Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Tuesday - October 12, 2010
From: Buda, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Is Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) really native to the Texas Hill Country?
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I had heard that the Ashe Juniper was not native to the hill country or even Texas. Is this true? What is their history? They sure make it hard for the elms and oaks to thrive. We have decided to remove them from our property.ANSWER:
No, it isn't true—Juniperus ashei (Ashe juniper) is native to the Texas Hill Country. What is the evidence that supports this? It was certainly abundant in the Hill Country 165 years ago when Ferdinand Lindheimer, a botanist collecting and studying plants in Texas in 1845, described hills and ravines covered with cedars. Moreover, the evidence goes even further back than the 1800s. Studies of Pleistocene deposits from Central Texas showed ancestral cedar pollen mixed with deciduous hardwoods dating as long ago as 125,000 years. Those populations of ancestral cedars probably became mostly extinct in Central Texas during the Ice Age some 10,000 to 13,000 years ago, but remnant bands re-established themselves in Central Texas and have been here for thousands of years since. You can read more about this in an article by Bill Ward, Mountain cedar—does it deserve such disdain? from the Native Plant Society of Texas.
Before the 1900s when Texas was sparsely settled there were widespread tall grass prairies that often burned and the fires destroyed any young cedars that had managed to sprout there. Additionally, when the tall grasses did not burn for several years, young cedars could not compete well with these grasses that overshadowed them. The reason Ashe juniper or mountain cedar is now a problem is because of the way the land is used. Now the land is fenced and broken up into pastures that are often overgrazed. Additionally, fires are not allowed to burn unchecked. This gives the cedars the opportunity to take over—and they do!
You might also like to check out a recent Mr. Smarty Plants question and answer about why little other vegetation grows underneath our Ashe junipers.
More Trees Questions
Removal of invasive non-native Chinese wisteria
September 10, 2007 - I am going to be removing my ubiquitous chinese wisteria very soon (the method I'm going to use is undetermined). If I decide to use Round-up on the cut-stem (which may take more than one application...
view the full question and answer
Identification of red leaf tree with wispy, feathery plumes on top
June 25, 2009 - I am looking for the name of a red leaf shrub/small tree that has feather like, wispy plumes which grow out of the top most branches. I do not have a photo. I live in Canton, MI.
view the full question and answer
Black Walnut tree in LA
March 12, 2012 - I was just given a black walnut tree and am trying to determine where to place it. I’ve read on your site that “Certain plants will not grow under Black Walnut trees because of the juglones that the ...
view the full question and answer
Problems with a Cercis (Redbud)
August 25, 2014 - Half of my redbud tree is pooped out looking. On two places on the bark are areas where a few layers of bark have pulled back. In these areas there are white growths.
view the full question and answer
Viability of Juniperus ashei for making furniture
June 18, 2007 - My husband uses juniper from Oregon to make beautiful furniture. Underneath the ugly bark is a wonderful wood. Is this the same Juniper as we saw all around Austin, Texas.
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |