The flowers of Texas have been so very abundant that only recently has it been considered necessary to protect them. The Legislature of 1933 passed a law forbidding the picking of flowers and injury to trees and shrubs along highways. Even this protection is not sufficient for some plants. A few years ago the writer happened to visit the shop of a cactus fancier just after he had returned from a collecting trip and saw with amazement the large tow-sacks filled with rare and highly prized cacti. Wagon loads of the large and vivid-blooming ribbed cacti have been observed as they were brought in for market. The bluebell, or purple gentian, is in need of protection since florists have been buying them up in such large quantities. The picturesque bunches of sotol are being rapidly destroyed, as ranchmen are stripping them of their saw-toothed leaves and feeding the stalks to their cattle. Yaupon and American holly, both slow-growing plants, are being destroyed to supply the market with Christmas greens.
A few flower sanctuaries have been established in recent years, but many others are needed. The decrease in our native flowers is primarily due to increase in population with the accompanying increases in homesteads and acres in cultivation, over-grazing, and improved facilities of travel. The limestone hill region was formerly a flower paradise but has been so heavily over-grazed by sheep in recent years that now the only flowers to be found are the unattractive rabbit-tobacco, horehound, and queen’s delight, or goatweed, so called because sheep and goats will not eat it.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many friends who have assisted me in the preparation of this volume. I deeply regret that it has been necessary to increase the list price of this edition. The first edition of three thousand copies did not pay for the cost of publication. That deficit, added to the increased costs of printing and paper, have made an increase imperative.
September 1, 1948 Eula Whitehouse
CONTENTS
PAGE [Texas Wildflowers] v [Preface] vii [Reference Books on Texas Flowers] xi [Plant Parts and Plant Names] xiii [Plant Distribution] xvi [Description of Plants] 2 [Finding Lists] 194 [Index] 204
REFERENCE BOOKS ON TEXAS FLOWERS
For more detailed descriptions, description of other plants, flower uses, and flower legends and history, the following books will prove helpful:
Bailey, L. H., The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. Benson, L. and Darrow, R. A., A Manual of Southwestern Desert Trees and Shrubs. Britton, N. L. and Brown, H. A., An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Cory, V. L. and Parks, H. B., Catalogue of the Flora of Texas. Coulter, John M., Cop. Botany of Western Texas (U. S. Nat. Herb. Contr., 1892, out of print). Dorman, Caroline E., Wild Flowers of Louisiana. Fassett, N. C., A Manual of Aquatic Plants. Geiser, S. W., Naturalists of the Frontier. Southwest Press, Dallas. Jaeger, E. C., Desert Wild Flowers. Kearney, T. H. and Peebles, R. H., Flowering Plants and Ferns of Arizona. Parks, H. B., Valuable Plants Native to Texas. Preston, R. J., Rocky Mountain Trees. Quillan, Ellen Schulz, Texas Wild Flowers. Ranson, Nancy R., Texas Wild Flower Legends. Reeves, R. G., and Bain, D. C., Flora of South-Central Texas. Rydberg, P. A., Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central N. A. (out of print). Silveus, W. A., Texas Grasses. Slater, Elsie M., A Hundred Flowers of the Mexican Border at El Paso. Small, John K., Flora of the Southeastern United States, out of print; Manual of the Southeastern Flora. Standley, P. C., Trees and Shrubs of Mexico (U. S. Nat Herb. Contr., 19—, out of print). Stemen, T. B. and Myers, W. S., Oklahoma Flora. Wooton, E. O. and Standley, P. C., Flora of New Mexico (U. S. Nat. Herb. Contr. Vol. 19, out of print).
