Texas snakeweed facts for kids

Texas Snakeweed (Gutierrezia texana) is a flowering plant found in North America. It belongs to the daisy family, which is called Asteraceae. This plant is known by its common name, Texas Snakeweed.

What is Texas Snakeweed?

Texas Snakeweed (Gutierrezia texana) is a type of plant that flowers. It is part of the large Asteraceae family, which includes daisies and sunflowers. People often call it "Texas Snakeweed" because of where it grows and its appearance.

Where Does Texas Snakeweed Grow?

This plant is native to parts of North America. You can find it growing naturally in the south-central United States. This includes states like New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, and northwestern Louisiana. It also grows in northern Mexico, in areas such as Guanajuato and Hidalgo.

What Does Texas Snakeweed Look Like?

Texas Snakeweed is an annual plant. This means it completes its entire life cycle within one year. It is a smooth plant, meaning it has no hairs on its stems or leaves. It can grow quite tall, reaching up to 100 centimeters (about 39 inches) in height.

The plant produces many small flowers. These flowers grow in groups called "flower heads." Each flower head usually has two types of flowers:

• Ray flowers: These are like the petals you see on a daisy. A Texas Snakeweed flower head can have anywhere from 5 to 36 ray flowers. Sometimes, a flower head might not have any ray flowers at all.
• Disc flowers: These are the tiny flowers in the center of the head. There can be 7 to 48 disc flowers in each head.

Different Types of Texas Snakeweed

Scientists have identified a couple of varieties of Gutierrezia texana. These varieties are slightly different forms of the same plant species.

• Gutierrezia texana var. glutinosa
• Gutierrezia texana var. texana