Census of the Weeds

prairie coneflower, Ratibida columnifera 

Without quite realizing it, I've been noting every species of native wildflower I encounter when I wander the vacant lot across the street from my house. I think it is partly due to my gatherer instincts. Every flower I mark is a possible seed-source later in the season.  The other half of this unwitting push is my naturalist's inclination to catalog the world around me.  If I can put a name and a couple of factoids to the flowers I see, then I feel more engaged by my urban prairie.

diamond flowers (Stenaria nigricans var. nigricans)

Once I recognized that I was keeping a mental tally, I decided to commit the list to paper. More than that, I have made it a goal to get pictures documenting every species of wildflower, May - ?, that I see in this little prairie.

I've also seen some great plants pushing through people's lawns in my neighborhood-- hill country rain lily, western spiderwort, and others. Funny enough, the more boarded up windows and "KEEP OUT!" signs, the better the hunting. Alas. Such is the beauty of native plants-- all they need is to be left alone. 'Well-maintained' landscapes are much less hospitable than run-down and neglected lots.

hill country rain lily, Cooperia pedunculata 

Hill country rain lily, as you might gather from the name, pop up in the spring after a good soaking rain. This is exactly what these lovely lilies did this May. I checked their species distribution on USDA plants, and we are about a hundred miles north of their documented distribution. Good for you, plant. If the future's going to be hotter, then bring on the lilies.  I wonder if my prairie's extremely shallow soils over crumbly limestone are encouraging the more southern and western (droughty?) plants I seem to find here. On the other hand, I have yet to spot a cactus in this lot. So there's that. I scattered some seeds in the vacant lot prairie, and I collected a few more to plant around my lawn. 

There is another closely related species with smaller flowers, C. drummondii, which tends to bloom in the fall (not spring) and ranges north of C. pedunculata.  I actually did see one lone C. drummondii blooming near an abandoned structure on the edge of my vacant-lot prairie. I'll have to come back tomorrow morning to get a picture. Like many delicate wildflowers, the blooms only last a few days.  Then the plant goes crypto for the rest of the year.

texas frog fruit (Phyla nodiflora)

With regards to the western spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis), whose flowers only last hours anyway, someone mowed the entire stand a few days after I first noted it blooming. Again, alas. I picked up a seed head with one last blooming flower to set on my table at home. If the seeds are viable, I'll sow them in my own yard. Perhaps if I set them in a designated plot, they'll be respected as intentional and spared the lawn-mower's blade in the future.

I have a half-baked ambition to plant a garden in my front yard seeded entirely from the vacant lot and other seeds gathered around my neighborhood. This is my opportunity to build the appreciation of these "weeds".

If you're interested, I've included more pictures of the species I've documented so far and a plant list after the jump.

Ratany (Krameria lanceolata)

Antelope horns, Asclepias asperula

Scarlet gaura, Gaura coccinea

prairie parsley 

indian blanket, Gaillardia pulchella

Green thread

Horse Nettle

Two-leaf Senna

Cousins! Yellow puff and sensitive briar.

Lastly, my plant list (as of May 17):

Common Name	Latin Name
prairie verbena	Glandularia bipinnatifida
texas vervian	Verbena halei
green thread	Thelesperma filifolium
indian blanket	Gaillardia pulchella
texas bluebonnet	Lupinus texensis
antelope horn	Asclepias asperula
prairie coneflower	Ratibida columnifera
pink ladies	Oenothera speciosa
lantana	Lantana urticoides
sensitive briar	Mimosa nuttallii
hill country rain lily*	Cooperia pedunculata
evening rain lily	Cooperia drummondii
texas frog fruit	Phyla nodiflora
engelmann daisy	Engelmannia peristenia
ratany	Krameria lanceolata
scarlet gaura	Gaura coccinea
western spiderwort*	Tradescantia occidentalis
two-leaf senna	Senna roemeriana
diamond flowers	Stenaria nigricans var. nigricans
prairie parsley	Polytaenia nuttallii
carolina horse nettle	Solanum carolinense
yellow-puff	Neptunia lutea

*indicates found in neighborhood, not vacant lot