The consortium workers learn how to make seed balls
so they can, in turn, go out and teach others how to do it.
(photo by Meredith O'Reilly)

Austin Chapter member Ryan Fleming and Williamson County Chapter member Sue Wiseman initiated the “Healing Hands Healing Lands” project because they saw the urgency to restore the area as rapidly as possible to avoid further destruction of the unique regional flora and fauna. Their idea was to aid and accelerate healing of the natural ecosystems by providing seed balls containing native flower, grass and other plant seeds normally found in the affected areas.

Members of the Williamson County, Austin, Lost Pines and other chapters of NPSOT joined with Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners, garden club members, hundreds of school children, and many other sponsors and participants to offer hands to help heal the wounded lands.

In October a group of 14 volunteers assembled approximately 450 seed ball kits from a ton of dry red art clay purchased from Armadillo Clay in Austin, a half yard of organic compost donated by GeoGrowers in Austin and Olde Thyme Gardens in Circleville, and 25 pounds of native seed mix selected by and purchased from Bill Neiman of Native American Seed in Junction. Extensive discussions were held with authorities in the Bastrop area to ensure that the seed for the kits would be genetically compatible with the sensitive native environment. Funds to pay for the materials were provided through private donations.

Dennis Perz teaches seed ball making at a
Boys and Girls Club. (photo by Marilyn Perz)

During November and December roughly 300 youth groups with upwards of 1000 participants rolled seed balls from the materials in the kits. These sessions were accompanied by educational discussions led by adult volunteers describing the fire in Bastrop, the consequent damage to the vegetation and the threat to the long term health of the local ecosystem. The volunteers emphasized the importance of selecting native seed varieties appropriate for revegetating the land and conforming to the natural ecosystem of the area.

Kathy Galloway and Sue Wiseman stand with the pallet of seed balls (photo by Kathy Comer)

Leftover seed ball kits have been given to the Lost Pines Master Naturalists for distribution to groups within the Bastrop area that want to participate. Remaining funds in the Healing Hands Healing Lands account will be donated to the TPWD Relief Fund.

Sue said that one of the recipients, a fellow Master Naturalist, told her that the group was considered angels. “The gift of seed balls to folks who moved into the Lost Pines area because they appreciated nature has been very special. It really hit home that someone would want to give someone else a little something to help in healing nature.”

The Bastrop County fire may have been a single tug on nature, but it has evoked a response from many in the rest of the world. NPSOT can be proud that its members have played a leading role in the Healing Hands, Healing Lands project. This experience can be a model for further cooperative work by the many organizations that took part.

More information on the project is available at http://www.HealingHandsHealingLands.org.

Prunus mexicana (photo by Bill Lindemann)

The highly fragrant blossoms appear in the late winter, before the leaves, and attract hordes of butterflies and bees.

The tree often grows solitary in clearings and woodland edges in the eastern two-thirds of the state. It tolerates dappled shade as well as full sun. Despite the name it is said to actually be more common in Texas than in Mexico.

It gets as tall as 25 feet and is fast-growing, as well as being attractive, making it a good tree for landscaping.

The bloom coincides with that of the redbud and the two trees look spectacular when planted together.

Mexican plum bears fruit which is rather tart. Another native plum tree known more for its fruit rather than for ornamental value is the Chickasaw plum, Prunus angustifolia, which is much tastier but tends to sucker and only gets 12 – 15 feet tall.

First, through human eyes, it was the worst and most extreme… so far. Speaking at the Wichita Falls water conference in October, 2011, KFDX Meteorologist Bryan Rupp explained that the precipitating cause, La Niña in the Pacific, is already in place again for next summer, and may extend a year or more after that. In general, the climate trend shows all areas of Texas receiving less rainfall than the historic average. So brace yourself. Whatever your area’s annual rainfall average is, it will probably be much less in the near future. Time to learn how to conserve water, live with the heat and landscape for drought.

Plant survival skills

Most people are aware of the way some plants will droop or fold their leaves in the heat of the day to conserve moisture. When that trick isn’t enough, some plants actually drop their leaves and look dead, but they are just holding onto the moisture in their roots. Those black, leafless stems or even bare-branched shrubs and trees are just doing what they need to survive. Many will come back from the roots once the cooler temperatures and moisture return in the fall. Do not rip out a plant just because the top looks dead. Watch for new growth around the base of the plant this fall or next spring. They have been very stressed and will need extra care, but many may come back just fine.

Conversely, many short-lived perennials survive the extreme conditions by giving up, and putting their all into seed production. Some of those amazing bloom displays in the heat were the plant making sure its seeds had a good chance. It put all its life-energy into making flowers and seeds. It may look great, but that is its final hurrah. Save those seeds to make new plants if the parents don’t leaf out in the spring.

Bluebonnets in gravel (photo by Bill Hopkins).

Some native seeds actually rely on the extreme conditions to germinate their seeds. You may know that some seeds need special harsh treatment to sprout. The heat and sun pounding them all summer is another way to scarify or acid-etch to penetrate thick seed-coats or crack tough shells. From Buckeyes to Bluebonnets, watch for those slow-geminating seeds to put out new life this spring.

And then there are the true Texas-tough plants that actually do well in those extreme conditions. Many native plants, especially those from the western part of the state, saw the heat and drought as business as usual. They evolved to thrive in the extremes and have been tested through past drought cycles. Many of these plants actually preferred the drier soils and harsh conditions. These are the plants that do not do well in amended garden beds with regular watering – they can’t take being treated nicely. They not only survive the heat, they actually thrive in it.

Texas is a big state with too many ecosystems to make a comprehensive, state-wide list, much less publish it here. Plants that do well in salt-marshes of Galveston may not handle the alkaline desert soils of El Paso or the acid and moisture of the Pineywoods. But you can collect the data you need for your area, create your own list of plants and share it with others in your local chapters. These are the plants we will be watching for as the best drought and heat tolerant landscape plants as the drought continues.

It’s time now to start your own list of what survived and thrived in your area, and keep collecting the data through next spring, and even next year. Then share it with your local chapter. This extreme summer gave us a great opportunity to learn about the extreme survivors in our local region and make better choices for the future.

From an ecologist’s perspective the answer is inevitably more complex. A look to the future gives more hope.

Bastrop State Park as a biological resource has always been much more than just the beautiful pines. It is also a very large area populated with hundreds of other plant species associated with the pine forest/savanna.  It has been protected from most development and has a relatively low percentage of invasive exotic species that plague so much of the surrounding farm and grazing land. In the sunny openings between the trees, these assemblages of grasses and forbs have formed little pocket prairies, historically dominant in parts of Central Texas but now mostly gone, replaced by agricultural and “garden center” plants.

Bastrop State Park

Along the parks’ power line easements, trees have been routinely removed and cut with machines, effectively replacing fire, but without leaving the nutritious ash.  Still, this has created a beautiful native prairie, flourishing with many wildflowers such as several Liatris species, rattlesnake master, false aloe, and many more. A diverse collection of native grasses such as little bluestem, indian grass, dropseeds, etc. also flourish.

A viable seed bank of these sun loving native species remains in the soil where, until recently, there were mostly pines, oaks and an understory dominated by yaupon. There is little seed of exotic species in the former deep woods to compete with and slow the development of the natural prairie that is dormant now, but waiting its turn after fire, ash, and eventual rain. And, yes, when the rains come there will also be little pine seedlings poking through the ash, ready to give the pine forest stage of succession another chance in its turn. The oaks, even though killed above ground, will resprout from their extensive live root systems, creating oak groves and shading out the pine seedlings and prairie species in some places.

The small areas of large pines which have survived this fire will be set within large swaths of prairie, becoming iconic cathedrals reminding us of what was and what will be again. We will learn to treasure them even more as we learn to appreciate the beautiful open fields of flowers and grasses in what will potentially become the largest natural prairie habitat in Central Texas.

This magnificent prairie will be a treasure in its own right. It will be a tremendous resource for researchers to learn details about the nature of plant succession in this habitat. As the pines slowly return, perhaps dominate, and then slowly get pushed aside by the hardwoods, researchers will be able to see the ecological effects from how future fires are managed. This area also has the potential to be utilized as a resource for seed of prairie species which are uncommon or reduced in this state. This could be a tremendous asset for habitat restoration of prairies and savannahs in similar soils in Central Texas. It will be very important to resist any misguided calls to reseed this area with species that are not native to this habitat, or worse, with invasive exotics.  It is important to support and fund the people who will have lots of good restoration work to do in the months and years to come.

Worldwide, pine habitats are fire dynamic communities, that is, they are shaped and somewhat dependent on natural fires, resetting the biological clocks affecting plant succession (the slow change of a plant community over time). A pine forest is often an early post-fire stage which sprouts in the sunlit ground created by fire, and which in turn is eventually shaded out by hardwoods that regenerate under the shade of a pine forest.

In some instances pine communities historically tend to form a savanna habitat, an “neighborhood park” like scene of scattered trees with sunny openings, and with a grassland understory encouraged by the sunlight. A savanna occurs when there are frequent enough fires to reduce the low woody growth sufficiently so that when a fire burns through there is less tall fuel in the understory and the fire is less likely to “crown” into the taller trees and kill them. The U.S. has a long history of fire suppression (Remember Smokey the Bear?) which has resulted in many wooded habitats. These habitats had previously been maintained in more open conditions by more frequent fires. They’ve since become much more susceptible to “catastrophic fires” which are much more drastic in their effect on a habitat than regular, frequent fires.

Over recent decades the attempt at total suppression of natural fires became understood by most natural area managers as a mistake which was having severe consequences for fire dependent species and habitats, as well as for public safety. A shift is now being made to allow more frequent fires, or intentionally initiating controlled burns to gradually recover the lost habitat and reduce the high fuel loads. Interestingly, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has recently been using controlled winter burns in some larger areas of Bastrop State Park to reduce the huge fuel loads in part of the park and these areas were starting to regain a more neighborhood park-like openness. It will be interesting to see how these areas fared in this huge fire compared to the untreated areas, although the many fire variables such as wind speeds, time of day/night when the fire went through, etc, will make interpretation difficult.

Two years ago I drove and hiked through the areas “devastated” by the large-scale conflagrations which scorched about a third of Yellowstone National Park in 1988, and I can assure you that the land is doing quite well. There is a wonderful mix of habitats with plant communities in all stages of succession. And yes, the lodgepole pines are back in the burned areas, sprouting from the seeds of the serotinous cones, released after the intense heat cracked the resin sealing the cones.

Now we will get to watch the plant communities in Bastrop rise through the ashes.

The current and forecast weather conditions in Texas are dire – high temperature and low precipitation records are being made across the state, surface reservoirs and aquifer levels are reaching critically low levels, and with a return and forecasted strengthening of the La Niña climate phenomenon, the Texas drought is expected to persist through at least the summer of 2012. Come learn what you can do to prepare for water shortages now and in the future.

The 2012 Native Plant Spring Symposium will be held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. This special place exists to introduce people to the beauty and diversity of wildflowers and other native plants. The Center’s gardens display the native plants of the Central Texas Hill Country.

Download a program and registration materials.

Read abstracts and speaker bios.

Registration

Advanced symposium registration must be made by Friday, February 10, 2012. Advanced registration of $60 will include 1 box lunch per registrant. Please inform the registrar if you prefer vegetarian box lunch.

Those participants wishing to attend workshops must register for each session. Registration for workshops is $10 per session. Workshops will be filled on a first come, first served basis. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER FOR WORKSHOPS. No workshop registrations will be accepted after February 10.

Registration after February 10 will be $75. Walk-in registration will begin Saturday morning, February 25 at 8:00 a.m. The walk-in registration fee is $75 and will not include a box lunch or afternoon workshop sessions.

Register by mail, FAX or online. Make checks payable to: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Mail payment and registration forms to:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Avenue
Austin, Texas 78739
ATTN: 2012 Spring Symposium, Registrar

Click here to register online

Dalea reverchonnii

I’m sure that many of us have looked at a flower or fruit in our gardens with pride and said, “ah yes, I grew this.” Perhaps we’ve seen some fascinating part of plant, like the extrafloral nectaries on the stipules of a vetch, researched its purpose and said, “wow!”

As I’ve just been learning about plants for the past couple years, I find myself saying “wow” a lot when I’m outside looking around for plants.

There is one plant in particular that has sparked my interest in some of the rare native plants of Texas. Dalea reverchonii, or the Comanche Peak Prairie Clover, has only been documented in three counties in the entire world: Parker, Hood, and Wise counties in North Central Texas. I saw it for the first time outside of an electrical substation on the south side of Weatherford.

After reading about this plant for a while, it really was a breathtaking experience to see it in person. Dalea reverchonii is a perennial plant with many stems that grow close to the ground (decumbent). They have the ability to grow in a dense mat, but I’ve typically seen the plants sparsely growing to about 15 inches in diameter. They have pinnately compound leaves with around 11 leaflets that are about half an inch long. I think they have a striking bloom (albeit small); the flowers are a lovely purple with bright orange anthers. They are in the bean family (Fabaceae), so the fruits are pods (see Rare Plants of Texas by Jackie M. Poole for more information).

Just as interesting as the plant is the original discovery (and rediscovery) of this species. Julien Reverchon, a French immigrant and avid botanist, first discovered this plant “on the rocky top” of Comanche Peak in 1882. It was not found again on the top of Comanche Peak for 121 years, until Bob O’Kennon, a botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, rediscovered the plant growing in a small area in a specific soil type. This is what makes this plant so rare; it is adapted to growing only in the Walnut Limestone formation and is found nowhere else.

all photos by Sam Kieschnick

With Bob O’Kennon and my professor from Tarleton State University, Dr. Allan Nelson, we are conducting research on Dalea reverchonii. First of all, there are several populations that we are monitoring and assessing the health of the plants and the associated species. We are also looking for new populations in the Walnut Limestone formation which could sustain re-introduced populations. We have conducted germination experiments and will soon start recording the pollinators of the flowers.

I have been charmed by this plant. Each time I go out to monitor some of the populations, I remember the first time that I saw one of these plants. It’s an incredible species and one of the rare endemic plants of Texas.

These three dedicated members represented NPSOT at various hearings in both the House and Senate throughout the session of the 82nd Texas Legislature as HB 338 made its way through the legislative process. That bill, which was opposed by NPSOT and many other environmental organizations, requires any public entity other than the Texas Department of Agriculture that produces a list of noxious or invasive terrestrial plant species growing in this state to include a special disclaimer.

Although the bill eventually passed in spite of our opposition, it did not do so without gaining attention and causing legislators to reflect on the issues surrounding invasive plants.

Near the end of the session Senator Estes requested that members of NPSOT be included in a round table conversation with the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Council and the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. This resulted in opening doors to communication among the interested parties and a commitment to work together to identify “bad actor plants” within the environment.

Chapter of the Year

Williamson County named Chapter of the Year
(photo by Alan Middleton)

Williamson County Chapter in Georgetown was selected as the 2011 NPSOT Chapter of the Year.

There were several excellent examples of stiff competition from other chapters. In the end though, my decision was based on the outstanding leadership qualities exhibited by members of the Williamson County Chapter this year.  Several examples are listed in their annual chapter activity report. These included making several large donations totaling almost $4000, publication of an outstanding newsletter, conducting numerous classes and more.

The chapter had two really outstanding ideas in 2011. First, chapter leaders engaged the chapter in a planning process to enable them to better serve their community and meet the NPSOT mission statement. Second, To make information on how to maintain an attractive native landscape more accessible, they published a Native Plant Maintenance Guide on their website.

Fellows Award

In addition, Jane Crone and Kathy Galloway were recognized with the Benny J Simpson Fellows Award.  The Fellows Award is given each year for service and work by a NPSOT member for the enrichment of the Society at the state, regional or chapter level. This award is determined by votes from fellow members.

After such a brutal summer the cooler temperatures have been much celebrated. The farm was even blessed with a much needed four-inch rain and in some cases it was actually life saving for some of our trees.

White trumpet shaped flowers pop up just a few days after a good rain (photo courtesy Native American Seed)

It is always amazing to me that the plants that rebound the fastest to extreme weather patterns are our natives. In just a few days after the rain many native grasses and wildflowers began to bloom. Plants that looked dead just days before were sending up seed heads valiantly trying to reproduce before the first frost of the year. Several Red Buds in town even bloomed.

However the most spectacular were the Rain Lilies. They were everywhere hidden in every nook and cranny and in certain areas like east of Austin they covered acres. A literal carpet of showy white blooms blanketed one hillside.

Cooperia pedunculata, or more commonly known as Rain Lily, will pop up and bloom a couple of days after a good rain. It looks like a 6 petaled white flower but technically it has 3 petals and 3 sepals that look almost identical. The white trumpet shaped flower is on an unbranched stem around 8 inches high. The blooms start out as a tight trumpet in the evening opening slowly to beautiful fragrant blossom sometimes measuring 2 inches across by morning. The flowers last only a few days.

Dozens of shiny black seeds produced from each flower (photo courtesy Native American Seed)

Even though the Rain Lily is a bulb it will set seed and reproduce by seed. So be patient and wait to mow until after the seed has dispersed. The seeds are black and are as shiny as a new pair of black patent shoes.

Rain lily will grow practically anywhere. Throw the seeds out and in a couple of years you too can experience the magic of the Rain Lily.

The seed heads of Texas wintergrass ripen at the beginning of summer providing an ample supply of spears, an oat-like seed with a 2-4 inch twisted awn, to use as ammunition for a brief running skirmish. The resemblance to a spear is really uncanny.

Nassella leucotricha in the Summer. (photo courtesy Native American Seed)

Most of the time when I reflect on a marvel of nature, I usually don’t have an answer. But the secret of the barbed seed and twisted awn has been revealed by careful observation. The twisted awn is an evolutionary tool responding to the humidity in the air. The awn twists and untwists with the changing humidity gently driving the seed into the ground. The barbed tip of the seed catches in the coats and artificial coats (socks and clothing) of any and all passing animals insuring a wider dispersal.

This particular feature has earned Texas wintergrass an ugly reputation with the sheep and goat raisers. The seed would lower the quality of the wool or mohair, and before the eradication of the screw worm, any sore caused by the seed burrowing into the coat would become packed with screw worms.

On the other hand, Texas wintergrass is the most wide spread prolific cool season grass available for grazing, providing valuable forage in lean months. The grass grows best in the deeper soils of pecan bottoms or mesquite flats.

Even though it is found in dense stands in shady pecan bottoms, Texas wintergrass has only a medium tolerance for shade. It is a cool season grass, so during most of its active growing cycle the leaves of the pecan trees have not flushed out yet. By the time the pecans are fully leafed out our hot Texas summer is beginning in earnest and the Texas wintergrass has finished with its seasonal growth. It will stay green all summer under the trees as long as it doesn’t get too dry or too hot, in which case it will turn brown and go dormant.

Texas wintergrass, Nassella leucotricha, is found growing from Northern Mexico up into Northern Oklahoma.

Add some diversity to your environment for the wildlife and for you. Plant some Texas wintergrass this fall and in the spring ambush some unsuspecting youngsters and squeals of laughter will fill the early summer air.

Ticket orders must be received by November 30. Proceeds from raffle ticket sales will be deposited into the Kate Hillhouse Scholarship Fund.

Raffle quilt (photo by Bill Hopkins)

This beautiful handcrafted quilt measures 68” x 84”. It depicts Texas native plants and expresses the meaning of NPSOT. The quilt is the product of the “quilt block challenge” issued by the NPSOT state board in January of this year. Tricia Hopkins, a member of the Cross Timbers Chapter and a quilter, was behind the project. Quilt blocks were created by NPSOT members Kerry Fisher, Ruth Loper, Betsy Farris, Fonda Fox, Marilyn Perz, Darlene Stewart, and LaVerne Wood. At the State Board meeting on July 16 in Houston, members selected the block created by Kerry Fisher of the Fredericksburg Chapter to be their favorite. Tricia Hopkins incorporated all of the blocks when she designed and finished the quilt – truly a cooperative labor of love.

Set of three prints (photo by Bill Hopkins)

The three 8.5″ x 16.5″ wildflower prints are water-colored by hand by the artist, Bruce Cunningham, signed and numbered 104/500 and are ready for framing.

These photos cannot convey the artistry and craftsmanship of the prizes. They are amazing! Ask anyone who attended Symposium 2011 for a first-hand description. Click on the images to see more detail

TICKET PRICES

Tickets are $2.00 for 1 ticket, $5.00 for 5 tickets, $10.00 for 15 tickets or $20.00 for 40 tickets.

The winning tickets will be drawn on December 1, 2011. Winner need not be present to win. All ticket orders must be received by November 30.

One of those winning tickets could be yours. Whether or not you were able to attend Symposium 2011 in Houston, you still have an opportunity to buy tickets and participate in the raffle.

Remember that every dollar from every ticket sale will be used to fund scholarships and further the mission of the Native Plant Society of Texas.

For more information or to order tickets, please contact Kathy Moore at 281-379-3766 or kemoore76@sbcglobal.net. Please include ‘NPSOT raffle’ in the e-mail subject line. Just as we did at the symposium, tickets will be torn from the roll, their numbers will be recorded, the tickets will be dropped into the drawing boxes as you specify, and you will be sent a confirmation.

The Kate Hillhouse Scholarship Fund was created in April 2008, with the goal to accumulate sufficient funds to endow an undergraduate scholarship. Proceeds from the Silent Auction at the Fall Symposium have been donated to the fund each year since 2008. The fund is named for a former president of the Society.

UPDATE

On December 1st, Deborah Lawson and Sheryl Marquez returned to the scene of Symposium 2011 and drew two winning raffle tickets. Annie Spade of Austin won the set of prints and Donna Bailey of Houston won the quilt. The raffle raised over $1500 which all went into the Kate Hillhouse Scholarship Fund.