By Eric Beckers, Hill Country Chapter
The end of the growing season is taking shape here at Beacon Hill in the Hill Country. A hard, killing freeze in the coming weeks will spell the end to annual plants that have already dropped seed for next year.
Trees and shrubs have been dropping tired and often colorful leaves, enriching the soil below. This is not the end, but rather a time for rest and rejuvenation, preparation for the next season of growth. With a last burst of enchanting hues these two plants are also caught up in that circle of life.
Roughleaf Dogwood
The Roughleaf Dogwood (Cornus drummondii) is a shrub or small tree found growing from Central Texas to Alabama and northward across the Great Plains and up the Ohio River Valley all the way to Ontario. On the Edwards Plateau it grows on limestone soils along streams, hillsides, and edges of woodlands.
Its rough, oppositely arranged leaves are oval with parallel veins and smooth edges. This plant propagates by seed and root sprouts and is showy with springtime clusters of white flowers as well as fall color.
The plant was first documented by Scottish naturalist Thomas Drummond, who visited Texas in the early 1830s. He had been born around 1790 in the county of Angus, Scotland.
His botanical interests allowed him to join expeditions to North America, the first to the mountains of western Canada in 1825, and a second to the United States in 1830. In March of 1833 he had arrived in Coahuila and Texas port of Velasco where he began in earnest his plant-collecting activities.
Drummond would spend the better part of two years working between Galveston Island and the Edwards Plateau collecting 750 species of plants, as well as 150 bird specimens.
These were the first Texas collections to be widely distributed to the world’s scientific community, and the works of Ferdinand Lindheimer and Charles Wright would be influenced by these early discoveries and documentations.
His hopes were to explore more of Texas, and his contributions would have been great, but sadly he would lose his life in March of 1835 during a botanizing trip to Cuba. Part of his legacy will be recalled in the 31 plants that are named for him.
The four found on Beacon Hill include the Drummond’s onion, Allium drummondii; the Texas Virgin’s Bower, Clematis drummondii, the Evening Star Rain Lily, Zephyranthes chlorosolen (Syn. Cooperia drummondii), and Drummond’s skullcap, Scutellaria drummondii.
Cedar Elm
Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) Cedar Elm is a medium-to-large tree found from Mexico through central and eastern Texas and Oklahoma, and across the South to Mississippi and Florida.This elm is a popular landscape tree that is worth planting more often. Its moderate size, drought tolerance, and adaptability to a variety of soil types makes it a desirable addition to numerous settings.
Fungal leaf spots, spider mites and powdery mildew are minor problems when they are encountered. Cedar elm is the most resistant of the native elms to Dutch Elm Disease, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. Most Texas cases have occurred in American elms, (Ulmus americana), with isolated outbreaks being observed in areas near Dallas/Fort Worth, Lufkin, and Waco.
Across its native range, cedar elm is found on a variety of sites, but in the Hill Country it is most often found in woodlands on dry limestone soils occurring from hillsides to bottomlands.
The small leaves have sawtooth edges and a surface that is rough to the touch, much like sandpaper. Fall color is often showy with yellows and oranges predominating. It is the only native Texas elm to bloom and fruit in late summer and fall.
This tree was first described by English naturalist Thomas Nuttall, who was a noted explorer of the American West. In his book, A Journal of Travels into the Arkansas Territory, During the Year 1819, he gives great detail into the plant and animal life he encountered in this wild and hostile place.
There are four plants on Beacon Hill dedicated to him: Nuttall’s Milkvetch (Astragalus nuttallianus); the Sensitive Briar (Mimosa nuttallii); the Prairie Parsley (Polytaenia nuttallii); and Yellow Stonecrop (Sedum nuttallianum).
Editor’s note: A seventh-generation Texan, Eric Beckers graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and served over 23 years with the Texas A&M Forest Service–first as an Urban Forester in the Houston area, and later as a Staff Forester assisting landowners in the Eastern Hill Country and Austin areas.
He also served eight years on the Hays County Historical Commission, where he created a monthly column entitled “What’s Happenin’ on the Hill (Where Plateau Meets Prairie),” describing plant activities noted on his property west of Buda, Texas. This article has been adapted from an article he previously published, with updates and revisions for this issue.
Did you like this article? It’s from our Fall 2024 Texas Native Plants magazine. Read more here
