Pistacia mexicana
Pistacia mexicana is a large, airy, rounded shrub or multi-trunked small tree, 12-20 ft. tall. Its glossy foliage, reddish in spring, dark-green later, is pinnately compound. Clusters of small, white flowers are followed by clusters of red, nut-like drupes on females. These become almost black on drying.
Platanus occidentalis
The American sycamore is a wide-canopied, deciduous tree, usually 75-100 ft. tall, with a massive trunk and open crown of huge, crooked branches. The bark of large, old trunks sloughs off in scales or plates leaving a smooth, whitish inner bark. Leaves broadly ovate or broader, blade often wider than long, long pointed. Globular fruits […]
Salvia coccinea
Several whorls of red to pinkish flowers form an interrupted spike on a square stem. This showy southern native is characterized by the loose, widely spaced nature of the flowering spike. It is found in the hot sands of the South. The flamboyant, cultivated member of this group, Scarlet Sage (S. splendens), was introduced from […]
Quercus shumardii
Shumards oak is a pyramidal tree, growing 50-90 ft. and becoming more open at maturity. Bark is thick, smooth and grayish, becoming furrowed and darker gray. The columnar trunk is frequently buttressed at the base. Lower branches are chiefly horizontal. Leaves frequently turning scarlet in the fall, up to 7 inches long, with 2 to […]
Rhus aromatica
Fragrant sumac is an irregular, spreading, deciduous shrub, 6-12 ft. tall, with velvety twigs and lower branches turned up at the tips. Glossy, somewhat blue-green, coarsely toothed, trifoliate leaves turn orange, red, purple and yellow in the fall. Yellowish catkin-like flowers precede dark-red berries which persist into March. A sprawling, small to medium-size shrub with […]
Rhus glabra
The colony-forming smooth sumac is a 10-20 ft. shrub with short, crooked, leaning trunks and picturesque branches. The pinnately compound leaves are alternate, with 13-30 sharp-toothed leaflets on each side of the midrib. Deciduous leaves become extremely colorful in early fall. On female plants, yellow-green flowers are followed by bright-red, hairy berries in erect, pyramidal […]
Quercus macrocarpa
Bur oak is a large, deciduous tree with a very wide, open crown. Usually wider than tall, the tree can exceed 100 ft. in height and width. The massive trunk supports heavy, horizontal limbs and rough, deep-ridged bark. Leaves up to 9 inches long with a central midrib from which branch veins lead into rounded […]
Solidago nemoralis
Slender-stemmed plant, 1 1/2 to 3 ft. tall. Thin, coarsly-toothed leaves. Flowers occur on the upper side of hairy stalks which arch out and downward creating a vase-shaped flower cluster. Clumps of slender, gray-downy stems produce terminal, one-sided, yellow plumes that gives the perennial a vase-shaped appearance.Prairie Goldenrod attracts butterflies. Individual plants bloom at various […]
Sorghastrum nutans
Yellow indian grass is a tall, bunching sod-former, 3-8 ft. in height, with broad blue-green blades and a large, plume-like, soft, golden-brown seed head. This showy perennial’s fall color is deep orange to purple.This is a beautiful grass with a somewhat metallic golden sheen to its flowering parts. It is an important associate in the […]
Penstemon triflorus
Penstemon triflorus is 1 1/2-2 ft. tall. Its brilliant red flowers, 2 in. long, are among the most showy of the genus. Pairs of dark-green leaves occur opposite eachother along the stem. The two-lipped flowers also occur in pairs.Small bushy stature, intense red color, and largeness of flowers set this penstemon apart from others.