Join / Renew / Gift Donate Shop Member Portal Language

Search
npsot_bluebonnet_full_color

Native Plant Society of Texas

2023 Online Spring Symposium Registration

Renata Lucia

Field of tall red blooms
Standing Cypress by Meg Inglis

Our Spring Symposium in-person registration has reached capacity! The Society is excited to make this event available to you ONLINE through Zoom. Registration is only $25 for Society and Wildflower Center members and $35 for non-members. Registration closes Thursday, February 23rd at midnight. Recordings of the presentations will be made available to symposium registrants (in-person and online) about a week after the event. Looking forward to seeing you!

Register for the Online Event

Our featured presenters include:

  • David Bezanson, The Nature Conservancy, “Conservation Projects 2023”
  • Ricky Linex, Native Plant Society of Texas, “Riparian Vegetation – Creekside Tour”
  • Charlotte Reemts, The Nature Conservancy, “Dealing with KR Bluestem and Other Invasive Plants”
  • Laurel Treviño Murphy, Jha Lab, University of Texas, “Native Bees, Plants, and Habitats”
  • Roger Sanderson, Naturalist, Horticulturalist, “Native Texas Hummingbird Plants”

Download the Symposium Agenda.

Bees on a cluster of pink blossoms on a gray branch in the forest
Texas Redbud by Keenan Smith

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