PlantFiles: Gaura, Kisses
Gaura suffulta

San Antonio, Tx.

Gaura suffulta is a native plant that is found in New Mexicio, Oklahoma and Texas. It usually grows between one and three feet feet tall. The stems are erect or can have reclining bases with the stem curving upward. The stem usually is covered in long soft hairs; however, it can be more densely hairy on the lower part of the stem. The 1 to up to 3 3/4" long, up to 1" wide leaves may be entire, toothed or lobed (usually the basal leaves). They are slightly hairy and the hairs can seen along margins. The flower stalk is hairless except for a few long hairs near the stalk base. It produces flowers that are about 1/2 inch wide and have dark red (maroon) anthers which open from the bottom upward. The flowers have 4 petals on the upper side with 8 stamens and 1 pistil on the lower side. The stigma is four-lobed. It has 3/16" to 5/16" long, 4-sided (4-ridged, furrowed between the ridges), nut-like fruit that do not open to release the seed. Seed should be surface sown.

Gaura suffulta subsp. suffulta is not a synonym for Gaura suffulta from the information I have gathered, but it is a separate subspecies as is Gaura suffulta ssp. nealleyi. This is a beautiful native Texas and Oklahoma cool weather wildflower. .It typically blooms from March to June; however, it blooms in February in the warmer regions of Texas if the winter has been mild. The blooms are between 1/2 and 1 inch wide and fade to dark pink as they mature. I can not find much more information on this plant.

Both of these plants:
have blooms that appear on long stalks that gracefully sway in the wind.
are normally deer resistant, but if the deer are under stress for lack of food they sometimes feed onthem.
produce 4-sided (4-ridged, furrowed between the ridges), nut-like fruit that do not open to release seeds.
seed should be surface sown.