Cnidoscolus texanus, commonly known as Texas Bullnettle, Treadsoftly, and Mala Mujer, is a perennial herb covered with stinging hairs, native to the U.S. State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, and Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. It is also native to the northern Mexican state Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

. It is an herbaceous flowering plant that grows between 30–80 cm (11.8–31.5 in) tall and as much as 1 m (3.3 ft) across.

Cnidoscolus texanus has white flowers and blooms all throughout the year. The main stem, branches, and leaves are all covered with hispid or glass-like bristly hairs that release an allergenic toxin upon contact.

It is a drought-tolerant plant, therefore making it a superb choice for xeriscaping

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation...

. This plant is also attractive to bees and butterflies, among other insects, as well as birds.

Description

Perennial plant with erect, branching stems growing from a thick root stock. It has milky latex sap and stiff prickly glandular-based hairs. The leaves are simple and are alternately arranged on the stem, and each leaf is deeply cut with 3 to 5 lobes. The flowers are in a few flowered terminal cymose inflorescence. Flowers have five sepals and lack petals, the sepals are lobed, white, fragrant, and covered with hispid hairs. Each flower has 10 connate stamens. The fruits are prickly 3-seeded capsules and the seeds are consumed by Rio Grande Wild Turkeys

Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...

 and Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...

s.

It was first described by Johannes Müller Argoviensis

Johannes Müller Argoviensis

Johannes Müller Argoviensis was the name used by the Swiss botanist Johann Müller . He was the monographer of Resedaceae, Apocynaceae and Euphorbiaceae in A. P. de Candolle's Prodromus and Martius's Flora Brasiliensis. He was also an authority on lichens.-References:...

 in 1865 as Jatropha texana. It was then moved to the genus Cnidoscolus in 1903 by John Kunkel Small

John Kunkel Small

John Kunkel Small was an American botanist.He was the first Curator of Museums at The New York Botanical Garden, a post in which he served from 1898 until 1906. From 1906 to 1934 he was Head Curator and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator...

.