Curly-cup Gumweed

Description:

Grindelia squarrosa (curly-top gumweed or curly-cup gumweed) is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant which grows to a height of 90 cm (3 ft) and bears yellow flowers from June to September. It was discovered by Lewis and Clark and before that it had been used by Great Plains Tribes as a medicinal herb. The leaves are alternate with sawtooth margins.

Habitat:

This was in section 71 of the LBJ Grasslands. It was a dry prairie area or mesa. The soil had ocean fossils showing. Parts of this area of Texas have Crustaceous era ocean bottom exposed.

Notes:

Lyndon B. Johnson Grasslands is 20,313 acres located in north-central Texas. Before the federal government purchased them back in the late 1930s, the grasslands were mostly abandoned farms and ranches suffering from severe soil errosion from poor agricultural practices.