Texas Flowers in Natural Colors

by Eula Whitehouse

FIGWORT FAMILY (Scrophulariaceae)

PURPLE PAINT-BRUSH CENIZO

Leaves alternate, opposite, or whorled; sepals, 4-5; corolla tubular, 4-5-lobed, 2-lipped; stamens often 4, in pairs on corolla-tube, sterile stamen often present; ovary 2-celled, superior.

Purple Paint-Brush (Castilleja purpurea) grows on limestone slopes and rocky prairies in North-central Texas. The low stems grow from a woody perennial root. The flowers and floral leaves are both conspicuously colored, varying from rose to purple. The divided leaves are a lovely ashy-gray.

Leucophyllum. White Leaf. Cenizo (Leucophyllum texanum) covers hillsides in the southern and southwestern parts of the state. The low bushes seldom grow more than three or four feet high. It is a startling and lovely sight to see a hillside which was a mass of gray transformed overnight into a delicate hue of lavender. This happens shortly after heavy rains, and for this reason the plant is sometimes called barometer bush. Leucophyllum has been widely introduced as a shrub in Texas gardens, where the ashy-gray leaves are quite effective against dark green shrubbery. The name is Greek and means “white leaf.”

SCARLET PAINT-BRUSH

Scarlet Paint-Brush (Castilleja indivisa) is also called Indian paint-brush, painted-cup, entire-leaved paint brush, and Indian pink. One of the most inspiring landscape displays of native flowers is formed by the scarlet paint-brush. It is found in sandy soil from the northeastern to southwestern parts of the state and blooms from March to May but is at its best in April. The paint-brush display of red is equalled or excelled only by that of two other wild-flower favorites—the red Drummond’s phlox in south-central sandy regions and the beautiful gaillardia of black land prairies.

The intense scarlet-red is due to the coloring of the broadened floral leaves (bracts) at the tip of the stem. These bracts almost hide the inconspicuous cream-colored flowers which are about an inch long. The bracts are oblong, the tips being broader than the base and deeply stained with scarlet.

The scarlet paint-brush is an annual plant, commonly six to twelve inches high, and is sometimes branched at the base. The leaves are rough-nerved and wavy-margined. Occasionally the leaves have two linear basal lobes somewhat like those of the eastern or swamp scarlet paint-brush (Castilleja coccinea), which has similar flower clusters but grows in swampy places.

The castillejas are mostly Western American plants, some being parasitic on the roots of other plants. They are named in honor of D. Castillejo, a Spanish botanist. In addition to the scarlet and purple paint-brushes, several other castillejas are found in the state. Lindheimer’s paint-brush (Castilleja lindheimeri) is very much like the purple paint-brush, but it has red or orange bracts. It is a perennial plant which grows on limestone hillsides of Southwest-central Texas. The woolly-stemmed paint-brush (Castilleja lanata) has woolly-gray stems and leaves and red flower clusters. It may be noticed in chaparral thickets and canyons in West Texas.

TEXAS TOAD-FLAX SMALL-FLOWERED BEARD-TONGUE

Small-Flowered Pentstemonor or Beard-Tongue (Pentstemon laxiflorus) grows in the sandy soil of post oak woods in Central and East Texas. The slender stems are 1-2 ft. high and are topped by slender-stalked flower clusters. The corollas are a pale lavender, about an inch long. This is a very common plant in the state and has been given various names by botanists, the latest one being laxiflorus. It is a close relative, probably a variety, of the slender beard-tongue (Pentstemon gracilis) of moist prairies from Minnesota to Oklahoma.

Texas Toad-Flax (Linaria texana) has pale blue flowers similar to those of the Canada toad-flax. The corollas have a slender spur about half an inch long. The slender stems are 1-2 feet high, growing from a cluster of basal leaves which are finely divided into somewhat rounded segments. It is widespread in sandy soil from Florida to California and blooms early in the spring.

Many other figworts are found in the state. The nearest relative to the garden snapdragon is the climbing snapdragon (Maurandia antirrhiniflora). Mullein is widespread in the state. The common monkey-flower is Mimulus glabratus.

LARGE-FLOWERED BEARD-TONGUE

Large-Flowered Beard-Tongue or Pentstemon (Pentstemon cobaea) is also known as false foxglove, dew flowers, fairy thimbles, wild belladonna, and balmony. It was called “balmony” by early settlers, who made a tea from the leaves to be used as a laxative. Several erect stems from perennial roots grow on the rocky slopes of prairies from Texas to Missouri and Kansas. It blooms in Texas in April and May.

The flowering spikes of bell-shaped flowers are large and showy. The corollas are usually pale, tinged with reddish-purple and marked with darker lines. The fifth stamen is sparingly bearded. The stems are 1-1½ feet high, and the flowers are 1½-2 inches long. The leaves are broad and partly clasping at the base, the margins usually indented with sharp teeth. It is thought that the common garden pentstemon is a hybrid derived from this beard-tongue and Hartwig’s pentstemon, a Mexican plant.

SCARLET PENTSTEMON

Scarlet Pentstemon or Beard-Tongue. Murray’s Pentstemon (Pentstemon murrayanus) is a very lovely plant growing in sandy soil in post oak woods of Central and East Texas and Arkansas. The plants are three feet high, the reddish stems having a few opposite, clasping leaves, those on the upper part being united and cup-shaped. The foliage is very smooth and has a somewhat downy covering.

The flowering upper portion of the stem is often over a foot long and bears a profusion of tubular scarlet flowers about an inch long. The stamens extend beyond the corolla, and the fifth stamen is not bearded. The long slender style remains on the capsule long after the corollas have fallen away. The flowers usually bloom the latter part of March in South Texas and the middle of April in North Texas. The plants are quite hardy and may be successfully transplanted or grown from seeds, but should be planted in sandy soil.

“Pentstemon” is Greek meaning “five stamens.” Nearly all members of the figwort family have only four stamens, but the pentstemons have five; however, the fifth stamen does not bear a pollen-sac and is often bearded. “Beard-tongue” refers to this bearded stamen. There are nearly a hundred and fifty species of pentstemons, about thirty of them being found in Texas. With the exception of one found in Southeastern Asia, they are all North American plants.

Murray’s pentstemon is quite similar to two red-flowered pentstemons of the mountains of West Texas. These two are likewise tall, vigorous plants and have showy clusters of flowers. Torrey’s pentstemon (Pentstemon barbatus torreyi) has narrow pointed leaves, and the superb pentstemon (Pentstemon superbus) has broad oblong leaves. The common blue-flowered pentstemon in West Texas is Pentstemon fendleri, with leaves nearly as broad as long.