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Mary Curry
North Central Texas
WildflowersField Guide
This work may not be reproduced in any form without permission from Mary Curry
Photographs by Mary Curry and Claire Curry
Illustrations by Mary Curry
All rights and copyrights apply.
Published by Mary Curry, Decatur, Texas
Printed 2015 Version 1
Another book by Mary Curry:
Wise County Texas Birds
Back cover - Gracie, my German Shepherd
Copyright © 2015 by Mary Curry
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1519261182
ISBN-10: 1519261187
3
A big thanks
to
Shirley Lusk
4
Foreword
Writing Wildflowers of North Texas was such a learning experience for me. The depth in this book would not be possible without Shirley Lusk. Shirley shared her knowledge and her plants freely with a good deal of patience. She showed me her secret places for plants. Over her thirty plus years in the field and having grown up in North Texas, she has made many friends of landowners, making it possible to gain access to these special places. Many places, however, are accessible to anyone along our beautiful roads, public parks, and natural areas. Most photographs were taken in Wise, Montague, Denton, and Cooke counties. Places anyone can go visit include the Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands, Wise County Park, Lake Bridgeport, Lake Ray Roberts State Park, the roads of Wise, Cooke, Montague, Denton, and Jack counties.
The Flora of North Central Texas was an immensely helpful reference. I would like to thank the authors for all their hard work. Available online at http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm. For each plant, I have referenced its page number in the flora for your ease in further investigation. I obtained current accepted names from www.theplantlist.org. The genus names and assignment of a family may of course be changed again in the future.
A special thanks to Hugh Garnett for the many hikes in Montague county, keeping an eye on plants out and about, and lunches in Muenster. Also thank you to the many others who have helped me including Barney Lipscomb, Kathy Saucier, Dorothy Thetford, Clay and Patty Hamilton, Don Vogel, Jeanne and Wayne Erickson, Diane Blais, Judy Abbey-Brown, Lisa Euchner, Mike Cockran, Susan Pohlen, Bill Freiheit, and the Thomsen Foundation. Thank you to good friends Judy Fox, Susan Tartaglino, and Michelle Emerson. I also would like to acknowledge my family for their support: Jim Curry (editing and technical support), Pete Curry (photography and layout hints), and Claire Curry (photographs and editing). My furry family, Gracie (back cover), Shadow, and Tabasco, were very supportive as well.
I hope you find this guide helpful in enjoying the natural beauty of North Central Texas. It is a very special place. Please be good stewards of the flora and fauna for the future of our planet.
5
Key:
Bloom times: any month expected bloom time is in a black font. Months or partial months with gray background can be sporadic. Some plants bloom at two different times in a year.
Non-native: If not listed as such then the plant is native
Scientific names in parentheses are the old names or alternate names. All names were checked at the website www.theplantlist.org
FNCT pXXX: Shinners & Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas page XXX, available online at http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
(SL): per Shirley Lusk
Sizes are inches and feet, also note that these are the measurements that I generally saw in the field
6
PTER
IDA
CEA
EMaidenhair Fern
PerennialAdiantum capillus-veneris
• Evergreen• Creeping along wet faces of rocks (limestone in particular)• Leaf pinnate, membranous to thin-herbaceous• FNCT p194
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
7
PTER
IDA
CEA
E
Pellaea atropurpurea
• Evergreen, stems dark purple black• Leaf blades 1-pinnate or 2-pinnate below, 1/2 to 1 1/2 in. long, 1/4 to
3/4 in. wide• Rocky slopes in the mostly shade and woods• FNCT p198
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
PerennialPurple Cliff-brake
8
ACA
NTH
ACE
AE
Snake HerbDyschoriste linearis
• Stems erect or partly decumbent up to 1 ft. long• Leaves sessile, linear to oblanceolate, opposite• Flowers axillary, sessile, shorter than leaves with leaf like bracts• Corollas purple with dark dots in throat• Rocky or sandy soils• FNCT p213
Perennial
2773 Dyschoriste lineraris Snake Herb unit 49-1-2
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
9
ACAN
THAC
EAE
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
American Water-willow
American-Water-willow_20090512_004.JPG
American-Water-willow_20090512_002.JPG
Justicia americana
• Stems erect up to 3 ft. tall• Stems and leaves glabrous• Leaves sessile or nearly so, simple • Leaf blades narrowly oblong-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate• Peduncles to 6 in. long• Corollas 1/2 in. long, white or violet with red-purple dots in throat, 2
stamens• Wet ground, margins of creeks and ponds• FNCT p213
Perennial
10
ACA
NTH
ACE
AE
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
PerennialPrairie-petunia or Low RuelliaRuellia humilis
• Up to 1 1/2 ft. tall• Usually densely short-pilose• Leaf blades lanceolate to ovate or broadly elliptic• Flower light lavender with purple streaks in the throat sometimes• Opening in the morning, falling by late afternoon• Prairies and open woods• FNCT p216
11
ADO
XACE
AE (C
APRI
FOLI
ACEA
E)
Elder-berry
(Sambucus nigra var candensis)
• Soft woody stems 3 to 12 ft. tall• Broadly lanceolate, abruptly acuminate, finely and sharply toothed• Glabrous to densely soft-pubescent beneath• Flowers small in broad, flat-topped corymbs• Corollas creamy white, small individually• Fruit purple-black, 3 stoned, berry-like drupe 1/4 in. diameter• Stream bottoms and ditch banks in shade or sun• FNCT p510
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
PerennialSambucus canadensis
12
AMAR
ANTH
ACEA
ESnake-cottonFroelichia floridana
• Up to 5 ft. tall• Gray with matted pubescence• Leaves few• Leaf blade oblong or oblanceolate• Inflorescences leafless• Floral bracts white or yellowish• Perianth densely and obviously woolly outside becoming hardened at
maturity, up to 3 in. long• Petals absent• Sandy soils, roadsides, and disturbed areas• FNCT p227
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DECJAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Annual
Snake-cotton Lake Ray Roberts State Park TX_0562-1
Snake-cotton Lake Ray Roberts State Park TX_0560-1-2
IMG_ Snake-cotton Lake Ray Roberts State Park TX565-1
13
ANAC
ARDI
ACEA
E
Wing-rib Sumac or Flame-leaf SumacRhus copallinum
• 4 to 30 ft. tall• Wings on compound leaf stems usually over 1/4 in., scarcely falcate• Leaves mostly to nearly glabrous, colorful fall red foliage• Flowers in dense, subsessile pyramids that tends to flop over • Sandy soils, open areas, prairies• FNCT p232
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Perennial
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
047maybe Rhus copalinum var latifolio wing-rib Sumac unit 57
8857-6 Rhus copalinum var latifolio Wing-rib Sumac
14
ANAC
ARDI
ACEA
E
• Up 10-12 ft. tall• Leaves glabrous with 9-20 leaflets, serrated• Colorful fall foliage• Fruit in colorful dark red panicles, upright usually• Sandy or rocky prairies, woods edges• FNCT p234
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Smooth SumacRhus glabra Perennial
15
ANAC
ARDI
ACEA
E
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DECJAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
PerennialSkunkbushRhus trilobata
• Up to 6 ft. tall shrub• 3 lobed leaves, margins usually not ciliate• Usually flowers before leaves or with unfolding leaves, light yellow and
small and inconspicuous • Prairies, understories, rocky soils, sandy woods• FNCT p234
8314 Skunkbush Rhus trilobata hughs-1
8313 Skunkbush Rhus trilobata hughs-1
16
ANAC
ARDI
ACEA
EJAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
PerennialToxicodendron radicansPoison Ivy
Light Marathyssa caterpillar
• Low shrub to climbing vine• 3 to 5 leaflets, 3 subspecies, glabrous to pubescence• Leaflets can be sharply lobed, entire, serrate, undulated, terminal leaflet
on two subspecies ovate to elliptic• Deep woods to edges• All parts of the plant can cause severe dermatitis• The Light Marathyssa moth host plant• FNCT p236
7931-1 Toxicodendron radicans Poison Ivy plant flower
8834-8 Poison Ivy fall colors home
17
APIA
CEAEBigroot Cymopterus or Big-root Wavewing
Cymopterus macrorhizus
• Up to 6 in. tall• Thick soft-woody• Leaves crowded at base, pinnate or bipinnate• Flowers whitish-gray to dirty lavender, 5 stamen attached around a
fleshy disk• Fruits ovoid to ovoid-oblong, wings obvious• Rocky limestone prairies• FNCT p249
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Perennial
1364-17 Big Root Cymopterus.jpg
1662-7 Cymopterus seeds.jpg
1747-1 Cymopterus macrohizus Bigroot Cymopterus leaf
1877-4 Cymopterus macrohizus
18
APIA
CEAE Wild Carrot or Southwest Carrot
black swallowtail caterpillar on carrots (2)
Daucus pusillus
• Up to 2 ft. tall• Hispid-pubescent • Leaf blades finely cut• Flowers head in a umbels compound, as it ages the umbel hollows in
the center, 5 stamen attached around a fleshy disk• Bristle fruit has apical barbs• Found through out the area• Similar looking species; Queen-Anne’s-Lace (Daucus carota) is up to 5 ft.
tall, invasive, bristle fruit without apical barbs, often found on roadsides• FNCT p250
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Annual
Black Swallowtail caterpillar
19
APIA
CEAELeavenworth’s Eryngo
eryngo (3).JPG
Eryngium leavenworthii
• Up to 3 ft. tall• Leaves spiny and prickly, upper leaves sessile• Leaves often turn purplish when the heads start to turn purple• 5 stamens attached around a fleshy disk• Prairies • FNCT p252
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Annual
040 eryngo bee fly
7705-1 Eryngo
Bee fly, Bombyliidae family
344
achene One seeded dry fruit that does not detach easily from the seed wall
acuminate a long tapering point, more than acute
acute an angle less than 90 degrees, sharp point
appressed hairs laying down flat
anther the part of a stamen that produces the pollen
areole the part where the spines or buds come out on a cactus
auricle ear lobed-like shape at the base of some leaves, sepals
axillary the angle between a leaf and a stem
barbellate very small fine fish-hooked hairs
bilaterally two sided, on two sides
bract resembles a leaf which protects the reproductive parts of the flower
Glossary
345
bulb superficially resembles a corm, but if you cut it in half it would be in layers like an onion, both bulbs and corms have basal plates
calcareous soil that is high in calcium carbonate, chalky or limestone soils
calyx collective term for the sepals
campanulate bell-shaped
cauline growing on or pertaining to the stem
ciliate fringe of hair similar to eye lashes
complete flower sepals, petals, stamens and pistils (male and female on one flower)
compound leaves a leaf that goes to the midrib with multiple leaflets
346
cordate heart-shape with notch at the base and coming to a point at the apex
corm superficially resembles a bulb, but if you cut it in half it would be solid, a bulb has layers, both have basal plates
corolla collective term for petals
corymbose corymb-like arrangement of the inflorescence
corymbs flat-topped inflorescence that attaches at multiple points on the stem
cuneate small width at base then a broad width near the top before the apex
347
cylindric shaped like a cylinder
cymes broad, flat-ish inflorescences with center flowers maturing first, example Prairie Parsley
decumbent lying flat or reclining with terminal shoots or stem tips ascending
decurrent extending down the stem
deltoid triangular shaped
eglandular no glands
elliptical broadest at the middle and comes to a point at both ends
entire smooth edges, no teeth
falcate recurved shape, sickle-shape
364
Index
AAcanthaceae 8Achillea millefolium 64Adiantum capillus-veneris 6Adoxaceae 11Agalinis
Fine-leaf Gerardia 266Flat-flower Gerardia 268Prairie 267
Agalinis densiflora 266Agalinis heterophylla 267Agalinis homalantha 268Agavaceae 329Alismataceae 320Allium canadense var fraseri 322Allium drummondii 321Allium fraseri 322Allium stellatum 323Amaranthaceae 12Amaranth or Pigweed Family 12Amaryllidaceae 321Amaryllis Family 321American Bluehearts 270American Water-willow 9Amsonia ciliata var texana 24Anacardiaceae 13Androstephium caeruleum 326Androstephium coeruleum 326Anemone belandieri 292Anemone, Ten-petal 292Anglepod 33Annual Wild Buckwheat 288Antelope Horns 26Antennaria parlinnii 65Aphanostephus skirrhobasis 66Apiaceae 17Apocynaceae 24Apocynum canadense 25
365
Apocynum cannabinum 25Argemone albiflora 275Aristolochiaceae 37Aristolochia tomentosa 37Arkansas Lazy Daisy 66Arkansas Yucca 329Arnoglossum plantagineum 67Arrowhead or Water-plantain Family 320Arrow-leaf Clover 236Asclepiadaceae 26Asclepias asperula ssp capricornu 26Asclepias engelmanniana 27Asclepias stenophylla 28Asclepias tuberosa ssp interior 29Asclepias verticillata 30Asclepias viridiflora 31Asclepias viridis 32Ashy Sunflower 102Asparagaceae 326, 329Aster
Fall 144Gray Gold-aster 105Prairie 144Silky 145Soft Golden-aster 70Texas 143
Asteraceae 64Aster drummondii var texanus 143Aster ericoides 144Aster pratensis 145Astragalus crassicarpus 200Astragalus crassicarpus var crassicarpus 200Astragalus leptocarpus 201Astragalus lotiflorus 202Aureolaria grandiflora 269
BBaccharis neglecta 68Bagpod 219Baptisia australis va minor 203
366
Barbara’s Buttons 118Basil Beebalm 189Basket-flower 73Bastard Toadflax 305Bean, Trailing Wild 235Beardtongue 283Beautiful False Dragon’s-head 192Bedstraw 302Beebalm
Basil 189Lemon 188Purple Horsemint 188Spotted 191Wild Bergamot 190
Beggars-ticks 23Berlandiera betonicifolia 69Bignoniaceae 38Bigroot Cymopterus 17Big-root Wavewing 17Big-top Dalea 210Bindweed, Texas 156Bird’s-eye Speedwell 284Bitterweed 95Blackberry 300Black Dalea 211Black-eyed Susan 130Black-foot Daisy 119Bladderpod 49, 219
Bladderpod 49Engelmann’s 48Gracilis 49
Bluebell, Bellflower or Harebell family 55Bluebell Gentian 176Bluebonnet, Texas 222Blue-eyed Grass 335Blue Flax 239Blue Funnel-lily 326Bluehearts
American 270Florida 270
367
Blue-indigo, Wild 203Blue Mud-plantain 341Blue Sage 194Bluestar, Texas 24Bluet
Prairie 304Tiny 303
Bluets, Prairie 304Blue Wild-hyacinth 327Boneset
False 71White 87
Boraginaceae 39Bradburia pilosa 70Brassicaceae 44Briar, Sensitive 225Brickellia eupatorioides 71Brickellia eupatorioides var eupatorioides 71Broom Nailwort 62Broomrape Family 266Broomweed 94Brown-eyed Susan 130Buchnera americana 270Buckthorn Family 297Buckwheat
Annual Wild 288Longleaf Wild 289
Buffalo Bur 311Buffalo Gourd 164Bullnettle, Texas 167Bull Thistle 72Bunchflower Family 337Bundleflower, Illinois 217Burhead 320Buttercup Family 292Buttercup, Weak 296Butterfly Milkweed 29Buttonbush 301