Guardians of the Forest
Top 10 Trees – Guardians of the Thornforest
There are many plants that grow in the Rio Grande Valley – over 1,200 species of trees, shrubs, vines, cacti, and herbaceous plants are considered native to the region – but trees, due to their stature, are plants that stand out in their appearance and importance in thornforest ecosystems.
These are the top ten trees that visitors are likely to notice visiting Quinta Mazatlan and other forested habitats across the Rio Grande Valley. They provide food and shelter for wildlife, provide shade for our cities, and beauty to our landscapes.Anacahuita / Mexican Wild Olive (Cordia boissieri)
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Description: These small trees are one of the region’s most popular roadside trees due to their beautiful blooms, drought-tolerance, and pleasing shape. Their flowers are visited by native bees, birds, and butterflies in search of nectar, and their leaves are food for the gorgeous Wild Olive Tortoise Beetle. Look for them at the Forest Playground at Quinta Mazatlan.
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Height: 12 – 24 feet
Bloom Color: White
Peak Bloom Season: Spring, Summer
Fruit: Drupe
Peak Fruit Season: Fall, Summer
Anacua / Sandpaper Tree (Ehretia anacua)
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Description: With their sandpaper-like leaves and tan, furrowed bark, the Anacua tree is a distinct member of the RGV’s tree community. In spring, their entire canopy can turn white with flowers and are great for local pollinating insects. The berries that follow are favorites of many fruit-eating birds, like Clay-colored Thrush, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Northern Mockingbird, and others. They are also host to a unique, jewel-like beetle called the Anacua Tortoise Beetle. Look for them along the Discovery Trail at Quinta Mazatlan, where they make up the majority of the forest canopy.
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Height: 20 – 45 feet
Bloom Color: White
Peak Bloom Season: Spring, Summer
Fruit: Berry
Peak Fruit Season: Fall, Summer
Cedar Elm / Olmo (Ulmus crassifolia)
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Description: The Cedar Elm is one of the giants of Tamaulipan Floodplain habitats, where it used to be found in larger numbers in the lush riparian forests that bordered the Rio Grande and its many resacas. The Cedar Elm’s tall trunk and large canopy spread make it a wonderful shade tree, with its many branches serving as perches and nesting sites for local forest birds. It is the host plant for the Question Mark butterfly. Look for them at the Amphitheater in Quinta Mazatlan.
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Height: 30 – 60 feet
Bloom Color: Green (tiny flowers)
Peak Bloom Season: Fall
Fruit: Samara
Peak Fruit Season: Fall, Winter
Coma (Sideroxylon celastrinum)
Description: The Coma tree is one of the most aromatic trees in the Rio Grande Valley – all you have to do is follow your nose to find them blooming in a thornforest! Even though their flowers are small, they are excellent attractors of pollinating insects and the birds that eat them. Their fruits, which turn purple when ripe, also attract many frugivorous birds, including doves and the elusive Red-billed Pigeons of Starr County. Look for them along the Discovery and Wildcat trails of Quinta Mazatlan.
Height: 12 – 30 feet
Bloom Color: White
Peak Bloom Season: Spring, Winter
Fruit: Berry
Peak Fruit Season: Spring, Summer
Honey Mesquite (Neltuma glandulosa)
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Description: A true powerhouse of a tree, the Honey Mesquite is one of the most common sights of the Rio Grande Valley. In drier, more desert-like thornscrub, they typically stay at 20-25 feet, but in wetter thornforests they can tower to 50 feet and develop thick trunks with dark and deeply furrowed bark. Their yellow flowers are attractive to insects and their bean pods are beloved by many animals – including people! Their bean pods can be dried and ground into a tasty flour, used for tea, or eaten off the tree for a sweet treat. Their wood is also famous in cooking, adding a distinct flavor and aroma to foods. Look for them anywhere in the thornforest of Quinta Mazatlan.
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Height: 25 – 50 feet
Bloom Color: Yellow
Peak Bloom Season: Spring, Summer
Fruit: Legume
Peak Fruit Season: Summer
Montezuma Cypress / Sabino (Taxodium mucronatum)
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Description: Likely the tallest tree of the Rio Grande Valley – in Mexico, individuals have been known to reach over 140 feet tall – the Montezuma Cypress used to be more common in riparian forests along the Rio Grande. Now, they are mostly seen as ornamental landscaping trees, particularly along the edges of low-lying retention ponds. They can also be seen more frequently along resacas in Brownsville, Texas (there is a stand of them at La Posada Park). Look for the Montezuma Cypress at the north lawn and Ruby Pond at Quinta Mazatlan.
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Height: 40 – 70 feet
Bloom Color: Not a flowering plant, but has reproductive cones
Peak Bloom Season: Spring
Fruit: Cone
Peak Fruit Season: Summer
Sugar Hackberry / Palo Blanco (Celtis laevigata)
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Description: The Sugar Hackberry is a tall, quick-growing tree and is often found along canals, resacas, and open woodlands. They are havens for biodiversity: they are the host plant of 7 different butterfly species; their fruits are eaten by numerous bird species (and people enjoy them too); and their natural cavities (due to broken branches) make great homes for Eastern Screech-Owls and other cavity-nesting birds. Look for them mixed into the thornforest at Quinta Mazatlan, where they were likely spread by birds!
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Height: 35 – 60 feet
Bloom Color: Green (small)
Peak Bloom Season: Winter, Spring
Fruit: Drupe
Peak Fruit Season: Summer, Spring
Tenaza (Havardia pallens)
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Description: Its easy to find a blooming Tenaza tree mixed into thornforest and thornscrub habitats in the Rio Grande Valley; their entire canopy can become covered in white puff-ball flowers (and they smell great too). When blooming, they are fantastic resources for butterflies and other pollinators.
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Height: 10 – 20 feet
Bloom Color: White
Peak Bloom Season: Summer
Fruit: Legume
Peak Fruit Season: Summer
Tepeguaje (Leucaena pulverulenta)
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Description: The Tepeguaje is one of the fastest-growing trees in the Rio Grande Valley, which makes them an important early-successional species in local forests. Their tall canopies are wonderful perches for hawks (such as this Gray Hawk), flycatchers, and other birds. Look for them as tall emergent trees in the forest of Quinta Mazatlan.
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Height: 10 – 20 feet
Bloom Color: White
Peak Bloom Season: Summer
Fruit: Legume
Peak Fruit Season: Summer
Texas Ebony / Ebano (Ebenopsis ebano)
Description: The Texas Ebony is easily picked out by its dense, dark, evergreen canopy. That feature helps the Texas Ebony be one of the best shade trees in the Rio Grande Valley, and also makes it a favorite nesting site for many species of birds. Their white puffball flowers are loved by pollinating insects, and their bean pods (both developing and mature ones) are also eaten by a variety of insects and other wildlife. They are the host plant for the beautiful Syssphinx blanchardi moth, and may also be a host plant for Clytie Ministreak butterflies. Look for a very large Texas Ebony in the north lawn of Quinta Mazatlan, and many of them in the Ebony Grove restoration area!
Height: 20 – 40 feet
Bloom Color: White
Peak Bloom Season: Summer, Spring
Fruit: Legume
Peak Fruit Season: Summer, Spring
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