Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Honey Mesquite / (Spiny Hackberry, Devil-queen, Lotebush) Woodland

Colloquial Name: Tamaulipan Mesquite Brushland

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This deciduous woodland association occurs on non-saline, coarse- and fine-textured Beaumont Formation strata in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is characterized by a scattered to open (or nearly closed) canopy emergent over a dense and diverse shrub layer with openings supporting grasses and forbs. Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa typically dominates the emergent canopy. Other canopy species include Acacia greggii var. wrightii, Celtis laevigata var. laevigata, Celtis ehrenbergiana, Ebenopsis ebano, Havardia pallens, and Sideroxylon celastrinum. The shrub layer is very dense and diverse, including Acacia berlandieri, Acanthocereus tetragonus (in eastern portion of lower Rio Grande delta only), Adelia vaseyi, Aloysia gratissima, Amyris madrensis, Amyris texana, Bastardia viscosa, Borrichia frutescens (in openings), Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum, Castela erecta ssp. texana, Celtis ehrenbergiana, Citharexylum berlandieri, Condalia hookeri, Diospyros texana, Chromolaena odorata, Xylothamia palmeri, Forestiera angustifolia, Guaiacum angustifolium, Isocoma drummondii, Jatropha dioica, Karwinskia humboldtiana, Koeberlinia spinosa, Lycium berlandieri, Malpighia glabra, Maytenus phyllanthoides, Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, Phaulothamnus spinescens, Randia rhagocarpa, Yucca treculeana, Zanthoxylum fagara, and Ziziphus obtusifolia var. obtusifolia. Callisia micrantha may be locally dominant in the ground cover beneath the shrubs. Herbaceous components are generally better represented in openings and may include Trichloris pluriflora, Pappophorum vaginatum, Sidastrum paniculatum, Sporobolus wrightii, Billieturnera helleri, and Tamaulipa azurea. This woodland may grade into woodlands or shrublands dominated by Acacia rigidula, Acacia berlandieri, or Ebenopsis ebano or may form a mosaic with ~Bothriochloa barbinodis - Trichloris pluriflora Grassland (CEGL002236)$$. This community is often impacted by the invasive grass Pennisetum ciliare.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community (CEGL002132) extends southwards into Tamaulipas. It represents shrublands (thornscrub) characterized by emergent individuals of Prosopis glandulosa that occur on non-saline, coarse- and fine-textured Beaumont Formation strata in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This community''s physiognomic placement is a matter of judgment. Large emergent mesquite forms a very open to rather dense canopy, over a diverse and usually dense layer of variable height, interpretable as either tall shrubs or dwarfed trees. Placement as either Woodland, Shrubland (with trees), or Forest are about equally plausible. The similar community, ~Ebenopsis ebano - Phaulothamnus spinescens Scrub (CEGL002169)$$, is defined to encompass "thornscrub" vegetation occurring on Holocene floodplain deposits of the Rio Grande. ~Citharexylum berlandieri - Yucca treculeana - Ebenopsis ebano - Phaulothamnus spinescens Shrubland (CEGL002170)$$ occurs on clay dunes in the tidal delta of the Rio Grande and near the coast in eastern Cameron County. ~Prosopis glandulosa / Acanthocereus tetragonus Scrub (CEGL007832)$$ occurs on saline subirrigated soils near the coast of southern Texas.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available