News and announcements from our committee chairs, board members, and chapter leaders. Subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date. For chapter news, visit Chapters. If you are looking for a calendar of events, see our Events Calendar.
November-December 2009
NICE! Plant of the Month (Nolina texana) Family: Lily Family Other Common Names: Nolina, Sacahuista, Basket grass, Bunch-grass Type: Perennial, evergreen grasslike plant growing in a 3 ft. wide clump. Natural Habitat: On slopes and ravines in rocky soil from the Edwards Plateau, central Texas to the upper Rio Grande
On the trail of big red sage
Big red sage has a certain celebrity for being “rediscovered” after it was thought to be extinct. Wild populations of big red sage are found in very few sites in the Texas Hill Country and no where else on earth.
The ‘bunchgrass’ that is not a grass
**ARCHIVED POST ** Nolina texana commonly is called beargrass, bunch-grass, or basket grass, but it is a member of the agave family, making it a cousin of yucca, sotol, and century plant. Another name is sacahuista.
Native bunchgrasses make great landscape plants
More people are talking about using native grasses in their yards these days? Not lawn grass but grasses in flower beds and as substitutes for low shrubs – bunchgrasses.
Awards recognize utilization, conservation of Texas native plants
The Society recognized notable achievements and acts to promote native plants at its 2009 annual Awards Banquet in Wichita Falls
Big Red Sage Near Boerne, Then and Now
Author: Bill Ward The Recent Discovery May 10, 2004 was a big day for me… or I should say, a big-red day. On that day, Patty Leslie Pasztor and I kayaked through limestone canyons on Cibolo Creek a couple of miles southeast of Boerne. We wanted to compile data on
Early fall is “springtime” in the Chisos Mts of Big Bend
Author: Bill Ward September is our favorite time to go to Big Bend National Park, because the crowds are gone and the mountain wildflowers are in full bloom. This year was no exception. In fact, all of Big Bend Park was greener than we ever remember seeing it. Plenty of
Vines in native plant landscaping
The Hill Country area has several native vines that shouldn’t be forgotten as landscape plants, especially where there are fences and small trellises.
Common agarita – ‘built-in’ landscaping
**ARCHIVED POST ** Probably the earliest harbingers of spring in our yard are the agarita bushes. They are the first shrubs to bloom, with tiny bright-yellow flowers. Soon after that, they are putting on small round fruit that by early summer have gradually turned from green to red. Those berries
Clean up at Benny Simpson plots
**ARCHIVED POST ** Dallas area members are going to clean up Benny Simpson’s old research plots on Coit Road in Dallas in order to take an inventory. Future plans are to make this area into a memorial garden. Contact your local chapter to make plans for involvement. Bring your bow
October 2009
NICE! Plant of the Month (Fraxinus texenis) Family: Oleaceae (Olive Family) Type: Small deciduous tree. Natural Habitat: Rocky slopes and lakeshores in Central and North Central Texas. Growth: 30-45 feet in height, space 20-30 feet apart. Deer Resistance: Cage trees. Wildlife: Many species of birds and small mammals feed on
Early fall is ‘springtime’ in the Chisos Mountains
**ARCHIVED POST ** September is our favorite time to go to Big Bend National Park, because the crowds are gone and the mountain wildflowers are in full bloom. This year was no exception. In fact, all of Big Bend Park was greener than we ever remember seeing it. Plenty of
