While many growers focus on attracting adult butterflies to their gardens, fewer know about the plants that caterpillars need to survive. Native host plants—wildflowers, trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and sedges—not only provide a site for the butterfly to lay its eggs, they also provide a ready food source for the emerging caterpillar. Think of these plants as the nurseries of the garden. This user-friendly, heavily illustrated field guide describes 101 native larval host plants in Texas. Each species account includes descriptive information on each plant, a distribution map, and photos of both the caterpillars and adult butterflies who frequent those plants. An adult butterfly may nectar on a wide variety of flowers, but caterpillars are much more restricted in their food sources. Some feed on only a limited number of plant species, so female butterflies seek out these specific plants to lay their eggs. For example, the host plants for Monarch caterpillars are various species of milkweed. Often, these plants are not the same as the ones the adult butterfly will later use for nectar. Learning more about the plants caterpillars need is crucial for butterfly conservation. Butterflies’ dependency on specific caterpillar host plants is one of the key factors restricting their range and distribution. Armed with this knowledge, readers can also hone their ability to find specific species of breeding butterflies in nature. This is a handy guide whether you are in the field searching for butterflies or on the hunt for butterfly-friendly options at your local plant sale.

Since its first publication in 1986, How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest has set the standard for both home and professional gardeners. Written when the native plant movement was just getting started, it helped convert a generation of gardeners to the practical and aesthetic values of using drought-tolerant plants in southwestern landscapes. In this new edition, Jill Nokes has extensively rewritten every section to include the latest information on the production, cultivation, and landscape use of native plants. She has added over 75 new species and updated the propagation and care information for the original 350 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines. In addition to the individual plant descriptions, she also devotes whole chapters to gathering and storing seeds, seed germination, planting, vegetative propagation, and transplanting. With this wealth of clearly presented, easy-to-reference information, How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest will remain the last word on this subject.

Type of bloom and fruit; how propagated; habit and culture; recommended uses; problems; tips and notes. To help gardeners avoid costly mistakes, Garrett also specifically notes which plants grow very well or very poorly in Texas. In addition to the species descriptions (which are beautifully illustrated with color photos), the book includes reliable, easy-to-follow instructions for planting design, soil preparation, planting techniques, and plant maintenance. Garrett.

A Field Guide to the Woody and Flowering Species Covering the almost three million acres of southernmost Texas known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, this user-friendly guide is an essential reference for nature enthusiasts, farmers and ranchers, professional botanists, and anyone interested in the plant life of Texas. Alfred Richardson and Ken King offer abundant photographs and short descriptions of more than eight hundred species of ferns, algae, and woody and herbaceous plants—two-thirds of the species that occur in this region. Plants of Deep South Texas opens with a brief introduction to the region and an illustrated guide to leaf shapes and flower parts. The book's individual species accounts cover: Leaves Flowers Fruit Blooming period Distribution Habits Common and scientific names In addition, the authors' comments include indispensible information that cannot be seen in a photograph, such as the etymology of the scientific name, the plant's use by caterpillars and its value from the human perspective. The authors also provide a glossary of terms, as well as an appendix of butterfly and moth species mentioned in the text.

Well-managed ranch lands or rangeland in Texas capture the rain that permeates our soils, sustains creeks and rivers, and replenishes aquifers, which, in turn, water our cities. The stewardship of the region is the focus of this book—the largest contributing watershed in the Colorado River Basin—viewed through the lens of its plant communities. This field guide and management reference to four million acres of rangeland in the Concho River watershed of west central Texas offers general descriptions of more than 200 plant species, including information about the plant’s growing period, growth form, livestock and wildlife value, and special management issues. Accompanying photographs give the reader an idea of not only what the plant looks like on the range but also which identifiable features, such as flowers, fruit, or leaf shape, are most important to that particular plant. In addition, several experts cover the use of fire and the management of deer, turkey, dove, and other wildlife in this region. A discussion of noxious, invasive, and toxic plants; historical accounts of the region; four useful appendixes; a glossary; and a plant list complete the impressive content of this comprehensive volume.

A thorough and well-illustrated guide to Texas' native plants, Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas provides both inspiration and instruction for creating beautiful and ecologically sound landscapes using the best that Texas has to offer.

“No single existing publication includes the kind of information featured in this book,” a natural history of the flora of the Lone Star State (A. Michael Powell, Professor of Biology Emeritus and Director of the Herbarium, Sul Ross State University). With some 6,000 species of plants, Texas has extraordinary botanical wealth and diversity. Learning to identify plants is the first step in understanding their vital role in nature, and many field guides have been published for that purpose. But to fully appreciate how Texas’s native plants have sustained people and animals from prehistoric times to the present, you need Remarkable Plants of Texas. In this intriguing book, Matt Warnock Turner explores the little-known facts—be they archaeological, historical, material, medicinal, culinary, or cultural—behind our familiar botanical landscape. In sixty-five entries that cover over eighty of our most common native plants from trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to grasses, cacti, vines, and aquatics, he traces our vast array of connections with plants. Turner looks at how people have used plants for food, shelter, medicine, and economic subsistence; how plants have figured in the historical record and in Texas folklore; how plants nourish wildlife; and how some plants have unusual ecological or biological characteristics. Illustrated with over one hundred color photos and organized for easy reference, Remarkable Plants of Texas can function as a guide to individual species as well as an enjoyable natural history of our most fascinating native plants.