Ram's Horn (Proboscidea louisianica)

18 October 2015: Walked the Old Wetlands Road at the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center (CCNHC) in Denton, Texas, and observed this Ram's Horn (Proboscidea louisianica). Other common names for Ram's Horn include Louisiana Devil's-claw, Devil's-claw, Unicorn plant, and Proboscis flower, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Here's the thumbnail sketch at this latter site for this native wildflower: "Ram’s-horn or devil’s claw is a low, spreading, bushy plant, 1-2 ft. tall, with large, long-stemmed, palmately lobed leaves. Leaves, 5-inches across and up to 1 foot long, covered with glandular nectar which often collects sand particles. Its creamy-yellow, tubular, five-lobed flowers are spotted with purple and appear in few-flowered, axillary clusters after summer rains. The fruit is a fleshy, curved pod that splits into two claws when it dries. The name unicorn plant refers to the remarkable fruits. These are at first fleshy, the flesh later falling away, leaving an inner woody shell tipped by a long, curved beak (the horn of the unicorn). The beak splits lengthwise, and the shell opens between the two parts of the split beak. These fruits are easily caught on the legs of deer, rabbits, and cattle or hooked in the wool of sheep by their spreading claws (thus the name devils claw). The fruits are collected and used in nature crafts." Our thanks to Irene Hanson for the ID of this wildflower.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Plant Database online does not list Denton County among the counties where this particular wildflower has been previously reported. Our observation certainly constitutes such an observation. The nearest counties indicated where it's been observed and reported at the USDA site are Tarrant and Parker counties, immediately south and southwest of Denton County. Because this native wildflower is found in most places of the United States, and it's been introduced into some of Canada's central and eastern provinces, and is most likely present in parts of northern Mexico, due to its continental presence in North America, Ram's Horn or Devil's Claw is truly an authentic resident of the Western Hemisphere. The City of Denton, Texas administers the CCNHC.

Note: There are other native wildflowers listed on iNaturalist that use the common name Devil's Claw. iNat's common name therefore for our particular plant in this observation is Ram's Horn.

Sources:

"Proboscidea louisianica," Native Plant Database, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin, photographs, description, resource links, accessed 12.22.15, http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PRLO

"Proboscidea louisianica (Mill.) Thell. ram's horn," Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, range map, photographs, description, resource links, accessed 12.22.15, http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PRLO#