Native Plants

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Monday - March 19, 2007

From: Odessa, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Wildflowers for West Texas Permian Basin area
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What wild flowers grow out here in West Texas (Permian Basin Area)? I know a lot of the wild flowers from other parts of the state will not grow out here in the dry heat and poor soil. Thanks for you help.

ANSWER:

Here are a few suggestions for wildflowers that occur naturally in Ector County, Texas, that should be commercially available as seeds. If you are thinking of sowing wildflowers, you might also like to read one of our "How to" articles, "Wildflower Meadow Gardening".

Abronia fragrans (snowball sand verbena)

Amblyolepis setigera (huisache daisy)

Calylophus hartwegii (Hartweg's sundrops)

Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel)

Gaura coccinea (scarlet beeblossom)

Helianthus petiolaris (prairie sunflower)

Ipomopsis longiflora (flaxflowered ipomopsis)

Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot)

Penstemon ambiguus (gilia beardtongue)

Ratibida columnifera (upright prairie coneflower)

Senna roemeriana (twoleaf senna)

Thelesperma filifolium (stiff greenthread)