Diario de jmvanel

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Sun Mar 3 18:23:17 CET 2024
Sun Feb 11 12:46:17 CET 2024
Fri Feb 9 09:34:19 CET 2024
Many thanks to all naters providing advice !

After weeks of reflexions, it will be more fun to tackle places little explored.
Hopefully, I could accompany local naters in promising places. After all, this is much like I do at home in France for 3 years, looking for old meadows and woods facing north or south , see https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/flore-de-reyrieux?tab=about .

First ideas of a program

• 1 Arrival at Dallas, or another big airport (Houston etc)?
  visit bot. Garden https://www.wildflower.org/visit/gardens in Austin
  and / or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Arboretum_and_Botanical_Garden in Dallas
  Also San Antonio Botanical Garden

• 2 next day fly to Midland , rent a car (high-clearance vehicle), and drive to Alpine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine,_Texas ; hopefully stay at C.L.'s home
• 3 Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, just outside Fort Davis. botanical garden, the diversity of the trees and shrubs is excellent. It is closed on Sundays.
• 4 Davis Mountains Preserve
• 5 Big Bend National Park , Chisos Mountains : which trails ? https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/mountain_hikes.htm -- Big Bend Made Easy

• 6 Edwards Plateau (recommended by Joshua) Devils River State Natural Area - Del Norte Unit has great botany but is very remote and requires around 30 km of driving on well-maintained dirt roads then around 8 km of driving on rough dirt roads that repetitively cross rocky dry arroyos. 4 wheel drive is unnecessary but a high-clearance vehicle is strongly advised. The park is only open Friday through Monday.
  M.W. : For rare plants in Edwards Plateau, try Devil's River State Natural Area and Seminole Canyon State Park in Val Verde County. Val Verde County has both West Texas and Edwards Plateau plants.

• 7 limestone mountains : Apache , Delaware , Diablo, Glass , Del Norte, Guadalupe : where to go ???
• 8
• 9 Edwards Plateau : Lost Maples State Natural Area
• 10 - 11 - 12

Other ideas of a program

I wonder if I should not fly first to El Paso ...
El Paso, because the limestone mountain ranges are nearby: Apache (little explored), Delaware (little explored), Diablo (N. of Van Horn; explored in South), Glass (E. of Davis; a bit of masqued obs.), Del Norte,(S. of Davis, between Alpine & Marathon; lots of masqued obs.), Guadalupe( lots of obs.); Santiago Mountains (South of Marathon by 385, little explored)

And then I'll drive southeast to Davis and Chisos mountains.

I saw this nice article about a former ranch in Guadalupe mountains :
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/gumo_frijoleranch_smithfamily.htm?utm_source=article&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=experience_more&utm_content=small

Texas Beyond History is nice site, e.g. these articles:
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/trans-p/nature/images/dock.html
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/trans-p/peoples/foragers.html

And this camping site's site looks nice near Apache mountains:
https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/texas-apache-park-and-trail-xryh09rx?adults=1&children=0

Actual program

I just bought my plane ticket to El Paso for April 4 ; I'll stay in Texas until April 19 ( then I'll visit Connecticut ) . The plan is that 3 of my 4 children (over 30 ) will join me in Alpine after a week alone, and we'll spend 1 week together in Texas.

I 'm still working on my schedule ; at the moment it is :
El Paso

• Chihuahuan_Desert_Gardens ; it has a huge inventory : Chihuahuan Desert Gardens: Native Plant Database
• Franklin_Mountains_State_Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park (1 hour 40 minutes by car; arrive in the evening)

• in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Parking lot, Salt Flat alone there are 287 plants observations of 73 species by 86 Identificators, 122 Observers
• Guadalupe Peak Horse Trail : not steep, having north and south facing slopes
• historic place: Frijoles Ranch
• south fork of McKrittick Canyon : look for Ostrya knowltonii , ...

Alpine & Davis Montains

• Alpine ; hopefully stay at C. L.'s home
• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, just outside Fort Davis; botanical garden, the diversity of the trees and shrubs is excellent. It is closed on Sundays.

• Davis Mountains Preserve : try to see Prunus muarrayana :
  -- in the canyon on the east slope of Mt. Ord.
  -- near head of Big Aguja Canyon, Fowlkes' Ranch

Candelaria
After Alpine & Davis Montains, we 'l go to remote Candelaria.
It started with a remark from a botanist that the Candelaria region is little explored (see here in forum:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/preparing-a-botanical-trip-to-texas-trans-pecos-end-of-march-or-april/47683/1). Indeed, it is on the banks of the Rio Grande, at the end of a road which was only paved in 1985. There would still be 70 inhabitants (?), but properties are for sale! This is the route I'm thinking of taking: https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/the-road-to-nowhere/ .
Another more recent article on this road + the restaurant at the end (in Presidio): https://becausefoodiswhatido.com/2017/10/12/the-road-to-nowhere-took-us-to-the-oasis/ .

• We will follow the border and the Rio Grande for 160 km to Lajitas, where we will be between Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National Park; Farm to Market Road FM170 on OSM
• Possibly Big Bend Ranch State Park ?
• Big Bend National Park , Chisos Mountains : trails recommended by Scott J. S. : 1) The Lost Mine Trail in the Chisos Mountains is an outstanding 1/2 day hike. Plan for at least 4 hours with lots of stops for photos. At the top of the peak you can go off-trail to explore (and not get lost), and the view south into Mexico is amazing. I once encountered an unidentifiable cactus species on the peak 2) The trail to the South Rim of the Chisos is a much longer hike (full day), but also an excellent one botanically. 3) the Boot Canyon trail (between Emory peak & South Rim) is somewhat shorter, and takes in the wettest part of the park 4) there is a scenic overlook parking lot near Boquillas Canyon with a nice diversity Chihuahua Desert flora, including the arid-adapted Hechtia texensis bromeliad and Ariocarpus cacti.

Edwards Plateau

• Devils River ; Dave G. B.'s hunter cabin

Austin

• Balcones Canyonland Doeskin Ranch in Travis county with Michelle ; flight to NY

Links

Cultural and travel notes on Texas that I gather (besides organisation and naturalist stuff)
Flora of North America ( many families not treated)
Texas Native Plant Database
Plant species of conservation concern
Texas Ecosystem Analytical Mapper, TEAM Map of Ecosystems (best viewed on Chrome) . In fact, it is very detailed, but the road and city map is absent. So I prefer this PDF map : http://www.texasthestateofwater.org/screening/html/maps.htm (Vegetation Types)
Nice map on mountains ranges:
https://www.peakbagger.com/map/BigMap.aspx?miny=28.966452&maxy=32.716999&minx=-106.672316&maxx=-101.339&t=R&d=1356

Trans Pecos Wildlife District of TPWD : maps of counties with Wildlife Biologists https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/trans_pecos/regulatory/
inaturalist maps of plants by counties:
Brewster County (including Big Bend Nat' Park) : 61.331 observations of plants https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=30.66593889999999&nelng=-102.3208982&place_id=any&subview=map&swlat=28.97154699999999&swlng=-103.80068&view=species&iconic_taxa=Plantae
Culberson County 14.897 observations of plants (mainly Guadalupe Nat' Park) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=32.000664&nelng=-104.024521&place_id=any&subview=map&swlat=30.6636261&swlng=-104.918691&iconic_taxa=Plantae
Presidio County (including Big Bend Ranch State Park) 18.027 observations of plants https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?iconic_taxa=Plantae&nelat=30.6292579&nelng=-103.792703&place_id=any&subview=map&swlat=29.2591057&swlng=-104.980564
The best map of Candelaria on CalTopo . CalTopo was created to facilitate relief :) Better maps than Google, OSM, Bing.

QUESTION : best site for past meteo in US ( rain , etc ) ? Scott writes: The single best source of historic (and current) weather data is WeatherUnderground. Their interactive map will help you locate personal weather stations with both live measurements and historical data going back as far as each station has been online. Here is the map: https://www.wunderground.com/wundermap?lat=30.357&lon=-103.661. (Note that more stations appear as you zoom/pan the map, each is clickable for detailed records). Some stations record more measurements (e.g. humidity, solar insolation, snow fall, etc. than others). It is my go-to source for all weather data.

QUESTION I'd like to visit an organic farm , and a ranch respectful of environment .
Scott writes: There are a large number of farms and ranches in the Rio Grande valley near El Paso. It is now past pomegranate harvest season, but a great place to visit for free is the WonderFruit pomegranate farm (https://www.facebook.com/wonderfruitelp/). You should be able to locate other agricultural tour possibilities in the area. I suggest you call or write to the El Paso Visitor Bureau (https://visitelpaso.com/) and tell them what your interests are.
???

Texas plants wanted

That I already grow:
Acacia farnesiana
Agave lechuguilla
Chilopsis linearis
Cylindropuntia imbricata
Dermatophyllum secundiflora = Sophora secundiflora
Erythrostemon gilliesii https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1065391
Juglans major https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/143782-Juglans-major
Juglans microcarpa https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/164249
Parkinsonia aculeata
Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum
Rhus microphylla https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/167827
Salvia regla
Senegalia greggii
Cercocarpus montanus

That I may grow:
Fouquieria splendens
Trees from Benny Simpson's book "Field Guide to Texas Trees", that I want to see:
Acacia sp
Acer grandidentatum
Amelanchier utahensis, , Guadalupe Nat. Park
Arbutus texana
Cercocarpus sp
Chilopsis
Diospyros texana
Ehretia anacua
Fraxinus greggi ; Blue Creek Canyon in Big Bend N.P.
Fraxinus cuspidata ; Obs. inat' in Texas : present in Chisos ( Chisos Basin Campground), Davis (roads 1832 & 118), Guadalupe (Palm Springs Canyon).
Fraxinus papillosa; Chinati Mont.
Fraxinus texensis; Balcones Escarpment
Fraxinus velutina ; north side of mountains > 750 m
Juniperus deppeana (Alligator J.) > 1350 m
Juniperus erythrocarpa
Juniperus flaccida
Juniperus pinchotii
Juniperus scopulorum
Leucaena retusa
Morus muicrophylla
Ostrya chisosensis : Chisos e,demic ! https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/343204-Ostrya-chisosensis
Ostrya knowltonii , south fork of McKrittick Canyon in Guadalupe Mountains
Pinus edulis https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=18&subview=map&taxon_id=57902
Pinus cembroides https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=18&subview=map&taxon_id=57903 ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_cembroides
Pinus remota , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_remota
Pinus strobiformis https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=18&subview=map&taxon_id=143791
Pistacia mexicana https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=18&subview=map&taxon_id=284484
Quest for Prunus murrayana : The new challenge I set myself ! unobserved plant on inaturalist !
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/quest-for-prunus-murrayana-in-west-texas/48808
Other plants:
Acleisanthes longiflora
Agastache sp
Agave sp
Aloysia sp
Anisacanthus sp
Anulocaulis sp
Atriplex canescens
Brickellia californica
Buddleja marrubiifolia
Caesalpinia mexicana
Chilopsis linearis
Choisya dumosa
Cordia parvifolia
Cordia sp
Dalea sp
Dasylirion sp
Ephedra sp
Ericameria sp
Erythrina sp
Euphorbia antisyphilitica
Fendlera rupicola
Fraxinus velutina
Guaiacum angustifolia
Hesperaloe sp
Hibiscus sp
Juniperus sp
Krameria erecta
Krameria lanceolata
Leucophyllum sp
Lippia sp
Penstemon sp
Petrophytum caespitosum nice Rosaceae that I have a chance of seeing at Guadalupe Nat. Park
Plumbago scandens
Poliomintha sp
Quercus muhlenbergii
Quercus turbinella and other xerophyl
Quincula lobata
Rhus sp
Scutellaria sp
Scuttelaria wrightii
Senegalia sp
Senna wizlizeni
Tetraneuris acaulis
Ungnadia speciosa
Vauquelina corymbosa var. heterodon
Vauquelinia californica
Yucca sp

Questions

Where to buy seeds of uncommon plants ?

• San Antonio Botanical Garden (Michael Eason)

Refering to the Vegetation Types of Texas map (see above) , which types are the most likely to host rare or in limit of distribution plants ?