Part 27

TEXAS PALMETTO (Sabal texana [O. F. Cook] Becc.)

sometimes called palm, but not to be confused with the dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor [Jacq.] Pers.) found in East Texas, reaches to heights of 30 to 50 feet and often 2 feet in diameter. It is a native of the rich bottomlands on the Bernando River in Cameron County, Texas, but has been widely cultivated and is found along the Gulf Coast, where the trunks are sometimes used for wharf piles. On the lower Rio Grande the leaves are used for the thatch of houses.

SOUTHERN BAYBERRY (Sweet Myrtle or Wax Myrtle) (Myrica cerifera L.)

sweet myrtle is found in East Texas, usually in swamp lands. Its small yellow-green leaves are fragrant with a balsam-like resinous odor. Light green berries, about ⅛ inch in diameter remain on the trees during the winter months and are coated with a thick, pale blue wax. Bay berry candles are made from the wax.

RIO GRANDE COTTONWOOD (Populus fremontii var. wislizenii S. Watts)

is one of several cottonwoods growing in West Texas. Five other cottonwoods are native to the western part of the state. Wood is used for fuel and rafters of Mexican houses. It is not durable in the ground, but is fast growing on most areas. Populus tremuloides Michx., called quaking aspen or aspen popple, is a small-leafed, white-barked tree of the Trans-Pecos Region.

SPECKLED ALDER (Hazel Alder) (Alnus rugosa [Du Roi] Spreng.)

occurs in East Texas west to approximately the 97th meridian. It is a thicket-forming shrub with thick foliage and is one of the first plants to leaf out in the spring. Birds feed upon the numerous nutlets produced by the woody, cone-like structure.

SWEET ACACIA (Huisache) (Acacia farnesiana [L.] Willd.)

found mainly in South Texas, is a small, spiny shrub, with bright yellow flowers. Fruit a turgid, woody pod. The wood is heavy, hard, and a rich, reddish-brown.

GUAJILLO (Acacia berlandieri Benth.)

pronounced “wa-he-o”, is the famous honey plant of the Lone Star State. From its white flowers bees produce a water-white honey, highly valued for its flavor and purity. Guajillo occurs in South Texas, and resembles the other trees in the acacia group. The wood is used locally for fuel.

GREAT LEADTREE (Mexican Leadtree) (Leucaena pulverulenta [Schlecht] Benth.)

sometimes called “tepehuaje” or mimosa, is found on the rich moist soil of river banks and small streams only a few miles from the mouth of the Rio Grande River. It grows 50 to 60 feet high and 18 inches in diameter. The finely divided leaves give the tree the appearance of a huge fern. Seed pods are 10 to 12 inches long. The wood is heavy, hard, very close-grained, rich dark brown with a clear yellow sapwood. It is considered valuable and is sometimes manufactured into lumber. Two other species, (L. greggii S. Wats.) and (L. retusa Benth.), are found in West Texas but are smaller.

TEXAS SOPHORA (Coral Bean) (Sophora affinis Torr. and Gray)

also called “bear berry”, and pink or beaded locust, is a native to most all of Texas. It occurs as a small sized tree, 18 to 20 feet tall and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. The branches are slightly zigzag, bright green when young turning to orange-brown. The leaves are 6 to 9 inches long, made up of from 13 to 19 leaflets. In the fall, it is loaded with clusters of black bean pods. The pods are peculiar in shape in that they are pinched in at each seed giving it the appearance of a string of beads. In fact, it is often called the “necklace tree” for that reason. The wood is very hard, light red in color, with a thick bright clear yellow sapwood.

TEXAS PORLIERIA (Guayacan) (Porlieria angustifolia [Engelm.] A. Gray)

or soap bush, an evergreen of southern and western Texas, is usually a shrub, but occasionally reaches 8 inches in diameter and 30 feet in height. It is a source of early spring honey in the Rio Grande Valley. Its wood is heavy, hard, and exceptionally durable. Guayacan, sometimes called guaiacum, is the hardest wood in Texas and the United States. The lignum-vitae of commerce is produced from another species.

BARETTA (Helietta parvifolia [A. Gray] Benth.)

a native of the Rio Grande Valley and abundant in Starr County where it may form considerable thickets, this small, slender evergreen is seldom more than 5 or 6 feet tall. On limestone ridges of the Sierra Madre of Nuevo Leon it reaches 20 to 25 feet high. Its leaves are trifoliate, 1½ to 2 inches long, and conspicuously marked with black glandular dots. The branches are brownish-red, but with bright yellow, new growth. The species is not native to any other section of the United States.

TREE OF HEAVEN (Ailanthus altissima [Mill.] Swingle)

is native to the Orient but has been introduced to this country where it has grown wild and occurs generally throughout Texas. The long, pinnately compound leaves, 24 to 48 inches long, with 11 to 41 leaflets, are glandular toothed at the base. The flowers and bruised leaves have a disagreeable odor. The tree is fast growing and spreads by suckers as well as by seed.

CHINABERRY (Melia azedarach L.)

although a native of Asia, is so widely grown in Texas as an ornamental that it can be seen almost anywhere. It is a member of the mahogany family. The bark is furrowed, with the ridges flat-topped. The alternate leaves are twice-compound and 10 to 32 inches long. The leaflets are alternate, ovate to elliptic, sharply toothed or lobed, ¾ to 2 inches long, light green and usually smooth. The flowers are showy, lilac-colored, fragrant, nearly an inch across, and arranged in loose clusters which appear in April. The fruit is nearly round, ½ to ¾ inch in diameter, fleshy, and yellow when mature. The wood is moderately heavy and moderately hard, light reddish-brown in color, with a rather narrow, yellowish sapwood. Formerly it was much used for cabinet-work.

AMERICAN SMOKETREE (Chittamwood) (Cotinus obovatus Raf.)

a member of the sumac family, it grows along the Medina and Guadalupe Rivers and in Kendall County, Texas. Occasionally it reaches a height of 30 feet and 12 inches in diameter, but usually grows as a shrub or small tree, its trunk dividing into several stems 10 feet or so above the ground. The wood is bright, clear, rich orange color, and yields the same color dye. Sometimes it is used for fence posts. C. coggygria, the smoketree of gardens, is cultivated in the United States.

TEXAS PISTACHE (Pistacia texana Swingle)

a less common member of the sumac family, is found native on limestone cliffs and the rocky bottoms of canyons along the lower Pecos River in Valverde County, Texas. It reaches a height of 15 to 20 feet and produces a fruit resembling the pistachio nut of commerce, except that it is smaller in size.