Print Report
G099 Prosopis glandulosa - Celtis ehrenbergiana - Leucophyllum frutescens Thornscrub Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group represents upland, drought-tolerant, thornscrub vegetation of the Tamaulipan biotic region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, often characterized by some mixture of the following woody species: Acacia berlandieri, Acacia rigidula, Castela erecta, Celtis ehrenbergiana, Citharexylum berlandieri, Condalia hookeri, Cordia boissieri, Diospyros texana, Ehretia anacua, Eysenhardtia texana, Guaiacum angustifolium, Karwinskia humboldtiana, Leucophyllum frutescens, Prosopis glandulosa, Yucca treculeana, Zanthoxylum fagara, and Ziziphus obtusifolia with variable cover of grasses and forbs beneath and between the shrubs.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Honey Mesquite - Spiny Hackberry - Texas Barometerbush Thornscrub Group
Colloquial Name: Tamaulipan Dry Mesquite & Thornscrub
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: As circumscribed, this is a large and heterogeneous group of upland drought-tolerant thornscrub vegetation occurring in the Tamaulipan region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. The shrub canopy varies from open to impenetrable thickets. Thornscrub vegetation is characterized by small-leaved, thorny, woody species that range in height from 1-6 m, including Prosopis glandulosa, Ehretia anacua, Zanthoxylum fagara, Diospyros texana, Acacia rigidula, Acacia berlandieri, Leucophyllum frutescens, Castela erecta, Citharexylum berlandieri, Guaiacum angustifolium, Condalia hookeri, Ziziphus obtusifolia, Celtis ehrenbergiana, Eysenhardtia texana, Karwinskia humboldtiana, Cordia boissieri, and Yucca treculeana. Herbaceous cover varies depending on density of woody cover, soil development and moisture. It is characterized by Trichloris pluriflora and Bothriochloa barbinodis. Other herbaceous species include Bouteloua spp., Setaria spp., Pappophorum bicolor, Bouteloua dactyloides, Hilaria belangeri, Trichloris crinita, and Heteropogon contortus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This matrix vegetation of the Tamaulipan region of Texas and northeastern Mexico is characterized by upland drought-tolerant, thorny small trees and shrubs with variable cover of grasses and forbs.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This group is a placeholder for upland thornscrub vegetation in the Tamaulipan region of Texas and adjacent Mexico. It is floristically variable, and some components may be better classified with related subtropical vegetation and others with related temperate vegetation. Species composition in this shrubland group is a highly variable. Bray (1901) reports up to 40 species and "in many cases a limited area being tolerably uniformly covered by at least half of all the species." This diversity and variability in dominance creates difficulty in selecting an adequate name that contains only three species. As currently described, this group does not include the savanna/scrub woodland vegetation of the South Texas Sand Plain that is characterized by woody mottes of Prosopis glandulosa and Quercus fusiformis along with many shrub and grass species shared with the Celtis ehrenbergiana - Leucophyllum frutescens thornscrub, but also includes species that range farther east and north. More data, analysis, and review are needed to discern how to best classify this vegetation. This vegetation has been highly impacted by clearing, overgrazing, disruption of natural processes, and invasive species.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This vegetation varies in canopy closure and height from low dense shrublands to open short woodlands (<6 m tall) (Bray 1901). Vegetation is adapted for xeric conditions and many species have semi-tropical to tropical affinities.
Floristics: Woody species include Acacia berlandieri, Acacia rigidula, Aloysia gratissima, Castela erecta, Celtis ehrenbergiana (= Celtis pallida), Citharexylum berlandieri, Condalia hookeri, Cordia boissieri, Diospyros texana, Ehretia anacua, Eysenhardtia texana, Guaiacum angustifolium (= Porlieria angustifolia), Karwinskia humboldtiana, Leucophyllum frutescens, Prosopis glandulosa, Yucca treculeana, Zanthoxylum fagara, and Ziziphus obtusifolia. Herbaceous cover varies depending on density of woody cover, soil development and moisture. It is characterized by Trichloris pluriflora (= Chloris pluriflora) and Bothriochloa barbinodis. Other herbaceous species include Bouteloua spp., Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides), Trichloris crinita (= Chloris crinita), Heteropogon contortus, Hilaria belangeri, Pappophorum bicolor, and Setaria spp.
Dynamics: This vegetation has been highly impacted by clearing, overgrazing, disruption of natural processes, and invasive species.
Environmental Description: This group is found in semi-arid and subtropical southern Texas over a variety of soil depth and texture. Rainfall is highly variable both spatially and temporally and can range from 38 to 76 cm (15-30 inches) annually in a given locality, but all areas are prone to drought and water deficits (Bray 1901, Gilbert 1982, Jahrsdoerfer and Leslie 1988).
Geographic Range: This group occurs in the Tamaulipan region of Texas and Mexico.
Nations: MX,US
States/Provinces: MXCOA, MXNLE, MXTAM, MXVER?, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.837258
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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 | A3169 Honey Mesquite Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Alliance | A3169 | 3.A.2.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A3191 Blackbrush Acacia - Texas Barometerbush - Guajillo Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Alliance | A3191 | 3.A.2.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A3193 Texas Ebony - Devil-queen Thornscrub Alliance | A3193 | 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: > Acacia amentacea formation (Bray 1901)
> Acacia berlandieri or huajillo formation (Bray 1901)
> Acacia farnesiana or huisache formation (Bray 1901)
> Acacia wrightii formation (Bray 1901)
> Leucophyllum texanum formation (Bray 1901)
> Opuntia lindheimeri formation (Bray 1901)
> Parkinsonia texana formation (Bray 1901)
> Prosopis juliflora or mesquite formation (Bray 1901)
> Blackbrush-twisted acacia Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Creosotebush-prickly pear Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Eastern Coastal Plain Scrub (Muller 1939)
> Guajillo-cenizo Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Mesquite - Granjeno - Acacia (728) (Shiflet 1994)
>< Mesquite-Acacia-Andropogon-Setaria Savanna (Küchler 1964)
>< Mesquite-granjeno Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Piedmont Scrub (Muller 1939)
= Rio Grande Chaparral (Bray 1901)
> Acacia berlandieri or huajillo formation (Bray 1901)
> Acacia farnesiana or huisache formation (Bray 1901)
> Acacia wrightii formation (Bray 1901)
> Leucophyllum texanum formation (Bray 1901)
> Opuntia lindheimeri formation (Bray 1901)
> Parkinsonia texana formation (Bray 1901)
> Prosopis juliflora or mesquite formation (Bray 1901)
> Blackbrush-twisted acacia Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Creosotebush-prickly pear Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Eastern Coastal Plain Scrub (Muller 1939)
> Guajillo-cenizo Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Mesquite - Granjeno - Acacia (728) (Shiflet 1994)
>< Mesquite-Acacia-Andropogon-Setaria Savanna (Küchler 1964)
>< Mesquite-granjeno Association (McLendon 1991)
>< Piedmont Scrub (Muller 1939)
= Rio Grande Chaparral (Bray 1901)
- Bray, W. L. 1901. The ecological relations of the vegetation of western Texas. Botanical Gazette 32:102.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
- Gilbert, L. E. 1982. An ecosystem perspective on the role of woody vegetation, especially mesquite, in the Tamaulipan biotic region of South Texas. Tamaulipan Biotic Province. A Symposium: Resource, Management, Conservation. Unpublished.
- 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.
- Küchler, A. W. 1964. Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States. American Geographic Society Special Publication 36. New York, NY. 116 pp.
- McLendon, T. 1991. Preliminary description of the vegetation of south Texas exclusive of coastal saline zones. Texas Journal of Science 43:13-32.
- Muller, C. H. 1939. Relation of the vegetation and climatic types in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The American Midland Naturalist 21:687-729.
- Shiflet, T. N., editor. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United States. Society for Range Management. Denver, CO. 152 pp.