Rewilding My Lot

Woolly Croton (Croton capitatus var. lindheimeri) is a common volunteer here, and if it’s not in the way I have allowed it to stay. Doves will eat its seeds.

Another name for this plant is Lindheimer’s Doveweed, in honor of Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer (1801-1879) who is often called the Father of Texas Botany because of his work as the first permanent-resident plant collector in Texas. His name is well-known among native plant lovers in the Seguin area because of how near we are to where he settled.

Lindheimer immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1833 as a political refugee, and then spent from 1843-1852 collecting specimens in Texas. He settled in New Braunfels, Texas in 1844, and was granted land on the banks of the Comal River, where he continued his plant collecting and established a botanical garden. Ultimately, 34 plant species and one genus have been named after Lindheimer. His house, on Comal Street in New Braunfels, is now a museum, and the gardens are lovingly maintained by local Master Gardeners.