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Native Plant Society of Texas

Contest promotes membership

NPSOT Archive

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The chapter with the highest percentage increase in memberships between January 1 and March 31 will be recognized at the April State Board meeting which will be held in McKinney.

This is the world’s simplest contest. Here are the entire rules. We”ll make a record of the number of memberships at each chapter on the morning of January 1. Then at the end of the day on March 31, we’ll check the number of memberships again and calculate the percentage of increase.  The chapter with the highest percentage wins.

Total memberships in the Society varies up and down by month but mostly has stayed in a range between 1800 and 1900 in recent years.

Memberships 2010 - 2013
Memberships 2010 – 2013

 

The Membership Committee decided on a friendly competition among chapters to call attention to the need for new members and to make chapters and members both aware of all the tools that are available to them to help with attracting and retaining members.

Chapter members can find many ideas to help their chapter in the Chapter Tool Chest as well as in LeaderWeb.  Another resource is the special discussion board for chapter leaders where they can browse previous discussion topics or start new ones.

Chapter leaders can also call on our Chapter Liaison Dennis Perz and his committee for help.

 

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins

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