Two takes on buffalo bur
I see buffalo bur (Solanum rostratum) fairly often in Austin, yet I haven’t shown any pictures of it here since 2015. Today’s post puts an end to the five-year hiatus. You may notice the flower’s similarity in shape, but not color, to that of its genus-mate silverleaf nightshade, which appeared here recently. The picture below, also from west of Morado Circle on July 5th, shows you the prickly seed capsules that put the bur in buffalo bur, and caution in people who get close. The flowers in the background were two-leaf senna.
Would you like to know what the British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham had to say about the harpsichord?
Sure you would. He said it “sounds like two skeletons copulating on a corrugated tin roof.”
© 2020 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Wow, those look even nastier than the sand burs that I remember all too well from childhood in Michigan and from visiting relatives in Wisconsin. For some strange reason, when I see the name, I always think there should be a double r (maybe it’s a flashback to having watched too many Perry Mason episodes in my youth).
krikitarts
August 9, 2020 at 4:45 AM
I can reassure you on both counts: the dictionary gives the spelling of bur with one r or two; and buffalo burs have caused me much less trouble than sandburs because the latter are smaller, much less noticeable because they generally grow close to the ground, and therefore easier to step on.
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 6:25 AM
I once read that scientists got inspired by the sticky nature of bur to invent velcro. Great photos as always, Steve!
Peter Klopp
August 9, 2020 at 8:03 AM
It was a more benign kind of bur than this one:
https://www.hookandloop.com/invention-velcro-brand/
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 8:08 AM
Well, harpsichords are rather staccato, like the second image.
Michael Scandling
August 9, 2020 at 11:09 AM
That’s a good way to link the two seemingly disparate things.
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 6:10 PM
Makes me glad they don’t grow here, thistles are bad enough.
Eliza Waters
August 9, 2020 at 11:13 AM
Texas, alas, is more inhospitable to human skin than many other places—and I speak from experience.
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 6:12 PM
Is it related to buffalo wings?
tonytomeo
August 9, 2020 at 11:31 AM
Only in that you’re really winging it with that comment.
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 6:12 PM
Lovely little flower and such a happy shade of yellow (which is already fairly happy, but still…). I’d gladly steer clear of the seeds though. Ouch! I grew up in Corpus and my parents’ home and garden was on sand. We had “sticker burrs” though I really don’t know exactly what the plant is. I just remember how if feels in the foot.
Tina
August 9, 2020 at 1:57 PM
A happy shade of yellow in the flower, yes indeed. And an unhappy memory on your foot’s part; sorry to hear about it. The USDA map doesn’t have Nueces County marked for buffalo bur, but it is marked for the sandbur that appeared here recently:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/sandbur-doing-its-thing/
That could’ve been it.
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 6:20 PM
I’d recognize those stamens anywhere. I read that another common name for this plant is ‘buffalo nightshade.’ It’s interesting that the fruits of silverleaf nightshade and this one are so different.
It’s also interesting that the flower itself reminded me of the two-leaf senna that’s lurking in the background.
In the first photo, it seems all parts of the flower — even the petal edges — have just enough curve or hook to suggest the prickly burs to come.
shoreacres
August 9, 2020 at 7:10 PM
Yup, those little “bananas” really are a give-away when it comes to identification. I remember being surprised when I learned how different buffalo bur’s fruits are from those of silverleaf nightshade and Carolina horse-nettle. Two-leaf senna flowers have stubbier “bananas” at their center:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/two-leaf-senna-flowers/
Steve Schwartzman
August 9, 2020 at 7:41 PM
The various burs and tickfoils have developed an ingenious if painful way of getting themselves around.
Steve Gingold
August 10, 2020 at 4:09 AM
Ingenious, yes, but it would be disingenuous of people to say they like the resulting encounters.
Steve Schwartzman
August 10, 2020 at 6:41 AM
Quite a contrast in these two!
denisebushphoto
August 18, 2020 at 12:29 PM
Yes, there sure is. I saw more of these just this morning.
Steve Schwartzman
August 18, 2020 at 3:58 PM
Very handsome plant portraits.
melissabluefineart
September 4, 2020 at 9:34 AM
Let’s hope the plants felt the same about the portraitist.
Steve Schwartzman
September 4, 2020 at 9:38 AM