Cool As A Cucumber

 

Another common name for Cucumber Weed is Pennsylvania Pellitory

In the middle of our Central Texas winter, one does not normally think of plants emerging from their cold weather slumber.  But one plant starts to appears in the cooler days of late fall through early spring, and it is appropriately named Cucumber Weed (Parietaria pensylvanica).

While native throughout much of the US and into Mexico, Cucumber Weed, also called Pennsylvania Pellitory, is generally considered an urban weed.  It grows in light shade with moist to slightly dry soil, mostly in disturbed areas along the sides of buildings, in suburban yards and gardens, and in woods and thickets. In fact, its’ genus name is derived from the Latin paries which means ‘wall’, which is where the plant likes to grow, presumably due to its affinity for alkaline soils. It is a member of the nettle family, but lacks the stinging hairs of most nettles and is considered unarmed.

The typical upright habit of Cucumber Weed

Cucumber Weed is 0.5 to 1.5 feet tall, typically erect and unbranched, and has a green, 4-angled, hairy stem.  Its alternate, simple, thin green leaves are lance-shaped, up to 3.5 inches long and 0.75 inches wide with smooth margins, although they are smaller on younger plants.  

The leaves of Cucumber Weed are hairy and have smooth margins

Small clusters of bracts and flowers appear at the axils of the middle and upper leaves.  Each tiny, almost indistinct, greenish-white flower is surrounded by longer green bracts, and the bloom period lasts from April to November. Flowers can be staminate (male), pistillate (female), or perfect (male & female), and these different flowers kinds of flowers can appear together in the same cluster. Cross-pollination occurs by the wind, and the plant reproduces by reseeding itself.  It frequently forms colonies and while it is a persistent plant, it is not aggressive like most invasive species.

Cucumber Weed's tiny flowers are surrounded by long green bracts

Often considered a medicinal herb for its diuretic ability reportedly used to help flush out kidney stones, Cucumber Weed is also high in potassium and edible, although caution must be taken as a small percentage of people may be allergic to it.  The early leaves of young seedlings offer the strongest cucumber taste, while leaves from older plants seem to lose some of their flavor.  Some use the raw leaves in salads or smoothies, or steamed and mixed with pasta. In an online database of indigenous plants of Mexico, Cucumber Weed is called Hierba del Rayo or ‘Lightning Herb’, as it was said that a poultice of this plant applied to your forehead overnight would relieve the chills, fevers, headache, and nosebleed resulting from a nearby lightning strike.

Red Admiral

Care should be taken not to completely remove Cucumber Weed from your yard or garden as it also has value to several types of wildlife.  It is a host plant for the Red Admiral Butterfly, whose caterpillars eat the soft leaves and create shelters from predators by tying up leaves at the end of a shoot or by folding over a larger leaf.  

Lincoln's Sparrow

Cucumber Weed is a source of seed for Lincoln’s Sparrows during fall migration, and there is evidence that White-tailed Deer like to browse the foliage.  Try to stay cool as a cucumber and resist the temptation to pull up Cucumber Weed, as this is one ‘weed’ that is useful to humans and wildlife alike! 

Beat the Heat

 

Flame Acanthus is a hot weather bloomer.

The heat of the Texas summer is enough to make everything wilt, but there are some native plant species that truly thrive in these unrelenting temperatures and drought-stricken conditions.  These plants include Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii), Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii), Violet Ruellia (Ruellia nudiflora), and Western Ironweed (Vernonia baldwinii).

Turk’s Cap, also known as Drummond’s Turk’s Cap, Wax Mallow, Mexican Apple, Manzanita, and Sleeping Hibiscus, is a spreading shrub to 4 feet high, with large green leaves on upright stems.  Bright red flowers atop the stems are twisted into a whorl from which protrude red stamens.  These flowers are a natural source of nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies, and it is a host plant for the Turk’s-cap White-Skipper butterfly.  The resulting fruit is red and marble-sized, and edible for animals and humans alike. Turk’s Cap is the perfect plant to grow under trees that tend to shade out non-native turf grasses, as they form a natural cover and provide much needed color from May all the way to November.

Turk's Cap

Turk's Cap fruit

Turk's-cap White-Skipper

An airy, spreading shrub to 5 feet tall, Flame Acanthus has tender lance-shaped green leaves and tubular red flowers that open to 4 lobes and occur along terminal spikes.  Blooming in full sun from June to October, it attracts both hummingbirds and butterflies, and is also known as Hummingbird Bush, Wright’s Acanthus, and Mexican Flame.  It is the host plant for the Crimson Patch, Elada Checkerspot, and Texan Crescent butterflies. The fruit is a small, hood-shaped capsule with seeds attached to a hooked stalk that helps to eject them from the capsule when it dries and splits open.

Flame Acanthus

Flame Acanthus seed capsule

Crimson Patch

Violet Ruellia is an erect herb that is woody at the base with few branches, growing to 2 feet tall.  The dark green leaves are oval-shaped, and the trumpet-shaped violet flowers at the ends of stalks open at sunrise and fall from the plant in early afternoon, from March all the way through October. Also called Wild Petunia, it does well in sunny areas and is a host plant for the Common Buckeye butterfly.  One of its’ subspecies is a host plant for the Malachite butterfly, a south Texas species rarely seen in central Texas.

Violet Ruellia

Common Buckeye

Often stout and forming colonies 5 feet high, Western Ironweed has hairy unbranched stems, large green leaves with serrated edges, and loose clusters of bright purple blooms at the apex of each stem.  From July to the first frost, these fuzzy blooms provide nectar for various types of pollinating insects and the seeds nourish several species of birds.  Also called Baldwin’s Ironweed, it is the host plant for the Parthenice Tiger Moth.  While this species’ growth can be aggressive, it flourishes if allowed to spread in larger, open, sunny areas.

Western Ironweed

These native species can (and often should) be pruned back in winter as they can get too leggy.  They have low water needs once established, and can tolerate hot temperatures and still continue to bloom.  They are the perfect plants to beat the heat, benefit our local wildlife, and provide much needed color in your own native summer garden!

Distinctly Different Milkweeds

Pearl Milkvine

Much ado has been made of the more common and widespread milkweed species, but there are a handful of milkweed vines that are less common but more distinct, and just as useful as native host plants for Monarchs and related butterflies.

A fairly robust, twining vine 6 to 12 feet long growing in dry, light shade in thickets on rocky hillsides and woodland edges, Pearl Milkvine (Matelea reticulata) is best known for its heart-shaped leaves and flat, greenish-white flowers ½ to ¾ of an inch across with pearly, iridescent centers.   Also called Green Milkweed Vine, Net Vine Milkvine, and Netted Milkvine, its curious flowers have tiny white veins forming an intricate pattern on the surface of the petals, adding to their unusual look. In fact, ‘reticulata’ refers to this pattern, which mans ‘resembling a net or network’.  It blooms from April to July, especially in full sun, giving way to fairly large, interesting prickly follicles filled with seeds attached to silky threads.  This native species is a host plant to Monarch butterflies.

Plateau Milkvine

Both the Pearl Milkvine and Plateau Milkvine have prickly seed follicles

Often mistaken for Pearl Milkvine is Plateau Milkvine (Matelea edwardensis), endemic only to the Edwards Plateau of Central Texas.  This uncommon vine shares the same twining habit of Pearl Milkvine, but its leaves, while similar, generally have a somewhat wavy edge, and its flowers are bell-shaped instead of flat.  Additionally, its greenish-white flowers do not have a pearl center, and its petals are not solely reticulate-patterned, having parallel veins in their lower halves and centers, and reticulate or networked veins only on the edges or margins.  Blooming in April and May, this species can be found on gravelly soils in open woodlands, often climbing on other plants, and it is a native host plant for Queen butterflies.

Pearl Milkvine Flowers

Plateau Milkvine Flowers

Purple Milkvine

Usually found in the chalky soils of pastures and open ground, Purple Milkvine (Matelea biflora) has low-growing stems that radiate along the ground from a woody rootstock, and along with its opposite, triangular leaves, are covered with long, spreading hairs.  From March to June, pairs of star-shaped, five-petaled, dark purple-brown flowers rise from the base of the leaves, which gives this plant its other common name of Star Milkvine.  While its trailing stems can grow up to 2 feet long, it inhabits grassy areas and as such is often hidden and overlooked, except by Queen and Soldier butterflies who use it as their native host plant.

Talayote

Named for a small town in Chihuahua, Mexico, Talayote (Cynanchum racemosum) or Milkweed Vine is a climber that grows to 15 to 20 feet in full sun to part shade, and is a native host plant for both Queen and Soldier butterflies.  Talayote produces clusters of small cream and green flowers that are held above and among the heart-shaped leaves, blooming in the hotter months from summer into fall, and attracting a host of other small but beneficial pollinators.  Growing only in Central, South, and West Texas in the United States, this vine produces plump, smooth follicles 3 inches long, filled with silk-topped seeds, often remaining on the vine well into winter. 

Take the time to seek out and appreciate these lesser known members of the Milkweed family, as they are beautifully and distinctly different!