Texas Almanac, 1956-1957 Page: 233

                                
TEXAS WILD FLOWERS                    233

Blue Texas Star,
Blue-Eyed Grass.         or Dogbane.
BLUE-EYED GRASS (Sisyrinchium pruinosum);
Iris family  perenmal; dry rocky hillsides, road-
sides and meadows of Central Texas; tufts of
flattened, grass-like stems and leaves; six-parted,
dainty, violet or deep blue flowers showing gay
yellow centers; flowers closing at night, with a
new crop of blossoms each morning. Dwarf blue-
eyed grass (S. minus), found in moist, sandy soil;
has small, reddish-purple flowers.
BLUE FLAX     (Linum  pratense); Flax family;
annual; distribution widespread, in limestone re-
gions and on rocky hillsides; wand-like swaying,
slender stems bearing dainty blue blossoms; petals
soon falling, marked with purplish lines at base;
similar to commercial plant Linum usitatissimum,
which furnishes our linen and from whose seeds
we get linseed oil. Many yellow flexes are com-
mon throughout the state; Linum rigidum var. ber-
landeri is a large-flowered prairie plant, and L.
rupestre grows on gravelly hillsides.
BLUE    GILIA-Golden   Eye   (Gilia rigidula);
Phlox family; perennial, rocky hillsides of western
part; slender branched plants with blue flowers
about an inch broad. False Flax (Gilia incisa) has
pale blue flowers and grows in rich, shady soil.
BLUE TEXAS STAR--Texas Dogbane (Amsonla
texana) ; Dogbane family; perennial, - on well-
drained chaly hills; leafy, erect stems bearing
flat-topped clusters of star-shaped, pale blue flow-
ers. Amsonia amsonia is to be found in the
moist lands of East Texas, and the white-flowered
Amsonia longiflora grows in the western part of
the state.
BLUET-Forget-me-not, Baby's Breath, Innon-
cence (Hedyotis crassifolia); Madder family; low
annual, dotting golf courses and sandy, moist
meadows in early spring; flowers four-lobed, pur-
plish-blue.
CELESTIAL     (Nemastylis  geminiflora) ;  Iris
family; bulbous perennial found on prairies of
North Texas leaves long and grass-like but plait-
ed in several folds; six-parted flowers a heavenly-
blue, white at base, opening about noon and last-
ing only a few hours.
DAYFLOWER-Widow's Tears (Commelina an-
gustifolia); Dayflower family; widespread; flow-
ers with two large bright blue petals and a third
which is small, pale and inconspicuous; flowers
open in the morning and last only a few hours.
C. crispa is abundant in the northern and western
parts of the state.

HAREBELL-Bluebell (Campanula reverchonli);
Bell-flower family; on granite rocks in Southwest
Texas- slender plants bearing dainty blue bell-
shaped flowers; related to bluebell of Scotland,
Canterbury bells and Chinese balloon-flower.
HYACINTH, WILD (Androstephium caeruleum);
Lily family; perennial; dry, rocky hills and prai-
ries; short plant bearing bluish-lavender blos-
soms; root bulbous. Meadow Hyacinth, also called
False Hyacinth, Indigo Squill and Quamasia, from
the Indian name Quamash, has very fragrant
flowers clustered in spikes. Its edible bulb was a
favorite food of Indians and pioneers.
LARKSPUR-Delphinium, Rabbit Faces, "Espu-
ela  del caballero'  (Delphinum  carolmianum) ;
Crowfoot family; perennial; in woods and sandy
soil of East Texas; irregular, spurred flowers.
the outer parts of which are bright blue and
the smaller, inner parts are purple; stalk growing
from a cluster of deeply-cut and toothed leaves
near the tuberous root. Prairie Larkspur (D. vir-
escens) has white flowers tinted with purple. It is
considered poisonous to sheep and cattle.
LOBELIA (Lobella berlandieri var. brachypoda) ;
Lobelia family; on sandy prairies in South Texas;
spike-like clusters of blue two-lipped  flowers,
marked with yellow on the lower lip. Some of
the lobelias have a milky sap containing a poison-
ous alkaloid used in medicine.
PSORALEA-Scurfy Pea (Psoralea cuspidata);
Pea family; on northwestern prairies; leaves and
flowers very much like the bluebonnet. Indian
Breadroot, Prairie Potato, Prairie Turnip, "Pom-
me Blanche," "Pomme de-prairie" (Psoralea la-
testipulata); perennial; dry lands of the South
and West* plant almost stemless; flowers nar-
row, pea-shaped, lavender; edible root used by In-
dians and pioneers. Wild Alfalfa (Psoralea tenui-
flora) resembles the cultivated alfalfa; a member
of another group of the pea family.
SALVIA-Blue Sage, Prairie Sage, Blue Bottle-
flower (Salvia azarea var. grandiflora); Mint fam-
ily; common in moist grounds on the prairies;
square-stemmed plants bearing long spikes of two-
lipped blue flowers, blooming from late spring to
fall; leaves with a sage odor. Blue Sage (Salvia
farinacea) has flowers varying from purple to
blue and white, calyx clothed with violet hairs;
grown in Eastern nurseries as a border plant.
Summer.
BLUEBELL-Blue Marsh Lily, Texas Bluebell,
Blue or Purple Gentian (Eustoma russellianum);
Gentian family; common in swampy places, mar-
gins of creeks and low grounds in prairie regions;
annuals with entire, opposite leaves; plants erect,
one to two feet tall. One of the best and most
popular of the commercial cut flowers.
NAMA-Blue Waterleaf (Hydrolea ovata); Wa-
terleaf family; a spiny, aquatic plant of East
Texas; sky-blue flowers about an inch broad.
WATER LILY-(Nymphaea elegans); Water-lily
family; in waters along the coast; floating leaves,
purple below, seven inches broad; flowers purplish-
blue or lilac, three to six inches broad.
Fall.
AGERATUM-Mist Flower, Floss Flowver (Eupa-
torium coelestinum); Composite family; perennial;
general distribution in moist soils and on creek