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Project Noah Nature School
Proboscidea louisianica
Leaves: Simple, cordate, obtuse/broadly acute apices, pubescent surface and margins (no microscope or lens for specific details) Flowers: did not note inflorescence type (guess is raceme), trumpet shaped, bilateral (?) symmetry, not sure of ovary position (guess is epigynous), corolla - five fused petals (bilabiate?), glandular! One seed pod developing now.
Discovered in front of house on undeveloped and naturalized transition zone of Blackland prairie and Crosstimbers in north central Texas. Never planted with ornamentals, but served as bovine pasture for several years.
Discovered July 17, 2011, in flower. I don't mow much, so the single plant remains in place. Currently one developing seed pod. Leaves are pubescent; all flower parts are glandular as can be seen in the photographs.
Identified this plant in Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi. Shearer Publishing, 19?. Spurs at tip of seedpods caught in animal fur and dispersed. The young and fleshy seed pods can be pickled and eaten. They reputedly have an unpleasant odor, but I did not detect such from the small plant on my place. Given my early training in botany, I am curious about the evolutionary function of the glandular hairs (some sequester minerals from the soil, others contain compound to repel predators, etc) for this species (perhaps a volatile and resinous compound that imparts the odor?) and its possible medicinal value.
Both pods and seed were food sources for indigenous peoples, who also used used the pods for basket construction. The young pods can be added to soup to serve as a thickening agent.
Spotted on Jul 17, 2011
Submitted on Aug 15, 2011
