Texas Almanac, 1954-1955 Page: 179

                                
TEXAS PLANT LIFE RESOURCES

were 6,642,546 acres of plowable pasture,
30,589,750 acres of woodland pasture and 72,-
317,444 acres of other classes of pasture, ac-
cording to the cenus of 1950, a total of 109,-
549,740 acres of pasture lands.
In addition to the millions of domestic
animals that derive most of their life-sustain-
ing feed from grasses, grasses contribute to
wild game and are of inestimable economic
value as protective soil covering and as natu-
ral barriers against floods. The total annual
economic value of grasses was estimated at
$370,000,000 in 1949, as a result of a survey
by Dr. Vernon A. Young, head of the A&M
range and forestry department.
On the blacklands the valuable key grasses
are big and little bluestem, Indian grass and
Texas winter grass. In Northeast Texas, the
key grasses include blue grama, little blue-
stem, western wheatgrass and buffalo grass.
The gramas predominate in West Texas-
black grama,_ blue grama, sideoats grama,
curly mesquite; also bush Muhly. Tobosa is
valuable In the drier portions of this area,
notably the Trans-Pecos. Edwards Plateau
key grasses include little bluestem, pinhole
bluestem, buffalo, Fall's witchgrass, Hall's
panicum grasses and mesquite. Piney Woods
grasses include little bluestem, Elliott's blue-
stem and broomsedge and numerous varieties
of paspalum and panicum. Coastal prairie
grasses include seacoast bluestem, brownseed
paspalum and a wide variety of andropogon
species.
Texas Wild Flowers
More than 4,000 different species of wild
flowers have been listed by scientists in their
explorations of Texas plant life. Some of
these grow exclusively in this state, where
variety of soils, open spaces and a high per-
centage of sunshine hours encourages bril-
liance and variety of flowering plants. This
listing  includes many  with  inconspicuous
flowers, such as sedges, rushes and grasses,
the latter family containing about 500 species.
Among the plants with showy flowers, the
largest family is that of the composites, rep-
resenting nearly 1,000 species. This family
includes the daisies, asters, goldenrods and
sunflowers. The pea family is the second
largest group with showy flowers and has
about 300 representatives. Some species, or
others closely related, are widely scattered.
The most noteworthy of Texas wild flowers
is the legally adopted state flower (by act of
Legislature, March 7, 1901), the bluebonnet
(Lupinus texensis), also known as buffalo
clover, wolf flower and el conejo (the rabbit),
an annual which grows on the limestone hill-
sides in North Central, Central and Southwest
Texas. It blooms in erect clusters of blue,
bonnet-shaped flowers splotched with white
on the upper petals. A    slightly different
species, Lupinus subcarnosus, grows on the
sandy areas of Central Texas. It is also con-
sidered as the state flower.
Among the flowers that are likely to attract
the attention of the highway traveler is the
Texas mountain laurel, also known as mescal
bean, and frijolita, a shrub with a blue flower
of the autumn season which is found on the
limestone hills of Central and Southwestern
Texas. * The wild verbena is found from
spring until fall over large areas, also the
pink evening primrose or- buttercup in the
prairie regions, the Indian blanket and the
Indian paint brush. One of the most famous
of Texas wild flowers is the Drummond's
phlox, a showy, brilliant red annual of South
Central and Southeast Texas. This flower
was first discovered in Texas by the Scot
botanist, Thomas Drummond, who visited the
state in 1833-34, collected the seeds and propa-
gated and distributed this variety of phlox.
It is now a familiar garden flower in many
parts of the world. Another Texas wild
flower discovered and classified by Drum-

mond is the coreopsis or golden wave of
South Texas, a yellow-and-brown flower hav-
ing kinflowers of several species in Central,
North and West Texas.
There are many beautiful flowering shrubs,
of which the redbud, growing on the hills
of Central and Southwest Texas, is the best
known. Its brilliant pink and red flowers ap-
pear early in spring in amazing profusion.
The mimosa and several members of the
acacia family, the huisache the catclaw and
others are found principally in West and
Southwest Texas. Many of these flowers,
notably the catclaw and the huajillo of South-
west Texas, furnish honey for the bee indus-
try of the state.
Among the most beautiful flowers of the
state are the flowering shrubs and trees of
the East Texas Forest Belt, notably the dog-
wood with its great white clusters, and the
magnolia of the East Texas bottom lands with
Its big, heavily scented white blossoms.
Desert Flowers.
The arid regions of the extreme western
part of the state contribute some of the state's
most beautiful flowers. The maguey or cen-
tury plant is noted for its flowers, occurring
at intervals of a number of years, consisting
of candelabrum-like clusters of yellow blos-
soms. The similar lechuguilla produces a
beautiful blossom. The yucca, also known as
bear grass, palmillo and soapweed, grows
over a wide area of subhumid, semiarid and
arid Texas, bearing beautiful white blossoms
in white clusters on a tall stalk. The kindred
Spanish dagger or bayonet also grows over
a wide range. Still another flowering plant of
the western regions is the sotol.
ARID-LAND VEGETATION.
The yucca, ocotillo, lechuguilla, guayule,
maguey, creosote bush and a variety of cacti
are found in some parts of the Trans-Pecos.
An interesting Texas plant of possible fu-
ture commercial value is the shrub, guayule
found In the Big Bend area of the Trans-
Pecos. It is a rubber-producing plant, in-
digenous to a wide area of Mexico. Small
quantities of rubber have been produced from
the Big Bend native guayule. Another inter-
esting shrub of the Big Bend is the candelilla
from  which there has been production at
times of candelilla wax, used in some proc-
esses of polish, paint and insulation material
manufacture.
Cacti.
Several hundred species of cacti are indige-
nous to Texas, covering a wide range from
the western edge of the East Texas Pine Belt
to the western boundaries. Region of most
prolific growth is along the Mexican border
and in the Trans-Pecos, though cacti are
found generally throughout West Texas, on
the Staked Plains and throughout the Middle
Western Texas sections in considerable num-
bers.
Cacti in Texas may generally be classified
relative to size and form as follows: (a) Col-
umnar, one to six feet in height; (b) colum-
nar, branching at the base of clusters, less
than one foot high; (c) globose, one to three
feet in diameter; (d) globose, one to twelve
or more inches in diameter; (e) Opuntias
(commonly designated as "prickly pears") of
tall, medium and low or recumbent forms,
and (f) climbing or clambering forms, shrubs
and small tree types.
Texas' cacti have a wide range in size and
.color of blossoms. The blooming period, ac-
cording to the species, ranges from   early
spring to late fall. From minute blossoms of
less than one-quarter inch in diameter to
giant ones, often measuring up to seven or
more inches in diameter, these unusual flow-
ers represent all colors of the spectrum.
Blossoms of some species have a life of less
than three hours, while some retain their
beauty for five days and for even longer
periods.