Stuck As Tight As a Thorn Through a Pant Leg

The Granjeno, as it is most commonly called in much of South Texas, may be best known for its prominently zigzagged branches. It is also known as a Desert Hackberry. Celtis pallida (yes, it is also known as Palo Blanco) is a close cousin of Sugar Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) and Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis reticulata) and is just as important a plant for wildlife as its two larger cousins.

Unfortunately, another common name for this shrub that has stuck as tight as a thorn through a pant leg is Spiny Hackberry. Remember, spines are modified leaves and thorns are modified branches. If one looks close enough at the Spiny Hackberry, it can easily be seen there are leaves growing from the "spines" much like Bluewood Condalia and Lotebush. These are in fact short twigs with terminal thorns:

The Granjeno grows throughout the South Texas Brush Country and the Big Bend Region of Texas. It is the larval host plant for the American Snout and the Empress Leilia butterflies. Its bright orange berries that ripen in late summer and early fall are another critical food source for migratory birds and other wildlife.

This set of photographs was taken along the Yanaguana Nature Trail at Mission San Juan in the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park on Monday, October 28, 2013

This is the second post in a multi-post series. Part 1 is "A Brief Introduction to a Very Thorny Subject."

Where Nature Heals and Gives Strength, A Sunday Special Edition

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Where Nature Heals and Gives Strength

"Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play and pray, where nature heals and gives strength to body and soul alike."              -  John Muir

This set of photos was taken on my walk through the Medina River Natural Area on Wednesday, March 6, 2013:

• I am fairly confident the first two photos are Windmillgrass in the Genus Chloris. I probably should stop there, but I'm going to climb out on a panicle (to the best of my knowledge grasses don't have limbs) and say this appears to me to be Shortspike Windmillgrass (Chloris subdolichostachya Muell.).
• The third through fifth photos are a Dainty Sulphur butterfly. Typical of the Dainty Sulphur, this one wasn't spending much time on any one flower and in the fifth photo was flying on its way to find another flower. Update: March 25, 2013, 7:55 PM. It has been brought to my attention, the flower the Dainty Sulfur is perched on in this series of photos is a Huisache Daisy. Identifying the yellow composites can be an even bigger challenge than identifying grasses (or sparrows, or skipper butterflies). I admit I overlooked this flower in order to get the post published in a reasonable amount of time.
• The sixth photo is a Bordered Patch butterfly.
• The seventh and eighth photos are a Sleepy Orange butterfly.
• The ninth through eleventh photos are a female Northern Cardinal. In the eleventh photo it had just taken off when I released the shutter and was flying a short distance away (and out of sight).
• The twelfth through fourteenth photos are the female Cardinal's mate. The male Northern Cardinal's plumage is an even brighter red during mating season than the rest of the year. The tree in the background behind the male Cardinal is a Sugar Hackberry, sometimes referred to simply as a Sugarberry tree. The texture of the bark is one of the primary identifying characteristics for the Sugar Hackberry tree.
• The fifteenth photo is a Pearl Crescent butterfly taking in the warmth of the sun while perched on a rock on the river bank..
• The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are a Dewberry flower. This dewberry is known as the Zarzamora* in Spanish.
• The eighteenth photo is a close up of some branches on a Granjeno shrub that was just beginning to set its leaves. One of the distinguishing characteristics for this shrub is the way the branches grow in a zigzag pattern. Also, the very large thorns, typical of many plants that grow in South Texas, are clearly visible in this photo. The Granjeno is a close cousin of the Sugar Hackberry and is sometimes called the Spiny Hackberry.

* In Spanish, the word Zarzamora refers to all the species in the Genus Rubus. This includes both blackberries and dewberries.