Memorial awards

Recognizing achievements in the field of native plants

The Native Plant Society of Texas presents awards to recognize excellence in writing, acts of conservation and public service, and lifetime achievement in the field of Texas native plants.

Awards are chosen by an Awards Committee appointed by the State Board and are presented annually during the Fall Symposium each October. Each year members and others are encouraged to nominate qualified candidates.

Carroll Abbott Memorial Award

The Carroll Abbott Memorial Award is given for writings in the popular vein on Texas native plants. Named for the founder of the Society.

1989, Marshall Enquist, for the book Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country
1990, Sally Wasowski and Andy Wasowski, for the book Native Texas Plants – Landscaping Region by Region
1991, Paul W. Cox and Patty Leslie, for the book Texas Trees – A Friendly Guide
1992, Delena Tull, for the book Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest – A Practical Guide
1993, Geyata Ajilvsgi, for the book Butterfly Gardening for the South
1994, Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick, for the book Wildflowers of the Western Plains
1995, Judy Mielke, for the book Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes
1996, Judith Phillips, for the books Natural by Design and Plants for Natural Gardens
1997, James H. Everitt and D. Lynn Drawe, for the book Trees, Shrubs, & Cacti of South Texas
1998, John and Gloria Tveten, for their book Wildflowers of Houston
1999, Richard B. Taylor, Jimmy Rutledge, and Joe G. Herrera, for the book A Field Guide to Common South Texas Shrubs
2000, Arturo Longoria, for the book Adios to the Brushlands
2001, Jill Nokes, for the book How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest, Revised and Updated Edition
2002, Alfred Richardson, for the book Wildflowers and Other Plants of Texas Beaches and Islands
2003. Ruth Ginsberg, for the book Lloyd Herbert Shinners: By Himself
2004, Noreen Damude and Kelly Conrad Bender, for the book Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife
2005, Richard V. Francaviglia, for the book The Cast Iron Forest
2006, Geyata Ajilvsgi, for the book Wildflowers of Texas, Revised Edition
2007, Matt White, for the book Prairie Time: A Blackland Portrait
2008. Dr. Charles M. Allen, Ph.D., Dawn Allen Newman, M.S., and Dr. Harry Winters, M.D., for the book Grasses of Louisiana, 3rd Ed.
2009, Matt Warnock Turner, for the book Remarkable Plants of Texas: Uncommon Accounts of Our Common Natives
2010, Jan Wrede, for her book Trees, Shrubs and Vines of the Texas Hill Country
2011, Brian & Shirley Loflin for their book Grasses of the Texas Hill Country
2012, Jim Stanley for his book Hill Country Landowner’s Guide
2013, Geyeta Ajilvsgi, revised version of Butterfly Gardening for the South
2014, Delmar Cain, newspaper columnist appearing in Boerne Star
2015, Ricky J. Linex for his book Range Plants of North Central Texas
2016, Mary Curry for her book North Central Texas Wildflowers
2017, Stephan Hatch and Jennifer Pluhar for Texas Range Plants
2018, Louis Harveson for Woody Plants of the Big Bend and Trans-Pecos: A Field Guide to Common Browse for Wildlife
2019, Micheal Eason for Wildflowers of Texas
2020. Marcy Scott, Hummingbird Plants of the Southwest
2021, Jim Weber, Lynne Weber and Roland Wauer for the book Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies featuring 100 native larval host plants
2022, Dexter Peacock and Forrest S. Smith have been selected for their book A Photographic Guide to the Vegetation of the South Texas Sand Sheet

Donovan Stewart Correll Memorial Award

The Donovan Stewart Correll Memorial Award is presented for scientific writing in the field of the native flora of Texas.

1988, Marshall Enquist for rediscovery of Salvia penstemonoides, believed to be extinct for 40 years
1989, Jill Nokes for the book How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest
1990, Benny J. Simpson for the book A Field Guide to Texas Trees
1991, William F. Mahler for the book Shinner’s Manual of the North Central Texas Flora
1992, A. Michael Powell for the book Trees & Shrubs of Trans-Pecos Texas
1993, Marshall C. Johnston for the book The Vascular Plants of Texas update
1994, Stephan L. Hatch, Kancheepuram N. Gandhi, and Larry Brown, for the book Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Texas
1995, Alfred Richardson for the book Plants of the Rio Grande Delta
1996, Kenneth Geen Michael Porter, Steve Demarais, Fred C. Bryant, and Gary Van Vreede , for the book White-Tailed Deer, Their Foods and Management in the Cross Timbers
1997, Bob Lonard for the book Guide to Grasses of the Lower Rio Grande Valley
1998, A. Michael Powell for the book Grasses of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas
1999, Joe Cepeda, Pam Allison and Larry C. Higgins, for the book Texas Panhandle Plants
2000, George M. Diggs Jr, Barney L. Lipscomb, and Robert J. O’Kennon, for the book Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas
2001, Scooter Cheatham, Marshall C. Johnston, with Lynn Marshall, for book series The Useful Wild Plants of Texas, the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico
2002, no award
2003, B.L. Turner, Holly Nichols, Geoffrey Denny, and Oded Doron, for the book Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Texas
2004, David J. Schmidly for the book Texas Natural History: A Century of Change
2005, Sharon C. Yarborough and A. Michael Powell, for the book Ferns and Fern Allies of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas
2006, George M. Diggs, Jr., Barney L. Lipscomb, Monique D. Reed, and Robert J. O’Kennon, for the book Illustrated Flora of East Texas, Volume One
2007, A. Michael Powell and James F. Weedin, for the book Cacti of the Trans-Pecos & Adjacent Areas
2008, Jackie M. Poole, William R. Carr, Dana M. Price, and Jason R. Singhurst, for the book Rare Plants of Texas: A Field Guide
2009, Roy L. Lehman, Ruth O’Brien and Tammy White, for the book Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend
2010, Scooter Cheatham, Marshall C. Johnston, and Lynn Marshall, for book series The Useful Wild Plants of Texas, the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico
2011, Houston Wilderness, Houston Atlas of Biodiversity
2012, Ken King and Alfred Richardson, Plants of Deep South Texas
2013, Dr Robert B. Shaw, Guide to Texas Grasses
2014, Dr Roy Lehman, Marine Plants of the Texas Coast
2015, Dr Elray Nixon and Bruce Lyndon Cunningham for their book Gymnosperms of the United States and Canada
2016, Jason Singhurst, Ben Hutchins and Dr. Walter C. Holmes for their guide Identification of Milkweeds in Texas
2017, George Diggs and Barney Lipscomb for Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas
2018, George Clendenin for Common Rangeland Plants of West Central Texas
2019, Brian Chapman and Eric Bolen for their book The Natural History of Texas
2020, Dr. Michael Powell, Shirley Powell, and Dr. Richard Worthington, Flowering Plants of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas
2021, John E. Williams for the first English translation for the first English translation of the father of Texas botany’s The Writings of Ferdinand Lindheimer, Texas Botanist, Texas Philosopher
2022, Elizabeth McGreevy for Wanted! Mountain Cedars Dead and Alive

Nancy Benedict Memorial Award

The Nancy Benedict Memorial Award honors an individual, a group or an organization for a specific act of conservation or public service in the field of Texas native plants. This is neither a “joiner” nor a “lifetime of service” award.

1988, Toney Keeney for work in saving the Texas Snowbell and re-introduction of them into several locations
1989, Lynn Lowrey for work on the conservation, propagation and distribution of Pistacia texana Swingle
1990 —
1991 —
1992, Odessa Permian High School, Odessa, Texas, for establishing their Permian Botanical Garden
1993 —
1994, Landon Lockett for protecting a population of a rare kind of Sabal Palm tree in Brazoria County
1995 —
1996, Tim Davis and Wayne MacKay of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Steve George and Jerry Parsons of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, for work in developing and bringing the native Texas Bluebonnet into commercial horticulture
1997, Bob and Mickey Burleson for restoration of the Burleson Prairie
1998, Drew Academy (Aldine School District – Houston)
1999, David Bamberger for his efforts at Selah Ranch
2000, Geoffrey Stanford for his efforts at the Dallas Nature Center
2001, Keith Etheridge, for work to establish the Fort Worth Stella Rowan Prairie
2002, Molly Hollar for helping develop a native wildscape in Veteran’s Park in Arlington
2003, Bill Lindemann for contributions in establishing the Fredericksburg Nature Center and Friends of the Fredericksburg Nature Center
2004, Kathryn Kennedy
2005, Charles Tapley for establishment of the Lynn Lowrey Memorial Arboretum on the Rice University campus
2006, Temple-Inland for native plant habitat preservation across East Texas
2007, Lisa Bellows for land stewardship and education at the Thomsen Foundation property, Montague County
2008, The Conservation Fund (Julie Shackelford) for coordination of securing additional acreage to be part of Big Thicket National Preserve
2009, David Hurt for his work to establish Dogwood Canyon Sanctuary
2010, Bill & Jan Neiman, for their work on seed banking and general prairie conservation
2011, Native Prairie Association of Texas, for continued conservation of Blackland Prairie through land stewardship
2012, Bill Carr, for collecting, identifying and preserving thousands of native plants and plant records
2013, Ilse Meier, for land stewardship
2014, Lonnie and Judith Shockley for their work with Invaders of Texas
2015, Faye Tessnow for helping to establish Texas Native Plant Week
2016, Marilyn Perz for the Williamson County Pollinator Garden
2017, Kay Jenkins for leading the work on the Monarch Waystations on Interstate 35 Safety Rest Areas.
2018, Jaime Gonzalez for increasing public awareness of local prairies and urban landscapes
2019, Lan Shen for conservation of native plant seeds and promotion of their use
2020, Charles Newsome, for leading effort to remove invasive plants at Berry Spring Park & Preserve
2021, Susan Prosperie, for propagation of over 250,000 “Pinus taeda,” the restoration of Bastrop County loblolly pine forest, and growing milkweed (Asclepias) to help the USFWS and public through her work at the LBJWC
2022, Martha Mullens for educating the public in the value of native plants and recognizing people who have contributed over the years, through her articles, books reviews, and a series on women botanists

Charles Leonard Weddle Memorial Award

The Charles Leonard Weddle Memorial Award is awarded for lifetime achievement in the field of Texas native plants.

1991, Dr. Barton H. Warnock
1992, Dr. Elray S. Nixon
1993, Dr. Chester M. Rowell, Jr.
1994, Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Ralph Yarborough
1995, Dr. William F. (Bill) Mahler
1996, Lynn Lowrey
1997, Benny J. Simpson
1998, Geraldine Watson
1999, Joe Ideker
2000, Edward C. Fritz
2001 —
2002, Dr. Larry Brown
2003, Dr. A. Michael Powell
2004, Jackie Poole
2005, Dr. Alfred Richardson, for lifetime work and contributions to the study of Texas native plants
2006, Maxine Johnston, for longtime efforts to preserve and protect the Big Thicket
2007, Marshall Johnston
2008, Carmine Stahl, storytelling naturalist, living encyclopedia, historian, expert in wild edibles and native American plant use, author
2009, Rosa Finsley, for widespread use of native plants in landscapes, and for mentoring others to use native plants in landscape design
2010, Billie Lee Turner
2011, Bill Ward, for his commitment and service in promoting, conserving and education about the native flora of Texas
2012, Shirley Lusk, for volunteering, identifying, collecting and teaching about native plants of the north Texas region
2013 Owen Yost, for his many articles in various publications advocating for native plants
2014, Timothy Fullbright, for his work with South Texas Natives
2015, Flo Oxley
2016, Suzanne Tuttle for her career at Ft Worth Nature Center and other service
2017 Jim Varnum for his work with Texas Master Naturalists and his monthly email calendar for North Texas
2018, Dalton Merz for his service with NRCS
2019 Dr. David L. Creech
2020, James P. Muir
2021, Judy Walther and David Mahler for more than forty years of work of encouraging ecological restoration using native plants through educational programs and projects and the Environmental Survey Consulting company
2022, Bill Hopkins for longtime service and achievement in website development with vast contributions through writing articles, book reviews, and volunteerism in local and state leadership

Lynn Lowrey Memorial Award

The Lynn Lowrey Memorial Award is given for horticultural achievement in the field of Texas native plants.

1999, Will Fleming, for “Will Fleming Yaupon”
2000, Dan Hosage, for Cercis canadensis ‘Traveler’
2001, Dr. David Creech, for his work establishing the Stephen F. Austin University Mast Arboretum and developing the three R’s: Rescue, Research, and Reconstruction
2002, Mike Anderson, for contributions of promoting horticulture education through the Robert A. Vines Science Center in Spring Branch (Houston)
2003 —
2004, David and Teresa Steinbrunner, for “Teresa” Salvia greggii
2005, Dr. Ed McWilliams, for his study of native wetland species
2006, Peter Loos and Gail Barton, for Phlox pilosa ‘Forest Frost’
2007, Sean Watson, for efforts in propagating rare and endangered plants
2008, Greg Grant, for Malvaviscus drummondii x M arborea, ‘Pam Puryear’ or Pink Turk’s Cap
2009, John Snowden, for the propagation of genetically correct native grasses and educating for their use in the industry
2010, Ted Doremus
2011, Pat McNeal, for propagation and education
2012. Mark Bronstad, for commercial propagation of Cyrilla
2013, none given
2014, none given
2015, Dawn Stover, known for commercial propagation of Gaillardia aestavalis var winkleri “Grape Sensation.”
2016, none given
2017, Neal Hinders for his work with Texas Panhandle plants
2018, Flo Hannah for her work with Houston Audubon Native Nursery
2019, Paul Cox
2020, Sean Watson
2021, Mary Carol Edwards for opening Green Star Wetland Plant Farm for the wholesale propagation and sale of coastal native plants and volunteering in the Houston Chapter to educate growers
2022, Martin Simonton for propagating native plants collected during his travels throughout Texas

Mary Jo Laughlin / Eula Whitehouse Memorial Award

The Mary Jo Laughlin / Eula Whitehouse Memorial Award recognizes visual art that illustrate interprets or promotes native plants.

2018, Friends of Fredericksburg Nature Center and Mary Ellen Terrell for trailhead sign at Fredericksburg Nature Center
2019, Field Trip Committee at our Williamson County Chapter for signs at four public locations
2020, Diana Kersey for her ceramic installation, The Riparian Edge,at the Oxbow Office Tower in San Antonio
2021, Jill Bedgood for public art sculpture at the Fort Worth Chisholm Trail Community Park focusing on the natural prairie environment
2022, Ted Lee Eubanks was selected for an incredible collection of detailed photographs that he freely shares with the public to enjoy

Shirley D. Lusk Memorial Award

The Shirley D. Lusk Memorial Award honors a citizen scientist for collecting and preserving Texas native plants for public education by providing outstanding contribution of herbarium vouchers. Nominees for this award must have contributed at least 150 specimens and be a Native Plant Society of Texas member for at least five years.

2019, Marie-Theres Herz
2020, Jeff Quayle
2021, Patty Manning for collecting and documenting over 300 specimens, including plants previously unknown in Texas, for the Sul Ross State University herbarium
2022, Casey Williams for collecting ~350 specimens, with a focus on aquatic plants of Texas, with collections housed at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth and the University of Texas at Austin

Native Plant Society of Texas