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.
TRUMPET-CREEPER FAMILY (Bignoniaceae)
DESERT WILLOW
Leaves opposite, mostly compound; flowers showy, often 2-lipped; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals 5, united; stamens 4 or 2, in pairs on corolla-tube; capsules often long, with winged seeds.
Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), also called flowering willow, willow-leaved catalpa, and “mimbre,” is a common shrub along water courses from West Texas to Southern California and Northern Mexico. When it is not in flower or fruit, it may be mistaken for the black willow (Salix nigra), which has similar leaves. The delicate, lavender, trumpet-shaped flowers are about two inches long. White and pale-lavender forms occur. It is a shrub or small tree frequently cultivated for ornament in Texas and California. It blooms from May through the summer months. Mexicans use the wood for fence-posts and the branches for baskets. A tea made from the flowers is used as a remedy for heart and lung diseases.
Several other members of this family are native to the state and are well-known in cultivation. Among these are the red-flowered trumpet-creeper (Campsis radicans), the yellow-red cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata), the catalpa found in East Texas woods, and the yellow-elder (Tecoma stans) in South Texas and the mountains of West Texas.
ACANTHUS FAMILY (Acanthaceae)
FLAME ACANTHUS