Plants Of Deep South Texas

A Field Guide to the Woody and Flowering Species Covering the almost three million acres of southernmost Texas known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, this user-friendly guide is an essential reference for nature enthusiasts, farmers and ranchers, professional botanists, and anyone interested in the plant life of Texas. Alfred Richardson and Ken King offer abundant photographs and short descriptions of more than eight hundred species of ferns, algae, and woody and herbaceous plants--two-thirds of the species that occur in this region. "Plants of Deep South Texas" opens with a brief introduction to the region and an illustrated guide to leaf shapes and flower parts. The book's individual species accounts cover: Leaves Flowers Fruit Blooming period Distribution Habits Common and scientific names In addition, the authors' comments include indispensible information that cannot be seen in a photograph, such as the etymology of the scientific name, the plant's use by caterpillars and its value from the human perspective. The authors also provide a glossary of terms, as well as an appendix of butterfly and moth species mentioned in the text.

There are over 281 species of woody plants and 32 species of cacti in the South Texas ecological region. The vast majority of these are found in the lower Rio Grande Valley, which is part of the subtropical Tamaulipan biotic province. Many of the plant species in this area reach their northernmost boundary here. The 44 plants described in this guide represent an estimated 75% of the overall brush biomass of the South Texas ecological region, excluding the lower Rio Grande Valley. The plants are grouped into thorned and thornless categories and alphabetized by family. Distinguishing characteristics have been italicized for easy reference. Similar species are also noted. In this guide, plants are not ranked by importance because their value to animals can differ from ranch to ranch, depending on the plant's availability and the ranch's location, soil type, and land management practices. In case a plant is not found in this guide or more information is desired, a list of additional references is included.

Guide to the shrubs, trees, and cacti of Southern Texas, with descriptions and colored photographs of each plant.

Profiles 185 broad-leaved herbaceous plants in Texas, focusing on southern Texas, that are useful to landowners, providing color photos, comments, and details on their stems, leaves, and other anatomical parts, inflorescence, and fruit. Includes a bibliography and a glossary.

The diverse geography of Texas overflows with edible plant species. From elderberry to amaranth and dandelion to cactus, Foraging Texas guides you to 92 edible wild foods and healthful herbs of the state. This valuable reference guide will help you identify and appreciate the wild bounty of the Lone Star State. Foraging Texas provides all of the information you need about wild foods in the state: Detailed descriptions and full-color photos of edible plants Tips on finding, preparing, and using foraged foods Recipes suitable for the trail and at home Botanical terms and diagrams complete with an illustrated bibliography Distribution maps for every plant

With more than 175,000 copies sold, Texas Wildflowers has established itself as the go-to guide for identifying the state’s roadside flowers. This new edition has been completely reorganized by flower colors (and within each color section, by flowering season) to make it even easier to identify the flowers you see as you travel through Texas. Every wildflower is illustrated with a beautiful full-color photograph—over 250 of which are new to this edition. All of the descriptive identifying information is presented in a consistent format—common and botanical names, plant and leaves, flowers and fruit, flowering season, habitat and range, and notes. What hasn’t changed is the book’s sturdy binding, which will hold up through years of active use, and its wealth of information, which has been thoroughly updated by the expert staff of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: 300 species descriptions, including engaging comments about the plants’ natural histories, landscape uses, edible or medicinal properties, and folklore A map of Texas’s vegetational areas Glossaries that define and illustrate botanical terms A bibliography of books for learning more about wildflowers Indexes to common and botanical plant names, as well as plant families, that distinguish between native and non-native species As Lady Bird Johnson observed in the foreword, Texas Wildflowers “makes me want to reach for my sunhat, put on my walking shoes, take this knowledge-filled book, and fare forth to seek and discover!”

“No single existing publication includes the kind of information featured in this book,” a natural history of the flora of the Lone Star State (A. Michael Powell, Professor of Biology Emeritus and Director of the Herbarium, Sul Ross State University). With some 6,000 species of plants, Texas has extraordinary botanical wealth and diversity. Learning to identify plants is the first step in understanding their vital role in nature, and many field guides have been published for that purpose. But to fully appreciate how Texas’s native plants have sustained people and animals from prehistoric times to the present, you need Remarkable Plants of Texas. In this intriguing book, Matt Warnock Turner explores the little-known facts—be they archaeological, historical, material, medicinal, culinary, or cultural—behind our familiar botanical landscape. In sixty-five entries that cover over eighty of our most common native plants from trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to grasses, cacti, vines, and aquatics, he traces our vast array of connections with plants. Turner looks at how people have used plants for food, shelter, medicine, and economic subsistence; how plants have figured in the historical record and in Texas folklore; how plants nourish wildlife; and how some plants have unusual ecological or biological characteristics. Illustrated with over one hundred color photos and organized for easy reference, Remarkable Plants of Texas can function as a guide to individual species as well as an enjoyable natural history of our most fascinating native plants.