Showy palafoxia in Bastrop

Another species that doesn’t grow in Austin that I therefore drove to see in Bastrop State Park on September 23rd is Palafoxia hookeriana, called showy palafoxia, sand palafox, and Hooker’s palafoxia. This plant is sticky to the touch, as the short, soft, goo-tipped hairs in the second picture’s lower left confirm. (So do the fingers of anyone who has handled one of these plants, but I think you’ll agree that a picture of gooey fingers would take away from this post’s esthetic appeal.)

For more information about this genus in Texas, you can check out an article by Jason Singhurst.
And speaking of Texas, it’s the only American state where showy palafoxia grows.

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The other day I discovered The Thinking Shop, which sells posters and playing cards that teach about common cognitive biases and logical fallacies. If you go to the company’s online store and click on either of the posters, you can buy it but there’s also an option to download a free Creative Commons pdf version.

© 2021 Steven Schwartzman