Prairie Paintbrush 9 X 12 Watercolor by Mary Burns

Prairie Paintbrush lives in Central Texas on dry rocky limestone hillsides.  It has a curious habit of being a hemi-parasite.  Which means its roots tap into the roots of other plants to derive moisture and nutrients from them.  Kinda creepy!  But it has beautiful flowers, the colorful "petals" are actually bracts which are closer to a leaf structure than a petal.  Another Paintbrush in our area, Texas Paintbrush, is shown below and prefers more sandy soils or along Texas roadsides.

Plant Files:
Scientific name: Castilleja purpurea
Family name: Figwort Family
Common names Prairie Paintbrush

Prairie Paintbrusn

Texas Paintbrush

Texas Paintbrush

March wildflower sampler

With a record warm winter and frequent early spring rains, spring is well under way in Central Texas with the wildflowers going crazy.  Today on my walk I saw at least 23 different species blooming within a short 1 1/2 mile distance.  Here is my March sampler of what's out there now.  I'll be highlighting a few of these in the next few days.

Prairie Verbena

Pink MockVervain

Prairie Fleabane

Wind Flower

Slender-Stem Bitterweed

Fiveneedle Pricklyleaf

Dwarf White Aster

Prairie Paint Brush

Milk Vetch

Drummond's Skullcap

Blue-eyed Grass

Texas STar

Gilia

Stemless Evening Primrose

Marbleseed

Corn Salad

Wild Garlic

Cowpoison

Celestial

Blackfoot Daisy

Standing Winecup

Dewberry

Domianita

First Flowers 12 X 12 Water Color by Mary Tricia Burns

In the bleak grey landscape of the Texas Hill Country, little spots of color begin to spring up in the late winter.  These small Anemones are the first indicators of spring to come.  They are the first flowers to bloom in the early spring of each year.  The small flowers, 1 to 1 1/2  inch diameter, are a member of the buttercup family and bloom as early as late January through March.  They have a variety of colors from pure white, through pale blue, to pink tinged violet.

Plant Files:

Scientific name: Anemone berlandieri

Family name: Ranuculaceae (Buttercup Family)

Common names: Wind Flower, Southern Anemone, Ten-petaled Thimble Flower

Color Varieties: