Contents Copyright ©2008 Bandera County Courier
1210 Hackberry, PO Box 1704, Bandera, Tx 78003
830-796-9799 • (Fax) 830-796-9399
2009-01-08
Mountain Pink – tough little Texas native
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Mountain Pink seemed a sweet plant with which to begin a new year of gardening. However, as luck would have it, not only is Mountain Pink
2009-01-15
Poison ivy – ‘leaves of three, let it be’
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Called by any name, Toxicodendron radicans, more commonly known as poison ivy, should be avoided. Its every component, leaves, flowers, fruits, twigs and bark, is toxic
2009-01-22
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Whether you call it Buffalo Bur, Buffalobur, Kansas Thistle, Mala Mujer or Solanum rostratum, this is one pestiferous plant or – as another horticulturist – put it, “Nasty, nasty, nasty.”
2009-01-29
Mexican hat – a fiesta of color
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Also known as coneflower, upright prairie coneflower and thimble-flower, as well as by its more formal moniker, Ratibida columnifera,
2009-02-05
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
An evergreen native to Texas, this shrub – or alternately, small tree – answers to the names, Lindheimer Silk Tassel, Mexican Silktassel, Eggleaf Silktassel
2009-02-12
Texas Grama – a common ornamental grass
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
A common grass, Texas Grama – alternatively called Texas Gamma, Mesquite Grass and Bouteloua rigidiseta – is not particularly showy except for the bell-shaped seed produced on the seed stalk.
2009-02-19
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
There are about 150 species of the genus. The pretty low-growing flowers are often the first to bloom in very early spring, adding some color to an otherwise bleak Hill Country landscape.
2009-02-26
Clematis – covering the Lone Star State
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Clematis includes over 300 species of plants that practically cover the entire Lone Star State.
2009-03-05
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
An endangered species of cactus calls Bandera County its home, according to officials with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.
2009-03-12
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Native Americans used Evergreen sumac as one of the first alternative forms of tobacco, purportedly mixing its sun-cured leaves with tobacco for smoking.
2009-03-19
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Found in the tropical and warm areas of America, Madagascar, Malaysia and Fiji, this member of the Euphorbia family of plants has about 30 species in the genus.
2009-03-26
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
The blossoms of the lovely redbud – aka Eastern Redbud, Texas Redbud and Cercis Canadensi – serve as one of the first signs of spring in the Texas Hill Country.
2009-04-02
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
No matter what you call it – firewheel, blanket flower or more scientifically, Gaillardia pulchella – native plant enthusiasts rate Indian blanket as one of the happiest and most attractive wildflowers in Texas.
2009-04-23
Leadtree – balls of sweet-smelling blossoms
A native North American evergreen, Leadtree – aka Little Leaf Leadtree, Golden Ball Leadtree, Littleleaf Leucaena and Leucaena retusa – has been described alternately as a small, multi-trunked tree or large shrub.
2009-05-07
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Antelope-horn milkweed – aka Antelope Horn Milkweed, Popcorn Milkweed, Silkweed and by its more formal moniker, Asclepiodora decumbens – is a perennial herbaceous plant, which can grow to 25 inches from a common woody root.
2009-06-04
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Fringed Blue Star is also referred to as Fringed Bluestar, blue funnel lily, Texas Amsonia, downy amsonia and Texas Slimpod – and that’s “slim,” not “slimepod.”
2009-07-02
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Centaurea Americana or American Basketflower seemed an appropriate Texas native to showcase just before America’s 233rd birthday.
2009-07-16
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Also known as Stemless Actinia, Parralena, Fiveneedle Pricklyleaf, Five-needled thymophylla and Dyssodia, as well as the more formal Thymophylla pentachaeta, Common dogweed has been described as “a durable inhabitant of shallow soils of the region.”
2009-07-30
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
This beautiful tree is part of a relatively small genus of plants with only 10 species extant worldwide.
2009-08-13
Evening primrose – a night bloomer lasting a day
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Some plants belong in fairy tales. With its penchant for blooming at night and releasing a heady perfume, evening primrose is one of those plants.
2009-08-27
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Although not as showy as its close cousin, the famous flowering dogwood of East Texas, Roughleaf dogwood stands out in a thicket of plants in the spring because of its clusters of small white flowers on the branch tips.
2009-09-17
Also known as Evening Star Rain Lily, Drummond Rain-lily, Cebolleta and more formally, Cooperia drummondii, Rain Lily grows and flowers rapidly after a rain – hence its name.
2009-10-08
Dutchman’s Pipe – don’t snack on me!
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Also known as Swanflower, Tacopate, Birthwort and, more formally, Aristolochia erecta, Dutchman’s Pipe belongs to a family of plants – Aristolochiaceae – that enjoys a worldwide distribution in a variety of forms
2009-10-29
Also known as Big Tree Plum and Inch Plum, Prunus mexicana – or Mexican plum – is a small single-trunked tree with fragrant flowers in the spring and delicious fruit in the fall.
2009-11-19
Knotroot Bristlegrass – Texas’ perennial weed
Before embarking on a description of Knotroot Bristlegrass, a disclaimer: it should be noted that one man’s weed is another’s native Texas grass.
2009-12-10
Bandera Soil & Water Cons
Storksbill – aka Wild Geranium, Pin Clover, California Filaree, Redstem filaree and, more formally, Erodium cicutarium belongs to a large group of plants with a similar appearance found from the Mediterranean to Asia and throughout Australia – and apparently beyond.
