McCulloch County flowers (and such)

Everything in McCulloch County sticks, stings or bites (OK, just about everything). I know that is often said about Texas in general, but it is TRUE about McCulloch County.

We visited friends to harvest agarita for an attempt at making jelly.* Their place was alive with blooms and creatures enjoying the flowers.

I was thrilled to see the cactus blooming as I had not been happy with the blossoms I photographed in Uvalde/Real Counties.**

We took loads of photos, got a few fire ant bites, gathered agarita berries, and headed home.

I. Agarita/Algerita/Mahonia Trifoliolata*** harvest:

"Berries" on the bushes (protected by those sharp leaves)

DH and MD "beating the bushes"

Agarita harvest - there are bugs and ants and spiders, leaves and cactus and twigs, and all kinds of other stuff mixed in with the berries.

When you look close, you see some of the creatures and other "stuff" that is harvested along with the berries.

II. Cacti:


This is a lovely cactus (I think it is a cholla) and the blooms are incredible. The insects were enjoying them as well.

I am not sure I saw the bee when I was taking the photo.

But then he moved, digging in.

We talked about trying prickly pear jelly when the fruit (tunas) ripen. We decided to try the agarita first and decide about the cactus jelly later (with prickly pear you have to burn off the thorns). I will note that on one website I counted 24 varieties of prickly pear. I don't know which these are, but the blooms are truly stunning and the bees and other insects love them.

Prickly pear

Bees and other insects were everywhere - rolling in the pollen.

There are beetles further in the blossom as well as the bee.

 III. Other stuff:

The bloom was tiny and low-growing. I have no idea what it is.

Closeup you can see it has a very complex blossom.

Our friends have tried to get rid of this grass (sacahuista), but it is tough. We stopped because we saw yet another insect sheltering.****

This was as much a test of the camera as anything.

And there you are - not a bad photo of a Buckeye.***** And, yes, the "eyes" are used to scare off predators.

I think this is a ruellia, from the acanthus family. They are often called wild petunias.

Hairy Primrose

I knew immediately that it was a primrose, but I was unfamiliar with the variety until now.

Catclaw acacia, Acacia greggii

It is hard to ignore this small tree when blooming (soft pale yellow/white fluffy blooms) or when the beans are so lovely.

The thorns are profuse and nasty little devils.

It is a pretty little thing, but produces a nasty bur.

Trailing ratany******

The goathead bur (also known as the sandbur) is supposed to be nothing compared to that of the trailing ratany.

There are always familiar "favorites" on our walks and many plants and insects that are new to us. This spring has been a gift of colorful sights.



NOTES:

*More on the jelly adventure soon - watch for it.

**These areas are both "west Texas," but very different in "growing seasons" or maybe it is different varieties of prickly pear. Most of the cactus had already bloomed in the areas along the Frio River. Those I found blooming were usually inaccessible.

We started seeing pastures full of blooming cactus just north of the road from Mountain Home to Rocksprings and those on our friends' property were beautiful.

***http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MATR3

****http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=NOTE  A Texas native, sacahuista can be used as an ornamental plant, but our friends tell us it is highly invasive and hard to kill. 

*****Buckeye: This butterfly is seen in the United States. It is also in some places in Mexico. This butterfly is brown and orange. It also has patterns on its wings. These patterns look like eyes. These are used to scare off predators. This scares off other animals because it does not look like a butterfly. [From http://lifecycleofbutterflies1.blogspot.com/]

****** http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=KRLA

See also:http://thebeepasture.blogspot.com/2014/06/early-summer-flowers-in-tandy-prairie.html

 
Other Resources (I am saving these for future reference. Some of these have been helpful.)

1. This site appears to be a work in progress, but there are things noted here that make me want to return and observe - http://www.inaturalist.org/places/mcculloch-county#taxon=47126

2. http://www.thehibbitts.net/Cactus/TXCactus/SpeciesAccounts4.html

3.  http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/texas-primer-sticker-bur

4.  https://uswildflowers.com/wfquery.php?State=TX