Native Plants

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Wednesday - April 10, 2013
From: Denton, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: General Botany
Title: Fragrant Texas wildflowers
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hello! I am researching native Texas wildflowers and I am looking specifically for flowers with a pleasing aroma. Is there anyone who has made a list that includes how the flowers smell? Do you know of any flowers that have a particularly nice scent? Thank you for your assistance!ANSWER:
You can find a list of Fragrant Texas Natives on The Fragrant Garden website. It includes trees, shrubs, perennials and vines.
Here are those on the list with a link to information and photos on our Native Plant Database.
TREES
- Bauhinia lunarioides (Anacacho orchid tree)
- Prunus caroliniana (Cherry laurel)
- Chilopsis linearis (Desert willow)
- Prunus serotina (Black cherry)
- Leucaena retusa (Goldenball leadtree)
- Ptelea trifoliata (Wafer ash)
- Magnolia grandiflora (Southern magnolia)
- Prunus mexicana (Mexican plum)
SHRUBS
- Magnolia tripetala (Umbrella tree)
- Mahonia trifoliolata (Agarita)
- Salvia greggii (Autumn sage)
- Mimosa borealis (Fragrant mimosa)
- Ageratina havanensis (Havana snakeroot)
- Rhus aromatica (Fragrant sumac)
- Acacia berlandieri (Guajillo)
- Eysenhardtia texana (Texas kidneywood)
- Salvia regla (Mountain sage)
- Philadelphus texensis (Texas mock orange)
- Sophora secundiflora (Texas mountain laurel)
- Itea virginica (Virginia sweetspire)
- Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle)
PERENNIALS
- Datura wrightii (Sacred thorn-apple)
- Monarda fistulosa (Wild bergamot)
- Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot daisy)
- Acourtia wrightii (Brownfoot)
- Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate daisy)
- Chrysactinia mexicana (Damianita)
- Phlox pilosa (Downy phlox)
- Liatris mucronata (Cusp gayfeather)
- Cooperia pedunculata (Hill country rain lily)
VINES
- Wisteria frutescens (American wisteria)
- Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina jessamine)
- Rosa setigera (Climbing prairie rose)
- Lonicera albiflora (Western white honeysuckle)
You can also find more plants listed on the Recommended Native Plants for Landscaping in the Texas Hill Country from the Kerrville Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT). Do a search using "fragrant" on the page to find them. Here are a few that appear on that list that don't appear on the Fragrant Texas Natives list above.
- Acacia farnesiana (Huisache) tree/shrub
- Malus ioensis (Prairie crabapple) tree/shrub
- Gaillardia suavis (Perfumeballs) perennial
- Ipomoea lindheimeri (Lindheimer's morning-glory) vine
Many of the members of the Family Lamiaceae (Mint Family) are aromatic. Here are a few that are Texas natives:
- Monarda citriodora (Lemon beebalm)
- Monarda lindheimeri (Lindheimer's beebalm)
- Monarda punctata (Spotted beebalm)
- Salvia pentstemonoides (Big red sage)
- Stachys coccinea (Scarlet betony)
Here are a couple of other fragrant wildflowers:
- Spiranthes odorata (Marsh lady's tresses) orchid. Here is more information from Missouri Botanical Garden.
- Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) annual.
There are others that I haven't found, I'm sure. We have been asked this question before so please read the answers to previous questions (4813, 4522 and 7259) to learn a few more.
Perhaps you could do more research on Texas natives with fragrance and write the definitive book on the subject!
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