Lygodesmia texana
# Lygodesmia texana

Lygodesmia texana, the Texas skeleton plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the US states of New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, and to northeastern Mexico. A perennial reaching at most 2 ft (60 cm), it prefers to grow on well-drained limestone soil and blooms from April to August.

## Description

The Texas skeleton plant has a wide, light purple flower at the end of a thin and leafless stem, typically 12-24 inches in height. The base of the plant has a handful of small leaves. Only one flower blooms at the end of each stem at a time, and it features 8-12 light purple petals with a white center. The stems bleed sap when broken which can form into a gum.

## Name origin

The common name derives from the bare, leafless stem that grows at odd angles, resembling something skeletal. Other names include Texas skeleton weed, purple dandelion, and flowering straw.

