Arboretum Archives - El Mesteño Ranch and Arboretum

“Roemer’s Acacia” by C.M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Sat, 18 May 2024 19:45:00 +0000

Roemer’s Acacia

Senegalia roemeriana

Exquisite blooms…

“This is a prickly, 3-7 ft., round-topped shrub or, more rarely, a small tree to 20 ft. with spreading branches. Branchlets with scattered straight or recurved prickles. Leaves divided into numerous leaflets 1/2 inch long or less. Fragrant, cream to greenish flowers 3/8 inch wide arising mostly from the axils of the leaves are followed by a narrow, leathery fruit. Fruit a brown to reddish, flat, curved pod up to 4 inches long and 1 1/8 inches broad. Young trunks are covered with smooth bark, becoming scaly with age. Twigs are armed with short, curved prickles; hence the common name, Catclaw.”
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Roemer’s acacia is a shrub that can grow from 15 to 20 feet in height and has a spread of 10 to 15 feet. It is a perennial, deciduous shrub that prefers sand, clay, gravelly, rocky, or limestone soil types. It requires full sun, and, once established, requires very little water to survive. It blooms in the Spring. Flower color varies from white to green. It provides both nectar and seeds for wildlife.
Native Plant Society of Texas

Leguminosae (Fabaceae)

“Roemer Acacia grows in dry limestone or gravelly soils. In good, deep soil it grows to 15′-20′, although on thin limestone hillsides in Edwards County it is a scraggly shrub of 3′ to 6′. It is drought resistant and fairly cold hardy, as are Gregg and Wright Acacia. Its globe-shaped flowers are a good source of honey.”
Texas Native Plant Database

“Fruit Characteristics: pods, flatter and not as twisted as Gregg Acacia’s.”
Texas Native Plant Database

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References:

“Where the Water Trough Overflows,” by C. M. Rich

Camille — Sat, 20 May 2023 16:03:22 +0000

Many miles walked in that footwear dragging hoses around to water livestock and native plant material.

Where the water trough overflows, a dirt border is built to contain and hold precious drops of water as it spills out over the top and out onto the South Texas Sand Sheet.

Where the water trough overflows, a young Brasil tree’s roots are like anchors, providing excellent erosion control as they dig and cut deep down into the loose, red, sandy soil.

Where the water trough overflows, after a fashion, green, native plant material begins to spring up next to sturdier shrubs that have been by the water trough’s side from years before.

Where the water trough overflows, Cowpen daisies Tiny Tim, and Three Lobed Florestina grow, thrive, and feed a plethora of pollinators, including an American bumble bee.

Where the water trough overflows, Pipevine Swallow tails float on warm, breezy currents as they dart in and around mature Wild Olive trees sporting fresh, crisp, white blooms and bright green, soft leaves.

Microecosystems spring up and offer native fauna respite from the drought conditions.

Where the water trough overflows, Hummingbirds, Green Jays, Northern Cardinals, Long-billed Thrashers, Pyrrhuloxias, Groove-billed Anis, Northern Bobwhite, Great Kiskadees, and White-winged Doves take refuge in the arms of Lotebush and Colima.

Where the water trough overflows, native plant material provides shade and cover for insects, birds, lizards, and all manner of creeping, crawling, slithering, living things.

Where the water trough overflows, an unexpected, wonderful microecosystem will spring up and sustain life when significant amounts of native habitat have all but dried out to mere sticks and twigs due to lack of precipitation.

An American bumble bee nectaring on Cowpen daisy.

Where the water trough overflows, flora will grow and all manner of fauna will be attracted to it.

A new frog species was discovered in the wet earth where the water trough overflows.

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Tulipán Del Monte ~ Heart Leaf Hibiscus

Camille — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 14:55:17 +0000

Tulipán Del Monte, also referred to as the Heart Leaf Hibiscus, is a strikingly beautiful plant native to the Rio Grande Valley. Noted as being found in Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Starr counties, it naturally grows among woodier shrubs and can be difficult to locate unless it is in bloom and its gorgeous, velvet-like petals are unfurled and on display for all to see.

After years of trying to grow this beauty from seed, I gave up. Much to my pleasant surprise, it came up years later in a pot filled with recycled potting soil, native seeds from some species that, now, escapes memory, and mulch from previous native seed-starting attempts. This flower’s beauty never fails to take my breath away as I marvel at its striking color and am mesmerized and dazzled by the visually fascinating intricacies of its overall structure. I hope that this image will bring a smile to your face and brighten your day!

If you would like to learn more about this beauty, you can find additional, detailed information in the following two (2) books that I absolutely cannot be without:

“Plants of Deep South Texas: A Field Guide to the Woody and Flowering Species,” by Alfred Richardson and Ken King. Texas A & M University Press. College Station, Texas. 2011.

“Wildflowers of Texas,” by Michael Eason. Timber Press, Inc. Portland, Oregon. 2018.

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El Mesteño Ranch and Arboretum

Camille — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 04:02:39 +0000

Since 2013, El Mesteño Ranch, has focused on the preservation, education, research, and enjoyment of the Tamaulipan thornscrub habitat that exists on it’s 12 acres of red, sandy soil with other plant enthusiasts, native Plant Project groups, Nonprofit organizations, and local chapters of the Texas Master Naturalist Program. Community awareness through educational presentations and field trips are just a few of the intentional steps that have been taken in an effort to help preserve and raise awareness for a habitat that is severely threatened due to land conversion.

Located in the Coastal Sand Plain Ecoregion, also known as the South Texas Sand Sheet, El Mesteño Ranch boasts a diversity of wildflowers, plants, cacti, shrubs, and trees native to the Tamaulipan thornscrub, par none. Significant efforts have been made to participate in plant surveys, plant studies, and the propagation of threatened, native plant species. Specifically, seed propagation and seed collection for increasing threatened, native plant populations and improving their subsequent genetic diversity, through the sharing of these seeds with likeminded individuals and organizations, has also been of the utmost priority and importance.

An additional area of interest and study relating to the propagation and survival of threatened native plant and cacti species at El Mesteño Ranch has focused on the reduction of animal predation of both threatened native plant and cacti species. This focus involves the design and implementation of non-lethal plant predation reduction measures and has been in progress and evolving since 2008. To date, numerous exclosures and fencing methods have been designed and successfully implemented to prevent Javelina from decimating populations of these threatened native plant and cacti species.

Going forward, El Mesteño Ranch and Arboretum will continue to be dedicated to the preservation, education, research, and enjoyment of the flora that inhabit its red, sandy soils, including all of the diverse fauna that rely on the Tamaulipan thornscrub for their survival. The efforts of El Mesteño Ranch and Arboretum will continue to focus on education, research, and community outreach. As a living seed bank, El Mesteño Ranch and Arboretum will continue to seek out ways to contribute to reforestation projects. We hope that you will give us the opportunity to share this magical habitat with you in the future!

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