Billieturnera helleri
Family: Malvaceae
Description: Woody, hairy plant with prostrate or leaning stems. Leaves alternate; blades roundish or fan shaped, up to 2.5 cm wide and 6 cm long, margins toothed. Flowers radial, borne singly from leaf axils; petals yellow, up to 1 cm long; stamen filaments grown together around the style, the stamens seeming to emerge from the style.
Field Identification: This plant is roundish; branching looks like a tomato plant but very hairy. Soft hairs on all parts od the plant. The leaves are upturned at their edges. The leaves and stems are the same color green.
Plant Trivia: Named for Dr. Billie L. Turner, a well-known professor of botany at the University of Texas at Austin. Endemic to Texas.
Occurrence: It grows in coastal and inland saline clay soils. Flowers are evening bloomers. Locally found around corpus Christi to the Laureles Ranch and Baffin Bay. Texas and NE Mexico
Bloom Period: Year-round.
Plant Use:
Dichotomous Key for the Genus Billieturnera: This is the only species of mallow in our area.
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