Join / Renew / Gift Donate Shop Member Portal Language

Search
npsot_bluebonnet_full_color

Native Plant Society of Texas

Kerrville Chapter

Chapter Meeting – September 13, 2022 – Edible and Beneficial Native Plants

**ARCHIVED POST **

Join us on Tuesday, September 13 @ Riverside Nature Center for a presentation by Kim Ort.  Kim will talk about some common and not so commonly known edibles and beneficial plants and how to forage them responsibly.  There will be a short business meeting at 1:30 pm with the presentation starting at 2 pm.  The meeting is open to the public.

Light refreshments will be available and there will be a few door prizes.

After retiring from an engineering career in the technology industry, Kim Ort joined the Texas Master Naturalists Hays County Chapter in 2011.  Inspired by nature and a thirst for knowledge, Kim pursued a MS in Wildlife Ecology at Texas State University.  Her thesis research was The Mating Evolution of Craugastor Augustii and Eleutherodactylus Marnockii in Karst Geology of Central Edwards Plateau.

**ARCHIVED POST**

**ARCHIVED POST LINKS & PICTURES MAY NOT WORK**

**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: beckyleal

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