June 4, 2019
The roads of East Texas are full of wildflowers and I got to be in East Texas at just the right time. A new grandson was born in May. One day during my visit, my grandaughter and I walked the fields looking at wildflowers.
Queen Anne’s lace was everywhere. It is an ancestor of the garden carrot and it’s taproot can be cooked and eaten.
Above: Queen Anne’s Lace
Another white flower was en masse along the roads. Woolly-White is common in East Texas along roadsides and uncultivated land.
Above: Woolly-White or wild cauliflower
You’ve got to love a plant like sensitive brier that has feelings. Touch the foliage and it bashfully closes. The prickly stems protect it’s sensitive nature.
Above: Sensitive Brier
This picture was taken on a misty morning. Hope you don’t mind the blur effect. Enjoy this beautiful blue and the simplicity of the three petaled flower.
Above: Ohio Spiderwort
Cherokee Indians steeped the roots of Venus’s Looking Glass with other plants and drank the infusion for indigestion.
Above: Venus’s Looking-Glass
Cows enjoy grazing this daisy. Now that I am back home looking at these pictures and reading my wildflower guides, I realize how much was missed. This flower is fragrant and I never even noticed ! I’ll not chastise myself too much because fire ants and poison ivy were all around. Grandaughter and I had to stay clear of those dangers.
Above: Huisache Daisy
Another bright yellow flower but this one is not tasty. Honey made from pollen of this flower is very bitter and unpalatable. Hence the name-bitterweed.
Above: Yellow Bitterweed
Only a few Indian Paintbrush flowers were seen, but even one makes a brilliant statement.
Above: Indian Paintbrush
Wild clematis, what a find! The nodding bell shape flowers are so unusual. Notice the bumble bee mining a blossom, upper left.
Above: Bellflower Clematis, Clematis pitcherii
These two wildflower books helped with plant id: Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi and Texas Wildflowers by Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller.
In future years, hunting wildflowers could become a family outing. The fields in May are full of them and they will always remind me of a special birthday.
Ann Lamb
Pictures by me and grandaughter!
DALLAS GARDEN BUZZ 
Great blog Ann!
Thank you, Glenda. The flowers in the fields overcame me!
Ann
Thank you so much Ann, for these beautiful and interesting pictures of wildflowers. It encourages me to get the books that your mentioned!
My favorite is the one by Geyta. The book is divided by the color of the flowers so you can more readily identify.
Ann
Thank you, Ann, for the informative and enjoyable article.
I am having “wildflower” thoughts. More to come!
Ann
Ann, beautiful!
I love your picture taking skill, Ann! Thanks for the warning about the Yellow Bitterweed, we have many of those in the yard in Irving.
Diana, Bitterweed is pretty though, isn’t it.
Thanks for commenting. Ann
Thank you, Libby. It was just beautiful.
Love the clematis! and the wildflowers — such a treasure!
And to think, they grow without our help!
Ann
Maybe I can go back and harvest a few seeds from the clematis.
Poison ivy was living at the foot of this vine so I tread very carefully.
Ann
Ann, your personality was everywhere in this post. Your descriptions are vivid and vicarious! “It bashfully closes”, “mining a blossom” and “a plant that had feelings”. I felt like I was right there with you! My reference book is Wildflowers of West Texas by Zoe Kirkpatrick. She was a wonderful West Texan that flourished and found beauty in her environment on a big ranch in West Texas. This is my favorite post of yours!
Jennie Hatch
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I’d love to look at your book and walk the fields with you.
Ann