Flowering Trees

Mark bought a wonderful new book called ‘Plants of Deep South Texas’ by Alfred Richardson and Ken King. The text under Mark's pictures is from this book.

We’ve been having a great time looking at all the flowers that are starting to bloom here at the refuge!


Wild Olive (Cordia boissieri)
This tree is an important nectar plant for hummingbirds and butterflies.


Retama (Parkinsonia aculeata)
This tree grows up to 32' tall with green branches.
Petals are yellow, one of them with a reddish mark.


Anacua (Ehretia anacua)
The leaves of this tree are scratchy when rubbed backwards and have been used as sandpaper.
When rubbed against the skin, the leaves produce a painful red mark, a popular playground activity.


Barbados Cherry, Manzanita (Malpighia glabra)
In full bloom this tree is covered with pink flowers, which are followed by the very attractive red drupes.