[Illustration: TEXAS MOUNTAIN LAUREL]
Leaves simple or compound; flowers pea-shaped; sepals 5, united in a
tube; petals 5; stamens often 10 and united in 1 or 2 groups; fruit a
1-celled pod.
Texas Mountain Laurel (_Sophora secundiflora_) is an evergreen shrub or
small tree growing on limestone hillsides from Texas to New Mexico and
Mexico; it is particularly abundant in Southwest-Central Texas. The
dense clusters of violet-blue flowers, at their best in the latter part
of March but blooming earlier or later in different sections, are very
showy against the glossy dark-green, leathery leaves. Many variations in
color exist in nature from dark violet-blue to violet-tinged and white.
The flowers have a strong, heavy scent which is disagreeable to most
people. The brilliant scarlet beans, which mature in a few weeks,
contain a poisonous alkaloid.
The Texas mountain laurel is not at all related to the southern mountain
laurel (_Kalmia latifolia_), a rose-flowered shrub of the heath family.
The sophoras have retained the Arabian name and include in their group
many handsome ornamental shrubs, among which is the Japan pagoda tree.
The Texas sophora can be readily grown from seed but is seldom
successfully transplanted.
[Illustration: BUSH PEA]
Bush Pea. Large-Bracted False Indigo (_Baptisia bracteata_) is sometimes
called hen-and-chickens pea from the growth habit of the plant. The
clusters of cream-colored flowers grow downward and peep out from the
bushy leaf-growth. The flowers are about 1 in. long, and the 3
gray-green leaflets are 1-3 in. long. It grows on sandy slopes or moist
prairies from the eastern part of Texas to Minnesota and South Carolina,
blooming in Texas in April.
Texas Bluebonnet (_Lupinus texensis_) (see frontispiece) was widely
known in pioneer days as buffalo clover. It grows in great abundance on
limestone hillsides between the Brazos and Pecos Rivers from Dallas
southward into Mexico. Seed-houses sell the Texas bluebonnet under the
name of _Lupinus subcarnosus_, the bluebonnet of sandy areas. It has
narrower flower spikes and rounded leaf-tips. Several other lupines are
found in Texas but are not very common. The name is from the Latin
meaning “wolf,” because it was thought the plants ruined the fertility
of the soil. On the contrary, the lupines are excellent fertilizers, as
the small nodules on the roots contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria which
add to the soil nitrates. It blooms from March to early May. The
bluebonnet was adopted as the state flower in 1901.
[Illustration: INDIGO-PLANT]
Indigo-Plant. Scarlet Pea (_Indigofera leptosepala_) has prostrate
branches growing from a woody root. The short, erect spikes of scarlet,
pea-shaped flowers are borne near the ends of the branches, blooming
from early spring until late summer, their blossoms forming an
ever-increasing scarlet circle after each rain. The leaves are divided
into 5-9 leaflets, narrowed at the base and about half an inch long. A
small amount of indigo may be extracted from the foliage. While this is
not a very conspicuous plant, it is one of the most widely distributed
in the state and ranges to Mexico, Kansas, and Florida.
The indigo-plant belongs to a large group, mostly tropical, and many
species, as the name indicates, are indigo-bearing. Commercial indigo,
now a coal-tar product, was formerly obtained from a shrub (_Indigofera
tinctoria_) introduced for cultivation into South Carolina in 1742.
Several shrubby species of indigo-plants are found in the state, but
none of them are very abundant.
[Illustration: GOLDEN DALEA PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER]
Golden Parosela or Dalea (_Parosela aurea_) may not be recognized at
first glance as a member of the pea family, since the flowers grow in
dense clusters at the top of erect branches, 1-1½ ft. high, which grow
from a thick, woody root. The yellow flowers are small and pea-shaped,
with a calyx which has slender, silky-plumose lobes. It may be found on
chalky slopes of prairies from Texas to Missouri and South Dakota in
June and July.
Several shrubby paroselas, very handsome when in full bloom, are found
in the southwestern part of the state. Purple parosela (_Parosela
pogonathera_) is a vivid, reddish-purple flowered species of the
southwestern part.
Purple Prairie Clover (_Petalostemon purpurea_) is quite similar to the
golden parosela in its growth habit, narrow glandular leaflets, and
head-like flower clusters. It grows on prairies from Minnesota to Texas.
The white prairie clover (_Petalostemon multiflorum_), with ball-shaped
clusters of white flowers, is common on prairies from Kansas to Texas.
Both prairie clovers bloom in June and July.
[Illustration: LARGER GROUND PLUM]
Larger Ground Plum (_Geoprumnon mexicanum_) blooms with the first
flowers of spring, forming conspicuous clumps on prairies from Illinois
to Nebraska and Texas. The spreading prostrate branches grow 6-12 in.
long and are covered with spike-like clusters of pale-purple flowers.
The fleshy pods soon turn red and plum-like, maturing several weeks
after flowering. The pods are edible and may be found in prairie-dog
holes among the foods these animals have stored for the winter.
Loco Weeds are closely related to the ground plum, two of them being
found in Texas and causing much loss to stockmen. They cause a slow
poisoning of horses, sheep, and cattle but are particularly injurious to
horses. The poisoning is chiefly due to the barium salts in the plant
and is characterized by symptoms of staggering, some paralysis, and
emaciation. The woolly loco weed (_Astragalus mollissimus_) has woolly
leaves with 19-27 oval leaflets about half an inch long and spikes of
violet-purple flowers. The stemless loco weed (_Oxytropis lamberti)_ has
basal leaves with 9-19 nearly linear leaflets about an inch long. Both
are common on the plains, but the latter ranges into Southern Canada.
[Illustration: TEXAS CLIMBING VETCH NUTTALL’S MILK VETCH]
Nuttall’s Milk Vetch. Turkey Pea (_Hamosa nuttalliana_) is a low plant
with few-flowered clusters of small flowers. Although it is
inconspicuous, it is so common in yards and fields from Arkansas to
Arizona that many people are familiar with it. It blooms in March in the
southern part and May and June in the northern part of its range. The
narrow pods are slightly curved and nearly an inch long. There are
several hamosas with similar pods which are common in the state.
Texas Climbing Vetch (_Vicia texana_) has prostrate branches, 1-2 ft.
long, and divided leaves terminating in branched tendrils by which the
branches climb over the low plants with which they come in contact.
Clusters of the dainty, pale bluish-purple flowers appear in late March
and April, the plants forming masses of bloom along roadsides in the
sandy regions of the state from Central Texas to Arkansas and
Mississippi.
Many of the climbing vetches are planted for cover crops, and one is a
garden bean. Many of the garden beans belong to the _Phaseolus_ group,
among these being the tepary bean (_Phaseolus acutifolius latifolius_),
a native bean from West Texas to Arizona.
[Illustration: CORAL-BEAN]
Coral-Bean (_Erythrina herbacea_) grows in woods along the coast from
Texas to North Carolina. It has erect, herbaceous stems growing from a
woody root. The flowers appear before the leaves in spike-like clusters
at the ends of the branches. “Erythrina” is from the Greek, meaning
“red” and refers to the color of the flowers, which are over an inch
long and have the upper petal wrapped around the other petals. The
leaves are 6-8 in. long and slender-stalked; they are divided into 3
broad leaflets.
The coral-bean belongs to a group of highly ornamental tropical plants.
It does well in cultivation in Southern and Central Texas but is not
suitable for a cut-flower, as the flowers soon drop off. The red beans
are often used for necklaces. When the pods begin to open, the clusters
may be gathered for winter decorations. The coral-tree (_Erythrina
cristagalli_) from Brazil is common in cultivation and has broader and
showier flowers than the coral-bean.