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CEGL002169 Ebenopsis ebano - Phaulothamnus spinescens Scrub
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Texas Ebony - Devil-queen Scrub
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community is a subtropical, evergreen shrubland dominated by tall, thorny shrubs, 3-4 m tall. Important species include Ebenopsis ebano, Phaulothamnus spinescens, Sideroxylon celastrinum, Condalia hookeri, Ziziphus obtusifolia, Zanthoxylum fagara, Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa, Celtis ehrenbergiana, Ehretia anacua, Karwinskia humboldtiana, Citharexylum berlandieri, and Adelia vaseyi. This shrubland occurs over clayey soils on river levees, resaca banks, and elsewhere in the Holocene floodplain of the lower Rio Grande in the southernmost portion of Texas. It also potentially occurs in adjacent areas of Mexico.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community varies with soil type and location and grades into temperate shrublands to the north and west. It is similar to ~Ebenopsis ebano - Ehretia anacua / Condalia hookeri Riparian Forest (CEGL002054)$$, but occurs on drier sites and has more xeromorphic shrubs. Johnston (1952) collected vegetation data from xeric shrublands on various habitats in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and concluded that no clear patterns of dominance could be correlated with different habitats; these shrublands all seem to intergrade. They occur over fine- and coarse-textured Holocene alluvium, fine- and coarse-textured Pleistocene-aged alluvium of the Beaumont Formation, and active clay dunes (lomas). This association is defined to encompass "thornscrub" vegetation occurring on Holocene alluvium within the present and historic Rio Grande floodplain. A similar community, ~Citharexylum berlandieri - Yucca treculeana - Ebenopsis ebano - Phaulothamnus spinescens Shrubland (CEGL002170)$$, occurs on clay dunes in the tidal delta of the Rio Grande and near the coast in eastern Cameron County. Shrublands (thornscrub) occurring on coarse- and fine-textured Beaumont Formation strata are characterized by emergent individuals of Prosopis glandulosa and are classified as ~Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa / (Celtis ehrenbergiana, Phaulothamnus spinescens, Ziziphus obtusifolia var. obtusifolia) Woodland (CEGL002132)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is a subtropical, evergreen shrubland dominated by tall, thorny shrubs, 3-4 m tall. Important species include Ebenopsis ebano (= Pithecellobium ebano), Phaulothamnus spinescens, Sideroxylon celastrinum, Condalia hookeri, Ziziphus obtusifolia, Zanthoxylum fagara, Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa, Celtis ehrenbergiana (= Celtis pallida), Ehretia anacua, Karwinskia humboldtiana, and Adelia vaseyi.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This shrubland occurs over clayey soils on river levees, resaca banks, and elsewhere in the Holocene floodplain of the lower Rio Grande in the southernmost portion of Texas.
Geographic Range: This association is known only from southernmost Texas, from the Holocene floodplain and delta of the lower Rio Grande, although the dominant species are known to range into northern Mexico. This association is also potentially found in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Vera Cruz.
Nations: MX?,US
States/Provinces: MXNLE?, MXTAM?, MXVER?, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688591
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.A Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Woodland, Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S06 | 3.A |
| Formation | 3.A.2 Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F015 | 3.A.2 |
| Division | 3.A.2.Na North American Warm Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D039 | 3.A.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 3.A.2.Na.1 Honey Mesquite - Spiny Hackberry / Multi-flower Rhodesgrass Tamaulipan Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M130 | 3.A.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.1.a Honey Mesquite - Spiny Hackberry - Texas Barometerbush Thornscrub Group | G099 | 3.A.2.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A3193 Texas Ebony - Devil-queen Thornscrub Alliance | A3193 | 3.A.2.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002169 Texas Ebony - Devil-queen Scrub | CEGL002169 | 3.A.2.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < IC1w. Texas Ebony - Snake Eyes Shrubland (Allard 1990)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Clover, E. U. 1937. Vegetational survey of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Madrono 4:41-55, 77-100.
- Correll, D. S., and M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundation. Renner, TX. (Second printing, 1979. University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson) 1881 pp.
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- Diamond, D., B. Amos, T. Cook, R. Edwards, W. Elliot, R. Evans, and K. Kennedy. 1992. Endangered, threatened, and watchlist of natural communities of Texas. Texas Organization for Endangered Species. Austin, TX. 14 pp.
- Jahrsdoerfer, S. E., and D. M. Leslie. 1988. Tamaulipan brushland of the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas: Description, human impacts, and management options. USDI Fish & Wildlife Service. Biological Report 88(36). 63 pp.
- Johnston, M. C. 1952. Vegetation of eastern Cameron County, Texas. M.S. thesis, University of Texas, Austin. 127 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.