITTERWEED]

Huisache Daisy (_Amblyolepis setigera_) is so called because it often forms a carpet of gold under huisache (pronounced _wee satch_), mesquite, or other chaparral bushes in Southwest-central Texas from March to June. It is also called honey or butterfly daisy and clasping-leaved bitterweed. It has the strong scent common to the bitterweed, but is fragrant in drying. The plants are often loosely branched, growing 6-12 inches high, and the yellow heads are about 1½ inches broad.

Sneezeweed. Fine-Leaved Bitterweed (_Helenium tenuifolium_) is often found in pastures which have been over-grazed. It has a strong-scented foliage which gives milk a bitter flavor. The ball-shaped mound of disk-flowers (reminding one of camomile) and the few drooping ray flowers, which have a broad 3-toothed edge and a narrow base, are characteristic of the group. The seeds are small and are said to cause sneezing when they are thrown into the air. The bitterweed blooms from May to October and ranges from Texas to Virginia.

[Illustration: INDIAN BLANKET]

Indian Blanket. Firewheel. Beautiful Gaillardia (_Gaillardia pulchella_) is the pride of Texas prairies. The landscape becomes a vivid red and yellow in April, May, and early June when the firewheels are in bloom. It is a highly-prized cultivated plant, and many varieties have been developed. There are several species of gaillardias and many of them are native to Texas. The beautiful one is the most widespread, ranging from Texas to Louisiana, Nebraska, Arizona, and Mexico. The gaillardias are named for a French botanist, Gaillard.

The heads are usually two or three inches across and are long-stalked. Each head has 10-20 broad ray flowers which are sometimes all red but usually are marked with a brilliant yellow across the three lobes. The upper leaves are lance-shaped, and the lower are oblong and marked with a few teeth or lobes. It is an annual plant which is widely branched and grows one to one and a half feet high.

[Illustration: TINY TIM]

Tiny Tim. Spreading Thyme-Leaf (_Thymophylla polychaeta_) is found on sandy prairies from South Texas to Mexico and New Mexico. There are several thyme-leaf species in the state. They may be recognized by their scented foliage and the cup-like base of the flower heads, the bracts of the head being marked with large yellow or orange glands. There is something appealing about the tiny Tim, as the name would indicate. The branching stems with their lacy green leaves form rosettes which are dotted with the yellow daisy-like flowers.

Dwarf Thyme-Leaf. Tiny Tim (_Thymophylla pentachaeta_) clings to cliffs and rocky hillsides. It is a perennial plant with short stems four to six inches high. The leaves are short and needle-like and are borne in dense clusters around the stem. The flower heads are about half an inch broad. Tiny Tim ranges from Texas to Arizona and Mexico.

[Illustration: DOG’S CAMOMILE]

Dog Fennel. Mayweed. Dog’s Camomile (_Anthemis cotulla_) is a strong-scented herb widely scattered in America, naturalized from Europe. It is very abundant in sandy soil in the eastern part of the state. The plants are widely branched and bear numerous heads about an inch broad. The rays are broad and wide and the disk flowers are yellow. It begins to bloom in Texas in March, but the plants are at their best in May and June. It is close kin to the European camomile, which is used medicinally, a soothing tea being made from the dried ball-shaped heads of yellow flowers.

Closely related to camomile and yarrow are the artemisias, which include many species known as dusty miller, wormwood, sage-brush, and purple sage. The silvery wormwood or thread-leaved sage-brush (_Artemisia filifolius_) is very abundant in the sandy areas of West Texas and throughout the Rocky Mountain States and Mexico. It blooms from July to October.

[Illustration: YARROW]

Yarrow. Woods Milfoil (_Achillea millefolium_) was named in honor of Achilles, to whom is attributed the discovery of its healing properties. It is supposed to stop bleeding, relieve spasms, produce sweating, and act as a tonic. The woods milfoil is widely distributed in woods in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It makes a nice garden plant, for the lacy fern-like leaves remain green all winter. The stems grow one to two feet high and are topped by the flat flower-cluster. The ray flowers are white or sometimes pale pink or lavender, and the disk flowers are pale yellow.

Plains Yarrow. Woolly Milfoil (_Achillea lanulosa_) grows in moist places on the plains from Texas to Canada, Mexico, and California. It is very much like the woods yarrow but differs in that it has fewer gray-green leaves and round-topped flower clusters. Its blooming season is a little later than that of the woods yarrow, which blooms in April and May.

[Illustration: TEXAS SQUAW-WEED]

Texas Squaw-Weed. Clasping-Leaved Groundsel (_Senecio ampullaceus_) is an annual plant which grows so abundantly on the sandy prairies of Texas that it forms a carpet of gold for miles and miles. It is one of the earliest spring flowers to bloom in such showy profusion. The plants commonly grow 1½-2 feet high, being branched above and forming flat-topped flower-clusters which are often a foot broad. When quite young, the plants are densely white-woolly but become smooth and shining with age. The irregularly toothed leaves are 3-6 inches long and have a broad clasping base. The groundsel belongs to one of our largest groups of plants, some 1200 species being widely distributed over the earth.

Fine-leaved or woolly groundsel (_Senecio filifolius_) has woolly leaves divided into narrow segments. The large heads are often in bloom throughout the year in West Texas and New Mexico.

[Illustration: AMERICAN STAR THISTLE]

American Star Thistle. Basket Flower (_Centaurea americana_) is often called spineless thistle because the leaves do not bear spines as do the leaves of its close relative, the purple thistle. It is also known as powder puffs, sweet sultan, and “cardo del valle.” It is a hardy annual which is widely cultivated. Basket flower is the name under which it is known in cultivation—a name which refers to the stiff, straw-colored bracts of the flower head. These bracts are not spiny but are divided at the tip into finger-like projections.