Maurandya antirrhiniflora

Common name: Snapdragon Vine
Family: Scrophulariaceae- Figwort family
Size: 1 m
Description: Climbing, trailing, smooth, delicate vine
Habitat: Various soils

Flower:

• 1.6-2.5 cm long
• 5 petals
• Violet to purple or white
• united, shortly tubular
• Upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip 3-lobed
• Flowers solitary from leaf axil

Stem and Leaves:

• Leaves 1.3-2.5 cm long
• Alternative, long-stalked, blade triangular shaped
• Stems one to few, slender, much-branched

Matelea reticulata

Common name: Green Milkweed Vine, Net-vein Milkweed, Pearl Milkvine
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Size: 4.5 m long
Description: Twining, climbing, soft-hairy vine
Habitat: Various soils, partly shaded areas, oak mottes

Flower:

• 2 cm across
• 5 petals,
• Pale green with netlike venation
• United in basal portion
• 5 stamens united, topped with small silver-colored pearlike structure
• Flowers few to several, stalked, in cluster
• Long stalked in cluster from leaf axils

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves 12 cm long
• Opposite, long stalked
• Heart shaped
• Margins entire
• Stem solitary, branched, wiry

Solanum elaeagnifolium

Common name: Silver-leaf nightshade
Family: Solanaceae
Size: 1 m tall
Description: Upright, sparsely prickly, covered with star-shaped hairs and silvery
Habitat: Various soils

Flower:

• 2-2.5 cm across
• 5 petals, violet to lavender or white
• United at base, 5 lobed, star-shaped
• Anthers large, yellow, upright

Stem and leaves:

• 15 cm long
• Alternate, long stalked
• Margins wavy
• Stem one to few from base

Centaurea melitensis

Common name: Tocalote, Malta Star Thistle, Maltase Star Thistle, Tocolote
Family: Asteraceae
Size: Up to 75 cm tall
Description: Upright, smooth, spiny
Habitat: Various dry soils

Flower:

• 1 cm across
• Ray flowers absent
• Disk flowers numerous, yellow, suspended by 4 or 5 rows of spine-tipped bracts.
• Heads one to few at tips of branches.

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves 5-10 cm long
• Alternate
• Lower leaves rounded, lobed, without spines
• Upper leaves narrow, unlobed
• Stems several, widely branching with branches upright

Cirsium texanum

Common name: Texas thistle
Family: Asteraceae
Size: Up to 1.5 m tall
Description: Upright, spiny, woolly
Habitat: Several soils

Flower:

• 3.8 across
• Ray flowers absent, disk flowers numerous,
• Color purple-rose to pink held in cup of prickly-tipped bracts.
• Heads solitary at tips of long, woolly, almost leafless stalks

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves 10-30 cm long
• Alternate, numerous, clasping stem at base, lower surface with whitish hairs
• Blade with triangular or rounded lobes on each side, each lobed irregularly spiny-toothed
• Basal leaves larger, upper leaves smaller
• Stem solitary, much-branched in upper portion

Verbena halei

Common name: Texas Vervain, Slender Vervain

Family: Verbenaceae

Size: Up to 75 cm tall

Description: Upright, smooth, delicate, slender-branched

Habitat: Various soils

Flower:

• Petals bluish lavender, lilac or white, united basally
• Lobes flaring or spreading flat
• Flowers numerous, forming a long, slender spikes, terminal or from leaf axils

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves 2-10 cm long
• Opposite, stalked
• Blade varying from deeply to shallow cut or lobed in lower portion of plant to toothed 
• Stems one to several from base, squared, grooved, branched in upper portions

Lippia nodiflora

Common name: Texas Frog-fruit

Family: Verbenaceae

Size: Up to 30 cm tall

Description: Low, creeping or trailing

Habitat: Several soils, loves sun

Flower:

• 5 petals, white of pale lavender with yellow in the center
• United, tubular, somewhat 2-lipped
• Flowers many clustered  in small globelike, terminal spike

Stem and leaves:

• 1.6 cm wide, opposite, stalkless or almost so
• blade thick
• Margins toothed from middle to tip of blade
• Sharp-pointed or rounded at tip
• Stems numerous, squared, often reddish purple

Gaillardia pulchella

Common name: Blanketflower, Indian Blanket, Showy Gaillardia

Family: Asteraceae

Size: Up to 60 cm tall

Description: Upright to sprawling, hairy

Habitat: Several soils, likes sun and shade

Flower:

• 4-5.5 cm across
• Ray flowers 6-15, red with yellow tips,
• 3-lobed at tip, wide-spreading
• Disk flowers numerous, red or brown
• Heads solitary at tips of long slender stalks

Leaves and stem:

• Leaves 2-8.5 cm long
• Wide, alternate, short-stalked or stalkless
• Clasping basally
• Margins entire to toothed or lobed
• Stems usually much-branched, becoming woody at base late in season

Thelesperma filifolium

Common name: Stiff Greenthread, Greenthread
Family: Asteraceae
Size: Up to 75 cm tall
Description: Upright, smooth, slender
Habitat: Several soils, loves sun

Flower:

• 3.8-5 cm across
• Ray flowers usually 8, yellow 
• 3 lobed at tip
• Disk flowers numerous, yellow or brown
• Heads solitary, terminal on slender, leafless stalk
• Nodding in bud

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves up to 10 cm long
• Opposite
• Blades divided into very narrow segments
• Stem solitary, usually branched at base, the branching again in upper portion

Glandularia bipinnatifida

Common name: Dakota Vervain, Purple prairie Verbena
Family: Verbenaceae
Size: Up to 30 cm tall
Description:  Low, trailing, or creeping, hairy, matlike colonies
Habitat:  Various soils, love sun

Flower:

• 1 cm across
• 5 petals, purple or lavender to rose-pink
• United basally
• Flowers numerous in rounded, terminal clusters

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves 2-6.3 cm long
• Opposite, stalked
• Blade, lobed into numerous narrow segments
• Stem, squared, branching from base

Lonicera albiflora

Common name: Texas honeysuckle, White honeysuckle
Family: Caprifoliaceae- Honeysuckle family
Size: Up to 1.21 meters
Description:  Shrub, vine
Habitat: Several soils, loves sun

Flower:

• white, two lipped in clusters

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves opposite, oval,
• Margin entire

Salvia roemeriana

Common name: Cedar sage
Family: Lamiaceae - Mint family
Size: Up to 61cm tall
Description: Strictly upright, hairy, stem squared
Habitat: Several soils, like shade

Flower:

• 2.5 cm long
• 5 petals, bright red, united basally, 2 lipped
• Flowers in clusters or whorls, somewhat stalkless, slender raceme

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves rounded scalloped 
• Up to 4 cm wide
• Stem 4-angled

Calylophus berlandieri

Common name: Square-bud Day Primrose, Sundrops
Family: Onagraceae 
Size: Up to 50 cm tall
Description: Upright to somewhat sprawling or reclining 
Habitat: Sandy or rocky soils, love sun

Flower:

• 5 cm across
• 4 petals, yellow, wrinkled
• stigma exserted beyond anthers
• Flowers several, borne in upper leaf axils
• Remain open during the day

Stem and leaves:

• Leaves up to 8 cm long
• wide, alternate, stalkless
• Margins entire to spiny-toothed
• Stems one to several and forming clumps
• Semi-woody