Flower profile
Texas skeleton plant
Lygodesmia texana
Texas skeleton plant (Lygodesmia texana) is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly April–October across the U.S.
Texas skeleton plant is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. In Texas it's most often seen in bloom in April–October.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
On our lists for: Texas
Quick look
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.
- It belongs to the Asteraceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 3 states. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to Texas. NatureServe
- In Texas, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–October. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 7,210 research-grade sightings of it in Texas, ranking #90 among the 169 flowers on our Texas list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
In Texas, most flowering sightings come in April–October.
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
- Texas
- Not listed Not on Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Texas. 31 TAC 69.8
- Rare elsewhere
- No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records Texas skeleton plant in 3 states.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.
Texas counties with USDA records: Andrews, Archer, Armstrong, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque, Brazos, Brewster, Briscoe, Brooks, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Childress, Coke, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Coryell, Cottle, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Dallas, Dawson, DeWitt, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Duval, Eastland, Edwards, Erath, Fayette, Frio, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Hall, Hardeman, Hays, Hidalgo, Hood, Howard, Irion, Jack, Jeff Davis, Jim Wells, Johnson, Karnes, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Kleberg, Lampasas, Lavaca, Llano, Lubbock, Martin, McCulloch, McLennan, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Mitchell, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Presidio, Randall, Reeves, Refugio, Roberts, Runnels, San Patricio, San Saba, Scurry, Shackelford, Sterling, Sutton, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Tom Green, Travis, Val Verde, Victoria, Washington, Webb, Williamson, Wilson, Wise, Young.
Names, range and relatives
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 121 counties across 3 states; the most are in Texas (109), Oklahoma (7), New Mexico (5).
Other Lygodesmia on Bloomipedia (2): Rose rush, Rush skeletonplant.
More from the Asteraceae family (212 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Common yarrow, Goldenrods, White snakeroot, Sunflowers, Chicory, Black-eyed Susan, Bull thistle, Common dandelion.
More Texas flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile LYTE.
- iNaturalist, Lygodesmia texana: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Lygodesmia texana (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Texas: Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
- Texas: Texas noxious and invasive plant list (4 Tex. Admin. Code § 19.300(a)).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Lygodesmia texana (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋） via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.