Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other native Texas plant that incites a more intense, emotional debate regarding its ecological value, even its right to continued existence than the Ashe Juniper, aka Mountain Cedar. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not suffer from "cedar fever" allergy. I personally consider the Ashe Juniper as having a vital ecological role, but in our human altered environment, it needs to be properly managed.
That is a debate for another venue. What this post is really about are the Ashe Juniper "berries" that technically are fleshy gymnosperm cones:
As Matt Warnock Turner points out in Remarkable Plants of Texas, "… German immigrants used Ashe Juniper berries very sparingly (one or two berries to a pot) to flavor sauerkraut, sauces and stews, and current suggestions include crushing a few berries on salmon just before grilling." I have spoken with several people here in South Texas that routinely use the berries when they cook stew.
Numerous birds and small mammals relish the Ashe Juniper berries. Several species of Hairstreak butterflies and the American Snout are particularly attracted to the ripe berries. The Ashe Juniper is the larval host plant for the Juniper Hairstreak butterfly.
This set of photographs was taken along the Leon Creek Greenway, Leon Vista Connector Trail on Tuesday, December 3, 2013.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Eisenhower Park, Cedar Flats > Yucca Trails
Today's photos:
Today's walk was through the southern, lower elevation half of Eisenhower Park. This park was the second in the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department system to be designated as a Natural Area. Friedrich Wilderness Park was the first with that designation.
Eisenhower Park is located in north central Bexar County within the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. The park also occupies a unique and critical topographic location in that its rain runoff drains into three of Bexar County's five major watersheds. Rain water runoff that drains from the southeastern and southern boundary of the park, which is the major amount of runoff from the park, enters the Olmos Creek / San Antonio River watershed. This is the northern most direct source of that watershed.
Runoff that drains to the east from the northeast corner of the park enters the Salado Creek watershed. Runoff draining to the west from the northwest corner and western boundary enters the Leon Creek watershed. Of course, both the Salado Creek and Leon Creek are tributaries of the San Antonio River with confluences in south Bexar County, so all of the runoff eventually ends up in the San Antonio River.
The long range development plan of the Parks and Recreation Department includes the extension northward of the current Salado Creek and Leon Creek Greenway trails to have them converge at a common location in Eisenhower Park. The completion of that plan is a long way off in the future, but is something to look forward to having in place.
Today's photos are a brief glimpse of all the images that I have from this walk. There will be two more upcoming posts with more specific topics.
- If I had to select one photo that illustrates the vegetation of the Edwards Plateau ecoregion, it would probably be the first one in this series. Growing low to the ground in the foreground are several Twisted-leaf Yucca plants. This species of yucca is only found as a native plant on the Edwards Plateau. Behind the twisted-leaf yucca are several Sotol, another plant characteristic of the region. And behind the sotol is an Ashe Juniper sapling. To the right of the ashe juniper is the sapling of a deciduous hardwood, but I'm not certain which species it is.
- The second, third and fourth photos are a Shiny Flea Beetle (Asphaera lustrans). This is another creature where I wonder how it got its common name. It is obviously a shiny beetle, but it has nothing at all to do with fleas.
- The fifth photo is a snail shell. Based on personal observation, I know this is one of the very common snails in Bexar County and it has a beautiful shell, but that is about the limit on my knowledge of snails. It looks like a Striped Rabdotus (Rabdotus alternatus), but don't quote me on that.
- The sixth, seventh and eighth photos are of an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus). I have seen cottontails in Eisenhower Park before, but they have all been back in the brush. This one sprang across the trail right in front of me, stopped right as it entered the undergrowth and looked back at me for a minute or two before hopping off down the hill as if it had somewhere it needed to be.
- The ninth and tenth photos are of the ubiquitous Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). I was thinking this was going to end up being a walk without a bird sighting, but this mockingbird was apparently waiting for me next to the parking lot wen I returned to my car. When a creature poses for a photo, I can't easily pass up the opportunity.
If all goes according to plan, tomorrow's post will be "A Bloomin' South Texas Winter."
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.
