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People Names in Native-Plant Names, Part VIII – the Female Factor
Author: Bill Ward Lindheimer, Engelmann, Berlandier, Drummond, Roemer – all familiar surnames of early botanists, who are honored in the names of our native plants. All are male. Were there any women botanists involved in early Texas botany? The answer is yes, a few. By the late 1700s, it was
Yucca – aquifer-friendly landscape plant
Author: Bill Ward Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!) starts the new year with yucca, a plant that is very Texan and very NICE!. Yuccas grow in all parts of Texas; there are 16 species native to the state. Once established in a yard or garden, yuccas require
Ball moss – good or bad?
Ball moss commonly grows as an epiphyte, or non-parasitic plant living on other plants, similar to many other bromeliads as well as orchids, ferns, and lichens
The Devils River valley – a botanical wonderland
**ARCHIVED POST ** During a Thursday morning hike last week, I saw three plants I never expected to get to see in the wild. I would have felt lucky to see just one of these plants in its native habitat, but all three in the same area was – as
Fall color – the understory factor
**ARCHIVED POST ** In a newsletter of the Boerne Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Jack Morgan wrote a good piece on how lucky we are to live in bigtooth maple country. He is so right! This fall especially, the bigtooth maples are living up to their reputation.
Driven up the wall by herbivores
Populations of many native plant species would be much larger if not for the decades of sheep and goat browsing followed by the overabundance of deer
Trip to the “cielo” of native-plant diversity
**ARCHIVED POST ** “Cielo” usually means sky or heaven or paradise, sometimes roof or canopy. Every one of these translations probably could apply to some aspect of El Cielo Biosphere Reserve in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. I think probably “paradise” is the best meaning to use for this region,
January 2009
NICE! Plant of the Month (Yucca baccata) and (Yucca rostrata)A smaller, narrower-leafed variant of this species is sometimes called (Y.thompsoniana). Copyright © Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, and Texas Native Shrubs – a collection of original photographs taken by Mr. Benny Simpson, Texas naturalist and plantsman extraordinaire, and long time researcher
Strategic plan presented
The Strategic Planning Committee presented the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan at the Annual Meeting in Jasper in October 2008.
Sally and Andy Wasowski
Andy & Sally Wasowski were pioneers of the native plant movement who have authored 10 books encouraging readers to garden with native plants
Everyone loves winecup
**ARCHIVED POST ** Everyone seems to like the winecup. This Texas native is a favorite along highway rights-of-way and on wildflower trails, as well as in home gardens.
Ball moss – the good, the bad, and the “ugly”
Author: Bill Ward My good buddy J. W. Pieper recently asked me to please write a column on ball moss. J. W. frequently leads nature walks at Honey Creek State Natural Area, and he thinks that the thing people on his trips are most confused about is ball moss. This
