Wildlife of Proto-Town/Plants - Revision history

Admin: Added conditional edibility guidance

2026-07-19T07:19:09Z

Added conditional edibility guidance

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:19, 19 July 2026
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	__NOTOC__		__NOTOC__
	{{Wildlife navigation}}		{{Wildlife navigation}}
			{{Wildlife edibility disclaimer}}

	This page covers representative plants of the prairie, pasture, disturbed ground, and light woodland around Lockhart. Presence at a particular Proto-Town location should be confirmed by observation.		This page covers representative plants of the prairie, pasture, disturbed ground, and light woodland around Lockhart. Presence at a particular Proto-Town location should be confirmed by observation.
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	\|origin=Native		\|origin=Native
	\|status=Not federally listed		\|status=Not federally listed
			\|edibility={{Wildlife edibility\|survival}} Acorns. Correct identification and substantial processing, including leaching bitter tannins, are required before use as food.
	\|risk=none		\|risk=none
	\|description=Post oak is one of the defining trees of the Post Oak Savannah. Its thick, cross-shaped leaves and rounded crown are common on dry uplands and woodland edges; the acorns feed deer, squirrels, and many birds. Mature trees tolerate poor soil and drought but are sensitive to root disturbance and abrupt grade changes.		\|description=Post oak is one of the defining trees of the Post Oak Savannah. Its thick, cross-shaped leaves and rounded crown are common on dry uplands and woodland edges; the acorns feed deer, squirrels, and many birds. Mature trees tolerate poor soil and drought but are sensitive to root disturbance and abrupt grade changes.
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	\|risk=yellow		\|risk=yellow
	\|danger=Long spines can cause puncture wounds. Nearly invisible clusters of tiny barbed spines called glochids detach easily, lodge in skin, and are especially hazardous to the eyes. Even pads that appear spineless can carry glochids.		\|danger=Long spines can cause puncture wounds. Nearly invisible clusters of tiny barbed spines called glochids detach easily, lodge in skin, and are especially hazardous to the eyes. Even pads that appear spineless can carry glochids.
			\|edibility={{Wildlife edibility\|prepared}} Young pads (nopalitos) and ripe fruit (tuna). All spines and glochids must be completely removed, and safe identification and preparation are essential.
	\|description=Lindheimer prickly pear is a familiar native cactus of Central and South Texas. Its flattened green pads store water and produce showy yellow flowers followed by red to purple fruit. The plant supplies fruit, shelter, pollen, and nectar for wildlife and pollinators. It is not an introduced invasive species, although dense stands can expand on disturbed or overgrazed ground. Properly prepared pads and fruit are eaten as nopalitos and tuna, but wild material should never be handled or eaten without fully removing the spines and glochids.		\|description=Lindheimer prickly pear is a familiar native cactus of Central and South Texas. Its flattened green pads store water and produce showy yellow flowers followed by red to purple fruit. The plant supplies fruit, shelter, pollen, and nectar for wildlife and pollinators. It is not an introduced invasive species, although dense stands can expand on disturbed or overgrazed ground. Properly prepared pads and fruit are eaten as nopalitos and tuna, but wild material should never be handled or eaten without fully removing the spines and glochids.
	\|encounter=Do not brush against or handle the plant with bare skin. For necessary grounds work, use eye protection, long tools or tongs, and puncture-resistant gloves that are kept away from the face. Do not rub embedded glochids; remove visible ones carefully with tweezers, clean punctures with soap and water, and seek prompt medical care for eye exposure, deeply embedded spines, or signs of infection.		\|encounter=Do not brush against or handle the plant with bare skin. For necessary grounds work, use eye protection, long tools or tongs, and puncture-resistant gloves that are kept away from the face. Do not rub embedded glochids; remove visible ones carefully with tweezers, clean punctures with soap and water, and seek prompt medical care for eye exposure, deeply embedded spines, or signs of infection.
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	* [https://plants.usda.gov/home USDA PLANTS Database]		* [https://plants.usda.gov/home USDA PLANTS Database]
	* [https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/asset-external/grassbur-sandbur-identification-and-management-in-pastures-and-hayfields/ Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: grassbur and sandbur identification]		* [https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/asset-external/grassbur-sandbur-identification-and-management-in-pastures-and-hayfields/ Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: grassbur and sandbur identification]
			* [https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/CulturallySignificantPlants.pdf U.S. Forest Service: acorns as processed food]

	[[Category:Wildlife of Proto-Town]]		[[Category:Wildlife of Proto-Town]]

Admin: Added Lindheimer prickly pear

2026-07-19T06:57:34Z

Added Lindheimer prickly pear

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 |description=Field sandbur is the plant responsible for many of the hard, painfully spiny “sticker bugs” found in dry lawns, roadsides, disturbed ground, and thin pasture. The green burs form along the seed head and harden as they mature, allowing seeds to travel on fur, fabric, and tires. Texas also has closely related longspine and southern sandburs, so species-level identification may require the whole plant.
 |encounter=Wear gloves and closed shoes when clearing mature plants. Remove burs from fur or fabric before entering buildings; use tweezers or pliers for deeply embedded spines and check an animal’s paw carefully if it begins limping.
 }}
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 * [https://tpwd.texas.gov/wildlife/wildlife-diversity/wildscapes/wildscapes-plant-guidance-by-ecoregion/the-blackland-prairies/ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Blackland Prairies]
 * [https://tpwd.texas.gov/wildlife/wildlife-diversity/wildscapes/wildscapes-plant-guidance-by-ecoregion/post-oak-savannah/ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Post Oak Savannah]
 * [https://plants.usda.gov/home USDA PLANTS Database]
 * [https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/asset-external/grassbur-sandbur-identification-and-management-in-pastures-and-hayfields/ Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: grassbur and sandbur identification]

Admin: Added field sandbur and stickerbur guidance

2026-07-18T04:56:52Z

Added field sandbur and stickerbur guidance

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 |danger=Pollen is a major seasonal allergen; sap and rough hairs can irritate sensitive skin.
 |description=Giant ragweed grows rapidly in moist disturbed soil, drainage corridors, fence rows, and field margins. It can exceed the height of a person and has large, usually three-lobed leaves. The plant supports some wildlife, but its abundant late-summer pollen is a common cause of hay-fever symptoms.
 }}
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 * [https://tpwd.texas.gov/wildlife/wildlife-diversity/wildscapes/wildscapes-plant-guidance-by-ecoregion/post-oak-savannah/ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Post Oak Savannah]
 * [https://plants.usda.gov/home USDA PLANTS Database]
 [[Category:Wildlife of Proto-Town]]

Admin: Added common plants of the Lockhart area

2026-07-18T04:23:48Z

Added common plants of the Lockhart area

New page

__NOTOC__
{{Wildlife navigation}}

This page covers representative plants of the prairie, pasture, disturbed ground, and light woodland around Lockhart. Presence at a particular Proto-Town location should be confirmed by observation.

==Post oak==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Post oak
|image=Quercus stellata tree.jpg
|type=Tree
|scientific=''Quercus stellata''
|regional=Post oak; iron oak
|origin=Native
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=none
|description=Post oak is one of the defining trees of the Post Oak Savannah. Its thick, cross-shaped leaves and rounded crown are common on dry uplands and woodland edges; the acorns feed deer, squirrels, and many birds. Mature trees tolerate poor soil and drought but are sensitive to root disturbance and abrupt grade changes.
}}

==Cedar elm==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Cedar elm
|image=Ulmus crassifolia leaves.jpeg
|type=Tree
|scientific=''Ulmus crassifolia''
|regional=Cedar elm; Texas cedar elm
|origin=Native
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=none
|description=Cedar elm is a widespread Central Texas shade tree with small rough leaves and corky ridges on some branches. It tolerates clay, seasonal wetness, drought, and urban conditions, so it often persists around roads, buildings, and drainage areas. Its late-season seeds support birds and small mammals.
}}

==Little bluestem==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Little bluestem
|image=Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) - Flickr - wackybadger (2).jpg
|type=Native bunchgrass
|scientific=''Schizachyrium scoparium''
|regional=Little bluestem
|origin=Native
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=none
|description=Little bluestem is a characteristic warm-season grass of Texas prairies. Its stems turn coppery or reddish in autumn and retain fluffy silver seed heads into winter. Dense clumps provide nesting material and cover for insects, birds, and small mammals while deep roots improve soil structure.
}}

==Texas bluebonnet==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Texas bluebonnet
|image=Bluebonnet-8100.jpg
|type=Annual wildflower
|scientific=''Lupinus texensis''
|regional=Bluebonnet
|origin=Native
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=yellow
|danger=Seeds and other parts should not be eaten; lupines contain alkaloids that can be toxic in sufficient quantities.
|description=The Texas bluebonnet is a winter annual that produces blue flower spikes in spring on sunny, well-drained ground. It is a nitrogen-fixing legume and the best-known state flower of Texas. Roadside displays should be viewed without trampling or collecting plants on land where permission has not been given.
}}

==Poison ivy==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Poison ivy
|image=Toxicodendron radicans.jpg
|type=Vine or shrub
|scientific=''Toxicodendron radicans''
|regional=Poison ivy
|origin=Native
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=orange
|danger=Urushiol oil can cause severe allergic dermatitis. Oil remains active on tools, gloves, clothing, pets, and dead vines; smoke from burning plants can injure the lungs.
|description=Poison ivy grows as a low plant, shrub, or climbing vine in woodland edges, fencelines, and disturbed shade. Leaves usually occur in groups of three, but shape and color vary, so the rhyme “leaves of three” is a warning rather than a complete identification test.
|encounter=Do not touch or burn it. If contact may have occurred, wash exposed skin promptly with soap or a purpose-made urushiol cleanser and clean contaminated clothing and tools separately. Seek medical advice for severe, widespread, facial, eye, or breathing symptoms.
}}

==Johnsongrass==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Johnsongrass
|image=Sorghum halepense kz02.jpg
|type=Perennial grass
|scientific=''Sorghum halepense''
|regional=Johnsongrass
|origin=Introduced; invasive
|status=Noxious agricultural weed; not federally endangered
|risk=yellow
|danger=Sharp leaf edges can cut skin. Wilted or frost-damaged growth can contain dangerous cyanide levels for grazing livestock.
|description=Johnsongrass is a tall, fast-spreading grass with broad leaves, open purplish seed heads, and persistent underground rhizomes. It colonizes roadsides, ditches, pasture edges, and disturbed soil, where it can displace native vegetation and be difficult to eradicate.
}}

==King Ranch bluestem==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=King Ranch bluestem
|image=Dichanthium ischaemum - Berlin Botanical Garden - IMG 8591.JPG
|type=Perennial grass
|scientific=''Bothriochloa ischaemum'' var. ''songarica''
|regional=KR bluestem; King Ranch bluestem
|origin=Introduced; invasive
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=yellow
|danger=Ecological nuisance; dense stands reduce native plant diversity and alter grassland habitat.
|description=King Ranch bluestem was introduced for forage and erosion control and is now widespread on Central Texas roadsides and pastures. It forms relatively uniform stands that can crowd out the varied native grasses and wildflowers used by grassland wildlife.
}}

==Giant ragweed==
{{Wildlife entry
|name=Giant ragweed
|image=Ambrosia trifida (inflorescences).jpg
|type=Annual forb
|scientific=''Ambrosia trifida''
|regional=Giant ragweed; bloodweed
|origin=Native
|status=Not federally listed
|risk=yellow
|danger=Pollen is a major seasonal allergen; sap and rough hairs can irritate sensitive skin.
|description=Giant ragweed grows rapidly in moist disturbed soil, drainage corridors, fence rows, and field margins. It can exceed the height of a person and has large, usually three-lobed leaves. The plant supports some wildlife, but its abundant late-summer pollen is a common cause of hay-fever symptoms.
}}

==Sources==
* [https://tpwd.texas.gov/wildlife/wildlife-diversity/wildscapes/wildscapes-plant-guidance-by-ecoregion/the-blackland-prairies/ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Blackland Prairies]
* [https://tpwd.texas.gov/wildlife/wildlife-diversity/wildscapes/wildscapes-plant-guidance-by-ecoregion/post-oak-savannah/ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Post Oak Savannah]
* [https://plants.usda.gov/home USDA PLANTS Database]

[[Category:Wildlife of Proto-Town]]