Outdoor
Grazing North Texas: Purple Threeawn
By Tony Dean | [email protected]
Purple threeawn is a short-lived perennial grass that is native to the western two-thirds of the United States, and can be found in Northern Mexico and Southern Canada. This species has been separated in the past into several distinct species. The PLANTS Database currently recognizes a single species with five varieties. There are about 11 varieties of threeawns in Texas, with about half being annual and half of them perennial. These bunch grasses can grow from six to 20 inches in height and are adapted to most soil types.
Perennial threeawns are among the early plants to green up each year and provide limited grazing for a few weeks until seeds begin to develop. The leaves of most threeawns are flat, slender, and often curled near the end. The common identification trait of all threeawns is the presence of three small awns arranged like helicopter blades above each seed. In some threeawn species, these awns can irritate the eyes, mouth and throat of grazing animals. If you’ve ever walked through a field of mature threeawn while wearing low quarter shoes and socks, you will find that threeawns can irritate people, too, by sticking in your socks.
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2021 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Tony Dean, [email protected]
If moisture is adequate, there are several winter annual grasses that dominate the landscape during early spring in Texas. One of the most common is Rescuegrass.
This winter annual is native to South America but grows over much of the United States and can be found in all ecoregions of Texas. Rescuegrass is easily recognized by its flat seed head.
Numerous seed heads produce seed that is transported by animals and can quickly spread to other areas.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
The National Garden Bureau has designated 2024 as the ‘Year of the Angelonia’ and I am in full celebration mode. As I was preparing for my contribution to the celebration, I was, however, sent into taxonomic trauma.
For the last 26 years of deep love for the Angelonia, or summer snapdragon, I have told everyone via newspaper, radio and television that they were in the Scrophulariaceae family. Since most gardeners don’t like those words, I modified or simplified the snapdragon family, but somebody has tinkered with green industry happiness and moved Angelonia to the Plantaginaceae or plantain family. I immediately reached out to my friend Dr. Allen Ownings, Horticulture Professor Emeritus with the Louisiana State University AgCenter. I said, “Did you know this, or better yet, did you do it?” He said, as I expected, that the Taxonomist group had done it. This reminded me that someone once said taxonomists have to eat, too.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Jelly Cocanougher
Brazen rumbles cut through the daylight stillness. Enamored by the grandiose symphony of the firmament, tinged in anticipation from where the light will snap next.
The clouds dance in the sky as a love letter to the electrically-charged synergy of the ground and air. It moves unashamed, reckless, and bold. It is raw power that could command attention for any being, a reminder that we are attuned to the primal opus of flora and fauna. The spirit of the prairie was awakened, the hands of a cowboy rests at the heart of it all, a symphony in combination.
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