Post Oaks

Post oaks (Quercus stellata) are deciduous and completely lose their leafs in the fall. Two weeks ago, the post oaks  were still bare. You could see little leaf buds forming, but there was no green. Now they've turning green and have developed flowers too. They don't all turn green together, though. I've seen some in the neighborhood that are still bare.

The wood is often sold as white oak and is used for railroad ties, posts, and in construction. They are the most common oak in Texas and the acorns are an important food source for deer, squirrels, and wild turkey. They are very drought-tolerant but are susceptible to oak wilt.

We're lucky to have many on our property and there are 3 large specimens right near our house. This one is to the east and we can see it out our kitchen window. I think it's about 35 feet tall. Right now, with the leaf growth just starting, you can still see the trunk and branches. Once it's fully leafed-out, only the main trunk near the ground will be visible. The trunk is about 2 feet in diameter.

In this closeup of the flowers and leaves, you can see the new leaves already have their distinctive multi-lobed shape. The lobes are round and fairly pronounced. These new leaves are still small, only a couple of inches long. The mature leaves can be the size of your hand. The flower strings are quite long, especially compared to the live oaks in the previous post. These are about 3 inches long. You can also see remnants of last year's crop of acorns.

I think the post oaks may be my favorite. I like their height and overall shape. They can exhibit a beautiful fall color and the bare trunks in winter are quite striking.

The Bug Lady

Not a ladybug, but the Bug Lady. I got to meet her.

The speaker at last month's Hays County Master Naturalist chapter meeting was Valerie Bugh. She is a local naturalist, specializing in the arthropods of the Austin area, with interests in taxonomy and photography. She runs the Fauna Project at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, leads insect discovery walks, and provides insect and spider identifications. She also gives talks to local organizations and has published a pocket guide to "The Butterflies of Central Texas". Visit her web site for more information.

The motto for her talk was "Give me your bugs, your flies, your mystery critters yearning for IDs ..."

She started with an overview of several insect relatives, such as centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, and spiders. These are arthropods, but not insects. All insects are arthropods, but not all arthropods are insects. Pretty straightforward, right?

The main part of her presentation was on the large number of insects. She concentrated on local species and had many photographs. She discussed their life cycles, including incomplete and complete metamorphosis, mating, egg laying, and diet.

Valerie offered to identify any mystery insects for us. Email your photos to her, larvalbug@att.net and she'll try to identify it for you.

Here are some photos of insects I've taken at our house. First is a katydid (family Tettigoniidae), about an inch long. I took the photo while it was sitting on the wall of our screened porch. During the summer we are completely overrun with them - the trees are full of them. They make loud chirping sounds, somewhat in unison, long into the night.

Next is a grasshopper (order Orthoptera) sitting on our lawnmower handle. We find these mainly in the grass and our chickens love them. This one's about 2 inches long and must be hiding out from the chickens.

Finally, a beetle (order Coleoptera) on our house's exterior rock wall. This one caught my eye because of it's beautiful black and white pattern. Many beetles are of a single color and usually iridescent. This was small, about 1 inch.

Insects are fascinating, extremely varied, with many lifestyles and abilities. Their numbers are daunting, especially if you're interested in identifying them. They fill many ecological niches and provide many benefits, as well as harm, to us. They are worth studying and appreciating.

Oaks In Bloom

You might not think of oak trees having flowers, but they do, although they are not at all showy. Many of them are in bloom right now and I took a few minutes this afternoon to capture some of them. I first noticed them on our regular dog walk and then I went back out with my camera. The opportunity was too good to pass up.

This is a pair of twin live oaks at the entrance to our property. They are right beside our road and I get to see them every day. They are young, with a trunk diameter of only a few inches, and are about 8 feet tall. I think they're Texas Live Oaks (Quercus fusiformis), also known as Escarpment Live Oaks.

 

In this close up, you can see the flowers buds, which are the green structures which look like a string of beads. None of these flower buds were open, but the flowers are yellow. You can also see last year's leaves which are the darker and larger ones. The new leaves are still small and a very light green.

Live oaks are interesting because even though they are deciduous, they keep their leaves throughout winter and then in late winter or early spring, they drop them while the leaves are still green. Within a 2 to 3 week period they flower and bud new leaves.

Next is a Texas Red Oak (Quercus buckleyi) which we pass on our dog walks. This tree is quite tall, about 30 feet. Red oaks are definitely rarer in our area than the live oaks.

In the closeup of the flower buds, you can see the red flowers that have opened. I think this is a Texas Red Oak because of the red flowers.

Lastly, a Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica). This tree is about 15 feet tall. I think the Blackjack oaks are more common than the red oaks.

The Blackjack's flowers buds are brown, but the flowers themselves are white. You can also see the distinctive, "duck foot", three-lobed leaf shape. Another distinctive characteristic is the sharp spike at the end of the leaf lobe.

I had never taken a close look at any oak flowers. I was pleased to see the red flowers of the Red oak and the white flowers of the Blackjack oak. Check them out for yourself - I think you'll be pleasantly rewarded.

Texas Redbud

The Texas Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis) is a beautiful small native tree. I'm sure you've seen them and right now they are in full bloom and can't be missed. They are a favorite of landscapers and a great choice since they are well-adapted and drought-tolerant. They are a legume and a member of the pea family.

The pink or purple flowers emerge in early spring, or maybe late winter because they are in bloom right now and have been for a couple of weeks. The flowers emerge on bare branches, before the leaves come out, and are quite striking. Butterflies and bees love the nectar and birds eat the seeds. In Mexico they fry the flowers for human consumption.

I only know of one on our property, or at least one that I know exactly where it is. There are also several in the neighborhood that we see during our dog walks. I would not call it very rare, but it is not wide-spread.

These photos of the one on our property were taken today. The tree is growing at a 30 degree angle and is about 12 feet high. It seems to be trying to get out from underneath an oak and several ashe junipers to reach the light. The lower branches don't have flowers on them so they may be dead. I'll check them when the leaves are out. It's growing in rocky soil and seems to do pretty well. We never water it or fertilize it, so I would say it's quite hardy. If you plant one in your landscape, it will look great even if you never take care of it!

In this closeup, you can see the leaf buds are starting to appear.

The fruit is a pod, as you might expect from a legume and is flat and reddish brown.