A Change of Pace in the Upper Leon Creek Watershed

Monday, February 4, 2013

Crownridge Canyon Natural Area, Red Oak Loop Trail, once around the loop

Today's photos:

Following a very intense week along the San Antonio River, it was time for a bit of a change of pace. Crownridge Canyon Natural Area is located in the upper Leon Creek watershed in northwest San Antonio. It was the first natural area developed by the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department as part of the Edwards Aquifer Protection Initiative.

This Natural Area is a box canyon on the periphery of the Edwards Escarpment. It has a very different ecosystem from the riparian ecosystem which is being restored along the San Antonio River. This post focuses on the lay of the land and some of the vegetation found in the canyon. The next post will feature "A Few Critters in Crownridge Canyon."

• The first photo is an oak motte in a savannah restoration area in the Natural Area. The trees in the background are growing on the wall along the west side of the canyon.
• The second photo is a Sotol with Ashe Juniper (Mountain Cedar) in the background.
• The third photo is the view looking upstream from the Red Oak Trail Overlook bridge.
• The fourth photo is a close up of the young bark that is characteristic of the Escarpment Black Cherry. The bark loses the silver stripes and changes texture as the tree matures.
• The fifth photo is the top of an Ashe Juniper.
• The sixth photo is Wafer Ash seeds. Like the mountain cedar, the wafer ash is another example of how common names, versus scientific names, can be misleading. The mountain cedar isn't a cedar and the wafer ash isn't an ash. The wafer ash is actually in the citrus family. It is also known as a hoptree.
• The seventh through tenth photos are Evergreen Sumac. I was impressed by the abundance of evergreen sumac still with their red berries as I walked the trail.  The evergreen sumac is an excellent shrub for native landscaping. The flowers attract butterflies and the berries are food for a wide range of wildlife.