Snow On The Mountain

Perhaps like me you travel Winter’s Mill Parkway regularly. If so, you may have noticed a pretty flower blooming along the guardrails. Snow-onthe- Mountain (Euphorbia marginata) graces us with its presence when most everything else is dry and faded. This tall wildflower is showy from August to October. We don’t often have snow and we’re in the hills not the mountains, but the common name of this beauty comes from the pretty white tops of the plant. The actual flowers are inconspicuous, but they are surrounded by white petal-like bracts and pale green leaves edged in white.

This native plant grows in west Texas and New Mexico and north to Minnesota and Montana. It is happy in almost any soil and tolerates both wet and dry conditions. I am always interested in a plant’s benefit to wildlife. Snowon- the-Mountain is considered poisonous to mammals, and it is also a skin irritant - best to enjoy viewing but not to touch. The good news is that mourning doves eat the seeds, and the flowers are a late summer nectar source for bees and butterflies.

So take a drive across Winters Mill and enjoy a treat for your eyes.

If you’re walking the trail in that area you will certainly notice these beauties. I have also seen Snow-on-the-Mountain along Jacob’s Well Road, and it has been seen in the past at Patsy Glenn Refuge and Jacob’s Well Natural Area. Now that the morning temperature is moderated, I will check out those areas.

The recent rains have been lovely but were not near enough to help our trees and aquifers. Please continue to conserve water every way you can.

Becky Denton, Hays County Master Naturalists