Native Plants
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Friday - July 17, 2009
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Invasive Plants
Title: Is Jerusalem thorn native to Central Texas?
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I was reading about Retama (Parkinsonia aculeata) which is native to South America and naturalized throughout Texas and the southern US. I also read that it is considered an invasive plant species in Australia and has spread aggressively there. Is Parkinsonia aculeata now considered native, adapted, or invasive to Central Texas?ANSWER:
Jerusalem thorn is an evergreen tree, growiing to 12 to 36 ft. tall, blooms yellow April to August, has medium water use, needs sun or part shade. It is subject to freeze damage if grown too far north, even as far as North Texas.
This USDA Plant Profile shows the plant growing in some parts of South and Central Texas and the Big Bend area. It is native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico. It has escaped cultivation in Florida and California, both magnets for invasive plants, native or non-native, and it is regarded there as an invasive weed.
in answer to your question. a native plant is just that, its status doesn't change, as long as it is growing in the area where it is native. So, yes, it's native to Central Texas. So far as we know, it has not become invasive in Central Texas. Native plants seldom do become invasive in their home territory, as they and the other native plants around them have all learned to live in the environment over eons of experience with the soil, climate, rainfall, etc. That environment has its own checks and balances, and human intervention, bringing in non-native plants or through urban development, frequently causes the development of invasive plants and, sometimes, the near-extinction of native plants.
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April 17, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Pants:
After we raked all the leaves, I found three or four plants on my property that are thin tall stalks with many thorns. Leaves are just growing, so I cannot describe them. ...
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How Can I Tell an Invasive Thistle from a Native
May 01, 2012 - Mr Smarty Plants,
I have some thistles coming up in my yard. I'd like to keep them if they are native, but not if they are invasive or non-native. How can I tell? My yard is a wild area in West Lak...
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January 24, 2009 - My neighbor has a lot of mistletoe growing in a tree in her front yard. I have a tree in my yard that has mistletoe in it. Each winter I have the plant removed so birds won't spread it around. Do you...
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