Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Monday - March 12, 2012
From: Grand Prairie, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Most common wildflower in Texas from Grand Prairie TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
What is the most common wildflower in the state of Texas? My kiddos stumped me on this one?ANSWER:
Let's talk semantics. If you refer to a Texas wildflower as "common," you will get some flak from native Texans. We regard all of our wildflowers as very uncommon. If you want a by-numbers count of the most frequently appearing wildflower in Texas, we will look for the one that appears in the most counties in Texas. If you want the most popular one, that's pretty easy. Everyone loves Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet), but there are others that are close behind in popularity. We suggest you first look at this Texas Highways article Bouquet for the Years: 30 Wildflowers. Then, follow the link on that page to the full article in the April 2004 issue, 30 WildFlowers.
Because we don't have any volunteers willing to go out in the field and count wildflowers, which are not all blooming yet, nor do they all bloom at the same time, we are going to pick a dozen (which happen to be personal favorites) of the wildflowers from the above article, give you links to each plant's webpage on our website, and then look (at the bottom of that page) at the USDA Plant Profile on that site. The link "USDA" on each plant will take you to a map of Texas counties, the green counties being those where that plant grows naturally. Perhaps your "kiddos" will want to make their own decisions on which are the most common Texas wildflowers. Texas is a huge state with many different ecoregions. You will note that some flowers would be the most common in one part of the state and not even appear in another.
Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) USDA
Castilleja indivisa (Entireleaf indian paintbrush) USDA
Gaillardia pulchella (Firewheel) USDA
Phlox drummondii (Annual phlox) USDA
Oenothera speciosa (Pink evening primrose) USDA
Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan) USDA
Ratibida columnifera (Mexican hat) USDA
Callirhoe involucrata (Winecup) USDA
Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot daisy) USDA
Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp sunflower) USDA
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
Flowers for monarch butterflies in Bastrop, Gonzales and Travis Counties of Texas
March 05, 2013 - Hi Mr./s. Smarty Plants,
What are some flowers that grow naturally on a Bastrop, Travis, or Gonzales county riverside that monarch butterflies commonly feed on?
Thank you
view the full question and answer
Collecting native plants of Texas
March 06, 2009 - Where can I find native plants of Texas to collect? I am doing a project and I need native Texan flowers here in Austin or around here.
view the full question and answer
Germination of Texas wildflowers in jiffy pots
April 26, 2007 - My daughter is planning to grow a Texas Wildflower (indoor for starters) garden for a project. We recently purchased seeds from your store. Will planting them in jiffy pots be sufficient to sprout t...
view the full question and answer
Grow bluebonnets in Virginia
September 04, 2007 - I want to ATTEMPT to grow some Texas Bluebonnets in VA because I am homesick and both our kids are back in Austin. That said, the site says " it may be necessary to inoculate the soil with a rhizobiu...
view the full question and answer
Changing blooming patterns on sunflowers from Kimball NE
September 05, 2013 - The common sunflower seems to be very prolific some years, not so much others. Is this weather related or cyclical?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |