Yesterday, I mentioned horseherb, Calyptocarpus vials. Also in the public lawn are:
• Henbit, Lamium amplexicaule. It has a square stem with circular leaves attached directly to it. It looks like a series of plates, stacked on a single stem — reminding me of the kind of tray on which high tea is served. In early spring, when the area suddenly becomes green, you can see its delicate purple flowers poking through the clover. The hunter-gatherers, ancient and New Age, value it for its vitamins and antioxidants. In Texas, this plant is sometimes called deadnettle, although some people insist that common name should be reserved for other species.
• Santa Maria, Parthenium hysterophorus. It’s in the aster family. It grows on the baked, parched caliche when there is no rainfall. The University of Texas has a photo of it growing through asphalt. A lot of people around here call it poverty weed. But another plant, Baccharis neglecta, is known as poverty weed or Roosevelt weed. In late January, the Santa Maria is vigorous, but no pretty white flowers yet.
You can find all three species in parks all over town.
The horticulturists say that San Antonio has 360 growing days a year, meaning that the temperature favors plant growth almost every day. This week, we’re supposed to have two nights where temperatures drop into the 20s. But afternoon highs are reaching 70 some days. Plants trying to bud are burned by frost.
About a month from now, the tug-of-war between hot and cold will be decided, and the ground will become impossibly green, almost overnight, with clover. San Antonio will look like Ireland for a bit.
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