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 | |
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |