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 |
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 |