[Illustration: TEXAS WATER-PIMPERNEL SHOOTING STAR]
Leaves often basal; sepals usually 5, often leafy; corolla tubular,
5-lobed; stamens 5, opposite the petals; ovary superior; fruit a
capsule.
Texas Water-Pimpernel. Brookweed (_Samolus cuneatus_) is a plant found
wherever springs or moist ledges occur in limestone hills of Texas. The
plants have a basal rosette of broad rounded leaves. The slender stems
are 6-12 inches high and bear a few leaves which are narrowed at the
base. The 5-lobed white flowers are short and bell-shaped and appear
from April to September. The pink water-pimpernel (_Samolus
ebracteatus_) grows in sandy soil along the coast.
Shooting Star (_Dodecatheon stanfieldia_) is a rare plant and should be
afforded protection. It is found in rich, moist soil from Central Texas
to Louisiana. The flowers are very much like those of _Dodecatheon
meadia_ but are larger and have broader petals.
The primrose family is represented in horticulture by many primroses
from Asia, cyclamens from Greece to Syria, and the cowslip from Europe.
The scarlet pimpernel (_Anagallis arvensis_) is found on sandy prairies
in South Texas in the spring.