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Wild ones have truly invaded much of DeWitt County. On my scouting trip of DeWitt County, I saw numerous scenes of roadsides and fields covered with yellow coreopsis, huisache, Engelmann’s daisy, stiff-stem flax, and even a few bluebonnets. Horses, cattle, and even a few buffalo roamed and grazed through fields colored with yellows, purples, orange and blues. I found several fields of bluebonnets covered enough to give off a strong fragrance. None of the bluebonnet fields were heavily covered and most were mixed with other wildflowers. You can literally spend several days in DeWitt County discovering scene after scene of a variety of wildflowers. Tall grass and a bright sunny day were the only two negative conditions for photography. You really need to be there early in the morning, find a few shaded areas for close up during the middle of the day and then stay for sunset.
Visit the DeWitt Wildflower Specimen Exhibit and you will see over 100 varieties of wildflowers. The wildflowers are freshly picked by gatherers from the DeWitt County Wildflower Association. The wildflowers are displayed with identification at the DeWitt County Historical Museum, 312 E. Broadway (US 87 S.). If you are naturalist and have not visited DeWitt County then you must go or risk losing your designation as a naturalist. If you are an enthusiast who wants to see spectacular displays of wildflowers in rural settings then you must tour the routes in DeWitt County. I highly recommend you stop and visit the DeWitt Wildflower Specimen Exhibit first where you can get free maps and guidance on the best routes to see for the time of your visit.
The profuseness of several varieties of wildflowers is only exceeded by the variety. It was easy for me to spot the following wildflowers during my trip:
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Blue curls
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Coreopsis
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Stiff-stem flax
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Engelmann’s daisy
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Dotted blue-eyed grass
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Phlox
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White dandelion
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Mealy sage
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Verbena
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Bluebonnet
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Huisache daisy
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Wine cup – poppy mallow
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Prairie larkspur
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Paintbrush
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Texas thistle
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Basketflower
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Spiderwort
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Baby blue eyes
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Texas vervain
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Pink evening primrose
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Evening star rain lily
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White prickly poppies
Routes I covered included:
US 87: Beginning 14 miles northeast of Cuero, the roadsides are lightly mixed at times with paintbrush and bluebonnets. At the corner of Kozelski Rd and US 87 there is a large field light-to-moderately covered with bluebonnets. The bluebonnets mainly follow raised rows in the fields.
Hartman Rd.: A rough gravel rough that provides several photo opportunities with fields and roadsides covered moderately to heavy with coreopsis mixed at times with bluebonnets, stiff-stem flax or poppy mallow. A large field of bluebonnets mixed with Engelmann’s daisies is located near the intersection of Hartman and FM-766.
FM-766: This is Bellevue Cemetery Rd in the DeWitt County April Journal. Roadsides are moderately-to-heavily covered with Engelmann’s daisies or huisache daisies.
Elder Rd: (CR-116): This road splits off of FM-766 and heads towards Westhoff. Absolutely stunning areas of entire fields covered with coreopsis can be seen along this road. Also spotted were cattle, bison and longhorns.
FM-240, FM-2542: Large field lightly-to-moderately covered with bluebonnets on right side just before intersection with FM-2542. Another field of bluebonnets mixed with huisache daisies on right side of FM-2542 just after the intersection with FM-240.
Kozelski Rd: Rough dirt/gravel road provides views of fields moderately covered with bluebonnets mixed with coreopsis. Also seen along this road was a small stretch of mealy sage.
Concrete-Edgar Rd: This road connects the small communities of Concrete on US 183 and Edgar on US 77a north of Cuero. Sections of the road closer to US 77a often lined with stiff-stem flax. Sections of the road closer to US 183 often lined with Engelmann’s daisies. A short stretch of mealy sage can be viewed as on the US 183 end of the road. Blue curls are also seen often along the entire length of the road.
Rothkamp-Dreyer Rd.: Travel north on US 183, exit SR-111 north to FM-443 then north on FM-443 to Rothkamp Rd. This road will take you through rolling farmland and ranches. Early sections of the road are mostly lined with poppy mallow. A small patch of prairie larkspur was just past the intersection with Schmidt Rd. A field of bluebonnets was also seen on the right side just past Schmidt Rd. The field was light-to-moderately covered with bluebonnets.
Photos of my DeWitt County trip can be viewed at: DeWitt County 2005
RichO
Hunting Texas Wildflowers
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