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There are some really exciting plants here in Texas. They can take our breath away or cause shouts of verbal exuberation! Some of these are the large showy plants found in a flower garden.
I’m sure that many of us have looked at a flower or fruit in our gardens with pride and said, “ah yes, I grew this.” Perhaps we’ve seen some fascinating part of plant, like the extrafloral nectaries on the stipules of a vetch, researched its purpose and said, “wow!”
As I’ve just been learning about plants for the past couple years, I find myself saying “wow” a lot when I’m outside looking around for plants.
There is one plant in particular that has sparked my interest in some of the rare native plants of Texas. Dalea reverchonii, or the Comanche Peak Prairie Clover, has only been documented in three counties in the entire world: Parker, Hood, and Wise counties in North Central Texas. I saw it for the first time outside of an electrical substation on the south side of Weatherford.
After reading about this plant for a while, it really was a breathtaking experience to see it in person. Dalea reverchonii is a perennial plant with many stems that grow close to the ground (decumbent). They have the ability to grow in a dense mat, but I’ve typically seen the plants sparsely growing to about 15 inches in diameter. They have pinnately compound leaves with around 11 leaflets that are about half an inch long. I think they have a striking bloom (albeit small); the flowers are a lovely purple with bright orange anthers. They are in the bean family (Fabaceae), so the fruits are pods (see Rare Plants of Texas by Jackie M. Poole for more information).
Just as interesting as the plant is the original discovery (and rediscovery) of this species. Julien Reverchon, a French immigrant and avid botanist, first discovered this plant “on the rocky top” of Comanche Peak in 1882. It was not found again on the top of Comanche Peak for 121 years, until Bob O’Kennon, a botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, rediscovered the plant growing in a small area in a specific soil type. This is what makes this plant so rare; it is adapted to growing only in the Walnut Limestone formation and is found nowhere else.
With Bob O’Kennon and my professor from Tarleton State University, Dr. Allan Nelson, we are conducting research on Dalea reverchonii. First of all, there are several populations that we are monitoring and assessing the health of the plants and the associated species. We are also looking for new populations in the Walnut Limestone formation which could sustain re-introduced populations. We have conducted germination experiments and will soon start recording the pollinators of the flowers.
I have been charmed by this plant. Each time I go out to monitor some of the populations, I remember the first time that I saw one of these plants. It’s an incredible species and one of the rare endemic plants of Texas.
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: kieschnick
