Native Plants
Bransford, W.D. and Dolphia
Bill (W.D.) (1913-1996) and Dolphia Bransford (1915-2015) moved from San Angelo to Kingsland, Texas in 1950. There they established the first fish camp in the area. A carpenter, Bill built small cabins and a larger building which served as a general store.Bill was interested in photography so he and Dolphia would set out in their camper taking pictures of wildflowers and scenery along the way. After plants were photographed, Dolphia researched them and recorded their botanical name, family and common name on each slide. The Bransfords would travel for two or three months at a time and eventually visited nearly every corner of the United States and Canada. They spent 40 years pursuing their favorite pastime and stopped only when Bill’s vision diminished.
At the beginning, Bill photographed plants mostly from a distance, often too far to see enough detail necessary to identify his subjects. Dolphia encouraged him to get close-ups of the plants so that they could be identified and so that their full beauty could be appreciated. Many times he would lie flat on the ground to get the perfect shot. His extra effort shows in the quality of his photographs.
Bill enjoyed presenting prints of his photographs in collections, displaying images of entire genera or families in a single frame. In one case, it took six years of effort to get the photograph of a single species necessary to complete one of these framed collections.
Wishing to find a suitable, permanent home for their work, Mr. and Mrs. Bransford began donating their slide collection to the National Wildflower Research Center in 1987 and were privileged to enjoy Mrs. Johnson’s company on several occasions. Over the years, countless thousands of visitors to this website have enjoyed the work and study of this devoted couple.
Today, the nearly 4500 native plant slides contributed to the Wildflower Center by Bill and Dolphia Bransford remain one of the largest image collections in the NPIN Image Gallery.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is committed to developing the premier resource for native plant images in North America through continued growth of the Plant Image Gallery. You can help us achieve our mission ...to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants, and landscapes... by becoming a contributor.
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
Viola pubescens | Downy Yellow Violet Downy Violet Hairy Yellow Violet Yellow Violet Common Yellow Violet | |
Viola purpurea | Goose-foot Violet Goose-foot Yellow Violet Mountain Violet Purplish Violet | |
Viola purpurea ssp. quercetorum | Oak Woods Violet Goose-foot Violet | |
Viola rostrata | Longspur Violet Long-spurred Violet | |
Viola sagittata | Arrowleaf Violet Arrow-leaved Violet Upland Violet | |
Viola sagittata var. ovata | Ovateleaf Violet Northern Downy Violet Arrowleaf Violet | |
Viola sempervirens | Evergreen Violet | |
Viola septemloba | Southern Coastal Violet | |
Viola sororia | Missouri Violet Common Blue Violet Hooded Blue Violet Florida Violet Meadow Violet Confederate Violet Dooryard Violet Purple Violet Woolly Blue Violet Wood Violet Hooded Violet | |
Viola sororia | Missouri Violet Common Blue Violet Hooded Blue Violet Florida Violet Meadow Violet Confederate Violet Dooryard Violet Purple Violet Woolly Blue Violet Wood Violet Hooded Violet | |
Viola sororia | Missouri Violet Common Blue Violet Hooded Blue Violet Florida Violet Meadow Violet Confederate Violet Dooryard Violet Purple Violet Woolly Blue Violet Wood Violet Hooded Violet | |
Viguiera stenoloba | Skeleton-leaf Goldeneye Resinbush | |
Viola walteri | Walter's Violet Prostrate Blue Violet | |
Viola walteri | Walter's Violet Prostrate Blue Violet | |
Warnockia scutellarioides | Prairie Brazosmint Prairie Brazoria | |
Warnockia scutellarioides | Prairie Brazosmint Prairie Brazoria | |
Warnockia scutellarioides | Prairie Brazosmint Prairie Brazoria | |
Warnockia scutellarioides | Prairie Brazosmint Prairie Brazoria | |
Whipplea modesta | Common Whipplea Modesty Whipplevine Yerba De Selva | |
Wyethia amplexicaulis | Mule-ears | |
Wyethia helianthoides | Sunflower Mule-ears | |
Wyethia helianthoides | Sunflower Mule-ears | |
Wyethia mollis | Woolly Mule-ears | |
Xanthocephalum gymnospermoides | Gummy Broomweed San Pedro Matchweed Gummy Snakeweed | |
Xanthisma texanum | Texas Sleepy Daisy Yellow Sleepy Daisy Star of Texas Texas Sleepy-daisy Texas Sleepydaisy | |
Xanthisma texanum | Texas Sleepy Daisy Yellow Sleepy Daisy Star of Texas Texas Sleepy-daisy Texas Sleepydaisy | |
Xanthisma texanum | Texas Sleepy Daisy Yellow Sleepy Daisy Star of Texas Texas Sleepy-daisy Texas Sleepydaisy | |
Xerophyllum tenax | Common Beargrass Western Turkeybeard Bear Lily Pine Lily Elk Grass Squaw Grass Beargrass Turkeybeard | |
Xerophyllum tenax | Common Beargrass Western Turkeybeard Bear Lily Pine Lily Elk Grass Squaw Grass Beargrass Turkeybeard | |
Xerophyllum tenax | Common Beargrass Western Turkeybeard Bear Lily Pine Lily Elk Grass Squaw Grass Beargrass Turkeybeard | |
Xerophyllum tenax | Common Beargrass Western Turkeybeard Bear Lily Pine Lily Elk Grass Squaw Grass Beargrass Turkeybeard | |
Xerophyllum tenax | Common Beargrass Western Turkeybeard Bear Lily Pine Lily Elk Grass Squaw Grass Beargrass Turkeybeard | |
Xerophyllum tenax | Common Beargrass Western Turkeybeard Bear Lily Pine Lily Elk Grass Squaw Grass Beargrass Turkeybeard | |
Xyris ambigua | Coastal Plain Yelloweyed Grass Coastalplain Yelloweyed Grass | |
Xylorhiza cognata | Mecca Woodyaster | |
Xylorhiza cognata | Mecca Woodyaster | |
Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia | Mojave Woody-aster Mojave Aster | |
Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia | Mojave Woody-aster Mojave Aster | |
Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia | Mojave Woody-aster Mojave Aster | |
Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia | Mojave Woody-aster Mojave Aster | |
Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia | Mojave Woody-aster Mojave Aster | |
Xylorhiza wrightii | Big Bend Woodyaster Terlingua Aster Gyp Daisy Gypsum Daisy Big Bend Aster | |
Yucca angustissima | Narrowleaf Yucca | |
Yucca brevifolia | Joshua Tree Tree Yucca Cactus-yucca Yucca-palm | |
Yucca brevifolia | Joshua Tree Tree Yucca Cactus-yucca Yucca-palm | |
Yucca torreyi | Torrey Yucca Torrey's Yucca Spanish Bayonet Spanish Dagger Old Shag Palma | |
Yucca treculeana | Spanish Dagger Spanish Bayonet Don Quixote's Lance Palma Pita Palma De Datil Palmito | |
Zephyranthes atamasca | Atamasco Lily Rain Lily | |
Zenobia pulverulenta | Honeycup Dusty Zenobia | |
Zephyranthes treatiae | Zephyrlily | |
Zephyranthes treatiae | Zephyrlily | |
Zinnia acerosa | Desert Zinnia Dwarf Zinnia Dwarf White Zinnia Shrubby Zinnia Southern Zinnia | |
Zinnia acerosa | Desert Zinnia Dwarf Zinnia Dwarf White Zinnia Shrubby Zinnia Southern Zinnia | |
Zinnia acerosa | Desert Zinnia Dwarf Zinnia Dwarf White Zinnia Shrubby Zinnia Southern Zinnia | |
Zigadenus elegans | Mountain Death Camas White Camas | |
Zigadenus elegans | Mountain Death Camas White Camas | |
Zigadenus elegans | Mountain Death Camas White Camas | |
Zinnia grandiflora | Plains Zinnia Rocky Mountain Zinnia Prairie Zinnia Little Golden Zinnia Yellow Zinnia | |
Zinnia grandiflora | Plains Zinnia Rocky Mountain Zinnia Prairie Zinnia Little Golden Zinnia Yellow Zinnia | |
Zigadenus leimanthoides | Pine Barren Deathcamas Pine-barren Deathcamas | |
Zigadenus leimanthoides | Pine Barren Deathcamas Pine-barren Deathcamas | |
Zigadenus leimanthoides | Pine Barren Deathcamas Pine-barren Deathcamas | |
Zigadenus micranthus | Smallflower Deathcamas | |
Zigadenus nuttallii | Nuttall's Death Camas Death Camas Poison-onion | |
Zigadenus paniculatus | Foothill Deathcamas | |
Zigadenus paniculatus | Foothill Deathcamas | |
Zigadenus venenosus | Meadow Death Camas Death Camas | |
Zigadenus venenosus | Meadow Death Camas Death Camas | |
Zigadenus venenosus | Meadow Death Camas Death Camas | |
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |