Native Plants
Bransford, W.D. and Dolphia
Bill (W.D.) (1913-1996) and Dolphia Bransford (1915-2015) moved from San Angelo to Kingsland, Texas in 1950. There they established the first fish camp in the area. A carpenter, Bill built small cabins and a larger building which served as a general store.Bill was interested in photography so he and Dolphia would set out in their camper taking pictures of wildflowers and scenery along the way. After plants were photographed, Dolphia researched them and recorded their botanical name, family and common name on each slide. The Bransfords would travel for two or three months at a time and eventually visited nearly every corner of the United States and Canada. They spent 40 years pursuing their favorite pastime and stopped only when Bill’s vision diminished.
At the beginning, Bill photographed plants mostly from a distance, often too far to see enough detail necessary to identify his subjects. Dolphia encouraged him to get close-ups of the plants so that they could be identified and so that their full beauty could be appreciated. Many times he would lie flat on the ground to get the perfect shot. His extra effort shows in the quality of his photographs.
Bill enjoyed presenting prints of his photographs in collections, displaying images of entire genera or families in a single frame. In one case, it took six years of effort to get the photograph of a single species necessary to complete one of these framed collections.
Wishing to find a suitable, permanent home for their work, Mr. and Mrs. Bransford began donating their slide collection to the National Wildflower Research Center in 1987 and were privileged to enjoy Mrs. Johnson’s company on several occasions. Over the years, countless thousands of visitors to this website have enjoyed the work and study of this devoted couple.
Today, the nearly 4500 native plant slides contributed to the Wildflower Center by Bill and Dolphia Bransford remain one of the largest image collections in the NPIN Image Gallery.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is committed to developing the premier resource for native plant images in North America through continued growth of the Plant Image Gallery. You can help us achieve our mission ...to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants, and landscapes... by becoming a contributor.
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
Sisyrinchium chilense | Swordleaf Blue-eyed Grass Sword-leaf Blue-eyed Grass | |
Sisyrinchium chilense | Swordleaf Blue-eyed Grass Sword-leaf Blue-eyed Grass | |
Sisyrinchium chilense | Swordleaf Blue-eyed Grass Sword-leaf Blue-eyed Grass | |
Sisyrinchium chilense | Swordleaf Blue-eyed Grass Sword-leaf Blue-eyed Grass | |
Silene douglasii | Seabluff Catchfly Douglas Pink | |
Silene douglasii | Seabluff Catchfly Douglas Pink | |
Sidalcea glaucescens | Waxy Checkerbloom | |
Silphium gracile | Slender Rosinweed | |
Sidalcea hendersonii | Henderson's Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea hendersonii | Henderson's Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea hickmanii | Chaparral Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea hickmanii | Chaparral Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea hickmanii | Chaparral Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea hirtipes | Bristlystem Checkerbloom | |
Silene hookeri | Hooker's Silene Dusty Pink Ground Pink | |
Silene hookeri | Hooker's Silene Dusty Pink Ground Pink | |
Silene hookeri | Hooker's Silene Dusty Pink Ground Pink | |
Silene hookeri | Hooker's Silene Dusty Pink Ground Pink | |
Silphium integrifolium | Wholeleaf Rosinweed Entire-leaf Rosinweed | |
Silene laciniata | Cardinal Catchfly Southern Indian Pink Mexican Campion Catchfly | |
Silene laciniata | Cardinal Catchfly Southern Indian Pink Mexican Campion Catchfly | |
Silene laciniata | Cardinal Catchfly Southern Indian Pink Mexican Campion Catchfly | |
Silphium laciniatum | Compassplant Compass Plant | |
Silphium laciniatum | Compassplant Compass Plant | |
Sidalcea malviflora | Dwarf Checkerbloom Dwarf Checker-mallow Checkerbloom | |
Sisyrinchium minus | Dwarf Blue-eyed-grass Pink-eyed-grass Pink Blue-eyed-grass | |
Sisyrinchium montanum | Strict Blue-eyed Grass Mountain Blue-eyed Grass Common Blue-eyed Grass | |
Sida neomexicana | New Mexico Fanpetals | |
Sidalcea oregana | Oregon Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea oregana | Oregon Checkerbloom | |
Sidalcea oregana | Oregon Checkerbloom | |
Silphium perfoliatum | Cup Plant Indian Cup | |
Silphium perfoliatum | Cup Plant Indian Cup | |
Silphium perfoliatum | Cup Plant Indian Cup | |
Silphium perfoliatum | Cup Plant Indian Cup | |
Sibbaldia procumbens | Creeping Sibbaldia | |
Sibbaldia procumbens | Creeping Sibbaldia | |
Silphium radula | Roughstem Rosinweed | |
Silphium radula | Roughstem Rosinweed | |
Silphium radula | Roughstem Rosinweed | |
Sidalcea reptans | Sierra Checkerbloom | |
Sida rhombifolia | Cuban Jute Axocatzin | |
Silene stellata | Widow's Frill Starry Campion | |
Silene subciliata | Prairie-fire Pink Louisiana Catchfly Catchfly | |
Silene subciliata | Prairie-fire Pink Louisiana Catchfly Catchfly | |
Silphium trifoliatum | Whorled Rosinweed | |
Silene virginica | Fire Pink Scarlet Catchfly | |
Silene virginica | Fire Pink Scarlet Catchfly | |
Smelowskia calycina | Alpine Smelowskia Western Smelowskia | |
Smelowskia calycina | Alpine Smelowskia Western Smelowskia | |
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |