Gulf Marshes and Prairies
The Gulf Marshes, covering approximately 500,000 acres, are on a narrow strip of lowlands adjacent to the coast and the barrier islands (e.g., Padre Island), which extend from Mexico to Louisiana. The Gulf Prairies, about 9 million acres, include the nearly flat plain extending 30 to 80 miles inland from the Gulf Marshes. The Gulf Marshes are a low, wet, marshy coastal area, commonly covered with saline water, and range from sea level to a few feet in elevation. The Gulf Prairies are nearly level and virtually undissected plains having slow surface drainage and elevations from sea level to 250 feet. Soils of the Gulf Marshes are dark, poorly drained sandy loams and clays, and light neutral sands, typically showing little textural change with depth. The loamy and clayey soils are commonly saline and sodic. Prairie soils are dark, neutral to slightly acid clay loams and clays in the northeastern parts. Further south in the subhumid Coastal Bend, the soils are less acidic. A narrow band of light acid sands and darker loamy to clayey soils stretches along the coast. Inland from the dark clayey soils is a narrow belt of lighter acid fine sandy loam soils with gray to brown, and red mottled subsoils. Soils of the river bottomlands and broad deltaic plains are reddish brown to dark gray, slightly acid to calcareous, loamy to clayey alluvial.Printer Friendly: Species List | List with Images | List with QR Tags to Mobile
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
Polygala alba | White Milkwort | |
Poa arachnifera | Texas Bluegrass Texas Blue Grass | |
Pontederia cordata | Pickerelweed Pickerel Rush | |
Prunus angustifolia | Chickasaw Plum Sandhill Plum | |
Prunus gracilis | Oklahoma Plum | |
Proboscidea louisianica | Louisiana Devil's-claw Devil's claw Ram's-horn Unicorn Plant Proboscis Flower | |
Prunus mexicana | Mexican Plum Bigtree Plum Inch Plum | |
Prunus rivularis | River Plum Creek Plum Hog Plum | |
Prunus serotina | Black Cherry Wild Black Cherry Rum Cherry | |
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum | Bracken Fern Bracken Western Bracken Fern Western Bracken | |
Ptelea trifoliata | Wafer Ash Common Hoptree Hop Tree | |
Quercus hemisphaerica | Coast Laurel Oak Darlington Oak Laurel Oak | |
Quercus incana | Bluejack Oak Sandjack Oak Upland Willow Oak Cinnamon Oak Shin Oak Turkey Oak | |
Quercus laurifolia | Laurel Oak Swamp Laurel Oak Darlington Oak Diamond-leaf Oak Laurel-leaf Oak Water Oak Obtusa Oak | |
Quercus macrocarpa | Bur Oak Burr Oak Savanna Oak Overcup Oak Prairie Oak Mossy-cup Oak Mossy-overcup Oak Blue Oak | |
Quercus marilandica | Blackjack Oak Barren Oak Black Oak Jack Oak | |
Quercus michauxii | Swamp Chestnut Oak Basket Oak Cow Oak Swamp Oak | |
Quercus nigra | Water Oak Possum Oak Duck Oak Punk Oak Spotted Oak | |
Quercus stellata | Post Oak Iron Oak Cross Oak | |
Quercus virginiana | Coastal Live Oak Southern Live Oak Virginia Live Oak Live Oak Encino | |
Ratibida columnifera | Mexican Hat Red-spike Mexican Hat Upright Prairie Coneflower Prairie Coneflower Long-headed Coneflower Thimbleflower | |
Ranunculus macranthus | Large Buttercup | |
Rhus aromatica | Fragrant Sumac Aromatic Sumac Lemon Sumac Polecat Bush | |
Rhexia mariana | Maryland Meadow Beauty Pale Meadow Beauty | |
Rudbeckia hirta | Black-eyed Susan Common Black-eyed Susan Brown-eyed Susan Blackeyed Susan | |
Ruellia humilis | Prairie Petunia Fringeleaf Wild Petunia Hairy Ruellia Low Wild Petunia Low Ruellia Fringeleaf Ruellia Fringe-leaf Wild Petunia | |
Ruellia nudiflora | Violet Ruellia Common Wild Petunia Violet Wild Petunia Wild Petunia Hierba De La Calentura | |
Rubus trivialis | Southern Dewberry Dewberry | |
Sassafras albidum | Sassafras White Sassafras Ague Tree Cinnamon Wood Mitten Tree Saloop Smelling Stick | |
Salvia azurea | Pitcher Sage Big Blue Sage Azure Sage Giant Blue Sage Blue Sage | |
Sabatia campestris | Texas Star Rose Gentian Meadow Pink Prairie Rose-gentian Prairie Sabatia | |
Saururus cernuus | Lizard's Tail Lizard Tail Breastweed Water Dragon | |
Salvia coccinea | Scarlet Sage Tropical Sage Blood Sage Red Sage Indian Fire | |
Saccharum giganteum | Sugarcane Plumegrass Giant Plumegrass | |
Sagittaria latifolia | Broadleaf Arrowhead Arrowhead Duckroot Duck-potato Wapato | |
Salvia lyrata | Lyreleaf Sage Cancer Weed | |
Sabal minor | Dwarf Palmetto Bush Palmetto Palmetto | |
Sagittaria platyphylla | Delta Arrowhead | |
Schizachyrium scoparium | Little Bluestem Popotillo Azul | |
Setaria parviflora | Marsh Bristlegrass Knotroot Bristlegrass | |
Setaria vulpiseta | Plains Bristlegrass | |
Sideroxylon celastrinum | Saffron Plum Coma Saffron Plum La Coma Coma Milk Buckthorn Tropical Buckthorn Downward Plum Antswood | |
Silphium gracile | Slender Rosinweed | |
Sisyrinchium langloisii | Roadside Blue-eyed Grass Dotted Blue-eyed Grass Southern Blue-eyed Grass | |
Sisyrinchium sagittiferum | Spearbract Blue-eyed Grass Blue-eyed Grass | |
Smilax laurifolia | Laurel Greenbriar | |
Solidago altissima | Tall Goldenrod Late Goldenrod Canadian Goldenrod Canada Goldenrod | |
Solidago canadensis | Canada Goldenrod Canadian Goldenrod Tall Goldenrod Giant Goldenrod | |
Solanum elaeagnifolium | Silverleaf Nightshade Silver-leaf Nightshade White Horse Nettle Trompillo Tomato Weed Bull Nettle | |
Sorghastrum nutans | Indiangrass Yellow Indiangrass Indian Grass | |
Sophora tomentosa | Yellow Necklacepod Yellow Sophora Necklace Pod Tambalisa | |
Sporobolus compositus var. compositus | Composite Dropseed Tall Dropseed | |
Sporobolus cryptandrus | Sand Dropseed | |
Spigelia marilandica | Woodland Pinkroot Pinkroot Indian Pink | |
Spartina spartinae | Gulf Cordgrass | |
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus | Coralberry Indian Currant Buckbrush | |
Symphyotrichum subulatum | Eastern Annual Saltmarsh Aster Baby's Breath Aster Annual Aster Blackland Aster Hierba Del Marrano | |
Taxodium distichum | Bald Cypress Baldcypress Common Bald Cypress Southern Bald Cypress Deciduous Cypress Southern Cypress Swamp Cypress Red Cypress White Cypress Yellow Cypress Gulf Cypress Tidewater Red Cypress | |
Tephrosia lindheimeri | Lindheimer's Hoarypea Hoary Pea Lindheimer Tephrosia | |
Tetraneuris scaposa | Four-nerve Daisy Hymenoxys Stemmy Four-nerve Daisy Yellow Daisy Bitterweed | |
Thalictrum dasycarpum | Purple Meadow-rue Tall Meadow-rue Meadow Rue | |
Thalia dealbata | Powdery Alligator-flag Powdery Thalia Water Canna | |
Thelypteris kunthii | Wood Fern River Fern Southern Shield Fern Kunth's Maiden Fern Normal Shield Fern | |
Tridens albescens | White Tridens White Top | |
Tripsacum dactyloides | Eastern Gamagrass Fakahatchee Grass | |
Tridens flavus | Purpletop Tridens Redtop Tridens Tall Redtop Tridens Purpletop Redtop Tall Redtop | |
Tradescantia gigantea | Giant Spiderwort | |
Tradescantia ohiensis | Ohio Spiderwort Bluejacket | |
Triodanis perfoliata | Clasping Venus's Looking-glass | |
Trichloris pluriflora | Multi-flowered False-rhodesgrass Multiflower False Rhodes Grass Showy Chloris | |
Triplasis purpurea | Purple Sandgrass Purple Triplasis | |
Typha latifolia | Broadleaf Cattail Common Cattail | |
Ulmus alata | Winged Elm Wahoo Elm Cork Elm Witch Elm | |
Ulmus americana | American Elm White Elm Soft Elm Water Elm Common Elm | |
Ulmus crassifolia | Cedar Elm Fall Elm Basket Elm Scrub Elm Lime Elm Texas Elm Southern Rock Elm Olmo | |
Utricularia radiata | Little Floating Bladderwort Floating Bladderwort | |
Vaccinium arboreum | Farkleberry Tree Sparkleberry Sparkleberry Winter Huckleberry Huckleberry | |
Vachellia farnesiana | Huisache Texas Huisache Sweet Acacia Perfume Acacia Mealy Acacia Mealy Wattle Cassie | |
Verbena halei | Texas Vervain Slender Verbena Texas Verbena Slender Vervain | |
Vernonia lindheimeri | Woolly Ironweed | |
Verbesina virginica | Frostweed White Crownbeard Iceplant Iceweed Virginia Crownbeard Indian Tobacco Richweed Squawweed | |
Vitis cinerea var. helleri | Winter Grape Heller's Grape Gray-leaf Grape Smooth-leaf Grape Sweet Grape Spanish Grape | |
Vitis mustangensis | Mustang Grape | |
Viburnum rufidulum | Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum Rusty Blackhaw Southern Blackhaw Blackhaw Bluehaw Downy Viburnum Southern Nannyberry Rusty Nannyberry Nannyberry | |
Viola walteri | Walter's Violet Prostrate Blue Violet | |
Wisteria frutescens | American Wisteria Texas Wisteria Kentucky Wisteria | |
Woodwardia areolata | Netted Chainfern Chain Fern Netted Chain Fern | |
Woodwardia virginica | Virginia Chainfern Virginia Chain Fern | |
Xylosma flexuosa | Brush Holly Brushholly | |
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis | Hercules Club Pepperbark Toothache Tree Tickle Tongue Prickly Ash | |
Zanthoxylum fagara | Lime Prickly Ash Colima | |
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |