Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Monday - March 12, 2012
From: Grand Prairie, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Most common wildflower in Texas from Grand Prairie TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
What is the most common wildflower in the state of Texas? My kiddos stumped me on this one?ANSWER:
Let's talk semantics. If you refer to a Texas wildflower as "common," you will get some flak from native Texans. We regard all of our wildflowers as very uncommon. If you want a by-numbers count of the most frequently appearing wildflower in Texas, we will look for the one that appears in the most counties in Texas. If you want the most popular one, that's pretty easy. Everyone loves Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet), but there are others that are close behind in popularity. We suggest you first look at this Texas Highways article Bouquet for the Years: 30 Wildflowers. Then, follow the link on that page to the full article in the April 2004 issue, 30 WildFlowers.
Because we don't have any volunteers willing to go out in the field and count wildflowers, which are not all blooming yet, nor do they all bloom at the same time, we are going to pick a dozen (which happen to be personal favorites) of the wildflowers from the above article, give you links to each plant's webpage on our website, and then look (at the bottom of that page) at the USDA Plant Profile on that site. The link "USDA" on each plant will take you to a map of Texas counties, the green counties being those where that plant grows naturally. Perhaps your "kiddos" will want to make their own decisions on which are the most common Texas wildflowers. Texas is a huge state with many different ecoregions. You will note that some flowers would be the most common in one part of the state and not even appear in another.
Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) USDA
Castilleja indivisa (Entireleaf indian paintbrush) USDA
Gaillardia pulchella (Firewheel) USDA
Phlox drummondii (Annual phlox) USDA
Oenothera speciosa (Pink evening primrose) USDA
Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan) USDA
Ratibida columnifera (Mexican hat) USDA
Callirhoe involucrata (Winecup) USDA
Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot daisy) USDA
Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp sunflower) USDA
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
Possible identification of Stemless Evening Primrose
March 07, 2007 - Recently, in a very dry area, some interesting plants have emerged. The plant looks like a very short dandelion but the yellow flowers look like yellow morning glories. The flowers are open in the m...
view the full question and answer
Plant ID–maybe a lupine?
February 02, 2015 - We have a strange plant growing in our flowerbed that we did not knowingly plant. It sprang up last summer and has continued to grow throughout the winter in spite of several freezes. We live just eas...
view the full question and answer
More on bluebonnets
April 01, 2003 - Is there such a thing as a red bluebonnet?
view the full question and answer
Bluebonnets planted in late spring bloom, will they bloom again?
February 06, 2008 - New to South Texas & we decided to plant bluebonnets around our house. The seeds were planted in late spring & we were delighted to watch them start their initial growth-cycle. They ultimately produc...
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on Germination
July 23, 2004 - I just planted wildflowers and I was wondering how long before I know if they will grow?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |