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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


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


9

ACAN

THAC

EAE


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


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


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


Perennial


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


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


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


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


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

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