Jessica Kaplan (aliases: Scratch; The Food Tsarina;
B.I.C.)
Patricia Corry (aliases: Lizard Healer; The Magical
Botanist)
Before we begin with the first day’s adventures in Big Bend National Park, the previous evening’s dinner experience is worth mentioning. After about 34 hours of driving, we finally made it to the one horse town of Marathon with two restaurant choices. We decided to try the more entertaining of the two (the other having a 3-hour wait list), where the main form of amusement was the waiter/cowboy poet. We shall never forget the wonderful last poem of the evening about the value of government to ranchers, mentioning Al Gore and his lovely wife, Trigger. This little old cowboy not only failed to buy a bra for his wife, but he also failed to win our ecological appreciation for his ranching-sided politics. Just ask Pat how much the land is degraded from overgrazing. On the other hand, if you do that, you might as well ask Dane to share his views on the commercialized food vending in Carlsbad Caverns. Anyway, we were all glad to go back to the hotel and get a good night’s rest before our first day of botanizing.
The next morning the Food Committee set up breakfast at the motel and bravely forbore the inevitable 1st-day comments about the food and coffee selection—the Harris-Teeter instant coffee didn’t win any popularity awards. We then headed south toward Big Bend. The morning was clear and cool, ~low 40’s F, with a ¾ waning moon still up. Desert scrub along Hwy. 385 includes Yucca torreyi, Ephedra, a few junipers; beavertail cacti (Opuntia sp.), especially on rocky slopes; and creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) on low flats. Larrea stands are patchy; within them, the Larrea appear widely and evenly spaced. The Larrea here are much smaller in stature than what Pat has seen in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts (apparently not everything is bigger in Texas). Much of the land outside of BBNP appears heavily overgrazed.
Although the previous summer had experienced a record drought, Southwest Texas had the wettest fall and winter on record, and we were lucky to be there for the peak of the best desert spring bloom in decades, at least according to the BBNP folks. Both outside and inside the Park the desert floor was carpeted with extensive patches of highly fragrant bluebonnets (Lupinus havardii), yellow wallflowers (Erysimum asperum), a white mustard (Nerisyrenia camporum), purple Nama hispidum and Astragalus, and other showy annuals and herbaceous perennials.
Bob wanted to know what controls the spatial patterning of the bluebonnets. In many places they were confined to the road embankment (possibly due to extra water in the form of runoff from the pavement, or edaphic differences between the roadfill and undisturbed soils), but even along the road shoulder they were intensely patchy. We passed a low S/SE-facing slope a few miles north of Panther Jct. on which the bluebonnets were clustered in the small swales, suggesting a preference for more mesic conditions or for deeper/looser soil than on the rocky high ground. Hypothesized controls on the distribution of bluebonnets and other annuals was an unresolved topic of discussion for much of the trip. (We are in the process of contacting “Unsolved Mysteries” on this one.)
We stopped at the Visitor Center (VC) to purchase entrance permits, decimate the gift shop’s supply of field guides, and hack in the parking lot (another continuing trip theme). Then we headed SE to explore the eastern portion of the Park. Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) and Agave lechuguilla were first seen at about the same place, ~ 8 miles SE of the VC. Our first botanizing stop was along the road on SE-facing alluvial fan deposits coming off the Chisos Mountains to the west.
Location: ~ 9 mi. SE of Visitors Center N 29º 14.838’, W 103º, 05.813’ [Map]
Elevation: approximately 2640 ft.
Species seen (# = cover class; *
= exotic species):
Cover classes, here and subsequently, are as follows: 1 = trace, 2 = 0-1%, 3 = 1-2%, 4 = 2-5%, 5 = 5-10%, 6 = 10-25%, 7 = 25-50%, 8 = 50-75%, 9 = 75-95%
Lupinus havardii (6) – Chisos bluebonnet
Agave lechuguilla (5)
Larrea tridentata (4) – creosotebush
Opuntia rufida (4) – blind pricklypear
Bouteloua gracilis (4) – blue grama grass
Nerisyrenia camporum (4) – Mesa greggia
Fouquieria splendens (3) – ocotillo
Dalea greggii (2)
Nama hispidum (2) – sand bells
Baileya multiradiata (2) - desert marigold
Jatropha dioica (2) – leatherstem
Linum rigidum (2) – bowl flax
Opuntia macrocentra (2) – purple pricklypear (has yellow flowers but purple stems)
Plantago helleri (2) – cedar plantain
Opuntia engelmannii (2) – Engelmann’s pricklypear
Leucophyllum frutescens (2) – Texas silverleaf
unknown pale purple flr (Polemoniaceae?) (2)
Dalea wrightii (1)
Bouteloua sp. (1)
Streptanthus carinatus (1) - lyreleaf twistflower
Dyssodia pentachaeta (1) – dogweed
Cosmos parviflorus (1) – Southwest cosmos
Polygala barbeyana (1) – white milkwhort
Krameria ramosissima (1)
Yucca torreyi (1)
Cryptantha sp. (1)
unknown mat w/ tiny pink flrs (1)
Driving
E. from Stop 1
seemed to lose lupine as we moved out of limey substrate.
Location: N. of road immediately west of road tunnel; N 29º 12.118’, W 102º 58.690’ [Map]
Elevation: ~3200 ft.
We stopped here to check out the showy yellow flowers on outcrops on the S-facing slope; these turned out to be yellow rock nettle (Eucnide bartonioides).
Hechtia scariosa(5)
Larrea tridentata (4)
Agave lechuguilla (4)
Eucnide bartonioides (3) – yellow rock nettle
Euphorbia antisyphilitica (3) - candelilla
Opuntia rufida (3)
Nerisyrenia camporum (3)
Mentzelia oligosperma (3)
Opuntia spinosibacca (2)
Jatropha dioica (2)
Fouquieria splendens (2)
Nicotiana trigonophylla (2) – desert tobacco
Baptisia sp. (yellow flrs) (2)
Echinocereus sp. (2)
Bouteloua sp. (2)
Polygala barbeyana (2)
Allionia incarnata (2) – umbrella wort
Dyssodia pentachaeta (2)
Nama hispidum (2)
Yucca torreyi (1)
Mammalaria sp. (1)
Selaginella lepidophylla (1) – resurrection fern
Baileya multiradiata (1)
Opuntia spinosibacca (1)
Cevallia sinuata (1) – stinging Cevallia
Sphaeralcea subhastata (1) – wrinkled globemallow
unknown shrub (1)
Along
roadside between Stops 2 and 3:
Argemone albiflora – white prickly poppy
[Photo -
Rio Grande bottomland with Arundo & Prosopis]
From the overlook we could see a dense stand of Arundo donax in the riparian zone, and a Prosopis (mesquite) thicket mixed with Acacia covering much of the floodplain farther back from the river. There was much less vegetation on the Mexican side (due to grazing?).
Stop 11-4 Boquillas Canyon
trail.
Location: end of road; N 29º 12.059’ W 102º 55.170’ [Map]
Elevation: ~3500 ft.
At this stop we hiked a short distance through the riparian zone along the Rio Grande; several of the group waded across the river for a multicultural experience. The phrase “When I was in Mexico...” was heard throughout the rest of the trip.
*Arundo donax – giant reedgrass
*Tamarix chinensis – tamarisk, saltcedar
*Tamarix aphylla (less common sp of tamarisk)
Salix sp. (interior?)
Solanum elaeagnifolium – silverleaf nightshade
Datura meteloides
Prosopis glandulosa – honey mesquite
Ambrosia sp.
Baptisia sp.
*Cynodon dactylon – Bermuda grass
Tridens sp.
Acacia constricta – whitethorn acacia
*Sonchus oleraceus – sow thistle
Callirhoe involucrata – winecups
unknown purple aster or Erigeron
Location: N 29º 12.673’, W 102º 59.588’ [Map]
Elevation: ~2200 ft.
Tridens pulchellus (4) – is the dominant grass at this site
Dyssodia pentachaeta (4)
Euphorbia antisyphilitica (4)
Agave lechuguilla (4)
Bouteloua sp. (4)
Larrea tridentata (4)
Opuntia kleiniae (4) – candle cholla
cryptobiotic crust
Hechtia texensis (3)
Nama hispidum (3)
Yucca torreyi (3)
Nerisyrenia camporum (3)
orange mallow (2)
Opuntia sp. (2)
Echinomastus warnockii (2) – Warnock cactus
Cosmos parviflorus (2)
Echinocactus texensis (2)
Baptisia sp. (yellow flrs) (2)
Krameria ramosissima (2)
Allionia incarnata (2)
Lycium sp (?) (2)
Ephedra sp. (2)
Opuntia leptocaulis (2) – Christmas cholla
Gymnosperma glutinosum (2)
Notholaena sinuata (2) - cloak fern, lipfern
Echinocereus chisoensis (syn: reichenbachii) (2) – Chisos Mtns. hedgehog
Linum sp. (orange flr) (2)
Cryptantha sp. (2)
Ariocarpus fissuratus (1) – living rock
Chamaesaracha villosa (1) - wooly false nightshade
Nicotiana trigonophylla (1)
Selaginella lepidophylla (1)
Acacia roemeriana (1)
Leucophylla minus (1)
Unk shrub (1)
Ferocactus haematacanthus(1)
Echinocereus sp. (1)
Epithelantha bokei (1) – Boke button cactus
Epithelantha lasiocantha (1)
Eucnide bartonioides (1)
Solanum sp. (yellow flr) (1)
As we walked down a small west-facing slope, we noticed changes in vegetation as the substrate changed from rocky (outcrop and float) on the small ridgetop to looser colluvium down lower. The ridgetop was dominated by annuals and succulents (Agave, Hechtia, cacti, yucca, etc.). The colluvium supported far fewer succulents and more Larrea.
Location: N 29º 11.414’, W 103º 00.696’ [Map]
Elevation:
~2000 ft.
Brief stop to look at vegetation on alluvium in large dry wash near highway bridge; vegetation was sparse and dominated by annuals. The topography, unlike the other stops, was fairly flat; however, there was an extreme disturbance:stress ratio seen here.
Unknown pale yellow flower with black seeds
Chamaesyce sp. (a euphorb)
Lupinus havardii
Chilopsis linearis
Acacia greggii
Acacia sp. (straight thorned)
Ipomopsis longiflora
Nerisyrenia camporum
Nama hispidum
Cryptantha sp.
Lepidium sp. – peppergrass
Baileya multiradiata
cryptobiotic crust
Polygala barbeyana
Larrea tridentata
Opuntia sp. (pricklypear)
Opuntia sp. (cholla)
Gutierrezia sp.
Salix sp.
Gymnosperma glutinosum
Acacia greggii
Stop 11-7 Brief stop at “lupine divide”
Location: N 29º 15.255’, W 103º 05.980’ [Map]
Elevation: ~2700 ft.
[Photo
- abrupt transition from Lupinus to Dyssodia]
Here, we stopped alongside the road, where the lupine ended abruptly, perpendicular to the road with no visible change in slope or soil texture. This was the obvious eighth wonder of the world. (The line traversed a range of soils and geomorphic types and topographic positions. A few sickly, cholorotic lupine seedlings were see on the wrong side of theim line, suggesting that more than seed supply was figuring into the pattern
Stop 11-8 Panther
Junction flower fields
Location: N 29º 19.730’, W 103º 12.450’
Elevation: ~1260 ft.
[Photo - Erysimum asperum & Nama hispidum as aspect dominants]
Erysimum asperum – plains wallflower (abundant, forming patchy yellow carpets)
Yucca torreyi
Verbena canadensis (or wrightii?)
Lupinus havardii
Aristida sp.
small white borage or Hydrophyllaceae
Astragalus sp. (purple-blue vetch)
Gymnosperma glutinosum
Larrea tridentata
Opuntia rufida
Agave lechuguilla
Concluding remarks …
It was a good day of botanizing—many new (to us) species identified, and no one counted coup on an agave or cactus spine. In the early evening we proceeded to Study Butte just west of the Park and commandeered a picnic table and some tent space in a Boy Scout-infested private campground. We were also able to engage in a fun game of hackysack before dinner. We’d set up all the tents and were enjoying beer and burritos when the wind suddenly went from 0 to 60 (well, maybe more like 40—knots) in less than a minute. Dome tents were rolling around like tumbleweeds; plates, chairs, articles of clothing and small Boy Scouts were flying everywhere. We restaked the smaller, more aerodynamic tents, and took turns acting as ballast in the big tents. The wind velocity gradually decreased, but it remained windy and cold most of the night. After dark, several people took a vehicle back into the Park to look at the stars away from the light pollution of Study Butte. Even in the campground the stars were impressive; a great reward at the end of the day.
[Photo - In the campground keeping track of the ACC championships]
[Photo - In the campground with hacky-sacking]
