Branches look like Brasil structurally. But not spines. Leaves linear lanceolate with silver white bottoms and a few basal teeth. I ruled out Brazil, Bernardia, amaragosa, guayacon, lotebush everything I could think of. At a loss

This historical set of images needs a bit of context; the 3rd and 4th images show pages of my field journal which describe this "observation." A longer version of the story will be uploaded to a journal post.
Short version: This is the first ever photograph of Texabama Croton (Croton alabamensis var. texensis) on the day I showed the population to graduate student Steve Ginzbarg (U. Texas Botany Dept.; L in photo). I had discovered the shrubs during field work on May 31, 1989. I invited Steve Ginzbarg and John Gee (R in photo) to examine the plants on my next visit to the tract. Steve went on to name the plants as a new variety of Alabama Croton (Sida 15(1):41-52, 1992):
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41967533
At the time, this was a private ranch. The croton became one of the focal plant Species of Concern for the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan. The tract was later acquired for the Refuge, primarily for its population of Black-capped Vireos and Golden-cheeked Warblers, but also because this spot (where this photo was taken) is the "Type Locality" for Texabama Croton.

This is the same seedpod around a month earlier https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/179512797

I had been watching this population for a while. It had rained the night before, and I decided to check if the seeds had ripened yet. They had. It appears that the damage on one side of the capsule had not prevented the other seeds from maturing.