native identification

I recently received these natives from a friend who was working a gun show in another town. I know they are native to Texas but probably not only Texas. I can't find them in the PlantFiles or any of my numerous resources. Perhaps the namenclature is whako. The first name is the botanical and the second is the "street" name--lol

Maybe some of you are familiar with them?

Verbiscina lindheimeri--Lindheimer's Crown-beard
Petalostemum pulcherrimum--Purple Prairie Clover
Thelesperma simplicifolium--Navajo Tea

This was all written on the seed pkts which were hand harvested.
Debbie

Do a google search. First one's spelling is off, try Verbesina lindheimeri. Once you grow them you can add them to the plant files.

Also worth mentioning that the Petalostemum is more often listed in the genus Dalea. Thelesperma probably just isn't cultivated often enough to end up in PlantFiles; we've got another species of it (Thelesperma megapotamicum) that's fairly common in the wild out here, but I hadn't heard of anyone growing it...

Patrick Alexander

Thanks all for the info. We are getting closer to resolving these mystery seeds. I like to grow natives when I can--If they have any value at all in the landscape.
Debbie

Looks as if you have some misspellings there that may have been passed on from gardener to gardener to gardener. Illegible handwriting, mine included, is often to blame. I've had more than my fair share of people asking me what the heck I sent them because they couldn't read my handwriting and when they couldn't find the binomial on line trying an assortment of different spelling combinations they had to break down and call me. I try to write clearly and distinctly but some times I still slop out seed packs. The situation you are in motivates me to be more conscientious.

For your Verbiscina lindheimeri--Lindheimer's Crown-beard, try Fireweed's suggestion as she probably hit it on the head with Lindheimer's Crownbeard (Verbesina lindheimeri) or maybe Lindheimer's beeblossom (Gaura lindheimeri)?.

For your Petalostemum pulcherrimum--Purple Prairie Clover, try Purple Prairie Clover (Petalostemum purpurea which some people used to refer to as Petalostemum purpureum which is as paalexan stated is actually Dalea purpurea).

Somebody must have recently created an entry for your Thelesperma simplicifolium-
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/86285/
Now all you need to do is add a photo for all of us ;)
All are natives to your region. All are great plants to utilize in a landscape.

Thanks very much!

Another great plant resource is the USDA Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov It lists current and former names, known ranges, and lots of other information. It even has a tool to help you figure out which plants are good for different kinds of landscaping or revegetation projects. It looks like your Petalostemon is now Dalea compacta.