Taxodium distichum
This lofty, deciduous conifer grows 50-75 ft. or taller. It is slender and conical in youth, becoming flat-topped in very old age. Sage-green leaves, which appear to be bipinnately compound (but are not) and resemble feathers, turn copper-colored before falling. A tapering trunk is slightly buttressed at the swollen base. “Knees” develop mostly in poorly […]
Sophora secundiflora
Mescal bean or Texas mountain laurel is an evergreen, usually multi-trunked shrub or small tree ranging from just a few feet tall to more than 30 ft. in height, though its usual height at maturity is 10-15 ft. The dense, dark green, and glossy compound leaves are composed of 7-9 shiny, leathery leaflets that are […]
Tradescantia gigantea
Named after John Tradescant (1608-1662) who served as gardener to Charles I of England.Tradescntia species will hybridize in just about any combination.
Yucca rupicola
Texas yucca or twisted-leaf yucca foliage stays under 2 ft. tall, is edged with white or red. New leaves are straight but become twisted with age. Flowering stalks often over 5 feet tall, bearing a cluster of bell-shaped, white flowers with petals up to 2 1/2 inches long and an inch wide, appearing from April […]
Vernonia baldwinii
Western ironweed’s 3-5 ft. stems occur singly or in clumps, and are stout and hairy. Wide clusters of vibrant, red-violet flowers form at the ends of short branches near the top of the plant. Because the flowers are all of the disc variety, the 6 in. wide flower cluster has a fuzzy appearance. Long, lance-shaped […]
Vernonia lindheimeri
Woolly ironweed is a 10-30 in. high clump of gray-woolly stems and leaves. Flowers lack petals, but numerous lavender to purple disc flowers are arranged in showy, terminal clusters.Not a rampant colonizer like some other members of this genus. Well behaved species.This species is named after Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer (1801-1879) who is often called the […]
Phlox drummondii
A much-branched, sticky-glandular plant with bright rose-red, pink, or white flowers in tight clusters at the ends of stems. Annual phlox or Drummonds Phlox is a showy annual. Usually 6-12 in. tall, this phlox can reach 20 in. in height. Its flowers, usually with a pale center, range in color from pink to red, white, […]
Phacelia congesta
Caterpillars or blue curls is a leafy annual or biennial which grows 1-3 ft. tall. Its purple to lavender-blue, bell-shaped flowers, deeply lobed at the rim, have conspicuously protruding stamens. The flowers are numerous, in slender, coiled clusters which uncurl as the buds develop. Leaves are soft and deeply cut, appearing ragged-looking. The plant is […]
Penstemon cobaea
When in bloom, large, tubular flowers line at least half of Cobaea Beardtongue’s 1-3 ft. stems. The flowers are white to violet with dark purple lines inside the floral tube. One to three stout stems rise from a woody rhizome and bear thick, paired leaves which become smaller up the stem. The lower leaves have […]
Panicum virgatum
Clump-forming, warm-season grass with open, lacy sprays with small seeds, Aug-Oct. Purple stigmas at flowering time. Switchgrass is a 3-10 ft., rhizomatous, loose sod former with a large, open, finely textured, reddish-purple seedhead. Fall color is pale yellow. Bright green leaves occur up and down the stem, turning bright yellow in fall. Switchgrass is a […]