ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS - Brit - Botanical Research ...

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strategy organized by the Conservation Fund and Renewable Resources, LLC (Limited Liability Company) and supported by a variety of Texas foundations, including the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, the Meadows Foundation, and the Houston Endowment (Conservation Fund 2004). It is hoped that such creative and positive partnerships will be more common in the future and contribute to conserving portions of the Big Thicket. While the creation of the national preserve and other protected areas were tremendous steps, when compared with the vast clearcuts and huge areas of loblolly pine monocultures, the preserved areas represent a tiny remnant of the once vast Big Thicket ecosystem. As described by Pete Gunter (1993), “Against this backdrop of massive, destructive change, the achievements of conservationists seem small indeed: mere green fly specks against an immense and growing industrial emptiness. The great long-term problem lies in lumber company policies. The real long-term solution must lie in having those policies changed.” Gunter, through research and discussions with representatives of the forest products industry, came to believe that significant changes in this area were occurring. He pointed to Temple- Inland, Champion International, and Louisiana-Pacific, at that time the three largest forest landowners in the Big Thicket region. According to the representatives he contacted, all three companies were either modifying or abandoning large-scale clearcutting as a basic tool in East Texas. Louisiana-Pacific, for example, was practicing “selective harvesting” or tree-by-tree removal, instead of destroying a whole forest. The other two companies had also created special programs. Champion International created a “Special Places in the Woods” program in which more than 1,600 acres (650 hectares) of unique woodland areas were set aside. Temple-Inland began a “Best Use Policy” that allowed bottomland forests to grow much longer than previously, and it set aside “environmental management zones” along streams in areas that are particularly rich botanically (e.g., Wild Azalea Canyons in Newton County— Sitton & Meyers 2000). Gunter compared the situation in 1993 with the view in the 1960s that “Every swamp was to be drained if it could be… and at the rate at which the pillage was proceeding it was only a question of time, not only until the Big Thicket lost its biological identity, but also until southeast Texas became a biological desert.…” Concerning the goal of preserving the biological richness of the Big Thicket, he indicated that: Though this goal has been only partly achieved, the moral is clear—it is infinitely better than what could have happened. Infinitely more hopeful, overwhelmingly more living. For those who have struggled, and will continue to struggle, to make it so, there is not only joy but a profound consolation. In a world where good causes often die and honest hopes lose themselves in sheer futility, something lasting and living has been actually achieved. People tried, and it mattered. Gunter (1993) concluded by saying, CONSERVATION IN BIG THICKET/INTRODUCTION 197 So there is a change: the beginnings, at any rate, of policies which will be kinder to the land, less destructive of soils, streams, and hardwoods. How far these policies will go towards sustaining forest habitats and the creatures that live in them remains to be seen. Hunters, environmentalists, proprietors and tourists need to understand that a change is taking place. They also need to remain skeptical. Understanding is essential; but so is the will to keep up persistent pressure. If eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, it is the price of ecology also. The situation today has changed again. Recently, for economic reasons, Champion International and Louisiana-Pacific, two of the largest timber companies in the area, have decided to withdraw from Texas. How new landowners will manage the vast areas now changing hands remains to be seen. A current bright spot in the overall conservation picture is the series of efforts being taken by Temple-Inland. Through their Conservation Forest program, numerous sites are being designated as warranting protection in four categories: rare ecosystems, wildlife management areas, distinctive sites (e.g., waterfalls, places of historical interest), or areas with endangered species. The Conservation Forest Team
198 INTRODUCTION/CONSERVATION IN BIG THICKET spearheads this effort, with the goal being to maintain the environmental qualities of the sites. This is not a wilderness approach—however, significant efforts are being made to be environmentally sensitive. Examples of areas now protected through this approach include Beef Creek Waterfall (Jasper County), Little Cow Creek (Newton County; only Texas site of the silky-camellia), a Navasota ladies’-tresses site (Jasper Co.), Peach Tree Village (Tyler County; largest remaining native prairie in the Big Thicket area), a pyramid magnolia site (Newton County), Scrappin Valley (Newton County), and Wild Azalea Canyon (Newton County). Fortunately, many of the sites of particular ecological interest are not good for growing timber (e.g., Catahoula barrens, saline prairies)—thus, setting aside such areas as Conservation Forests is a win-win proposition from the standpoint of both the company and conservationists. The company is also allowing many remaining native forest stands to naturally regenerate. These will still be working forests—trees will be harvested and the forest managed. But rather than being replaced by genetically improved loblolly pines, natural regeneration of a diversity of tree species will be allowed to occur. Further, in some areas the company is now replanting with native longleaf and also shortleaf pine. Such varied, environmentally conscious approaches are indeed refreshing and potentially quite important, particularly in light of Temple- Inland’s position as the largest owner of forest land in the state of Texas (over a million acres) (Stan Cook, pers. comm.). THE FUTURE <strong>OF</strong> THE BIG THICKET When one looks ahead at the future of Texas, it is easy to see a time when access to natural areas is even more important than at present. With rapid population growth and continued development in the state, there will be great demand by future Texans for parks, hiking trails, recreation areas, and other venues where they can escape the increasingly large and congested urban areas. The Big Thicket, with its proximity to Houston, one of the largest population centers in the state, has the potential of partially meeting this need. Likewise, the Big Thicket, with its rich diversity of habitats and large number of species, can serve as an important preserve of biological diversity. Increasing the size of the preserve to one that is both ecologically sustainable and appropriate for large numbers of potential visitors thus seems a wise investment for the future. The conservation status of the Big Thicket as of 2004 reflects some significant gains but still includes many unanswered questions and challenges. Managing a preserve of significant size takes substantial resources, which are difficult to obtain in times of increasing pressure on the federal budget. The fate of all the additional 10,766 acres (4,357 hectares) (approved but not acquired) of the Big Thicket National Preserve is still not completely settled, though federal appropriation of $3 million for fiscal year 2003 and $3.5 million for 2004 is allowing acquisition of some of the area (D. Fusco, pers. comm.). Perhaps more importantly, when considering the Big Thicket as a whole, various development pressures (urbanization, water diversion, etc.) continue to accelerate. The effects, which include fragmentation of habitats and modifications of hydrology, have potentially serious ecological consequences. Disturbingly, two recent dam proposals (enlarging the Town Bluff Dam which creates Steinhagen Lake and building Rockland Dam on the Neches River above Steinhagen Lake) could alter critically important water flows through Big Thicket National Preserve, inundate parts of a wildlife management area, and almost completely submerge Martin Dies, Jr., State Park, which protects examples of Big Thicket vegetation (Warchut 2003; National Parks Conservation Association 2004a). Possibly even more significantly, as mentioned earlier, Champion International and Louisiana-Pacific, are withdrawing from Texas with vast areas (more than 1.5 million acres) of the Big Thicket having either been sold or now for sale (National Parks Conservation Association 2004b). As a result, the buffering from development previously provided by timber company lands is in question. The large amount of land currently changing hands
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ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS
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ALLDREDGE, LINDA & JACK BATTERBAE,
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We would like to recognize and expr
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ISSN 0833-1475 ISBN 1-889878-12-X S
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“DEEP EAST TEXAS IS AN OLD, QUIET
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Elray S. Nixon E lray Nixon was bor
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ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS TAB
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TABLE OFCONTENTS/ PAGE APPENDICES A
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Hymenocallis liriosme
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ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS OVE
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4 INTRODUCTION/GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF E
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10 INTRODUCTION/MAJOR RIVERS OF EAS
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12 INTRODUCTION/PLANTS TREATED The
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14 INTRODUCTION/GUIDE TO ARRANGEMEN
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16 INTRODUCTION/GUIDE TO SOURCES OF
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18 INTRODUCTION/GUIDE TO GEOGRAPHIC
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20 INTRODUCTION/GUIDE TO ENDANGERED
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22 INTRODUCTION/GUIDE TO GLOSSARY,
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24 INTRODUCTION/GUIDE TO ABBREVIATI
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26 INTRODUCTION/SUMMARY DATA ON FLO
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28 INTRODUCTION/ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Kar
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30 INTRODUCTION/AUTHORS’ NOTE Pre
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32 INTRODUCTION/GENERAL GEOLOGY OF
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46 INTRODUCTION/SOILS SOIL ORDER DE
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48 INTRODUCTION/SOILS, EAST TEXAS B
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50 INTRODUCTION/SOIL-RELATED GEOLOG
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60 INTRODUCTION/SOILS OF BLACKLAND
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66 INTRODUCTION/CLIMATE OF EAST TEX
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Forests define East Texas, and to a
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78 INTRODUCTION/GEOLOGY OF PINEYWOO
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80 INTRODUCTION/PRESETTLEMENT, EARL
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88 INTRODUCTION/PRESETTLEMENT VEGET
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90 INTRODUCTION/CURRENT VEGETATION
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106 INTRODUCTION/POST OAK SAVANNAH
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110 INTRODUCTION/GEOLOGY AND SOILS
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112 INTRODUCTION/SOILS, FIRE, AND T
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114 INTRODUCTION/SOILS, FIRE, AND T
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116 INTRODUCTION/ PRESETTLEMENT, EA
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118 INTRODUCTION/VEGETATION OF POST
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124 INTRODUCTION/CONDITIONS TODAY O
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128 INTRODUCTION/RED RIVER AREA are
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130 INTRODUCTION/BLACKLAND PRAIRIE
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132 INTRODUCTION/GEOLOGY OF BLACKLA
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134 INTRODUCTION/PRESETTLEMENT AND
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144 INTRODUCTION/VEGETATION OF BLAC
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248 INTRODUCTION/BOTANY AT UNIVERSI
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250 INTRODUCTION/BOTANY AT TEXAS A&
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252 INTRODUCTION/BOTANY AT TEXAS A&
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254 INTRODUCTION/OTHER CONTRIBUTION
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256 INTRODUCTION/CURRENT BOTANICAL
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258 INTRODUCTION/BOTANICAL ART IN E
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