Collin County Chapter

September 2 Chapter Program

Carol Clark will lead a hands-on workshop on native seed collection and processing. Learn the principles of ethical, efficient, and useful native plant seed collection, processing and storage. We will cover shortcuts, processing techniques, dangers and pitfalls involved in collecting and storing native seeds. Try it yourself during the hands-on time.

  • Our meetings are open to the public. This is a hybrid meeting held at the Heard Museum in McKinney and virtually via Zoom.
  • Location (in-person): Laughlin Hall at the Heard Museum. Please enter through the south doors of the building.
  • Doors and Zoom opens: 6:30 PM (for setup and connection testing)
  • Meeting begins: 7:00 PM, with a brief update from Chapter President Rodney Thomas, followed by Carol’s presentation.

The Zoom connection information is listed below:

Carol Clark is an amateur botany enthusiast, a Texas Master Naturalist, and longtime member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is now a Conservation Specialist with Monarch Watch. She also co-administrates the Texas Native Bee Co-op Facebook page . She and her husband own and operate Clark Haven Farm, a wildlife preserve and custom wildflower seed business in Cooke County. Carol grew up with a nature photographer father and wildlife artist brother, and has spent much of her life looking around in the great outdoors. Her favorite things to do are leading discovery walks in local natural areas, and finding and photographing interesting plants and insects.

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