Photo Essay
The Diversity of Midland's Urban Forest: Plants
The 2008 class of the Llano Estacado chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists and other volunteers took thousands of pictures of wildlife in the urban landscape of Midland. We have selected the 250 best photos. Among the photographers are R.L. Orth, Sharon Long, Nina McCart, Chris Cherry, Randall Rogers, Leslie Harman, Taffy Armstrong, J.D. Drissel.
Related: Essay | Birds | Insects | Mammals | Reptiles
Click on each image to see a larger version; use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.
Dandelions compete with grass and other ground covers.
A small butterfly found the bloom of a hog potato growing in the cracks of a street.
Tiquilia is a common perennial of the West Texas landscape, and can be found in street medians and vacant lots.
Oxalis is another weed that is found in many lawns and yards. A pink oxalis is well-loved ornamental plant, but the little yellow one is considered a weed for its prolific reproductive capabilities.
Bindweed is another native plant that will always find a place to climb, even in a home landscape.
Almost every vacant lot has at least one big buffalo gourd vine sprawled on the ground.
Flowering straw (or skeleton plant) has almost no leaves, and because its seeds are parachutes, will always find a spot in a vacant lot or untended yard.
European bindweed is a horrible pest that comes to town in cheap bird seed. It is almost impossible to get rid of, and can choke out other plants in a flower garden.
Wild lettuce shows up in every untended corner of town - another member of the daisy family with seeds that act as parachutes and drift around on the wind.
Old trees in town sometimes are hollow, and some birds will nest in the holes. A few Carolina Wrens live in an old part of town, where tree hollows are common.
Chocolate daisy is a common wildflower in vacant lots in town, and in barditches of the main arterial streets.
An old Siberian elm had a weird growth on it.
Hierba de hormiga joined a tiquilia in a vacant lot.
False ground cherry is a common weed growing in the caliche alley ways of town.
In a damp corner of a yard moss and mushrooms grew.
Even a perfectly manicured fescue lawn has mushrooms.
When a sunflower in a vacant lot first opened, a photographer noticed a waxy build up in its center. What caused it?
A big black wasp found a sunflower bud in a vacant lot. Vacant lots often have an amazing diversity of life.
Vervain is another small wildflower than can grow in cracks in the street, as well in vacant lots and alleyways.
Mushrooms are found after almost every rain - even in the winter.
Is this a "Shaggy Mane" amanita, a posionous mushroom?
Old trees often have dozens of holes in their bark.
Grassburs and goatheads are the worst pests in West Texas. They are usually found in freshly disturbed soil, and will disappear as other plants take over.
This purple mustard (originally found only in Korea) now grows in a pipeyard in south Midland. It has been found in many states of the union in recent years, but in Midland, it only grows one place.
White rain lilies grow in shallow rocky soil south of Midland, but after one rainy August, thousands were found growing in vacant lots, yards, and even in parking lots around downtown Midland. Had the original plants been brought to town for use as an ornamental a hundred years ago and then spread over an area about 6 blocks by 6 blocks in the intervening years?
Purslane was originally found in Asia, but now has spread all over the world (except for Antartica.) It can be eaten as a chewy succulent green!
Many species of spurge are found in town. They have milky sap that will severely irritate a person's eyes if accidently rubbed into the eye.
Hog potato came up in the middle of a street.
Sow thistle is another European weed that is now found all over the world.
Kisses (or gaura) is another common vacant lot wildflower. Six species live in Midland County.
Henbit is another European weed found all over the world. It blooms for a few weeks in late February and March and then dies. The flat seeds of peppergrass are in front - a fine addition to a spring salad!
Spiny aster normally grows in playas where the ground has been wet, but it has become a common weed in city parks, blooming even when it is mowed.
Silver-leaf nightshade (or trompillo) is a hated weed in town, with its stickery stems. Its rhizomatous roots spread around, so it is hard to kill. Asadero cheese is made with its green berries.
This species of mushroom came up in a clump.
Some insect found this trompillo berry tasty.
Grassburs are hard to get out of dog and cat fur.
Spiny yellow aster blooms in almost every month of the year, and is found in every vacant lot and alley in town.
Spiny yellow asters have balls of white seeds with little parachutes.
Sida (or cheeses) is a common pest in city parks and alley ways.
A huge shelf fungus grew on an old stump in town.