Also known simply as Little Bluestem, this is an ornamental, perennial bunchgrass that grows up to 2 feet tall. It forms dense mounds of slender, blue-green stems that become deep brownish red by September, and produces white seed tufts that last about 1 to 2 weeks in the fall. This bunchgrass grows in full sun to partial shade and in a variety of dry, well-drained soils.
Other names for this plant include White Sassafras, Ague Tree, Cinnamon Wood, Mitten Tree, Saloop, and Smelling Stick. This medium-sized, aromatic tree grows 35 to 50 feet tall with three different leaf shapes that have outstanding fall color. Clusters of yellow-green flower balls appear all over the female tree and more sparsely on the male, with dark blue fruits on scarlet stalks appearing on female plants in late summer. Sassafras grows in full sun to shade, and in moist, rich, sandy loams.
Otherwise known as Red Elderberry, this treelike shrub grows 8 to 20 feet tall. It produces fragrant, pale, cone-shaped flowers at the ends of stem branches, followed by bright red or purple fruit clusters. The berries are enjoyed by a variety of wildlife, though they can be poisonous to humans if eaten raw. This shrub prefers moist to wet soil, and can grow in full sun to shade.
The American Black Elderberry or American Elder is a deciduous shrub growing 5 to 12 feet tall and wide. It grows clusters of small, fragrant, white flowers that precede clusters of black fruits often collected for jams and jellies. This tree grows best in full sun to partial shade, and in moist to wet clay soils. Its flowers and fruits attract a variety of wildlife including birds and butterflies.
Also known as Scarlet Sage, Tropical Sage, and Indian Fire, this annual plant grows to 4 feet tall and easily reseeds itself. It produces several whorls of showy, red flowers from an interrupted spike on a square stem from February through October, highly attracting hummingbirds. Blood Sage can grow in full sun to shade in dry to moist soils.
Also called Pitcher Sage and Giant Blue Sage, this is a clump-forming perennial that typically grows 3 to 5 feet tall. It produces stiff stems which spout whorls of two-lipped, azure blue flowers in spikes from mid-summer to fall attracting bees and hummingbirds. Azure-Blue Sage grows best in partial shade and in a variety of dry soils, including sandy, loamy, clayey, and limestone-based soils.
Scouler’s Willow is a deciduous shrub or small tree that can reach up to 45 feet in height, with dark green leaves that are nearly hairless above and hairy below. Its flowers are tiny and grouped in catkins, which then give way to light reddish-brown, long-pointed seed capsules. This fast-growing plant does well in full sun to shade and in moist to dry soils.
Also known as Gulf Black Willow or Swamp Willow, this fast-growing, deciduous tree grows 30 to 60 feet tall on single or multiple trunks topped by a spreading, rounded, sometimes irregular crown. Its fall color is variable, normally greenish-yellow. This tree can grow in full sun to partial shade, in moist to wet soils, and is flood and silt resistant. Its dark brown/black bark is soft and often food for deer, rabbits, beavers, and other such browsers. Black Willow is also a larval host to a number of butterfly and moth species.
This is a narrow, deciduous, perennial shrub or small tree that grows to 20 feet in height. It has multiple trunks and dark-gray, scaly bark, and leaves that are shiny, broad, and bright-green. Furry catkins begin appearing during late winter and early spring, the flower buds bursting and exposing silky hairs. This plant is short-lived, growing in full sun and moist soils.
Texas Coneflower is a herbaceous perennial that can grow up to 4 feet tall. Its flowers bloom from May to November, the drooping, yellow petals surrounding a large, dark cone. It grows in full sun and in dry soil. This plant is moderately deer resistant and attracts butterflies as well as small songbirds that eat its seeds.
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