Descriptive Flora 



107 



packed tightly in the cylindrical spikes. Petals 5, violet. April 

 and May. On the limestone hills and slopes. Differs from 

 Petalostemon pubescens in being covered with few, short, silky 

 hairs. Species named for S. W. Stanfield a Texas botanist and 

 resident of San Marcos. 



Petalostemon pubescens (A. Gray) Heller. Prairie Clover. 



Similar to Petalostemon stanfieldii but plant is glaucous and 

 calyx glabrate. 



Petalostemon emarginatus Torr. & Gray. Prairie Clover. 



Plant similar to the above species but having silky, furry 

 heads to 1" long), and leaflets more numerous (13 to 19), 

 wedge-shaped and notched at their tips. Flowers purple. March 

 and April. In sandy soil. Usually seen south of the city. 



Petalostemon obovatus Torr. & Gray. Pussy-Foot. 



Pale, leafy plants, 1 to 2' tall, with soft silky foliage and 

 thick silky spikes of inconspicuous yellow flowers. Leaves alter- 

 nate, once-pinnately compound, 1 to 2" long. Leaflets 5 to 9, 

 the blades soft and densely covered with pale silky hairs, about 

 %" long. Spikes cylindrical, 2 to 4" long, thick (about Y^'), the 

 pointed silky bracts more conspicuous than the small yellowish 

 petals. Stamens 5. May, June and July. In sandy soil. 



Meibomia wrightii (A. Gray) Kuntze. Tick-trefoil. Stick- tight. 



Perennials 1 to 2' high, with erect stems, alternate, oblong- 

 ovate leaves, 1 to 2" long, conspicuously folded against the stem, 

 small, inconspicuous, purplish, bonnet-shaped flowers, blossoming 

 singly at intervals along the naked ends of the branches, and 

 followed by flat pods, that are contracted between the seeds, and 

 fall apart at these constrictions when mature into 1-seeded 

 (usually triangular) joints. Leaves given as compound but con- 

 sisting only of 1 blade similar to an ordinary simple leaf. Pod 

 3 to 5 jointed. Not common. March to June. 



