Last week, I wrote about some Hill Country native trees and shrubs that are not rare, but certainly not common. In the process of writing I realized there were more trees and shrubs in that category than I thought, so here are several more.
Bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum) is the famous tree of Lost Maples State Park. It also grows in parts of Big Bend National Park as well as in deep canyons of Bandera, Kerr, Kendall, Real and Uvalde counties. It is characterized by leaves that are two to three inches long and wide with three lobes and entire margins. In the fall, these trees turn spectacular shades of yellow, orange and red. They have been successfully cultivated in many parts of the state.
Eve’s necklace (Sophora affinis or Styphnolobium affine) is a light and airy small tree that can be found growing a few miles east and west of the Balcones Fault from around here all the way up to the Red River. It is a legume with compound leaves with oval leaflets about an inch long. It produces pale pink flowers in clusters in early spring which make a black leathery seed pod which is constricted between the seeds giving the pod the appearance of a string of beads. Eve’s necklace makes an attractive ornamental tree.
Mexican silktassel or Lindheimer’s silktassel (Garrya ovata) is a multi-trunk evergreen shrub to 12 feet tall. Its leaves are oval and up to about two inches long with entire margins. The leaves have a leathery feel and the underside is covered with tiny white hairs. The plant is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are on different plants, and the female flowers are pink drooping clusters. It forms dark blue berries. It is not a deer favorite.
There are four shrub species in Texas that are called buckeyes. Three of them have palmately-compound leaves (leaflet arrangement like spreading fingers all attached at the tip of the stem). There is some confusion as to which common name goes with which scientific name. I think the correct way to refer to them is: Texas buckeye (Aesculus glabra var. arguta), Yellow buckeye (Aesculus pavia var. flavescens), and Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia var. pavia).
Yellow buckeye is the most common in our area. Its leaves consist of five large lanceolate-shaped leaflets with prominent veins. It produces yellow tubular flowers in an upright cluster in early spring. Like the other buckeyes, this shrub produces a triangular shaped dark brown pod containing three glossy brown seeds.
The Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa), was discussed in the previous column, and it has pinnately-compound leaves and pink flowers.
The hop tree or wafer ash (Ptelea trifoleata) is a multi-trunk shrub or small tree. It has trifoliate compound leaves with three oval leaflets, sometimes pointed, with the center leaflet being the largest. It produces pale yellow flowers in the spring, followed by seeds in a flat wafer-like semi-transparent membrane. It is in the same family as citrus species.
The toothache tree or tickle tongue, lime prickly ash (Zanthoxylum hirsutum) is a thorny shrub or small tree in the same family as the hop tree. It has pinnately-compound leaves with glossy, toothed, wavy leaflets as well as thorns along the twigs and rachis. The leaflets have anesthetic properties and when chewed can numb toothache pain. It is a host plant for the swallowtail butterfly.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a medium to large shrub found mostly in the shade in alluvial soil near creeks. It has simple, alternate oval leaves that turn bright yellow in the fall.
Texas barberry (Berberis swaweyi) is a shrub that strongly resembles the much more common agarita and is endemic to the Texas Hill Country. It differs from agarita in being pinnately compound instead of trifoliate compound leaves. The leaflets are somewhat smaller than agarita and usually have five leaflets/leaf. Like agarita, the leaflets are somewhat stiff and have sharp points on the margin, although the barberry is much less dangerous to handle. Like agarita, it is evergreen. It produces yellow flowers in clusters and yellow to red berries. It is only reported in five counties, including Kerr and Bandera.
These two columns of less common trees and shrubs are clearly only a small portion of the diverse native vegetation we are fortunate to enjoy here in the Hill Country. It would be quite boring if we only had a handful of plant species.
Until next time…
Jim Stanley is a Texas Master Naturalist and the author of the books “Hill Country Ecology,” “Hill Country Landowner’s Guide” and “A Beginner’s Handbook for Rural Texas Landowners.” He can be reached at <jstmn@ktc.com>. Previous columns can be seen at <www.hillcountrynaturalist.org>.