Joined: Nov 12, 2018 Last Active: Oct 1, 2024 iNaturalist
I am an amateur tree buff and advocate for preservation of natural areas. I have been observing and identifying trees in Central Texas for over 40 years.
https://www.inaturalist.org/comments?commit=Search&q=@lanechaffin
https://lanechaffin.neocities.org/about_invasives
https://lanechaffin.neocities.org/about_ash_trees
Sycamores- https://bioone.org/ContentImages/Journals/lund/2003/6/1097-993X-6.1.4/graphic/f03_103.jpg
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77217307-1
Live oaks -https://lanechaffin.neocities.org/QuercussubsectionVirentes.png
Ashe Juniper-
J. ashei: Hemispheric scale leaf glands and nearly always one seed per cone
J. ovata: Oblong\elliptical scale leaf glands and usually two seeds per cone
https://w3.biosci.utexas.edu/prc/DigFlora/JUAS/cedar.html
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Distribution-of-J-ashei-var-ashei-and-var-ovata_fig3_228510256
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparison-of-whip-leaf-glands-for-J-ashei-var-ashei-and-var-ovata_fig2_228510256
Tickseed-
The main trait that is used to separate Coreopsis wrightii from Coreopsis basalis is the leaves;
In C. wrightii, the median and upper leaves have narrow segments, with the median leaves having terminal leaflets that are "more than three times as long as broad (ca. 1-3 mm wide). The lower stem also tends to be glabrous (smooth) to slightly pubescent (slightly hairy) on the internodes.
In C. basalis, the median and upper leaves have wide/broad segments, with the median leaves having terminal leaflets that are "mostly less than three times as long as broad (ca. 5-15 mm wide)". The lower stem also tends to be commonly pubescent to densely pubescent.
PHOTO OF C. BASALIS LEAF: https://inaturalist.ca/photos/281156173
PHOTO OF C. WRIGHTII LEAF: https://inaturalist.ca/photos/3812979 (zoom in)
They also occur in (mostly) different ranges:
C. wrightii: Central Texas to Southern Oklahoma
C. basalis: Texas*, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina.
*In Texas, C. basalis usually occurs in the South, and in the East (near the border for Louisiana).
Meadowpinks-
Calyces shorter than corollas in mature bud; yellow eye of corollas with sharply defined red border; known from s and w parts of nc TX......... S. formosa
Calyces usually ca. as long as or longer than corollas; yellow eye of corollas with adjacent reddish zone grading into pink but usually without sharply defined red border; known from n and e parts of nc TX........S. campestris
Sabatia formosa Buckley, BUCKLEY’S SABATIA. Similar to S. campestris; plant 7–28 cm tall; leaves 7–25 mm long; largest leaves generally at or near the stem base, with basal rosette typically persisting at flowering time; pedicels 20–62 mm long; corolla lobes ± broadly lanceolate to elliptic-rhombic, widest near the middle (narrower in shape overall than in S. campestris), 9–20 mm long (mean ca. 15), magenta-rose (typically more deeply pigmented than in S. campestris), with patterning similar to S. campestris but yellow or greenish yellow area with sharply defined red border and width of white band at base of corolla lobes < 1 mm. Loose sandy soils, but sometimes in clay, typically in more xeric situations than S. campestris; Comanche and Eastland cos. (Bell & Lester 1980); widespread in e 1/2 of TX, but not known from extreme ne part of the state. Late Mar–Apr. While S. formosa has often been considered an early flowering morph of S. campestris, we are following J. Pringle (pers. comm. of treatment forthcoming in Flora of North America) and Bell and Lester (1980) in distinguishing S. formosa from S. campestris. Electrophoretic as well as morphological evidence supports the separation; hybrids between the two have been observed but are limited by differences in flowering time (Bell & Lester 1980).
Horsemint-
Monarda stanfieldii- Species restricted to granitic areas of the hill country along the Pedernales and Colorado rivers. Distinguished from M. punctata by the cone of dense white hairs over the opening of the calyx.
ref https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164558801