On Friday October 25, we joined Peter Loos for another botanizing expedition, we being my colleague and friend Dawn Stover, three students Zy, Hanna, and Shelby, and myself. Our first stop was a barren near Zavalla, TX. Barrens are fascinating plant communities that have great horticultural application as horticulturists continue to look for plants that can perform well in poor sites with extreme conditions. Today, the weather was wet. A cold front had dumped at least an inch of rain at my house the morning we left, and it was still sprinkling when we arrived at the barren.
A barren in east Texas
Barrens are so named because of their lack of trees and occur because of different reasons like ample sand or extreme nutrient levels, all of them inducing stress on plants. The one we were visiting resulted from a thin soil layer sitting on top of sandstone, a characteristic we could easily see from where the dry creeks which were now plump with water had etched through what little soil was there to reveal the weathered rock below. Tree roots couldn’t gain good purchase, and those that did were quite stunted.
Here we actually see plants and lichens growing on bare sandstone.
Because of the limits placed on woody species, these sites are great habitats to find rare and unusual herbaceous flora. In the deeper and wetter spots we saw the prickly seedheads of Eryngium yuccifolium, one of the first times I’ve seen it in the wild in Texas. In the more exposed sites we found Liatris punctata var. mucronata going to seed. And here and there between we found asters like Symphyotrichum pratense, Ionactis linariifolia, and Eurybia hemispherica.
We found most of the prickly Liatris punctata var. mucronata on shallow soils.
A rayless goldenrod, likely Bigelowia nuttallii.
Ionactis linariifolia was another plant we encountered with needle-like foliage.
Beautiful Green Lynx with her babies.
After departing the barrens and a quick lunch, Hailey and Jevon joined us as we went to a habitat at the other extreme of wetness spectrum, a bog in the midst of a pine forest. Hundreds of pitcher plants greeted us along a path way flanked by Persea palustris and Rhododendron oblongifolium. Peter said that there was another bog deeper in the woods so we ventured into the understory where we found Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides in fruit. Eventually the shrubs cleared and we found ourselves standing in a grassy glade filled with glowing candles of Sarracenia alata under a copse of pines and Magnolia virginiana. Along the edge habitat was the rare Rudbeckia scabrifolia, an endangered species in Texas. I was delighted to see many seedheads rising from the woody fray.
Look at them all.
The beautiful blue fruit of Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides
We fanned out appreciating the plethora of pitchers in their native habitat in all stages of life. The tattered past were eaten on and some turning a brilliant red, the present bright chartreuse chalices looked on as praying mantis and spider tried to seize a meal or two away from the pitchers, and the future rose in their youthful bronze foliage. Seeing such habitats makes me wonder what the south used to look like until the rural and urban sprawl conquered these habitats.
Carolina mantis hoping to grab an insect before it’s trapped by the pitcher.
Love the color echo between the Green Lynx spider and the pitchers.
Another spider egg mass hatching.
About as young as Sarracenia get.
At the base of the bog we found this lovely stream. The grassy-looking species on the other side is actually a juvenile long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris).
Leaving the bog I paused to capture this understory of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) dotted with a single Sabal minor.
And, I had to stop the van to snap this lovely Callicarpa americana. It was over my head in height.
Our final excursion of the day was to see one of the newest species discovered in Texas—Stokesia laevis. Stokesia has been a favorite Asteraceae member of mine for many years for its cheerful myriad of flower colors. It’s also great to use in class because it propagates well from root cuttings. But, how did it get here? My hypothesis: Several other disjunct species occur in Texas. Very likely it got isolated years ago from a larger population as the in-between population died out. While it’s discovery elated me, I’m not super surprised since it is a southern species that actually has several disjunct populations from Louisiana to North Carolina. The location was quite a distance off the road in a little gully. In floristic surveys, a small, residual population would have been easy to miss. In one spot I counted about 20 individuals. Peter estimates he has seen at least 100 plants. At this time of the year, all that’s visible are shattered seed stalks and basal rosettes of a couple of leaves. The good thing is we saw several clumps that had seed stalks present so that seems to indicate it is producing seed. We will have to return in the spring to see what color they bloom. All in all, it was a great day for students and myself to learn more about the flora of the southeast.
Middle of the photo you can make out the verdant, elliptical foliage of Stokesia laevis. If you look closely, you may spy the dried inflorescence.
Some Stokesia plants were growing in very wet conditions.
Peter Loos talks with the students about Stokesia habitat.