Flora Fact
The ‘Me First’ Wildflower
When winter turns warmer, umbrellawort is an eager first bloomer.
Umbrellawort finds two ways to be special among Texas’ vast array of incredible wildflowers.
Texas umbrellawort (Tauschia texana) is a Texas endemic (found nowhere else but here), and it can be the earliest bloomer, ready to burst forth at the first sign of spring. You’ll see the showy yellow umbrella blooms of this member of the carrot family beginning in mid- to late January through March.
Restricted to the upper coastal delta terraces and river bottomlands and woodlands of the Brazos, Colorado, Guadalupe, Navidad, San Antonio and San Marcos River systems, the species has been documented in 14 Texas counties.
Umbrellawort grows in leaf litter typically under coastal live oak, Shumard oak, Durand oak, water oak, cedar elm, sugarberry, box elder and American elm. The understories where populations of Texas umbrellawort are typically found are dominated by palmetto, roughleaf dogwood, coralberry, red buckeye, deciduous holly, Cherokee sedge, basketgrass, purple meadow-rue, roundleaf groundsel, green dragon, frostweed, buttercups, wild onions and inland sea oats.
Look for Texas umbrellawort at Palmetto State Park, Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area, Stephen F. Austin State Park, Somerville Wildlife Management Area and San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge.
If you see Texas umbrellawort, contact TPWD botanist Jason Singhurst to help TPWD keep track of this species of greatest conservation need.
Courtesy Peggy Romfh | Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
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