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Native Plant Society of Texas

Help us stop species loss!

Craig Dalton

Concerned Texans,

Help us stop species loss!  At a time when critical habitat is rapidly being lost, the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas (BBMT) committee of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) works to increase native plant habitat for Monarchs. The good news is that everything you do for Monarchs benefits dozens of other species too.

Last spring, our garden grant program awarded over $29,000 to 51 different projects to create attractive Monarch Butterfly habitat using native Texas plants. These habitat islands installed in public spaces promote native plant use and serve as education spaces–while looking great and feeding pollinators too.

To continue our BBMT Monarch Garden Grant program at our current award levels, we’re asking for help from individuals and corporations to help us fund this work. Since our committee is run by volunteers, nearly 100% of your donations go straight to our grant program and to our mission, familiarizing the public with native plants that can help save our pollinators.

It’s an investment in the future of pollinators and investment in the future of Texas.

Please help if you can.

Donate online here or make a donation by check by mailing a check with “BBMT program” donation note on the memo line to: 

Native Plant Society of Texas, BBMT Donation
P.O. Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

Sincerely, 

Carol Clark, 

chair of the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas committee of the Native Plant Society of Texas

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