New chapters in East Texas

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Two new chapters were announced at the quarterly board meeting in Wichita Falls on April 18. Lake Country Chapter will meet in Mt. Pleasant and Four Corners Chapter will meet in Texarkana.

Both new chapters are planning big kick-off meetings in June, according to spokeswoman Belinda McCoy McLaughlin.  Lake Country’s kickoff will be 2 pm June 6 at the Titus County Texas AgriLife Extension Center.  The Four Corners kickoff will be June 27 in Texarkana at a location that will be announced later.

img_0431Greg Grant will be the featured speaker at both kickoff events.  He is a contributing editor for Texas Gardening magazine and a research associate at Pineywoods Native Plant Center at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Grant received the Lynn Lowrey Memorial Award for horticultural achievement at the Annual Symposium in 2008 for his development of pink turk’s cap, or Malvaviscus drummondii x M arborea ‘Pam Puryear.’

Lake Country Chapter plans regular monthly meetings on the first Thursday of the month at 7 pm at the Titus County extension office. Four Corners is still looking for a suitable meeting place, but hopes to announce regular meeting times soon.

Another East Texas chapter, Caddo Wildflower, is changing their meeting location to  Atlanta, Texas. Ms. McLaughlin said they would now meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month at Home Enterprises, at the junction of TX43 and TX77.

The new chapters bring the total of new chapters to three for the year. The Young County Wildflower Power Chapter was established in January and meets in Graham.

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins

About the Region

Fall Symposium 2025 Logo - Teach for the Future

Salado, the location of our Fall 2025 Symposium, lies at the intersection of two ecoregions: the Edwards Plateau (Limestone Cut Plain) and Blackland Prairie (Northern Blackland Prairie).

The Edwards Plateau area is also called the Hill Country; however, this general term covers a much larger area extending farther north. Spring-fed creeks are found throughout the region; deep limestone canyons, rivers, and lakes (reservoirs) are common. Ashe juniper is perhaps the most common woody species found throughout the region. Additional woody species include various species of oak, with live oak (Quercus fusiformis) being the most common. Sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) border waterways. This area is well known for its spring wildflower displays, though they may be viewed in spring, late summer, and fall, as well. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, average annual rainfall in the Edwards Plateau ranges from 15 to 34 inches.

The Blackland Prairie extends from the Red River south to San Antonio, bordered on the west by the Edwards Plateau and the Cross Timbers, and on the east by the Post Oak Savannah. Annual rainfall averages 30 to 40 inches, with higher averages to the east. This region is dominated by prairie species. The most common grass species include little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) in the uplands and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the riparian areas and drainages. Common herbaceous flowering plants include salvias, penstemons, and silphiums. This area has suffered greatly from overgrazing and agricultural use. Few intact areas remain, though many of the plants can be found along county roadsides throughout the region.

Our fall Symposium host chapter, the Tonkawa Chapter, includes both of these ecoregions.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason