Last September, the bulldozers came and razed a 19 acre plot of land that was for sale. Along with it went any number of wildflowers, including a healthy stand of Old Man’s Beard, aka Texas Virgin’s Bower, and other native and a few invasive plants.
recently I came upon a female C. drummondii wending its way through some planted holly (most likely a non-native variety), catching the November sun in feathery achenes.
But not as hot here in Central Texas as it is elsewhere, and not as hot as it has been in recent years, when there were streaks of thirty or forty days of 100 plus Fahrenheit weather. This year has been hot but humid – hey, the moisture from the melting ice caps has to go somewhere, right?
And yet, “Mother Nature” continues to give us native plants that thrive in whatever kind of weather and climate she gives us. Or we make for her, given that the current climate change is driven by the Industrial Revolution, which began some two hundred years or so past.
The Conoclinium greggii (Gregg’s Mistflower) will bring Queen and Monarch butterflies to your yard. It has been interesting to watch the Queens defend their territory against the one or two Monarchs that attempt to get a pheromone enhancing boost from the mistflowers.
I’ve even seen a Gulf Fritillary take a break from the Passion Flowers and go after the mistflowers.(click on photos in the gallery to see them full size).
Well, this didn’t start out as an orange and black butterfly identification post, but that’s where it ended up, it seems. Go figure.
As you plant more native plants, you will find that you attract more native wildlife (and, hopefully ,fewer exotic or invasive fauna).
Sitting on the steps of the deck before dinner, as I took several of thee photos, the line from Ray Bolger’s character in The Wizard of Oz came to mind: “I could while away the hours, conversing with the flowers…”
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“Yarden” of course, is a portmanteau coined by Agnes Plutino of Georgetown, TX, f Continue reading
A couple of native plant species have begun to spread like weeds in the narrow area separating my subdivision plat from my neighbor’s house.
Passiflora incarnata, or Purple Passionflower, has sprung up where a corkscrew passionflower vine used to be, and through rhizomes has managed to propagate itself all along the Southern side of the house. I’ve done some pulling of the pups as the poke up through the mulch, and have been able to give away a few of them for others to try to get their own vines going.
The flowers of the Passion flower vine are about three inches in diameter, with the petals forming a wavy fringe. Stamens and stigmas also are striking in appearance as well. Several different types of butterflies use this as a larval host, most notably the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae ) and Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia ) butterflies.
Passiflora icarnata inflorescence, tri-lobed leaves, and tendril
The Ruellia nudiflora, or Wild Petunia, also has a purple to lavender flower, but it is trumpet-shaped. And it’s not a vine, but a sub-shrub perennial . After having transplanted this volunteer several years ago, it has now decided to propagate itself, like a weed, in the mulched bed and in the gravel path. Although its inflorescences look much like those of the cultivated Petunia, it is in the Acanthus Family, while the cultivated Petunia is in the Potato Family. The blossoms open in the morning, falling off in the afternoon. Like several other of my favorite wildflowers, its flowers are ephemeral, lasting for just a day.
Ruellia nudiflora inflorescence, surrounded by Passiflora leaves and tendril
As if having to “weed” native species wasn’t bad enough, as one can see from the top photo in this post, it looks as though the two plants have begun to hybridize to form a new species. Fortunately, (or unfortunately), that’s not the case: A blossom from the Ruellia has been captured by a tendril from the Passiflora, making it look (almost) like it belongs to the vine.
Not sure what I’d do if they actually did start to hybridize – probably get a botanist or two to take a closer look. And get a nursery to work with to develop and patent the new species. And sit back and watch the money roll in (ha!).
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After having managed to prevent the mowing down of a stand of wildflowers back in May, I had been busy bagging Centaurea melitensis (Maltese Star Thistle) from the berm between my house and the green belt, until last week, when I woke up Saturday morning with an excruciating pain which was diagnosed as a sciatic nerve issue. Haven’t done much weed-pulling since then. It’s not perfect yet, but I think we’ve made some progress.
So I think it’s about time to show how much better the berm looks this year (after thistle removal).
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May 7, 2021: I was just about to go out into the greenbelt for some photo taking when I heard the sound of a mower on the berm. I quickly came back running and shouting for him to stop.
Pointing out all of the native Texas wildflowers still in bloom, I explained that one should NEVER mow down a stand of wildflowers in bloom (as was done last year while I talked on the phone with their home office). I mentioned that I was trying to eliminate the invasive weeds so that the native wildflowers would have a chance to return, including the Bluebonnets, some of which had not set seed yet. (And to which he replied something along the lines of yeah, I thought I saw some back there, indicating the area that he had just mowed, and which now showed no evidence of Bluebonnets).
For an idea of what happened in 2020, refer to these two posts: May 25, 2020 May 28, 2020
Last year I managed to pull most of the Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) that had covered the berm. This time around, Maltese star-thistle (Centaurea melitensis) was the infestation of the year, and as of May 11, 2021, I have removed about 10 bags of this from the berm behind my house. Of course, it has already infested the greenbelt.
To their credit, the mowers backed off, apparently called someone for instructions on what to do, and then proceeded not to mow any more of the berm behind my fence, although he did have to drive through the area, choosing a path that would minimize the damage to the wildflowers. And crushed a good deal of the thistles to the ground, along with some wildflowers.
Thankfully, in spite of the C. melitensis, the wildflower population was much more numerous than last year. The recessive gene all-yellow Gaillardia pulchella (Indian blankets) for which I have coined the common name “Sunwheels” in contrast to the all-red pigmented “Firewheels” have also bloomed again, this time almost entirely on the berm. In previous years I have seen them in a few nearby locations, but for the last three years I have observed them directly behind my house, on the berm or in the greenbelt. (Of course, when you only have to step out the back yard to see them, you are not motivated to search very far for them).
But enough blah blah blah. Here are some pictures worth a thousand words, especially when compared with the posts from 2020.
Asclepias asperula (Antelope Horns) after the mowing.
Gaillardia pulchella (“Sunwheel”) surrounded by Centaurea melitensis (Maltese star thistle)
Berm behind my house – native plants plus invasive weeds
The green belt – Gaillardia pulchella in bloom
The mower mows, leaving nothing behind. Looking South from behind my house, greenbelt to the left, berm behind my fence in the foreground.
May all your weeds be wildflowers.
#BCMUD
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IF you live in Central Texas, of course. While many plants (including some native plants) are still trying to recover from what I have heard called Winter Storm Uri, which lasted for about ten days back in mid-February, 2021, most of the plants native to this region of Texas are coming back strong, or putting out blooms already.
Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) has already flowered and started putting out leaves. Giant Spiderwort (Tradescantia gigantea) has for the most part finished with its most robust blooms, but there are still a few left. (Both of these photos were taken March 16, 2021).
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A little over two weeks later, things are really starting to perk up in the yard.
Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), for instance, and Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) which are both favored by Hummingbirds are blooming in profusion, as are the Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis).
And then there are the Tetraneuris scaposa.which will bloom all year round if you let them, or keep on trimming off the deadheads, so that they can. These are perennials, but short lived, so after a few years you might have to replace them – or they might have spread and created new copies on their own.
Oenothera speciosa – “Pink Ladies”
And, just to get this out there, Oenothera speciosa, known as Pink Primroses or Pink Ladies, are blooming currently. I have seen some popping up in neighbors’ yards that are otherwise mowed too short and devoid of any other native Texas plants. But thankfully, they haven’t mowed down the Pink Ladies.
I will mention, but not add photos of Blue eyed grass, Cobea and Gulf Penstemons, Mealy Blue Sage, Wright’s Skullcap, and a few others. The month of April is nearly over, The US Senate has unanimously voted to name April 2021 as National Native Plant Month, and there are invasive plants in my backyard and. beyond that need to be cut down before they go to seed. Oh, and the Rain Lilies have started popping up, finally after several days of light rain.
Hasta luego.
I had been looking for Nemastylis geminiflora, commonly known as Celestials, among other names, since the middle of March. On March 23, 2021, I saw the first bloom or two. On the 24th, nothing blooming. Even went out later in the afternoon to see if anything had come up after the earlier jaunt, but still nothing new to show.
Note: I once contacted a seed source company to enquire if they had any seeds or bulbs for this plant. They indicated that they had a small amount sometime in the past, but they had quickly sold out. IF you have a large colony on your property, you might consider checking with a reputable native seed source to see how one might go about collecting seeds. I do not recommend trying to dig them up. They have bulbs which are buried deep in the soil which here in Central Texas is very rocky. Please refer to the Native Plant Society of Texas’s policy on the “taking” of plants.
First of all, what to look for?
Pleatleaf Lily, one of the common names of N. geminiflora, comes from the distinctive shape of its leaves.
Somewhere around midwinter the plant starts sending up a leaf or two. This inferred from the apparently chopped off tips of some of the leaves, following a presumed mowing. and probable weed-eater-ing of the berm, probably in January, which kept the berm shorn to less than 3 inches in height and scalped to bare soil in several places (but that’s a different post). Or maybe it was deer browse or rabbit nibbles.
In Central Texas, somewhere around mid-March, I am now beginning to scout out the individual plants, supposedly so I can find them later. In 2017 and 2020, I photographed plants in bloom around the 15 or 16th of the month, but most years they have appeared right about the Spring Equinox. Last year, the first plants appeared around the 15th-17th of March, then no blooms until around the 27th-29th. Then nothing, until I stumbled across a few around April 10th.This year, 2021, the first blooms did not appear until the 23rd, and these two or three seem to have been early bloomers. The majority of the plants in the area in which I am familiar were still just pleated leaves.
Eventually one will observe the stems with the pre-blossoms (for want of the correct botanical term) coming up, and from that, if one is lucky, the unfurled blossom in the early morning hours.
Celestial before blooms open (leaves to the right, stems with unopened inflorescences on the left)
Inflorescence, still unfurled
Then, usually the day before or earlier in the morning that the inflorescence fully extends, you’ll see a purple or bluish “flag,” not yet unfurled.
Fully open early in a day in the life of a Nemastylis geminiflora.
Either the next day or later the same day, depending upon the sort of day it is (cloudy days they seem to remain closed until after noon. Sunny days they seem to open earlier).
Later in the day, the three tall yellow stamens will have curled up and descended/curled up towards the six stigma spread out at the bottom of the flower as show below. This particular photo taken around 2:30 PM CDT, on a fairly sunny day this March 27th or 28th.
Stamens curled up as a pollinator of undetermined species is busy at work in mid afternoon.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow… the tepals have folded, and then the fruit begins to form, as seen left to right.
Although each flower blooms for a single day, a plant may have several flowers. Above, you can see what looks like a potential inflorescence to the left, either today or yesterday’s flower folded in on itself in the center, and to the right, the immature fruit which will eventual mature and provide seeds for future generations. When dry, they dehisc, popping out the small black seeds into the near vicinity.
So: That’s the life cycle of. the Nemastylis geminiflora, which usually blooms for a few short weeks from around the Vernal Equinox until the beginning of April – although sometimes it will fool you as I was last year when I chanced upon some late bloomers around the 10th of April. (I know, the Beatles’ song “Fool On The Hill” comes to mind – if not yours, in my mind, and “In My Life” at least).
Two takeaways:
And a third:
Do get out to a local park or trail where native plants have not been discouraged by putting green level mowing practices, and take a leisurely walk (wearing a face mask, and maintaining a safe social distance). Even if you don’t see any Celestials, you just might see some other native plants and wildflowers. (In Central Texas, they were a little late in their blooming, so maybe they will extend it a little further into April. Who knows? Plants apparently don’t read field guides or any other books, so they don’t seem to follow the “rules” all the time).
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Took a walk outside this morning in search of one particular species, which hasn’t shown up yet, but found these, some planted, some occurring naturally:
Mexican Plum started blooming a day or so ago. Noticeably absent so far has been a proliferation of pollinators.
Anemone berlandieri – also known as Ten Petal Anemone, Berlandier’s Anemone, and Windflower
Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida, also known as Dakota Vervain, Prairie Verbena, among others
Tradescantia gigantea – also known as Giant Spiderwort, is a good companion planting for Turkscaps (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii), since the low grass-like mounds of the spiderwort remain green throughout the year, and start to bloom in lat February or early March, after the Texas Red Mallow (another common name) have dropped their leaves (and in the home garden, are ready to be trimmed back). Spiderwort is an aggressive spreader, Turkscap not so much: both can handle partly shady to shady environments. Both attract a variety of pollinators.
#RoundRockTX #CentralTexas #WhatsInBloom #NativePlantsOfTexas
My previous post mentioned a September set of observations – unfortunately, the observations were not posted to this blog but on Facebook. Sad to say, the situation has gotten worse – Although the native (mostly) plants were left alone while in bloom in September, the blooms had disappeared a few. months later, and this first week of March 2021, I observed that the plants, for the most part, appeared to have been removed. Thanks to the ongoing pandemic and my age, I try not to go out too often. but will have to go out and see if any Winecups are in evidence (there was at least one rosette in the video). Maybe take a few home to ensure the preservation of the species. The folks running City Hall don’t seem to care about preserving native plants… as far as I can tell. Oh well. Watch it and weep.
The irony of the last few slides are that they show the invasive Crepe Myrtle and Heavenly Bamboo or Nandina, used as landscaping in the property just south of. the one now being bulldozed for a parking lot and who knows what kind of business. I suspect that a similar lack of consideration for native plants, birds, and other wildlife will guide the development of this property.
#RoundRock #OldChisholmTrail #NativePlants #HabitatDestruction
bob's brain: living well with a movement disorder and other comorbidities 