On another walk around the pond near my work in Round Rock, I discovered these bright little flowers along side of the forested region of the park. The Sunflower Goldeneye (Viguiera dentata) is a 3-6 ft., open, bushy, many-branched plant that tends to grow in colonies. Its leaves are narrow and its numerous yellow, 1 1/2 in., daisy-like flowers appear at the tips of long, slender, leafless stalks.
Goldeneye is an extremely drought-tolerant plant and it’s distribution is from Central TX to AZ, through Mexico to Central America and Cuba. It is used as an ornamental because of it’s showy flowers. Wildlife such as nectar-bees, butterflies, and seeds-granivorous birds use this plant in many ways.
It is known as a larval host for bordered patch butterfly such as the Cassius Blue butterfly.
Find my iNaturalist post here.
Source: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VIDE3