Species page

Fringed puccoon

Lithospermum incisum

Both the “incisum” part of the scientific name and the “fringed” part of “fringed puccoon” refer to the unusual and notable crinkly edges of the flowers. This species occurs in almost all parts of Texas except the extreme east, preferring calcareous prairies and other open habitats. The roots produce a red or purple dye that has a long history of usage. The showy flowers are produced in the spring--but there’s a catch. These flowers lead to very few fruits and seeds (which, after all, is what flowers are supposed to be all about, despite the joy they bring to us). But later, in the summer, the same plant--looking very different, with smaller more crowded leaves and branchlets--produces tiny almost unnoticeable self-fertilizing flowers that lead to most of the seed for the next generation. Plants do strange and wondrous things!