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Native Plant Society of Texas

Spread the Word about Invasive Plants

Here are some ideas for spreading the word about invasive plants and their native replacements. 

Invasive Plant Rack Cards

This rack card is meant to offer chapters, the NICE program, and other groups a way to easily create local, ecoregion-specific information to spread the word about invasive plants and their native alternatives.

Each card includes one invasive plant on the front and up to three native alternatives for that plant on the back. To learn more about the native alternatives, each plant has the QR code to its entry in NPSOT’s native plant database.

Take a look at the sample cards below. These cards can be printed and left at nurseries or other suitable locations. Don’t want to use paper? Upload the PDFs of the completed rack cards to your chapter’s website to share via Facebook, email, and any other digital method you can think of.

This rack card template was created with the free version of Canva, an easy to use graphics design website.

The template design:

  • Front page – picture and information about an invasive plant QR code links to the invasive plant’s information in our invasive plant database.
  • Back page – pictures of up to 3 native alternatives. Each one has a QR code that goes to that plant in our native database.

Learn how to create your own cards:

 

Questions? Email invasives.plant.team@npsot.org

Guadalupe Chapter Brochures

These brochures about invasive plants are from the Guadalupe Chapter and Nancy Masterson. They use terms such as “exotics”, but can be adapted to your preferences. These ideas can also be adjusted to your local plants or conditions. They were economically printed on VistaPrint and placed at nurseries. The chapter is active in the NICE program and lists their local participating nurseries, including some that handed out the cards.

Tri-fold Invasives Brochure

Tri-fold or 3 column invasives brochure from 2015 by the Guadalupe and Lindheimer chapters

Invasives Wallet Card

A foldable wallet card showing invasives and their native replacements

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