• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Research
  • Texas A&M College of Agrculture and Life Sciences
Ellis County Master Gardener Association
Ellis County Master Gardener AssociationTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Facebook
  • Menu
  • Home
  • What’s Happening
    • Lawn & Garden Expo 2023
    • E-Newsletter
    • Light House for Learning
    • Top 100 Plants for North Texas
    • EarthKind
  • About Us
    • 2023 Ellis County Master Gardener Officers
    • Become An Ellis County Master Gardener
    • History
  • Scholarships
  • Members Only
    • Member Directory
    • Committees
    • HoeHums
    • Learning Opportunities
    • Intern Gallery
    • Forms & Official Documents
      • #11 (no title)
  • Blogs

Barbara’s Buttons – Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

March 31, 2022 by elliscountymastergardeners

Barbara’s Buttons – Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)
Marshallia caespitosa DC

Region: 1 through 8 (Ellis County is Region 4)
Size: 6-8 inches
Blooms: April through June, Perennial

No one knows how Barbara’s buttons got its name, but there is no doubt that this dainty little flower attracts the eye. Most often it is white, but it may also be pale pink, creamy or lavender. The flower head, topping a slender stem, is one and one-half inches across and is composed of numerous fragrant disk flowers that form a lacy-looking ball. Stems may be solitary, or several, forming a clump. There are two varieties of this plant. M caespitosa var. caespitosa has slender leaves, six inches long, crowded near the base, with bare stems supporting the flower heads. M caespitosa var. signata has leafy stems and is endemic to south and Midwest Texas, where it sometimes forms colonies.

Article by: Melinda Kocian


Recent Blog Posts:

February in the Garden - The cold weather and freezing temperatures at the end of the year damaged grasses, plants and trees across the state. The coldest December in Texas in 40 years left gardeners... Read More →
Children’s Workshop - Come join us March 25th, in the Childrens Workshop, as we get “Wild about Gardening”! We are excited to welcome Scout Woodward, from Texas Discovery Garden, who will be bringing... Read More →
Wildflower of the Month - Prairie Spiderwort – Dayflower Family (Commelinaceae) Tradescantia accidentalis (Britt.) Smyth Region: 1 through 10 (Ellis County is in Region 4) Size: 6 – 36 inches Blooms: February – July, Perennial... Read More →
Should You Keep a Garden Journal? - A garden journal can be a lined notebook or an inexpensive composition book for recording dates, plans and jotting notes about your garden.  It can be a printed journal divided... Read More →
Bug O’ the Month-Cochineal - Have you ever noticed a prickly pear cactus with white fuzz on it, especially around the thorns? That’s the tell-tale sign of the presence of cochineal scale bugs. And, while... Read More →
Elevated Raised Beds Make Gardening Less of a Chore - Does your back ache after a long day of gardening? Do your knees get sore from kneeling while you plant, weed or harvest your vegetables? Do rabbits routinely nibble your... Read More →

Filed Under: Newsletter, Wildflower of the Month

Like Us on Facebook

KBEC 1390

Listen to the Master Gardeners every Saturday morning at 8:10 a.m.

 

2023 ECMGA Officers
Marj McClung President
Tom Graves Vice President, Projects
Marilyn Nash Vice President, Programs
Lea Sandoz Treasurer
Marilyn Hopkins Secretary
Janet Madison Director at Large
Sheila Cloonen Director at Large
Susan Knapp Past President
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Texas A&M University System Member
  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information