Flowers in February

Flowers in February around Williamson County

February 14, 2017

When I first started learning about wildflowers in 2008, I was enchanted initially by the overwhelming displays one often sees in spring, whether it was Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) in March, followed by Indian Blankets (Gaillardia pulchella), and often ending with Horsemint (Monarda citriodora), Brown Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) and Mexican Hats (Ratibida columnifera) in late spring. Eventually, the late spring and summer heat, which often drones into fall in central Texas, pretty much extinguished any desire to be outside and for the most part the brilliant wildflower displays were done, even though I would still see some hardy things on the roadsides during the summer and often a fair amount of things popping up again in fall.

In 2012, I decided to start going out at other times of the year, including February. February can be interesting and peaceful month to hike around central Texas. The scourge of cedar fever that starts in December and usually lasts through January has usually passed and the weather can be warm enough to not get chilled and cool enough not to sweat. Fields have died back and there is little fear of trampling on an unsuspecting rattler. Leafless trees abound mixed with the green of ever present Ashe juniper and unfortunately more noticeable invasive Ligustrum. The alluring Bluebonnet explosion and the rush to see everything is usually still a month or more away.

While wildflowers in February are rarely plentiful, especially in the first half of the month, I have noticed about twenty or so have seemed to show up regularly in the few years that I have been looking. Quite a few others might show up randomly in other years, probably in more mild winters that allow some plants to overwinter or others to start bloom earlier than they might in other years. Of the most common twenty, about half are natives like Ten Petal Anemone (Anemone berlandieri) and Purple Poppymallow (Callirhoe involucrata var. lineariloba) and half are non-natives like dandelions (Taraxacum sp.) and Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), which tend to be found in more heavily disturbed, often frequently mowed, sites.

This list is primarily focused on Williamson County from 2012 through 2016, but also includes some found in Burnet and Travis counties. Some of these photos were taken of blooms in February while for others I had to defer to other, better pictures. Also note that in some cases, it was difficult to tell whether some of the plants might regularly bloom in February, in which case I left the column blank. Family names tend to reflect older names still used by USDA.

Family	Genus	Species	Common Name	Normal Bloom in Feb	County (Williamson/ Travis/Burnet)
Alismataceae	Sagittaria	sp.	Arrowhead	no	W
Apiaceae	Chaerophyllum	tainturieri	Chervil	no	W
Asteraceae	Calyptocarpus	vialis	Straggler Daisy, Horseherb		W
Asteraceae	Erigeron	modestus	Plains Fleabane		W
Asteraceae	Hedypnois	cretica	Cretanweed		W
Asteraceae	Parthenium	hysterophorus	False Ragweed	no	W
Asteraceae	Ratibida	columnifera	Mexican Hat	no	W
Asteraceae	Solidago	nemoralis	Prairie Goldenrod Old-field Goldenrod	no	W
Asteraceae	Sonchus	sp.¹	Sow Thistle	yes	W,T
Asteraceae	Taraxacum	sp.²	Dandelion	yes	W,T
Asteraceae	Tetraneuris	scaposa	Four Nerve Daisy	yes	W,B
Berberidaceae	Berberis	trifoliolata	Agarita	no	W
Boraginaceae	Buglossoides	arvensis	Corn Gromwell	yes	W
Boraginaceae	Lithospermum	incisum	Puccoon	no	W
Brassicaceae	Capsella	bursa-pastoris	Shepherd's Purse	yes	W
Brassicaceae	Draba	cuneifolia	Whitlow Grass, Wedge-leaf Draba	yes	W
Brassicaceae	Draba	platycarpa	Broad-pod Draba	yes	W,T
Brassicaceae	Lesquerella	recurvata	Slender Bladderpod	no	W
Brassicaceae	Myagrum	perfoliatum	Bird's Eye Cress	no	W
Brassicaceae	Rapistrum	rugosum	Bastard Cabbage	yes	W
Caprifoliaceae	Lonicera	fragrantissima	Sweet Breath of Spring	yes³	W
Caryophyllaceae	Cerastium	sp.	Chickweed	no	T
Caryophyllaceae	Stellaria	media	Chickweed, Common Chickweed	yes	W,T
Fabaceae	Lupinus	texensis	Bluebonnet	no	W
Fabaceae	Medicago	lupulina	Black Medick	yes	W
Fabaceae	Medicago	minima	Bur Clover	no⁴	W
Fabaceae	Melilotus	albus	White Sweet Clover	no	W
Fabaceae	Vicia	sativa	Common Vetch	no	W
Geraniaceae	Erodium	cicutarium	Pin Clover	yes	W
Geraniaceae	Geranium	sp.⁵	Crane's Bill, Geranium	no	W
Hydrophyllaceae	Phacelia	congesta	Blue Curls	no	W
Lamiaceae	Lamium	amplexicaule	Henbit	yes	W,T
Lamiaceae	Salvia	roemeriana	Cedar Sage	no	W
Liliaceae	Allium	drummondii	Wild Garlic Drummmond's Onion	no	W
Liliaceae	Androstephium	coeruleum	Funnel Flower	no	W
Liliaceae	Nothoscordum	bivalve	Crow Poison	yes	W
Malvaceae	Callirhoe	involucrata var. lineariloba	Purple Poppymallow	yes	W
Malvaceae	Malvastrum	coromandelianum	Three Lobe False Mallow	no	W
Oleaceae	Forestiera	sp.⁶	Elbow Bush	yes	W,T
Oxalidaceae	Oxalis	sp.*	Yellow Woodsorrel		W,T
Ranunculaceae	Anemone	berlandieri	Wind Flower Tenpetal Anemone	yes	W
Ranunculaceae	Ranunculus	macranthus	Large Buttercup	no	W
Rosaceae	Prunus	mexicana	Mexican Plum	yes	W,T
Rosaceae	Rubus	sp.⁷	Dewberry	no	W
Rubiaceae	Galium	aparine	Cleavers	no	W
Rubiaceae	Houstonia	pusilla	Small Bluets	no	W
Rubiaceae	Sherardia	arvensis	Field Madder	no	W
Rutaceae	Thamnosma	texana	Dutchman's Breeches	no	B
Scrophulariaceae	Castilleja	indivisa	Texas Paintbrush	no	W
Scrophulariaceae	Verbascum	thapsus	Common Mullein	no	W
Scrophulariaceae	Veronica	arvensis	Common Speedwell		W
Scrophulariaceae	Veronica	persica	Persian Speedwell	yes	W,T
Urticaceae	Urtica	chamaedryoides	Stinging Nettle		W
Verbeneaceae	Glandularia	bipinnatifida	Prairie Verbena	yes	W,T,B
Verbeneaceae	Verbena	canescens	Gray Vervain	no	W

1. Likely Sonchus asper, but I have never been comfortable telling it from Sonchus oleraceus.
2. Likely Taraxacum officinale.
3. While Lonicera fragrantissima always seems to bloom quite early, even in January sometimes, I have only ever seen one small cluster of shrubs, so it does not seem to be common in the area.
4. Medicago minima and Medicago lupulina are superficially similar and can be quite difficult to tell apart if they are not fruiting. My notes contain many instances where I saw one of these blooming early on and did not examine it closely, so it is possible that M. minima may bloom more commonly in February than indicated here.
5.It is quite likely that this was Geranium carolinianum. It seems to be the common one in the area, but at the time I saw this one I was not able to differentiate G. carolinianum from G. texanum, which I later found in the area as well.
6.Likely Forestiera pubescens. Also note that pictured here is the staminate(~male) inflorescence. The pistillate inflorescence looks different and is usually found on different plants.
7.Likely Rubus trivialis.

© 2017 Ryan McDaniel

Updated: 2017/02/16