Trees Shrubs Cacti Of South Texas

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

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.

Woody plants and cacti are vital staple foods for cattle, deer, and other wildlife in drought-prone South Texas. Ranchers, hunters, and land managers who need to identify these plants relied on A Field Guide to Common South Texas Shrubs (published by Texas Parks & Wildlife Press and distributed by UT Press), which is no longer in print. Responding to ongoing demand for the book, Richard B. Taylor has completely updated and expanded it with seven new species, new photographs, and a quick plant identification key. Common Woody Plants and Cacti of South Texas is an easy-to-use plant identification field guide to fifty species that comprise an estimated 90 percent of the region's woody canopy cover north of the Rio Grande Valley. The species accounts include photographs, descriptions, values to livestock and wildlife, and nutritional information. The book also provides historical perspectives and information on brush management techniques and strategies, as well as habitat appraisal. All of these resources will enable readers to analyze stocking rates for deer and cattle, evaluate a prospective hunting lease, or buy property.

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.

In this comprehensive, richly illustrated guide, author George Oxford Miller provides the "how-to," "when-to," and "what-to" for gardeners, landscapers, and homeowners throughout Texas. Have you ever planted a beautiful—and expensive—shrub in your yard and watched it slowly die because it was in the wrong location? Insufficient sunlight, too much water, improper soil, or too hot an exposure can turn the nursery-perfect specimen into an eyesore. This all-in-one DIY guide helps you beautify your yard using low-maintenance native plants specifically adapted to your local growing conditions. Whether as foundation hedges, mass plantings, or accent shrubs, Texas’ vast offering of native species can bring year-round beauty to any lawn space. Covering wildflowers, shrubs, trees, vines, cacti, and groundcovers, this book selects the species that combine ornamental qualities, growth habit, adaptability, and year-round beauty for the highest landscape value. Chapters include photos, maps, charts, and design samples to provide guidelines for species selection and planting, ongoing maintenance, landscape design, and water and energy conservation. Plant descriptions provide detailed habitat requirements for hundreds of native plants, and photos illustrate how each plant looks in the landscape. In Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas, new and experienced gardeners alike will find the facts and advice needed to choose the plants best adapted for their particular landscape. The ornamental beauty of Texas’ native species and the economic advantages of using plants adapted to the local climate demonstrate that the best for our landscapes often comes from our own backyards. And perhaps most importantly, using native plants encourages the repair and preservation of natural plant communities and the wildlife they shelter.

In Texas Cacti, authors Brian and Shirley Loflin present a concise, fully illustrated field guide to more than one hundred of the cacti most often found in Texas and the surrounding region. The book opens with an illustrated introduction to cactus habitat and anatomy. The species are then organized by stem shape, with each account featuring detailed color photographs, specific identifying features (including spines, flowers, fruits, and seeds) and information about common and scientific names, habitat, flowering season, and more.?The photographs, range maps, and icons designating shape, conservation status, and blooming period, along with easy-to-understand descriptions, make this book a quick and friendly guide to cactus identification for botanists, amateur naturalists, and cactus enthusiasts alike.

Since 1987, more than 225 species have been identified and described as endangered, imperiled, or declining. Complete with photographs, line drawings, and county maps, this book describes the officially listed, candidate, and species-of-concern plants in Texas. Individual accounts include information on distribution, habitat, physical description, flowering time, federal and state status, similar species, and published references.