For more than a century the wild flowers of Texas have been a source of
study and pleasure to scientists and flower lovers. The state can boast
of a varied and interesting flora which has attracted numerous plant
collectors since the first specimens were collected in the Texas
Panhandle by Dr. Edwin James, naturalist accompanying the Long
Expedition in 1820. Dr. Louis Berlandier, a French botanist, endured the
hardships of the Teran Expedition for the exploration of the boundary
region between Texas and Mexico between 1826 and 1834 in order to
collect plants in Texas.
Berlandier’s first collection was instrumental, a few years later, in
arousing the interest of Thomas Drummond, a Scotch botanist and
collector. In 1833-34 Drummond visited Southeast Texas and collected 700
species of plants. In 1836, Ferdinand Lindheimer, a German botanist,
moved to Texas and began his noteworthy study and collection of Texas
plants. Charles Wright, a Yale graduate, came to Texas in 1837, first
collecting plants in East Texas and later making important additions in
Southwest Texas. Since the work of these early pioneers, many scientists
have visited nearly all parts of the state and have added many new names
to the list of native plants.
Today nearly five thousand species of flowering plants have been
reported from the state. About half of these have showy, conspicuous
flowers, and many of them are very limited in their distribution in
Texas. If the reader will keep these figures in mind, perhaps he will
not be disappointed at not finding some of his favorite flowers in the
following pages. As such a limited number could be included, it was
thought best to use those widely distributed throughout the state,
omitting some of the well-known plants which have been frequently
illustrated in previous publications.
The present manual is not intended as a guide to the flora of the state,
but it is hoped that it will prove helpful in identifying some of the
common flowers. A few rare and beautiful flowers have been included so
that they may be recognized and protected. In order to include
representatives of the more important plant families, it was impossible
because of lack of space to add many widely distributed members of other
families represented. For example, the pea family, which has about 300
showy members in Texas, had to be limited to ten representatives.
The water color paintings on which the manual is based were made by the
author. In nearly all cases they were made from fresh specimens
carefully checked with verified material in the University of Texas
Herbarium; a few which could not be painted at the time of collecting
were later drawn from pressed specimens and colored from notes and
memory.
The flowers of Texas have been so very abundant that only recently has
it been considered necessary to protect them. The Legislature of 1933
passed a law forbidding the picking of flowers and injury to trees and
shrubs along highways. Even this protection is not sufficient for some
plants. A few years ago the writer happened to visit the shop of a
cactus fancier just after he had returned from a collecting trip and saw
with amazement the large tow-sacks filled with rare and highly prized
cacti. Wagon loads of the large and vivid-blooming ribbed cacti have
been observed as they were brought in for market. The bluebell, or
purple gentian, is in need of protection since florists have been buying
them up in such large quantities. The picturesque bunches of sotol are
being rapidly destroyed, as ranchmen are stripping them of their
saw-toothed leaves and feeding the stalks to their cattle. Yaupon and
American holly, both slow-growing plants, are being destroyed to supply
the market with Christmas greens.
A few flower sanctuaries have been established in recent years, but many
others are needed. The decrease in our native flowers is primarily due
to increase in population with the accompanying increases in homesteads
and acres in cultivation, over-grazing, and improved facilities of
travel. The limestone hill region was formerly a flower paradise but has
been so heavily over-grazed by sheep in recent years that now the only
flowers to be found are the unattractive rabbit-tobacco, horehound, and
queen’s delight, or goatweed, so called because sheep and goats will not
eat it.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many friends who have assisted me
in the preparation of this volume. I deeply regret that it has been
necessary to increase the list price of this edition. The first edition
of three thousand copies did not pay for the cost of publication. That
deficit, added to the increased costs of printing and paper, have made
an increase imperative.
_September 1, 1948_
Eula Whitehouse