Winter Flower

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What a flower that blooms in the winter? Yes, we have several. And they are small and easily missed. So here is one of my favorites.

This little beauty is always a favorite stop on a winter drive-about. It is the Big-root Cymopterus (Vesper macrorhizus). This one was just barely showing signs of buds.
Moments later we found many that were blooming!
Buds not quite open. It’s flowers range from whitish to a lavender.

A few had opened. This species was moved from the genus Cymopterus in 2012. And this species is endemic to Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Around here I find it on limestone soils. However in the paper it says “Chalk slopes, limestone ridges and hillsides, limestone
gravel and silt, red clay, gypsum exposures, rocky and sandy prairies, mesquite-grassland, sandy
roadsides.” (Source: Hartman, R.L. and G.L. Nesom. 2012. Taxonomy of the genus
Vesper (Apiaceae). Phytoneuron 2012-94: 1–9. Published 16
October 2012. ISSN 2153 733X)
In the middle of the mowed area (which made it easy to spot the Cymopterus) a bright red spot shone ahead! A tuft from a Cardinal.
Then another a few feet away. Doesn’t bode well for this one.
Beautiful feathers!

This was the second stop on our drive-about. And we were happy the wind was calm at this point. It was still just about 28F!

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Keep looking!

The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know

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