Natural Bouquets at Selah

I have written before of my love of trees, particularly flowering trees which I wasn’t used to seeing so much in my native state of Ohio. This week in Texas we have two beauties blooming! They are small trees, but are like giant bouquets.

Blanco Crabapple (Pyrus ibensis var. Texana)

Some botanists refer to it as the Texas Crab because Blanco County is considered the southwestern extent of its range. I discovered this old tree in 1973 and learned that it was listed as a threatened species. I had been in this area many times working on our tree species inventory, but never recorded it. I never saw it because I was never there when it was blooming. You won’t miss this small tree when it is full of its beautiful white blossoms.

Paul Cox and Patty Leslie in their book, Texas Trees: A Friendly Guide, write that its “natural occurrence is restricted to stream banks and the heads of canyons.” This specimen is on the top of our divide in shallow soil and hot sun. So, don’t give up when looking for one on your property. This is a good tree for wildlife, especially deer, raccoons and turkey. The tree protects itself by producing smooth, spine tipped twigs that would prick the nose of a browsing deer or other creature with the desire to eat its fruit or leaves.

The Blanco Crab is a small tree, sometimes a shrub. It rarely grows over 15 feet tall. After the tree blooms, a small green apple develops and matures in the late fall. These are very tart – sour. Many years ago I collected a half bushel from this tree and with a lot of enthusiasm and pioneer spirit I decided to impress Margaret by making apple jelly. It was a lot of work, especially for one who had never made jelly before! I closely followed the instructions in the “old timers” cookbook noting that it called for a lot of sugar. The sticky mess I made in the kitchen, the cuts on my fingers while trying to peel these little apples didn’t damper my enthusiasm. From one half bushel of apples, I ended up with just 6 small jars of jelly! What damaged my enthusiasm however was a product so very tart no one would waste a nice piece of toast by spreading it with my Blanco Crabapple jelly! I doubt that any readers of this blog will ever find a supply of enough Blanco Crabapples to make jelly; but if you do, take my advice and double the sugar in your recipe! There was a benefit from this experience however – I got enough seeds from which I grew seven trees that are now successfully growing here on Selah.

Blanco Tree, full shot.

Blanco blooms up close.

Photographs taken by Justin Duke on April 22, 2009.

It doesn’t seem appropriate that such a small tree as this would be awarded the largest Blanco Crab in Texas. I wish I knew its age. It could be 100!

Champion Blanco Crabapple Certificate.

Hawthorn (Crataegus sp. Series Virides) Rosaceae (Rose) Family

There are at least 33 species of Hawthorn found in Texas. The series Virides are native to the Hill Country. Those growing naturally on the Ranch are growing under harsh conditions on hilltops where they are exposed to heat, drought, freezing cold, and soil compaction by domestic animals and wildlife.

The Hawthorn is a small tree under 20 feet with a dense crown of thorny rounded branches which makes it an attractive place for nesting birds.

In the early spring it produces pretty white blooms and in the fall edible fruit that is enjoyed by birds such as Cedar Waxwings and Fox Sparrows, and by humans to make jellies and wines.

Most of the Hawthorns that I have found on the Ranch are growing amid thickets of Shin Oak and other woody brush. I have made it a habit to tie bright orange flagging tape on each one I discover so that I can come back at a later time with an intern or volunteer to clear around, prune and corral (cage) the tree so that visitors can enjoy its beauty. The Hawthorn would be a wonderful addition to any landscape. I have not been successful in propagating it from seed, but this fall I’ll collect lots of seed and turn them over to our biologist, Steven Fulton, who knows more about how to do this kind of thing. We’ll soon have Hawthorns available for sale.

These beautiful photographs were taken by Justin Duke on April 22.

Hawthorn tree full shot.

Hawthorn bloom.

Hawthorn bloom enjoyed by a honey bee.

Selah - To Pause and Reflect

Everything starts from philosophy ~ this I believe ~ Selah is not the name of the Bamberger Ranch, but rather it’s a place. To me, it’s like Walden was to Thoreau – a place not just for me, but for all who come here to look around, to see and witness the natural world and to reflect on the wonder, the magic if it all; and then, to think about our individual responsibility as stewards of our portion of this planet Earth.

Quite frequently Selah Moments occur here. Colleen Gardner coined that phrase. Pictured here are some high school students quietly having a Selah moment at Madrone Lake: pausing and reflecting.

Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.

Paragon School 5th grade students from Austin gathered in front of Hes’ Country Store. They had been here for an overnight field trip. The County Store is the final stop where the value of conserving family culture and history is brought home to them. It’s another opportunity to feel a Selah moment.

Photograph taken by a Paragon parent.

Bracken School children from San Antonio were doing a “Rain Storm” exercise April 9th to help us out of this very serious drought. While I doubt this very enthusiastic gathering caused it, on April 17 we did receive a very nice two inch rain! The point of such a Selah moment is that these very young third grade kids could see that Selah and Mother Nature desperately needed rain and made somewhat of a spiritual connection with this exercise.

Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

Science Educator or People Motivator?

David Bamberger writes:

We determined long ago that our arboretum and nature trail would only have plants that were endemic to Blanco County. Not having any Canyon Mock Orange (Philadelphus Ernestii) growing here, I was delighted to have found one in a nursery in Austin. It was a small specimen in a one gallon container. Nevertheless, I put up the identification plaque and nurtured this rare plant. Within a few years it produced a glorious display of white blossoms. I hurried to the ranch house to tell Margaret who went to photograph the scene.

A few days later, while taking people on the trail I noticed that a Band-Aid had been placed over the word “canyon” on my plaque! Sure enough, Margaret was guilty. “David,” she said, “THAT is not a Canyon Mock Orange. It’s beautiful, but some plant breeder has created it and it’s probably a hybrid. So call it a Mock Orange if you want to motivate others. But as a science educator, get me the REAL thing!”

Thanks to Ernesto at Medina Garden Nursery (830-589-2771) we got the real thing and the plaque was moved to it. You can see the remains of Margaret’s Band-Aid around the word “Canyon,” in this photo by Justin Duke.

Below, canyon mock orange bloom. Photo by Amanda Fulton.

Below is the mock orange in bloom, as photographed by Amanda Fulton. You can see that the leaves and blooms are much larger than on the canyon mock orange above. There are many names for this hybrid, and we'll accept "Texas mock orange," but three biologists from Texas Parks & Wildlife have humorously suggested that we call it "mock mock orange," instead.

Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)

The Anoles, with more than 250 species, constitute the largest genus of lizards in the world. However the Green Anole is the only species native to the United States.

This particular little fellow, photographed by Colleen Gardner, was seen on the bridge across the creek, now dry due to the drought, leading to Madrone Lake.

The striking feature is the red colored throat fan. The size of this one indicates that this is a male and most likely there is a female near by as this is a courtship routine. But sometimes, this goes along with push ups and head bobbing to defend territory. The anole’s diet consists mostly of insects and spiders.

It’s a treat when we have school children to be able to point out the lizards on tree limbs and leaves.

The Quest for the Murray Plum

David Bamberger writes:

In 1992 I read an article in the Native Plant Society of Texas Newsletter written by Benny Simpson of the Texas A&M University Experiment Station in Dallas about an endangered plant named the Murray Plum. He stated that it would do no good to find and protect the few known plants, but rather what was needed was for someone to gather together as many plants as possible from the different mountain ranges and plant them together in a great thicket. This was because no one had ever seen this plant produce fertile fruit and no one knew what pollinated them. This plant, Prunus Murrayana, was thought to be native on steep rocky slopes of canyons in the Davis, Glass and Del Norte Mountains of the Trans Pecos.

I wanted to be helpful and at that time in my life was in need of a challenge and what later became the quest for the Murray Plum began; an adventure that went on for ten years. I contacted Dr. Barton Warnock, he was the most well known botanist of the Trans Pecos in Alpine, Texas, and Dr. Mike Powell, then head of the biology department at Sul Ross State University, who was in charge of the college herbarium. Their guidance led me to areas in all three mountain ranges.

In 1994 when Margaret came into my life she was eager to help and the quest widened. We were joined by Jim Rhoades, my tree aggie, and my son, David K. Bamberger. We camped out, we slept in the bed of my truck, in motels and in B&B’s. We met and worked our way onto ranches that were off limits to anyone interested in endangered species, particularly federal and state employees, but also other conservation organizations as well. This was because of the very conservative landowner’s fear of government taking land due to the Endangered Species Act. We spent years and many trips in our search for the Murray Plum. It was a great time in our lives and we recorded much of it in a song that eventually had 25 verses! Margaret played the piano while I led the singing. I think every guest here at Selah had to sing or at least listen to “The Quest for the Murray Plum” in its entirety!

Eventually we brought to Selah over 100 Murray Plums and planted three great thickets. Before Dr. Simpson died, I asked him how many plants did he mean when he said plant them together in a great thicket. He answered 25! We could have cut our quest off 4 years earlier had I been perceptive enough to ask that question at the start.

As very little was known about this “species” and in the interest of science, we sent 4 samples of the plum to the Smithsonian. We inquired at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas and at the University of Texas. As the years went by, our biggest colony of 79 plum grew, but only a few ever bloomed and not profusely. In 1997 we suffered a major setback when a disgruntled hunter cut all 79 plants off at ground level! Through careful nurturing, most survived and this brings me closer to this week’s posting. All of this adventure is recorded with journals and photographs which I would be glad to share with anyone who would be interested in reading about it.

By 2009, most plants in our largest thicket had grown to 10 plus feet. On April 1st, we witnessed a spectacular sight. Thousands of beautiful white blooms with light pink centers had exploded creating beauty and scents which were attracting many species of butterflies, bees and moths. These photographs were taken by Colleen Gardner and Amanda Fulton. I hope you enjoy them.

But there is more to the story. If not for a major turn of events, this year’s explosion of blooms could have answered the original question of what the pollinator was, and would sexual reproduction take place.

The event that brought our project to a close was a paper written by Marshall Enquist, the author of the best field guide on native flowers, Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country. In the mid 1990’s, Marshall invited us to go with him out Interstate 10 near Sonora and onto some back state highways toward Menard, Texas where he had discovered some shrubby plums – Murray Plums? Marshall produced a paper which was accepted by the scientific community which proved the Murray Plum to be a hybrid and thus sterile!

All of the following photographs were taken while the butterflies, and honey bee spent time on the blooms of the Murray Plum. So who’s to say which is the pollinator?

The monarch (Danaus Plexippus) seems to me to be the most popular of the butterflies. Perhaps this is because of their migration through the hill country and a desired plant, antelope horn, which we have in abundance.
Photo by Colleen Gardner.

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus Philenor) is slightly rare on the ranch, but maybe the Murray Plum bloom will help increase the population here!
Photo by Amanda Fulton.

All the males of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papillio Glaucus) are this color while females can be like this or of a darker color.
Photo by Amanda Fulton.

Unknown "skipper" butterfly (family Hesperiidae).
Photo by Amanda Fulton.

Unknown honey bee species. Our bees are suffering from the drought and corresponding lack of flowers and blooms. I’m sure the bees appreciate the Murray Plum which began these many blooms when needed the most.
Photo by Amanda Fulton.

The Imitation is Never as Good as the Original

David Bamberger writes:

Margaret began this blog at the beginning of 2008 when she no longer had the energy to participate in our ranch programs. It was her way of staying connected to the natural world here on Selah as well as continuing to educate others. At the beginning she said to me, “David, I am now the CEO of Selah!” “Wait a minute,” I said, “We don’t need any more managers.” “Forget the business world term,” she said, “I’m the CHIEF ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVER!” And what an observer she was, noting the tiniest of things whether it was an insect, flower or fossil.

I’ve preached to the staff that we should not initiate anything that we are unable to sustain. So, a lot of discussion took place over how we could continue Margaret’s blog. Everyone here, as well as some of our volunteers, has agreed to participate.

When I arrived in Texas 58 years ago, I was most impressed by the flowering trees. Here on Selah, Margaret and I so enjoyed the springtime, driving the Jeep around the ranch looking for new discoveries. We found and recorded many.

Due to the events here we missed quite a few this spring – namely, the Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) which very dependably displays a fine petaled white flower very early in the spring; the Prairie Crab Apple (Pyrus ioensis) ours has a flower that is mostly white with a touch of pink; the Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana), which I introduced here 30 years ago, puts on a spectacular show, the whole tree is covered with white. Those of us here at the ranch saw all three of these, but failed to photograph them. We did manage to see and photograph the following.

Huisache (Acacia smallii) pronounced “wee satch” has this beautiful yellow, somewhat ball-shaped flower. The tree is more common south of here and there are only two of this species discovered on the ranch. In reading about it for this posting, I was impressed by the many listed uses of the Huisache. From Texas Trees by Paul Cox and Patty Leslie: “The pods were formerly made into ink, the juice was used as a glue for mending pottery and the bark for drying skins. Various parts of the tree have local medicinal value. Decoctions from the green fruit serve as an astringent and the roots were used as a treatment for tuberculosis. Wound dressings were made from the crushed leaves and the flowers were used as an infusion for indigestion and as an ointment for curing headaches.” Isn’t this interesting? I don’t know if you could find this plant in a nursery or not. One thing about it is that it has sharp spiny twigs which can scratch you pretty bad.

Texas Madrone (Arubtus xalapensis) –
 This is among my very favorite trees! Some refer to it as the Naked Indian because of its very smooth bark. I tell visitors “it’s evergreen, it flowers, it fruits and it sheds it bark from red to white.” Jim Rhoades, our tree Aggie, adds that it’s a self-pruning tree. New growth wraps around dead limbs. It was 40 years ago when I first saw a Madrone, but as we began clearing cedar, many others, mostly small, were discovered. These we protected from deer and livestock by putting a sturdy corral (cage) around them. I don’t have an accurate count but I’d estimate that we have 150. They are very difficult to transplant, my success rate being less than 50 percent. Few plant nurseries have them as they are somewhat difficult to propagate, but Medina Garden Nursery in Medina, Texas has them available. You can call Ernesto at 830-589-2771.

Texas Redbud (Cercis canadenis var. texensis) –
 Talk about prolific color! We have places here on the ranch where 10 or more of these grow close together in motts or groups. The red flowers appear before the leaves and I have cut branches at this stage to decorate the dinner table. They last a surprisingly long time. You can’t go wrong using the Redbud in your landscaping. They are fast growing and the buds can be eaten in salads and would surely make the salad attractive! I’ve never tried this, but if you do, let me know if you liked it.

Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundi flora) – 
There were no Mountain Laurel growing on the ranch when I arrived here 40 years ago, even though they were native. I have been criticized for introducing them. If land is overgrazed, this is a plant that can be invasive because it likes the limestone soils of the hill country and deer, goats and other livestock don’t care for it. Although, it can be pruned to form a nice, classic tree it is most often a shrub or multi-trunked small tree. The violet colored flowers are quite fragrant, but my observation is that they don’t last very long. Since it is an evergreen, it’s a nice complement to the landscape. The fruit pods contain shiny red and very hard seeds and are considered poisonous causing nausea, confusion and even death.

Photography ©2009 Colleen Gardner. All rights reserved.

Upcoming Workshops

David Bamberger writes:

On April 4th we are holding our valued Land Stewardship Workshop – from 8:30 to 4:30. Lunch is served. Part of this day is spent talking about and demonstrating how to successfully plant a tree.

On May 17th we’re holding a workshop on Water – it could be titled “How to Get Water Where There Isn’t Any.” On this day, you will learn about and see things that I've been told have never before been done in the U.S. – things that work. Don’t wait to sign up as we will only accept 35 registrations.

Debra Mann's Class at Selah

Colleen Gardner, Executive Director of the Bamberger Ranch Preserve, writes:

Science teacher and good friend of Selah (and new Education Advisor to Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve), Debra Mann, has been bringing out her senior classes for a 5 day science-based field trip to Selah for more than 7 years now. These groups of young thinkers have always impressed us at Selah – they are articulate, sensitive, deep thinkers who also come with many talents, such as musical instruments, or in this year’s case, a young lady who performs dance-like movements hanging from tall objects with silk scarves. Until this year, the students have visited in October, but this year they tried a new season: early spring, the first week of March. Typically each year’s class will do insect studies, plant surveys and a hybrid study of Post Oaks and Black Jack Oaks, but, because this visit occurred so early in the spring, leaves, flowers and insects were hard to come by.

Added to their seasonal challenge of finding oak leaves and butterflies, was that their visit coincided with Margaret’s last week with us. The students and their teachers were intimately aware of Margaret’s daily decline and the grieving that the Selah staff had to endure, while still trying to be good naturalist-hosts. Rather than having a pall over their week, these students all embraced the circle of life, surrounded evidence of drought and death with fresh spring greens, and migrating bird calls indicating new life and new beginnings. The students had fabulous nature writings over the course of their stay and in the last conversation I had with Margaret, I told her that we had 22 of the most fabulous young naturalists running all up and down the hills with butterfly nets and binoculars and that she would be so proud of the legacy she helped start. She smiled and said “I am proud.”

“Hello World”
Hello World! (my voice echoed through the hilltops and crevices around me)
Here I am, and there you are.
You are much bigger than I, no doubt,
except somehow, when I climb you,
I feel so powerful.
Thanks for lending yourself to me,
I am quite comfortable in my spot
next to the big rock.
Your vastness amazes me.
These hills are covered with grasses
and trees,
with life and with death.
These hills and slopes are my ladder
to the sky, and I can almost touch the clouds.
The cows come too,
though I don’t think they understand
where they are.
The land is thirsty,
I feel as if everything I touch I will break,
except for the big, strong rocks,
and of course, I trust you dear Earth,
to not crack beneath my feet.
Look at how time has tried to wear you down, Earth,
but you have still prevailed,
and continued to rise up.
You are a wonderous home to many things.
Sunlight, please do not go away,
You are the only thing keeping me warm,
And I would like to stay out much longer.

Elise – AWS class of 2009