Silver-Leaf Daisy (Bahia dealbata) is common in the western part of the state into Arizona and Mexico. It grows 1-2 feet high from a woody perennial root and often blooms throughout the year. The long-stalked heads are a little over an inch broad with 9-12 yellow ray flowers. On the silvery-gray stem the few leaves are commonly opposite, broad and short-stalked, with a pair of lateral lobes near the base.
HUISACHE DAISY BITTERWEED
Huisache Daisy (Amblyolepis setigera) is so called because it often forms a carpet of gold under huisache (pronounced wee satch), mesquite, or other chaparral bushes in Southwest-central Texas from March to June. It is also called honey or butterfly daisy and clasping-leaved bitterweed. It has the strong scent common to the bitterweed, but is fragrant in drying. The plants are often loosely branched, growing 6-12 inches high, and the yellow heads are about 1½ inches broad.
Sneezeweed. Fine-Leaved Bitterweed (Helenium tenuifolium) is often found in pastures which have been over-grazed. It has a strong-scented foliage which gives milk a bitter flavor. The ball-shaped mound of disk-flowers (reminding one of camomile) and the few drooping ray flowers, which have a broad 3-toothed edge and a narrow base, are characteristic of the group. The seeds are small and are said to cause sneezing when they are thrown into the air. The bitterweed blooms from May to October and ranges from Texas to Virginia.
INDIAN BLANKET
Indian Blanket. Firewheel. Beautiful Gaillardia (Gaillardia pulchella) is the pride of Texas prairies. The landscape becomes a vivid red and yellow in April, May, and early June when the firewheels are in bloom. It is a highly-prized cultivated plant, and many varieties have been developed. There are several species of gaillardias and many of them are native to Texas. The beautiful one is the most widespread, ranging from Texas to Louisiana, Nebraska, Arizona, and Mexico. The gaillardias are named for a French botanist, Gaillard.
The heads are usually two or three inches across and are long-stalked. Each head has 10-20 broad ray flowers which are sometimes all red but usually are marked with a brilliant yellow across the three lobes. The upper leaves are lance-shaped, and the lower are oblong and marked with a few teeth or lobes. It is an annual plant which is widely branched and grows one to one and a half feet high.
