Special Collections
High Plains
The High Plains area is part of the Southern Great Plains. It is separated from the Rolling Plains by the Llano Estacado Escarpment and dissected by the Canadian River Breaks in the northern part. Notable canyons include Tule and Palo Duro along the Caprock. This relatively level plateau contains many shallow siltation depressions, or playa lakes, which sometimes cover as much as 40 acres and contain several feet of water after heavy rains. These depressions support unique patterns of vegetation within their confines.The upland soils are dark brown to reddish brown, mostly deep, neutral to calcareous clay and clay loams in the north to sandy loams and sands in the south. Caliche is present under many soils at various depths, especially on the Potter series. The original vegetation of the High Plains was variously classified as mixed prairie, shortgrass prairie, and in some locations on deep, sandy soils as tallgrass prairie. Blue grama, buffalograss, and galleta (Hilaria jamesii) are the principal vegetation on the clay and clay loam sites.
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scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
Lithospermum incisum | Fringed Puccoon Golden Puccoon Narrowleaf Puccoon Narrow-leaved Puccoon Puccoon Narrowleaf Gromwell Fringed Gromwell Narrowleaf Stoneseed | |
Linum pratense | Meadow Flax | |
Liatris punctata | Dotted Blazing Star Dotted Gayfeather Dotted Liatris Purples | |
Linum rigidum | Stiffstem Flax Large-flower Yellow Flax Yellow Flax | |
Lobelia cardinalis | Cardinal Flower | |
Melampodium leucanthum | Blackfoot Daisy Rock Daisy Plains Blackfoot Arnica | |
Melica nitens | Three-flower Melic Tall Melicgrass Threeflower Melicgrass Melicgrass | |
Monarda citriodora | Lemon Beebalm Purple Horsemint Lemon Mint Plains Horsemint Lemon Horsemint Horsemint Purple Lemon Mint | |
Morus microphylla | Texas Mulberry Littleleaf Mulberry Mountain Mulberry Mexican Mulberry Dwarf Mulberry | |
Muhlenbergia arenacea | Ear Muhly | |
Muhlenbergia torreyi | Ring Muhly Torrey Muhly | |
Nuttallanthus texanus | Texas Toadflax Texas Toad-flax Toadflax | |
Oenothera speciosa | Pink Evening Primrose Showy Evening Primrose Mexican Evening Primrose Showy Primrose Pink Ladies Buttercups Pink Buttercups | |
Opuntia engelmannii var. engelmannii | Cactus Apple Prickly Pear | |
Opuntia macrorhiza | Bigroot Prickly Pear Twist-spine Prickly Pear Common Prickly Pear Plains Prickly Pear | |
Palafoxia rosea | Rosy Palafox Rose Palafoxia | |
Pascopyrum smithii | Western Wheatgrass | |
Palafoxia sphacelata | Othake Sand Palafoxia | |
Panicum virgatum | Switchgrass Wand Panic Grass | |
Penstemon ambiguus | Pink Plains Penstemon Pink Plains Beardtongue Gilia Penstemon Gilia Beardtongue Sand Penstemon Sand Beardtongue | |
Penstemon fendleri | Fendler's Penstemon Fendler's Beardtongue Fendler Penstemon Fendler Beardtongue Purple Foxglove | |
Penstemon jamesii | James's Penstemon James's Beardtongue James Penstemon James Beardtongue | |
Phacelia integrifolia | Gypsum Phacelia Gyp Blue-curls | |
Pinus edulis | Colorado Pinyon Pine Colorado Pinyon Pinyon Pine Pinyon Two-needle Pine Two-needle Pinyon Two-leaf Pinyon Nut Pine Pino Dulce | |
Polygala alba | White Milkwort | |
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |