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G100 Trichloris pluriflora - Bothriochloa barbinodis - Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri Grassland Group

Type Concept Sentence: This group represents grasslands and savannas of the Tamaulipan region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico characterized by some mixture of the following grasses: Aristida purpurea var. purpurea, Bothriochloa barbinodis, Bouteloua spp., Bouteloua dactyloides, Trichloris crinita, Trichloris pluriflora, Heteropogon contortus, Hilaria belangeri, Pappophorum bicolor, Schizachyrium scoparium, Setaria spp., Trachypogon spicatus, Tridens muticus, and Tridens texanus.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Multi-flower Rhodesgrass - Cane Bluestem - Texas Prickly-pear Grassland Group

Colloquial Name: Tamaulipan Dry Grassland

Hierarchy Level:  Group

Type Concept: As currently circumscribed, this group represents grasslands and savannas of the Tamaulipan region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Characteristic grasses include Aristida purpurea var. purpurea, Bothriochloa barbinodis, Bouteloua spp., Bouteloua dactyloides, Trichloris crinita, Trichloris pluriflora, Heteropogon contortus, Hilaria belangeri, Pappophorum bicolor, Schizachyrium scoparium, Setaria spp., Trachypogon spicatus, Tridens muticus, and Tridens texanus. This vegetation has been highly impacted by clearing, overgrazing, disruption of natural processes, and invasive species. Few high-quality examples remain.

Diagnostic Characteristics: This group is characterized by perennial grasses and forbs occurring with a matrix of open and closed canopy thornscrub in the Tamaulipan region of Texas and northeastern Mexico.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This group is a placeholder for upland grassland and open shrubland vegetation in the Tamaulipan region of Texas and adjacent Mexico. More information is needed to document the composition, relationship and relative extent of natural grasslands and shrublands in the Tamaulipan area of south Texas and northeastern Mexico. Johnston (1963) described two main prairie types that occur within or near the Tamaulipan region, the "Ingleside and Kenedy sand prairies" at the northeastern border of the region on the South Texas Sand Plain (~South Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Dune & Grassland Group (G494 )$$), and the "Loreto grasslands" on the caliche sand plain near Loreto, Mexico (included here). In addition to the "Loreto grasslands" (~Tamaulipan Caliche Grassland Alliance (A3168)$$), this group includes grasslands with a sparse woody cover that Johnston (1963) specifically excluded from his description (~Schizachyrium scoparium - Bothriochloa barbinodis Tamaulipan Grassland Alliance (A3138)$$). The "Kleberg clay prairie" that Johnston (1963) described is part of ~Blackland & Coastal Tallgrass Prairie Group (G335)$$. 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 (Jahrsdoerfer and Leslie 1988, Manzano and Navar 2000, Fulbright 2001, Ewing and Best 2004).

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This perennial grassland may occur in a mosaic with Prosopis glandulosa, Acacia spp., and other thornscrub species. The natural extent of this group is unknown, but believed to have been limited. The surrounding matrix is open to closed-canopy thornscrub.

Floristics: Vegetation is dominated by perennial mid and short grasses such as Aristida purpurea var. purpurea, Bothriochloa barbinodis, Bouteloua spp., including Bouteloua radicosa, Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides), Trichloris crinita (= Chloris crinita), Trichloris pluriflora (= Chloris pluriflora), Heteropogon contortus, Hilaria belangeri, Pappophorum bicolor, Schizachyrium scoparium, Setaria spp., Trachypogon spicatus, Tridens muticus, and Tridens texanus.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This Tamaulipan group occurs on a variety of soil texture and depth in semi-arid and subtropical South Texas. 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 vegetation has been highly impacted by clearing, overgrazing, disruption of natural processes, and invasive species.

Nations: MX,US

States/Provinces:  MXCOA, MXNLE, MXTAM, TX


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.b Multi-flower Rhodesgrass - Cane Bluestem - Texas Prickly-pear Grassland Group G100 3.A.2.Na.1.b
Alliance A3138 Little Bluestem - Cane Bluestem Tamaulipan Grassland Alliance A3138 3.A.2.Na.1.b
Alliance A3168 Tamaulipan Caliche Grassland Alliance A3168 3.A.2.Na.1.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Eastern Coastal Plain Scrub (Muller 1939)
>< Mesquite - Granjeno - Acacia (728) (Shiflet 1994)
>< Mesquite-Acacia-Andropogon-Setaria Savanna (Küchler 1964)
= Rio Grande Chaparral (Bray 1901)
Concept Author(s): J. Teague, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2011)

Author of Description: J. Teague

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 06-10-15
  • Bray, W. L. 1901. The ecological relations of the vegetation of western Texas. Botanical Gazette 32:102.
  • Ewing, K., and C. Best. 2004. South Texas Tamaulipan thornscrub restoration experiment measures growth of planted woody vegetation. Ecological Restoration 22(1):11-17.
  • 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]
  • Fulbright, T. E. 2001. Human-induced vegetation changes in the Tamaulipan scrub of La Frontera. Pages 166-175 in: G. L. Webster and C. J. Bahre, editors. Changing plant life of La Frontera: Observations on vegetation in the United States/Mexico borderlands. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
  • 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.
  • Johnston, M. C. 1963. Past and present grasslands of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Ecology 44:456-464.
  • Küchler, A. W. 1964. Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States. American Geographic Society Special Publication 36. New York, NY. 116 pp.
  • Manzano, M., and J. Navar. 2000. Processes of desertification by goats overgrazing in the Tamaulipan thornscrub (matorral) in north-eastern Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 44:1-17.
  • 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.