Wildlife of Proto-Town/Plants
Wildlife guide: Overview · Plants · Fungi · Animals · Birds · Bugs · Microbial life
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
| Post oak | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Tree |
| Scientific name | Quercus stellata |
| Texan regional name | Post oak; iron oak |
| Origin | Native |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | No special hazard label |
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
| Cedar elm | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Tree |
| Scientific name | Ulmus crassifolia |
| Texan regional name | Cedar elm; Texas cedar elm |
| Origin | Native |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | No special hazard label |
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
| Little bluestem | |
|---|---|
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| |
| Type | Native bunchgrass |
| Scientific name | Schizachyrium scoparium |
| Texan regional name | Little bluestem |
| Origin | Native |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | No special hazard label |
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
| Texas bluebonnet | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Annual wildflower |
| Scientific name | Lupinus texensis |
| Texan regional name | Bluebonnet |
| Origin | Native |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | NUISANCE / USE CARE Seeds and other parts should not be eaten; lupines contain alkaloids that can be toxic in sufficient quantities. |
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
| Poison ivy | |
|---|---|
| File:Toxicodendron radicans.jpg | |
| Type | Vine or shrub |
| Scientific name | Toxicodendron radicans |
| Texan regional name | Poison ivy |
| Origin | Native |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | PAINFUL OR SIGNIFICANT 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. |
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 guidance: 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
| Johnsongrass | |
|---|---|
| File:Sorghum halepense kz02.jpg | |
| Type | Perennial grass |
| Scientific name | Sorghum halepense |
| Texan regional name | Johnsongrass |
| Origin | Introduced; invasive |
| Conservation status | Noxious agricultural weed; not federally endangered
|
| Hazard | NUISANCE / USE CARE Sharp leaf edges can cut skin. Wilted or frost-damaged growth can contain dangerous cyanide levels for grazing livestock. |
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
| King Ranch bluestem | |
|---|---|
| File:Dichanthium ischaemum - Berlin Botanical Garden - IMG 8591.JPG | |
| Type | Perennial grass |
| Scientific name | Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica |
| Texan regional name | KR bluestem; King Ranch bluestem |
| Origin | Introduced; invasive |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | NUISANCE / USE CARE Ecological nuisance; dense stands reduce native plant diversity and alter grassland habitat. |
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
| Giant ragweed | |
|---|---|
| File:Ambrosia trifida (inflorescences).jpg | |
| Type | Annual forb |
| Scientific name | Ambrosia trifida |
| Texan regional name | Giant ragweed; bloodweed |
| Origin | Native |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | NUISANCE / USE CARE Pollen is a major seasonal allergen; sap and rough hairs can irritate sensitive skin. |
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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.
Field sandbur
| Field sandbur | |
|---|---|
| No image available | |
| Type | Annual or short-lived perennial grass |
| Scientific name | Cenchrus spinifex |
| Texan regional name | Grassbur; sandbur; stickerbur; sticker weed |
| Origin | Native; several related native sandbur species occur in Texas |
| Conservation status | Not federally listed
|
| Hazard | NUISANCE / USE CARE The mature seed burs have stiff, fishhook-like spines that puncture skin, footwear, clothing, bicycle tires, and animal paws. |
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 guidance: 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.