Natives from the Edwards Plateau: Texas Highways tour on Easter

Crested Pricklypoppy, Whiter Pricklypoppy

Yesterday my family and I went on a car ride around the Texas Hill Country to see the wildflowers while they are still lasting. We drove from Cedar Park to Marble Falls, then over to Llano on Highway 1431. Then down state highway 16 past the Enchanted Rock turnoff, to Willow City Loop. Willow City Loop is a narrow country, often one lane road that has beautiful scenery and wildflowers. It's well worth the trip. Flowers are still very abundant there in Willow City and all along the Texas highways we rode on, especially White Pricklypoppies as you can see by the numbers of photos they appear in.

Crested Pricklypoppy, White Pricklypoppy

White Pricklypoppies truly are in the poppy family, even though the leaves and stems look like they should be thistles, with all those spines and prickly leaves. True thistles, however, are in the daisy or aster family (Composites). I'll do a post on the aster family later this week as they are coming out more and more as the season progresses. But for this post you can see representatives in the Indian Blanket, the Lazy Daisy, and the Engelmann Daisy. Overall, it was a very joyful and peaceful trip. Driving (or walking) mile after mile past beautiful wildflowers waving in the wind always takes me out of my ordinary cares into a world of wonder and grace. Very fitting for Resurrection Sunday.

Indian Blanket, Firewheel

Indian Blanket, bud

Bluebonnets and White Pricklypoppy

Bluebonnets and White Pricklypoppies

Very tall Bluebonnet

Dodder on Bluebonnets. Dodder is a true parasite:
A flowering plant with fine threads that wind around
and bore into another plant species stems and take away water and nutrients.