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Saturday - April 26, 2008

From: Brownsville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Eco-friendly trees for parks in Brownsville, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Which are the best eco friendly trees for parks?

ANSWER:

Without a doubt, the most ecology-friendly trees for parks or anywhere else are trees that are native to that area. A native tree will be adapted to the amount of rainfall the area normally has, the soil the tree is growing in and the high and low temperatures during the year. For instance, in your area of Brownsville, right down on the southern tip of Texas, the trees you are likely to see in the wild, and that therefore would be good in the parks, all are adapted to high temperatures, probably couldn't survive very low temperatures, and can get by on less moisture. For example, we went to the Recommended Species section of this website and searched on South Texas, selecting on trees, perennial habit, 6 or more hours a day of sun, and low soil moisture. This is the list of trees that met those criteria, and would therefore grow well in parks in the Brownsville, TX area. Then, we went to that list of eleven trees and selected some that we thought were more public-friendly, no dangerous thorns, no poisonous seeds, etc. and that list follows:

Cordia boissieri (anacahuita)

Ehretia anacua (knockaway)

Quercus macrocarpa (bur oak)

Sabal mexicana (Rio Grande palmetto)

Cordia boissieri

Ehretia anacua

Quercus macrocarpa