Hogwort, Woolly Croton, Texas Goatweed, Croton capitatus

I stumbled upon this odd looking plant while the hound and I were running at the edge of the woods near a bayou. They usually grow in recently disturbed ground. Someone had kindly mowed a path through the grass and these were about a foot in from the path

Attracts birds who find the seeds tasty. Can be toxic to cattle. Host plant for Goatweed Leafwing

Annual, Native
Male flowers near top, female flowers lower down
Blooms June-Oct
height 8″-36″, usually tops out about 18″
Prefers lots of sun, dry soil

May cause skin irritation

Phyllanthus urinaria Chamberbitter

ChamberBitter

The weeds are the plants I have the most difficult time ID’ing. No one puts out books on weeds. A reader contacted me, correctly pointed out that the seed pods were wrong for for Chamberbitter. That was an image I snapped in a park, incorrectly ID’ing it as Chamberbitter.  I’ve removed that image. If the plant you’re trying to ID has long seed pods it’s probably in the Mimosa family and a lot larger than Chamberbitter. You should also be wary of Mimosas that show up in your garden

This showed up a few years ago and it’s been impossible to eradicate. On the upside they are easy to pull up so it’s not a lot of work to remove them. Best practice is to pull them before they have a chance to reseed. Seeds require light to germinate

Height: up to 2′
Annual
Prefers warm, moist, shady soil, but will grow in full sun
Native to Asia

Don’t try this at home:
– plant may have anti-tumor, antiviral properties. This is folklore, I couldn’t find any scientific studies to back this up

Chamberbitter

Pseuderanthemum variable

Funny how the most common plants are the most difficult to identify. This one had me stumped for a long time.

It’s a weed, grows in shady areas, not invasive. It shows up some years and not others. This year has been very rainy, winter was cold, one or both or something else must trigger it.

Typically grows in zones 11-9b
Blooms late summer – early fall ( in Houston )
Propagate by dividing rhizomes, will self sow
Stays under 6″ in height
Grows in shady rain forests

Native to Australia
Host plant for Australian Leafwing butterfly
Relative of African Violet

( Australians claim it is impossible to remove by hand or weed killer, so it’s a good thing it’s not invasive )

It’s also a food for White Bearded Dragons. How could you not like it?

Pseuderanthemum is from Greek ‘false Eranthemum’

Information is scarce, as is often the case with common plants
Some Magnetic Island Plants

Button Bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

This is a deciduous shrub in zone 5 through 10. It blooms early summer with fragrant white spherical flowers. I’ve only seen it at the edge of wetlands growing wild.

The branches were used by Native Americans in arrows and stick games

Leaves contain glucosides, may cause skin rashes, severe toxin if ingested – keep from humans and pets

Sun to part shade
5′-15′ tall
4′-8′ spread
prefers wet soil, wetlands
Attracts butterflies, bees and hummingbirds

Easily grown from stem cuttings, challenging to grow from seed

Native to US

Papaver rhoeas aka Poppies

You see these often in Austin, it’s a bit too warm for them in Houston. They bloom in March each year. Poppies are annual but will reseed themselves. If you are purchasing seeds plant them in the fall after it gets chilly.

Seeds will survive in the soil for years, plants appear when the soil is disturbed exposing the seeds to some light. This is why they were so commonly seen near the trenches of WWI

Poppies produce prodigious amounts of pollen making them a great addition to a bee garden.

Native to Africa, extensively found throughout Middle East and the colder parts of Europe