franpfer's Favorites

The last picture is UV flora, aka Bee vision

This population was discovered by William R. Carr in 1998.

Thank you so much @knightericm !

I went to Bell county to see Tubular Bluestar (Amsonia longiflora var. salpignantha) yesterday.
Do you know we used to have many Tubular Bluestar, or Trumpet Slimpod in Austin? These rare plants grow on the limestone hills or in rocky canyons in Travis county.
An old record from Wisconsin State Herbarium, April 1947, the plants were collected at "Hillside above old Black? cemetery, crossroad from Dallas Highway to Cameron Road. 10 miles north of Austin". Once common in East Austin, now all of them are gone, except maybe one or two locations hidden somewhere in Austin.

*Edited: If you have these plants growing on your property, please let us collect their seeds for the seeds bank. Thank you very much.

Following the (self-proclaimed) golden rule of plant-hunting: where there's one, there's always more. And there weren't just more, one had a flower! Initially found on Wednesday (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150686422)

Localized population restricted to bare patches covered died-back grass
and occasional leaf litter. Estimated 12-18 plants in this population. In a very narrow patch of ground between sidewalk and Inner Campus Drive and southern wall of Wagener Hall, partially to fully shaded by a few trees.

Aristolochia erecta?

Growing on silty, clay soil, bare ground south of Waggener Hall. Will monitor for flowers if confirmed. Would be a rather interesting location for this species, in the middle of UT Austin campus.

This is the first time I've been completely bamboozled by a plant in a while. Maybe because it isn't a vascular plant...

I didn't liverworts existed in Texas. So cool, never seen one before!

Growing in a garden bed in the elevated "patio" area around Welch Hall, under planted yaupon holly and other planted bushes. Appears to be some weed barrier covering much of the area. Population spread across much of the entire bed.

We have had several huge groups of female red-winged blackbirds covering our yard this winter. A smaller group visits every morning and evening. They usually migrate through but never stay all winter, and never in these numbers.