Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

This species is one of those odd ducks that are difficult to classify neatly.  In some instances it acts as an annual, though it may also be a short-lived perennial in some environments.  Likewise, as an annual plant it is essentially herbaceous, though if it perennializes it can become a bit woody and seem more like a subshrub or shrub.  In south Texas, which is at the northern extreme of this species’ range, it’s basically an annual herb.

 According to Sean Watson, our Nursery Manager, Scorpion’s-tail will not be available at this spring’s sale, though other sales are possible.  One or both of the two Native Plant Society Of Texas chapters that do their fundraisers at our sales might have it, but we won’t know about that until the day of the sale.

However, that having been said, we found this previous answer identifying a plant growing in a container in front of the Auditorium at the Center, in 2012.

Here are the growing conditions for this plant:

Growing Conditions

Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is either on display or available from the following:

NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
National Butterfly Center - Mission, TX

Mr. Smarty Plants, of course, has no say in what plants are sold in our semi-annual sales, but we have expert horticulturists and gardeners working year round to select the best plants; in many cases, grown in our own greenhouses, for the Sales.

Since we have no pictures of Scorpion's-Tail in our Image Gallery, here are some from Google.