The following is excerpted from Wild Vision Adventures In Observation, A Monthly Newsletter for Texas Wildlife Interpreters, Published by Wild Vision, July 1995 Volume 1, Issue 2.
White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba) -- This plant is flowering heavily all along the trail and accounts for the pleasant, newly mowed yard smell. I’ve read that the young leaves (before the plant flowers) can be added to salads or boiled for 5 minutes as a green. The seeds lend a pea-like flavor to soups and are high in protein. In addition, the leaves of the white sweet clover can be dried in an oven and used as a substitute for vanilla extract for your baking needs.
Horsemint (Monarda sp.) -- Blooming now and conspicuous with its erect stalk and whorls of white flowers with purple bracts. An important plant for the plains Indians: The leaf tea was used for colds, coughs, stomach cramps, fevers and flu, and bowel complaints. The tea is tasty and very strong, only use a few leaves per cup. Contains thymol which is useful as an antiseptic and to expel worms. During World War I, Thyme fields in Europe were destroyed and Horsemint was grown commercially in the U.S. as a substitute source of thymol.
Star-violet (Hedyotis nigricans) -- Blooming in white to pink clusters of small flowers, with four delicate pointed petals. The species name nigricans refers to the leaves that turn black as they dry.
Beggar’s Ticks (Torilis arvensis) -- So abundant as to be virtually unavoidable, this is that ever-unpopular plant that produces great masses of annoying seeds that so readily detach and stick to your socks and even to the hair on your legs. Yes, it is time for them to do that. By the way, this plant is native to the Mediterranean so don’t blame Texas for creating it. This is a good plant to illustrate one of the ways that seeds travel.
Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis) -- Right now you can catch some of these milkweeds still blooming while others have already launched their seeds to the wind. A good plant to illustrate another method that seeds travel.
Western Ironweed Vernonia baldwinii) -- Should be blooming any day now. Attractive and abundant tall plant with numerous purple flowerheads in a well-branched inflorescence. Plains Indians used the root of this perennial plant as a "blood tonic", also for bleeding, stomach aches and to relieve pain after childbirth.
Basket-Flower (Centaurea americana) -- The genus Centaurea takes its name from the Greek Centaurs, those mythical beings that were ½ horse and ½ man. They were much loved and respected for their wisdom. The story goes like this: Chiron was a centaur greatly admired for his skill in hunting, medicine, music and prophecy. He was once wounded by a poisoned arrow and healed himself with the flowers of Centaurea cyanus (cornflower). This might have been great medicine for Centaurs but I have been unable to find reference to any medicinal purposes attributed to any Centaurea spp.
Texas Thistle (Cirsium texanum) -- Texas Thistle and Basket-Flower are by far the most conspicuous plants on the trail. In mid-June they provided a tremendous display of color in the open fields. Now they have mostly gone to seed, though plenty of flowers are still to be seen. The flowers bear a superficial resemblance to each other but are easily distinguished by the presence of typical thistle bristles on the leaves of Texas Thistle, while the Basket-Flower leaves are unarmed. Texas Thistle is generally purple flowered, but there is one splendid example on the trail of a pure white form.
Texas Thistle is a great and abundant edible plant. From fall through spring, the basal leaves and thick taproot can be harvested. The leaves (after the prickles are cut off with scissors) are good raw or steamed for a few minutes. The roots can be eaten raw or boiled or baked in foil with butter. The flavor is similar to an artichoke. The stems of the flower stalks (of the Texas Thistle) are edible and tasty, somewhat reminiscent of carrots. After it flowers the stems become too tough to eat.
Other forbs in evidence at this time include: Fire-Wheels / Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella.), Texas Star (Lindheimera texana), Sensitive vine (Schrankia sp.), Giant Ragweed / Bloodweed (Ambrosia trifida var. Texana) and many more (come see).
Natural History of North Central Texas Index
Royce & LuCretia Milam Copyright © July 1995 Wild Vision. All rights reserved.