Native Plants

The Bold and the Beautiful

~ shoreacres ~ 61 Comments
Spanish dagger bud (Yucca treculeana) ~ Brazoria Wildlife Refuge

No, not that The Bold and the Beautiful. To find Brooke brokering a deal with Ridge, complicating her relationship with Thomas, you’ll have to tune in to daytime television.

Here, there’s only a reminder that spring flowers don’t always arrive clad in pastels.  Not only do their complex forms delight the eye, they often provide masses of eye-catching color.

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is an introduced flower that sometimes appears to be scarlet, especially in Europe. In Texas, orange and blue are the predominant colors, and the two often appear in the same group of plants. These are representative of the colonies spreading through portions of the San Bernard refuge.

Lindheimer’s sida (Sida lindheimeri), somestimes known as ‘showy fanpetals’ is slightly larger than the pimpernel flowers, but still small. In the sunlight, its color truly shines.

These are only the appetizers, of course. Sooner than we imagine, Spring’s main course will be served.

 

Comments always are welcome.
Photos can be enlarged by clicking on the image.

Dandelion Fog

~ shoreacres ~ 55 Comments

 

rising in silence
floating feather light toward dawn
dandelion fog

 

Comments always are welcome.
The flower shown here, Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus, is generally known as Texas dandelion, although it sometimes goes by the names false dandelion, or small-flower desert chicory.
 

The First Iris of Spring

~ shoreacres ~ 80 Comments

 

No, it isn’t the bearded iris, that sun-loving, hardy perennial beloved of gardeners, and it isn’t the familiar blue flag, a native, clump-forming iris that thrives in marshes, swamps, wet meadows, and ditches around the country.

This small and delicate beauty, known as blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium spp.), isn’t a grass at all, but another member of the iris family named for its grass-like leaves. At least a dozen Texas species exist; most show a typical yellow ‘eye,’ although the color of the flowers can range from blue, to purple, to rose and white. I suspect this one, found in a Brazoria county ditch, may be Sisyrinchium augustifolium.

Several clumps of these flowers were in full bloom on February 1, and I wasn’t the only one enjoying them. This little syrphid fly found the flower to be just his size: a perfect source of nectar and pollen.

 

Comments always are welcome.