FT 1 - B & B - Botany and Barbeque - Palmetto State Park
Saturday, August 13, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Mark W. Bierner - The University of Texas; Email: bierner@mail.utexas.edu
Limit: 30
Lunch: on your own at Kreuz’ Market

Palmetto State Park, named for the dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor) found in its swamps, is an unusual botanical area that resembles the tropics more than Central Texas. It is a 270-acre riparian refuge located where the ranges of eastern and western species merge, resulting in very diverse local flora and fauna. Gonzales, established in 1825, was the farthest west Anglo settlement until the close of the Texas Revolution.

In 1831, the Mexican government sent a six-pound cannon to Gonzales as protection against the Indians. This cannon was used in the “Come and Take It” Battle on October 2, 1835, when the first shot of the Texas Revolution was fired. A few months after the first shot, men and boys from the region gathered in Gonzales and sent the only reinforcements ever received at the Alamo.

In a State known for outstanding barbeque, few places can surpass Kreuz Market, located in Lockhart. For lunch you will enjoy beef brisket, pork chops, sausage, and(or) ribs served on elegant sheets of butcher paper. Water will be provided for the Palmetto State Park visit. You should bring a pack, sunscreen and insect repellent, and wear comfortable walking shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. Birders might want to bring binoculars, and don’t forget your camera.

El Marko Note: You might need a brewski or twoski to “warsh that BBQ on down” and a lot of soap and water when you’re done to “rinch your hands.”

FT 2 Useful Wild Plants of McKinney Falls State Park

Sunday, August 14 8:00 am – 12:00 noon
Scooter Cheatham, Useful Wild Plants Inc; Email: info@usefulwildplants.org
Lynn Marshall, Useful Wild Plants Inc
Limit: 20
Lunch: No

The Useful Wild Plants (UWP) Project sets a standard for studying plant uses throughout the world. The multi-volume work titled The Useful Wild Plants of Texas, the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, the Southern Plains, and Northern Mexico is the definitive economic botany study for the southern half of the United States and northern Mexico. More than three decades of intensive interdisciplinary research have gone into the project, and nothing comparable has been done elsewhere. The first goal of the project is to complete and publish a comprehensive 12-volume encyclopedia that describes more than 4,000 Texas plants, discusses in detail their past, present, and future value, and provides color photographs and distribution maps for each species. McKinney Falls State Park, with its miles of hiking trails and variety of habitats, provides an ideal setting for a Useful Wild Plants trek.

A brief walk toward the falls opens up to an expansive floor of limestone and volcanic rock dating back some 80 million years. Large trees in this area include Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), Pecan (Carya illinoiensis), Arizona Walnut (Juglans major), and Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria). Along the trail are rock shelters that were once used by Native Americans. Remains of less primitive living are down the trail, where parts of the Thomas McKinney homestead and Grist Mill still stand.

Water will be provided. You should bring a pack, sunscreen and insect repellent, and wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. Birders might want to bring binoculars, and don’t forget your camera.

FT 3 B & V (Botany and Vino) – Pedernales Falls State Park and Becker Vineyards

FT 6 Balcones Canyonlands Limestone Grotto and Canyon Flora: Hamilton Pool and West Cave

Sunday, August 14 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Mark Mayfield, Kansas State University; Email: markherb@ksu.edu
Limit: 24
Lunch: Box Lunch

The dissected eastern and southern edges of the limestone Edwards Plateau are known as the Balcones Canyonlands. The canyons of this area harbor a fascinating combination of endemic, disjunct, and widespread species that add to the already unique Edwards Plateau flora of surrounding uplands. In some areas, perennial springs give rise to streams that plunge over limestone cliffs into beautiful mesic “grottos” with plunge pools and narrow canyons downstream.

This tour will visit two such areas in far western Travis County near the Pedernales River. After a stop along a beautiful section of the Pedernales River, the group will take a tour of the canyon woodland and grotto of the small West Cave Preserve. The rest of the day will be spent at the larger Hamilton Pool county park, which includes a very large plunge pool (a favorite local swimming hole—participants so inclined are welcome to take advantage of it) and a perennial stream in a wooded canyon with a good trail that runs nearly a mile down to the river.

Relatively easy walking. Birding can be good here. Participants should bring hats, sunscreen, small day-packs to carry water (which will be provided), and sturdy walking shoes.

FT 7 Early Tertiary Floras of Central Texas

Sunday, August 14, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Gary Upchurch, Texas State University San Marcos; Email: gu01@txstate.edu
Limit: 20
Lunch: Box Lunch

The Early Tertiary (Paleocene—Eocene) had the warmest temperatures of the past 65 million years. During the Early Tertiary tropical and paratropical forests were widespread in the southeastern US. These forests showed a diversity of taxa typical of modern tropical and subtropical floras, such as Lauraceae, woody Fabaceae, and Arecaceae, intermixed with elements typical of modern temperate floras, such as Fagaceae. Early Tertiary floras from the southeastern US have been and continue to be the subject of much research on leaf systematics and paleoclimate. Leaf megafossils from some localities are noteworthy for their preservation cuticular anatomy and epiphyllous fungi.

We will collect leaf megafossils from one or more localities in the Wilcox Group of central Texas to sample the diversity of these forests. Participants should bring a rock hammer, backpack, and other collecting gear, and are urged to wear jeans, boots, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a hat. Newspaper, tissue, acrylic plastic spray, boxes, and drinking water will be provided. Participants should come prepared for high temperatures, bright sun, and possible encounters with snakes and insects.

FT 11 Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve

Monday, August 15, 8:00 am – 12:00 noon
Mark W. Bierner, The University of Texas, Email: bierner@mail.utexas.edu
Limit: 30
Lunch: No

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve is an urban natural area that was founded in 1974 to protect 227 acres of pristine Texas Hill Country and to provide nature education programs. Two and one-half miles of hiking trails pass through woodland, grassland, and streamside habitats, home to hundreds of native plants and animals. Trails meanders through Spanish Oak (Quercus buckleyi) and Ashe Juniper (Juniperus ashei) woodlands down to a waterfall, plunge pool and riparian forest with tall cottonwoods (Populus deltoids), sycamores (Platanus occidentalis), and willows (Salix nigra).

Wild Basin is also home to two endangered species of bird, the Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapillus) and the Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia), which nest there from March/April through July. Water will be provided. You should bring a pack, sunscreen and insect repellent, and wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. Birders might want to bring binoculars, and don’t forget your camera.

El Marko Note: Insect repellent is a good thing “because them Texas skeeters’ll darn near tote ya’ off.”

FT 12 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Plant Conservation, Landscape Restoration, and Information Networking
Tuesday, August 16 8:00 am – 12:00 noon
Damon Waitt, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Email: dwaitt@wildflower.org
Limit: 30
Lunch: No

Founded in 1982 by Lady Bird Johnson and the late Helen Hayes, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to protecting and preserving North America’s native plants and natural landscapes. The mission of the Wildflower Center is to educate people about the environmental necessity, economic value, and natural beauty of native plants. The grounds include several hundred species of plants native to the Edward’s Plateau in naturalistic, traditional and formal designs, and one and a half miles of interpretive trails through an oak-juniper savanna and ecological restoration laboratory.

Your behind scenes tour will be led by three of the Wildflower Center’s senior staff: Dr. Damon Waitt, Senior Botanist and Director of the National Plant Information Network, Dr. Steve Windhager, Director of Landscape Restoration, and Flo Oxley, Education Director and Conservation Scientist. Water will be provided. You should bring sunscreen and insect repellent, and wear comfortable walking shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. Birders might want to bring binoculars, and don’t forget your camera.

FT 13 A Brief Introduction to the Balcones Escarpment Flora: Balcones Canyonland Preserve
Wednesday, August 17 8:00 am – 12:00 noon
Rose Farmer, Travis County Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, and Tom Wendt, Curator TEX/LL. Email: twendt@mail.utexas.edu
Limit: 25
Lunch: No

Austin spreads out directly over the Balcones Fault, the ancient and inactive geological fault that forms the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau, and the resultant escarpment is called the Balcones Escarpment or Balcones Canyonlands. The canyons of this area harbor a fascinating combination of endemic, disjunct, and widespread species that add to the already unique Edwards Plateau flora of surrounding uplands and the karst caves that are home to a number of endemic invertebrates. The Balcones Canyonlands Preserve is an extensive coordinated patchwork of preserved land owned by public and private entities including the City of Austin, Travis County, Lower Colorado River Authority, Nature Conservancy of Texas, Travis Audubon Society, as well as private landowners, and is one of the country's largest urban/suburban preserves; many of its lands, including the area visited on this trip (owned by Travis County), can be visited only by previous arrangement.

We will walk through an excellent example of a limestone canyon, enjoying the beautiful canyon woodland while seeing endemic plants and discussing the role of the Preserve in this rapidly growing urban
area. For this two-hour easy walk, participants should bring hats, sunscreen, and small day-packs to carry water (which will be provided).

FT 14 Big Bend National Park

Thursday - Saturday, August 18 – 20, Leave 7:00 am -return early evening Saturday
Joe Sirotnak, Big Bend National Park, Email: Joe_Sirotnak@nps.gov
Limit: 10
Lunch:

Big Bend is one of the largest (800,000 acres) and least visited of America’s national parks. From an elevation of less than 2,000 feet along the Rio Grande to nearly 8,000 feet in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend includes massive canyons, vast desert expanses, and the entire Chisos Mountain range. Big Bend has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert in the United States, and few areas exceed the park’s value for the protection and study of geologic and paleontologic resources. Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils exist in variety and abundance, archeologists have discovered artifacts estimated to be 9,000 years old, and historic buildings and landscapes offer graphic illustration of life along the international border at the turn of the century.

The park exhibits dramatic contrasts in climate and elevation, contributing to an exceptional diversity in plant and animal habitats. The park is home to more than 1200 species of plants (including approximately 60 cacti species), 11 species of amphibians, 56 species of reptiles, 40 species of fish, 75 species of mammals, 450 species of birds, and about 3600 species of insects. The park boasts more taxa of birds, bats, and cacti than any other national park in the United States.

For more information about Big Bend, visit www.nps.gov/bibe. Water will be provided for hikes. You should bring a pack, sunscreen and insect repellent, and wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. Birders might want to bring binoculars, and don’t forget your camera.

FT 15 Texas Subtropics: “The Valley”

Thursday - Saturday, August 18 – 20, Leave 7:00 am - early evening Saturday
Robert Lonard, University of Texas--Pan American; Email: rlonard@panam.edu
Tom Patterson, South Texas Community College, Email: tfpatt@stcc.cc.tx.us
Limit: 10

The lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas includes vegetation types, plant species, and birds found nowhere else in the United States. Although highly modified by agriculture and urbanization, fascinating remnants remain that will be visited on this trip. We will drive from Austin to near mouth of the Rio Grande at the Gulf of Mexico, and then work our way from the coast upriver. Exactly which localities we will visit will depend on what kind of year the Valley has had (wet or dry), and whether it is raining or not when we are there—but under any combination, we will see botanical treasures.

The first night we will stay in Brownsville, and that afternoon and the next morning we will visit nearby localities. Prime spots are Boca Chica, the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary, the Southmost Nature Conservancy Preserve, and the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site. Boca Chica, on the coast, includes coastal sand dunes, clay dunes vegetated by Tamaulipan coastal scrub, and other saline communities; the area is rich in shore and other birds. The Sabal Palm Preserve and the Southmost Preserve harbor remnants of one of the most critically endangered ecosystems in the US, the lower Rio Grande alluvial flood plain forest, characterized by a mosaic of sabal palm (Sabal mexicana) groves, Texas ebony (Pithecellobium ebano) thorn forests, bottomland and riparian forests, and resacas (poorly drained areas representing old river channels), with many Mexican species found nowhere else in the United States. Rarest of these vegetation types are the sabal palm groves; these palms once grew profusely along the edge of the Rio Grande in small stands or groves extending about 80 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico, but today only a small portion of that forest remains, protected in these two preserves. The Palo Alto Battlefield is botanically interesting and includes nice examples of resaca and native thornscrub vegetation—and it is also fascinating as the locale of the first military engagement of the Mexican American War (May 8, 1846). Plant species known in the U.S. only from the Valley may be seen at any of these sites.

Mid-day on the second day we will drive upriver in order to visit Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge late in the day; that night we will stay in McAllen nearby. The 2088-acre refuge is bounded by the Rio Grande; this jewel of the refuge system is an ‘island’ of thorn forest habita tthat is host or home to nearly 400 different types of birds and about one half of all butterfly species found in the United States. Both here and at the preserves visited the previous day, many Mexican bird species can be seen, including buff-bellied hummingbird, plain chachalaca, groove-billed ani, pauraque, green jay, etc.

The third morning, before returning to Austin, we will proceed further upriver to drier uplands overlooking the river in Starr County to visit particularly rich examples of typical South Texas “brush” communities (Tamaulipan thornscrub, dominated by Acacia rigidula), as well as a barretal community. Barretal, a shrub community dominated by Helietta parviflolia, is common further south in Mexico, but is found in the United States only on a few bluffs in this area. We may also stop by a locality of the rare Manihot walkerae.

Heat can be very intense in the Valley in August, especially westward (away from the Gulf); daily highs can easily be over 100 degrees. Hats, protective clothes, and sunscreen are necessary; sun glasses are highly recommended. Good boots that provide protection from spines and rattlesnakes are a must. You will need a small daypack for water (provided). Binoculars (especially for birders) are highly recommended, as well as swimming suits for evening dips at the motel. Boca Chica is extremely sandy so an extra pair of “knock-around” shoes for there might be a good idea.

The field trip leaders, Bob Lonard and Tom Patterson, between them have over four decades of experience studying the flora and vegetation of South Texas.