Today I want to play a game. Many of you, especially if you live in Central Texas, know and grow some of my favorite native plants (that doesn’t necessarily mean they are only native to Texas, mind you). You might think you know these plants pretty well. But how well, or should I say, how closely do you know them? Can you ID these plants from these snippets? Some might be obvious, but others might not be so easy. Good luck!
A:
B: 
C: 
D.
E: 
F.
G.
H.
Think you got them all correct? Check your answers here. Do let me know how you did!
P.S. Expect Round 2 in the near future!
So I got 5 – I missed Heartleaf Skullcap (I said Lamb’s Ear), Golden Leadball tree (I said acacia or huisache), and Cedar Elm (I just said, I know it’s a tree!). And I guess to be fair, I didn’t get “lacey oak” I just got “oak”.
But awesome – I look forward to round 2!
Katina, you did great! I’ve been curious whether it would be tough or about right. I had a feeling Lacey Oak would be one of the harder ones — those emerging leaves are seriously red in color!
Your photography is stunning and what a fun game! I got half of them right. Looking forward to round 2:)
Thanks, Steph! I was playing with a macro lens, and of course the new perspective inspired me to do the game. I had fun creating it, so I’m looking forward to Round 2, too!
Love your macro shots – especially the four-nerve daisy (I had no idea the underside of each petal was outlined in green!) and the translucent cedar elm. I got five – like Katina, I said lamb’s ears (it’s a native plant quiz, d’oh!) and I said “oak” for lacey oak. I would have never gotten golden leadball tree in 10000 years.
Goodness, Caroline — I found your comment in the spam! Hopefully it’s all fixed now. I had a great time with the macro, and I knew the photos had some challenge to them. Had someone else taken the photos, I’m not sure how many I would have known myself!
Always fun to do a quiz. I need to get better at identifying trees. They are always my weak spot.
Trees can be a challenge, that’s for sure, Jenny. I’d really like to be better able to recognize trees from their bark — I can do this with a few, but not very many.
That was fun. I missed 2. Your Lacey oak pic looks similar to some post oak pics I took last year. I always took that new foliage for granted and then one day I noticed how really spectacular it is. Really puts the oak flowers to shame.
Impressive, Ally! My previous attempts at growing Lacey Oak failed, so I never had a chance to see the new foliage until this spring. I love my little trooper tree!
That 4-nerve daisy is *beautiful* at this stage — the outline of each petal in green is wonderful! Fantastic photos!
That was my reaction to the green outline, too, Alan — I never realized the petals had that until I started taking photos. In fact, I have more images of the 4-nerve that I plan to share in the future.
After having to think on the math practice thought I was doing well – then blew it on the trees. I recognized the sawtooth edge of the Cedar Elm but thought it couldn’t possibly be that translucent and who knew that vivid red was the start of Lacy Oak leaves. Loved this! Do it again, please, please, please.
I will, Vicki — I promise!
I don’t wanna play the game, I just want to tell you the close up shots are all great! I especially like the daisy like yellow flower with the green outlines. It looks like a child outlined each petal with a green colored pencil!
I have so much more admiration for the 4-nerve daisy because of those green petal outlines, Robin. I’m glad you liked the photos!
I liked them too. And I’m not playin’ this round either. Most of those looked unfamiliar to me! But I like the game idea! May have to try this myself, sometime… 🙂
I meant to say that #1 was one of my favorite natives here in Virginia but I was rusty on the rest
That’s one of my favorites, too, Jan! I’m trying to get mine to spread across my yard right now.
It’s a fun but challenging game, indeed. Everything changes when you zoom in, doesn’t it?
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