The Texas Mountain Laurel, Sophora secundiflora, is in full bloom along the creek.
The purple blossoms are almost like hanging bluebonnets.
The scent reminds me of the tangy sugar candy that came in a straw when I was a boy. You unraveled one end of the straw and shook the tiny granules into your mouth. They were a penny apiece.
Sophora secundiflora is beautiful, but it’s not a tame tree. It fueled the flight of the White Shaman.
The Cualhuiltecan peoples brewed a hallucinogenic drink from the beans of the tree. The drink was featured in mitotes, those wild parties that so frightened the fathers at the missions. Those who drank the brew saw visions from the spirit world.
Those visions inspired the rock art that has been preserved at places like Seminole Canyon.
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