Texas Plants

I’ve been having fun trying to identify more plants after attending a plant walk at the last state park. So, here are some of the things I’ve been learning:

Ball Moss is an epiphyte (air plant) in the pineapple family. This has been used in the past like Spanish Moss for stuffing or mulch.

I just like the looks of the lumps on the tree. I guess it is called the “toothache tree”. The plant numbs your mouth if you chew on the leaves or bark. I chewed on a stick for a bit and it does numb your mouth quickly with a taste like novacaine. Very interesting! 

This is just a good looking flowering plant called Texas Lantana or Calico Bush.

This has a bunch of names but the most common seems to be Turk’s Cap. The flowers and leaves are edible. The leaves are kind of boring like lettuce while the flower is sweeter. Both are supposed to be full of vitamins.