News and announcements from our committee chairs, board members, and chapter leaders. Subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date. For chapter news, visit Chapters. If you are looking for a calendar of events, see our Events Calendar.
November-December 2008
NICE! Plant of the Month (Berberis trifoliolata) Family: Barberry Other Common Names: Algerita, Wild Currant, Paisano Bush Type: Evergreen perennial shrub Natural Habitat: Rocky limestone soil from coastal south Texas north to central, north and west Texas, also southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. Growth: 3-6 feet. Deer Resistance: High.
Awards presented in Jasper
The Society rewarded achievements in the field of native plants at the Awards Banquet in Jasper during its 2008 Fall Symposium
Mr. Texas Bluebonnet: the Carroll Abbott story
Wildflowers were the passion of Carroll Abbott’s life, but the printed word and the spoken word would be the vehicles he would use so effectively. He was equally persuasive with both.
Mealy sage provides a patch of blue
Mealy sage is a long-blooming, drought-tolerant, deer-resistant perennial, which provides a welcome patch of blue in the landscape.
The kinder, gentler yucca
It is the flexible wavy leaves, some with a helical twist, that make twist-leaf yucca (Yucca rupicola) an attractive landscape plant.
Texas betony
**ARCHIVED POST ** Texas betony might be called Texas tough. In my yard it survives dry periods, poor soil, deer browsing, and general neglect. Its scarlet-red blooms look good among the bluebonnets in our front yard.
History of the Society
The Native Plant Society of Texas was started in the Fall of 1980 by Carroll Abbott, of Kerrville
Trip to the “Cielo” of Native-Plant Diversity
Author: Bill Ward “Cielo” usually means sky or heaven or paradise, sometimes roof or canopy. Every one of these translations probably could apply to some aspect of El Cielo Biosphere Reserve in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. I think probably “paradise” is the best meaning to use for this region,
The common agarita – NICE! shrub for landscaping
Author: Bill Ward Probably the earliest harbingers of spring in our yard are the agarita bushes. They are the first shrubs to bloom, with tiny bright-yellow flowers. Soon after that, they are putting on small round fruit that by early summer have gradually turned from green to red. Those berries
The Devils River Valley — a Botanical Wonderland
Author: Bill Ward During a Thursday morning hike last week, I saw three plants I never expected to get to see in the wild. I would have felt lucky to see just one of these plants in its native habitat, but all three in the same area was – as
October 2008
NICE! Plant of the Month (Cotinus obovatus) Family: Anacardiaceae (Sumac family) Other Common Names: Smoke Tree, Chittamwood Type: Understory shrub or small deciduous tree Natural Habitat: In Texas small populations in the hills and bluffs of the Edwards Plateau and North Central Texas; range extends into Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee
Driven Up the Wall by Herbivores
Author: Bill Ward There is an interesting story about the rare Texas snowbell (Styrax platanifolius subsp. texanus) in “Water from Stone” by Jeffrey Greene. That is the book about David and Margaret Bamberger and their Selah Ranch north of Blanco. For many years, David Bamberger has worked tirelessly to increase
