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Hill Country State Natural Area
Hill Country State Natural Area (HCSNA) preserves of rugged, relatively pristine Hill Country terrain in Bandera County, Texas. It was opened to the public in 1984. Since HCSNA is designated a "Natural Area" rather than a "State Park", the first priority of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is the maintenance and preservation of the property's natural state. Accordingly, facilities are purposely somewhat primitive and recreational activities may be curtailed if the TPWD deems it necessary to protect the environment. Location Hill Country State Natural Area is located on the border of Bandera County and Medina County, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Bandera, 20 miles (32 km) north of Hondo, and 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of San Antonio. Geography and geology Set in the scenic hills and canyons typical of the Texas Hill Country, the preserve lies about ten miles north of the Balcones escarpment and within the Balcones Fault Zon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bandera County, Texas
Bandera County (Spanish: "flag", ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in the Hill Country and its county seat is Bandera. As of the 2020 census, the population is 20,851. Bandera County is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area. The county is officially recognized as the "Cowboy Capital of the World" by the Texas Legislature. History In 1856, the Texas Legislature established Bandera County from portions of Bexar and Uvalde Counties, and named the county and its seat for Bandera Pass, which uses the Spanish word for flag. Native Americans Although the county's earliest evidence of human habitation dates from 8000 to 4000 BC, the county's earliest known ethnology places Lipan Apache and later Comanche settlements in the area during the 17th century. 19th century In 1841, John Coffee Hays and a troop of Texas Rangers defeated a large party of Comanche warriors, thereby pacifying the region in what became known as the Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juniperus Ashei
''Juniperus ashei'' (Ashe juniper, mountain cedar, blueberry juniper, post cedar, or just cedar) is a drought-tolerant evergreen tree, native from northeastern Mexico and the south-central United States to southern Missouri. The largest areas are in central Texas, where extensive stands occur. Ashe juniper grows up to tall, and over time can reach , and provides erosion control and year-round shade for wildlife and livestock. Description The feathery foliage grows in dense sprays, bright green in color. The leaves are scale-like, long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. It is a dioecious species, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are round, long, and soft, pulpy and berry-like, green at first, maturing purple about 8 months after pollination. They contain one or two seeds, which are dispersed when birds eat the cones and pass the seeds in their droppings. The male cones are 3–5 mm long, yellow, turning brown after pollen release in Decem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-capped Vireo
The black-capped vireo (''Vireo atricapilla'') is a small bird native to the United States and Mexico. It was listed as an endangered species in the United States in 1987. Successful conservation efforts on the U.S. Army's Fort Hood and Fort Sill led to delisting the black-capped vireo in 2018. The IUCN lists the species as vulnerable. Description The black-capped vireo is a songbird about 12 cm (4.5 inches ) in length. Sexually mature males are olive green above and white below with faint yellow flanks. The crown and upper half of the head is black with a partial white eye ring and lores. The iris is brownish-red and the bill is black. Females are duller in color than males and have a slate-gray crown and underparts washed with greenish yellow. First-year males often have more extensive gray in the cap, similar to adult females. Nesting The male and female in a pair assist in nest construction and incubation. Typically, the female lays three or four eggs. The inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden-cheeked Warbler
The golden-cheeked warbler (''Setophaga chrysoparia'') is an endangered species of bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ... that breeds in Central Texas, from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County, Texas, Kinney County. The golden-cheeked warbler is the only bird species with a breeding range endemic to Texas. Description The golden-cheeked warbler is very striking due to its bright yellow cheeks that are contrasted by its black throat and back. It is also identified by its unique buzzing song emerging from the wooded canyons where it breeds. Golden-cheeked warblers breed in 33 counties in central Texas and are dependent on ashe juniper (blueberry juniper or cedar) for their fine bark strips us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bothriochloa Ischaemum
''Bothriochloa ischaemum'' is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae, found throughout much of the world. It is commonly known as yellow bluestem. Two varieties are recognized, of which ''Bothriochloa ischaemum'' var. ''ischaemum'' is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa and naturalized elsewhere, and var. ''songarica'' is native to Asia and naturalized elsewhere. Var. ''songarica'' is an invasive weed in Texas, where it is known as "King Ranch bluestem"; it has displaced native grasses in large areas of central and south Texas. The species name come from the Ancient Greek ''ischaemum'', a styptic (causing ischemia). References External links Grassbase - The World Online Grass FloraGBIF entryUSDA Plants Profile entry ''Bothriochloa ischaemum'' var. ''ischaemum''USDA Plants Profile entry ''Bothriochloa ischaemum'' var. ''songarica'' ischaemum ''Ischaemum'' is a taxonomically one of the most formidable genera in a huge tribe Andropogoneae belonging to the gras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature reserves. It can also be caused by immobile, travel restricted populations of native or non-native wild animals. Overgrazing reduces the usefulness, productivity, and biodiversity of the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion. Overgrazing is also seen as a cause of the spread of invasive species of non-native plants and of weeds. Degrading land, emissions from animal agriculture and reducing the biomass in a ecosystem contribute directly to climate change. Overgrazing can be reversed or prevented by removing grazers in order to give plants time to recover between grazing events. Successful planned grazing strategies have been support in the American bison of the Great Plains, or migratory Wildebeests of the African savann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasylirion Wheeleri
''Dasylirion wheeleri'' (desert spoon, spoon flower, sotol, or common sotol) is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to arid environments of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Description ''Dasylirion wheeleri'' is a moderate to slow-growing evergreen shrub with a single unbranched trunk up to thick growing to tall, though often recumbent on the ground. The leaf blade is slender, long, gray-green, with a toothed margin. The leaves radiate from the center of the plant's apex in all directions (spherical). Blooming from May to July, the flowering stem grows above the foliage, to a height of tall and a diameter of . The stem is topped by a long plume of straw-colored small flowers about 2.5 cm long with six tepals. The color of the flower helps determine the gender of the plant, being mostly white for males and purple-pink for females. The fruit is an oval dry capsule long, containing a single seed. ''Dasylirion le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panicum Virgatum
''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55th parallel north, 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and naturalized along roadsides. It is used primarily for soil conservation, forage production, game cover, as an ornamental grass, in phytoremediation projects, fiber, electricity, heat production, for biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and more recently as a biomass crop for ethanol and butanol. Other common names for switchgrass include tall panic grass, Wobsqua grass, blackbent, tall prairiegrass, wild Agrostis, redtop, thatchgrass, and Virginia switchgrass. Description Switchgrass is a hardy, deep-rooted, Perennial plant, perennial rhizome, rhizomatous grass that begins grow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtis Laevigata
''Celtis laevigata'' is a medium-sized tree native to North America. Common names include sugarberry, Southern hackberry, or in the southern U.S. sugar hackberry or just hackberry. Sugarberry is easily confused with common hackberry ('' C. occidentalis'') where the range overlaps. Sugarberry has narrower leaves with mostly smooth margins, the berries are juicier and sweeter, while the bark is less corky. The species can also be distinguished by habitat: where the ranges overlap, common hackberry occurs primarily in upland areas, whereas sugarberry occurs mainly in bottomland areas. Sugarberry's range extends from the Eastern United States west to Texas and south to northeastern Mexico. It is also found on the island of Bermuda. Ecology Sugarberry occurs primarily along streams and in moist soils on floodplains. Its sweetish fruit is eaten by birds and rodents, helping to disperse the seeds. The leaves are eaten by a number of insects, for example caterpillars of the Io mot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, which produces nearly half of the world total. The seed is an edible nut used as a snack and in various recipes, such as praline candy and pecan pie. The pecan is the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas, California, and Texas and is also the state tree of Texas. Name "Pecan" is from an Algonquin word, variously referring to pecans, walnuts, and hickory nuts. There are many pronunciations, some regional and others not.See "Pecan" at Wiktionary. The most common American pronunciation is . There is little agreement in the United States regarding the "correct" pronunciation, even regionally. Growth The pecan tree is a large deciduous tree, growing to in height, rarely to .Flora of North America''Carya illinoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Laceyi
''Quercus laceyi'', the Lacey oak, is a small to medium-size deciduous oak tree which is native to northeastern Mexico (Coahuila and Nuevo León) and to the Texas Hill Country in central Texas in the United States. Description ''Quercus laceyi'' seldom grows more than tall, and has a stocky trunk. Its blue-green leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ... are oblong and shallowly lobed to unlobed, but shade leaves can be deeply lobed; they most often turn yellow or brown in autumn. ''Quercus laceyi'' has often been confused with '' Quercus glaucoides'', which is an evergreen oak native to central and southern Mexico. Habitat ''Quercus laceyi'' is often found in association with limestone outcrops. References External links Texas Superstar®, by Texas A&M Unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Bluestem
''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of the Canada–United States border, Canada–US border and northern Mexico. It is most common in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern prairies and is one of the most abundant native plants in Texas grasslands. Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem (''Andropogon gerardi''), indiangrass (''Sorghastrum nutans'') and switchgrass (''Panicum virgatum''). It is a C4 carbon fixation, warm-season species, meaning it employs the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Description Little bluestem grows to become an upright, roundish mound of soft, bluish-green or grayish-green blades in May and June that is about two to three feet high. In July, it initiates flowering stalks, which reach four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
