Texas wildflowers

17 May '08 3:46 am

A few pics of the roadside wildflowers, I took after taking my son to school this morning. I love my domesticated garden but the way mother nature does it, well, it is truly amazing.

17 May '08 4:07 am

It was a beautiful morning...unfortunately the iris and bluebonnets are already done and the coneflower, yucca, and winecups haven't made their appearance just yet.

23 May '08 7:26 pm

What a sight, Faerisweet! And how great to recognize garden favourites among your wildings - like tradescentia and coreopsis. What is the red flower (close-up in 12) that looks as if it might be an acanthus? I did not realise Texas had such a rich mix of wildflowers - that in itself is enough to get me to plan a visit in the (distant!) future...

Thank you so much for sharing!

24 May '08 6:55 pm

My goodness! What a wonderful assortment of wildflowers! Shocked

Dear Faerisweet, you certainly can feel like a fairy with such a display to relish.

Thank you so much for posting these photos. I haven't seen anything so astonishing since Jack posted a wild field of cosmos, but I think this display is even better. (No offence intended, Jack.) Such a crazy variety.

It's like Mother Nature ate a flower seed salad, got a tummy ache and threw up all over the countryside.

Reminds me of the wild flowers I use to see when I was a child in the mountains of the interior of British Columbia. Not as abundant is number or variety, but special when stumbled upon. My favorite was Indian Paintbrush.

Christopher

25 May '08 7:50 pm

Jack, the pic you asked about is Castilleja indivisa also known as entireleaf Indian Paintbrush or Texas paintbrush. Actually I only knew it as Indian paintbrush but googled it and found out there are 200 varieties of Indian Paintbrush. I also learned Indians used the flowers as a condiment (supposed to be sweet) but the roots and green parts are toxic, and even the flowers can only be eaten in moderation, too much can also be toxic. They would look pretty scattered thru a green salad but better safe than sorry, I will just admire them and resist the urge to try them out.

Christopher, do you know what variety of Indian paintbrush is native to British Columbia? It would be interesting to see how different it is from the ones we have, Pic 12 is the Texas Indian Paintbrush.

26 May '08 6:54 am

I'm sorry, my sweet fairy, but I have no idea what variety it was. I personally have no photographs from that time.

Your pic no.12 did remind me of the Indian Paintbrush I saw as a child, only my memory. I remember the bloom was more ball shaped and looked like a flame as the petals were pointed.

You know, I might have an old 8mm movie with some wildflowers on it, but I have to get a new bulb for my projector.

Christopher

26 May '08 12:56 pm

Indian paintbrush is a favorite around here as well. I'm surprised to learn how many varieties there are but I did recently read about a lavendar flowered one. The ones around the Bay Area in California are red. I think I recognize an Oenothara in your #14, perhap O. missourensis or O. odorata. I still have the latter in my garden, still volunteering from seed many years after I brought it in. Unfortunately its folliage is a bit so-so for most locations, but I try to give it room somewhere. That's the only Oenothara with a scent, sweet and only at night. I'll have to make a point of taking the camera on walks next Spring to share. Thanks for bringing us along.

29 May '08 7:45 am

How beautiful! The main wildflowers here now are q1ueen Anne's lace, Black Eyed Susans, and the same pink buttercups as you have. I love the Indian Paintbrush, but zi've never seen it here.
Kitten (another newby)

29 May '08 9:48 pm

Lovely!

I particularly like the Indian Paintbrush.

Texas wildflowers

Texas wildflowers

Just a few more

WOW

Splendor in the grass

wildflowers

Great wildflower finds, faerisweet.

Texas Wildflowers