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Sundry Bottomland Forest Types

Plant Succession on Bosque River Bottomland Forest

The city of Stephenville, Texas spent 2.2 million tax dollars to build a concrete street for biking, walking, jogging, etc. that was about one and a half miles long including a bridge over a drainage branch on Bosque River. This streatch of an extra-wide sidewalk was part of Stephenville's city park system. It was a classic pork barrel project; a textbook case of a street and bridge to nowhere. It was not as spectacular as the infamous bridge to nowhere in Alaska, the nation's largest state, but same thing (only smaller, less wasteful). The public works project was made possible by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation, Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program (National Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century) with $443,000 spent by city tax revenues ( 20% of total cost).

Much of this street ran along Bosque River, including portions of the immediate stream bank as well as the river floodplain, hence the designtion Bosque River Trail. Bosque River Trail was designed by the firm of Schrickel, Rollins and Associates, Arlington, Texas. Construction was by local contractor, Jay Mills Contracting, (webmaster@ci.stephenville.tx.us).

Bosque River Trail was not a trail or nature walkway, but just a city street of sidewalk thickness on which motor vehicles were excluded, except of course for city workers. Construction activity for Bosque River Trail was not that of a hiking trail or bridle path, but of road-building complete with bulldozing and earth-moving followed by pouring of ready mix concrete. In other words this project involved use of heavy equipment with destruction of vegetation followed by severe soil erosion resulting in water pollution. Bosque River Trail was not done by manual labor and delicate "environmentally friendly" construction with hand-held implements like axes, shovels, etc.

Following street construction, haul-back soil on the street berm was seeded to something (probably included Lolium multiflorum, annual ryegrass) and fertilized with some commercial fertilizer that contained urea. Two days later a flood came and washed much of this soil and fertilizer into Bosque River. As much as a third of a foot of soil from the upper slope above Bosque River Trail was crried into Bosque River. Portions of the street-like sidewalk of Bosque River Trail on which natural revegetation was occurring were mowed and weed-eaten, practices that further contributed to soil erosion. Clearly there was no post-construction activity that consistemt with best management practices.

This environmental fiasco--local devestation of a floodplain range ecosystem--afforded an opportunity for a case study of secondary plant succession on mixed hardwood bottomland forest. This author had worked on this area and an adjacent location over a period of three years prior to destruction/construction actions of so-called Bosque River Trail. Three days before devegetation of recovering plant life and seeding/fertilizing along the street-construction site this author took photographs of the pioneer plant community. Visual documentation and discussion of secondary plant succession of the devastated portion of the Bosque River floodplain forest ecosystem was presented in the following portion of this publication.

Findings and conclusions (up to time of street completion and end of first warm-growing season) were placed at end of this portion.

258. First stage of recovery- Plant life of the first seral stage of secondary succession on part of the bank of Bosque River subjected to earth-moving activity approximately six months after destruction of all existing climax vegetation of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest. This was the plant community near end of the first warm-growing season following devastation of by bulldozing, grading, and street paving . This scene was on the road (street) berm at outer river bank. The climax understorey that was removed--along with sevral feet of soil (river alluvium)--had been dominated by broadleaf woodoat and Canada or nodding wildrye..Some of this climax herbaceous layer of woodoats remained (upper left corner) as did some of the herbaceous layer made up of frostweed or white crownbeard along with giant ragweed (to immediate right of woodoats).

The seral vegetation (pioneer plant community) in fore- and midground consisted of lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) at right margin, Johnsongrass, hairy crabgrass, red sprangletop, common bermudagrass, Palmer pigweed (Amaranthus palmeri) plus resprouts of bois d'arc and the highly invasive, exotic tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima). Johnsongrass and bermudagrass are naturalized, exotic (introduced) agronomic perennials; hairy crabgrass is a naturalized introduced annual; Palmer pigwood and red sprangletop are native annuals forb; bois d'arc is a native climax tree; and tree-of-heaven is an extremely invasive, exotic, weed tree. Sprout (heterophyllus) shoots of the two trees were from roots remaining after bulldozing and earth-moving activities as where shoots of Johnsongrass and bermudagrass which arose from surviving rhizomes and stolons and rhizomes, respectively. Plants of frostweed were also resprout shoots from underground perenniating parts.

The pioneer plant community was thus a combination of seedlings of typical annual colonizing species (crabgrass, lambsquarters, pigweed, red sprangletop) and vegetative shoots of pre-existing adult plants which had all of their aboveground parts removed (trees and a perennial composite forb). There were no plants of the climax, perennial bunchgrasses.

Erath County, Texas. Early September (late-estival aspect of the pioneer plant community). FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

259. First seral stage- Vegetation at end of first warm-growing season of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest that had been destroyed six months earlier for construction of a street (a street to nowhere at cost of $2.2 million of tax-payer money). This pioneer (first seral) stage of secondary plant succession was on the street berm at outer bank of Bosque River. This was the vegetation that had developed at end of the first warm-growing season following destruction of climax vegetation. The first photograph was taken under a full-sun sky and the second photograph was under an overcast sky within one hour of each exposure. These two slides were of the same location, same seral vegetation, only from two slightly different angles or camera focl points. In the background of both slides were remnants of climax vegettion of this bottomland forest range which consisted of an herbaceous layer dminated by broadleaf woodoats and Canada wildrye along with lower limbs of sugarberry and cedar elm, co-dominant trees, and bois d'arc, an associate tree. Also in the remnant of vegettion not subjected to street-construction was the horribly invasive, exotic tree-of-heaven.

The pioneer plant community was a mixture of regrowth (sprouts; heterophyllus shoots) of sprouts of previously existing adult bois d'arc trees (foreground) and typical pioneer annuals, most plants of which were naturalized exotic annual species (primarily hairy crabgrass and lambsquarters). Three native annual species that are also typical pioneers were the eragrostoid-grass, red sprangletop, amaranth forb, Palmer's pigweed, and buffalo-bur, a forb of the nightshade family. Other annual grasses present included goosegrass (Eleusine indica) and barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crusgallii) which are both introduced species that have naturalized and are extremely well-adapted to disturbance.

Erath County, Texas. Early September (late-estival aspect of the pioneer plant community). First seral stage. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

260. Pioneers on a river bank- Two "photoquadrants" of the pioneer plant community on a portion of the bank of Bosque River that had been totally devegetated by bulldozing and blade-grading for construction of a street (that led to nonwhere except pockets of contracting firms). Both of these photographs were of the same local plant community though taken from different camera angles. The first photograph was from greater distance so as to include a slightly larger area and more vegetation. The second photograph was taken at shorter distance for a "closer-in" view and to show more detail of individual plants.

This was the colonizing vegetation at end of first warm-growing season following devegetation and creation of "new land" for secondary plant succession (bare soil surface). This was approximately six months following earth-moving action. It was a textbook example of old field succession or recovery of vegetation on "go-back land".

The pioneer plant community consisted of resprouts from bulldozed, adult bois d'arc trees and shoots of pre-existing Johnsongrass and common bermudagrass plus (and primarily) plants of typical, annual species of colonizing grasses and forbs. These annual species included red sprangletop, native grass; hairy crabgrass, naturalized, alien grass; goosegrass, naturalized exotic grass; barnyardgrass, naturalized alien grass; buffalo-bur, native, nightshade forb; Palmer's pigweed, native, annual amaranth; lambsquarters; naturalized, Eurasian forb; hop-hornbeam copperleaf (Acalypha ostryifolia), native euphorb; giant ragweed; feverfew or false ragweed (Parthenium hysterohorus), naturalized, exotic composite; and (in right background of first slide) cutleaf ground-cherry (Physalis angulata), annual nightshade forb.

The pioneer species of most lasting importance was eastern cottonwood. This tree species was represented by two seedlings (two seedlings in left midground of first slide; only the larger of the two in left midground of second slide). Some very large trees of eastern cottonwood were in this mixed hardwood bottomland forest. These cottonwood trees persisted into the climax forest dominated by sugarberry, cedar elm, and pecan. Eastern cottonwood lives long enough to be part of the climax forest although cottonwood is not a climax species in the same sense as tolerant species like sugarberry and cedar elm. Pecan has a life cycle pattern similar to that of eastern cottonwood, but pecan was more abundant and persisted into the climax forest as a dominant with sugarberry and cedr elm. This successional phenomenon of pecan was shown and discussed below.

Easterrn cottonwood has traditionally be classified as Very Intolerant (Wenger, 198; Burns and Honkala,1990) with cover types dominated by it as seral, in fact as pioneer forest communities (Eyre, 1954; Eyre, 1980). Sexual reproduction (successful recruitment of seedlings) of eastern cottonwood requires availability of bare, moist, mineral soil as a suitable seedbed (Eyre,1954; Eyre, 1980; Burns and Honkala, 1990). In other words, disturbances severe enough to result in bare mineral soil are essential for establishment (= germination, emergence, root/shoot development, and seedling survival) of eastrn cottonwood. This pioneer tree species could not become established in this climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan forest without creation of "new land" (soil bare of duff and other organic matter) by disturbances such as tree blowdown (creation of "tree cradles"), flood scouring, or human mechanical scarification.

The Bosque River Trail project that squandered $2.2 million in tax revenue to build a street to nowwhere did create several areas so severely disturbed (completely devegetated by bulldozing and blading) that there were numerous seedlings of the pioneer species, eastern cottonwood. Whether the busybody bosses of the Stephenville City Park permit growth of these seedlings into large, handsome, adult cottonwoods or, altrnatively, these public servants order the seedlings cut off with lawn-mowers or weed-whackers so as to have a cropped turf of alien hairy crabgrass is another matter. Nonetheless, the lesson of vegetation development on this bottomland forest was obvious: eastern cottonwood, a pioneer tree species that persist into climax forest, did regenerate. In fact, regeneration was instaneous in successional time scale. Within six months of a suitable seedbed becoming available, seedlings of eastern cottonwood had become established and were on their lives' journey to becoming mature trees. That is, as long as so-called park managers realize that trees belong in a river bottom forest and that maintenance of such trees requires successful reproduction for replacement of trees that eventually die.

Erath County, Texas. Late October (early-autumnal aspect of the pioneer plant community). First seral stage. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

261. First colonizers and an increaser- Two seedlings of eastern cottonwood amid a few plants of silver bluestem (Andropogon saccharoides) on a patch of soil on the bank of Bosque River that had been bulldozed and bladed six months prior to time of photograph. Removal of all existing aboveground plant life resulted in land laid bare to mineral soil which permitted germination, emergence, and rapid establishment of the seedlings of the pioneer tree species, eastern cottonwood. The plants of silver bluestem regrew from rootcrowns of this perennial grass that miraculously had survived the earth-moving activity. In the same fashion, surviving rhizomes of Johnsongrass gave rise to shoots of this naturalized, African, perennial grass. Other plants present in this "photoplot" included hairy crabgrasse and Pennsylvania smartweed or Pennsylvania knotwee (Polygonum pensylvanicum).

Forest range vegetation on this microsite did not have the same first seral--the colonizing--stage of secondary or old-field succession as that on almost all of the other such "minisites", but seedlings of the pioneer tree species had established.

Erath County, Texas. Early September (late estival aspect of the pioneer plant community).

262. Pioneers with different approaches- Local spot of bare soil on the bank of Bosque River left after street-construction activity that involved bulldozing, grading, form-building, and concrete delivery and working. Plant species included annual and perennial and native and naturalized exotic monocotyledons. These species were red sprangletop, native, annual grass; hairy crabgrass, exotic, annual grass; common bermudagrass, exotic, perennial grass, Johnsongrass, exotic, perennial grass; and purple nutsedge or purple flatsedge (Cyperus rotundus). Note that four of these five graminoids were introduced species--by white man, purposely or accidentially--that had naturalized. Even more telling was the fact that three of these four species were listed and discussed as some of the worst weeds on Earth: purple nutsedge, world's worst weed; bermudagrass, world's second worst weed; and Johnsongrass, sixth worst weed on Earth (Holm et al., 1991, ps. 8-31, 54-61).

This pioneer plant community was made possible by 2.2 million tax dollars to build a city street known as Bosque River Trail, a part of the city park of Stephenville Texas, which was allegedly (at least partly) justified as a "nature trail". Nice start to educate trail-users to natural plant communities, hugh!

Erath County, Texas. Mid-September (late estival aspect of the pioneer plant community). First seral stage. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

263. Woody invaders that are climax species- The berm of a street on the bank of Bosque River supported a number of woody plant species late in the first warm-growing season following devegetation about six months earlier. This portion of the river bank had been bulldozed, balded, and subjected to street construction work that resulted in removal of all of the organic matter layer from the alluvial soil (Bunyon series). All plants in these two photographs were woody species except for one plant of frostweed or white crownbeard, an herbaceous composite that had regrown from its perennial rootcrown, and one plant of sharppod morning-glory (Ipomoea trichocarpa= I. cordatotriloba), a twinning perennial forb. Frostweed was the most abundant forb overall in the herbaceous layer of the climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that was locally removed for street construction.

Woody species included pecan seedlings and resprouts of poison oak/ivy, and trumpet creeper that arose from rootstocks. The second of these two slides was a close-up of two pecan seedlings (a small vine of morning-glory was in background).

Pecan has been interpreted as Intolerant though somewhat less so than cottonwood and willow (Burns and Honkala, 1990). These authors regarded pecan as a subclimax species. On this mixed hardwood bottomland forest pecan was found to be one of three dominant, climax, tree species (sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan climax) because pecan trees had such great longevity that they persisted into climax, and as the largest trees of the climax forest. It was discussed immediately above that eastern cottonwood also persisted into the climax (as a minor species only) even though cottonwood is a pioneer or colonizer (member of the first seral stage). Pecan is also a pioneer tree species, but its larger fruits do not appear to be as senestive to seedbed conditions as the much smaller seeds of cottonwood.

It was obvious from these (and accompanying) photographs that sexual regeneration of pecan was substantial on bare mineral soil of this alluvial deposit. Several slides presented above included established seedlings and saplings in the herbaceous layer of this climax forest. Regeneration (sexual reproduction) of pecan in competition with such herbaceous species as Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats, co-dominants of this layer, was "almost nothing" compared to seedling establishment on the bare soil of this street berm. Clearly, pecan reproduction is much greater on exposed soil and with reduced (or eliminated) competition.

Erath County, Texas. Early September (late estival aspect of the pioneer plant community).First seral stage. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

264. Invaders of all sorts- An array of plants had established on the bare, exposed soil of a street berm on the bank of Bosque River near end of the first warm-growing season following destruction of the climax vegetation of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest. All aboveground parts of plants in this range plant community had been removed by earth-moving and shallow excavation followed by street construction about six months prior to time of these photographs. Established shoots visible in these first of these two "photoquadrants" included pecan seedlings along with stump/root sprouts of Virginia creeper and trumpet creeper and grass shoots of hairy crabgrass. Pecan and the two species of woody vines are natives whereas crabgrass is a naturalized annual. Plants in the second "photoplot" included five seedlings of pecan, one seedling of cedar elm, plus one shoot of sharppod morning-glory and some hairy crabgrass. Only the crabgrass was a non-native species. One leaf of eastern cottonwood and one leaf of red mulberry in this second photograph attested to presence of nearby trees of these two native tree species.

Seedlings of pecan in these two slides and the two immediately preceding slides were photographic evidence that pecan quickly and readily establishes from seed on "new land" created by disturbance severe enough to result in bare soil. Observations in this climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan floodplain forest handily showed that establishment of pecan seedlings is much greater on bare soil than on the dense sward of the herbaceous understorey dominated by Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats and under partial shade from crowns of adult trees. Pecan was recorded as Intolerant by Burns and Honkala (1990), but not as much so as was eastern cottonwood that also established seedlings on the bare soil of this street berm (see above).

Lianas (Virginia creeper, trumpet creeper, poison oak/ivy) regrew from established underground organs. These woody climbers were all part of the climax forest vegetation (as was mustang grape). Pecan is such a long-lived tree that it persisted into the climax (and as the largest plants of the forest) even though it is a colonizing species. The same relationship obtained for pioneers of eastern cottonwood, but there were fewer cottonwood trees in the climax whereras pecan persisted in such numbers and of such size and crown coverage as to be one of the dominant, climax tree species.

Invaders in the meaning of plants that established secondary plant succession, especially in early stages thereof, has a slightly different meaning from invaders as used in the more specific application of successional status for determination of range condition classs (ie. decreasers, increasers, invaders). The more general and original meaning (as the term was invented by F.E. Clements) of invaders refers to plants--both individuals and species--that had completed the process of invasion. Weaver and Clements (1938, p. 166) described Clementsian invasion with these words: "Invasion is the movement of one or more plants from one area into another and their establishment in the latter It is thus the complte and complex process of which migration, ecesis, and competition are the essential parts". Later, one of J.E. Weaver's students (Dykersthuis, 1949) used invader to mean a species that continues to increase in abundance under abnormal or extreme disturbances, in particular to overgrazing. Responses to overgrazing were determined (estimated) as to different range sites (ie. they are range site-specific). Responses of specific species to other disturbances (eg. drought, unusual fire, extreme temperature, tillage) were understood to be similar though not exactly the same as responses to overgrazing which is the main abusive practice and extreme disturbance that rangemen can prevent.

Invasion as a central part of plant succession interpreted in the Clementsian model of "dynamic vegetation" (= vegetation development) begins with initial causes, disturbances that "...produce a new or denuded soil upon which invasion is possible" (Weaver and Clements, 1938, p. 106). The initial cause of this invasion on the bank of Bosque River was human earth-moving action in conjuction with street construction (and destruction of existing climax or subclimax vegetation). Continuous or recurrent invasion is the kind or form of new plant establishment tha occurs when pioneer tree species such as willows or cottonwoods "lay claim" to the fresh land or seedbed created by disturbances such as flood, fire, or tillage (Weaver and Clements, 1938, p. 167). The invaders shown in these and preceding photographs were the products of continuous invasion (seeds and fruits are more or less continually produced--dispersed or disseminated [dispersal or dissemination]--on an annual basis whether or not they encounter a suitable medium for establishment or achieve the completed process of migration).

Invasion includes migration (successful arrival of plant progagules or disseminules on a denuded or otherwise suitable area for growth), ecesis (germination, growth and some form of reproduction such as production of more shoots or leaves), aggregation (the process by which migrants form groups of new plants through reproduction), and competition (a main driving force in later stages of plant succession).

Strictly speaking, the new plants (seedlings, root sprounts, stc.) in the above "photoplots" where in earlier stages of yet-to-be-completed invasion. The seedlings,especially, were at the stage of ecesis. Whether or not they grow and reproduce adequately to complete the full set of processes of invasion would depend on various factors, the main one of which being if city park workers would permit these plants to grow or cut them off with power implements. In fact that is exactly what happened. Four days after this photographer took the photographs presented here employees of the city of Stephenville, Texas and/or Jay Mills Contracting mowed and weed-whacked off all of these plants. The process of seondary plant succession was set back to the beginning or starting stage on "ground zero" of Bosque River Trail. Apparently "nature trail" meant mowed turf of naturalized alien species, namely hairy crabgrasss and common bermudagrass (neither of which were planted by these workers).

Erath County, Texas. Early September (late estival aspect of the pioneer plant community).First seral stage. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

265. Rapid return- A three- or four-month old root sprout of cedar elm that grew on the berm of a street named Bosque River Trail built on the bank of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. This specimen was the result of secondary plant succession on a sere, the area of denuded raw soil on which vegetation development could take place, of a climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest. This root sprout was an example that secondary succession in this forest cover type was a combination of both seedlings and resprouts or stump sprouts (mostly heterophyllous shoots), of perennials as well as annual species, and of both native and naturalized exotic species.

There were plants of the typical pioneer annual species (native and naturalized) such as buffalo-bur, red sprangletop, cutleaf ground-cherry, Palmer's pigweed, lambsquarters, and hairy crabgrass along with seedings of pecan (a native, climax, dominant tree species), sprouts from perennial rootcrowns of native lianas (common green-briar, trumpet creeper, Virginia creeper, poison oak/ivy), new shoots from frostweed (native, perennial, composite forb) and of Johnsongrass and bermudagrass (naturalized, alien, perennial grasses), and resprout shoots of cedar elm (one of the native, climax, dominant trees) and of bois d'arc (a native, climax, associate tree species).

The rest of the story (so far) is that this new plant of cedar elm (again, one of three climax dominant tree species of this forest type) was cut off by workers applying seed (apparently of the exotic, annual ryegrass) and a urea-containing commercial fertilizer. Two days following this seeding/fertilizing operation, flood waters and heavy upslope runoff from a heavy rainstorm carried the soil, seed, and urea-fertilizer from this and the rest of the area--all except for the concrete street--into Bosque River. This photographer witnessed and documented the entire process, including the severe sheet and rill erosion as it was taking place.

Erath County, Texas. Early Septermber.

266. Younger elderberries- Resprouts of elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) growing on the bern of a street constructed on the outer bank of Bosque River. These four shoots were resprouts growing about one year following removal of all aboveground parts of plants in the destruction/construction operation. These shoot were approximately five to six months old. In the relatively mild winters of northcentral Texas elderberry with its extremely freeze-hearty foliage, typically overwinters with green leaves.

Ground cover was leaves of various hardwood trees (pecan, sugrberry, eastern cottonwood, cedar and America elms, and live or plateau oak) that escaped the bulldozers of street contractors.

Erath County, Texas. Late February.

267. Can't keep good vegetation down- Range vegetation of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest developing on the berm of a city street in early spring following removal of all aboveground parts of plants (total elimination of all plant life above soil surface) the previous spring. This is the pioneer stage of forest vegetation on land totally denuded one year earlier l(ie. plant life in the first spring following removal of existing vegetation). Plants shown in the first photograph included two seedlings of eastern cottonwood; one seedling of American elm; resprouting greenbriar, chittamwood, and Carolina snailseed (Cocculus carolinus); and broadleaf woodoats, Canada or nodding wildrye (both native perennial grasses) as well as seedlings of such annual herbaceous species as giant ragweed, hedge parsley, and Japanese chess or Japanese brome. Plant species presented in the second photograph included two seedlings of eastern cottonwood along with several seedlings of sugarberry and American elm accompanied by broadleaf woodoats and the white-umbeled hedge parsley.

This assemblage of plant life ranged from climax, shade-tolerant trees to exotic, naturalized annual forbs (hedge parsley) so that the pioneer or colonizing stage of secondry plant succession did not follow the classic revegetation pattern reported (and learned by generations of students) for old fields and cutover forests. Initial stages of old-field succession included major components of climax trees as well as typical colonizing species such as the native giant ragweed, an annual forb, and eastern cottonwood, a pioneering tree that typically requires bare mineral soil for seddling establishment.

This pattern or revegetation was perhaps a reflection of the comparatively small area of denudation: a long, narrow strip of mineral soil that had a rich seedbank and in close proximity to germinule-yielding plants including both climax and seral tree species. Likewise, there were stump sprouts (long shoots) of shrubs and tillers from rootcrowns of native perennial grasses.

Erath County, Texas. Late April.

268. Details of recovering forest vegetation- Two close-in "photoquadrants" of recovering floodplain forest vegetation in early spring one year after street construction denuded a corridor of sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan climax forest on the outer bank of Bosque River. The first slide showed a seedling of eastern cottonwood and one seedling of American elm along with elderberry, rescuegrass, Japanese chess or Japanese brome, and broadleaf woodoats. The second "photoquadrant" contained two seedlings of American elm plus Johnsongrass, Carolina snailseed, Canada wildrye, and hedge-parsley.

This first (pioneer) stage of secondary pland succession was a combination of climax native trees (American elm), colonizing native trees (eastern cottonwood), native shrubs (elderberry), native perennial grass species arising from belowground parts (Canada wildrye, broadleaf woodoats), .introduced perennial grass (Johnsongrass), exotic annual grasses (rescuegrass, Japanese brome), and introduced annual forbs (hedge-parsley). The initial seral stage was tnot comprised totally of herbaceous annuals and therefore did not conform with the classic pattern of old-field succession.

Erath County, Texas. Late April.

269. Some of the beautification received by tax payers - Severe gully erosion on the bank of Bosque River resulting from construction of Bosque River Trail. Inadequate erosion protection by contractor Jay Mills Contracting resulted in formation of these new gullies when flood waters from rainfall of moderate intensity flowed completely unabated from the immediate watershed into the stream. Most of the small, reactangular blaes of straw loosely anchored on stream banks washed into Bosque River. Beaver used one of these bales as the "cornerstone" of a dam they built across the stream (shown and described above). lAccording to the city web page, (webmaster@ci.stephenville.tx.us). Stephenville Texas spent 2.2 million tax dollars (80% grant from Texas Department of Transportation, Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program, 20% city revenue) to construct a walking trail (it was more like a city street that handily accomodated city motor vehicles) on the outer bank of Bosque River. There was obviously not effective enforcement of regulations by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to oprevent such damage from runoff.

Most of the green clumps of grass on the immediate river bank were Canada or nodding wildrye and broadleaf woodoats. Note how these two native grasses effectively protected the far bank of Bosque River (background).

Erath County, Texas. Late April.

270. Severe soil erosion in the name of beautification (and paid for by tax dollars)- Pronounced sheet erosion of Purves clay (clayey, montmorillonitic, thermic lithic calcustolls) immediately above outer bank of Bosque River. Removal of all vegetation from a large area of land (having five percent slope) during street construction (so-called Bosque River Trail") left this soil unprotected. The same moderate-intensity rainstorm that resulted in erosion of the river bank shown in preceding slide was the weather event that carried most of the upper A horizon of this soil into the river. Depth of soil removal varied from six to ten inches. Depth of soil loss where stockman's knife was standing (second slide) exceeded six inches, but there had been two to three inches swept off of the "shelf" immediately above the knife. This land had been scraped clear of almost all protective cover by bulldozing and grading. The contractor who was responsible for this soil erosion was Jay Mills Contracting, Stephenville, Texas.

This eroded land was in the city park of Stephenville, Texas. It should be remarked (sadly though instructively) in passing that historically much of the waste and mismanagement of natural resources has been by or with approval of government entities. This can occur at any level of government from federal down through municipal as in the example seen here.

This was on the perimeter of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest immediately above Bosque River. Plateau live oak (Quercus virginiana var. fusiformis) was the local dominant tree with cedar elm and pecan associate species. Leaves on soil surface (shed subsequently to land clearing) were those of plateau live oak.

Erath County, Texas. Late April.

271. By way of contrast- A local undisturbed microsite of the herbaceous layer of climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest at the outer margin of the Bosque River floodplain. This less mesic, upper slope of the floodplain forest had an understorey more typical of tallgrass prairie rather nhan the herbaceous layer of Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats that was climax for lower, more mesic portions of the river floodplain.

Major species in this drier zone of the forest herbaceous layer were big bluestem, sideoats grama, sand lovegrass, purpletop, pokeberry, pigeonberry, Louisiana sagewort, and frostweed (all native perennials) along with naturalized alien species, namely hairy crabgrass, Johnsongrass, and hedge parsley. Woody species in the background included cear elm, live oak, and bur oak (native, climax trees) and tree-of-heaven (horribly invasive exotic tree).

Range vegetation in this "photoplot" as well as those presented in which Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats dominated the understorey can be compared to the pioneer--the first seral stage--of vegetation displayed and discussed in the last slide-caption sets presented immediately above.

Erath County, Texas. Late September (early autumnal aspect of the pioneer plant community).Variant of climax understorey. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

The on-going story of degradation and folly- Two years after the construction of the so-called Bosque River Trail (a narrow, thinnly paved street that was a combination of pedestrian and bicycle corridor along the ban of the river).

272. Unimproved- "Near" (upper) bank of Bosque River comparing the "unimproved" (not disturbed by Stephenville Texas city workers; not defoliated as by rotary mower or cable "weed whacker") area covered by shrubs, especially elderberry, and native grasses such as young shoots of Canada wildrye, broadleaf wood oats, and Schribner's rosette panicgrass with the closely mowed/cable defoliator area that was basically bare soil with some closely mowed alive (barely) herbaceous residue.

Earth County, Texas. October.

273. Busy-body (= "make-work") disgrace- Local watershed of, the immediate upslope land above, Bosque River that had been stripped of all vegetation by Stephenville Texas workers using a bulldozer to construct an extreme downslope (over a 10% slope straight down the hill) with start of a gully immediately after the first rain following digging of the ditch. The sidewalk/street in background had been built on the immediate upper bank of Bosque River.

The red color of soil was that of the "subsoil" (the lower soil horizons) that had exposed after essentially complete loss of the O and A horizons ("topsoil") by water erosion caused by removal of protective vegetative cover by mechanical means (bulldozer/land scrapper) by Stephenville Texas city workers (or their contractors). This was a year or soil after construction of the so-clled Bosque River Trail (the city street/sidewalk).

Erath County, Texas. October.

274. Results on the land- Combination of rill and sheet erosion of soil immediately above the bank of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. This accelerated erosion was the direct result of removal of protective plant cover by earth-moving equipment (probably bulldozer) operated by Stephenville, Texas city workers (or workers contracted by the city) after completion of the so-called Bosque River Trail (in really a paved sidewalk/street).

This "scalping" of protective plant cover was needless, senseless, make-work that had absolutely nothing to do with the so-called Bosque River Trail that had been constructed the previous year. At the time when this land was bladed off it was covered by a mixture of grasses, the dominant species of which was naturalized common brmudagrass (Cynodon dactyledon). Other major plant species in the mechanically removed vegetation included Johnsongrass, Texas wintergrass (Stipa leucotricha), and King Ranch bluestem (Andropogon ischaemum= Bothriochloa ischaemum). There were no plants of woody species except for two saplings of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and one smaller plant of pecan. In other words,at time of blading off of the plant cover the plant community was naturalized grassland with a few saplings of native tree species In other words, the soil had a protective cover of living plants almost all of which were perennials.

Complete removal of this existing plant life and the digging of a drainage ditch (that was not on the contour) was nothing less than thoughtless action. All this "slick-it-all-off" activity accomplished (besides make-work and, presummedly, income for somebody) was more mindless waste of soil which, of course, washed into Bosque River as an on-site, pin-point source of pollution. This soil erosion and pollution of Bosque River was shown below in slide/caption sets.

The green plants seen in the second and third slide of this set were mostly naturalized, annual Eurasian bromegrasses (Bromus japonicus, B. tectorum, B.cartharticus). Plants of these three cool-season species were small, young individuals that had only recently germinated. While these annual, Eurasian Bromus species are, by definition, ecological invaders (invading or "weedy" species), under this condition they were not weeds (in either agronomic [that is, economic] or ecological terms. Instead these annual grass species were successional colonizers or first seral-stage pioneers. Seedlings of these naturalized exotic or alien grasses made up the first stage (initial seral community) of secondary plant succession on the "new land" or bare ground (denuded--completely denuded--soil). This denuded area or habitat was a textbook example of an old field (ie. old-field succession).

Ecological Note: On this area where "topsoil" (surface horizons, O and A) had been washed away (into Bosque River) the first stage (seral plant community) of plant succession was comprised of exotic, Eurasian, annual grasses whereas on adjacent land over which the original (in-situ) soil remained intact following denuadation the colonizing seral stage of plant succession was comprised of dominant, climax perennial shrubs and trees, including elderberry as the main shrub and pecan and sugarberry as the tree species (both as seedlings and root sprouts). Scroll back up to see images of these dominant, climax woody species colonizing immediately after street (Bosque River Trail) construction. These climax perennial plants--the potential natural dominants for this bottomland forest site--were soon killed out by Stephenville, Texas city workers operating riding lawn-mowers (shredders) and weed-eaters, but where the mature soil remained (much of this was later washed away and into Bosque River) climax, dominant woody plants were the principal plant species of the first successional stage following denudation. Where only "subsoil" (lower soil horizons) remained on denuded land plant succession began with alien, annual herbaceous species (mostly Eurasian grasses of the Bromus genus).

Erath County, Texas. October.

275. More waste of resources (of all categories)- Land on the immediate bank and immediately above the bank of Bosque River with replaced (replacement) soil that had been hauled in after the "topsoil" (the O and A horizons) natural or in-situ soil had been washed into Bosque River by rill and sheet erosion on bare ground created by the mechanical removal (by blading action with heavy [or, perhaps more accurately, intermediate-sized] earth-moving equipment) of existing plant life (mostly perennial agronomic grasse species. The two views seen her were a few days following the first rainfall event that occurred after the replacement soil had been hauled in and applied over the remaining soil, that part of the soil profile (ie. the "subsoil" left after the natural O and A horizons had been washed into Bosque River.

The first photograph was of the immediate top of the river bank and the second photograph was from a greater camera-distance showing the immediate watershed slope above as well as the bank of Bosque River (background). The meandering pathways of erosion rills were prominent in both of these slides. Tree trunks were those of cedar elm, on of the three climax tree species of this mixed hardwood bottomland forest (Roseire et al., 201).

In the more shaded area seen in these two slides there had been less germination, emergence, and early growth of annual Eurasian grasses than on the "open sky" habitat presented in the second and third slides of the immediately preceding slide/caption set.

Earth County, Texas. October.

276. Control and treatment (side-by-side views)- Immediate upper bank of Bosque River along the titled "Bosque River Trail" in Stephenville, Texas showing unmowed area with native vegetation at left and closely mowed (with rotary shredder lawnmowers and "weed eaters") area devoid of all vegetation at right. These two images were of the same location with the first (upper) image having been taken at greater camera distance away from the subject area. In left foreground was a large, old-growth specimen of pecan with lianas of trumpet creeper, poison ivy, coral honeysuckle, and fiddleleaf green-brier growing up this tree's trunk. The other shrubs, which ranged in height from less than two to over eight feet, were mostly of elderberry.

The bare portion of this upper river bank (right foreground to right midground) was covered with recently hauled-in and surface-applied "borrowed topsoil" (ie. imported soil) to replace (for a brief period of time) the original (in-situ) soil (the O and A horizons) that washed off the land surface into Bosque River when the existing vegetative cover was cdompletely removed by city workers using mechanical blading equipment (bulldozer and/or road-grader). Replacement ("borrowed") soil did not stay on the land as long as the original (in-situ) soil. The first heavy rain washed replacement soil into Bosque River as well.

This situation was presented below at closer camera-distance after having first presented an overall view of the same area as shown in these two images.

Erath County, Texas. October.

277. Control and treatment (an overall view)- A portion of the upper bank of Bosque River in northcentral Texas on which imported ("borrowed" soil had been spread out (the fresh, bare land surface). Plant life in the left of this image was a large, old-growth specimen of pecan with fiddleleaf green-brier, coral honeysuckle, trumpet creeper, and poison ivy growing on it. Shrubs along margin or edge of the exposed, "borrowed" soil were mostly shoots of the rhizomatous elderberry. Plant life at right foreground was mostly the naturalized, horribly invasive Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) which at least prevented soi from washing into the straam.

The undisturbed plant life by the old-growth pecan and that of the Chisese privet served as the experimental control whereas the central area kept bare by mechanical defoliation was the treatment for a de-facto experiment into accelerated (man-made) soil erosion. Close-up views and results of this stupid, ill-advise

d experiment were shown in the immediately following two two-slide/caption sets.

Earth County, Texas. October.

278. Control and treatment (closer-in views)- A portion of the immediate upper bank of Bosque River along a newly constructed street in Stephenville, Texas located n the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas that had been defoliated by mechanical means (rotary shredding by law-mowers and "weed-wackers"), then subsequently lost the bare, exposed soil through rill and sheet erosion, and lastly had imported, limestone boulders hauled in and dumped along the upper river bank which were then covered by replacement soil that was also hauled in and spread along this section of the stream. The second (lower) image was a closer-up view of the central portion of the rock-dump/soil-replacement area presented in the first (upper) slide.

Most of the plants on the river bank (midground) were elderberry, some of which had existed prior to street construction and some of which had grown from prior-existing rootstocks after construction. A number of elderberry shoots, along with seedlings and resprouts of pecan and cedar elm that came up shortly after street construction, had been cut down by Stephenville city workers. Remaining plants seen in these two slides grew so far down on the bank (closer to Bosque River) that city workers had not cut them down. There were also a few parts of the upper bank where workers had (for whatever reasons) failed to cut down woody plants.

This situation of areas with chopped/cut down plants and areas not subjected to chopping/cutting constituted a de-facto experiment that compared control and plant removal treatment. The side-by-side comparison of cut-down (treatment) and not cut (control) was presented in the two immediately preceding slide/caption sets. The two photographs in this slide/caption set were of the cut-down plant reatment that included replacement of natural (in-situ) soil that had been lost by rill and sheet erosion. These two slides were of the treatment (continual denudation of plant life growing on "borrowed" soil on the upper river bank).

This was the scene shortly after importation of rock (boulders) and application of "borrowed topsoil" followed by a low-intensity rainfall event (approximately 3/8ths inch of light rain). The scene following the next or sequential rainfall event, which was between one and one and one/half inch rain, was presented in the next two slides…

Earth County, Texas. October.

279. Treatment result- Erosion of "imported" soil from the immediate upper bank of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers in northecentral Texas. This "borrowed" soil was hauled in, dumped, and spread to replace the original soil that had washed into Bosque River as a direct result of on-going denudation of comparatively large areas of the upper bank and immediately above it by continual shredding of recovering vegetation by by city (Stephenvillte, Texas) workers using rotary lawn-mowers and weed-eaters along a walking/bicycling street known as "Bosque River Trail".

Medium-sized limestone boulders were first hauled in and dumped along the upper bank of Bosque River. Then these boulders were covered with a comparatively thin layer of imported ("borrowed") soil. This imported soil was applied to depths of roughly six to fourteen inches depending on whether soil was over rocks or settled in among/between them.

Continuing mechanical overgrazing/overbrowsing resulted in continually bare soil which quickly washed (via rill and sheet erosion) down into Bosque River. Thereupon, replacement ("borrowed") soil was imported to replace the original (in-situ) soil that washed into the river. Imported soil was also promptly washed away as seen in these two slides. These two images were closer-in views of the area presented in the three immediately preceding slide/caption sets. These two slides showed erosion of "borrowed topsoil" following the first substantial rainfall event (roughly one to one and a half inch rain of moderate intensity) following application of replacement soil.

It was apparent in these slides that the imported (replacement) soil both washed 1) off of the limestone rocks and 2) from among rocks (in the intra-spaces between/among adjacent boulders). Some of this "borrowed" soil washed directly into Bosque River and was carried away by stream currents as sedimentary pollution while other portions of eroded soil formed isolated benches of soil at edge of the river. Most of this latter eroded component was later washed into Bosque River in a flash flood and carried downstream as pollution.

Rocks were (are) not a natural component of the bank of Bosque River, at least not in this area. The river channel (bank and bed) were comprised of the Bunyan soil series, fine-loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic typic ustifluvents (Soil Conservation Service, 1990). The surface layer of Bunyan soil varies from loamy fine sand to sandy clay loam while lower layers of the Bunyan series range from stratified fine sandy loam to clay loam to sandy clay loam (Soil Conservation Service, 1973, p. 13). Obviously, the channel of Bosque River consist of highly erodible soil, and soil that does not have a rock component. Some bank cutting and re-deposit of eroded soil along the channel of Bosque River is a natural process geologic process. Erosion of soil from portions of the river bank that were kept denuded was accelerated, man-made soil erosion. This is an axiomatically, uncatagorically, self-evident statement of fact proven by absence of soil erosion on immediately adjoining parts of the river bank that had not been mowed or defoliated with weed-eaters. Unmowed parts of the river bank were not eroded. Soil of the river bank on which vegetative cover was undisturbed "stayed put".

Likewise, rocks were not a natural part of Bosque River bank. Use of rocks as a base on which to spread "borrowed" soil was an unnatural activity. It was artificial human action prompted strictly (only) because of senseless, continual denudation of the natural river bank (the bank that was comprised of the natural, in-situ soil). Again, this was unquestionably the case as evidenced by lack of soil erosion on adjoining parts of Bosque River bank that did not have plant life (= vegetative cover) removed by on-goining human defoliation.

All this remedial activity--human action which did not work anyway--would have been unnecessary if city workers had left the vegetation on the river bank alone and let natural revegetation continue by the process of secondary plant succession.

Earth County, Texas. October.

Spring, summer, or fall chop it all- Examples of Stephenville Texas "make-work" for city park employees and on-going destruction of native vegettion. Edge of Bosque River Trail (a big sidewalk or small street) along which city workers on lawn mowers and/or with "weed whackers" cut down recovering river bottom plant life in a swath along the "trail" as soon as it begin to get over a few inches in height. To the rear or right side (first and second slide, respectively) was the natural bottom forest vegetation that was re-establishing by secondary succession following street construction six years ago.

Uncut (recovering vegetation) was dominated by elderberry wih some younger shoots of mustang grape plus Scribner's rosette panicgrass (Panicum scribnerium) and globose caric-sedge (Carex bulbostylis) with some Canada wildrye . Cut vegetaion was a combination of the short stubble of Scribner's rosette panicgrass and globose caric-sedge much of which were dead or dying. The short green material was made up of the winter rosettes of Scribner's rosette panicgrass which were low enough that mowers and other cutting implements passed over these lower plant parts. Nonetheless, continued short mowing (severe defoliation) had prevented re-establishment of most native plants including, even much of the rosette panicgrass and all of shrubs and trees.

Your tax dollars at work.

Earth County, Texas. Late March.

Oh, it got worse than this. Stay tuned.

Major and Miscellaneous Range Plants

Some of the major range plants on the climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan that developed on the Bosque River floodplain were presented in the section following.

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280. Native brome on bottomland land- Hairy or woodland brome or bromegrass (Bromus purgans= B. pubescens) on floor of floodplain hardwood forest on floodplain of Bosque River. The first photograph showed a small, local colony of hairy wood brome growing in shade of (at one time or the other during daylight) pecan, black walnut, cedr elm, sugarberry, and red mulberry. Second photograph was a typical panicle of hairy brome in this restricted population.

This was a rather rare find because hairy wood brome is not a common range plant in the Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area. This is undoubtedly largely due to acreage limitations. Even prior to appearance of European man mixed hardwood bottomland forests comprised a small fraction of natural vegetation in this area. Now almost all of this range type that remains has been severely degraded due to numerous disturbances including farming (more in the past), overgrazing, elimination of fire, and real estate developments. Even with that, it is also a fact that this has been more-or-less overlooked by professional workers in this area. For example, the definitive authority for grasses in the Cross Timbers-Prairie area (Highnight et al., 1988) failed to include Bromus pubescens as also did Gould (1962, 1975) in the checklist of Texas plants. Woodland brome probably still persist in this area only in small parcels of relict vegetation like that treated in this section.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, milk to soft-dough phenological stage.

281. Hairy details- Views showing node and internode along with spikelets of hairy wood brome in herbaceous vegetation of a on sugarberry-cedar elm-pecn bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of Bosque River. Observe the dense though short pubescence on spikelets as well as shoot.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, milk to soft-dough phenological stage.

282. Uncommon assembly at peak performance- Local stand of hairy woodland brome on upper back bank of Bosque River. Extremely large shoots and, as it turned out, a tremendous yeld of grain. Lufkin folding rule was extended to 60 inches.Hairy woodland brome is a marvelously high forage-producing, native, cool-season, perennial grass-- and a beautiful species. This shoot growth and heavy grain yield was produced in a fairly dry spring to boot; it was likely that rains fell at "just the right time".

Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, peak anthesis stage of phenology.

283. Hairy, bromey spikelets- A few of the spikelets off of one of the panicles from the local popultion of hairy or Canada wood brome shown immediately above. Spikelets were place on decomposing trunk of pecan in order to get a steady, non-winnblown shot. The arrangement of larspikelets in large drooping panicles insures that the entire inflorescence--not to mention anthers--move dramatically (often violently) with the slightest breeze breeze even in this bottomland forest.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-May; peak anthesis.

284. Burdened down- Weight of heavy spikelets even at anthesis resulted in the drooping of this panicle on hairy woodland brome. This example was found on bluffs above Modoc Creek in the western Ozark (Springfield) Plateau. of eastern Oklahoma. It was a different ecotype from that in northcentral Texas, but same species as on Bosque River floodplain.

Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Early June.

285. Tried for a closer-in view- These were beautiful (nearly perfect) slides of a portion of panicle with spikelets at anthesis in hairy woodland brome, luckily taken between breezes, before Epson "Perfection" 600 scanner botched them up (total FUBAR). There are no really good scanners out there, but Epson "Perfection" is a perfect Madison Avenue sales scam and Wall Street confidence game. Do not buy Epson products. Too late for this author, but others were warned to stay away.

Anyhow, maybe viewers can get the idea.

Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Early June.

286. An uncommon assembly- Stand of Canada or hairy wood brome (Bromus pubescens= B. purgans) on the upper bank of Dry Branch draining into Bosque River. This native perennial bromegrass has a species range extending from south to Florida and westward to Texas. Plants in this stand had attained a height of approximately one yard or slightly more.

Due to the heavy hand of white man weedy annual Bromus species introduced from Eurasian (and now naturalized in much of North American) are much more common than this native perennial species. This robust festucoid grass (one of the author's favorites) grows on more mesic habitats along streams; generally rather above them and typically not in the riparian zone. For example, Canada or hairy wood brome grows on relict sugar maple (Acer saaccharum)-basswood (Tillia americana) forests that develop along bluffs aligned beside streams in the Ozark Plateau (examples of this grass on that forest range cover type were also shown in Range Types with the Oak-Hickory Forest under Wooodlands and Forests).

Hairy wood brome is relatively rare in Texas' Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area (this stand was an exhilirating and m ost rewarding occasion), but its presence on (above) Bosque River along with other diagnostic species like bois d'arc, red mulberry, and black walnut showed the ecological affinity of the sugarberry-pecan-cedar bottomland forest type with riverine forests far to the north such as those from northern Kansas show above. This species has historically not been shown to grow in the Cross Timbers and Prairies area. Such highly respected works as Gould (1962), Gould (1975), Hignight et al. (1988) failed to include B. pubsecens (B. purgans) in this vegetational or land resource area.

Erath County, Texas. January.

287. Brome above the Bosque- Plants of the native perennial Bromus pubescens (= B. purgans) on a bank high above an ephemeral stream (Dry Branch) draining into Bosque River in West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas.

Erath County, Texas. January; early basal leaf stage of current season's growth.

288. Young leaaves- Features of early basal leaves in Canada or hairy wood brome on floor of a sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm bottomland forest. Basis of the common name adjective, hairy, and the specific epithet, pubescens, was evident in this close-up photograph of leaves of the plant shown in the immediately preceding photograph (second slide of the above two-slide set).

Plants were growing during a Severe drought (Palmer scale rating) at time of photographs, but warmer-than-typical temperatures had amellorated some of the reduction and delayed growth of leaves. Native plants simply are not as adversely impacted by stresses due to abnormal growing conditions to the extent that agronomic and horticultural species are.

Erath County, Texas. January; early basal leaf stage (leaves ranged from three to six inches in length).

289. Last year's and this year's- Young basal leaves of the current cool-growing season of hairy wood brome overlaid with some fallen branches of last year's panicle. Details of new leaves and spikelets showed distinctly. The spikelets presented in these two photographs appeared to have their full yield of florets there having been little grain-shattering during a drought of Moderate to Severe rating (Palmer Index). The three to five florets per spikelet were at the lower end of that cited for this species by Barkworth et al. (2003, p. 220). Leaf growth (number of leaves and lengths of them) was somewhat less than that in a year of more typical precipitation, but there was not as much reduction as might be expected due to warmer temperatures.

Erath County, Texas. January; early basal leaf stage (leaves ranged from three to six inches in length).

290. Hanging high above the Bosque- Portion of a panicle of hairy wood brome showing secondary panicle branches (first photograph) followed by detailed view of the two centermost spikelets (second photograph). Canada brome has fewer florets per spikelet--typically four to ten (Barkworth et al., 2007, p. 220)--than many of the Bromus species, especially the more common annuals. Some of the florets had been shed from spikelets presented in these slides whereas other spikelets (such as those shown in the immediately preceding photographs) appeared to have their full complement of florets. All of these slides were taken in early winter following one of the driest dormant periods of this species (Moderate to Severe rating drought from summer through autumn) in recent decades. Thus there was less precipitation, wind, etc. to shatter grains.

Erath County, Texas. January.

291. Herbaceous dominant- Sexual shoots of a robust plant of Canada or nodding wildrye (first photograph) growing on the floodplain (second terrace) of Bosque River. The was the first dominant (broadleaf woodoats being a close second-place dominant) of the herbaceous layer of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest. Warm, wet weather throughout winter to early spring enabled nodding wildrye to produce an unusually high proportion of shoots that progressed to sexual reproduction. Many large, caryopsis-filled spikes (like the two shown in the second photograph) resulted in a abundant grain crop.

Canada wildrye is one of the most imporrtant native cool-season grasses in the immense region of tallgrass prairie and associated oak-hickory-tallgrass savanna, including the Western Cross Timbers-Prairies area where this bottomland forest range had developed. All of the standard flora and grass manuals have good botanical descriptions of Canada or nodding wildrye. Barkworth et al. (2007, ps. 303-305) was the most up-to-date and the North American "grasss bible" for years to come (even though the "King James equivalent" probably will always remain Hitchcock and Chase [1950, p. 260-261]). From a Range Management perspective the classics Range Plant Handbook (Forest Service, 1940, G50) and Pasture & Range Plants (Phillips Petroleum Company, 1963, p. 35) remain two of the best. Also recommended from the range plant view was Bush (2005). Genetic studies of nodding wildrye included those by Sanders and Hamrick (1980) and Saha et al. (2009).

The common name of Canada wildrye was obviously derived from the commerative specific epithet. Equally obvious from these two slides was origin of the common name, nodding wildrye.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Late May; peak shoot biomass, late stage of anthesis.

292. Sexy details of the dominant- Close-in views of a large spike of Canada or nodding wildrye produced on the second terrace of Bosque River following warm, wet weather from winter through early spring. In nodding wildrye there are typically two to three spikelets per rachis node with two to four florets in each spikelet (Barkworth et al, 2007, ps. 303). Large spikes with several flowers per spikelet and an abundant crop of pollen in this wet year later resulted in a high grain yield from Canada wildrye plants in the understorey of the sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest described herein

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Late May; peak anthesis stage.

293. Associate grass species- Sand lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes) was a third important native, perennial grass of the mixed-hardwood, bottomland forest along this stretch of Bosque River. Sand lovegrass was clearly an associate grass compared to Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats, but this eragrostoid grass was a local dominant. Plus it was a C4 and warm-season species, two features much more common among grass species in this southcentral region of North America.

In the first of these two "photoquadrants" sand lovegrass was joined by the two dominant cool-season grasses. In the second "photoquadrant" the "phyto-escorts" were a seedling of cedar elm as woody cohort along with an herbaceous component of pigeon-berry and horsepen or straggle daisy (Calyptocarpus vialis).

Erath County, Texas. October, peak standing crop and ripening grain stage of sand lovegrass.

294. An example of its kind- Sand lovegrass on the floodplain of Bosque River with some broadleaf woodoats behind. The panicle of this species can sometimes account for two-thirds of shoot length. Erath County, Texas. October, peak standing crop with ripe grain.

295. Spikelets on sandstone- Tiny spikelets of sand lovegrass lying against the parent material of Cross Timbers soils. Sand lovegrass usually has four to 18 florets (Gould, 1975, p. 185). These spikelets were gathered from the plants shown in the preceding slide.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. October, grain-ripe stage.

Additional data for description of this mixed hardwood-perennial grass bottomland range: quantatitve description of this tract of climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan-grass was published by Rosiere et al. (2013). That work was limited to the forest community which developed along the main channel of BosqueRriver. A limited--and unpublished--analysis of the understorey of this hardwood-grass forest immediately above (on the first terrace of) Dry Branch, a tributary of Bosque River, at confluence of the primary and secondary streams was conducted by R.E. Rosiere subsequent to the previously reported investigation. Forest understorey of Dry Branch differed from understorey along the main stem of Bosque River in that hairy woodland brome was a major component species of the herbaceous layer of the tributary whereas this native, cool-season, perennial grass was absent on banks and terraces above the main channel of Bosque River.

Composition--at peak standing crop of all cool-season grasses as determined by the step point procedure used by Rosiere et al. (2013)--of the forest understorey (both herbaceous and lowr shrub layers) along Dry Branch was shown in this table.

Table 1- Percent composition of the herbaceous and shrub understorey of a mixed hardwood-grass bottomland forest range determined at peak standing crop stage of cool-season perennial grasses (May 2013) on the first terrace of Dry Branch, a tributary of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas.

It should be noted from this table that at higher elevational portions of this floodplain forest community the herbaceous layer of its understorey had hairy wood brome as an associate to the dominant Canada or nodding wildrye. In this sampled area (above a tributary of Bosque River) of a climax mixed hardwood-grass bottomland forest range Bromus purgans was the second most abundant herbaceous species. Hairy wood brome had three times more foliar cover than broadleaf woodoats. This latter grass species was overall (averaged throughout the entire forest community) the associate up to co-dominant (to Canada wildrye) herbaceous species. Previous work in this same tract of climax forest (Rosiere et al., 2013) evaluated forest vegetation only along the main channel of Bosque River. That previous study did not include portions of the range plant community that were higher (farther) up on the forest drainage (catchment) or along trubutaries of Bosque River.

296. Other specimens not grazed out- A local population (first slide) and a large individual plant (second slide) of three-flower melic growing on the immediate bank of Bosque River. Three-flower melic has short rhizomes (Barkworth et al., 2007, ps. 100-101) so it was possible that some of the shoots and, even, clumps of shoots in this population were clonal units. Plants (inc,luding clonal units or modules) of three-flower made up almost all of the herbaceous layer of a sugrberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest. These plants grew closest to trees of pecan and eastern cottonwood on what decades earlier had been a small area of disturbance created by forces known but to God.

Three-flower melic is generally regarded as an extremely palatable forage species, but it is not a major forage producer escept at local scale as shown here. There is next to nothing about this species in the scientific literature beyond standard taxonomic treatment.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April; peak development and biomass of shoots, peak anthesis.

297. Panicle on the bank- Sexual shoot with large panicle (first slide) and overall view of panicle (second slide) of three-flower melic on a large clonal plant gfrowing on immediate bank of Bosque River. These slides viewed together with the next two slides demonstrated the compound branching pattern of this species.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-April; peak stage of pollination.

298. Spikelets of two more than three- Although "three-flower" melic is appropriately named for most areas where plants of this species have spikelets mostly with three florets (Hitchccock and Chase, 1950,, p. 201) and , rarely, four (Barkworth et al, 2007, p. 100), this is not the case for most plants in Texas where spikelets more commonly have only two florets (so that the adjective "three-flower" is misleading [Gould, 1975, p. 64]). If one knows what to look for at an in-the-field, naked-eye view it can be readily seen in these slides that there are, in fact, only two florets in these spikelets.

Another instructive feature of florets presented in these two photographs was exertion of both stigmas and anthers. The compound branching pattern of three-flower melic was evident when these photographs were viewed in conjuction with the two imediately preceding phtographs of the entire panicle of this species.

Three-flower melic is a particularily showy native grass that makes a fine choice for landscaping with native plants. Three-flower melid is absolutely gorgeous when in flower as was readily seen from examples seen herein. It is also an extremely valuable forage species as noted earlier.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April; full-flower stage of phenology.

299. Phytomers portrayed- Phytomers--the fundamental unit of the grass shoot consisting of two parts of consecutive nodes and the internode between them--of three-flower melic on the bank of Bosque River in understorey of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest.. Leaf blades, leaf sheaths, and leaf axil featured in slides one, two, and three, respectively.

Band of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late April; peak shoot development and biomass.

Winter burnback- Winter shoots, including basal leaves, of three-flower melic showing freeze damage of this cool-season species. This particular plant was growing in northeastern Oklahoma in a big bluestem(Andropogon gerardii)-black oak (Quercus velutina) savanna in the western Sprngfield Plateau. In the warmer winters of northcentral Texas three-flower melic usually does dot have cold damage to this extent though such dmaage and resultant damage does take place.

Ottawa County, Oklahoma.Late January.

300. First responders- Red sprangletop (Leptochloa filiformis), in foreground, and, in right background, cutleaf or lanceleaf groundcherry (Physalis angulata) growing on denuded soil of Bosque River. This river bank had been plowed and scraped by earth-moving equipment bank for street construction approximately three and a half months prior to time of photograph which was near later stage of the first warm-growing following destruction. These two annual species are typical pioneer species in old field (secondary) plant succession.

Other typical annual species that pioneered the denuded creek bank included hairy crabgrass (Digitrtia sanguinalis), buffalo-bur (Solanum rostratum), giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida), lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), and Palmer's pigweed (Amaranthus palmerii). Secondary sucession at this location was treated above. Most of these early colonizers are common on partially denuded or habitually disturbed land, red sprangletop is even more of a disturbance-obligate species as it is more restricted to more devestated (severely degraded) land. For esample, hairy crabgrass thrives on overmowed lawns and heavily pastured barnyards, but red sprangletop seems to need greater disturbance such as plowed ground, at least in the area being considered here.

Erath County, Texas. Late October; peak standing crop and immature grain stage.

301. An annual for disturbed river bottom- Shoots of red sprangletop that colonized plowed ground along the bank of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Red sprangletop is a tall, rank-growing, cespitose, eragrostoid grass. Specimens shown in these photographs exceeded three and a half feet in height (the panicle-bearing shoot in the first slide was bent over for photographic purposes). Both of these plants were growing on plowed and graded land on the bank of Bosque River at end of first warm-growing season following tillage.

Although red sprangletop is a typical weedy annual grass (much like the crabgrasses) it commonly grows to such large size--of whole plant as well as leaves/culms-- that it furnishs an abundance of fairly high-quality feed that it has good forage value for cattle and horses. Its livestock forage value and adaptation to colonize drastically disturbed land renders red sprangletop a desirable grass for flood-prone areas like the mixed hardwood bottomland forest recently devestated by careless construction workers on which these plants were growing.

Erath County, Texas. Late October (first slide) and mid-September (second slide); peak standing crop and immature grain stage.

302. Notable panicle- Overall view of sexual shoots (first slide) and features of panicles (second slide) of red sprangletop that grew on tilled soil along the bank of Bosque River. Red sprangletop has textbook characteristics of an r-selected species with a high allocation of its resources directed to ssexual reproduction. The large panicle of this annual bunchgrass commonly makes up one-third to over half of total shoot length.

In addition to desirable features of this generally large-sized annual grass (described in the preceding caption) the showy "over-sized" panicle makes this native species an attractive plant.

Erath County, Texas. Late October and immature grain stage (first slide); early September and mature (ripe) grain stage (second slide). Note that different plants of this annual species completed their life cycle at different points (dates) of time in the warm-growing season.

303. Another pioneering grass- Common witchgrass or witchgrass (Panicum capillare) is an native annual panicgrass--and not to be confused with fall witchgrass (Leptoloma cognatum)--that is a first invader of disturbed, especially drastically disturbed land such as that devegetated by tillage, extremely intense fire, heavy traffic, or extreme overgrazing. Witchgrass is thus a fellow colonizing species with the various crabgrasses, all of which are naturalized exotics; giant ragweed and horseweed or mare's tail, native annual composites; lambsquarters, a naturalized Eurasian chenopod; buffalobur, a native annual nightshade; and Texas millet, a fellow native panicgrass which unlike the previously listed is typically restricted to the deeper south of North America.(An example of colonization by these annual species of cleared land on bank of Bosque River was presented above.)

Along with the annual herbs just listed, witchgrass is the quitessential pioneering or colonizing species. All these species are textbook examples of r-selected species. Like the other annual pioneer grasses, witchgrass is fair to good in forage value depending on animal species. It is quite palatable to cattle and horses, especially at less mature states of maturity.

Witchgrass commonly breaks off at shoot bases so that the plant is blown to-and-fro across the land as a "tumble-weed" thereby dispersing seeds for the next crop of this annual grass, the opportunities for establishment varying from the next growing season to decades later when conditions are again favorable for this opportunistic, colonizing species.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-September, peak-bloom stage.

304. A pioneer plant up close- Details of leaves, clums, and panicles of the witchgrass plant that was introduced in the immediately preceding slide. The broad leaves of this annual panicoid grass are typically somewhat tattered by late season. The large-diameter culm is relatively weak and readily broken apart by weathering and decomposition so that it breaks off to become a "tumble-weed" with wind serving as a primary grain dispersal agent (anemochory).

Erath County, Texas. Mid-September, peak-bloom stage.

305. Another actor- Scheele's or southwestern bristlegrass (Setaria scheelei) is a widespread species, but one that is characteristically abundant only at local scale. Scheele's bristlegrass is adapted to a variety of soils and topographies, but it is most prevalent at upper elevations of stream floodplains where it frequently grows in large exclusive populations. Scheele's bristlegrass is well-adapted to the partial shade of woodland and savanna communities. The specimens shown here were growing beneath sugarberry and cedar elm on the upper terrace of a small river.

Erath County, Texas, Bosque River floodplain. Early October; mature, adult plants at soft- to hard-dough (of grain) phenological stage.

306. Typical specimen- This plant served as a good example of the general habit and overall features of southwestern or Scheele's bristlegrass, a panicoid that does well in open forest to savanna vegetation such as that which develops in the Cross Timbers and Edwards Plateau.

Erath County, Texas, Bosque River floodplain. Early October; mature, adult plants at soft- to hard-dough (of grain) phenological stage.

307. Partly shaded- Sexual shoots and the partly contracted panicles of Scheele's or southwestern bristlegrass growing beneath the canopy of sugarbgerry and cedar elm on the highest terrace of a small river in northcentral Texas.

Erath County, Texas, Bosque River floodplain. Early October; mature, adult plants at soft- to hard-dough (of grain) phenological stage.

308. Produced above Bosque River- Two inflorescences of Scheele's or southwestern bristlegrass produced under partial shade on outskirts of a bottomland hardwood forest. Shaw (2012, p.880) described the inflorescence of Setaria species as "a slender, ususlly contracted and densely flowered, bristly panicle...".

Erath County, Texas, Bosque River floodplain. Early October; full-grown panicles with spikelets in late anthesis.

309. Down to green spikelets- General view of spikelet arrangement and (in second or lower slide) a close-in look at those spikelets in anthesis of southwestern or Scheele's bristlegrass. These orgns grew and developed to maturity under partial shade of sugarberry and cedar elm on the upper terrace of a small river in northcentral Texas.

Shaw ( 2012, p. 893) noted that the relatively large grains of southwestrn birstlegrass have been regarded as good feeed for wildlife.

Erath County, Texas, Bosque River floodplain. Early October; full-grown panicles with spikelets in late anthesis.

310. Phytomer features- Phytomer, one node to node unit of a grass shoot including the one internode and attendant leaf, of Scheele's or wouthwestern bristlegrass.

Erath County, Texas, Bosque River floodplain. Early October; mature, adult plants at soft- to hard-dough (of grain) phenological stage.

311. .Showy representative of the grasslike group- Strawcolored flat sedge growing on bank of Bosque River. This species of umbrella sedge is a cespitose perennial with a large species range (Diggs et al., 1999, p. 1136). This individual was growing in the understorey of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan floodplain forest on the bank of Bosque River.

Erath County, Texas. Early September; immediate anthesis phase of otherwise full-bloom stage.

312. Beauty of a compound, umbel-resembling panicle- Panicluate units (groups of) spikelets (first photograph) and spikelets (second photograph) of strawcolored flat sedge or false nut-sedge. These floral units were on the same plant as introduced in the immediately preceding set of slides.

Bank of tributary of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early September; immediate anthesis phase of otherwise full-bloom stage.

313. A confusing arrangement- An entire and atypical inflorescence of strawcolored unbrella sedge with primary and secondary peduncles above long, spreading leaves subtending it (first slide) and a unit of secondary peduncles (second slide) of this umbrella sedge. The key field identification feature of this Cyperus species is the yellow coloration and long, narrow spikelets. However in these specimens there was a division of longer pednucles with groups of spikelets at bottom of the inflorescence that then branched into shorter peduncles which also bore floral (spikelet) units. The only Cyperus species in this area that has this compound branching was C. elegans which has distinctly different spikelets from C. strigosus. C. strigosus does not develop such a secondary branching pattern Diggs et al. (1999, 1136), but these plants possessed this morphological feature. This pattern was similar to that of umbels; in this instance, umbel-resembling units arising from and situated above lower umbel-like arrangements. This author wondered if these plants could be hybrids between C. elegans, which was reported for this locality by Diggs et al. (1999, p. 1136) and C. strigosus which is extremely common throughout the eastern half of Texas (Diggs et al., 1999, p. 1144).

Erath County, Texas. Late September, full bloom phenological stage.

314. Not exactly straw-colored- Shoot bases of strawcolored flat or umbrella sedge (known also as false nut-sedge) growing in the main channel of Bosque River. Erath County, Texas. Late September, full-bloom phenological stage.

315. Cariced southerner- Southern caric sedge (Carix austrina) was one of several Carex species in the understorey of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest range. This caric sedge was presented here with at least (a minimum of) four plants in the first slide . The second slide provided a closer view of a larger specimen of C. austrina.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April (first slide) and late April (second and third slide); peak shoot development, maximum biomass, and full-bloom phenological stage.

316. Southern spikes- Spike inflorescences of southern caric sedge. There was a total of five spikes in these three slides of C. austrina. This Carex species is in subgenus, Vignea.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Late April, peak shoot development, full-bloom phenological stage.

317. Tried for another view- Another spike inflorescence of southern caric sedge. Why tried, and why the "brighted out"? Epson Perfection 600 scanner that's why. All scanners are only partially effective in scanning images that have a green or blue object in foreground and orange-, yellow-, or tan-colored backgrounds such as leaf cover. Epson Perfection obviously had trouble with this such image (and various others as the author tried to show throughout this publication).

Anyway, there were probably enough images presented here that viewers can get the general idea of inflorescence/spikelet details of Carex austrina.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April, peak shoot development, full-bloom phenological stage.

318. Selective herbivory and another sedge- A cespitose plant of globose caric sedge (Carex bulbostylis) to left of a young, pole-sized sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) the bark of which had been eaten by beaver (Castor canadensis) on the upper bank of Bosque River in northcentral Texas. Sugrberry was the "number one" dominant of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of Bosque River. There were three major Carex species that grew in the herbaceous layer of this forest range. These three Carex species were presented in this section of a chapter devoted to Miscellaneous Forests (forest range cover types).

Bark consumption by beaver to exclusion of the herbaceous globose caric sedge was an example of selective feeding. One plant species was fed on (browsed) while another plant species was untouched by the bark-feeding herbivore. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) appeared to have eaten the extreme tips of a few shoots of globose caric sedge. It could not be determined definitively if this grazing had been by deer or rodents, but deer tracks in the moist soil strongly implicated deer rather than rodents or insects.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April, immediate post-anthesis phenological stage.

319. Globose all around- A single, cespitose plant of globose caric sedge growing on the floor of a climax mixed hardwood (sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan) forest in floodplain of a small river in northcentral Texas. This was a different plant from the one in the preceding slide that was growing beside a young sugarberry. This second plant was growing in close proxomity to the previously presented plant. This perspective was primarily a topdown view of the caric secge plant. Dead branch on ground to left of sedge was one of pecan.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April, immediate post-anthesis phenological stage.

320. Plump ones on a river bottom- A closer-in view of shoots (mostly leaves and spike inflorescence) shown in first slide and a detailed view of the spike (presented in second slide) of globose caric sedge on the floor of a mixed hardwood (sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan) river bottom forest. These two images were of the same plant as shown in the immediately preceding slide.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April, immediate post-anthesis phenological stage.

321. Sedge named after a grass- Local stand of fescue-like caric sedge (Carex festucacea) on the greater floodplain of a small river in northcentral Texas. Whereas C. austrina (presented immediately above) occurred in widely scattered patches of a few plants, C. festucacea grew in large, expansive areas over the same bottomland forest range.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April (first photograph) and late April (second photograph); peak shoot development, maximum biomass, and full-bloom phenological stage.

322. Another perspective- Part of a stand at local scale of fescue-like caric sedge on the outer part of a floodplain along a small river in the Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area of northcentral Texas. Unlike most species of Carex, C. festucacea on this bottomland habitat grew in an extensive population across this floodplain of a mixed hardwood forest range.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Late April, peak shoot development, maximum biomass, and full-bloom phenological stage.

323. Business end- Sexual shoots with spike inflorescences of fescue-like caric sedge on a mixed hardwood bottomland forest range. Carex festucacea has one of the larger and showier spike infloresscences. These made a good teaching example for beginning Range Management students.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Late April, peak shoot development, maximum biomass, and maturing fruit (achene) phenological stage.

324. Crowd of spikes- Numerous spike inflorescences of fescue-like caric sedge on the greater floodplain of Bosque River. This species of caric sedge often covered comparatively extensive areas of the land surface of this forest range. Fescue-like caric sedge was a major rather than an incidental range plant in this bottomland forest vegetation which was contrast to other Carex species in this herbaceous understorey. C. festucacea is in genus, Vignea.

Erath County, Texas. Late April, immature achene stage of phenology.

325. A couple of flowering beauties- Two spikes of fescue-like caric sedge at anthesis. These large inflorescences were growing on the outer edge of a floodplain mixed hardwood floodplain forest dominated by sugarberry and cedar elm.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-April, peak anthesis stage of phenology.

326. Grass friend of grass-named sedge- Part of a large local population of little barley (Hordeum pusillum), a native, cool-season, annual grass, that grew in association with the population of fescue-like caric sedge presented immediately above. (For that reason this grass species was included here with the grasslike plants rather than above with other grasses.) Weather and soil conditions had been ideal for this grass species in this location during much of the currrent spring resulting in a spectacular showing of this range plant. The Nikon FM was there to record it for loyal viewers. Hope ya'll catch some of the same enjoyment that your author did photographing did bringing it to you.

While crops of native or naturalized annuals are much like an oil field boom or bust phenomenon, biomass or herbage (thus, potential forage production) can be nothing short of phenomenal in "good years". This is expecially the case on fertile, well-watered bottomland such as that seen here.

Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April; soft-dough phenological stage.

327. Little barley on bottomland- Portion of a large stand or local population of little barley above Bosque River is a spring that was extremely favorable for this native annual grass. Although some authors such as Hatch and Pluhar (1993) regarded little barley as having forage value rated as Poor for both livestock and wildlife, this is unquestionably not the case for the comparatively brief period when herbage of little barley is lush and before it turns to straw. This case is much the same as for domestic small grains pasture, including domestic barley (Hordeum vulgare). If soil moisture conditions are favorable little barley can provide green feed throughout late autumn through early spring in areas such as northcentral Texas as seen here. Obviously "little" barley produces less herbage than larger-growing species in the barley or wheat tribe (Hordeae or Tritaceae).

Erath County, Texas. Mid-April; soft-dough phenological stage.

328. Big spikes on little annuals- Spikes of little barley on plants growing beside fescue-like caric sedge on the upper terrace of Bosque River floodplain.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-April; soft-dough phenological stage.

329. Tickled Tweedy- Tweedy tick-clover or tick-trefoil (Desmodium tweedyi) growing on outer margin of the sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that developed on the Bosque River floodplain. A number of plants of this species were growing at higher elevations above the river bottom on habitat similar to that of woodland or hairy wood borme. This is a beautiful species of native legume. Diggs et al. (1999, ps.655-656) listed twelve Desmodium species in their Flora of Northcentral Texas. The coloration pattern of the oblong to rhomboid trifoliate leaflets make this one of the most distinctive of these species.

All Desmodium species should be regarded as extremely palatable to almost all ruminants. A local herd of white-tailed deer routinely fed in this bottomland forest range and the author had difficulty finding sexual shoots of this species that had not been grazed off by these deer. (God provides: all shots of this species were "quail and manna from Heaven".)

Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, phenology varied from full bloom to ripening fruit.

330. Tweedly bloom- Inflorescence of Tweedy tick-clover or tick-trefoil. This plant was growing at a high point of the floodplain of Bosque River at outer edge of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan forest. Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, full-bloom phenological stage.

331. Ticked up- Upper part of shoot of Tweedy's tick-clover bearing legumes. Desmodium species are in the same tribe, Hedysareae, as peanuts (Arachis spp.). Seeds of the tick-trefoil species have a peanut-like flavor. Bosque River floodplain, Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, fruit-ripening phenological stage.

332. Tickled twice- Sessileleaf tick-clover or sessileleaf tick-trefoil (Desmodium sessillfolium) growing on the perimeter of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest. This plant was growing at the outermost edge of a mixed hardwood forest that was advancing (invading) an old field (abandoned cropland). Its more abundant herbaceous neighbors were Johnsongrass and purpletop.This was location was about 40 steps from the outermost bank of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-September, peak-bloom stage.

333. Sessiled on forest's edege- Details of inflorescence (flower cluster) and papilionaceous flowers of sessileleaf tick-clover that was growing at the advancing edge of sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that was invading an old field. This was the same plant that was presented in the preceding slide.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-September, peak-bloom stage.

334. Alien forb in the Bosque Bottoms- Hedge parsley (Torillis arvensis), an annual Eurasian weed of the Umbelliferae, was the locally dominant forb in understorey of an elm (cedar and American)-pecan-sugarberry climax lowland forest. Plants of this species were at this stage of development in mid-spring. In a matter of a few more weeks these plants would be dead. The dead, fruit-bearing stalks remained to shed their tight-sticking schizocarps throughout summer and into autumn to start the life cycle of this naturalized cool-season species all over again.

Above the Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. May; full-bloom stage of phenology.

335. Texas nightshade (Solanum triquetrum)- This distinctive forb was an occasional member of the herbaceous component of the sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm bottomland forest along Bosque River. Texas nightshade is much less common than other Solanum species of which there are three that commonly grow on Cross Timbers and Grand Prairie ranges in this area.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. November.

336. Inflorescences of Texas nightshade- Details of flowers of a member of the Solonaceae that was frequently associated with such herbaceous species as broadleaf woodoats, Canada wildrye, frostweed, white four o'clock, and giant ragweed.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-November.

337. Two of a family- Pokeberry or pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), at left, and pigeon-berry or pigeonberry (Rivina humilis), at right, in understorey of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest on the floodplain of Bosque River in West Cross Timbers. Phytolacaceae is a small family, mostly of forbs, in North America with only 11 species according to Flora of North America. Two of the major species frequently grew side-by-side on this mixed hardwood forest range. Other plant species in this "photo-plot" included hairy crabgrass, sideoats grama, and Johnsongrass.

Erath County, Texas. Late September.; fruit-ripe stage in pokeberry and full-bloom stage in pigeonberry.

338. Pigeon-berry (Rivina humilis)- Whole plant of pigeon-berry in pre-bloom stage. Along with frostweed (= white crownbeard) and giant ragweed, pigeon-berry was a major warm-season forb on the sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm bottomland forest that developed along Bosque River. This perennial forb was also well-represented in parts of this forest high above the river. It grew in both climax herbaceous communities dominated by Canada wildrye and/or broadleaf woodoats as well as in recently disturbed local sites where it was commonly associated with giant ragweed.

There is considerable variation in size of individuals of this species. This specimen was about two and a half feet tall. Plants of pigeon-berry (a member of the Phytolaccaceae) in this bottomland forest were much smaller than those of the large (and much less abundant) pokeberry or pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) that also grew in this herbaceous undertstorey.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early November.

339. Prime age- Adult plant of pigeon-berry at mid-bloom stage on floor of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest. Floodplain (bank) of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-May.

340. Pigeon-berries in the making- Upper shoot (first photograph) and inflorescence at peak bloom (second photograph) of pigeon-berry (Rivina humilis). These slides were of a plant neighboring the plant shown in the preceding slide. Both were growing in the herbaceous layer of a sugarberry-cedr elm-pecan bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers. Erath County, Texas. Mid-May, peak-bloom stage.

341. Floodplain flower and fruit- Flower cluster and small cluster of berries (fruit type) of pigeon-berry in a mixed hardwood floodplain forest dominated by sugrberry, cedar elm, and pecan. The phenomenon of apical dominance was evident in this shoot in which the apical flower cluster had developed maturing fruit while the lower inflorescence did not bloom until fruit from the first inflorescence was ripening to point of fruit drop. One likely explanation for this patttern of sexual reproduction was that late summer/early autumn rains that fell after a dry spring/summer period permitted a second "flush" of flowering.

Like most range plants pigeon-berry has to be at least partially opportunistic. Instead of "making hay while the sun shines" it makes fruit when the rains come. Pigeon-berry is a perennial of the Phytolaccaceae or pokeberry family. According to Diggs et al. (1999, p. 882) the leaves and, especially, the roots of pigeon-berry are poisonous with the berries having been implicated as being somewhat toxic though not fatally poisonous, but Burrows and Tyrl (2013, ps. 864-869), the current "bible" of toxic plants in North America did not include Rivina humilis as a poisonous plant. This author, who loves poke greens (and knows how to prepare them), would not hesitate to eat greens from this related species.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-October; full-bloom and ripening fruit phenological stages.

342. Sexual shoots of pigeon-berry- Details of leaves and fruit of pigeon-berry growing in the understorey of a sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm bottomland forest. The fruit was interpreted as a berry by Diggs et al.(1999, p. 881) with a single seed per fruit (the ovary is unilocular but with only one basal ovule). This appeared as a contradictary description. Smith (1977, p. 290) defined berry as "a multiseeded, inndehiscent fruit in which the pericarp is fleshy [soft] thoughout" . Fernald (1950, p. 606) provided a more coherent description when it was explained that in Phytolaccceae the ovary was multi-locular and consisted of numerous carpels arranged in a ringlike structure all of which formed a berry.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early November; fruit-ripe phenological stage.

Sunshine and cloudy- Presented below were five sets of paired photographs of giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) taken within a few minutes (sometimes only a matter of seconds) of each other. In the first three paired comparisons there were two slides: one above the other with the first or upper slide having been taken with cloud cover, under a cloudy sky (large cumulus cloud between subject and the sun), and the second or lower of the two photographs having been taken under a bright, no-overcast, no-cloud sky. In the fourth and fifth set of paired slides the fourth two-slide/caption unit had two slides taken under the no-cloud, no overcast, bright sky while the fifth two-slide/caption unit had two slides taken under a cloudy sky (ie. shade conditions when a cumulus cloud came between the subject and the sun).

These paired photographs were all taken within about one/half hour at about 1400 hours on an early autumn afternoon (in late September) on the south bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. A few "puffy white" cumulus clouds were moving around in the sky "coming and going" between the sun and a stand of individual plants of giant ragweed. The photographer took several photographs of giant ragweed while standing at the same "photographic post" (from a given or fixed location) both under "full sun" and in "shade" (when a cumulus cloud passed between the sun and the photographic point for a given paired comparison. For some photographic paired comparisons the photographer had to move slightly when he first took a photograph "in shade" and then discovered, when preparing to take a "full-sun" shot, that his (or a tree's) shadow was going to be in the photograph. Otherwise "sun" and "shade" shots were taken from the same "photographic footstool".

The objectives of this paired comparison were to 1) compare clarity, detail, and general viewing quality under bright sunlight and cloud-produced shade and 2) to present the two extreme natural light alternatives to viewers (especially fellow photographers). Periodically, colleagues have told this photographer that under field (range or forest) conditions plants and specific plant details are presented to better advantage under some degree of overcast (cloud-shaded) conditions because there are fewer shadows, less glare, etc. Conversely, all photographers know that with more intense light photographs can have greater depth of field (because lower apertures can be used, and at the same shutter speed) and more detail can be "captured" in a photograph (again a function of depth of field plus crisper images are possible because camera shake--or wind-blown subjects--are less of a problem when the same shot can be taken at faster shutter speed).

From the comparisons (of this subject matter) showed below, it seemed to this photographer that--overall--slides of the stand of giant ragweed were superior when taken under cover of cumulus clouds. This was the case because plant details (definition, clarity) were more clear due, at least partly, to less light-glare and, at the same time, shallower, slightly less dark shadows.

Conversely, photographs of plant organs (leaves, in this comparison) were superior when taken under bright sunlight because greater detail was "caught on film". For example, veins or ribs (both mid-ribs /mid-veins and side-veins or lateral/diagonal ribs) of leaves appeared more prominently under "full-sun" (non-cloudy) conditions.

A final consideration was that of "real" or "natural" color of plant tissue under field conditions. The quickest of summary glances revealed that the green of giant ragweed herbage was considerably different under light with cloud-shade versus light with direct, bright "full-sun". Which is the--at least, closest to--the "real" or "correct" color? Perhaps both or, alternatively, neither under these light conditions. In this photographer's mind (or his "mind's-eye") the "greener-green" or lighter shade of green under direct sunlight (not under cloud cover) was more nearly the "actual" color of giant rageweed herbage (outer plant tissue) than the "bluish-green" seen in under-cloud-cover photographs. These slides were from Provia 100F film and, undoubtedly, Kodachrome 64 film would have more accfurately represented the "true" color of exterior or external (outer) tissue of giant ragweed. Even more in this regard was the situation that scanners--especially the Epson Perfection 700 apparatus (do not invest in one)--do not "catch" (reproduce color exactly the way it was on film).

"At any rate", each viewer can decide for himself. Matter of taste perhaps. Even in regards to matters of the "puriest pure science" of Physics and the physical phenomenon of chroma, beauty resides in the physiological (and the imaginative) eye of the human beholder.

343. Photogenic stand under two lights one way- Large local stand (population) of giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) growing on the bank of a small river in the Western Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. This population was shown in horizontal views under cloud cover (shade formed when a cumulus floated between the plants and the sun) in the first slide and under a "full-sun" sky (the cumulus cloud floated away an d did not block any of solar light) in the second slide. Results of this cloud-cover versus no cloud-cover paired-comparison experiment was discussed in the immediately preceding section. (Of course, viewers are free to make their own comparisons and reach their own conclusions.)

Also explained below was the phenomenon of r-selected species of which giant ragweed, a native annual with its large shoots of tall stems, broad leaves, and spreading inflorescences often produced in dense stands, is a textbook example.

Although giant ragweed is a classic example of an ecological invader or a pioneer species (colonizer) of denuded, severely disturbed habitats (tillage, overgazing, intensive logging, sacrifice areas, road-cuts, construction sites, etc.), this composite of the Heiantheae tribe provides both cover and feed for wildlife. Birds and even small furbearers eat its fruit (achenes). According to Tyrl et al., 2008, p. 259) analysis of prehistoric human coprolites (fossilized feces) indicated that Indians in North America consumed the tiny achenes of giant ragweed. Now that was "hard scramble" existence.

Giant ragweed has a vast biological (species) range that extends acrosss North America from New England and Quebec to British Columbia and south to Arizona and back east to Florida (Fernald, 1950, p. 1469). Giant ragweed is commonly abundant in moist disturbed environments, including such natural habitats as stream banks and flood plains (Great Plains Flora Association, 1986, p. 858). The densely populated stand growing here on the bank of Bosque River was "right at home". Giant ragweed was the most common annual forb in the sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan forest floodplain forest featured herein (Rosiere et al., 2013).

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; peak standing crop stage of phenology.

344. Photogenic stand under two lights another way- Two vertical views of a stand of giant ragweed under cloud shade (first slide) and sunlite (second slide) conditions. This dense population of the annual species, giant ragweed, was growing in "leaps and bounds" on a local patch of water-scoured bare soil on the bank of a small river in the Western Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas.

Giant raweed is a native of the Compositae (composite family) tribe, Heliantheae, and is a "prime example" of an r-selected species (see the subsequent caption for discussion).

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; peak standing crop stage of phenology.

345. 'bout tall enough under either light- Part of the stand of giant ragweed introduced above with a six foot wooden Lufkin® folding carpenter's rule showing height of the shoots of these annual members of the Heliantheae tribe. Some of these plants were about 14 feet tall. Giant ragweed is a textbook example of r-selected species. r-selected species allocate a comparatively high proportion of their resources to shoot (versus root) growth; rapid plant growth; high rates of sexual reproduction (yet relatively low progeny survival rates); and, in plants, the annual life cycle to exploit conditions in which nutrients are less limiting and competition is less intense.

Even when plant populations of r-selected species are dense, as in the stand (population) featured here, there is limited competition among plants because resources (and conditions) ranging from light to soil water and mineral nutrients to space are not limiting or, at least, not limiting enough to induce much stress to individual plants. For example, note the remarkably high density of giant ragweed shoots in this stand. Even with ambient air temperature in the high 90s F during a "dry spell" and periodic shaded conditions these "closely packed' plants of giant ragweed were not exhibiting symptoms of stress or deprivation (of water, nutrients, light, or space). Likewwise, high plant density of the r-selected giant ragweed was not conducive to disease.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; peak standing crop stage of phenology.

346. Leaves cut three ways with two cuts- Apical portion of a shoot of giant ragweed (first slide) and a single tripartite leaf of giant ragweed (second slide) on mature plants growing on a disturbed patch of land on the bank of a small river in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. At the terminal part of giant ragweed shoots leaves grow opposite each other so as to form a lesf cluster or circular arrangement of foliage.

These two slides were taken under a "full-sun" sky (ie. there was no overcast or cloud cover). Greater detail of leaves was possible under such bright, direct light (eg. veins or ribs of leaves were more distinct) than with shade or cloud cover (even minimal cloud cover). This assertion was confirmed by comparing these two slides with the two slides shown in the next or subsequent (immediately following) set. This paired comparison was made by taking these photographs with a few minutes of each other.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; peak standing crop stage of phenology.

347. Two parts leaves a three-part leaf- Tripartite leaves of giant ragweed. The specific epithet, trifida was well-chosen for this plant species. Nothing else has leaves quite like these. These two slides were taken under cloud shade (a cumulus cloud was between leaves and the sun). The bluish-green hue of these leaves was not the typical ("true" or "actual") color of this foliage. Something closer to "real" leaf was presented in the immediately preceding two slides.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; peak standing crop stage of phenology.

348. Enough pollen to make the human race sneeze- Terminal end of a giant ragweed shoot with a typical male flower cluster (an immense panicle-like arrangement with many male capitula or heads borne on spike-like or raceme-like branches) shown in the first slide and details of a spike-like or raceme-like branch of this male flower cluster with some of its numerous heads laid on a tripartite leaf of giant ragweed presented in the second slide. The spike-like or raceme-like branch (second slide) was taken from the panicle-resembling arrangement (first slide) of a large plant (height of over 12 feet) growing on the bank of a large stream in the Western Cross Timbers.

In giant ragweed, the female (pistillate) heads are borne separately below the staminate heads that adorn tops of the tall shoots. Diggs et al. (1999, p. 309) presented a detailed description of the flower cluster and unisexual heads of Ambrosia species. Diggs et al. (1999, p. 309) presented a detailed description of the flower cluster and unisexual heads of Ambrosia species.

The ragweeds (Ambrosia species) are the "poster species" for hay fever-producing pollen. "Ragweed" (a generic term) is the number one allergen (allergy-inducing organism) in North America (Diggs et al., 1999, p. 309). According to Warren V. Filley, MD, spokesman for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, "The most allergenic plant we have is ragweed,” (online communication). Given that giant ragweed produces the largest plants of any Ambrosia species in North America it is rational to assume that this is the "number one" hay-fever inducing species on the North American continent. Tyrl et al. (2008, p. 259) concluded that "giant ragweed is perhaps the most notorious of the hay-fever causing plants". A dubious distinction, but, hey, everybody needs to "number one" in something.

Allergies are just what the word says: they are allergic reactions, and not all human subjects are allergic to certain allergens. Fortunately for production of Range Types of North America, its author is unaffected by Ambrosia pollen (or dermitis-producing compounds from Toxicodendron or Rhus species). Achoo! …

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; full (peak) bloom stage of phenology.

349. Hay fever source up close- Close-up of staminate flowers of giant ragweed complete with pollen-bearning anthers. Protein-rich pollen grains can be an important feed source for insects through the light, wind-borne pollen of ragweed species is little used. Anemochory (plant propagules are dispersed by wind) not zoochory (plant propagules are dispersed by animals) is responsible for most fertilization in the Ambrosia species. Bank of Bosque River. Erath County, Texas. Mid-October; anthesis.

350. A cockle of cockle-burs- A single large plant of common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) growing on a locally disturbed (water-scoured) area of a small river in the West Cross Timbers. This water-disturbed area was in a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest. This specimen was growing beside a stand of giant ragweed which was presented immediately above. Giant ragweed and common cocklebur are in the tribe (Heliantheae) of the sunflower, daisy, or aster family (Compositae). Both are native, annual forbs that colonize raw "new land" created by disturbances ranging from flood-formed mudbars to abandoned farm fields. Common cocklebur is a classic example of an r-selected species. The phenomenon of r-selected species was described/explained in an above caption that accompanied slides of giant ragweed beside a six-foot wooden rule for height scale.

Common cocklebur is a livestock-poisoning plant, but it is not a major threat in this regard. Good summary of cocklebur toxicity can be found by consulting the following: Kingsbury (1964, ps. 440-442), Schumtz et al.(1968, ps. 60-61), Stephens (1980, ps. 126-127), Hart et al. (2003, ps. 224-225), and Burrows and Tyrl (2013, ps. 221-225). Cheeke and Shull (1985, ps. 212-214) described the poisonous principle in cocklebur as a carboxyatractyloside which uncouples oxidative phosphorylation. Subsequent work indicated that carboxyatractyloside is a prototype of a series of diterpene glycosides. These were discussed along with disease etiology, clinical signs, and treatment from cocklebur toxicvity by Burrows and Tyrl (2013, ps. 223-225). This latter reference is the definitive authority on toxic plants of North America: expensive, but it should be in the library of every self-respecting rangeman.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; full (peak) bloom stage of phenology.

351. No burs on the leaf- Example of the large, cordate leaf of common cocklebur. This organ was produced by the large plant presented immediately above that grew on the bank of a small river in the West Cross Timbers on northcentral Texas, Common cocklebur is a native annual that thrives best on disturbed--often wet--ground.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; full leaf development. (By the way, an Epson Perfection 700 scanner cut off the tip of this leaf and your author did not notice this until it was too late.)

352. Pulling in tandem- Male flowers, male inflorescence, (left) and female inflorescence or flower clusters (right) of common cocklebur growing on the bank of a small river in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. The separate monecious flower clusters of common cocklebur are referred to as heads (capitula), the same as the more obvious capitulum of, say, sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) which are also in tribe, Heliantheae.

By the way, for those not familar with horse hitch patterns or farm implement arrangements tandem means one (horse, gang of plow disks, etc.) in front of another (versus side-by-side) as for instance tandem harness.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late September; full (peak) bloom stage of phenology.

353. Frostweed or white crownbeard (Verbensina virginica)- This composite is a locally dominant forb in understorey of sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm forests in this West Cross Timbers region. This species occurs over a region extending from Iowa south and west to Texas, including parts of the Cross Timbers, Edwards Plateau, and Coastal Prairies and Marshes regions. In this forest range type frostweed was found on stable microenvironments with such climax perennial grasses as broadleaf woodoats and Canada wildrye, the two dominant herbaceous species in the forest understorey.

Erath County, Texas. September; full-bloom stage of phenology.

354. Inflorescence of frostweed or white crownbeard- Flower cluster of the dominant perennial composite of a sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm forest in the West Cross Timbers. Giant ragweed is another member of the Compositae that is locally dominant (one of three major warm-season dominant forbs) in this forest range vegetation, but this species is an annual and was generally restricted to disturbed microsites especially freshly eroded banks of Bosque River.

Erath County, Texas. September; full-bloom stage of phenology.

Where it got on name- A commonly-used common name of Verbensina virginica is frostweed. The basis of that name was illustrated in the above two slides. The ice formation on the two shoots of Verbensina virginica shown here are examples of what are called frost flowers. Frost flowers form when air temperature is freezing, but soil temperature is still warm enough that sap continues to move up in the shoot of the plant. Once the temperature of both soil and plant shoot are at freezing the conditions necessary for formation of frost flowers now longer exists. Of course if sub-freezing temperatures persist frost flowers will last longer. The specimens presented here lasted for three cold January days.

Like so many things in life, frost flowers are ephemeral so as to be enjoyed but briefly. Hence, your Nature-loving author preserved images of frost flowers for your prolonged pleasure.

Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Early January. reral Frost flowers ehsoil After

355. Prickley poppety, bobbity blue, along with white and yeller too- White or Texas prickly-poppy (Argemone albiflora var. texana) of floodplain of Bosque River. This species and A. polyanthemos are extremely similar with main distinction being descriptive--and highly subjective--leaf features: degree to which leaves are divided to the midrib, the qualitative thiness or thickness of leaves, and degree of glaucousness of leaves (Diggs et al., 1999. p. 873). Correll and Johnston (1979, ps. 666-667) stated that shoots of A. albiflora were usually solitary in contrast to those of A. polyanthemos that ranged from single to five shoots. After viewing many photographs of living and mounted specimens of both these species this author noted that unopened flower buds of A. polyanthemos were vertically oriented while those of A. albiflora were horizontal in orientation. The single-stemed specimen seen here with horizontal floral buds and deeply cut leaves seemed--and quite convincingly so--to be Argemone albiflora.

Texas or white prickly-poppy were not plentiful along Bosque River, but they are a characteristic species of this floodplain vegetation.

Erath County, Texas. Late April; mid-bloom stage.

356. Enough for a poppy high- Views of the inflorescence of white or Texas prickly-poppy. The insect amid stamen was common flower or bumble flower scarab beetles (Euphoria kernii) which is usually more abundant in flowers of pricklypear cactus (Opuntia spp.), but still at home feeding on these anthers which are often eaten off near base of filaments. .

Erath County, Texas. Late April;

357. Plant that ain't no gift- Christmas mistletoe (Phoradendron tomentosum= P. flavescens) growing on sugarberry. Christmas mistletoe is a parasitic plant that is not completely parasitic. It does conduct some photosynthesis (ie. semiautotrophic), but not enough for its survival. Itstead each mistletoe plant gradually weakens the host as both plants grow. Meanwhile, seeds rom mistletoe fruit germinate on other locations of the host so that infestation of the parasite spreads through new (younger, smaller) plants, many of which were dispersed by fruit-eating birds. As parasite load increases the host is weakened until if finally succubs to the parasitism, at least in most cases. In other instances, especially where the environment is less favorable for Christmas mistletoe, the host may reach maturity and senescence before being killed by the parasitic mistletoe. Even under these consitions Christmas mistletoe causes some deformity of the host tree through lost or weakened limbs and branches.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-March; peak bloom phenological stage.

358. Spiked female-Female spikes of the monecious Christmas mistletoe. Erath County, Texas. Mid-March; peak bloom phenological stage.

359. Pistillate details-Close-in views of flowers on pistillate spikes of Christmas mistletoe. Erath County, Texas. Mid-March; peak bloom phenological stage.

360. Smooth or sugar hackberry, sugarberry, or palo blanco (Celtis laevigata)- This is a widely distributed species (Virginia to Florida westward to New Mexico and northward to Illinois) with many recognized varieties and much ecotypic variation across it's geographic range. It grows on fertile bottomlands, where it frequently reaches large dimensions, and on infertile, generally harsh habitats such as shallow rock outcrops where the species survives at dimutive sizes. There has been considerable author-to-author variation in treatment of taxa below species level.

Sugar hackberry is a common component of various range types and sites. In Texas, for example, it is frequently a dominant woody plant in various range communities in vegetational areas as diverse as the Cross Timbers, the Edwards Plateau, and the Rio Grande Plains. Sugarberry occurs singly and in small thickets through parts of adjoining vegetational areas like that of the Coastal Prairies and Marshes. It is typically the major dominant tree species in river bottom forests throughout much of southern North America.

Celtis species provide fruits that are of value to species of smaller wildlife like birds and rodents. Their twigs, buds, and leaves are taken less frequently by browsing animals. Sugarberry and netleaf hackberry (C. reticulata= C. laevigata var. reticulata) are usually more important as brush species (noxious woody plants) whose cover and density increased under disturbances that induced range deterioration such as overgrazing, underburning, oil and gas development, and abandonment of farm land. In other words hackberry, like most of the other shrubs in this section, are invaders rather than climax species or potential natural dominants of range communities in higher seral states. They are typically indicator plants: indicative of range retrogression.

Mills County, Texas. October.

361. From last year and for this year- Two leaders of sugarberry, smooth hackberry, or palo blanco (Celtis laevigata var. laevigata) with last year's fruit and current year's pistillate and staminate flowers. New leaves are about three/fourths growth. Details of unisexual flowers were shown in the next two sets of photographs.

West Cross Timbers, Erath County, Texas. April.

362. Spring time for sugarberry- Two views of the pistillate and staminate flowers of smooth hackberry, sugar hackberry, or sugarberry. The first slide gave a general view of the inflorescences (along with new spring leaves) of Celtis laevigata var. laevigata. The second slide showed details of the flowers of this monoecious species (all Celtis species are monecious) with pistillate (female) flowers at left and staminate (male) flowers to the right along on portion of a leader.

West Cross Timbers, Erath County, Texas. April.

363. "…male and female created them" (Genesis 1: 27 KJV)- Two slides of sexual reproduction in sugarberry, smooth hackberry, or southern hackberry. In both photographs female (pistillate) flowers at left and male (staminate) flowers at right on leader. A corolla is lacking in pistillate flowers though there is a calyx of five or six sepals. Gynoecium (generic term for female part orf flower; carpels collectively) is unicarpellate (each ovary has one suspended ovule) with two stigmas. The androecium (general term for male part of flower; more specifically, stamens collectively) consist of five or six stamens.

West Cross Timbers, Erath County, Texas. April.

364. Pair of drupes- Two drupes on sugarberry, smooth or southern hackberry (Celtis laevigata var. laevigata). This fruit was on a leader that was bearing just-opened monoecious flowers. Drupes were also in the immediately preceding two photographs where their close proximity to newly opened flowers was shown. Fruit got sole emphasis in this shot. Drupe is a fruit type defined as being fleshy and indehiscent with a single seed inside a stony or boney endocarp, the innermost layer of the fruit wall (Smith, 19789, p. 65, 69).

West Cross Timbers, Erath County, Texas. April.

365. Catchy branching pattern in sugarberry- A combination of alternate branches coming off of opposite sides of a leader is a frequent branching arrangement in Celtis species, especially C. laevigata. Perhaps this pattern permits large numbers of leaves with a minimal degree of shading so as to facilitate photosynthesis in forest canopies. Would make a eye-catching pattern for neck ties, particularily for dressed-up foresters.

Erath County, Texas. September; fruit-ripe stage.

366. Shiny leaves and sweet fruit (well, sort of)- Leaves and fruit of sugarberry shown in photographs that featured leaf position and density along with a better-than-typical crop of fruit. Fruit type in Celtis species is a drupe. Fernald (1950, p. 553) remarked that these sweet-tasting drupes were basis of the name Celtis as used by Pliny for what he termed lotus. Anyway, wildlife of various species consume this fruit and undoubtedly contribute to dispersal of Celtis species.

Erath County, Texas. September; fruit-ripe stage.

367. The magnificant- Shoot (first slide) and crown (second slide) of a adult Americanelm in its "natural prime" at phenological stage of late bloom to early samara development. A characteristic morphological feature of American elm (and to lesser degree in red or slippery elm) is development of an immense spreading crown with huge limbs, some of which are almost as thick as the trunk of one of the most magnificant hardwood tree species in North America. No tree species on the continent made finer shade trees than American elm.

Fortunately for this part of Texas, the dreaded exotic fungus disease known as Dutch Elm Disease was uncommon.This was likely because individuals of American elm were so sparse in density (so widely spaced) that insect vectors of Dutch Elm Disease could not handily fly from one infected tree to the next healthy but soon-to-be-dead American elm. Whatever the explanation, very few, if any, American elms were infected with the dreaded disease in this "neck of the woods".

Major herbaceous species in the understorey as shown in the first slide were Canada wildrye, broadleaf woodoats, and hairy woodland bromegrass.

Viewers should enjoy the azire-blue sky that was the gift of a "blue norther", a large Arctic air mass of high pressure, that cleaned out the gunk so typical of skys over densely human-populated northcentral Texas. All in all a beautiful scene, Mother Nature at her winter best.

Bank of Dry Branch, a tributary of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-February.

368. Base of a magificant one- Trunk of the adult American elm introduced in the immediately preceding two slide/caption unit. This magnificant specimen was growing in a mixed hardwood bottomland forest in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Large size of basal limbs or first order branches, a charaacteristic morphological feature of American elm, was prominent in these two photographs which, incidentally, were taken just after a famed Texas "blue norther" (a large, high-pressure Arctic air mass) ushered in a cobalt-blue sky.

Canada wildrye, broadleaf woodoats, and hairy woodland bromegrass were the principal herbaceous species in the understorey beneath this grand specimen.

Bank of Dry Branch, a tributary of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-February.

369. A young one and new grass- A young American elm (in early adulthood; roughly half grown) in a climax sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest in the Western Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. The green herbaceous growth was primarily Canada wildrye with some broadleaf woodoats, the two climax dominant herbaceous species of this forest community, but there were also several plants of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). Trees of the three dominant tree species were visible in the distant background. American elm was a local associate species in this climax forest vegetation, but presence of American elm helped "solidify" this forest tract as being an example of the forest cover type best described as SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm) according to the Society of American Foresters (Eyre, 1980). SAF 93 seemed to be the more apt of these two forest cover types, but the key feature in this context was presence of American elm as a dominant in both (in either) of the two bottomland forest types.

Burns and Honkala (1990) presented silvics of American elm also of cedar elm and red elm). Good overall treatment of American or white elm was provided by Vines (1963, p.). Coverage of American elm in Kurz (2003, ps. 358-359), Samuelson and Hogan (2003, ps. 400-401), and Tyrl et al. (2008, ps. 578-579) was highly recommended. An enjoyable natural history of American elm was provided by Peattie (1950, ps. 237-243).

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early February.

370. American leaves- Group of charactristic leaves of American or white elm growing on the bank of a small river in West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. These young leaves had the typical light-green coloration and the undamaged, crisp features of organs still undamaged and unaged by the various factors of its river bottom forest habitat.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late April.

371. American flowers- Three progressively closer views of the perfect flowers of American or white elm. These flowers had been produced on young trees growing on the bank of a small river in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas.

Bank, Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April.

372. Early sexual stage- Clusters of flowers on leader of American or white elm (Ulmus americana). This species flowers before it puts forth leaves.

Erath County, Texas. Early March; anthesis.

373. Later sexual stage- Clusters of flowers on leader of American or white elm one week after the stage (anthesis) shown in than preceding pair of slides. Samaras were just forming.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-March; early fruit stage.

374. Young leaves and fruit- Newly emerged leaves and growing samaras of American or white elm. Samara is a dry fruit type that is indehiscent an single-seeded with a large wing.

Erath County, Texas.Late March; immature fruit stage of phenology.

375. Fruit of a real American- Ripening fruit of American elm (Ulmus americana) on twig. The fruit elms is a samara or a winged achene. More specifically the Ulmus fruit type is a dry, indehiscent, single-seeded fruit fitted with a prominent wing (Smith, 1977, ps. 66, 90, 307). Cedar elm produces its samaras in later summer or early autumn, but American (white) elm and slippery (red) elm bear their fruit first thing in late winter to early spring befgore emergence of leaves.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-March (late winter), fruit-ripening phenological stage.

376. Enter, cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia)- Leaves and samaras (or winged achenes) of cedar elm. In contrast to American or white and slippery or red elm (U. rubra) cedar elm bears it fruit at end rather beginning of it's growing season so that leaves and fruit are present together. On mixed hardwood bottomland forests in much of Texas, especially central and south Texas, it is cedar elm and not American or red (slippery) elm that is a dominant. On such forests cedar elm is a "three-way" dominant (would that be a "tri-dominant'?) with sugarberry and pecan.

Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath county, Texas. Mid-September; fruit ripe stage (immediately preceding shedding stage).

377. Green ash (Fraxinus pennsuylvanica var. integerrima)- Green ash is a species (or, sometimes, subspecies or varierty) treated differently by various authors such that confusion has arisen frequently as to whether or not this is the plant found by different vegetation scientists. Nonetheless, it is a taxon that defines certain forest vegetation, especially bottomland forest types such as the sugarberry-American elm-green ash (forest cover type 93) of the Society of American Foresters ( Eyre, 1980, ps. 65). In bottomland forests of this type (and also SAF 94, sycamore-sweetgum-American elm, where green ash is the first-listed associate species [Eyre, 1980, ps. 65-66]) in the south, such as much of Texas, green ash is an infrequent yet a defining and diagnostic species. Such was the situation for the bottomland forest range in this example of the Bosque River.

The small and showy specimen presented here stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb in this forest dominated by sugarberry, pecan, and cedar elm-- even during the autumnal aspect when leaf color of dominants is at its "prime" (scroll back up to above photographs of the north bank of Bosque River).

North bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early November; peak autumn leaf coloration.

378. Winter twigs of pecan (Carya illinoensis)- Examples of winter twigs of pecan growing on a climax sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm bottomland forest in West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Winter twigs, especially features of lenticels, leaf scars, and terminal buds provide some of the most definitive means of distinguishing among the various Carya species growing in a given locality. The narrow (thin) terminal bud often with "peeled-up" or peeling bud scales is a common feature of pecan twigs in their winter phase.

Top of upper bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. January; winter dormancy.

The presence of members of Moraceae, bois d'arc (Maclura pomifera) and red mulberry (Morus rubra), clearly showed the affinity/continuity of this forest vegetation with riverine forest flora northward to southern Nebraska. Likewise, abundance of cedar elm (Ulmus crassifilia) as co-dominant to associate showed ecological connectedness of this forest community with river forests to the north in which white or American elm (U. Americana) and/or red or slipper elm (U. rubra) had role as dominants (ie ecological equivalents).

379. Big where its native- Mature bois d'arc, Osage orange, or hedge apple (Macula pomifera) approaching old-growth status on the floodplain of a small river in the Cross timbers and Prairies vegetational area of northcentral Texas. Bois d'arc is native in this general region unlike where it was planted by the whiteman for a living hedge (hence, hedge apple) in Kansas, Missouri and on northward.

Bois d'arc is French for bow and arrow or wood for bow. The wood of this tree is the most durable (rot-resistant) wood native to North America (burton in Burns and Honkala, 1990). Bois d'arc is also some of the heavest wood per unit volume (eg. mass per cubic foot) such that it burns with the greatest heat content (eg. British Thermal Unit, kilocalories, etc.) of any North American wood.

Bois d'arc was not a major species in this mixed hardwood bottomland forest, but it was certainly a diagnostic species, and locally an associate species to sugarberry (two pole-sized trees of which were behind this tree), cedar elm, and pecan. Green grass on the land surface beneath this tree was Canada wildrye and hairy wood brome.

The silvics of bois d'arc was covered in Burns and Honkala (1990) wherein it was noted that tolerance of this tree species remained a matter of some dispute.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County Texas. Mid-March; winter dormancy.

380. Bois d'arc, Osage orange, or hedge apple (Macula pomifera)- Bark and fruiting organ of bois d'arc, a defining associate woody species, in centrtal bottomland forests from the south as far north as southern South Dakota (McGregor et al, 1977, p. 34) and extending eastward into the deciduous forests from Texas and Arkansas to New Enmgland (Fernald, 1950, p.555). Strictly speaking the fruit of Osage orange is an achene, numerous of which are "buried in the greatly enlarged fleshy calyx (Fernald, 1955; p. 555).

The name Osage orange traces to the traditional use of wood of this species for making long bows by American Indians, presumedly especially the Osages. Hedge apple traces to the planting (and extended introduction) of this species as a living (and suposedly impenetrable) hedge to fence in (or out) livestock, especially cattle and horses. Such usage was of "mixed success", but after adoption of barbed wire as developed and sold by Joseph Glidden, the unparalled durability (rot-resistance) of this species for fence posts enshrined its designation as hedge apple or simply hedge (hence, hedge posts). Horse apple, another common name, indicates the frequent tendency of horses to eat the fleshy calyx, often with dire to deadly consequences in cases where this structure lodges in the esophagus and results in closure of the trachea and suffication of the careless equine.

Bank of Bosque River, Erath County Texas. Mid-Novermber, fruit-ripe stage.

381. Male attire- Leader of male boisd'arc with clusters of staminate inflorescences. Osage orange is a dioecious species. A female and her fruit was shown immediately above. Here the male of this species was presented for "closer inspection". Although they were still young and tender the leaves were typical of Macula pomifera.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April, early bloom phenological stage.

382. Opening flowers against bark- Young (just opened and opening) staminate infloresences of bois d'arc laid onto characteristic bark of this species. Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April.

383. After Injuns, hosses, and hedges- Osage orange, horse apple, or hedge apple are commonly used descriptive names for the fruit of bois d'arc, Osage orange, hedge apple, etc. This is an example of multiple fruit, the fruit type formed by fusion or coalescence of the entire flower cluster (inflorescence). It is one form of a so-called false fruit (Smith, 1977, ps.69, 301). Sycamore is another tree species of bottomland forests that produces a multiple fruit though that false fruit is dry in contrast to the sap-filled (and extremely sticky and persistent) fleshy multiple fruit of bois d'arc. By some interpretations the multiple fruits of Moraceae (mulberry family) are composed of minute drupes called druplets with the whole multiple fleshy fruit designated a syncarpet.

This hardwood species has been associated more with members of the Osage Nation than of other North American Indians because it was native to land controlled by the Osages. Bois d'arc is an Anglicization of the French "wood of the bow" or "bow wood". Numerous tribes in addition to the Osage used the wood of bois d'arc for long bows and war clubs. (It is unlikely the Osages got hungry enough to try to eat this fruit.) Osage orange was indigenous only to what is today parts of Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. It was spread by white settlers seeking to use it as a living fence against otherwise free-ranging livestock, especially cattle.

Livestock, including horses, rarely attempt to eat this fruit which has resulted in choking (obstruction of the esophagus), hence the common name of horse apple.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-September, fruit-ripe stage.

384. Osage orange halved- Cross-section of the multiple fruit of bois d'arc or Osage orange. Seeds are in individual carpels that fused to form this fleshy multiple fruit sometimes known as a syncarpet (from the adjective, syncarpous meaning a gynoecium comprised of fused carpels (Smith, 1977, p. 310). Usually this fruit is used as feed by very few animals with notable exceptions like squirrels. Attempts by cattle and horses to eat this large fruit have not uncommonly resulted in choking from esophageal obstruction.

Horse apples, hedge apples, Osage oranges (or by whatever other common names are applied to this fruit) were commonly placed in houses as insect and spider repellents based on folk treatment or home remedy recommendations. At least they had decorative value to some (at least until they started to rot down).

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-September, fruit-ripe stage.

385. Smaller trunk on bottomland- Nice, straight trunk (bole) of a young adult red mulberry (Morus rubra) on the outer bank of a small river in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. General niche of this native, small tree was discussed above. Species range of red mulberry extends from Massachusetts across to South Dakota then southward to Trans Pecos Texas and eastward to south Florida (Sargent, 1933, p. 329-330). Red mulberry along with bois d'arc (both are members of Moraceae) comprised a small tree zone below the crown canopy of the three forest dominants, sugarberry, cedar elm, and pecan. Large trunks in background were those of large, senescing pecan; individual trees of which grew to the largest size among three dominant tree species in this forest cover type .

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-May.

386. Big leaves along the Bosque- Outermost (distal) portion of a lower limb of red mulberry growing on the bank of Bosque River. The characteristic large leaves of this species are generally ovate with a somewhat rounded base and pointed apex. Leaves of red mulberry can be be lobed (all of these were unlobed). Margins are serrate.

Tree trunk at left in second photograph was cedar elm supporting the woody shoot of a large truppet creeper.

Erath County Texas. Late October.

387. Male doing his thing- A large, male red mulberry with young leaves and catkins at peak anthesis with backdrop of a rare, cobalt-blue, spring sky. Like its moraceous "cousin", bois d'arc, red mulberry is a dioecious species. Likewise, both of these members of the Moradceae were associate tree species in a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that developed along a river in the West Cross Timbers.

Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April.

388. New garb and exposed male parts- Young leaves and just-past-peak pollen production staminate catkins of red mulberry that was an associate tree species of a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottonland forest.

Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April.

389. Male detail- Staminate catkins of red mulberry with baby leaves (first photograph) and laid against red mulberry (second photograph). The latter had been shed from the tree. Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-April.

More male detail- Two more views of staminate catkins of red mulberry that developed on the floodplain of Bosque river in northcentral Texas. These flowers were produced on the same male tree as the flowers shown above, except in a different year. These things are hard to photograph on the tree as any little breeze results in a blurred shot when shooting at slow shutter speed (1/15th second in these cases) in order to get good depth-of-field images. In short, these slides were trophies so viewers had to ut up with them.

Erath County, Texas. Early April.

390. Satisfied with leaves and fruit- Part of crown (first slide) followed by terminal portion of twig both topside--abaxial--or above (second slide) and bottom side (adaxial) or below (third slide) of red mulberry growing in a mixed hardwood bottomland forest in northcentral Texas.

Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-May; immature fruit to fruit-ripening phenological stages.

391. Ripening underneath- Underside (adaxial surface) of leaves with both immature (white) fruit and ripening (wine-colored) fruit of red mulberry growing on outer bank of a small river in West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Fruit type of mulberry is multiple fruit consisting of "... achenes covered by sweet, juicy, white to dark purple calyces" where calyx refers collectively to sepals, the outer bracts of the flower structure or the modified leaves that enclose the other floral parts, (Diggs et al, 1999, ps.831, 1426).

Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-May; immature fruit to fruit-ripening phenological stages.

392. Fruit and feeding friends- Hackberry emperor or hackberry butterfly (Asterocampa celtis; family of brushfooted butterflies, Nymphalidae) along with some species of beetle and, of course, housefly (Musca domestica) feeding on the juicy calyces surrounding achenes in the multiple fruit of red mulberry growing on the outer bank of a small river in a mixed hardwood bottomland forest in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. At time of this photograph there were numerous hackberry emperor butterflies throughout this floodplain forest. They appeared to be most common around trees of red mulberry such as the tree featured in this section. Adults of Asterocampa celtis and the closely related A. leilia feed on juicy fruits (both fresh and rotten) as well such as high-moisture feeds as dung and rotten flesh of vertebrates, but seldom visit flowers (Neck, 1983). Langlois and Lanflolis (1964) reported that A. celtis feed on mulberries.

It is generally recognized that Celtis species (apparently mostly leaves) are the host feed plant for caterpillars of A. celtis and A. leilia. This was even indicated by the common name of hackberry butterfly or hackberry emperor. (It is standard convention to include the common name of larval host food plant as part of the common name of butterflies.) Sugarberry, the most common species of hackberry in southcentral North America, was the first among three dominant tree species in this floodplain forest. Not only are Celtis species the main food source for larvae of Asterocampa species, especially hackberry emperor, but, as described in detail by Rutowski et al. (1991), males of A leilia perch and defend mating territories in desert hackberry (C. pallida).

Many animal species including insects, birds, reptiles such as turtles, and mammals (even humans) feed on the multiple fruit of red mulberry. Over many years of observation the current author concluded that mulberry fruit is one of the most attractive feeds to song birds (and, once fallen on the ground, to poultry) and rodents such as squirrels. He also observed white-tail deer and, with somewhat less dexterity, cattle consuming mulberries. Sargent (1933,.p. 330) claimed that red mulberry fruit was "valued for fattening hogs", and even "occasionally planted" for this purpose. The current author questioned the fattening part, but assumed that swine also found mulberry fruit quite palatable (and much less likely to be met up with again than drupe fruits like peaches).

Mini lesson: in a nontraditional sense the hackberry emperor butterfly could be viewed as a range animal on this forest range. Given that Asterocampa species have been found to feed on animal materials, included carcases, as well as vegetable matter (both browse as larvae and mast as adults) they are, by definition, omnivores.When it is remembered that there are more species of insects (Order, Insecta) than of all other living things combined, the rationale for presentation and discussion of insects in this slide-caption set (note that in this example three orders of inscets were feeding on one multiple fruit) becomes obvious. Range ecosystems are complex.

Floodplain of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Mid-May; mature fruit (fruit-ripe) stage of phenology.

393. Blooming above the branch- Rusty or southern black-haw (Virburnum rufidulum) on the west bank of Dry Branch that drains into Bosque River (shown in detail above). Virburnum includes some of the largest members of the Caprifoliaceae in North America. Several of the Virburnum species are understorey shrubs in deciduous forest communities. V. rufidulum is one of the most common of these in southern forests as indicated by the common name of southern black-haw. It is also one of the earlier blooming woody plants in the range vegetation of which it is a component.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas.Late March (early spring).

394. Spring shoot- Blooming vernal leader of rusty or southern black-haw. This branch was on the plant introduced in the preceding slide. Bosque River, Erath County, Texas.Late March (early spring).

395. White flowers on a black-haw- Inflorescence of rusty black-haw. Flower cluster on the same plant shown above Dry Branch into Bosque River. Erath County, Texas.Late March (early spring).

396. Blue fruit of black haw- Clusters of fruit (one-seeded drupe) of rusty or southern black haw. The umbel arrangement of flowers is carried through to the fruit-bearing stage resulting in colorful "bunches" of pleasant-tasting drupes. Wildlife--from deer and squirrel to passerines--are extremely fond of this fruit.

Ottawa County, Oklahoma. November; ripe fruit phenological stage.

397. Leaves of a southern arborescent shrub- Southern or rusty black-haw or southern blackhaw or, sometimes written as black-haw, (Viburnum rufidulum) was one of the few upright shrub (non-climbing shrub, non- woody vine) species in this sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm forest. Rusty black-haw was a distant "back-aways" runner-up behind such shrubs as common greenbriar (Smilax bona-nox), overall dominant, poison oak or ivy (Rhus radicans= Toxicodendron radicans), and mustang grape (Vitis mustangensis). In contrast, rusty black-haw was more common than eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) in cover, density, etc. (general relative abundance) in this range vegetation. While this shrub was not common in this plant community its presence both here and in bottomland forests through central North America (southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois) and extending from the Ozark Plateau through the Applachian Mountains almost to the Atlantic Coast in Virginia and North Carolina stood as testament to the affinity of this species for bottomland forests over a vast territory. In more humid areas such as the Ozarks and Applachians rusty or southern black-haw grows under oaks and hickory on uplands and with sugar maple and beech on north slopes. In short, rusty black-haw is adapted to diverse habitats and forest communities.

The leaves on this particular specimen were less lanceolate (generally more ) than is typical of this species. Still, these leaves were typical enough (including their glossy surface) to facilitate ready field identification-- especially when augmented by the unique texture of bark on the trunk as shown in the next slide.

Above Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early Noverber.

398. Large trunk of a southern shrub- Bole of southern or rusty black-haw with the characteristic and very distinctive bark pattern of this species. This was another (a larger, so preseumedly, older) plant than the one introduced and detailed above. This one was growing on the north bank of Bosque River.

Erath County, Texas.Late March (early spring).

399. Trunk of rusty or southern black-haw (blackhaw)- The knobby bark of this species is very distinctive and a foolproof, identifying characteristic of this species. This feature and its glossy leaves along with general morphology makes this species obvious in the shrub layer of forests.

Above Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Early November.

400. Inflorescence of the defining liana- Three views at progressively closer camera distance of the flower cluster of fiddleleaf or saw greenbrier (Smilax bona-nox) Fiddleleaf greenbrier is one of five Smilax species native to northcentral Texas and one of two abundant Smilax species in this region (Diggs et al., ps. 1344-1348). In many regards, fiddleleaf or saw greenbrier is the most characteristic shrub (and certainly the major woody vine or liana) in the West Cross Timbers of Texas and Oklahoma. Fiddleleaf greenbrier is the most characteristic woody vine of the sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan floodplain forest characteristic of bottomland forests in the Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area of Texas. Saw or fiddleleaf greenbrier is the co-dominant range plant species of the pygmy or dwarf sand post oak (Quercus margarettiae= Q. stellata var. margarettiae) forest of the West Cross Timbers. In these various range types, fiddleleaf greenbrier edges out out mustang grape (Vitis mustangensis), poison ivy (Rhus radicans= Toxicodendron radicans), and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans).

Some taxonomists such as Smith (1977, ps. ) placed Smilax species in a "super-large" lily family (Liliaceae) as part of subfamily, Smilacoideae. Other authors such as Diggs et al. (1999, p. 1344) put Smilax in a small family, Smilaceae, of three genera (or, in effect, for northcentral Texas, in its own family).

Young spring shoots of fiddleleaf greenbrier (of all Smilax species for that matter) are extrmely palatable for most species of range animals. In fact, the tender spring shoots make a nice "native green" for human sandwiches. These shoots are not strongly flavored but they do add a certail "zest" to a ham or turkey sandwhich being eaten at dinner time in the woods. Shoots of fiddleleaf greenbrier (including the young thorns) are extremely tender and crisp. The freshly cropped shoot (by beef cattle or white-tailed deer) shown in all three of these slides bespoke to the palatability of spring shoots of saw greenbrier.

The fruit of saw greenbrier ( a one to three-seeded berry) is an important concentrate for wildlife, especially birds, and, for their part, these vertebrates likewise provide the srvice of zoochory (dispersal of plant propagules or germules by animals).

While there are several references that treat fiddle or saw greenbrier, Vines (1960, ps. 72-73) probably provided about as much detail as any.

Erath County, Texas.

Bad belowground, too- Rhizomes of fiddleleaf or saw greenbrier that had been growing on a a sand post oak-saw greenbrier scrub or pygmy forest in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Such rhizomes of shrubs and trees have been best known as woody rootstocks. These woody rhizomes and aboveground woody vines are shoots. Fiddleleaf greenbrier grows a vast network of woody rhizomes which along with its "reach-out-and-grab-ya" thorny aboveground shoots are found ubiquitously throughout the Cross Timbers and Prairies Vegetational Area of Texas (Gould, 1975). Fiddleleaf greenbrier appears to be equally "at home" on river bottoms, tallgrass prairie/oak-hickory savannahs, and the deep sand soils of scrub forests.

The second image showed green regrowth (left part of upper unit of rhizome) following browsing to ground level by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Saw or fiddleleaf greebrier appears to be extremely well-adapted to defoliation, including that by fire.

Erath County, Texas. Early April.

401. A deceivingly attractive alien- Inflorescence of Japnese honeysuckle (Lonicera japanica) blooming on the floodplain of Bosque River. Japanese honeysuckle is one of the widespread and insideous, introduced woody invaders throughout much of the Eastern Deciduous Forest Region of North America. Rosiere et al. (2013) described the threat this naturalized woody vine poses for forest of the southcentral portion of this forest super-region

Japanese honeysuckle was introduced and widely distributed by nurserymen to homeowners who quicly fell in love with the fragerant scent and hardiness of this easily established exotic. Japanese honeysuckle has not yet reached the horror movie-like invasiveness of some other intentionally introduced exotics, but it is widespread and one of the most more aggressive of woody aliens in southeastern North America. For example, Japanese honeysuckle was the most abundant (cover and density) non-native woody species in the sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest described in this section (Rosiere et al., 2013).

Upper bank of Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Peak-bloom phenological stage; mid-April.

402. Conked on a sugarberry- Fruiting body (= sporocarp) of oak cushion brakcet, oak polypore, or oak conk (Polyporus gilveus= Fomes gilveus= Phellinus gilveus). This polypore fruiting body had made its home on the trunk of a sugarberry that grew on the floodplain of Bosque River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. This species is most commonly found on dead wood (Riffle and Conway in Riffle and Peterson, 1986).

These two photographs showed the many openings ("pores") through which spores were released. Hence, one--of several--genus name (Polyporus), family name (Polyporaceae), and, by estension, common name (polypore). Many species in the Polyporaceae have hymenium in vertical pores (ie. pores are aligned along depth of the sporocarp) on the underside of the fruiting bodies (conks, brackets, etc.). The hymenium is the tissue of the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body or sporocarp where the sexual cells develop into basidia which in turn form the spores. The division encompassing the order Polyporales is the Basidiomycota. The basidiomycete fungi.include gill mushrooms, puffballs, earthstars, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, jelly fungi, as well as such plant pathogens as the smuts, bunts, and rusts.

Erath County, Texas. October.

Shelfed on a pecan- Fruiting body or sporocarp of the (actually one of the) shelf or bracket fungus commonly called artist's conk (Polyporus applantus= Ganoderma applanatum) growing at the trunk base of a pecan in the extreme southern edge of the Edwards Plateau. The actual location of this fungus specimen was largely irrelevant because this species has a nearly cosmopolitan distrubution.

There are several polypores (fungal species in the Polyporaceae family) that become hard as the wood they feed on. Several of these have been used for "artistic expression", hence the commonname of artist conk. This species has been taken from the Polyporus genus to its own genus Ganoderma based on taxonomic features such as causing a white-colored rot. Artist's conk is a wood-decaying species bringing about heart (heartwood) rot of a number of tree species, both gymnosperms and angiosperms.

In addition to heartwood rot, this species also occurs as a pathogenic fungus on sapwood, the living tissue of woody plants. This phenomenon is found more frequently on older or more mature trees, especially at base of the trunk where more moist microhabits are apt to exist. The artist conk growing on the cambium and adjoining sapwood on base of this older pecan was a good example of that condition.

The specimen or artist conk presented here was an old or mature one. "Youngsters" have a softer, moister fruiting body (and these are not good artist material).

This edible (when cooked) fungus has medical qualities and is as interesting as it is common. Artist conk has been treated in numerous publications, including most field guides to the mushrooms.

Uvalde County, Texas. October.

403. Basis of it all- Profile of Bunyan soil series that was the predominant soil of the sugarberry-pecan-cedar elm bottomland treated in this section. Bunyan series consist of fine-loamy, mixed, nonaacid, thermic typic ustifluvents (Soil Conservation Service, 1990). Range site was Bottomland (Soil Conservation Service, 1973).

Erath County, Texas. July.

Now for a taste of the distinctive fauna of Bosque River:

Wary watchers from afar- Parent birds of great blue heron (Ardea herodias) with their two nestlings in crowns of eastern cottonwood and black walnut on the bank of Bosque River. There was a total of three nests with one nest shown in the first slide and two nests shown in the second slide. All three nests had two nestlings each.

Great blue herons are usually quite wary, although adult birds are less likely to quickly leave their nests when nestlings are present. These two photographs were taken with a 200mm lens at closest distance the photographer could get before adults "flew the coup". (Birds were well aware of photographer's presence though he was quiet.) Adult great blue herons had returned to these same rookery trees for the last four years. It was not known if some herons had nested here the previous year or if birds at the perennial rookery were last years offspring.

Either way, nest sites were in the same exact location as in previous years. Nest were simple, flat piles of sticks such that much of the nest material was replaced each nesting season.

Erath County, Texas. Mid-May; young birds about half-grown (maybe a little less).

The Texas Colorado River- An Example of River Bottom Hardwood Forests in the Lampasas Cut Plain

The following set of slides and captions treated a mixed hardwood (green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry pecan) bottomland forest with a well-developed herbaceous layer, but almost no recruitment of tree species. This forest range had developed on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain of the Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area of northcentral Texas. Although this area was shown as the Lampasis Cut Plain by Diggs et al. (1999) it was still regarded by Griffith et al. (2004). as being in theWestern Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c, the same as the bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of Bosque River treated immediately above. The Colorado River forest range was a variant of Society of American Foresters (Eyre, 1985) forest cover type 93. It was in the subhumid precipitation zone with continental climate with mild winters and brutal, long-lasting summers.

This forest range was grazed/browsed by Polled Hereford X Brahman (Bos taurus X B. indicus) beef cattle, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and beaver (Castor canadensis) the combination of which had contributed to basically complete prevention of tree reproduction as there was almost no recruitment of any tree species.

Otherwise this was a climax forest with soil or land relief being the determining factor(s) or, in context of polyclimax theory, an edaphic or topographic climax (versus climax, climatic climax, postclimax, or whatever Clementsian term would be most appropriate in monoclimax theory).

Colorado River of Texas- Texas' Colorado River as seen from the famed Regency Bridge, a one-lane suspension bridge basically out in the middle of nowhere (except for the folks who live there (near the hamlet or community known as Regency). This "swinging bridge" as it is known to the locals is the largest suspension bridge in Texas. No, not exactly up to the Golden Gate Bridge. Nor is this Colorado River up to the one that carved the Grand Canyon of the Southwest. Still, they're the closest the Lone Star State can come so both are a subjects of that fierce Texas Pride.

By the way, the Colorado River is the longest river in Texas.

Now to the matter at hand.The dominant (dominance varied locally, but there were basically tri-dominants tree species: sugarberry, cedar elm, and pecan. Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii) was locally the major shrub or small tree of the lower woody layer. Specific assemblages of species were presented and described in the various slide/caption units below. Major species (herbaceous and woody) species of the riparian zone were listed in the immediately following scene of the bank of Colorado river.

Mills County, Texas (left side of the river) and San Saba Couny, Texas (right side of the river). Late October. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

Edge of the Texas Colorado River- View from the bank of the Colorado River. Tree branches were those of sugarberry, the general overall dominant tree species. Herbaceous species in this riparian scene included Johnsongrass, switchgrass, and spiny aster as the most abundant or major ones. Other non-woody species in this "photo-transect" included pigeon berry or blood berry (Rivina humilis), slender aster (Aster subulatus var. ligulatus), naturalized common bermudagrass (Cynon dactyledon), and sesbania, sesbane, or, appropriately though confusingly, Colorado River-hemp (Sesbania herbacea). The last three of these species reflected a high degree of disturbance in the riparian zone along this stretch of Colorado River.

Mills County, Texas. Late October, autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

404. Basis of it all- Profile of the Weswood soil series (Fine-silty, mixed, thermic, fluventicUstochrepts) of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest along the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain.

Mills County, Texas. Late September.

405. Growing with the flow- Stramside perimeter (inner edge) of a mixed hardwood (green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan-bur oak) bottomland forest along the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain. The two views seen here constituted a "nested photo-plot" with the second or lower slide being a "sub photo-plot" of the overall plot of the first or upper slide. Two species of woody plant were in both slides: green ash, overall forest dominant or co-dominant, was at left and black willow (Salix nigra), a hydrophyte limitd to the riparian zone, was at right in both slides. There were seedlings of green ash visible against the backdrop of muddy river water.

The herbaceous zone was co-dominated by Texas wintergrass (Stipa leucotricha) and Canada or nodding wildrye (Elymus canadensis) overall, but in these two slides common sumpweed (Iva annua) dominated the outermost edge of the riparian zone away from the stream side. There was some waif Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylodon var. Coastal) that had become established vegetatively (Coastal bermudagrass is a sterile hybrid) apparently either brought down the Colorado River or drug in by grazing beef cattle.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

406. Big trees along the flow- At the edge oa a mixed hardwood floodplain forest where it ends at edge of the Colorado River massive old-growth specimens of gren ash had persisted from decades earlier. These old bruzers were senescing as they approached the end of their life cycle. At water's edge (the riparian zone) there were planty of green ash seedling to replace the parental tree generation. This was the only part of this forest in which there was any regeneration of green ash (tree reproduction was limited almost exclusively to the riparian zone).

The conspicuous herbaceous understorey was dominated overall (average of the herbaceous layer throughout this forest range) by Texas wintergrass and nodding or Canada wildrye, but the local dominant seen in these two slides was Scheele's bristlegrass (Setarial scheelei). In addition there were waif plants of Coastal bermudagrass (a sterile hybrid). Ther were also two species of caric sedge: 1) Muhlenberg's caric sedge (Carex muhlenbergii) and toothed caric sedge (C. perdentata).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

407. Felling with the flow- In a mixed hardwood bottomland forest, beaver and white-tailed deer (possibly also crossbred beef cattle) had overbrowsed young trees of cedar elm to the extent that there was not only zero recruitment of this co-dominant tree species, but already established trees of sampling up to small pole size had been felled by beaver and subsequently deer (and possibly also cattle) had been so severely hedged regrowth shoots (stump or rootcrown sprouts) so that there was a net loss in tree density and, especially, of crown cover.

The first slide preented a general view of the overbrowsed cedar elm, including girdling of larger trees (only saplings of cedar elm were felled). Interestingly, browsing (both felling and girdling) of cedar elm by beaver had been at some distance from the river bank. Trees on the river bank itself (the riparian zone) had not been browsed by beaver to the extent that cedar elm had been fed on at some distance from the river itself. The second slide showed girdling (removal of bark from an area completely encircling the tree). This tree had not died (yet) which suggested that beaver had not fed down into the cambium layer. This author observed just this phenomenon with beaver and cedar elm along Bosque River in northcentral Texas (see above).

These were bank beaver not lodge beaver. These bank beaver had dug extensive tunnels and shafts from the river up on to land, sometimes almost to trees that were fed on. Bank beaver live in their burrows rather than in lodges made of sticks and mud. These beaver had not built any dams acrosss the Colorado River (the width of the Colorado River would likely require a scale of dam construction that was beyond engineering prowness of these largest of North American rodents).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

408. Felled along the flow- Pole-sized sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) growing on higher bank of Colorado River that was felled by beaver, then resprouted (developed stump shoots), only for these resprout shoots to be browsed by white-tailed deer (and possibly beef cattle) to point that the former tree became a closely hedged shrub. This sequence of browsing actions had--up to time of photograph--prevented tree recruitment. Survival of stump-sprout shoots was clearly in question. Textbook case of overbrowsing by combined action of two (possibly, three) mammalian species.

Most grsss herbage seen here was Schele's bristlegrass with some Texas wintrtgrass and Canada wildrye in background shown in the first slide.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

409. Whole lot of browsing goin' on- Another local area within a mixed hardwood (green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan) bottomland forest range on which a combination of felling trees (sapling to small pole size; mostly of cedar elm, some sugarberry) by beaver followed with overbrowsing (severe hedging) of stump sprouts or heterophyllus shoots by white-tailed deer (and, possibly, crossbred beef cattle) had eliminated some existing trees and prevented recruitment of cedar elm and sugrberry.

Most of the grass herbage and cover in these views was Scheele's bristlegrass in foreground of first slide and around felled tree (small pole or large sapling) of cedar elm. Texas wintergrass, Canada wildrye, Muhlenberg's caric sedge, and toothed caric sedge made up most of the herbaceous layer in background of the scene seen in the first of these two slides.

These two slides were a "nested photo-plot" with the second slide that featured the felled, resprouted, and severely hedged cedar elm being a closer-in view of this overbrowsed tree that was in the lower left corner of the total or complete "photo-plot" (first slide).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

410. Same browsing scene in spring- Understorey of a green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan-bur oak bottomland forest range on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain in northcentral Texas. This was the same area of land as shown in the immediately preceding two-slide/caption set except that in this slide the forest range was shown 1) at greater camera distance (and hence, as a greater area of land) and 2) in vernal rather than autumnal aspect (ie. with the vernal society of this climax bottomland forest plant community).

Clumps of woody shoots were stump sprouts of young (pole-sized) trees of cedar elm that had been felled by beaver and then overbrowsed by white-tailed deer and, maybe also, by cattle (cows and calves). Regeneration shoots (stump sprouts) of cedar elm had been so severely hedged by deer and, again possibly also, by beef cattle (Brahman bull, Polled Hereford cows, and crossbred calves) that tree regeneration had been (was being) effectively prevented.

The herbaceous layer of the understorey of this bottomland forest range in this early spring season was comprised predominately of Texas wintergrass, the dominant, and the two Carex species, Muhlenberg's caric sedge (C. muhlenbergia) and toothed caric sedge (C. perdentata), the associates. Texas wintergrass is one of three potential domianant plant species ("tri-dominants") in the Texas Cross Timbers (Shiflet, 1994), but in the Western Cross Timbers, Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis) and broadleaf woodoats (Uniola latifolia) are the potential climax herbaceous dominants in the understorey of bottomland forests on which trees like cedar elm and pecan are the climax tree species (Rosiere et al., 2013). There were some closely grazed, stunted plants of Canada wildrye on this cattle-deer-beaver hosting range, but these small plants had relatively little foliar (or basal) cover relative to that of any one of the three most abundant graminoids. In analysis of this forest plant community (in peer-review at this time), step-point measurement did not detect a single plant of broadleaf woodoats. By contrast, broadleaf woodoats was a local dominant and co-dominant (with Canada wildrye) on an adjoining range from which livestock had excluded for several years (see slide/caption sets shortly below). On this bottomland (floodplain) forest site it was most likely (almost axiomatic) that Texas wintergrass and the two caric sedge species were increasers such that their dominance of the herbaceous layer indicated longterm overuse (= overgrazing).

There was also some cover of Texas bluegrass (Poa arachnifera), a native cool-season perennial, along with limited cover of Eurasian annual Bromus species. Forbs were absent or nearly so. Absence of forbs was an unexplained phenomenon.

Overgrazing of this floodplain forest range apparently had been over the course several decades. Current dominance of the herbaceous component of this bottomland forest by the three graminoid species along with limited cover of Canada wildrye and absence of boradleaf woodoats was consistent with overgrazing. This range was in an area long known to local residents as Rye Valley. It was a rational--but not necessarily a correct--- conclusion that the reference to "rye" in this proper name was derived from dominance by wildrye.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; early vernal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

411. Toothed at their tops- Two examples (individual plants) of toothed caric sedge (Carex perdentata) growing in the herbaceous layer of a mixed hardwood (green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan-bur oak) bottomland forest along the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain in northcentral Texas.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; anthesis and peak standing crop stages of phenology.

412. Lower parts- Basal and middle-shoot portions of toothed caric sedge growing in the herbaceous understorey of a green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan-bur oak bottomland forest on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain in the Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area of northcentral Texas. This species along with Muhlenberg's caric sedge and Texas wintergrass comprised most of the her baceous layer in an overgrazed (with beef cattle and white-tailed deer) forest range.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; peak standing crop.

413. Toothed tops- Sexual shoots and inflorescences (panicles) of tooth caric sedge on an overgrazed herbaceous understorey of a mixed hardwood forest dominated by green ash, cedar elm, and pecan that developed on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain. This species, muhlenberg's caric sedge, and Texas wintergrass (the dominant graminoid species) were increasers that dominated the herbaceous layer on which Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats were the climax decreaser herbaceous species.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; anthesis.

414. Another Muhlenberg namesake- Sward of Muhlenberg's caric sedge (Carex muhlenbergia) in the herbaceous layer of a a mixed hardwood (green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan-bur oak) bottomland forest along the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain. This species along with toothed caric sedge and, especially, Texas wintergrass dominated the herbaceous understorey of this overgrazed floodplain forest range. The two Carex sopecies were the associates whereas Texas wintergrass was the dominant in the vernal society of this degraded forest range.

It was emphasized that although the herbaceous layer of the understorey had been overgrazed (apparently for several decades) the degree of range deterioration had not progressed to the state of soil erosion. In fact this long-term overuse (= overgrazing) appeared to be consistent with management objectives of the small ranch of which it was an integral part. Coastal bermujdagrass (Cynodon dactyledon var. Coastal) was the main forage crop of this operation and periodic overuse and routine heavy use of this bottomland forest range was apparently necessary to provide pasture for the number of beef cattle that could be supported at other seasons by the bermudagrass pasture.

Nonetheless, from standpoint of range plant succession and the potential natural plant community this forest range was overgrazed and from the criteria of the climax plant community it was in high Fair range condition class. This successional trend of this range appeared to be stable.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; peak standing crop.

415. Muhlenberg's tops- Sexual shoots and panicles of Muhlenberg's caric sedge in the herbaceous layer of a mixed hardwood (green ash-cedar elm-American elm-sugarberry-pecan) bottomland forest range. Muhlenberg's and toothed caric sedge were the associate species and Texas wintergrass was the dominant species in the herbaceous layer of this climax floodplain forest. It was explained immediately above that the herbaceous layer was overgrazed and probably in high Fair range condition class.

Also, as pointed out in detail elsewhere in this section, there was very little regeneration of tree species in this native plant community. The general state of "forest health" of this forest range ecosystem was poor and threatened. It seemed obvious--at this time --that ultimately if current plant growing/successional conditions persisted there would no longer be a forest forest on this piece of ground.

Under such dire conditions, any soil-protecting plant species is welcome. That the two Carex species were native and perennial was an even greater ecological blessing.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; anthesis.

416. A vernal view- Structure and composition of an old-growth mixed hardwood bottomland forest that developed on a portion of the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain as seen in early spring. Tree species visible in this composite shot were two male trees of green ash (largest tree at far right and tree in left center of distant background), cedar elm (tree at far left midground), and American elm (tree to right of the left-margin cedar elm and to immediate left of center background green ash). Other tree species in this bottomland forest included pecan and bur oak.

In the vernal society of this forest range the dominant herbaceous species was Texas wintergrass while the two associate species of the spring society were Muhlenberg's caric sedge and toothed caric sedge. There was also some cover of Canada wildrye and Texas bluegrass. Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats were the potential climax dominants of the herbaceous component of this floodplain forest, but wildrye cover was miniscule due to small, stunted plants that were "barely hanging on" and broadleaf woodoats had been grazed out resulting largely from decades of overgrazing by beef cattle (and, perhaps, also by white-tailed deer).

The branch that bore young leaves in the immediate foreground was of a male green ash.

Degree of use and composition of the herbaceous understorey of this overgrazed range was compared in the immediately following two-slide caption unit to that of an adjoining range that had not been grazed by livestock for an unknown--though considerable--number of years.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; early vernal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

417. Another vernal view- Structure and composition in the interior of a pristine old-growth green ash-cedar elm-pecan-American elm-bur oak floodplain forest in the Lampasas Cut Plain as seen in early spring. This mixed hardwood bottomland forest developed on the bank and first terrace of the Colorado River, but there was almost no regeneration of any tree species. It could not be determined if lack of tree reproduction was due to less frequent flooding resulting from dams on the Colorado River, past grazing/browsing by cattle and/or white-tailed deer, or some unknown and unexplained pehnomenon.

The forest range in these two slides had not been grazed for livestock for several years (exact number of years was not known). Plant species in the herbaceous layer of the non-livestock grazed forest range were (in this relative order of general abundance and cover) broadleaf woodoats, Canada wildrye, Texas wintergrass, Texas bluegrass, Muhlenberg's caric sedge, and toothed caric sedge. Cover of annual grasses was negligible. These two photographic perspectives presented the ultimated development--the climax vegetation--of this variant of bottomland forest in the Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area of Texas. This remarkable relict vegetation portrayed Texas before it was Texas, the land when the Indian had it to himself.

On an adjoining range, which was the management unit that was featured in this section, overgrazing--decades of overuse--of the herbaceous understorey had resulted in (or, at least, contributed to) elimination (extirpation) of broadleaf woodoats and greatly reduced cover of Canada wildrye on that forest range. These two decreaser grass species that were the potentian natural dominants of the herbaceous layer had been replaced by Texas wintergrass; Muhlenberg's caric sedge; toothed caric sedge; Coastal bermudagrass; and some annual grasses, especially Eurasian bromes like Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus). Cover of annual grass species on both of these management units was very limited. For whatever reason(s), forbs were almost nonexistant in the herbaceous layer of this bottomland forest community.

These two slides were obviously a horizontal and a vertical view of the same area of forest vegetation. The two trunks leaning (growing) away from each other and the large trunk immediately to right of the two leaning trunks were old-growth, senescing green ash while the tree with a straight-trunk that forked into a two-limbed crown (second slide) was a cedar elm.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; early vernal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

418. Mixed hardwood line-up (and a featured one)- Major tree species in an old-growth, mixed hardwood bottomland forest (first slide) and a specimen of American elm (second slide) on a part of the Colordo River floodplain in the Lampasas Cut Plain in northcentral Texas in early spring. In the first slide tree species from left to right (including two trees in center and right background), respectively were green ash, cedar elm, green ash, and American elm. This American elm with its broken lower limb was the "featured speaker" in the second slide. This tree was a "just-past-prime" adult specimen with a comparatively tall trunk below its multi-limbed crown. In this floodplain forest, American elm comprised a greater proportion of tree crown cover (higher percentage of the forest canopy) than in a sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that developed along Bosque River and which was treated above.

Plant cover in the herbaceous layer in the vernal society of this forest range was dominated by Texas wintergrass and with two cool-season species of caric sedge which were the associates. These two Carex species were shown above and discussed relative to the vegetation of this floodplain forest. There was also some herbaceous cover of Canada wildrye, but cover of overused--thus small--wildrye plants was extremely limited on this overgrazed range.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; early vernal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

419. Will baby tree get to grow up?- A seedling of cedar elm on the floor of a mixed hardwood (greeh ash-cedar elm-pecan-American elm-bur oak) bottomland forest range that developed on the bank and first terrace of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain. This baby tree was growing beside shoots of Muhlenberg's caric sedge on a range that had been overgrazed for several decades with beef cattle (and, probably, also by white-tailed deer). There was little to no regeneration of any tree species on the forest range. Reason(s) for lack of tree reproduction was (were) not known, but it required no stretch of imagination to see that the comparatively large mouth of a Polled Hereford cow or heifer or a Brahman bull (the two parent breeds used to produce F1 replacement heifers) could unintentionally or, even, almost unavoidably "engulf" or "inhale" this tiny tree. White-tailed deer, which hedged almost every sprout from stumps of cedar elm felled by beaver in this forest, could rationally be assumed to eat cedar elm seedlings such as this little fellow.

Only a fool would bet on this cedar elm seedling surviving until it reached adulthood on this range. Even a crazy gambler should insist on some pretty heavy odds if he bet on this tree making it to maturity. No wonder that there were no saplings or pole-szied cedar elm (or green ash,, American elm, pecan) in this forest range.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March; early vernal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

The biggest representative of a big genus- Emory caric-sedge (Carex emoryii) was the Carex species with the largest plants. It grew in the riparian zone right at waters edge of the Colorado River. A caric-sedge of magnificantly pretty plants as well as being one of the larger herbaceous species in this floodplain forest. Emory caric sedge is in subgenus, Eucarex.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early bloom stage,

The big one closer up- Sexual shoots and inflorescences (floer clusters) of Emory caric sedge growing in the riparian zone as well as greater floodplain of Texas Colorado River.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; anthesis.

Toothed on the bank- Toothed caric sedge (Carex perdentata) growing on the bank of Texas Colorado River. It should be obvious to readers that the Colorado River is well-blessed with Carex species. Toothed caric sedge is in subgenus, Vignea.

Bank of Colorado River, Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Teeth on the river bank- Inflorescences and spikelets of toothed caric-sedge on the Texas Colorado River. Dead-giveaway identifying feature of this Carex species is the very long bracts at basee of spikelets. Toothed caric sedge at this location grew from bank of Colorado River back along te first river terrace.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Civilized on the Cut Plain- Cherokee caaric sedge (Carex cherokensis) growing on the floodpllain (first terrace) of Texas Colorado River. The Cherokees were one of the Five Civilized Indian Tribes to eventually get to stay in what became Oklahoma. They were driven from their homes in southeasterrn North America, including the Great Smoky Mountains, and forced to march to Indian Territory in the winter Many died due to exposure and starvation as they were force marched--upon orders of President Andrew Jackson--over the Cherokee Trail of Tears. There is much more to the story, but the least the whiteman could do was tane this fine caric sedge after them. Small consolation, but not take anything from a showy sedge.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Instructive views- Three views of the male and female inflorescences of Cherokee caric sedge. Thesestructures were produced on the first terrace of Texas Colorado River. Cherokee caric sedge is in subgenus Eu-Carex.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Rounded around- Globose caric sedge (Carex globosa) growing on the floodplain of Texas Colorado River. Seen as a relatively large colony or local population (first slide) and the distinct male and female inflorescences (second slide).

Colorado Bend Stte Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early bloom stage.

At river's edge- In the edge water of Colorado River Jamacian sawgrass (Cladum jamaicense) grew as large isolated plants. These developed into larger clumps, bu;t they did not form large extensive colonies as is often characteristic along Gulf shores and, especially, of the Florida Everglades, (Yes, the herbaceous dominant of the Everglades is this same species, but along Texas' Colorado River sawgrass was not a "river of grass). Sawgrasss is an aquatic or, in the dry season, a semiaquatic plant.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Young and sexy- Immature panicle recently emerged from a sexual shoot of Jamacian sawgrass out in the edge water of Texas Colorado River.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

New spikelets- Immatre spikelets on a reently emerged and still-expanding panicle of Jamacian sawgrass in Texas Colorado River in Lampassas Cutplain. Sawgrass is a member of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), flat or umbrella sedgec subfamily (Cyperioideae), bulrush or sawgrass tribe (Schoeneae).

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Let me interrupt: why ain't Texas in the specific epithet?- Plants of Texas wildrye (Elymus interruptus)--both last year's and current year's shoots--on the first terrace of Texas Colorado River. Elymus species are highly palatable to larger grazing herbivores, especially cattle and horses. It is likely that E. interruptus had been largely grazed out from this floodplain decades ago. The plants were relicts and represent a grass species that would have been abundanta climax and perhaps a climax dominant, along the Colorado River before the arrival of Europeans be they French, Spanish, Mexiccan, or, finally,Anglo Americans.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

Interrupted spike- Two "samples" of the spikes of Texas or interrupted wildrye that was happy at home on the first terrrace of Texas Colorado River. These were last year's spikes that had somethow pesisted through a mild Lampassas Cut Plain winter. This member of the wheat or barley tribe (Tritaceae or Hordeae) was not common in this area that had once been heavily grazed livestock and then densely "stocked" with numerous camping areas or sites before it became a state park. Many of the more palatable species such as interrupted wildrye were returning under protection of Texas parks & Wildlife. (Unfortunately, "protection" from fire was permiting invasion by woody species such s Juniperus ashei which will eventually be detrimental to climax plant species like Texas wildrye.)

The relatively wide spacing of spikelets along the rachis, which is the basis of the species epithet, is clearly visible in these two photographs.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March.

420. Scar (re-barked) to show it- Old-growth specimen of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) growing on far bank of Colorado River in Lapasas Cut Plain of northcentral Texas that had been girdled by beaver decades ago. The bark-feeding by beaver had not gone deep enough to disrupt (or at least not disrupt most) of the cambium tissue with the result that the tree survived an regrew its bark. This regrown bark had not yet reached full development (developed all the characteristic features such as size and pattern) of the older, completely mature bark. The beavers' browse line, which extended about two and a half feet in height, was quite obvious in these two slides.

A young black willow was growing on the river bank was visible in the background of both of these slides. Species in the herbage of the understorey (herbaceous layer) included Scheele's bristlegrass, Texas wintergrass, Canada wildrye, Muhlenberrg's caric sedge, toothed caric sedge, and the anual composite forb, sumpweed.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

421. Climax species bottom to top (without cattle grazing)- On the near bank of the Colorado River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas a green ash-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest had developed with an understorey dominated by Canada or nodding wildrye as featured in this pair of "photo-quadrants". This particular pasture was grazed white-tailed deer, but not by livestock. Small trees (sapling size in general with a few pole-sized individuals) were mostly cedar elm with some green ash such as the two close-growing trunks at left margin of the first slide. Fiddleleaf or saw green-brier grew everywhere and was the dominant shrub of this floodplain forest range. There was some purpletop (Tridens flavus) in the grassy understorey, but this miniscule cover amounted to a trace proportion. There were more plants and considerably greater cover of pigeonberry (Rivina humilis), a member of the Phytolaccaceae, in the herbaceous layer of this forest range to make pigeonberry the major forb.

There were no plants of broadleaf woodoats in the pasture where cattle grazing occurred. Immediately across the fence from the cattle pasture there was the livestock-free pasture shown here. This was an adjoining property from which all livestock had been excluded for at least the last five years. Prior to livestock destocking the property had been grazed by beef cattle and sheep for decades. This livesstock-excluded range was presented here and in the next two slide/caption sets. Canada wildrye had almost no grazing defoliation and there were large, vigerous plants of broadleaf woodoats. White-tailed deer grazed both adjoining properties. This grazing situation constituted a controlled experiment. Other details of grazing history on these two contiguous properties was not known, but strong circumstantial ecological evidence strongly suggested that yearlong grazing by cattle had eliminated broadleaf woodoats. May we have the next pair of slides please...

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect.. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

422. Terminal members (without cattle grazing)- On the near bank of the Colorado River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas a green ash-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest had developed with an understorey dominated by Canada or nodding wildrye and with broadleaf woodoats as the associate (and, infrequently, local co-dominant) herbaceous species. There was also locally abundant cover of purpletop. The most abundant (dominant) forb in the herbaceous layer was pigeonberry. This herbaceous understorey was featured in this pair of "photo-plots" and shown in conjuction with slides in the same livestock-free pasture that was introduced immediately above. The range understorey featured in this pair of slides had been grazed by beef cattle and sheep for decades, but about five years prior to time of these photographs all livestock had been sold off of the ranching property of which this pasture was a part. Presence of broadleaf woodoats and conspicuously greater cover of purpletop was in stark contrast to absence of broadleaf woodoats and lesser cover of purpletop in an adjoining pasture that was still being grazed yearlong by beef cattle. White-tailed deer grazed both properties, and probably the same deer given that the three and a half foot tall fence between the two adjoining pastures was an "easy jump" for white-tailed deer (this author could handily swing over that low fence).

Further details of livestock grazing history on these two adjoining pastures was not known, but the comparison of the range grazed yearlong by cattle to the ungrazed former cattle and sheep range, and with both pastures grazed by white-tailed deer, amounted to a controlled experiment. Based on this fenceline, companion pasture comparison it was strongly inferred that yearlong grazing by beef cattle had eliminated broadleaf woodoats from this cedar elm-green ash-pecan floodplain forest range.

The straw (dead shoots) of Canada wildrye in both of these side-by-side ranges during the late summer-early autumn period was due to this climax grass (a decreaser species on this range site) being a cool-season grass (Hordeae or Tritacee, the barley or wheat tribe). Accumulation of such dense, heavy straw cover of Canada wildrye was due to absence of grazing on this species in the livestock-excluded pasture. Purpletop is clearly a warm-season grass that had live, flowering shoots at this point in its growing season. Broadleaf woodoats was still green with live grain-bearing shoots, but it is not apparent whether broadleaf woodoats was a warm- or cool-season species. There was no visual evidence that white-tailed deer had not fed on any of the grass shoots (regardless of species) in this livestock-free pasture.

Trees in the forest vegetation featured in these two slides were mostly cedar elm, but there were a few green ash and, still fewer, pecan. There were no seedlings of any tree species. Some of these small-pole sized trees had died and fallen down as shown in both slides. Fiddleleaf green-brier, the dominant shrub, of this climax forest, was widely distributed (much to the inconvenient and, ocassionally, painful encounters with human travelers).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

Drought notice- the general area (actually the region) in which this floodplain forest existed had been in Severe to Extreme Drought off and on (more on than off) for most of the plant-growing seasons over the last three or four years prior to time of these photographs. These forest plants were suffering from Severe Drought at time of these images. As rangemen so often remark, it is amazing how much range plants can produce and how well they can survive bad drought if they are given a chance by range managers rather than overusing the limited feed and related range resources during times of "short on rain and short of feed".

423. Climax understorey (without cattle grazing)- Part of the understorey of a cedar elm-green ash-pecan botomland forest along the Colorado River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas was dominated by Scheele's or southwestern bristlegrass (Setaria scheelei). The overall dominant herbaceous species of this forest range was Canada wildrye and, locally, Texas wintergrass. Muhlenberg's caric sedge and toothed caric sedge were widely--though sparasely--distributed throughout the herbaceous layer of this floodplain forest. In certain areas, especially on slightly higher ground, Scheele's bristlegrass was the dominant (often the sole grass and only herbaceous species), of the understorey. This constituted a local consociation.

Such a phenomenon was presented in these slides. The second or lower slide showed a local population of southwestern bristlegrass at closer camera distance. There were some plants of Canada wildrye and purpletop as well as pigeionberry, the major forb in this herbaceous layer. Fiddleleaf green-brier, dominant shrub of this floodplain forest, grew everywhere though it was generally rather sparse in cover (fortunately and more enjoyably for this photographer). Small pole-sized trees were cedar elm and pecan. There were no gren ash in the forest as seen in these two views.

These two scenes were in the same pasture from which livestock had been excluded for at least the last five years and the herbaceous layer of which was featured in the two immediately preceding slide/caption sets. This pasture also had broadleaf woodoats which did not grow in an adjoining pasture that served as a cattle range. White-tailed deer were common to both pastures. The population size of this white-tailed deer herd was probably overabundant from perspective of overbrowsing of trees and almost total lack of tree regeneration. There was no apparent feeding by deer on any grss species. White-tailed deer had browsed on fiddleleaf green-brier.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

Dense population of shoots- Local population of Scheele's or southwestern bristlegrass (Setaria scheelei).

Mills County, Teaxas. Mid-Ocober; peak standing crop, grain-ripe phenological stage.

424. A dying congregation in the autumn of its development- Two views of internal structure anc composition of a green ash-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest with an herbaceous understorey dominated by Canada or nodding wildrye with Texas wintergrass as the associate. Purpletop was a sometimes local dominant as seen in the foreground of the first of these two slides. Scheele's or southwestern bristlegrass was also a local dominant that formed small-scale consociations (see immediately preceding slide/caption set). Two locally important grasslike plants were Muhlenberg's caric sedge and toothed caric sedge, but these two Carex species were much less abundant than on an adjoining range grazed yearlong by cattle.

This was the same former livestock (both cattle and sheep) range that was featured in the three preceding slide/caption sets. There had been no livestock grazing on this forests range for at least five years prior to time of these photographs. There was no physical evidence of grazing on any grass or grasslike plant by white-tailed deer in this pasture. Hence, the accumulation of "straw" (dead shoots) and, again mostly of Canada wildrye, as seen here. Canada wildrye (as well as Texas wintrgrass) is a cool-season species such that these native, perennial grasses woul not typically have produced green shoots this early in the late summer-early autumn period. Furthermore, this was during an Extreme Drought (Palmer Index) so that early season "green-up" would have been ever more unlikely. Purpletop, a native warm-season species, had produced green shoots which were happily alive as shown in the first slide.

These two slides constituted a "nested photo-plot" pair with the second slide being the smaller "nested sub-plot" within the first or larger spatial-scale slide. The featured subject of this photographic "sub-plot" was the basal three-trunked old-growth (and obviously senescing) green ash that was presented from a slightly different camera angle in the first slide. Students should take note of the fallen, decaying limbs in the foreground of both slides. Most of the trees in the backgrounds of these two slides were cedar elm.

There had been--for all ecological intents and purposes (ecosystem goods and services)--no regeneration of any tree species in this floodplain forest. Reasons for this lack of regeneration were not known, but it might have been indicative that this lack of reproduction was in both cattle-grazed and livestock-free adjoining ranges. Both ranges were deer-browsed (overbrowsing in some local areas following tree-felling by beaver). It was also possible that grazing/browsing was irrelevant because river flooding, which unquestionably favors regeneration of tree species (especially green ash in this area), had been prevented for a number of years by flood-control (= "multi-purpose") dams on this once free-flowing river. Clearly almost all of the trees (regardless of species or size) had become established when the Colorado River was still a free-flowing stream.

This climax vegetation was an edaphic or topographic climax as viewed in the polyclimax paradigm (vs. climatic climax, postclimax, or whatever Clementsian term applied in the monoclimax perspective).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

425. Climax along the Colorado River- Physiogonomy, structure, and composition of a green ash-cedar elm, pecan bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of the colorado River in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. American elm was well-represented as an associate tree species (eg. two bigger trees in center and right midground of first slide). This forest range had been grazed yearlong by beef cattle for decades. Climax (an edaphic or topographic climax) vegetation was a relatively open forest with a well-developed herbaceous understorey. Shrubs were limited primarily to fiddleleaf or saw greeen-brier, but there were a few small, tree-like shrubs of western soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii= S. drummondii) and chittamwood (Bumelia lanuginosa subsp. oblongifolum).

The herbaceous layer was dominated by Canada or nodding wildye with Texas wintergrass the associate (sometimes, locally, the co-dominant) Texas wintergrass. Grasslike plants included Muhlenberg's caric sedge and toothed caric sedge. Remarkable there was no cover of annual grasses in this late summer-early autumnal aspect. Perhaps there were some annual grasses in the spring society. Forbs were esssentially absent which was in contrast to presence of pigeonberry on an adjoining range that was not grazed by cattle. White-tailed deer were free-ranged over both pstures. Perhaps equally (or more) important was browsing by beaver, especially in combination with overbrowsing by deer (see above).

This general area (actually the entire region) had been in Severe to Extreme Drought for the better part of three, if not four years (at least in the critical plant-growing seasons).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

426. Forest range on a floodplain- Interior structure and composition of a green ash-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain area of northcentral Texas. This range was grazed by cow/calf pairs yearlong (and had been managed thusly for decades) as well as being browsed by whit-tailed deer and beaver. The combination of the two browsing wildlife species (perhaps also with feeding by beef cattle) had--at least at local scale--prevented regeneration of deer-hedged stump sprouts arising from beaver-felled trees, especially of cedar elm and sugarberry.

All of the largest trees of green ash were senescing (= dying at end of their individual life cycles). All of the big trees seen in foregrounds of these two slides were senescing greeh ash except for the largest trunk in left margin of the second slide which was an Amereican elm. Major limbs on these senescing green ash had died long ago and rottted away so much that they could not longer resist the pull of gravity. Some of the aged trees, like the one in center midground of first slide, were more dead than alive.

The green herbage in understorey of these two slides was primarily fall green-up of Texas wintergrass with lesser cover of new fall shoots of Canada wildrye which ranked as the lesser of these two con-dominants. Plants of Canada wildrye had not made as much cool-season growth as had Texas wintergrass. Much of the green grass cover was also that of purpletop, a warm-season eragrostoid grass.There was also some green foliage of Muhlenberg's caric sedge and toothed caric sedge. There was a much greater proportion of new (autumnal) growth-herbaceous cover in Canada wildrye relative to Texas wintrgrass on an adjoining pasture that had not had livestock grazing for at least five growing season. This indicated that on this bottomland forest range site Texas wintergrass was probably more of an increaser as compared to Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats which were clearly the co-cominant (or, at least, dominant and associate, respectively) decreasers in this edaphic/topographic climax forest vegetation.

This part of Texas had been in Severe to Extreme Drought (Palmer Scale) over most of the last three, if not, four years.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

427. Old trees without a new story- Dying (of old age; completion of their individual life cycles) and, in case of the ole bruiser in the first slide, more dead than alive green ash of a green ash-cedar elm-pecan bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain of northcentral Texas. Cedar elm, pecan, and American elm were the other major tree species (in that relative order of crown cover) on this climax floodplain forest range.

This climax (an edaphic or topographic climax) forest had the dominant tree species in old-growth status, but this was less the case for cedar and American elms or even pecan most of the larger trees of which were mature yet not at the senescent stage of their life cycles. With the exception of fiddleleaf green-brier, which was the all-over-the-place dominant shrub of this forest range, shrubs were very limited. There were some sparsely scattered individuals of chittamwood and western soapberry. The conspicuous herbaceous layer of this forest was comprised of Texas wintrgrass and Canada wildrye as co-dominants. There was also some (much less) foliar cover of purpletop and Scheele's bristlegrass. muhlemberg's and toothed caric sedges had "respectable" proportions of cover with much of this being localized so that these two grasslike plant species sometimes dominated microsites. Forbs were almost non-existent on this cow/calf range. This was in contrast to an adjoining pasture from which livestock had been excluded (pasture destocked) for at lest the last five years.

This area had been undergoing Severe to Extreme Drrought (Palmer Index) for most of the last three years.

The big story--and a very sad one--shown in all slides of this Colorado River floodplain forest was that was no to almost no regenertion of any of the tree species of this forest. This lack of tree recruitment was greatest for green ash which seemed doomed to local extinction on this forest range. There were a few (precious damn few) seedlings of cedar elm and pecan. No seedlings were encountered of American elm, but this species was a less important tree based on number of trees and canopy cover relative to the other tree species. The role of combined tree-felling by bank beaver and subsequent overbrowsing (severe hedging) of resprouts from felled trees by white-tailed deer was one obvious cause for inadequate tree recruitment (replacement) in some parts of this floodplain forest. This phenomenon was covered with slides and descriptions/explanations of this overbrowsing condition.

It was also possible, however, that herbivory (especially excessive browsing) was irrelevant (or, at least, partly irrelevant) if lack of tree regeneration was largely a function of cessation of river flooding which was largely the result of flood control ("multi-purpose") dams having been erected across the Colorado River. It is a well-known fact that stream flooding generally plays an essential role in establishment of pioneer tree species such as green ash, cottonwood (Populus spp.), and sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). Pecan also fits into this successional category though less so than these others. All of these pioneering (colonizing) tree species are more or less ranked as Intolerant on the tolerance scale (Burns and Honkala, 1990). By contrast, climax species such as cedar elm, American elm, and sugarberry have tolerance ranks ranging from Intermediate to Tolerant (Wenger, 1984) depending on habitat (forest site). Contrary to this flooding hypothesis was the fact that there was very little regeneration of the higher tolerance climax tree species. Clearly, the combination of beaver and white-tailed deer browsing had prevented tree regenertation on parts of this floodplain forest (see again above).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

428. About as iconic Texas as it gits- An ole codger of a pecan with a Texas pricklypear (Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri= O. lindheimeri) growing out of the crotch where the first limb branched off of the trunk. It is most likely that some bird planted the pricklypear seed after eating the fruit (a berry) of the sexual parent plant. (It was unlikely that flood waters reached this depth now that the poor ole Colorado River has som many damn dams across it.) There was almost no sexual reproduction of pecan on this floodplain forest-- for whatever reasons.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; early autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Absence of sycamore and sweetgum and presence of sugarberry suggested that SAF 93 was more appropraite; however, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Cross Timbers-Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

429. A patriarch of the floodplain (and approaching death on it)- An old-growth, male specimen of green ash at stage of senescence growing on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain in northcentral Texas. Green ash was the dominant tree species on a mixed hardwood bottomland forest range in which there was almost no regeneration of the various tree species. (The herbaceous layer was comprised primarily of increaser grass and caric sedge species due to overgrazing by beef cattle and, maybe also, white-tailed deer.) Almost all of the green ash were senescing adults and most of these were male trees.(Ususlly ash trees are dioecious, meaning that there are only male or only female flowers on a given tree trees. Said another way, ash trees are either male or female plants; individual tree genotypes are of one sex or the other.)

After green ash the major tree species of this floodplain forest were cedar elm, pecan, American elm, and bur oak in that relative order. There were just a few bur oaks and these,too, were old-growth individuals just as the case for green ash, pecan, and American elm. All individual trees of these species were either young adults, fully mature ("in their natural prime") adults, or, most commonly, senescing old-growth individuals.There were large saplings and small pole-sized trees of cedar elm, but most of these cedar elms had been (or were in process of being) felled by beaver afterwhich white-tailed deer (and, possibly, beef cattle) overbrowsed, resprouted shoots (stump sprouts) from the young cedar elm. This hedging was presented and described above.

Senescence is that stage--actually the final stage--in the life cycle of an organism (ash trees in this instance) before completion of the life cycle by (= death of) that individual organism. Allaby (1998) defined senescence as "the complex deteriorative processes that terminate naturally the functional life of an organ or organism". Helms (1998) interpreted senescence as "the life phase of an organism or a part of the organism that precedes natural death, usually involving a decreased ability to repair damage and degradation". This final stage of life involves a complex set of interacting of phenomena including hormonal regulation, genetic determination, prevailing abiotic factors (eg. fire or, in many situations, lack of fire), and biotic interactions (grazing, parastism, etc.). Simply put these ancient trees were "dying of natural old age". Senility or the state of being senile is in reference to this stage of the life that precedes "natural death" or "death of natural causes". The way of all flesh.

When senescence and "natural death" of members of a population are not balanced by a comensurate rate of natural increase--that is, compensating reproduction or regeneration (sexual or asexual)--of that population, the population is undergoing extirpation (local extinction). In "real life" most members of a species' population do not survive to senescence. Furthermore, there may be (usually is) some immigration (outward migration or dispersal) of "homegrown" organisms Thus, regeneration (recruitment rate) must "make allowance" for death of immature individuals and immigration. On the balance side, population growth (net positive reproduction or recruitment) can include emigration (inward migration or dispersal oforganisms) as well as in situ reproduction (regeneration). Net reproduction must compensate for all these losses (and gains), all of which can be natural processes and part of the "balance of Nature". All of these processes (phenomena) are involved in population maintenance.

Whichever the case, whatever the cause, regeneration was not happening for green ash or any other tree species on this floodplain forest range. This "cathedral" of ancient trees was a dying congregation with no children's sermon.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September.

430. Another "approaching death" patriarch of the floodplain- An old-growth (and senescing) male green ash on part of the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain of northcentral Texas. This was the second old-growth specimen presented that was nearing the natural end of his (recall that ash trees are dioecious) life cycle. The process or phenomenon of senescence (the stage of senility) was defined and explained above. Senescence was also put in context of population maintenance in the immediately preceding slide/caption set.

Both of these old-growth senescent specimens were presented from basal trunk to lower or mid-crown in the first slide and the trunk below tree crown in the second slide. These two battered old boys could tell tales of both good years and hard times (flood, drought, wind, ice). Even with unlimited space on the Internet, time did permit the relating of these "tree talk" incidents and experiences. Just enjoy the old patriarchs as they were. There might even be some green ash to replace them. May we have the next slide, please…

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September.

431. Some hope remains- Crown of a young female ash "bearing much fruit" (first slide) and clusters of some of this fruit (second slide) growing on the bank of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain in northcentral Texas. The fruit type of ash is a samara.

These samaras could result in some sexual reproduction of green ash on this floodplain forest. Green ash (along with cedar elm, pecan, American elm, and bur oak) were slowly being extirpated from this natural forest community. For whatever reason(s), there was almost zero recruitment or net reproduction of any tree species on this bottomland forest range that was supporting beef cattle (cows and calves), white-tailed deer, and beave (the largest mammals present). This situation was explained immediately above when senescent old-growth specimens of green ash were shown and discussed.

Green ash is an extremely widely distributed species with a biological (species) range extending Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta south through the Great Plains to the Pineywoods of east Texas to the Panahadle of Florida (Burns and Honkala, 1990). In fact, green ash has the largest species range of any North American ash (Harlow et al., 1979, p. 443).

Tolerance of green ash is still a matter of controversy or extreme variation, but it is a seral species that comes in as a pioneer or second stage seral species following such pioneers as cottonwood or sycamore (Harlow et al., 1979, p. 443; Burns and Honkala, 1990). In addition to a good treatment of the silvics of this species (Burns and Honkala, 1990) the old standby of Sargent (1933, ps. 845-847) as well as the timeless text, Textbook of Dendrology (Harlow et al, 1979, ps. 442-443).

Lumber quality of green ash is vastly inferior to that of white ash (F. americana) (Sargent, 1933, p. 846).

There is some confusion in common name (for once the common rather than the scientific name) of F. pennsylvanica. Sargent (1933, ps. 845-846) used the colloquial or common name of red ash for F. pennsylvanica while reserving the common name of green ash for F. pennsylvanica var. lanceolata. In the most specific flora of northcentral Texas, where these examples were taken, (Diggs et al., 1999, p. 849) used F. pennsylvanica for "green ash, red ash". The Great Plains Flora Association (1986, p. 750) showed "red or green ash" as common names for F. pennsylvanica of which it gave four varieties as synonyms for. Diggs et al. (1999, p. 849) showed variety, F. pennsylvanica var. integerrima for green ash in northcentral Texas (whch would apply to examples shown in this section).

Floodplain of Colorado River, Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September;maturing fruit stage.

432. Early production; male stuff- A long leader (wooden shoot or branch) of male green ash (first slide) and closer-in view of a cluster of staminate flowers on this leader (second slide) on the greater floodplain of a small river in the Western Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Typically the ash species are dioecious with separate male and female plants (a single tree produces only staminate or only pistillate flowers). The organs seen here were growing on the tree the lower or basal crown, lower trunk, and bark of which of which were shown in a subsequent three-slide/caption set below.

The flower cluster of Fraxinus species, the ashes, have been interpreted as panicles (Diggs et al., 1999, p. 848).

Floodplain, Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late March.

433. More male stuff- Leader (wooden shoot) apex of male green ash with staminate flowers and just-emerging leaves (first slide) and "spent" (senesced and shed) male flowers of green ash on soil surface (second slide).

First slide: Floodplain, Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late March. Second slide: Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late March; senesced staminate panicles.

434. Boys hanging out- Staminate flower clusters (with emerging baby leaves) of green ash on a male tree above Bosque River in northcentral Texas. Al All Fraxinus species are dioecious with separate "boy and girl plants". The examples in these three shots were from two different trees on the same date. Discoloration of these male catkinss, especially of those in the second photograph (on a different tree from those in the first and third slides) was due to frost damage (a late "killing freeze"). It appeared that death or severe injury to staminate catkins occurred after pollen production and coincided with atrophying anthers. Lucky boys.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late March; early anthesis (moderate to severe frost damage).

435. Barked up details- Upper trunk and first limbs (first slide), basal trunk (second slide), and bark on lower trunk (third slide) of a green ash growing above a small river in the West Cross Timbers of northcentral Texas. Bark features, pattern, etc. were those of an adult green ash with fully mature bark, though not of an old-growth or senescing (old-age) green ash.

Bosque River, Erath County, Texas. Late March.

Colorado River climax- Classic view of the climax bottomland forest theat represented the utimate development of a mixed hardwood on the immediate floodplain of the Texas Colorado River. "Picture-perfect" example of the composition and interior structure of a forest range on edges of the West Cross Timbers and the eastern Edwards Plateau. Trees, most of which were adults in their "natural prime", included sugarberry, green ash, cedar elm, and American elm in that approximate order based on canopy cover. The woody vine or liana, saw green-brier (Smilax bona-nox) was the dominant shrub. The secon major liana in this sylvan secne was mustang grape.

The understorey was overwhelmingly herbaceous and was dominated by Canada wildrye, boradleaf woodoats, and naturalized Johnsongrass (Sorghum halapense).

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May, vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Climax players along the Colorado- Two "dendrophotoplots" of forest range plants on bank of the Colorado River in early spring. The second slide was a closer-in view at a diffenernt angle of the same plants as in the first slide which presented a "long view" (a farther back camera distance) of the river bank and its cast of charactters. Trees from left to right were sycamor (Platanus occidentalis), black willow (Salix nigra), gren ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and American or white elm (Ulmus americana). Broadleaf woodoats (Uniola latifolia) dominated the herbaceous understorey accompanied by its associate grass, Johnsongrass (Sorghum halapense) plus some Canada or nodding wildrye (Elymus canadensis) and the whiteman's introduced Eurasian annual grass, Japanese chess or brome (Bromus japonicus). And, of course, saw gren-brier (Smilax bona-nox) was always presen to teach the distaff side to wear pnats the same as the men folks.

(Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Relict on the bank- On the bank of Colorado River just outward from the riparian zone these two nested "photo-plots" showed a relict stand of the climax (potential natural) vegetation of a mixed hardwood bottomland forest range. Trees in the first or overall "photoplot" were a young green ash and a very large to almost huge black willow (Salix nigra) in left and right midground, respecitvely. Behnid these was a comparatively large, adult sycamore. This sycamore with a young, sapling-size, basal shoot coming off to right of the main trunk was shown in more detail (at closer distance in closer) in the second slide which was a nested "photoplot" of the overall "photoplot" (first slide).

The herbaceous understorey was a mixture of co-dominant native grasses, Canda wildrye and broadleaf woodoas and the ever-present naturalized Johnsongrass. Also always present in such bottomland forests in this region--even if not visible in slides--is saw green-brier which makes for slowed travel and always-unavoidable minor lacerations and puncture wounds. (Damned green-brier; but its early shoots provided valuable browse for all species of grazing/browsing range animals.)

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004)..

Leaning on the upper bank- Two trunks of green ash (left) and a smaller, youthful American elm (right) growing on the high end of the steep bank of Tesas' Colorado River in he eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau. herbaceous foliage was a roughly half-and-half mixture of Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats. Spikes of the cool-season Canada wildrye were in the late-boot (immediate-early bloom) phenological stage.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May, vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Homogenous congregation- Local stand (a population) of broadleaf woodoats that was overall co-dominant or, more typically, associate species to Canada wildrye in a climax mixed hardwood bottomland forest range that developed on the floodplain of Texas' Colorado River in a transition zone between the West Cross Timbers and the the northeastern Edwards Plateau. Trees in midground (between colony of broadleaf woodoats and the river) were green ash, cedar elm, American elm, and sycamore.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May, vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Earlier in the season- Another "sector" of the bank of the Colorado River with last season's dead shoots of Johnsongrass and broadleaf woodoats plus a shoot of common or rough scouring rush (Equisetum hymenale) in lower left corner along with the always-here-there-and-everywhere saw green-brier accompanied with roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) in foregound. Tree in left midground was American elm (Ulmus americana) as a trellis for mustang grape (Vitis mustangensis). Tree in right midground was greeh ash. And Texas' Colorado River kept rolling and provided the near background for this floodpoain forest.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Tangled trees on the Colorado- On the bank of Texas' Colorado River a bottomland forest supported two Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) trees (the largest tree at left and the farthest tree at right) and a cedaar elm (middle tree) that were drapped with the woody vine (liana) of a mustang grape. Anotherr liana, saw green-brier accompaned the larger woody vine to make for rough going for quadreped or biped travelers. The herbaceous range that could still grow in the shade of these woody range plants was broadleaf woodoats.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Tangled everything- In Texas when and where there is water (usually less, less often, and more restricted than Texans would prefer) green stuff can grow big. Here a large mustang grape had climbed, twined, and wrapped around about every other range plant along this part of the Colorado River bank. Trees shown here were cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), but this ole Vitis mustangensis had also grabbd aholt of the shrubs, roughlead dogwood and Mexican (Ungandia speciosa). Saw green-brier was always there ready to tear (at least, tear at) anything and everything. Then to add more discomfort to unprotected allergenic skin poison ivy (Rhus radicans=R. toxicodendron= Toxicodendron radicans). Lianas (woody shrubs) were clearly in control of this segment of the Colorado River bank. Welcome to the beloved Texas Hill Country.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Two close friends and a giant of its kind plus woody vines for neighbors- Growing on the bank of the Colorado River in the northern Edwards Plateau were two trunks of cedar elm (one tree or two?) with a huge (relatively speaking) chittamwood Bumelia lanuginosa) while all around these trees there were the twisting, rambling woody twisting vines of saw green-brier, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy. For good measure roughleaf dogwood was in this woody congregation.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

A clump, two-of-a-kind, a single Eight boles (trunks or shoots) of a green ash with a forked trunk of American elm and a single trunk of cedar elm to right rear of the green ash. It could not be determined if all the boles of the green ash were one tree (one genotype) as, perhaps, coppice shoots from a felled tree as pehaps by beaver (Castor canadensis) or if these boles were more than one tree. The green ash and the two elm species were just leafing out. An invasive Ashe or post juniper (Juniperus ashei) which is known by locals, such as cedar chopers and fishermen, simply as cedarwas in the left background.

There had been quite an invasion of Ashe cedar along this streatch of the Colorado River. It was suspected that this invasion was due to fire supperession. Obviously there was a lot of herbaceous fuel here, most of which in these two views was broadleaf woodoats.

Further evidence of 1) past fires and 2) recent fire suppression and cedar invasion in this place were presented below.l

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Big, scarred and very supportive- On the bank of the Colorado River in the northern Edwards Plateau an immense (by standards for its species) red mulberry (Morus rubra) that bore scars from both wind and fire damage and still alive, healthy, and providing a trellis for an equally large mustang grape.Always wrapping around things was saw green-brier. The herbaceous layerr of this bottomland forest range vegetation was broadleaf woodoats (the most abundant) followed by Johnsongrass, Canada or nodding wildrye, Japanese brome or Japanese chess, and the pteridophyte, common or rough scouring rush (Equisetum hymenale).

A deep fire scar extending two and a half foot up the trunk of the red mulberry (barely visible on the left side of the trunk in the secondslide) bespoke of past fire(s). This photographic evidence (and that preented in the immediately following three-slide set) attested to past fires followed by fire suppression and consequent invasion by Ashe juniper.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Fire is friend to climax hardwood foe to invading conifer-Four views of a fire-scarred, mature cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), a cedar elm sapling beside it, and newly invading Ashe juniper ("cedar") on the floodplain of a hardwood bottonland forest along th;e Colorado River in the northern Edwards Plateau. The long fire chimney that extended from the trunk base up the trunk to first limbs of this old tree shows that fire was a factor in this forest. And presence of numerous small Ashe juniper (post cedar) indicated that fire had been absent for at least long enough for these "post cedars"to become established and to threaten reproduction of cedar elm. All these three slides showed one or more invading Adhe juniper while the third of these three slides showed a sapling of cedar elm at base of the fire chiimneied old-timer. Of course fire would likely topkill this cedar elm sapling, but it can resprout while Ashe junipers cannot. Like all defoliators, fire is a "selective grazer".

This relationship between cedar elm and "cedar" goes back to the common name, cedar elm. Although U. crassifolia has a number of common names including lime (limestone) elm and basket elm (and the speccific epithet means "thick-leafed") the more common moniker of cedar elm supposedly arose from it association with "cedar"(mostly Juniperus ashei). Thus there appears to have been a long association of these two species, and presumedly an association of competition.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

"cCedars" thinned by a browser- The small "snags" or high little stumps of two Ashe cedar (Juniperus asheii) saplings gnawed off by beaver (Castor canadensis) which then proceeded to drug off the saplings and feed on the bark in a safe place. Natural feeding on a native range plant by a native mammal. this was definitely an example of herbivory and defoliation and, in the process, control of an invading conifer that had taken place during a time of reduced (suppressed) fire.Agents of defoliation whether fire, grazer and browser (eg. furbearer), ice storm and hail, drought, early or late freezes, or wind throw as well as the introduced beaast called man play a role in shaping the development of range vegetation.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Another product or benefit of the floodpoain forest- A happy fisherman heavily burdened with today's catch of sand or white bass ((Morone chrysops). .This was a Texas catch, but Morone chrysops is the State Fish of Oklahoma, this author's home state. During the spring when this slide was taken there was a remarkably good run of sand bass in the Colorado River--and plenty of fishermen to harvest the bumper crop of fish.This is a time-honored sport as well as agricultural food production.

This happy scene reminded us of the concept, doctrine, and legal standing of multiple u;se, the wise use of natural resources is to be compatable with other appropriate uses. In the case of the colection of naatural resorces that we call range other (=multiple) uses include watershed, wildlife and fish habitat beyond just feed, timber or pulpwood, fuel from gas and oil to wind and solar power,caampsites, trails, aesthetics such as wilderness, education, research, communication such as power line corridors,and character development which can come from any of the previous uses.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Late March, early vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

Summary shot of two zones- A specimen of the many-trunked shrub, 'possum haw ((Ilex decidua) and a grassy understorey of Canada wildrye and broadleaf woodoats represented the shrub or lower woody layer and the herbaceous layer, respectively, of a climax mixed hardwood bottomland forest that developed on the floodplain of Texas' Colorado River. This forest range was in a transition between the West Cross Timbers and the northeastern Edwards Plateau.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May, vernal aaspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash) and/or SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Presence of both sugarberry and sycamore confused matter of which forest cover type was was more appropraite; likewise, the former cover type designation for SAF 94 included pecan but there was certainly no sweetgum present so choice was unclear. Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Edwards Plateau- Edwards Plateau Woodland Ecoregion 30a (Griffith et al., 2004).

'possum hawed along the river- Three progressively closer views of the multiple shoots of an extremely old specimen of 'possum haw (Ilex decidua) growing on the far bank (first terrace) of Colorado River in the Lampasssas Cut Plain.

This is a relatively uncommon shrub in this range vegetation, but it is distinctive and clearly has the multi-shoot feature of a shrub. Neat plant and not easily forgotten. 'possom haw prefers moist bottomland soils (and, going along with that, deeper, richer edaphic habitats).

Colorado Bend State Park, County, Texas. Early March.

Eaten on, but not by a 'possum- Outer portion of leader with insect-eaten leaves of 'possum haw growing on the floodplain of Colorado River in the Lampassas Cut Plain.

Colorado Bend State Park, County, Texas. Early March.

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Flowers (later, fruit) for a 'possum- Flowering leader (first slide) and floers and leaves (second slide) of 'possum haw on the floodplain of Colorado River in the Lampassas Cut Plain.

Colorado Bend State Park, County, Texas. Late March.

436. Chittamed in the woods- Leaves and fruit of chittamwood, gum-elastic, or wooly buckthorn (Bumelia lanuginosa var. oblongifolia) on a bottomland green ash-cedar elm-pecan forest that developed on the floodplain of the Colorado River in the Lampasas Cut Plain of northcentral Texas. Chittamwood is in family Sapotaceae. Various authors have shown several varieties for B. lanuginosa which other authorities placed in separate species such that the species (biological) range varied depending on treatment. Its range generally extends from Texas and Louisiana (or eastward to Florida depending on taxonomic tretment) northward to Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas and south into northern Mexico. This region and the various habitats of chittamwood ecompasses oak-hickory forests, hardwood-pine forests, grasslands including portions of tallgrass prairie, and grass-tree savannahs Chittamwood is one of the latest blooming species in this area.

In addition to the treatment given in an outstanding flora for this region (Diggs, et al, 1999, ps. 982-983), the always-comes-through Vines (1960, ps. 832-833) presented good detail with other sources recommended being Sargent (1933, ps. 813-814) and Great Plains Flora Assocition (1986, ps. 341-342).

Browsing animals generally find the browse of chittamwood to be moderately palatable, and the fruit (drupe) when available is readily by various animal speciesincluding, of course, birds. Chittamwood was not common on the floodplain forest being described here.

Floodplain of Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late September; ripe fruit phenological stage.

River front flower- Slender or slim aster (Aster subulatus var. ligulatus) growing on the bank, the riparian zone, of the Texas Colorado River. The first slide presented the profuse shoots of one plant of slim aster while the seccond slide was of one such shoot showing boh the narrow, linear leaves and numerous capitula.

According to Diggs et al. (1999, p. 320) "[t]his is the most abundant Aster in the state". The annual slender aster is also known variously as wireweed and blackweed. As to be expected by being an annual composite and the most common of it genus in Texas, slim aster is essentially a weedy species or, more correctly in the sense of plant succession, a pioneer or colonizing species. Slim aster was very common along disturbed stretches of the Colorado River.

Bank, Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late October; peak-bloom stage of phenology.

Lavendar on the bank- Capitula (heads) of slender or slim aster on the single plant shown in the first slide in the immediately preceding slide/caption unit above. This annual range forb was locally very abundant on disturbed areas of the bank of the Texas Colorado River.

Bank, Colorado River, Mills County, Texas. Late October; peak-bloom stage of phenology..

Tributary Vegetation- Range Plant Community on Immediate Drainages of the Colorado River

The following short segment presented range vegetation on the immediate watershed of Texas' Colorado River at the point where usually dry drainages (infrequent ephemeral streams) met the main stem of the river. Range vegetation at (or just above) this confluence was considerably different from the bottomland forest that had developed on the floodplain of the Colorado River.

Droughted out on the upper part- "Skeletons" of Ashe or blueberry juniper (Juniperus ashei) killed by a multi-year Extreme to Extraordinary Drought multi-year during early part of the the second decade of 21st century on part of the immediate upper watershed (= catchment) of the Colorado River. The green shrub in lower left corner was Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana). Most of the green understorey was comprised of large, robust plants of the native annual grass known as Ozark grass (Limnodea arkansana).

The scene sen here was two years after the remarkable multi-year drought. This range catchment was not accessable to livestock. White-tailed deer were the only ungulates on this part of the Colorado River watershed.

This Ashe juniper woodland was a disturance climax resulting from a past history primarily of overgrazing and absence of fire. (Ashe juniper is a non-sprouting species that is readily eliminated by fire hot enough to top-kill existing plants.) Such disturbance-caused shrub and/or tree-dominated communities are brush, noxious woody plants (and their communities) based on the climax (potential natural) vegetation which for this range site is grassland or grass-shrub savanna. Disturbance or noxious plant communities dominated by juniper (generally called "cedar" by local folks like ranchmen) have long been known as "cedar brakes".

The prolongued Extreme to Extraordinary Drought was responsible for this "natural brush control project".

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May.

Draining to the Colorado River- Farther down from the portion of the Colorado River watershed presented above was this narrow draw that was a drainage directly into the Colorado River. This drainage carried a small, ephemeral stream--primarily in the wetter, cooler spring season--that was just above its confluence into the river.

The uppermost part of this local watershed (first slide) was dominated by Ashe juniper, many to most of which had been killed in a recent multi-year Extreme to Extraordinary Drought. A closer-in view of this Ashe juniper woodland--more commonly called a "cedar brake"--was presented in the immediately preceding slide. Just below dead Ashe juniper was a green belt of range vegetation dominated by Texas persimmon (see again the preceding slide).

The next zone of range vegetation was also composed of woody plans almost all of which were young trees of sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) at the large sapling or small pole stage. What range plant community had been replaced by small sycamores was unknown. Also unknown was the source of seed for these large sycamore saplings. There were a few adult sycamore along bank of the Colorado River.

The center zone of range vegetation (foreground of both potographs) was a combination of 1) herbaceous species the dominant of which was switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), wih associated hop caric-sedge (Carex lupulina) and Jamacan sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense= C. mariscus ssp. jamaicense), and 2) woody plants the main two of which were Arizona walnut (Juglans major) and graybark grape (Vitis cinerea). This inner zoneal community had developed around the perimeter of spring-fed pool known officially as Spicebush Springs which was shown in the next two-slide/caption unit. Please advance the carousel.

Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May.

Pooled above Colorado River- A natural spring-fed pool of water called Spicewood Springs in part of an ephemeral stream that flowed down a drainage diretly into the Colorado River. The perimeter of this pool was introduced in the two immediately preceding photographs.The pool-side plant community was a combination of 1) herbaceous vegetation dominated by switchgrass and with hop caric-sedege and Jamacian sawgrass asassociates and 2) woody plants the main two of which were Arizona walnut and graybark grape.

Aquatic plant life in the pool itself was dominated by the invasive exotic Eurasian water-milfoil or spiked water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum). This alien plant species which was completely (or nearly so) submerged is known by the straight-forward enough term of emergent.

Growing immediately outward from the perimeter zone of vegetation were large saplings to small pole-sized trees of sycamore.

Spicewood Springs, Colorado Bend State Park, San Saba County, Texas. Mid-May.

White Ash (Fraxinus americana) form of Bottomland Forest

White ash infrequently forms local groves in habitats that are especially favorable for its species. Such habitats are usually found in bottomland environments along streams or backwater areas where soils stay wet for a good portion of thee year. Such a local stand of white ash was presented in the short section below. This local grove had developed on the first plain of a terrace along a large creek in the Springfield Plateau portion of the Ozark Hihglands in southwestern Missouri.

437. Steppin' in hillbilly awe- Physiogonomy and structure of a small floodplain forest of white ash with a well-developed two or, sporadically, three layer understorey. Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron= Rhus radicans= Toxicodendron radicans) comprised a shrub layer that formed thickets on the land surface with some shoots growing into the crowns of mature white ash. Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) grew as widely scattered bushes rather than forming thickets and there sere some widely spaced shoots of pawpaw (Asimina triloba) to form a "sort of" second shrub layer. Wood nettle (Laportea canadensis) and pale jewelweed or pale touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida) comprised most of an herbaceous layer which covered most of the understorey of this floodplain forest.

To Ozark hillbillies accustomed to more open forests or, alternatively, dense forests with brush-infested understories (due largely to fire suppression) this grove of tall (reaching 80 foot heights), straight trees of white ash with this unique combination of shrubs and forbs below was an awe-inspiring forest community, a vegetational meeting place of reverence and inspiration.

Shoal Creek, Newton County, Missouri. Early July; early estival aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). No SAF cover type designation. No unit in Brown et al. (1998). Ozark Highlands- Springfield Plateau ecoregion 39a (Chapan et al., 2002).

438. Not an arboreal cathedral, but… - Stands of gigantic old-growth conifers, such as those of the Pacific Slope, have frequently been referred to with descriptions like "cathedral trees", "cathedral groves", or "forest cathedrals". The grove of old-growth white ash shown here in three progressively closer "step shots" was not necessarily the mighty trees that John Muir regarded as holy or as nature's cathedral where the sylvan visitor might expect to find God, but this forest stand was certainly the hillbilly equivalent of a natural brush arbor, woods meeting place,or the "church in the wildwood".

All these trees were white ash. The understorey consisted of two consistent or conterminous layers and one interrupted or "broken" layer: 1) a relatively uniform cover of lianas (Virginia creeper and poison ivy), 2) an inconsistent or irregular layer of widely spaced, individual plants of spicebush and pawpaw, and 3) a uniform, thick cover of wood neetle and pale jewelweed.

There were a few isolated large seedlings of chinquapin oak (Quercus muhlembergia) prompting the student of forest succession to wonder if these seedlings would survive and, if so, if they would eventually replace the pioneering or early colonizing white ash. In the next view of this forest stand (immediately succeeding slide/caption set) there were a few saplings as well as seedlings, and of box elder (Acer negundo) as wellas chinquapin oak.

White ash can be of Intermediate tolerance on some forest sites (Burns and Honkala, 1990). White ash certainly persist into the canopy of the climax forest and, on some forest micro-habitats such as forest openings or forest gaps, successfully establish trees from fruit (samaras). White ash also frequently sprouts prolifically from stumps of felled trees such that regeneration can be by both sexual and asexual reproduction.

Shoal Creek, Newton County, Missouri. Early July; early estival aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). No SAF cover type designation. No unit in Brown et al. (1998). Ozark Highlands- Springfield Plateau ecoregion 39a (Chapan et al., 2002).

439. Inside a white ash arbor- An old-growth floodplain forest that developed along a large creek in the Ozark Plateau was a breath-taking exampld of the kind of the sort of forest that badkwoodsmen (eastern forest frontiersmen) found in this westernmost extension of the eastern North American deciduous forest when the country was still raw and the forest virgin. At least this was an example of the more mesic forms of this foresst when the American Indians were Adam that dressed the garden.

This pair of slides served as a "nested photo-plot" with the second slide being a subset or "sub-plot" of the first, larger spatial-scale slide.

White ash were the dominant tree species, and the only tree species to have anything apporaching tre-size plants. There were, however, seedlings and small saplings of chinquapin oak and box elder of wide dispersion around the edge (perimeter) of this grove of white ash. Survival of thee two species of seedling and sapling cohort categories remained to be seen as, therefore, did the future composition of this old-growth forest.

There was an understorey of this apparenty climax (perhaps an edaphic or topographic climax) which consisted of two more or less uniform layers and one "broken" (irregular or sporadic) layer: 1) a relatively consistent cover of woody vines (Virginia creeper and poison ivy) that climbed trunks of trees and ascended into their crowns, 2) an irregular or "spotty" ("here-and-there") layer of individual plants of spicebush and pawpaw, and 3) a thick and relatively uniform cover of wood neetle and pale jewelweed.

Shoal Creek, Newton County, Missouri. Early July; early estival aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). No SAF cover type designation. No unit in Brown et al. (1998). Ozark Highlands- Springfield Plateau ecoregion 39a (Chapan et al., 2002).

440. Female parts and then some- Lower outer branch of white ash with extremely dense clusters of samaras and characteristic leaves (first slide) and a closer view of some of the clusters of samaras on this white ash branch (second) that grew along a drastically stream in the western Ozark Plateau (Springfield Plateau portion of the Ozark Highlands).

Modoc Creek (what was left of it), Ottawa County, Oklahoma.

441. Fruit of white ash- Several samaras of white ash (some of those introduced in the immediately preceding two slides) produced on a young tree growing on the bank of a drastically altered (woefully degraded) stream in the Springfield Plateau of northeastern Oklahoma. The samaras of the different ash species are so similar that distinction among them (and positive identification of any particular Fraxinus species based on samara morphology) requires great attention to details, some guesswork, and perhaps a good imagination. Nonetheless, organs seen here and in immediately prededing slides were positively identified. (Among other identification criteria was the fact that white ash is the only ash species that grows in this geographic area. That always expidites identification.)

A samara is simply an indehiscent (non-splitting or non-separating; staying closed) winged fruit (Fernald, 1950, p. 1582).

Modoc Creek (what was left of it), Ottawa County, Oklahoma.

442. Folks of and at the bottom- A two-forb herbaceous understorey that formed a nearly uniform (without-an-intrrruption cover) as the lowest layer in a grove of old-growth white ash that developed on the floodplain of a larger creek in the western Ozark (Springfield) Plateau in southwestrn Missouri. The two forbs were wood neetle (right immediate foreground with larger leaves) and pale jewelweed or pale touch-me-not (behind wood neetle and comprising most of the plant cover seen in this slide). These two forest forbs require high soil moisture content, with pale jewelweed approaching hydrophyte status.

Shoal Creek, Newton County, Missouri. Early July; early estival aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). No SAF cover type designation. No unit in Brown et al. (1998). Ozark Highlands- Springfield Plateau ecoregion 39a (Chapan et al., 2002).

443. Jewel in the woods- Foliage (stems, leaves, and flowers) of pale jewelweed or pale tough-me-not (Impatiens pallida) in first slide followed by close-up view of leaves and side-view of flower) in second slide, and frontal view of corolla and throat in third slide. These photographs were in the herbaceous layer of the understorey of a grove of old-growth white ash that developed on the floodplain of a large creek in the western Ozark (Springfield) Plateau in southwestern Missouri.

Impatiens species are in the touch-me-not family (Balsaminaceae). They are known for the phenomenon of jactitation or jactation which is bursting of the fruit and ejection of the seed under pressure (sometimes the slightest pressure), hence the common name of touch-me-not. I. pallida is an annual that is nearly a hydrophyte (plants requiring more than medium levels of soil water). It has water-filled shoots that are quite weak (easily broken).

Shoal Creek, Newton County, Missouri. Early July.

Example of an Ecotonal Hardwood Forest in the Humid Zone

In the transition belt between the Texas Pineywoods and Gulf Coast Prairies-Marshes vegetational areas there are several forms of hardwood forests, some with and others without a coniferous element. One example of these ecotonal or transition forest was presented in the synopsis showing that follows. Average annual precipitation is 58 inches and with average temperature of 74 degrees Fahrenheit some authories interprete this as a form of subtropical climate. While climate is maritime (or, at least, maritime as to prevailing atmospheric influence), the forest vegetation was clearly a hardwood-dominated community having a prominent woody vine component with plant species which were essentially the same as those of interior forests in continental climate.

444. Outlier of Texas Big Thicket- Outer edge of a sugarberry-sweetgum-green ash forest in a transition zone between pine-mixed hardwoods forest and a cordgrass (Spartina spp.)-dominated marsh-prairie. This hardwood forest qualifies as a margin of the Big Thicket only as to location and proximity to the general East Texas Timberlands. Forest range vegetation represented by this second-growth forest of climax species composition was an ecotone of the Texas-Louisiana Pineywoods and the western Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes vegetational areas (= zonal vegetation).

Tthe two foremost trees were green ash, which in this forest, was a major and defining climax species along with sugarberry and sweetgum which were the most common (abundant) trees in this forest which was a vriant of the general sugarberry-American elm-green ash. forest cover type described by the Sopciety of American Foresters (Eyre, 1980, p. 65). The shrub that was most distinctive, especially in combination with the three dominant tree species, (and most conspicuous) was dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor). This monocotyledonous (and relatively) small shrub demonstrated the affilitation of this forest range type with the general Pineywoods zonal vegetation. Palmetto is not generally a component of the coastal prairies and marshes. Other prominent shrubs in this forest were mostly lianas (woody vines) including rattanvine or Alabama supplejack, trumpet creeper, greenbriar (Smilax sp[p].), peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea), yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), and poison oak/ivy.

There was a sporadic though well-developed herbaceous component (more of an irregular rather than continuous layer) made up mostly of broadleaf woodoats, one or more unidentified Paspalum species, and southern waxy cric sedge (Carex glaucescens). The most abundant forbs were seacoast goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens) and giant ragweed. Commonness of this annual composite and broadleaf woodoats along with the dominant sugarberry clearly showed the floristic and structural affinity of this forest with the sugarberry-cedar elm-pecan forest discussed above.

Jefferson County, Texas. Early October, autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash); sweetgum as one of the dominants shared some features of SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Western Gulf Coastal Plain-Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

445. Defining members of a unique variant form- Green ash (the large featured tree) and dwarf palmetto (conspicuous at base of ash) in combination with sugarberry and sweetgum (the other dominant tree species) defined this forest vegetation as a variant of the general sugarberry-dominated forest cover type that is widespread throughout much of Texas and much of southeastern North America. This was a second-growth forest of small to mid-size trees but it obviously had the species composition and structure of the climax stage of this forest range type.

In addition to dwarf palmetto other shrub species included trumpet creeper, rattanvine or Alabama supplejack, poison oak/ivy, greenbriar, peppervine, and yaupon. The predominance of woody vines was striking. This was a discontinuous herbaceous layer consisting primarily of broadleaf woodoats, southern waxy caric sedge, and paspalums with two composites as the major forbs (one a perennial, seacoast goldenrod, and the other the common annual, giant ragweed).

Jefferson County, Texas. Early October, autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash); sweetgum as one of the dominants shared some features of SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Western Gulf Coastal Plain-Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

446. Composite "scenery"- General view of a sugarberry-sweetgum-green ash forest range in a transition zone between Pineywoods and Coastal Prairies and Marshes vegetation. As to relative cover and density green ash was more of an associate species in this particular tract of forest. This was a second-growth forest of more-or-less climax composition and it seemed plausible that green ash would become generally and relatively more important than sweetgum, a pioneering species that typically persist into the climax forest.

In addition to the three dominant trees, dwarf palmetto was a conspicuous shrub that was joined by yaupon and liana species including rattanvine or Alabama supplejack, poison oak/ivy, trumpet creeper, greenbriar, and peppervine. The discontinous herbaceous layer included broadleaf woodoats (generally the most abundant herb), southern waxy cric sedge, paspalums, giant ragweed, and seacoast goldenrod. Age and size of trees at stage of young maturity combined with a relatively low density of these trees resulted in a fairly open forest having well-developed shrub and herbaceous strata. A natural regime of periodic surface fire could be expected to maintain this forest structure. Conversely, fire suppression would likely lead to greater canopy closure and less-developed lower layers of range vegetation. This would probably accompanied by reduced cover and density of sweetgum, a pioneer species, and (as mentioned above) greater relative cover of green ash, a less Intolerant tree species.

Jefferson County, Texas. Early October, autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash); sweetgum as one of the dominants shared some features of SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Western Gulf Coastal Plain-Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

447. Unmistakable trunks- The blotched gray bark of sugarberry (foremost bole) and and finely furrowed, brown bark of sweetgum (trunks in background) bespoke the unmistakable dominance of these species in a climax composition, second-growth forest. Sweetgum and dwarf palmetto were some of the more obvious indicators that this range plant community was an ecotone between Big Thicket Pineywoods and Gulf Coast Prairies-Marsh vegetation. Numerous plants of giant ragweed indicated the widespread biological range and adaptation of this annual, weedy composite. Abundance of a pioneer or colonizing forb (though as smaller, stunted-appearing plants) was likely still possible because the canopy of this second-growth forest had not closed sufficiently to exclude critical quantities of light from lower levels of this forest range.

Jefferson County, Texas. Early October, autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash); sweetgum as one of the dominants shared some features of SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Western Gulf Coastal Plain-Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

448. Featuring the lower levels- Floor of the sugarberry-sweetgum-green ash forest described above. Species makeup and structure of the lower layer of shrubs (or lower part a shrub layer) and discontinuous herbaceous layer of this second-growth (and climax composition) forest range. Poison ivy/oak (a colony forming ecotype or genotype) was locally dominant, but dwarf palmetto, peppervine, rattanvine, greenbriar, and trumpet creeper were also visible in this "photoplot" of the forest floor. Also conspicuous was southern waxy caric sedge, broadleaf woodoats, and giant ragweed (although this light-limited specimen did not live up to the adjective of its common name). Trunk in background was sweetgum.

Jefferson County, Texas. Early October, autumnal aspect. FRES No. 17 (Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest and Woodland Ecosystem). K-92 (Elm-Ash Forest). SAF 93 (Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash); sweetgum as one of the dominants shared some features of SAF 94 (Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm). Southeastern Swamp and Riparian Forest 223.1, Mixed Hardwood Series, 223.13 (Brown et al., 1998, p. 43). Western Gulf Coastal Plain-Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies Ecoregion, 29c (Griffith et al., 2004).

449. Light made the difference- Man-made clearing in the above second-growth forest was a patch of Gulf Coast prairie dominated by sugarcane plumegrass (Erianthus giganteus) and with two composites, seacoast goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens) and late [flowering] thoroughwort or late boneset (Eupatorium serotinum), as associates. Trumpet creeper, which was content to climb the ground, was the major woody species in this clearing. Along margins of this man-made patch of grassland palmetto was dominant. Tree species in the badkground were primarily sweetgum and sugarberry with less green ash.

Jefferson County, Texas. Early October; early bloom stage of plumegrass, peak-bloom stage of both composites.

Arid Zone Riparian or Gallary Forest

Woody (tree and/or shrub dominated) riparian vegetation along streams in deserts constitutes a unique category or form of range plant community. In context of Landscape Ecology such gallary forests and woodlands comprise corridors in a matrix of arid scrubland. Sometimes such corridor vegetation differs only slightly from adjoining desert scrub in having narrow strips of potential natural vegetation that is slightly less xeric (or more mesic) than adjacent desert plant communities. In such range vegetation the riparian community (ies) amount to little more than bigger, taller "bushes" growing at greater densities. In other instances, however, an actual forest or woodland develops beside the stream. Although such forests or woodlands can be viewed or interpreted as part of the larger desert ecosystem, landscape, or general community this strikingly distinct range vegetation can be regarded as forests in much the same context as montane and subalpine forests on mountain ranges within deserts.

Such narrow, winding, small-spatial scale forests or woodlands would be interpreted as post-climax in the Clementsian monoclimax theory and as climaxes in their own right when interpreted in the polyclimax theory of Tansley or the climax pattern model of Whittaker. Regardless of theoretical ecological perspective these linear or "ribbon-like" forests were deemed herein as singularily unique and worthy of a special category in this chapter of miscellaneous tree-dominated range (= forest) types.

Woody riparain vegetation dominated by shrubs rather than trees was regarded by this author as a form of scrub (=scrubland or shrubland) and not forest or woodland. As such, shrub-dominated riparian range vegetation in arid regions was treated in the chapters devoted to the deserts in which such wetland range vegetation developed (ie. Chihuhuan, Sonoran, Great Basin).

In tree-and/or shrub-dominated riparian range vegetation there are typically herbaceous species which often form layers or strata that are distinctive--often diagnostic--of such wetland plant communities. Some of the characteristic herbaceous plants were included in the following treatment for which McKittrick Creek in McKittrick Canyon (Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas) served as an example of a stream in arid regions. For historic purposes it was noted that this creek and canyon were originally spelled McKitterick, that is with an "r" (Tarr, 1892).

450. Rock bottom- Near the mouth of McKittrick Creek at base of Capitan Reef the bed of this stream flows over plates of limestone, at least during wet periods. McKittrick Creek has a intermittant flow pattern with some short and interrupted stream stretches having yearlong flow (more-or-less) aboveground while other stretches frequently have subsurface (ie. stream flow is belowground). Overall, McKittrick Creek has permanent surface water only at sporatic or infrequent intervals along the stream's reach.

The geologic material of McKittrick Creek and Canyon is interpreted as travertine, "a hard, dense, finely crystalline, compact or massive but often concretionary limestone, of white, tan, or cream color, often having a fibrous or concentric structure and splintery fracture, formed by rapid chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate from solution in surface and ground waters, as by agitation of stream water or by evaporation around the mouth or in the conduit of a spring ..." (Gary et al, 1972).

Upslope range plants vary from various species of scrub oaks such as Emory oak (Quercus emoryi), wabyleaf oak (Q. undulata), gray oak (Q. grisea), and sandpaper oak (Q. pungens) to smooth soto (Dasylirion leiophyllum) and lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) to Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa) and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) among shrubs to small trees to grasses like Chino grama (Bouteloua ramosa), sideoats grama (B. curtipendula), New Mexico feathergrass (Stipa neomexicana), sundry species of muhly (Muhlenbergia spp.), and various threeawns (Aristida spp.).

In this short presentation of riparian range vegetation the plant communities of upslope woodland and forest types was ignored because that was covered separately as desert scrub in the Chihuhuan Desert chapter and as an outlier or southern extension of Southern and Central Rocky Mountain Forests under that chapter in the Forest and Woodlands section herein.

Major trees along the riparian zone of McKittrick Creek included the dominant little walnut, river walnut, or Texas black walnut (Juglans microcarpa) and such local associate species as velvet ash (Fraxinus velutina), Texas madrone or lady's leg (Arbutus texana), bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), and the composite shrub, seepwillow baccharis (Baccharis salicifolia).

The riparian vegetation along McKittrick Creek has often been descripted as travertine vegetation with travertine the adjective describing the parent geologic material of stream bed as it was defined above.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

451. Segment of travertine vegetation- The specific riparian range vegetation along McKittrick Creek has traditionally been described as travertine in reference to the specific form of limestone as defined/described in the preceding photo caption. Also as explained in the previous caption of this short section, upslope nonriparian vegetation of ponderosa pine-dominated forest and scrub oak woodland was treated elsewhere and, hence, ignored within this portion that was devoted strictly to riparian range vegetation.

The foreground section of riparian vegetation along McKittrick Creek presented here was little walnut (represented by two widely spreading scrub trees). The background section of streamside vegetation was dominated by Jamacian sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) of which more was covered below.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

452. Little walnut along a mostly dry desert stream- Little walnut or river walnut was the dominant woody species along much of the streatch of McKittrick Creek. Taller shrubs or small trees in bckground of the first of these two slides was velvet ash which was featured below. Farther upstream a few ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) grew in close proximity to the riparian plant community, but these conifers were not actually in the streamside habitat (ecosystem) and therefore were not part of the riparian vegetation. There were some individuals of seepwillow baccharis in this riparian range community but this species was not a locally dominant nor associate member of the travertine vegetation.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

453. Dry creek by an ancient reef- The limestone of Cpitan Reef extended to the bed of McKittrick Creek where little or river walnut, velvet ash, Texas madrone, and an occasional bigtooth maple comprised most of the woody component of a riparian range plant community.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

454. Little, river, or Texas black walnut (Juglans microcarpa)- A few representative specimens of the dominant woody plant of the riparian vegetation of McKittrick Creek.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

455. Foliage of little, river, or Texas black walnut- Example of shoots and leaves of Juglans microcarpa along McKittrick Creek.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

456. Water-dependent walnuts- A relatively large population of little or river walnut dominated the riparian vegetation so as to form a spatially broad community (including velvet ash, bigtooth walnut, and Texas madrone) extending considerable distance from the streamside zone of McKittrick Creek. Farther up McKittrick Canyon and Creek (base of tallest peak in center m;idground) a few ponderosa pine and alligator juniper (Juniperous deppeana) extended down the hillsides to grow in a zone adjacent to the actual riparian range vegetation.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

457. Ash edging the creek- Velvet ash was locally a dominant and frequently an associate species in the riparian vegetation along mcKittrick Creek, essentially a desert stream flowing out of the Guadalupe Mountains. A few representative individuals of this species of small tree were introduced here. Tip your leaves to the folks ashes.

In between the two larger ashes in the second photograph a bushy (small, rounded) bigtooth maple represented its species while a saw-toothed smooth sotol stood at base of foremost ash. Featured stars shared spotlight with their shorter sidekicks.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

458. A strange (at least, a unique) trio- Jamaca sawgrass, velvet ash, and little walnut "held down the fort" at this short streatch of McKittrick Creek. The travertine stone that comprised most of the bed of this stream was conspicouts. Tree species around the "next bend" (left mid- to background) included more velvet ash, Texas madrone, and bigtooth maple. Sawgrass grew at base and comprised an herbaceous layer in this local riparian plant community.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

459. A little bit of the Florida Everglades- Unbelieveable as it seems, the dominant herbaceous species along much of McKittrick Creek was the same plant that dominates the Everglades of south Florida: Jamacian sawgrass (Cladium jamacense). At very edge of this desert stream a major grasslike plant more common to the Gulf Coast had found a faraway home much to its liking.

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

460. Shoots of sawgrass- Several of the individual shoots of Jamaca sawgrass along McKittrick Creek had unusually large inflorescences with several whorls of fruit-bearing branches. Some range plants occupy unique arrangements of environments. The species range or area of Cladium jamacense is an example of a diffuse type (= form) of discontiuity or discontinuous range (Polunin, 1960, p. 188).

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

461. Texas madrone along McKittrick Creek- Two picturesque specimens of Arbutus texana adorned this mountain stream within the greater region of the Chihuhuan Desert. In the first of these two slides a little walnut grew at immediate left of the featured Texas madrone. while in the second of these slides a bigtooth maple, Guadalupe sacahuiste (Nolina micrantha), and smooth sotol flanked the Texas madrone (known also as lady's leg and naked Indian).

Guadalupe National Park, Culbertson County, Texas. June.

462. Blooming madrone- Shoots of Texas madrone or naked Indian at full-bloom stage. Williamson County, Texas. March.

463. Sexual shoots- Two shoots of Texas madrone at peak bloom. Also examples of leaf characteristics of this ericaceous shrub. Williamson County, Texas. March.

464. Flowers of Texas madrone- Details of flower cluster and individual flowers of Texas madrone or lady's leg. This was a good example of the basic floral features of the Ericaceae as viewed on the range. Williamson County, Texas. March.

465. Time for the fruit- Leaders with leaves and fruit of Texas madrone, naked Indian, or lady's leg. The fruit type of Texas madrone is a fleshy berry with two to several ovules per locule (Diggs et al., 1999, p. 582).

Big Bend National Park, Chisos Mountains, Brewster County, Texas. Mid-October; fruit-ripe phenological stage.

466. Shinning fruit and bark- Shoot of Texas madrone with fruit-bearing leader (first slide) and cluster of fruit with leaves of Texas madrone (second slide). The author has seen more shapely legs on college coeds (but not all of those legs were on ladies).

Big Bend National Park, Chisos Mountains, Brewster C phenological stage. ounty, Texas. Mid-October; fruit-ripe.

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