WILD FLOWERS OF EAST TEXAS Page 3 A small collection of plants found by Leona Halley Henderson

The Sensitive Briar gets it's name from the fact that if disturbed, the leaves fold up till they are as flat as the stem! The little pompoms are a lovely bright red-lavender color with yellow pollen evident at the tips of the tiny stringy petals. Children are fascinated with the little balls and amazed to see the leaves close up when touched.

PINK EVENING PRIMROSE (Oenothera speciosa)

One of the most refreshing of all wild flowers in our area are the primroses. Their delicate four petaled blooms range from almost a pure white to a fairly deep pink, some times bordering on lavender. They are also called 'buttercups' by many of the folks in our area because when you put them to your chin or nose, the yellow pollen gets on your nose or chin and looks like you have butter on your face! I suspect that that is so in other areas, too. As far as I know, they are not of any medicinal or herbal use, but one has to love them for the sheer delight of them.

11 Nov 1999 Henriette says, 'Your primrose looks like a mallow to me.'
I checked the *book again and again and it still looks like the Oenohera. *'Texas Wildflowers' by Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller p 176 also shows as Oenothera. The primrose bloom does resemble the Rose Mallow bloom, but it is smaller and not as cupped. Mallows have five petals, most primroses have four. The picture here had to be flattend quite a lot as it was scanned on a flat bed scanner and the glass was not far enough above it to give a better 3D effect, and show how open the bloon actually is.

SWEET WILLIAM or PRAIRIE PHLOX (Phlox pilosa ssp.pilosa) Oh.. wow!! I thought the primroses were the most refreshing... BUT... so are the Sweet William's! That is what folks called these beauties when I was a child....[Henriette gave the hint of them being phlox, see below.].. And they smell good! Just picture these lovely blooms, instead of just a couple of the little orchid blooms but heads (cymes?) with 20 or thirty and in large clumps of color!! I was so disappointed the first spring that I lived here! Nearly every lot in the subdivision had at least a few Sweet William's... what do I get?? Wild Onions!!! Ever smell wild onions being mowed? Oh well, they are quite pretty when they bloom! AND... I am finally getting some of the wild Sweet William's in MY yard!!!!!!!!!

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Scanned May 5 1998, this lovely bright plant was abundant in the Lake Palestine East area of Smith County Texas. I can't, so far, locate any information on it. If you can tell me what it is before I get to go to the library, let me know! e-mail me! I at first thought it was a legume plant I had found the past several years, but after a closer look, realized it was not. Pretty, though, Huh!! This one was blooming in a rather sandy area on a lake front. 11 Nov 1999 Henriette Kress notes: '..is either an Oenothera (primrose) or a Camissonia (another primrose).' Anyone else have any thoughts as to which it could be? By the way, if you want to learn a lot about plants and herbs click on her link above. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sun, 29 Apr 2001 From: "Michelle Harper" Hi. That yellow flower on your site is a Missouri Primrose. e-mail me at: danventry@msn.com

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Scanned May 5 1998, this bright spot in the yard is called Scarlet Penstemon or Beard Tongue. The leaves are so unusual, in that they actually form little cups around the stem and the richly red blossoms grow right out of the cup. It seems that two blooms , one on each side of the stem, grow from the little cup of a leaf, and the stem with the blooms may be a foot or more long, the blooms being about an inch and a half apart.

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