Natural History Wanderings

Texas Wildflower Sightings posted the following new wildflower reports:

NE of Mason in NE part of Mason county
Crossroads: Ranch Road a1900 & 2618
Flower Types: coreopsis
For miles in any direction , whole hillsides of flowers. That inclusdes the 2 miles I traversed on Fly Gap RD, an extension to the east of RR2618. It goes several miles more to Pontotoc. Also a nice view available a very short distance up Spill Mine Rd, west of intersecting Ranch Roads 5/20/2012

The Woodlands
Crossroads: FM2621 and FM1155
Flower Types: horsemint, white prickly poppies, thistle, tickseed, blanket flowers, cone flowers, daises
The fields in Washington County are covered with horse mint but since its coloring is so subtle it is not a very showy display. This flower begs to be seen up close. Other than the horsemint, white prickly poppies and thistles the wildflower coverage is pretty spotty and the fields look a little dry. I did find a few nice photo-ops along FM2621 and FM1155 near Washington-on-the-Brazos that included blanket flowers, daisies, tickseed sunflowers and cone flowers. 05/18/2012

Austin
Crossroads: Burnet Rd. FM 1325 between Shoreline Dr. and Merrilltown Dr.
Flower Types: basket-flower, texas thistle, coreopsis, sunflower
This stretch, especially on the east side of the the road, has lots of basket-flowers Centaurea americana, Texas thistles Cirsium texanum, and coreopsis coreopsis tinctoria, along with some scattered sunflowers. You can park in the old Merrilltown Cemetery to get out and take a closer look. 5/18/2012

Round Rock
Crossroads: Southeast corner of Schultz Ln. at Louis Henna Blvd.
Flower Types: basket-flower, texas thistle, sunflower
The large tract on this corner is heavily blanketed with basket-flowers Centaurea americana in their prime. Some dense stands of Texas thistles Cirsium texanum are mixed in, along with some scattered sunflowers. 5/18/2012

See all of their updates at: Texas Wildflower Sightings