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| Plateau Agalinis, an Edwards Plateau endemic |
Certain seasons bring to mind certain color palettes, such as the pastel-colored wildflowers of spring, or the deep orange and red leaves of fall. But did you know that there are some native plants that bloom pink well into the months of autumn? They include both Plateau and Prairie Agalinis (Agalinis edwardsiana and Agalinis heterophylla), Small Palafoxia (Palafoxia callosa), and Marsh Fleabane (Pluchea odorata).
Plateau Agalinis, also called Plateau False Foxglove and Plateau Gerardia, is a 1- to 3-foot tall erect, bushy plant with an airy texture that is endemic to limestone hills with thin soils on the Edwards Plateau region of Texas. It has light green stems, narrowly linear leaves to 1.25 inches long, and pink funnel-shaped blooms from August to October, on stalks as much as 1.25 inches long.
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| Plateau Agalinis, showing the long stalk |
Also called Prairie False Foxglove, Prairie Agalinis looks very similar to Plateau Agalinis except that its pink funnel-shaped blooms are on short stalks up to 0.2 inches long and its leaves are slightly larger. It blooms from June into October in grasslands and fields or in open woodlands near streams, often on more moist soils. Both of these Agalinis species are in the Figwort Family, and are host plants for the Common Buckeye butterfly.
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| Prairie Agalinis, showing the short stalk |
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| Common Buckeye adult |
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| Common Buckeye caterpillar |
Small Palafoxia or Small Palafox is a 2- to 3-foot tall upright, airy plant in the Aster Family, with sticky-hairy stems and solitary flowers on slender stalks that grows best in full sun on dry, gravelly soils. Occurring from August to November, its half-inch wide pink blooms consist only of disk (not ray) flowers, and the narrow, linear leaves are covered in fine hairs giving it a gray-green appearance.
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| Small Palafoxia |
Also called Sweetscent, Saltmarsh Fleabane, and Shrubby Camphorweed, Marsh Fleabane is an erect, branching plant to 3 feet tall, with simple toothed leaves, and dense, flat-topped clusters of pink flower heads from July to October. It is in the Aster Family, and it prefers to grow at the water’s edge or in low drainage areas in moist soil. It gets several of its common names from the sweet smell of the blooms and leaves, attracting many species of butterflies and bees. It is also a host plant for several small moths, including the Southern Emerald.
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| Marsh Fleabane |
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| Southern Emerald |
As you walk the local trails, wander through the meadows, and explore the water’s edge during these weeks of cooler weather before the first frost, you just might come across the somewhat surprising pink blush of fall!
