(Remember that clicking on any of the thumbnail images will bring up a larger image)

There are trees scattered in the open areas of the ranch.  Most of them are Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and Oaks (Quercus).  There are a number of different shrubs, some of which we were able to see in flower or fruit.

Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata--Berberidaceae) is easily recognized by its spiny-margined, three-parted leaves.  The fruit are a pretty red and can be used to make jam and jelly.  The wood and roots can be used to make yellow-orange dyes.  (Foliage image by James Manhart)

Texas Colubrina or Hog Plum (Colubrina texensis--Rhamnaceae) is quite common on the ranch.  It's a smallish, very spiny shrub with small green flowers.  There are several species of Colubrina in Texas, as well as several Condalia, a few Ziziphus, and Karwinskia.  They all answer, more or less, to that description--spiny green shrubs with small leaves, inconspicuous pale or green flowers, and drupe-like fruit.  With a little practice, one can learn to tell them apart by the characters of leaf, flower, and fruit that are peculiar to each one.

Acacia (Fabaceae/Mimosaceae) is an important genus on the plains and savannahs of  much of west Texas.  (Sadly, unlike Africa, we have no giraffes to nibble the leaves).  Several species exist side by side.  Confident identification involves looking at the spines (single, paired, at the nodes, between the nodes, straight, curved, absent, etc.), the leaves (number of pinnae, number of leaflets, presence or absence of glands), the flowers (white, yellow, pink, in round heads, in brushy spikes, etc.), and the fruit (flat, twisted, plump, skinny, constricted between the seeds, hairy, glabrous, etc.)

The Guajillo (Acacia berlandieri) was in full flower when we were there, and hundreds of white and yellow butterflies were busy among the fragrant blossoms.  This is a species with the tiny flowers in pom-pom like clusters. The leaves are delicate and fern-like.  The legumes are broad, flat, and slightly fuzzy.

The Blackbrush (Acacia rigidula) was also flowering.  That species has only a few squat-oblong leaflets per leaf and the flowers are grouped into spikes like little bottle-brushes.  The legumes are narrow, plump, and twisted.  Most twigs have two straight, sharp, pin-like spines at each node.

In between the shrubs, the sandy soil supports dozens of kinds of wildflowers.  We missed the big spring flush, but there was plenty left for us to see, and the summer bloomers were just getting started.

There are many members of the Malvaceae or Cotton Family on the ranch.  One that we saw everywhere is Wright Abutilon (Abutilon wrightii).  Its flowers are yellow orange, with all the many stamens united into a single column.  The leaves are vaguely lobed, tooth-edged, and densely pale-tomentose underneath.  Friendly tip: When trying to identify members of this family, having mature fruit is almost always a necessity!

Folks from East Texas are used to wood sorrel species with trifoliolate, clover-like leaves.  Ponyleaf Oxalis (Oxalis dichondrifolia), though, has simple leaves.  The yellow flowers are quite variable--sometimes the petals are wide and blunt, and sometimes they are quite narrow.  Both the scientific and common names of this plant come from the fact that the leaves look a bit like those of Dichondra (Ponyfoot)  in the Convolvulaceae.  The flowers of Ponyfoot, of course, are quite different, being small, green, and borne just above the soil.

One nice find was a little Centaury (Centaurium breviflorum--Gentianaceae), with its small, bright pink flowers.  Many members of the family have blue flowers, but there are quite a few in Texas that are just this color.

We found two species of Dalea (Fabaceae) in flower. Dalea nana var. nana (Dwarf Dalea) was quite common.  It is a small, hairy plant with lemon-yellow flowers.  Not too many of the 30+ species of Dalea in Texas have yellow flowers, and this one is smaller in all respects than the similar Dalea aurea, so it was easy to key out.

Dalea lasiathera (Purple Dalea), on the other hand, was a bit of a stinker.  It is very similar to Dalea pogonathera, with which it is sometimes confused.  Telling the two apart requires measuring the tiny hairs on the calyces!  There is another Dalea in Uvalde Co., Dalea sabinalis, which is named for the Sabinal River.  We want to find that one when we go out there next!

Shrubby Milkwort (Polygala lindheimeri--Polygalaceae) was growing in several spots. Despite the common name, it doesn't really look much like a shrub; it's quite small.  Polygala flowers are quite complex and hard to interpret--keels, crests, petaloid sepals, etc.  If you don't know that you're looking at a Milkwort, you could be forgiven for thinking you had a tiny orchid.  This species is named for Ferdinad Jacob Lindheimer, a German-born botanist who did a lot of exploring and collecting in Texas in the 1800's.  You can read more about him in this online Handbook of Texas entry.

Another plant with wonderful, delicate flowers is Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum).  These don't look much like Buttercups, but they are members of the Buttercup Family, the Ranunculaceae. At the base of each flower is a long spur, which has a nectary inside.  Flower color ranges from nearly pure white through shades of pale blue and lavender to a near-cobalt blue even darker than the one in the photo below.

Not all the plants are as good to smell or to look at as Acacia, Dalea, Centaurium, and the others.  Texas is home to several species of Noseburn (Tragia spp.--Euphorbiaceae).  These inconspicuous little devils hide among showier plants, and when you reach down to pick the posies...OUCH!  The plants are covered with tiny hairs that act like miniature hypodermic needles. They break off in the skin, injecting chemicals which produce an intensely painful burning and itching that lasts about an hour.  Sensitive individuals may develop a rash that lasts for weeks.  Up close, though, the flowers are interesting to look at.  There are separate male and female flowers on each plant, usually with one or two female flowers at the bottom of a raceme and several male flowers at the top.  The female flowers are a calyx and gynoecium only, while the male flowers consist of only a calyx and stamens.  Keying to species involves examining the number, arrangement, and construction of the male flowers, as well as trying to see whether the style branches are free/fused, smooth/bumpy, straight/recurved.