News and Events

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.

  • Chapter or Committee

Prairie Rose Meeting Reminder

**ARCHIVED POST ** MARCH MEETING REMINDER FEATHER FEST MARCH 23, 10 A.M. – 2 P.M. ACTON NATURE CENTER 6900 Smoky Hill Ct. FREE ADMISSION Enjoy a beautiful day outdoors Saturday at the Acton Nature Center.  For the fourth year, the Rio Brazos Master Naturalists are hosting Feather Fest, which includes

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Citizen Science Workshop on Monarch butterflies

**ARCHIVED POST ** NPSOT is hosting a Citizen Science Workshop on Monarch butterflies at the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth on Friday, November 15.     **ARCHIVED POST** **ARCHIVED POST LINKS & PICTURES MAY NOT WORK** **ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: jerin

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February Newsletter 2021

**ARCHIVED POST ** FEBRUARY MEETINGS BLACKLAND PRAIRIE – THEN AND NOW BY CAROL CLARK VIRTUAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 22, 7 P.M. For anyone who’s heard one of Carol’s previous presentations, you know what a great speaker she is.  We’re happy to welcome her back to talk about the Blackland Prairie.  Blackland

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December 2021

**ARCHIVED POST ** DECEMBER NEWSLETTER HAPPY HOLIDAYS December seems a good time to take a moment and reflect on the past year. This year we began working our way back to ìnormalcyî, although it seems to most of us that itís still a long way off. We held both our

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October 2022 Newsletter

**ARCHIVED POST ** OCTOBER NEWSLETTER What a relief our cooler weather has been going into fall.  While some of our days still seem a little too hot, these really cool evenings have been wonderful.  Our plants are certainly much happier with the changing temperature.  The hot summer has decimated some

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Spring Native Plant Sale at Riverside Nature Center

**ARCHIVED POST ** Mark your calendars for the Spring Native Plant Sale! Saturday April 16, 9am – 2 pm (or until sold out).  We are back in person at Riverside Nature Center! BYOW – Bring your own wagon (if you’d like).  We will help plenty of volunteers on hand to

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April Mtg – 4-18-22 John Watts

**ARCHIVED POST ** Our April meeting will be a virtual and in-person hybrid gathering.  You can join us at the Gaston Christian Center (8515 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243) or over Zoom on Monday, April 18th at 6:30 for social time, 7:00 for quick announcements, then our program, “’Natural Born Botanist

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About the Region

2026 Fall Symposium Logo

This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason