Dry Country Delights

Rain falls infrequently in the southwestern part of Texas.  The Concho Valley does, however, usually see precipitation during the latter half of Spring.  Some years, like this one, see an abundance of rain.  Fools jump around, thankful for the flashfloods that further erode the soil and cause thousands of dollars in damage to the roadways. The land greens.  Carpets of flowering herbs cover the ground.  Sometimes, if the temperatures stay under ninety degrees for a prolonged period and several rains fall, the desert almost appears to disappear until Summer...

Many flowering plants near San Angelo need little in the way of moisture to flourish in July and August when the thermometer's mercury passes the triple digit mark and the rain gauge grows dusty from months of non-use...

Devil's Bouquet (Nyctaginia capitata)

The Devil's Bouquet and the Angel Trumpet belong to the family Nyctaginaceae, more popularly known as Four O' Clocks due to the way the flowers of some species open late in the day.  Angel Trumpet can be located on limestone soils in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts.  Its wicked cousin, Devil's Bouquet, inhabits dry parts of Texas and New Mexico...

Angel Trumpet (Acleisanthes longiflora)

Potatoes (with apologies to Dan Quayle for the spelling) are members of the Solanacae family along with Purple Groundcherries and Silverleaf Nightshades.  Neither requires much rain to flower... 

West of the 100th meridian and south of the 32nd parallel, the Purple Groundcherry pops up as Winter leaves.  It has a wider natural distribution than Devil's Bouquet or Angel Trumpet, extending up to the shortgrass prairie country.  Silverleaf Nightshade ranges farther-- stands can be found from California to Louisiana...

Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum eleagnifolium)

I recall Purple Groundcherry, incidentally, as the first plant I identified after moving to this area.  This was thanks to the first book I purchased here:  James A MacMahon's Deserts, one of the National Audubon Society Nature Guides series.  Its habitat is, MacMahon writes, ”open areas in desert plains", particularly those which have been disturbed by agricultural activity...

This identification was an empowering moment.  Very often in life, we face situations that tax patience and inner strength. It is a good thing to occasionally solve a minor mystery such as the identify of a plant growing in the yard.  To do this is to know that other problems can be solved with patience and inner strength even if we must, on occasion, seek out services from a guide who has traveled the same country we now explore...                                                                                                                  

Purple Groundcherry (Quincula lobata)

Note: All photographs by Louis R Nugent