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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
ABBREVIATION :
ARBTEX
SYNONYMS :
Arbutus xalapensis var. texana
SCS PLANT CODE :
ARTE
COMMON NAMES :
Texas madrone
lady legs
lady's legs
manzanita
madrone
madrona
madrono
Texas madrono
Texas arbutus
nuzu-ndu
naked Indian
TAXONOMY :
Texas madrone is a member of the family Ericaceae [22]. The currently
favored scientific name of Texas madrone is Arbutus texana Buckl. [14].
However, many authorities recognize this entity as a variety or form of
Mexican madrone, Arbutus xalpensis [6,12,17]. The epithet Arbutus
xalpensis var. texana Buckl. is commonly applied to Texas madrone [12].
LIFE FORM :
Tree, Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
See OTHER STATUS
OTHER STATUS :
Texas madrone is listed as an endangered species by the Texas
Organization for Endangered Species [27].
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
D. Tirmenstein, October 1990
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Tirmenstein, D. A. 1990. Arbutus texana. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Texas madrone grows from the Edwards Plateau of south-central Texas to
Trans-Pecos Texas and southeastern New Mexico [12]. It occurs southward
through Mexico into Guatemala [12].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
STATES :
NM TX MEXICO
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
BIBE CACA GUMO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodlands
K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
K060 Mesquite savanna
K061 Mesquite - acacia savanna
K062 Mesquite - live oak savanna
SAF COVER TYPES :
66 Ashe juniper - redberry (Pinchot) juniper
68 Mesquite
235 Cottonwood - willow
239 Pinyon - juniper
240 Arizona cypress
241 Western live oak
242 Mesquite
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Texas madrone is listed as a dominant or indicator in the following
community type (cts) classification:
Area Classification Authority
TX: Brewster Co. general veg. cts Denyes 1956
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
Wood of Texas madrone is reddish-brown, hard, heavy, and close grained
[26]. Sapwood is light in color. The wood is easily worked and
colorful [16] and reportedly has some commercial value [25]. It has
been used to make tool handles, rollers, fuel, and charcoal for gun
powder [26].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Texas madrone is utilized by both livestock and wildlife [23]. Small
plants with accessible foliage are lightly browsed by cattle [12,26].
Use by domestic goats may be heavy in some areas [19,26]. The sweet
fruit of Texas madrone is eaten by many species of birds [19,26].
PALATABILITY :
Browse of Texas madrone is at least somewhat palatable to cattle and
highly palatable to domestic goats [26]. Berries are palatable to many
species of birds [19].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
Texas madrone presumably provides shade and cover for a variety of
wildlife species.
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Texas madrone can be propagated by cutting, layering, or budding
[26,31]. Plants can also be grown from seed, although light and soil
moisture requirements are exacting [12,27,28,31]. After more than 10
years of experimentation, only 2 of 10,000 seeds planted in carefully
controlled greenhouse conditions actually germinated and became
established [12,31]. Fortunately, newly developed laboratory techniques
have greatly improved seedling survival rates [27,28,31] [see
Regeneration]. Researchers recommend selecting seeds carefully, using
sterilized soil and distilled or deionized water, supplementing natural
sunlight with artificial light to extend daylength, and carefully
controlling fungus [12]. Seedlings should never be exposed to direct
sunlight until well conditioned. Details on seed handling and planting
techniques are available [12,27,28,31]. Texas madrone is difficult to
transplant [12].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Texas madrone can be grown as an ornamental and is occasionally used in
landscaping [19]. The attractive leaves and flowers make it well suited
for individual or mixed plantings [23]. The leaves and bark are
astringent and are used medicinally in parts of Mexico [26].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Grazing: Texas madrone is becoming increasingly rare. Older, larger
trees are dying, and few seedlings and young trees exist [23].
Seedlings are particularly rare wherever livestock are present [12],
presumably because of the combined effects of browsing and trampling.
Managers interested in preserving this unique species may wish to
protect the few locations in which seedlings have been found.
Damage/disease: Many insects, including the European bark beetle, attack
Texas madrone [9]. This plant is also susceptible to a condition in
which large limbs turn black and the foliage soon dies [12]. The causal
agent has not been identified.
Fertilizer: Heavy applications of fertilizer can kill Texas madrone by
drawing water from the roots [31].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Texas madrone grows as an evergreen tree or, less commonly, as a large
shrub which reaches 20 or 30 feet (0.6-1.1 m) in height [12]. Plants
may reach 40 feet (12 m) in height, 9.3 feet (2.8 m) in girth, and 42
feet (13 m) in crown spread on favorable sites [12,19]. Branches are
usually crooked, stout, and spreading [26]. Bark of Texas madrone is
both unique and attractive. Older bark is dark brown, gray, or black
and exfoliates annually in papery layers to expose colorful new
"skinlike" bark [2,12,26]. New bark may be white, orange, pink,
apricot, tan, or dark red [22,26].
The simple, alternate leaves of Texas madrone are thick and leathery
[12,22,26]. Leaves are oblong to elliptic ovate to oval, dark green
above and paler beneath [22,26]. The upper surface is glabrous, whereas
the lower surface is glabrous or somewhat pubescent [26].
Small, urn-shaped white or pinkish-white blossoms occur in clusters or
panicles approximately 3 inches (8 cm) in length [12,22]. Fruits are
nearly round, warty "berries" 0.25 to 0.3 inch (6-8 mm) in diameter
[19,26]. Berries are bright red, yellow-orange, or yellow [22,26] and
are borne in 2- to 3-inch (5-8 cm) clusters [26]. Each fruit contains 1
to 10 small white seeds [26,31].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Undisturbed State: Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
Undisturbed State: Phanerophyte (mesophanerophyte)
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Seed: Little is known about reproduction of Texas madrone [12].
However, this species is characterized by a low reproductive rate [23].
Seed is produced in abundance [26] and widely dispersed [19], but
seedlings are extremely rare. Small numbers of seedlings have been
observed in Gardner State Park, the Guadalupe Mountains, and near
Devil's Backbone in Hays County, Texas [12]. A unique population of
several hundred seedlings reportedly exists near Vanderpool, Texas.
Germination: If seed remains moist, germination can begin within 7 to
14 days [12]. Seedlings exhibit best early growth under a 12-hour
photoperiod at daytime temperatures of 81 degrees F (27 degrees C) and
nighttime temperatures of 64 degrees F (18 degrees C) [27,28]. Good
growth occurs at 60 to 70 percent relative humidity at a light intensity
of 6,500 to 10,000 lux [28]. At higher light intensities, growth may be
reduced by photo-bleaching of chlorophyll [27]. The effects of higher
light intensities may be somewhat mitigated under natural conditions if
soil moisture remains high [27]. Under ideal laboratory conditions,
germination can range from 20 to 90 percent [31].
Nurse trees: On the Edwards Plateau, seedlings are most often found at
the base of junipers where juniper mulch is fairly thick [27]. Other
species can also serve as "nurse trees", but seedlings are rarely if
ever found beneath older madrones [12]. The partial shade of the nurse
trees reduces water stress and allows seedlings to survive despite dry
conditions [28]. The heavy mulch also promotes survival by holding
water.
Vegetative regeneration: Under laboratory conditions, plants may be
propagated by cutting, layering, and budding [26]. Stump-sprouts have
been reported under natural conditions [31].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Texas madrone grows in wooded canyons, on slopes of desert mountains,
along dry creekbeds, and in foothill drainages with water present
[12,19]. It grows well in full sun on xeric sites [22,26]. Texas
madrone is a common component of closed-canopy canyon forests and
densely wooded stands which occur at the head of canyons [11].
Scattered individuals occur in oak-pinyon-juniper and madrean evergreen
woodlands, interior chaparral, and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
communities [3,4,12,19,29,30].
Plant associates: Common associates include the live oaks (Quercus
spp.), Graves oak (Q. gravesii), alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana),
Ashe juniper (J. ashei), Mexican pinyon (Pinus cembroides), ponderosa
pine, and cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia) [8,12]. Eastern cottonwood
(Populus deltoides), coyote willow (Salix exigua), gray oak (Quercus
grisea), bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), and ash (Fraxinus spp.)
frequently occur with Texas madrone in riparian woodland communities
[4].
Soils: Texas madrone grows on well-drained slightly acidic to alkaline
soils [22]. Soil pH commonly ranges from 7.5 to 7.8 [22]. Soils are
often derived from limestone or igneous parent materials [26].
Climate: Average precipitation ranges from 16 to 30 inches (41-72 cm)
annually [31].
Elevation: In Trans-Pecos Texas, Texas madrone grows from 4,000 to
7,500 feet (1,219-2,286 m) in elevation [19].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Texas madrone is characterized by a low reproductive rate and slow
growth [23]. It occurs in relatively undisturbed climax riparian
woodland communities. However, little is known about its successional
role in other communities in which it occurs.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Texas madrone flowers in early spring and berries ripen during the fall
[22]. Generalized flowering and fruiting dates by geographic location
are as follows:
location flowering fruiting authority
Trans-Pecos TX Feb. - April ---- Powell 1988
SW Feb. - March ---- Vines 1960
TX late Feb. - Oct. - Dec. Hardesty and
early March Whitenberg
1976
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Texas madrone occurs in a variety of riparian woodland communities which
burn infrequently. In many areas, the narrow canyon forest contrast
strikingly with adjacent desert grassland or shrubland communities [5].
Evidence suggests that recurrent fires in the much drier desert
grassland types may have eliminated invading shrubs and trees [13].
Texas madrone also grows in moist forest communities of the Chisos
Mountains of Texas in which fire-scarred trees are commonly observed
[8]. The presence of both seedlings and mature (2 to 6 inch d.b.h.
[5-15 cm]) individuals in these stands suggest that this species may
possess attributes which permit survival in fire-prone environments.
Limited establishment may occur on favorable sites from bird-dispersed
seed originating on adjacent unburned sites. Postfire sprouting has not
been documented, although stump-sprouting has been reported after
mechanical removal [31].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Little is known about the effects of fire on Texas madrone. Mature
individuals were reported in forest communities of the Chisos Mountains
of Texas which had burned at periodic intervals during the last 50 years
[8]. This may indicate the presence of morphological adaptations which
permit survival. Alternately, fuels may have been discontinuous or
light and the burns patchy or of low severity.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
The response of Texas madrone to fire has not been documented. Vigorous
stump-sprouting has been reported after mechanical removal [31], but
postfire sprouting has not been reported. Since Texas madrone is
relatively rare and fire uncommon in many communities in which it
occurs, lack of published accounts may not necessarily rule out the
possibility of postfire sprouting. Seed is produced in abundance [26]
and is widely dispersed by birds [19]. Very limited seedling
establishment may occur on favorable sites.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Bock and Bock [2] report that prescribed fire is "difficult to manage
and potentially very destructive" in established riparian woodlands of
the Southwest. These relatively rare and fragile areas provide
important food and cover for desert wildlife [21]. Because browse and
cover are often limited in these areas, burning is not generally
recommended [21].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Arbutus texana | Texas Madrone
REFERENCES :
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coordinator. Effects of fire management of Southwestern natural
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S., technical coordinator. Effects of fire management of Southwestern
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Tucson, AZ. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-191. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of
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[11872]
28. Whitenberg, D. C.; Hardesty, W. D. 1978. Environmental factors affecting
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Index
Related categories for Species: Arbutus texana
| Texas Madrone
|
 |
