Springtime Awakens Along the Lower Medina River

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Winter transforming to Spring in the South Texas brush country:

These photos were taken on a walk at the Medina River Natural Area on Friday, February 26, 2016.

The Medina River Natural Area in June

Friday, June 13, 2014

As I mentioned at the beginning of the previous post, I have been very active so far this year. I have walked regularly preparing for and leading tours. I also found time on occasion to take an abundance of photos.

Today's post is a look back at the Medina River Natural Area in mid-June. This set of photos was taken along the El Camino and lower Rio Medina trails:

From top to bottom:
Photos 1, 2, 3, 4:  Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii)
     (Turk's Cap is blooming profusely this summer.)
Photo 5:  Prickly Pear (Opuntia sp.)
Photo 6:  Alamo Vine (Merremea dissecta)
Photo 7:  Pearl Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos)
     (I might publish another post later about the decline in pollinators. From what I have observed over the past year or so, there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of pollinator insects of all kinds here in Bexar County.)
Photo 8:  Mustang Grape leaves (Vitis mustangensis)
Photo 9:  Fragrant Flatsedge (Cyperus odoratus)

A Very Prickly Subject, Nature's Barbed Wire

At the beginning of November I began a series of posts with "A Brief Introduction to a Very Thorny Subject." Briefly, a true thorn is a sharp pointed modified branch, a spine is a sharp pointed modified leaf and a prickle is a sharp pointed outgrowth of the epidermal layer of the stem.

Since prickles grow from the surface of the stem and don't have a deeper connecting tissue as do spines and thorns, they can be broken off the stem with relative ease by (carefully) pushing them from the side. The brown patches on the stem in the third photo below are where prickles have broken off revealing the deeper layer of tissue inside the stem.

Probably the best known plant with prickles is the rose bush in the Genus Rosa, Family Rosaceae. Technically, all roses are thornless, but that doesn't mean a prickle won't leave any less a lasting impression. Dewberries and blackberries in the Genus Rubus, Family Rosaceae are also fairly well known for their prickles, especially by those who have gathered the berries.

Then there is "nature's barbed wire." Anyone who has tried to walk through a Texas woodland where Greenbrier, also known as Catbrier, is growing, knows the origin of the name nature's barbed wire. It is just about impossible to walk through a thicket of Greenbrier without a machete or shears and come out the other side unscathed:

Greenbrier berries do serve as an important food source for many birds and small mammals. Greenbrier thickets also provides excellent cover for many small animals. The tender new growth of the Greenbrier is frequently used to make a high vitamin C tea and as a salad ingredient. The older leaves become tough and bitter.

This set of photographs was taken along the Rio Medina Trail at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013

An Additional Festive Touch

This Common Mestra seemed to be particularly attracted to the Guayacan, fluttering around the branches until it came to rest and perched for an extended period of time on the dark green leaves, showing off the brilliant upperside of its wings and adding to the festive appearance of the shrub:

From what I have observed, the Common Mestra (Mestra amymone), a small tropical Brushfoot, has been especially abundant here in Bexar County this year.

This set of photographs was taken along the El Camino Trail at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

A Manzanilla Monday

It has been a cold, wet, dreary weekend here in Bexar County and this wintery weather is forecast to continue through today. I share these Manzanillas to brighten the day a bit:

All of the Turk's Cap I saw at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday were past the flowering stage and were bearing an abundant crop of Manzanillas.

This set of photographs was taken along the El Camino and Rio Medina trails at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

Another Look at a Legend

For the past week prior to the arrival of the arctic cold front early Friday morning, the American Snout was having another major flight, not as legendary as the one in mid-October, but still with Snouts too numerous to count:

This set of photographs was taken along the Rio Medina Trail at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

A Festive Appearance

From a distance, Guayacan (pronounced "why-a-con") (Guaiacum angustifolium) appears as if it might be an evergreen in the Cupressaceae (Cypress) Family such as a Juniper or Cedar. Upon closer inspection, it becomes evident this shrub has pinnately* compound leaves with thick, leathery, dark green, small leaflets. Guayacan is in the Zygophyllaceae (Creosote-Bush) Family.

In late Fall and persisting into Winter, there are bright, scarlet-red seeds, giving the shrub a festive appearance:

I have heard numerous stories in the South Texas oral tradition about the Guayacan being used as a Christmas tree during the Great Depression of the 1930s by families that could not afford to purchase a traditional Christmas tree. The root bark makes an excellent soap for washing woolen products, so another common name for the shrub is Soapbush.

This set of photographs was taken along the El Camino Trail at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

* Correction, Saturday, November 23, 2013, 10:20 AM: In the original version of this post I had inadvertently typed "palmate" instead of "pinnate." It's quite cold outside. I think I have visions of palm trees on my mind.