Leucophyllum frutescens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leucophyllum frutescens |
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Leucophyllum
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| Species: |
frutescens
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Leucophyllum frutescens is an evergreen shrub. This means it's a bushy plant that stays green all year round. It belongs to the figwort family, called Scrophulariaceae. You can find it growing naturally in Texas in the southwestern United States. It also grows in northern Mexico, in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.
Even though many people call it Texas sage, it's not a true sage plant. Real sage plants belong to a different group called Salvia. This plant has many other fun names too! People call it Texas Ranger, Texas rain sage, cenizo, Texas silverleaf, Texas barometerbush, ash-bush, wild lilac, purple sage, senisa, cenicilla, palo cenizo, or hierba del cenizo.
The flowers of the Texas sage grow one by one from the leaf joints. They look like bells or funnels. Each flower has five main parts and two lips. You'll often find this plant growing in rocky soil that has a lot of calcium in it.
Growing Texas Sage
Texas sage is a very popular plant for gardens. People love to use it to decorate their yards. It's often planted along edges or in open areas, especially in places that are warm and dry. This plant doesn't need much water, which is great for saving resources.
It's also easy to shape into hedges, which are like living fences. When it blooms, the whole plant gets covered in beautiful flowers. There are many different types of Texas sage you can grow. Some popular ones include 'Green Cloud', 'White Cloud', 'Compacta', 'Convent', and 'Bert-Star'.
Texas Sage and Animals
The Texas sage plant is very important for some insects. It acts as a "host plant" for certain caterpillars. This means the caterpillars eat its leaves and live on the plant.
Two types of caterpillars that love Texas sage are the theona checkerspot (Chlosyne theona) and the calleta silkmoth (Eupackardia calleta). These caterpillars rely on the Texas sage for their food and home.
Images for kids
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Ornamental Texas sage in bloom
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Texas Sage
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Ornamental Texas sage in bloom
See also
In Spanish: Leucophyllum frutescens para niños
